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It was a Monday night, and the scene at the Watchtower was peaceful. Members of the Justice League were going about their business doing different activities. Zatanna and Raquel were standing in the open area of the Watchtower just talking when they began to hear faint shouting.
“Do you hear that?” Zatanna asked.
“Yeah.” Raquel said, nodding her head, “I wonder who’s arguing like that.” She added.
“Well let’s go see.” Zatanna said.
“You want to go spy on whoever is arguing like that?” Raquel asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Hey, if they wanted to keep their conversation private they wouldn’t do it in the Watchtower of all places.” Zatanna said, shrugging.
“True that.” Raquel said, “Let’s go.” She added.
Zatanna and Raquel start walking into the direction they heard the faint shouting from, which happened to be the direction that the lounge was. The shouting got louder and louder, and the voices started to sound familiar.
“Wait a minute.” Zatanna said, “That sounds like Jaime and Traci.” She added.
“It sure does.” Raquel said.
They walked inside the lounge, and sure enough, Jaime and Traci were indeed there, having a shouting match with each other.
“I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU’RE GETTING SO UPSET!” Traci shouted.
“YOU DON’T KNOW? TRACI, YOU’RE THE ONE MAD AT ME OVER SOME BULL SHIT!” Jaime shouted.
Zatanna and Raquel’s eyes go wide. They’ve never heard Jaime swear before.
“WELL IT’S NICE TO KNOW THAT YOU THINK OUR RELATIONSHIP IS BULL SHIT!” Traci shouted, crossing her arms.
“I NEVER SAID THAT!” Jaime shouted.
“YOU SURE?” Traci shouted, “JAIME THIS WHOLE THING IS ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP AND HOW LESS OF AN IMPORTANCE IT’S BECOME TO YOU!” She added.
“THAT’S NOT TRUE!” Jaime shouted.
“YES IT IS!” Traci shouted, “YOU HAVEN’T EVEN BEEN TRYING TO PUT IN EFFORT FOR US TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER!” She added.
“I TOLD YOU IT WAS BECAUSE MY TIME IS GETTING TAKEN UP FROM MY WORK AS AN OUTSIDER!” Jaime shouted.
Traci only huffed in response.
“YOU KNOW WHAT? WHO CARES WHAT YOU FUCKING THINK? YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHERE I’M COMING FROM ANYWAY BECAUSE YOU’RE JUST SOME SIDEKICK TO ZATANNA!” Jaime shouted.
“EXCUSE ME?!?!” Traci shouted, looking at Jaime with a shocked look.
Zatanna’s jaw drops at that comment.
“YOU WOULDN’T KNOW HOW IMPORTANT MY JOB IS BEING AN OUTSIDER BECAUSE YOU’RE TOO BUSY BEING ZATANNA’S SIDEKICK STILL TRYING TO LEARN HOW TO CONTROL POWERS THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE A LONG TIME AGO.” Jaime shouted.
Raquel’s jaw drops at that comment.
“WELL AT LEAST I HAVE A MENTOR!” Traci shouted, “NO ONE WOULD EVEN BAT AN EYE AT THE THOUGHT OF YOU BEING THEIR SIDEKICK!” She added.
Both Zatanna and Raquel’s jaws drop even further. Meanwhile Jaime and Traci just stare at each other, both trying to catch their breath.
“Is that what you really think?” Jaime asked softly.
“Is that what you really think?” Traci asked softly.
They both stare at each other in silence again. After a moment, Jaime turns his head to where Zatanna and Raquel were standing. Traci follows his gaze and looks at Zatanna and Raquel standing there with shocked looks on their faces.
“Zatanna……Raquel……sorry I didn’t know you two were standing there.” Jaime said with an unrecognizable voice.
Traci looks down at the floor.
“Uhhhhhhh………..are you two okay?” Raquel asked, concern all in her voice.
“No……we’re not.” Jaime said, turning his head to look back at Traci, who in turn looked back up at him.
Zatanna and Raquel give each other concerned looks.
“And after this…….I don’t care if we’ll ever be okay again.” Jaime said, and then walks off.
Traci gave a long blink, his words stinging more then she thought they would.
Jaime swiftly walks past Zatanna and Raquel and out of the lounge. Once he was in the hallway he slows his walk down, the angry look on his face softening up into one of shock, as if the words he just said hit him like a ton of bricks. After blinking a few times, he continued his journey to the zeta tube to go home.
Back in the lounge, Traci slowly moved to the sofa and sat down, letting out a shaky breath.
Zatanna walked forward a little bit, “Trac……are you-!” She started, but was interrupted.
“HE’S SO STUPID!” Traci shouted, banging her fist on the arms of the sofa, “SO STUPID!” She repeated.
She then looked the other way with a frown on her face, letting out another shaky breath, her bottom lip quivering. Her face then scrunches up to one complete sadness and defeat as tears escape her eyes and run down her face. She lets out a whimper, puts her hands over her face, and cries. Zatanna rushed over to where Traci was sitting puts her arms around her in a hug. Traci leans onto her mentor as her sobs grow louder. Raquel sadly looks to the direction that Jaime left in and then back at the sobbing teenaged girl in Zatanna’s arms.
After their fight inside of the Watchtower, over the course of the week, Jaime and Traci have not said one word to each other. If they were in the same room with each other, they would stand as far away from each other as possible, and even try to stay clear of each other. This was a weird sight for everyone, who are used to seeing the two being so lovey-dovey with each other. They heard about the fight between the two and are shocked that it has lasted this long.
It was Friday afternoon, and the members of the Outsiders were sitting in the living room of the Hub talking amongst themselves. Their den mother, Artemis, was sitting in the chair reading a magazine.
“Guys I’m so glad it’s the weekend.” Cassie said, leaning against her wonderful boyfriend, Virgil Hawkins.
“Right?” Bart said, “Especially since we have a three day weekend from school!” He added, his boyfriend, Eduardo Dorado Jr., nodding his head in agreement.
They all then started to share what their weekend plans would be.
“What about you Jaime?” Tara asked.
They all looked to where Jaime was sitting, and saw that he was sitting on the far end of the sofa with his head down. He didn’t answer Tara’s question.
“Jaime?” Tara called out.
Jaime still didn’t answer.
“Yo, Jaime!” Virgil called out.
“Huh?” Jaime said, raising his head up to look at his friends.
“Didn’t you hear Tara asking you a question?” Virgil asked.
“Huh?” Jaime repeated, “Oh! Sorry Tara, I totally spaced. What was your question?” He added.
“You thinking about your fight with Traci and how much of a douche you were for saying the mean thing you said to her?” Cassie asked, her eyebrow raised.
Jaime blanks at her, and looks back down.
“Cassie!” Virgil said, nudging his girlfriend.
“What?!” Cassie exclaimed, “I’m speaking the truth! He is a douche for saying what he said and he should feel bad for it!” She added.
“Cassie come on!” Virgil exclaimed.
“No.” Jaime said softly, still looking down, “She’s right.” He added.
“See.” Cassie said.
“I just…….I don’t know what came over me.” Jaime said, “I just got so mad and it just…..came out.” He added.
His friends only looked at him with concern.
“I’ve got to be the biggest douche on the planet.” Jaime said softly.
“No you’re not.” Artemis said, “You just had a bad moment.” She added.
The younger kids all turned their heads to look at Artemis with surprise, as that was the first time she had spoken since everyone gathered in the living room of the Hub. Artemis looked up from her magazine and saw that she had gotten everyone’s attention.
“A bad moment?” Jaime said.
“Yes, a bad moment.” Artemis said, “Listen Jaime, couples get into nasty fights sometimes. It’s not right or great, but it does happen. I’ve had my fair share with Wally when……..well when……you know.” She added.
Everyone understood what she was trying to say.
“Plus, you’re not the only one to blame in this.” Artemis said, “Traci was in this fight, too, and she also said something that she shouldn’t have.” She added.
Jaime looked at Artemis and then put his head down again, deep in thought.
“You two just need to talk to each other.” Artemis said.
“But……what if she doesn’t want to talk to me?” Jaime asked.
“Oh, please she definitely wants to talk to you.” Artemis said, “Zatanna has been talking to her and she’s basically feeling how you are now.” She added.
“Really?” Jaime asked, perking up.
“Yes.” Artemis chuckled, “As a matter of fact, M’Gann is bringing the team by here to hang out after their mission today.” She added.
“Traci will come, too?” Jaime asked.
“Uhhh yeah.” Artemis said, “You can use that moment to talk to her then.” She added.
“Yeah Jaime, that’ll be the perfect opportunity for two to talk!” Garfield said.
“Yeah……yeah you guys are right!” Jaime said, “I’m definitely going to talk to her once she gets here!” He said, determination all in his voice.
“That’s the spirit, dude!” Victor exclaimed.
Everyone, now including Jaime, continued talking about their weekend plans with each other for the next hour or so. It was 5:00PM when the zeta tube chimed up, announcing the arrival of Spoiler, A.K.A., Stephanie Brown. They all looked up and saw Stephanie come through the zeta tube.
“Hey Steph.” Artemis said.
Stephanie didn’t answer. She just paused and looked around at the group in the living room. This caused everyone to look at each other with confused looks.
“Steph?” Artemis said, concerned as Stephanie always answers to people.
Stephanie still didn’t answer.
“Steph?” Victor said, “Are you okay?” He added.
Once again, Stephanie didn’t answer him. She had tunnel vision for one person, Jaime Reyes, and when she finally spotted him, she made a beeline for him.
Jaime just watched as Stephanie rushed towards him. The saddened look on her face didn’t give him much comfort.
“Stephanie are you okay?” Jaime asked once Stephanie was in front, “Where is everyone? Did the mission go-!” He was then interrupted by Stephanie.
“No.” Stephanie said in a shaky voice, “The mission did not go okay.” She added.
The shakiness catches everyone by surprise and makes them feel even more uneasy.
“Is my sister okay?!” Garfield asked, his voice filled with worry.
“She’s fine.” Stephanie whispered, shaking her head, “It’s……it’s Traci.” She added.
Everyone’s stomach dropped, but none more than Jaime’s.
“What happened to Traci?!” Jaime asked frantically, “Is she okay?!” He added.
“She…….she got hurt.” Stephanie said, whimpering slightly.
“What?!” Jaime exclaimed.
“The rest of the team is taking her to the medical center at Star Labs in Taos.” Stephanie said, a tear going down her cheek, “We have to go now.” She added.
Jaime just stared, fear completely showering his face.
The time was 6:00PM when they all arrived at the Taos Star Labs Medical Center. When they burst through the doors, the sight before them made their anxiety spike even more. M’Gann was pacing back and forth, worry written all over her face, while Conner, who decided to join the Team on this mission, watched her worriedly. Dick, Tim and Cassandra were leaning against the wall with their arms crossed, and looking down with sad looks on their faces. Violet was sitting next to a visibly distraught Cissie, who was crying in Violet’s shoulder. They were all still suited up, but with their masks and hoods off.
“M’Gann!” Garfield exclaimed, rushing towards his sister. He hugged her once he reached her, glad that she as okay.
“Garfield.” M’Gann said softly, returning his hug. She then turned her attention to Stephanie, who made a beeline towards Tim and gave him a hug, which he gladly returned.
“Thank you for bringing them here.” She said. Stephanie nodded her head, which was resting on her boyfriends’ shoulder.
“Where’s Traci?” Jaime asked, getting straight to the point, “Is she okay?” He added.
None of the members of the Team, nor Conner answered him. They just looked away looking sad.
“Guys, where is Traci?!” Jaime exclaimed.
“She’s…….she’s in the operating room.” M’Gann said softly, her voice cracking. Conner moved to give her a hug from behind, as Garfield was still hugging her front.
“WHAT?!” Came collectively from the Outsiders.
Jaime felt like the air was knocked out of him.
“Wha……what happened?” He said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Again, no one would answer him. Suddenly, Cissie began to speak.
“It should have been me.” Cissie cried in Violets shoulder, “It should have been me!” she said louder. Fred Bugg and Tara went over to her other side and comforted her along with Violet.
“Cissie.” Jaime said, walking towards her, “Cissie tell me what happened.” He added.
Cissie didn’t answer him, she just kept repeating that phrase over and over again. Jaime kneeled down in front of her, but doing so finally made him notice the blood on her hands.
“Is…….that……..that…..” Jaime couldn’t even finish his sentence.
“Traci’s.” Violet said sadly, her arms moving up and down Cissie’s shoulder trying to comfort her.
At that point the room was almost spinning in Jaime’s mind. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the situation. First he got the news that Traci was hurt and that she was actually in the operating room. Now he was actually seeing her blood on Cissie’s hands. This was all becoming too much.
“Cissie.” Jaime said.
Cissie finally opened her teary eyes and looked at Jaime with sorrow.
“Tell me what happened.” Jaime said.
Cissie only whimpered some more as she stared at him.
“Cissie please.” Jaime said softly, “Tell me what happened.” He added.
Everyone’s attention was now on Cissie, waiting for her answer. Cissie paid attention to none of it as she continued to stare at the worry on Jaime’s face, whimpering along the way. After a few more moments, she finally said something.
“It should have been me.” She whispered again, before finally telling everyone what happened.
*Flashback*
The team was on a mission in Taos, checking out an abandoned warehouse that they heard meta-human trafficking was going on at. Once they arrived at the warehouse it looked as if no one was there at all, but they still wanted to scope out the place just to make sure. They split up into three teams, Miss Martian and Nightwing, Arrowette and Thirteen, and Robin and Spoiler, while Orphan and Halo waited back on the Bioship in case they needed back-up and a speedy get away.
Each team checked different areas of the warehouse, and while they found no people there, they definitely found evidence of what appeared to be the creation of facility where Meta-Gene experimentation lab. The three teams communicated through the psychic link of what they found, which Orphan made into an elaborate report to give to the League.
While Miss Martian and Nightwing, and Robin and Spoiler checked out the inside of the warehouse, Arrowette and Thirteen were checking out the outside. They already checked one side of the warehouse, and now they were checking out the other.
“I don’t know why we’re checking outside the warehouse.” Arrowette said, “All the evidence is most likely inside.” She added.
“Shouldn’t you be talking through the psychic link?” Thirteen asked.
“There is literally no one here, so I think it’s safe to talk out loud.” Arrowette said.
“Whatever.” Thirteen said, rolling her eyes.
“Do I sense a little hostility?” Arrowette asked playfully, “Why do you have a stick up your ass?” She added.
“I do not have a stick up my ass!” Thirteen huffed.
“Sure, Jan.” Arrowette said.
“Oh, what do you know?” Thirteen huffed.
Arrowette laughed and they went back to scouting the area.
“Ugh, I’m not finding anything over here.” Thirteen said, “Switch with me.” She added, looking towards her friend.
“Huh?” Arrowette said.
“Switch places with me.” Thirteen said, “Maybe you’ll see something over here that I’m not.” She added.
“Why?” Arrowette asked, “We didn’t do this on the other side.” She added.
“Because I just thought of it now.” Thirteen said, “We can go back to the other side of the warehouse and do the same thing just to make sure we checked it out completely.” She added.
“Okay I guess.” Arrowette said, and the two girls proceeded to switch places and continued scouting out the area. After a while, Arrowette spoke up again.
“So what’s going on with you?” Arrowette asked, “Is the fight still bothering you?” She added.
“What?” Thirteen asked.
“The fight you and Blue had.” Arrowette said, “Is it still bothering you?” She added.
Thirteen only looked down.
“Have you guys talked yet?” Arrowette asked.
“No.” Thirteen said softy.
“Why not?” Arrowette asked.
“What is there to talk about?” Thirteen asked, “It’s pretty clear how he feels about our relationship.” She added bitterly.
“Girl stop.” Arrowette said, “Did he actually tell you that’s how he feels?” She added.
“Well, no…..but-!” Thirteen started, but was interrupted.
“Then don’t say that’s how he feels when you don’t really know.” Arrowette said.
Thirteen didn’t say anything. She just looked down at the ground again.
“So when are you going to talk to him?” Arrowette asked.
Thirteen was silent for a moment before finally speaking, “What if he doesn’t want to talk to me?” She asked softly.
“Oh, so that’s what this is really about.” Arrowette said, “You’re afraid he won’t want to speak to you.” She added.
Thirteen said nothing, she just continued to scope out the area. Unbeknownst to her, she ended up walked across a hidden sensor. The sensor was hooked up to a bomb that was hidden in the grass a few ways away. A red light on the bomb started to blink, which slowly, but surely, got faster. But due to it being hidden, it went unnoticed by Arrowette and Thirteen.
“Girl you have nothing to be afraid of.” Arrowette said, “Just talk to him.” She added.
“How can you be so sure?” Thirteen asked.
“Because he loves you.” Arrowette said, “And you love him. Just talk to him. Miss Martian is taking us to the Hub after the mission and he’s probably going to be there, so you can talk to him then.” She added.
Thirteen looked down again and thought for a moment before looking back up at Arrowette with a smile on her face.
“You’re right.” Thirteen said, “I’m going to talk to him once we get there.” She added.
“Good!” Arrowette said, “Now let’s finish scooping out this side of the-!” She started but never got to finish as the bomb that was a few ways away went off, sending both girls flying. Arrowette was blown back onto a grassy area on along the side of the warehouse, but Thirteen wasn’t so lucky. The spot that she was in was closer to the warehouse so she was blown right into the warehouse’s brick wall. Her back slammed into the wall, and the force of the impact caused her head to whip back and slam right into the wall. Her eyes went wide from shock, before her vision slowly but surely went black and she slide down the wall and feel to the ground unconscious.
Arrrowette laid sprawled out on the ground, in a complete daze. She wanted to move to get up, but her body was too stunned to make a move. The scene around her was one of absolute havoc, as the explosion left quite a mess. After a moment, she was finally able to move, but she still wasn’t able to sit up as her head was still spinning.
“ARROWETTE!” A voice called out. Arrowette turned her head in the direction she heard the voice from, and through her blurred vision, she saw Miss Martian, Nightwing, Robin, and Spoiler running towards her.
Once they reached her Spoiler helped her sit up.
“Are you alright?” Spoiler asked.
“Never better.” Arrowette grimaced.
“What happened?!” Nightwing asked.
“I….I don’t know!” Arrowette said, her vision finally becoming clear as her head stopped spinning, “We were just standing here and all of a sudden we got flown back by some explosion!” She added.
“Whoever was here must have known we’d be coming, so they planted a bomb to try and get rid of us.” Robin said, “One of you must have tipped the sensor.” He added.
“I don’t know how we missed that!” Arrowette said, before pausing, “Wait a minute. Where’s Thirteen?” She asked.
Once she asked that, they all started looking around for their teammate, as they didn’t see her when they rushed outside. After a few seconds, Arrowette finally noticed her lying down by the warehouse wall.
“Thirteen!” Arrowette exclaimed, getting up and rushed over to her, with everyone else not too far behind her.
Once Arrowette reached her, she finally noticed the dent in the warehouse wall that was behind where Thirteen was laying. Once she saw that, she knew that her friend was the cause of that dent.
“Oh no.” Arrowette whispered, and looked urgently down at Thirteen, the others standing behind her.
“Thirteen?” She called out.
Thirteen didn’t answer. She just laid on the ground, unresponsive. Arrowette then kneeled down next to her and began to shake her a little.
“Thirteen.” Arrowette called out again, “Come on, wake up.” She added.
Thirteen was still unresponsive, and this was when the others really started to worry along with Arrowette.
“Traci this isn’t funny.” Arrowette said, “Wake up. Please.” She added, her voice shaking a bit.
She then attempted to role Thirteen over onto her back and put one of her hands on the back of her head. However once she did that, she felt something wet on her hand. She pulled back her hand and saw that blood was all over it. Arrowette gasped at the sight of it and immediately turned her attention back to the dent in the wall, and then back to Thirteen. She then moved her head slightly to get a better view of the back of her head and saw a huge gash that was oozing blood. Arrowette gasped again, putting a hand to her mouth. The gash didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the team as they let out gasps of their own.
“Oh my god.” Spoiler whispered, putting a hand to her mouth as well.
“We…….we need to take her to the medical bay in the Watchtower!” Robin said urgently.
“The medical bay in the Watchtower doesn’t have the proper equipment she needs!” Nightwing said, “We need to take her to a hospital!” He added.
“Halo! Orphan! Bring the bioship over now!” Miss Martian said through the psychic link.
“What happened?!” Violet said through the link.
“Just hurry!” Miss Martian said through the link, and then turned her attention back to the situation at hand.
“Superboy rip off a part of your shirt!” She demanded.
Superboy immediately ripped off a part his shirt and gave it to Miss Martian, who immediately gave it to Arrowette.
“Arrowette apply pressure to the gash with this and keep it there!” Miss Martian demanded.
Arrowette didn’t answer back, she just firmly placed the piece of fabric against the gash on the back of her unconscious friend’s head.
“It’s okay Trac.” Arrowette whispered, her voice shaky, “It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay.” She added.
*End Flashback*
“If………if she hadn’t of switched places with me she never would have gotten hurt!” Cissie cried, “She never would have accidently walked through that hidden sensor! I would have! It was supposed to be me!” She added, tears streaming down her face.
Jaime just looked at her with a shocked look. He just couldn’t believe what happened, and to Traci of all people. He so wanted it to be a bad dream, but it wasn’t. It was reality.
“I’m so sorry Jaime!” Cissie cried, “I’m sorry!” she added.
Another hour went by, and still no word from the doctor. Everyone was ether sitting or standing in the waiting room, anxiously waiting to hear word from the doctor. Eventually the doors to the medical center burst open and through them ran Tye, Asami, Brenda, and Paco. They immediately ran to Virgil and Cassie.
“We came as fast as we could!” Brenda said.
“What’s the news?” Paco asked, “Is she okay?” He added.
“We haven’t heard anything yet.” Cassie said, releasing Asami from a hug.
“Seriously?” Tye asked.
“Yeah, unfortunately.” Virgil said.
Tye sighed with frustration. He then turned his head and saw Jaime sitting in chair along the wall. His body language alone told Tye that his best friend was not well. Jaime was sitting in the chair with his head down, twiddling his fingers. His face held an expression of a mixture of worry, fear, and deep thought.
Tye walked over to where Jaime was sitting and sat down next to him, “Jaime how are you doing?” He asked.
Jaime didn’t answer.
“Jaime come one talk to me.” Tye said, putting his arm around his friend.
Jaime still didn’t answer. Paco went over to them and sat on the other side of Jaime, while Asami and Brenda stood in front of them.
“Don’t worry Jaime.” Paco said, putting a hand on Jaime’s arm, “Everything is going to be okay.” He added.
“Paco’s right Jaime.” Brenda said, “Traci is strong. She will pull through this.” She added.
“Yes, have faith.” Asami said, nodding her head.
Jaime still didn’t say anything. He heard everything his friends said, but that still didn’t make him feel better. At this point only one thing would, and that was seeing for himself that Traci was going to be okay.
All of a sudden the doors kicked open, surprising the hell out of everyone in the waiting room.
“What the hell?!” Dick exclaimed.
A man suddenly barrel rolled into the waiting room. The man rolled into a defensive stance and only then did everyone realize that the man was in fact Grant Wilson.
“WHERE ARE THEY?!” Grant shouted, in full costume, holding up his Escrima Sticks, “WHERE ARE THE BASTARDS THAT HURT TRACI?!” He added.
“GRANT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Dick shouted.
“I’M READY DICK! I’M READY!” Grant shouted, “LET’S GO TAKE THOSE BASTARDS DOWN!” Grant shouted.
“GRANT THIS IS A MEDICAL FACILIY!” Dick shouted, “CALM YOURSELF!” He added.
Grant finally took a moment and looked around at his surroundings. He indeed was inside of a medical facility waiting room, with everyone in it looking at him like her was crazy.
“Oh! You right!” Grant said, putting away his Escrima Sticks, “My bad.” He added.
Dick only face palmed in response. Grant then walked over to him.
“How’s Traci?” Grant asked, concern in his voice, “Is she okay?” He added.
Before Dick could answer, the doctor entered the waiting room. In an instant, everyone’s attention was on him. M’Gann walked up to him.
“How is she doctor?” M’Gann asked.
“Ms. Thurston has some intense bruising on her back from the impact of the brick wall.” The doctor said, “As for her head, we were able to stich up the gash. However she lost a good amount of blood from it. And the force at which her head hit the wall caused bruising that has me concerned, as well.” He added.
M’Gann turned to look at everyone else with worry. That wasn’t something that they all wanted to hear.
“So what does that mean?” M’Gann asked, turning her attention back to the doctor.
“It means we’re not out of the woods yet and we still need to monitor her.” The doctor said, “You never know what could happen when it comes to head injuries.” He added.
This was all too much for Cissie and she ended up walking off without anyone noticing. Or so she thought. Artemis ended up watching her go and decided to follow after her.
It was too much for Jaime, too. At this point, he was just barely keeping himself together.
“Can…….can I see her?” Jaime asked softy, his voice cracking slightly.
“Not at this time.” The doctor said, “But when you can I’ll let you know.” He added.
Jaime just nodded his head in response, his head down once more.
In a different hallway of the Taos Star Labs Medical Center, Cissie was sitting along the way, holding her legs up against her chest, resting her chin on her knees. She stared at the floor, tear stains on her face. She was all in her head, which was full of absolute despair. She heard footsteps coming closer to her and in her peripheral vision, she saw someone sit down next to her. Judging by the boots that person was wearing, she knew that it as Artemis.
Artemis said nothing as she and Cissie just sat in the hallway of the Star Labs Medical Center in complete silence. Only the bustling noise of the medical staff was heard.
“I’m the one that should be laid up in that hospital bed.” Cissie said softly, “Not Traci.” She added.
Artemis patted the side of Cissie’s head in comfort, before promptly pushing it, sending Cissie toppling over on her side.
“Hey!” Cissie exclaimed, sprawled out on the floor, “Artemis what was that for?! Why’d you push me?!” She added.
“That atrocity of a comment you just made deserved a punishment.” Artemis said.
“What?!” Cissie exclaimed.
“You heard me.” Artemis said, smirking.
“I don’t understand why-!” Cissie started, but was interrupted.
“Cissie come on!” Artemis said, “Do you even hear yourself?” She added.
“What…….what do you mean?” Cissie asked, sitting back up.
“Do you really think everyone else wants to see you laid up in that hospital bed?” Artemis asked, “Do you think Traci would want that?” She added.
“Well……no…but-!” She started, but was interrupted.
“Then why would you say that you should be the one in the bed?” Artemis asked, “Why would you say something like that?” She added.
Cissie only stammered in response. She didn’t know what to say.
“None of this is your fault Cissie.” Artemis said.
Cissie looked down, “But if we hadn’t have switched places-!” She was interrupted.
“You couldn’t have known a bomb was close by.” Artemis said, “Neither of you two could have.” She added.
“But…..but….” Cissie whimpered, her eyes flooding with tears.
“What’s really going on Cissie?” Artemis asked softly.
Cissie sniffled a few times before busting into fresh tears.
“Why did it have to be her?!” Cissie exclaimed, putting her hands over her face, “Of all the people why her?!” She added.
She then turned to lean on Artemis, who put her arms around her in a hug. Cissie continued to cry in her arms as Artemis rubbed her shoulders, rocking her back-and-forth.
Another hour passed and around 10:00PM, the doctor finally let Jaime see Traci. Having finally gotten the okay, he went to go be by her side immediately. He opened the door to her room and his heart sank at the sight before him. Traci laid unconscious in the hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around her head, looking almost peaceful. If it weren’t for the situation at hand, Jaime would have thought that she was just casually sleeping.
Jaime walked over to where his girlfriend lay and sat down in the chair next to her, not once taking his eyes off of her. He grabbed her hand and gently rubbed it with his thumb. When the doctor came to get him, he did say that he was more optimistic about her head injury not being as bad as her originally thought, but still that didn’t make Jaime feel better.
So many thoughts went through his head. When he met Traci, their budding friendship and romance, how they ended up dating, etc. Basically their whole relationship and how wonderful it was. And then their fight came to mind.
Tears started welling up in his eyes and eventually they fell down his face. Looking back on it he can’t believe that he got so heated with her when she had a valid point. He really wasn’t putting in effort to see her that much anymore. He was just getting so tired from his work as an Outsider along with his school work that he was putting aside the work needed to make his relationship work, and that wasn’t cool. Conner and M’Gann are basically going through the same thing with being on different teams and they’re making their relationship work. Plus, even though Traci wasn’t an Outsider, she was still a superhero on the team putting in work, along with her school work, and she still tried making an effort with their relationship.
Jaime really was taking Traci for granted, and he hated the fact that it took her getting injured for him to realize it. The thought of it made Jaime cry even harder and he put his head down on the bed.
“I’m so sorry Traci.” Jaime whispered, his voice quivering, “I’m sorry.” He added.
“Jaime.” A male voice called out.
Raising his head and wiping his eyes quickly, Jaime turned his head and saw Traci’s mother and father standing at the door.
“Mr. and Mrs. Thurston.” Jaime said, standing up.
“Hello Jaime.” Traci’s mother, Meihui Lan, said, walking up to where they were. Once she reached them she bent down and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek.
“She looks so peaceful.” Meihui said, caressing her daughter’s head, “Almost like she’s sleeping.” She added.
“She does.” Traci’s father, Dr. Terrance Thirteen, said, standing behind her.
Jaime just watched the parents of his girlfriend talk to each other about their daughter. Eventually, Traci’s mother turned her attention back to Jaime.
“How are you doing Jaime?” She asked.
“I’ve been better.” Jaime answered, looking back at Traci.
Meihui nodded and turned her attention back to her daughter. After a moment of silence, she spoke up again.
“I’m going to find the doctor.” She said, “I want to talk to him.” She added, and then proceeded to walk out of the room.
Dr. Terrance Thirteen walked up to the place his wife was standing and caressed his daughters head.
“That’s her way of coping.” He said, looking down at his daughter, “Trying to keep herself busy so that she doesn’t break down herself.” He added.
Jaime nodded in understanding, not taking his eyes off of Traci.
“She’s going to be okay.” Dr. Terrace said, “My girl is strong. A fighter. She will pull through this.” He added.
Jaime nodded his head again.
“You two are going to be okay, too.” Dr. Terrance said.
Jaime turned his head to look at him with a shocked look.
“Did you really think my daughter wouldn’t talk to me or her mother about the fight you two had.” Dr. Terrance asked, looking at Jaime with a raised eyebrow.
Jaime looked down ashamed, “You must hate me.” He whispered.
“Jaime I could never hate you.” Dr. Terrance said, “How can I hate the man that makes my baby girl so happy?” He asked.
Jaime looked back up at Dr. Terrance, surprised at his answer, “But….but I thought that that you-!” He started, but was interrupted.
“Jaime, the fight you and my daughter had is the same fight me and her Meihui had a long time ago.” Dr. Terrance said, “All you two have to do is talk about it.” He added.
“My friends told me the same thing.” Jaime said.
“You have some smart friends.” Dr. Terrance chuckled, “Again you two will be fine. Just sit down and have a talk. You two will be able to make it work. I just know it.” He added.
Jaime looked down again, and then back at Traci. Dr. Terrace did the same thing.
“Plus, you’re the only man I’ll ever trust my daughter to be with.” Dr. Terrance said, “Either she dates you, or she stays single for the rest of her life.” He added.
And for the first time since receiving the news about Traci, Jaime laughed.
The night went on, and Jaime stayed by Traci’s side, never once leaving her. The hours went on and on, and before Jaime knew it, it was 3:00AM in the morning. He was so tired, and going to sleep sounded really good to him at the moment. But he wouldn’t sleep, not until he saw for with his own eyes that Traci okay and awake.
Jaime looked at the clock and sighed, turning his head and laying it on the bed, his hand still holding Traci’s. How long he stayed like that? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he could stay like that forever. He could even fall asleep like this. He almost did, too, if he hadn’t of felt the slight squeeze of his hand.
Jaime’s head shot up as he looked at the hand the clasped Traci’s. Did she just squeeze his hand? Or was he just imagining things? His mind almost went to the latter thought when his hand was squeezed again, this time a little tighter. And this time, he saw it. Jaime turned his head to look at Traci and saw her face scrunch up.
“Traci?” Jaime whispered.
Traci responded by letting out a groan and scrunching her face up some more. She gripped Jaime’s hand harder.
“Traci.” Jaime whispered again, moving closer to where her head lay.
Traci scrunched her face up once more before slowly opening her eyes. She closed them again immediately afterwards as the light blinded her. She slowly opened them up again and began to blink rapidly to focus her eyes.
“Traci.” Jaime whispered a little louder.
Traci slowly turned her head to the left where she heard her name being called, still blinking her eyes.
“Jaime?” Traci whispered.
“Yes, yes it’s me.” Jaime said, ecstatic that she was awake.
“Jaime is that you?” Traci whispered.
“Yes.” Jaime said softly.
Traci’s eyes finally focused and she got a clear view of her boyfriend staring down at her, relief all over his face.
“Jaime.” Traci whispered, her eyes widening a little.
“Hey.” Jaime laughed shakily.
“You’re……you’re here.” Traci said.
“Yeah I’m here baby.” Jaime whispered.
Traci continued to stare at him in shock before her face softened up and tears started to fill her eyes.
“You’re really here.” Traci whimpered, tears coming down her face.
Jaime released the hand gripping Traci’s and brought it up to her face, wiping the tears away.
“After everything I said during our fight, you’re here.” Traci said shakily, tears still going down her face.
“Of course I am.” Jaime said shakily, tears of his own falling down his face.
Traci let out a whimper, “Jaime I’m so sorry!” She cried, “What I said at the Watchtower……I didn’t mean it!” She added, shaking her head.
“No I’m sorry Traci!” Jaime cried, “I was a jerk to you that night at the Watchtower and I should have thought more about your feelings.” He added.
“No I’m the one who should have thought about your feelings.” Traci said, “Instead I was selfishly worrying about myself and my own time with you.” She added.
“No you were right to be upset.” Jaime said, “I’m basically taking you for granted and that’s not cool.” He added.
“It’s not cool for me to expect you to care more about me then about all of the innocent people you save either.” Traci said.
Jaime and Traci just look at each other for a moment before Jaime lets out a laugh.
“I guess we both have things we have to work on, huh?” Jaime asked, chuckling.
“I guess we do.” Traci said, chuckling herself.
Jaime and Traci continue to look at each other, with love all in their eyes.
“I’m going to start making time for our relationship again.” Jaime said, “No matter how busy I get or how tired I get, I’m going to make time for you. For us.” He added.
“And I’m going to be more understanding of our situation.” Traci said, “We’re teenagers, but we’re superheroes, too.” She added.
Jaime then let out a shaky breath, “I was so scared.” He whispered, closing his eyes, “I was so scared I was going to lose you.” He added, his voice cracking a bit.
He then felt a hand on his cheek. He opened his eyes and saw Traci staring at him with a soft smile on her face, fresh tears coming down her face.
“I love you Jaime.” She whispered.
“I love you, too Traci.” Jaime whispered back.
He then leaned in and gave her a kiss, which she gladly returned, deepening it. They kissed for a few more moments before breaking, Jaime’s head leaned against Traci’s. Their eyes were closed as they enjoyed being in each other’s presence. Eventually, Traci spoke up.
“Jaime?” Traci whispered.
“Yeah?” Jaime whispered back.
“My head really hurts.” Traci whispered.
Jaime lifted his head quickly away from Traci in alarm. However, he relaxed after seeing the cheeky grin on her face. Traci started giggling and soon enough Jaime joins her. They both laughed like they didn’t have a care in the world, even in the current situation they were in. And to them, that was the most magical thing.
“I can’t believe you guys all stayed here for me.” Traci said, a completely touched look on her face as she stared at all of her friends who piled into her room. Jaime was still sitting by her side, his hand gently, but firmly, holding hers.
“Of course we stayed Traci!” Asami said, smiling.
“Yeah, why would we leave?” Brenda asked.
“Well it’s late.” Traci said, “I’m sure you guys are all tired.” She added.
“Traci we love you.” Brenda said, “We would never leave you until we knew you were okay.” She added.
“And that’s something we all agree on.” Zatanna said, “Right guys?” She added.
Everyone in the room voiced their agreement.
Traci looked absolutely touched, “Awww you guys.” She said, her eyes tearing up.
“We love you, Traci.” Cassie said, walking over to Traci, “Don’t ever forget that.” She added.
Traci closed her eyes and nodded, a big smile on her face. She then felt a punch on her shoulder.
“Ow!” Traci exclaimed, rubbing her shoulder.
“Cassie!” Virgil exclaimed, rushing over to his girlfriend and tried pulling her away, but she wouldn’t budge.
Traci looked up at Cassie and saw her friend glaring down at her, her eyes tearing up.
“Cassie?” Traci said, both confused and concerned.
“Don’t you EVER scare me like that again!” Cassie said, her voice cracking.
Virgil pulled her close to him, rubbing her back trying to comfort her. Cassie leaned her head on his shoulder, sniffling and trying to calm herself down.
“Oh, Cass.” Traci whispered in understanding at Cassie’s reaction. She moved her arm towards Cassie, her hand reaching for Cassie’s. Cassie gladly took Traci’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze. After a moment, thy let go of each other’s hands and Cassie finally let her boyfriend lead her away from the bed.
Traci took another look around the room and saw someone that she wasn’t expecting to see.
“Grant is that you?!” Traci asked.
“You damn right it’s me!” Grant said.
“Oh my gosh what are you doing here?” Traci asked, “I haven’t seen you in months.” She added.
“As soon as I heard what happened I had to come.” Grant said, “You’re like a little sister to me had I just had to make sure that my little sister was okay.” He added.
“Oh my gosh all of y’all are going to make cry!” Traci said, fanning her face.
This got a laugh out of everyone.
“Thank you so much Grant.” Traci said, “It really means a lot.” She added.
“It’s no problem.” Grant said, smiling.
“I hope it didn’t cost you a lot of money to get here.” Traci said.
“Traci please.” Grant said, “Money was no issue.” He added.
“Speaking of money, do you have the fifty dollars you owe me Grant?” Dick asked.
“Huh?” Grant said.
“Do you have the fifty dollars you owe me?” Dick asked again.
“Huh?” Grant repeated.
“Grant where’s my money?!” Dick asked.
“Oh will you look at the time!” Grant exclaimed, looking at his watch, “I got to run! I’m glad you’re okay, Traci!” He added, before running out of the room.
“GET BACK HERE GRANT!” Dick shouted, running after him.
Everyone laughed hysterically at the scene that just took place.
Traci was laughing when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked and saw Cissie standing by her.
“You sure you’re going to be okay?” Cissie asked.
“Yeah.” Traci said, nodding her head and smiling.
“That’s good.” Cissie said, and then looked down, “Trac….I….I’m so-!” She was then interrupted by Traci putting up her pointer finger.
“I’m going to stop you right there.” Traci said, “Do not blame yourself for this Cissie. This was not your fault. And don’t even think that this should have happened to you. Nobody would have wanted you in this situation either.” She added.
Cissie chuckled softly and shook her head, “Artemis is right about everything.” She said softly.
“You damn right I am!” Artemis said.
Cissie and Traci chuckled at this and grabbed each other’s hands, both giving a tight squeeze.
It was 6:00AM when everyone decided to leave the medical center and head home to get some sleep. The only person that was left was Jaime, who was currently laying on the other hospital bed sleeping. Traci was dozing slightly when she heard the door to her room open. She opened her eyes and saw her father walk in.
“Daddy.” Traci said softly, smiling.
“Hello sweetie.” Dr. Terrance said, walking over to his daughter and giving her a hug.
“Where’s mommy?” Traci asked after they broker their hug.
“Oh, she went back to the cafeteria to get some more food.” Dr. Terrance said.
“She must really like hospital food.” Traci chuckled.
“Not really.” Dr. Terrance said, shrugging, “But she actually likes the food here so she’s making an exception.” He added.
Both Traci and her father laughed at his statement. Once they both calmed down, Dr. Terrance looked behind him to see Jaime sleeping in the other hospital bed.
“Not surprised that he’s still here.” Dr. Terrance said, taking a seat in the chair next to his daughter’s bed.
“He told me he wasn’t leaving me.” Traci said, smiling softly, “I had to convince him to finally get some rest, though. He hasn’t slept since the night before.” He added.
“That’s Jaime for you.” Dr. Terrance said, “Loyal to the end.” He added.
“Yeah.” Traci said softly, a dreamy look on her face.
“Are you two doing okay?” Dr. Terrance asked, “Did you two talk?” He added.
“Yeah we’re okay.” Traci said, smiling, “We talked, too, and we’re going to talk some more once I’m out if here.” She added.
“That’s good.” Dr. Terrance said, “I knew you two were going to be okay.” He added.
“Really?” Traci asked, “How?” She added.
“Because watching the love between you two grow reminds me of your mother and I when we were your age.” Dr. Terrace said.
Traci smiled, her eyes tearing up. She then rose her arms, giving her father a signal that he wanted another hug, a signal the he gladly answered to.
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