p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"Chapter two is uploaded and ready! Please enjoy!/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"Author's Note: I do not own any TF G1 properties, my character is my own creation. Please enjoy and leave a review afterward, I would love and appreciate the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Too Much Love Will Kill You/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Chapter Two: Bottle of Scotch and Cigarettes Please/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Run, that's all I could do was run. I couldn't let the darkness get me, /emI must run style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" I pumped my legs as hard as I could, my feet painfully smacking the cement floor. I must reach the light. I looked down to see the black tendrils of the darkness playfully caressing my legs, daring to trip me and consume me. My eyes looked back up to the light, the tunnel stretching out infinitely. /emI must reach style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" The sweet sounds of my mother's voice beckoned me, pleaded for me to reach her. It was just as sweet as I remember it./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The darkness laughed manically, wrapping an inky black tendril around my leg, giving it a harsh yank prompting me to fall to the floor. I gapped in horror, soon an ocean of black washed over me and extinguished the light, my hope. His dark menacing voice whispered in my ears and angry tears flooded down my cheeks. I could see pairs of ruby eyes surrounding me, all laughing hauntingly. I covered my eyes with my arm and tucked my legs up to my chest, praying they would leave me alone. Abruptly, unexpectedly, a sound pierced through darkness. It grew louder and louder. /emStop the noiseem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;". My head pounded as it screamed in my ears, I groaned softly and lowered my arm only to be encompassed by bright light-/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"The taste of copper swirled around on my tongue, my chest ached something fierce, and my head felt like it was put through a trash compactor. Gritting my teeth, I opened my eyes only to immediately regret it. Florescent lights stung my retinas and my head throbbed painfully. "Jesus," I hissed, snapping my eyes shut. "Could they any brighter?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"The shuffling of feet indicated I wasn't alone. Carefully I cracked an eye open toward the noise. At a quick glance I noticed I was laying on a bed and a man in a white lab coat stood to the foot of it. His hair was a light brown, verging on being dirty blond, his skin was dusted a light tan, and a pair of black frames sat in front of his vibrant cobalt eyes. A stethoscope hung around his neck, and he held a white plastic chart in both hands. The man wore a red shirt underneath his white coat that was tucked into black pants. The doctor- I assumed- smiled kindly at me and walk over to my bed side. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Am I in a hospital? /em/p
p class="MsoNormal""Good morning ma'am. How are you feeling?" His voice was soft and light, not exactly what I was expecting. "Can you sit up for me?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"I eyed him cautiously. He didn't appear deceptive; his voice was kind and he looked genuinely concerned. Something in my gut told me to trust him, so carefully I followed his instructions. Pain spiraled up my back and laced itself around my chest. A groan escaped my chapped lips and I slumped. "Easy does it." He soothed. I felt his hand press firmly against my upper back, guiding me into an upright position. "You've been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours." I heard a monitor beep to my right and the nauseating sent of a sterile environment waft up to my nose. It confirmed my suspicions, I was defiantly in a hospital. I took a quick glance around the room, it was tiny, white, and bare of any decorations and furniture. A heavy brown wooden door was tucked into the back-right corner of the room, the room's only source of color. "It wasn't a dream then…"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt was more of a statement then a question, but the doctor answered anyway./p
p class="MsoNormal""Unfortunately, no." He sighed and removed his hand from my back. His eyes flickered over to his chart and he read the contents aloud. "You've sustained external and internal bruising all along your chest, abdomen, and back, as well as some minor scrapes and cuts on your hands and knees."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He knelt in front of me, a sincere smile flashing a set of pearly white teeth. "You're very lucky ma'am. Very few people come out of a skirmish with your type of injuries."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"A tiny smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "I guess lady lucky was on my side." I met his eyes and gave the rest of his face a quick inspection. He was rather young looking to be doctor, maybe in his early twenty or so. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"And incredibly cute. /emMy eyes wandered down to his coat for a name tag, but only the words First Aid were stitched in red over his left breast pocket. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Odd. /emI must have been staring for awhile as a cough broke my concentration. The young doctor looked rather nervous, pink lightly dusting over his cheeks. I felt my own cheeks feel rather warm too. "Sorry," Slightly embarrassed, I instinctively reached behind my head and scratched at the knots tangling my hair. "I didn't mean to stare. I just didn't happen to catch your name Doctor...?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Now it was his turn to look embarrassed. His blue eyes stared at me nervously and he fumbled for an answer. "Uh…" He mumbled. "F-Fredrick- Doctor Fredrick."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay. Nice to meet you Doctor Fredrick." I drawled, eyeing him suspiciously. "Do you mind telling me what hospital I happened to land in?" Again, he fumbled for an answer. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Is it his first day or something? /em"Am I in Lexon Hill Hospital?" span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal""N-No ma'am." Fredrick stammered. He thumbed the chart nervously and looked away from me./p
p class="MsoNormal"I quirked an eyebrow. "Gracie Square Hospital?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""No ma'am."/p
p class="MsoNormal""New York Presbyterian?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""N-No ma'am."/p
p class="MsoNormal"My brows knotted together, and I glanced around the room warily. "Then where the hell am I?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Um, well, you're in a healthcare facility." He said style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Healthcare facility? Who the hell says healthcare facility? /emI scooted away from him as best I could, feeling pain squeeze around my chest again. "Where the hell am I Fredrick? I may be hurt," I said weakly. "But I can still kick your sorry ass if you don't spill it-"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The door swung open and in stepped another doctor. He was a gruff elderly looking man with salt and pepper hair combed back, and a sprinkle of white facial hair decorating his angular jaw. He also wore a white lab coat, but underneath he had a white shirt tucked into brown slacks. He was looking over another plastic white chart, oblivious to myself and the other doctor completely. "Alright Aid." He grumbled. "How is our patient doing?" He lightly kicked the door behind him and it clicked shut, his blue eyes never leaving the chart./p
p class="MsoNormal""Um, sir. She's awake." Fredrick said nervously./p
p class="MsoNormal"The older man's eyes glanced away from the chart to meet mine. His were a darker blue, but just as vibrant as the other doctor's. "Ah. Well good morning Ms. Cooper."/p
p class="MsoNormal"A scowl pulled my features down and I pointed an accusatory finger in his direction, growling. "Where the hell am I you old geezer?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"He griped something about young people and walked over toward me, rolling his eyes. "I am Doctor Ratchet. You are currently in my clinic being treated for your injuries." He snapped. The older man leaned down in front of my face, pulling a small flashlight out of his right breast pocket and pointed one finger up in face. "Please follow my finger. Tell me your name, age, and the year."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Fuck no! Tell me where I am first." I wrenched my head away, my glare hot enough to metal steel. He sighed again and pulled over a stool from behind the heart monitor, sitting himself at the bedside. "That information," he said, matching my glares' intensity. "Is classified."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I scoffed. "Classified? How is it classified?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, since you dutifully em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"ignored/em the emergency evacuation alarms and decided to have a little adventure into hostile territory em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"instead/em of hiding or contacting the emergency evacuation hotline for assistance which, by the way, landed you into a little run-in with hostile Cybertronian lifeforms and garnered what could have been deadly if not fatal injuries." I flinched at the unexpected snarky rebuke, but kept my eyes locked with his, still too hot to look away. A tired hand rubbed the weariness away in his eyes, a long exhale deflating his chest. "You had to be airlifted to a classified military base to receive treatment. There was no one in the city, no medical personal or fire department to help you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"This time I did look away, his words hitting me. I should be grateful for the care I've been provided, but something about this whole situation seemed off. I gazed back up to meet his eyes again, my angry expression softening a little bit. "You're very lucky to be alive." Fredrick added. "You could have been killed."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I nodded my head solemnly. "I realize that. Thank you, both of you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet huffed, scowling. "Now will you let me examine you?" Again, I nodded, scooting closer and adjusting my position to face him. He clicked on his mini flashlight and raised a finger in front of my face again. "Follow my finger and tell me your full name, age, and the year."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Allison Esterson Cooper, I'm thirty-two, and the year is 2004." I recited, following his finger obediently. He clicked off his flashlight leaving black spots in my vision and felt under my chin and the back of my head. "Good, there's no swelling." He murmured and lowered his hands to my rib-cage. "Tell me if you feel any pressure." His fingers barely even touched me, and I squeaked as pain squeezed my chest. He hummed and maneuvered his hands to my back. "Same thing. Tell me if you feel any pressure." Again, his fingers barely touched me, and I groaned softly through gritted teeth. He hummed in thought and reached for his chart scribbling something down. He set it down next to me and asked me to lift my shirt, I eyed him warily. He rolled his eyes and gave me a pensive look. "I'm not going to try anything, I just need to see extent of the bruising."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"Still eyeing him, I lifted my shirt. I heard him 'tisk' as he examined my ribs and peered around my back. "What?" I said. "Is something wrong?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""You can put down your shirt." He reached over and plucked the chart off the bed and again scribbled something down. He rested the chart on his knee and met my steely blue eyes with his. "It would appear you will be staying will us for a couple days Ms. Cooper."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I puff out nosily and rolled my eyes to the ceiling. "Great." I muttered. "So, what's the course of treatment?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet stood up grabbing his chart and pushing the stool back behind the heart monitor. "Plenty of bed rest until those bruises lighten up and we'll probably keep you here another day longer for further observation as a precaution." I nodded somberly and situated myself to lay back down on the bed, pulling the sheets back over me. "If your pain increases push the button on the wall behind you and either I or Fri- em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Fred/em will come to increase your medication." He opened the door and glanced back toward me. "I'll see you tomorrow Ms. Cooper. Fredrick will take care of you for the rest of the morning and evening."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Thank you, Dr. Hatchet." He barely got one foot through the door and went rigid. Two blue eyes glared at me from his shoulder, I swear I could have see smoke coming out of his ears. "Its Ratchet femm- woman!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"I rolled my eyes, smirking. "Well you certainly have her bedside manner." I jibbed. "Maybe you should work it, oh and try smiling. It helps." I felt my smirk split into a shit-eating grin./p
p class="MsoNormal"He flared his nostrils and grumbled under his breath before shutting the door behind him. I could hear faintly through the door em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"'fraggin' femme and her smart mouth' /emand something clatter. Fredrick looked at me wide eyed, his mouth fighting the snicker that wanted to burst forth. Instead he coughed and composed himself, a gentle smile taking its place once more. "Would you like anything Ms. Cooper? Water? Food?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"I wheezed a laugh and looked up to the ceiling. "Bottle of scotch and cigarettes please."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;""Water and soup, it is then." And with that Fredrick left the room and myself alone with my thoughts. I fingered the sheets and wiggled my toes trying to recall yesterday's events. I remembered being tossed around like a dog's chew toy and being used as a bargaining chip, but after that it gets a little hazy. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"How did I end up here? How did I escape from those killing machines?/em I mentally tried to shrug it off and counted the square tiles on the ceiling. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"It'll come back to me. I just have to give it some time. /em/p
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p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal""Fraggin' femme and her smart mouth." Ratchet grouched. The medic tossed the plastic chart onto a nearby table and disabled his holoform, the digital projection sizzling away into a cloud of sparks. His optics powered online, the familiar surroundings of his private office and a stack of untouched datapads greeted him from his time away. The old medic wasted no time and stood up from his chair, grabbing a datapad sitting at the edge of his desk, and marching out of his office into his awaiting med-bay. He skimmed through its content distractedly, too absorbed in his thoughts about his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"patient /emto notice his leader examining the various organized tools on a nearby counter./p
p class="MsoNormal"The Prime turned away from his inspection, optics following the preoccupied medic march over to an empty berth. The older mech's white and red armor gleamed under the bright florescent medbay lights and from where the Prime stood, he could hear the medic quietly swearing under his breath. Optimus waited patiently, his blue servos clasped behind his back remaining respectfully quiet for the medic. A few earth minuets pasted by, and Ratchet still made no move to acknowledge the Autobot leader's presence. The Prime made a noise in the back of his vocalizer, but the medic made no move still too absorbed in his datapad. Sighing, Optimus walked over to his old friend and set a servo on Ratchet's red shoulder plating. That seemed to snap him out of his musings. The medic jerked up and spun on his heel to face the Prime, optics widening./p
p class="MsoNormal""Primus, Optimus. Don't creep up on me like that." Ratchet glowered, subspacing the datapad for further review later. White armor-plated arms crossed over the medic's chest, his back-struts whirling and hissing as he leaned back against the berth. "I'm guessing you're here not for pleasantries?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""How is she doing Ratchet?" The Prime rumbled./p
p class="MsoNormal"The older mech sighed, cycling air through his vents and shifted his gaze away from his leader toward the small door at the back of his medbay. "It's miracle she has mild injuries and isn't in a comatose state. Pit, it's a miracle she's alive." A small smile tugged at the edge of his mouth plates. "By Primus she's quite the little firecracker."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Optimus smiled behind his face-mask, raising an optic-ridge at his friend. "Too much to handle for the infamous Ratchet?" In the blink of an optic the smile vanished, and a wrench appeared waving threateningly at the Prime's helm. "Don't push it with me mech."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The Autobot leader remained unfazed, having been come accustomed to the old medic's threats for a millennium now. Instead the Prime looked past the wrench and scanned the human sized doorway at the far end of the medbay, concern flashing across his optics. "Does she know where she is? Or remember any of the events of yesterday?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet also glanced back to the tiny door, pressing his mouth into a thin line. "I didn't disclose our location to her yet." Optimus raised an optic-ridge, giving his friend a curious glance. "I'm afraid she might go into hysterics and injury herself even further if I did. From the way she's acting, it would appear she has total memory recall."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Optimus nodded in silent acknowledgment, but the news still left him concerned. "And when, old friend, do you plan on disclosing our location to her?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet pinched the bridge of his nose-plating with two red digits, fighting back the processor ache that was bound to come. "Truthfully, I don't know. Probably when her bruises lightened up and she can move around without feeling the amount of pain she's in now." His optics flickered over to the Prime, his digits lowering to rub chin thoughtfully. "She believes First Aid and myself are doctors in her country's military, when should we reveal ourselves to her?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Optimus once again clasped his servos behind his back, optics lost in thought. "It would be beneficial, as you said, to wait for her recovery to reveal any and all information."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet made a noise in agreement and stood up from his leaning position, his ancient back-struts whining in protest. Wordlessly the old medic traversed across his medbay to the same spotless tools his Prime was examining earlier, picking up a particularly sharp scalpel-looking tool. He twirled between his digits with ease, watching the way the metal glinted off its surface. "The Decepticons never forget a face," He said absently. "They'll be searching for her." The metal danced gracefully between his two digits, as he flipped it around. A few quiet moments passed between the two. Satisfied with the tool's condition, he placed it back with the others before examining another. "Will we keep her on base until they lose interest? Or will we release her with the possibility she'll be stalked and likely captured?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Optimus joined his friend, sighing softly under his mask. "As the human's say, 'We will cross that bridge when we come to it'." Silently, the Prime turned and existed toward the medbay doors. Filling the empty silence was the whirling of his hydraulics and the doors hissing open. He stopped before existing, staring out into the hallway before him. "I pray to Primus for her swift recovery. And for the medbay to stay quiet a few breems more, if only for your sake old friend."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"Ratchet huffed, a small rare smile tugging at his lip plates. "I hope so Prime." Silence was the only response as the door softly hissed closed. Ratchet pulled a cloth from subspace, polishing a different tool thoughtfully. "I certainly hope so." He said quietly./p
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p class="MsoNormal"A few hours have passed since I've last seen Fred. The pea soup he brought me earlier, as per all hospital grade food, was gross to put it nicely. It was chunky and a little too salty for my taste. The bright side being the delectable slices of buttered bread that came with it. Those butter slathered morsels made the soup bearable and the cup of water almost washed away the salty taste. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Almost./em After I was done with my soup, Fredrick was kind enough to carry it away and come back rolling in a tv set on a cart. "I figured since you'd be staying with us for a bit, you could at least have something to keep you occupied." He positioned my bed into an upright position and deposited the remote on my lap before giving a cheery goodbye, leaving me to my own devices./p
p class="MsoNormal"I exhaled nosily, rolling my eyes. Watching another episode of Dr. Phil was probably the most agonizing thing to watch without heavy binge drinking. But since I'm sober, his guests were the only thing keeping my eyes glued to the screen. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Seriously how many people can be this dumb?/em I snorted and rested my cheek on my fist. Three women were having a screaming match with an asshole of a man sitting across from them. It beginning to get saucy, but it dramatically cut to commercial break before anything em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"exciting/em could happen. My guess, probably the three women ganging up and kicking the jackass in his balls. I snorted again at the scene playing in my head./p
p class="MsoNormal"An ad winked on screen, a young twenty-something demonstrating a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"new /emskincare product to reduce wrinkles and reverse aging. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. It feels like ever since I turned thirty the world was hellbent on convincing I was aging rapidly and going to turn into a wrinkly flappy monster by forty. I made a face and changed the channel, hoping for something good to be on. Catching my attention, a woman in a hot pink blouse appeared on screen. Her perfectly applied makeup contrasted with her grim and serious appearance, her ruby colored lips frowning as she addressed the camera./p
p class="MsoNormal""-he sudden attack on New York is still fresh in the minds of American's everywhere. A lucky news crew from New York captured the destructive battle and barely escaped with their lives. The footage about to be shown is violent and maybe disturbing to young viewers, viewer discretion is advised."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The screen faded out and footage shown front a helicopter's view appeared on screen. The camera pointed down to the skirmish in Central Park, zooming in on the robots being thrown, shot at, and blown out of the sky, both sides struggling to gain supremacy. The camera was thrown up violently, the sound of a jet roaring over them. Violently the crew were tossed around the cabin, desperately holding to any purchase they could grasp. Grunting could be heard as the cameraman struggled to regain control on his equipment. One of the men aboard the helicopter shouted over the roar of the helicopter. "Holy [bleep]! Jesus, that's too close for comfort!"/em The jet continued to plummet down into the skirmish, its hauntingly familiar black and purple color scheme bringing up bad memories. I felt my skin breakout in goosebumps and a shiver crawl up my spine. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I was in that thing. Jesus I was in that monster. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The camera steadied itself and zoomed in on the jet soaring over the battle below. The jet released a barrage of missiles down to the earth, scorching it. It rolled lazily out of the way of the returning fire then blasted away to a line of awaiting Deceptions. Abruptly the footage ended, fading back to the female news anchor. /em"The footage ends there, the camera crew's helicopter having to make an emergency landing. The close encounter with the notorious Decepticon Skywarp caused critical damage to the rotor bla-"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The television shut off with a hiss, my wide-eyed frightened reflection mirrored on the dark glass. Unpleasant memories rushed back to me like a tidal wave slamming onto a beach. My hands trembled around the remote and my stomach churned, the pea soup suddenly not agreeing with my stomach. I could hear my heart drumming in my ears, and I felt tears damming up behind my eyes. I blinked them back and took deep breaths, placing a hand over my racing heart./p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I'm safe here. That thing can't hurt. Stop acting like a child! /emI mentally scolded. The door opened, Fredrick's concerned face popping in. Seeing my ragged state, he stepped in and closed the door behind him. "Ms. Cooper? Your heart rate is elevated, are you feeling alright?" He asked calmly./p
p class="MsoNormal"I weakly waved him away, trying my best to smile. "I'm perfectly fine. I got a little spooked is all." He stared at me apprehensively, not buying my excuse. Fredrick shuffled closer, examining me critically. My smile turned sheepish and I shrunk into my bed, trying to think of an excuse. "Hey, um, you know what I could really use right now?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Fredrick blinked rapidly, my abrupt question taking him back a little. His cobalt eyes met my steely blues, silently acknowledging me. "I could really use a shower. Do you mind showing me where they are?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The younger physician eyed me skeptically slowly nodding. "Would you like help to get you there?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""No thanks. I think I'll be fine." I said sweetly. Carefully I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and slid down, the tile below chilling my bare feet. I barely took two steps before almost crumbling to the floor, gasping at the pain in my chest that squeezed painfully. Fredrick was by my side in a flash, catching me before I could fall. He supported me, his hands gripping my shoulders firmly and stabilizing me on wobbly legs. "Ms. Cooper, I think it would be wise if you let me help you." span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal""Ugh…" I groaned. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I hate being this weak./em "Fine."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I hobbled along side him, clutching his shoulder as pain continued to squeeze around my chest. We stopped in a narrow hallway, its features also devoid of color and decorations like my room. "Lead the way Doc." I hissed, my hand feebly holding on my side./p
p class="MsoNormal"Slowly, for what felt hours, we traversed down the hallway and into an open lobby. A familiar voiced groused from behind the counter, his dark blue hues peering from behind a chart. "Finally going to freshen up?" He called out. "Good, you're beginning to stink up my medical bay."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I shot Ratchet a glare. My hand let go of my side and I flipped him off. "Fuck. You." I quipped back. "You better be happy I'm not feeling too well or else I'd kick your ass!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"A smirk graced his punch-able face, something akin to mirth dancing in his eyes. "I'm sure you would Ms. Cooper. Now off you get, I'm busy." He shooed us away, checking back over the chart. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"Fredrick more or less carried me down a different hallway, and into an open doorway. Rows of yellow shower curtains lined the left side of the wall, bathroom stalls lining the right. This was defiantly not what I was expecting. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Who built this shower room? Well whoever they were shouldn't be given an architectural degree./em We shuffled in and reached a large shower stall closest to the doorway. Fredrick pulled the yellow curtain back; a bench was connected to the wall and a handicap bar was attached to the wall next to it. I sighed and looked up to Fredrick's pretty, young face, wanting nothing more to rip off my clothes and soak in the hot water. "You know, I could still use that bottle of scotch and pack of cigarettes right about now."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He rolled his eyes and gently deposited me on the bench. "I'm assuming you don't need me to undress you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"I smirked, arching an eyebrow. "Not unless you buy me dinner first."/p
p class="MsoNormal"His cheeks and ears turned pink and he looked away bashfully, coughing as he did so. I giggled and patted his knee, smiling at him kindly. "I'm only teasing cutie. Now, will you give me some privacy please?" Without saying a word, he spun on his heel and left the stall politely closing the curtain behind him. I turned and looked at the shower head, still smiling. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Finally, time for a much-needed shower. /emI sighed blissfully and begin the obnoxious process of peeling my clothes off./p
p class="MsoNormal"strongThank you for reading! Please leave a review and comment what needs to be improved and what you liked! Chapter three is in development now so please have patience. Until next time! /strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"Author's Note: I do not own any TF G1 properties, my character is my own creation. Please enjoy and leave a review afterward, I would love and appreciate the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Too Much Love Will Kill You/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"Chapter Two: Bottle of Scotch and Cigarettes Please/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Run, that's all I could do was run. I couldn't let the darkness get me, /emI must run style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" I pumped my legs as hard as I could, my feet painfully smacking the cement floor. I must reach the light. I looked down to see the black tendrils of the darkness playfully caressing my legs, daring to trip me and consume me. My eyes looked back up to the light, the tunnel stretching out infinitely. /emI must reach style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" The sweet sounds of my mother's voice beckoned me, pleaded for me to reach her. It was just as sweet as I remember it./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The darkness laughed manically, wrapping an inky black tendril around my leg, giving it a harsh yank prompting me to fall to the floor. I gapped in horror, soon an ocean of black washed over me and extinguished the light, my hope. His dark menacing voice whispered in my ears and angry tears flooded down my cheeks. I could see pairs of ruby eyes surrounding me, all laughing hauntingly. I covered my eyes with my arm and tucked my legs up to my chest, praying they would leave me alone. Abruptly, unexpectedly, a sound pierced through darkness. It grew louder and louder. /emStop the noiseem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;". My head pounded as it screamed in my ears, I groaned softly and lowered my arm only to be encompassed by bright light-/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"The taste of copper swirled around on my tongue, my chest ached something fierce, and my head felt like it was put through a trash compactor. Gritting my teeth, I opened my eyes only to immediately regret it. Florescent lights stung my retinas and my head throbbed painfully. "Jesus," I hissed, snapping my eyes shut. "Could they any brighter?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"The shuffling of feet indicated I wasn't alone. Carefully I cracked an eye open toward the noise. At a quick glance I noticed I was laying on a bed and a man in a white lab coat stood to the foot of it. His hair was a light brown, verging on being dirty blond, his skin was dusted a light tan, and a pair of black frames sat in front of his vibrant cobalt eyes. A stethoscope hung around his neck, and he held a white plastic chart in both hands. The man wore a red shirt underneath his white coat that was tucked into black pants. The doctor- I assumed- smiled kindly at me and walk over to my bed side. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Am I in a hospital? /em/p
p class="MsoNormal""Good morning ma'am. How are you feeling?" His voice was soft and light, not exactly what I was expecting. "Can you sit up for me?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"I eyed him cautiously. He didn't appear deceptive; his voice was kind and he looked genuinely concerned. Something in my gut told me to trust him, so carefully I followed his instructions. Pain spiraled up my back and laced itself around my chest. A groan escaped my chapped lips and I slumped. "Easy does it." He soothed. I felt his hand press firmly against my upper back, guiding me into an upright position. "You've been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours." I heard a monitor beep to my right and the nauseating sent of a sterile environment waft up to my nose. It confirmed my suspicions, I was defiantly in a hospital. I took a quick glance around the room, it was tiny, white, and bare of any decorations and furniture. A heavy brown wooden door was tucked into the back-right corner of the room, the room's only source of color. "It wasn't a dream then…"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt was more of a statement then a question, but the doctor answered anyway./p
p class="MsoNormal""Unfortunately, no." He sighed and removed his hand from my back. His eyes flickered over to his chart and he read the contents aloud. "You've sustained external and internal bruising all along your chest, abdomen, and back, as well as some minor scrapes and cuts on your hands and knees."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He knelt in front of me, a sincere smile flashing a set of pearly white teeth. "You're very lucky ma'am. Very few people come out of a skirmish with your type of injuries."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"A tiny smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "I guess lady lucky was on my side." I met his eyes and gave the rest of his face a quick inspection. He was rather young looking to be doctor, maybe in his early twenty or so. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"And incredibly cute. /emMy eyes wandered down to his coat for a name tag, but only the words First Aid were stitched in red over his left breast pocket. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Odd. /emI must have been staring for awhile as a cough broke my concentration. The young doctor looked rather nervous, pink lightly dusting over his cheeks. I felt my own cheeks feel rather warm too. "Sorry," Slightly embarrassed, I instinctively reached behind my head and scratched at the knots tangling my hair. "I didn't mean to stare. I just didn't happen to catch your name Doctor...?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Now it was his turn to look embarrassed. His blue eyes stared at me nervously and he fumbled for an answer. "Uh…" He mumbled. "F-Fredrick- Doctor Fredrick."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay. Nice to meet you Doctor Fredrick." I drawled, eyeing him suspiciously. "Do you mind telling me what hospital I happened to land in?" Again, he fumbled for an answer. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Is it his first day or something? /em"Am I in Lexon Hill Hospital?" span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal""N-No ma'am." Fredrick stammered. He thumbed the chart nervously and looked away from me./p
p class="MsoNormal"I quirked an eyebrow. "Gracie Square Hospital?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""No ma'am."/p
p class="MsoNormal""New York Presbyterian?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""N-No ma'am."/p
p class="MsoNormal"My brows knotted together, and I glanced around the room warily. "Then where the hell am I?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Um, well, you're in a healthcare facility." He said style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Healthcare facility? Who the hell says healthcare facility? /emI scooted away from him as best I could, feeling pain squeeze around my chest again. "Where the hell am I Fredrick? I may be hurt," I said weakly. "But I can still kick your sorry ass if you don't spill it-"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The door swung open and in stepped another doctor. He was a gruff elderly looking man with salt and pepper hair combed back, and a sprinkle of white facial hair decorating his angular jaw. He also wore a white lab coat, but underneath he had a white shirt tucked into brown slacks. He was looking over another plastic white chart, oblivious to myself and the other doctor completely. "Alright Aid." He grumbled. "How is our patient doing?" He lightly kicked the door behind him and it clicked shut, his blue eyes never leaving the chart./p
p class="MsoNormal""Um, sir. She's awake." Fredrick said nervously./p
p class="MsoNormal"The older man's eyes glanced away from the chart to meet mine. His were a darker blue, but just as vibrant as the other doctor's. "Ah. Well good morning Ms. Cooper."/p
p class="MsoNormal"A scowl pulled my features down and I pointed an accusatory finger in his direction, growling. "Where the hell am I you old geezer?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"He griped something about young people and walked over toward me, rolling his eyes. "I am Doctor Ratchet. You are currently in my clinic being treated for your injuries." He snapped. The older man leaned down in front of my face, pulling a small flashlight out of his right breast pocket and pointed one finger up in face. "Please follow my finger. Tell me your name, age, and the year."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Fuck no! Tell me where I am first." I wrenched my head away, my glare hot enough to metal steel. He sighed again and pulled over a stool from behind the heart monitor, sitting himself at the bedside. "That information," he said, matching my glares' intensity. "Is classified."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I scoffed. "Classified? How is it classified?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, since you dutifully em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"ignored/em the emergency evacuation alarms and decided to have a little adventure into hostile territory em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"instead/em of hiding or contacting the emergency evacuation hotline for assistance which, by the way, landed you into a little run-in with hostile Cybertronian lifeforms and garnered what could have been deadly if not fatal injuries." I flinched at the unexpected snarky rebuke, but kept my eyes locked with his, still too hot to look away. A tired hand rubbed the weariness away in his eyes, a long exhale deflating his chest. "You had to be airlifted to a classified military base to receive treatment. There was no one in the city, no medical personal or fire department to help you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"This time I did look away, his words hitting me. I should be grateful for the care I've been provided, but something about this whole situation seemed off. I gazed back up to meet his eyes again, my angry expression softening a little bit. "You're very lucky to be alive." Fredrick added. "You could have been killed."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I nodded my head solemnly. "I realize that. Thank you, both of you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet huffed, scowling. "Now will you let me examine you?" Again, I nodded, scooting closer and adjusting my position to face him. He clicked on his mini flashlight and raised a finger in front of my face again. "Follow my finger and tell me your full name, age, and the year."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Allison Esterson Cooper, I'm thirty-two, and the year is 2004." I recited, following his finger obediently. He clicked off his flashlight leaving black spots in my vision and felt under my chin and the back of my head. "Good, there's no swelling." He murmured and lowered his hands to my rib-cage. "Tell me if you feel any pressure." His fingers barely even touched me, and I squeaked as pain squeezed my chest. He hummed and maneuvered his hands to my back. "Same thing. Tell me if you feel any pressure." Again, his fingers barely touched me, and I groaned softly through gritted teeth. He hummed in thought and reached for his chart scribbling something down. He set it down next to me and asked me to lift my shirt, I eyed him warily. He rolled his eyes and gave me a pensive look. "I'm not going to try anything, I just need to see extent of the bruising."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"Still eyeing him, I lifted my shirt. I heard him 'tisk' as he examined my ribs and peered around my back. "What?" I said. "Is something wrong?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""You can put down your shirt." He reached over and plucked the chart off the bed and again scribbled something down. He rested the chart on his knee and met my steely blue eyes with his. "It would appear you will be staying will us for a couple days Ms. Cooper."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I puff out nosily and rolled my eyes to the ceiling. "Great." I muttered. "So, what's the course of treatment?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet stood up grabbing his chart and pushing the stool back behind the heart monitor. "Plenty of bed rest until those bruises lighten up and we'll probably keep you here another day longer for further observation as a precaution." I nodded somberly and situated myself to lay back down on the bed, pulling the sheets back over me. "If your pain increases push the button on the wall behind you and either I or Fri- em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Fred/em will come to increase your medication." He opened the door and glanced back toward me. "I'll see you tomorrow Ms. Cooper. Fredrick will take care of you for the rest of the morning and evening."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Thank you, Dr. Hatchet." He barely got one foot through the door and went rigid. Two blue eyes glared at me from his shoulder, I swear I could have see smoke coming out of his ears. "Its Ratchet femm- woman!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"I rolled my eyes, smirking. "Well you certainly have her bedside manner." I jibbed. "Maybe you should work it, oh and try smiling. It helps." I felt my smirk split into a shit-eating grin./p
p class="MsoNormal"He flared his nostrils and grumbled under his breath before shutting the door behind him. I could hear faintly through the door em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"'fraggin' femme and her smart mouth' /emand something clatter. Fredrick looked at me wide eyed, his mouth fighting the snicker that wanted to burst forth. Instead he coughed and composed himself, a gentle smile taking its place once more. "Would you like anything Ms. Cooper? Water? Food?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"I wheezed a laugh and looked up to the ceiling. "Bottle of scotch and cigarettes please."/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;""Water and soup, it is then." And with that Fredrick left the room and myself alone with my thoughts. I fingered the sheets and wiggled my toes trying to recall yesterday's events. I remembered being tossed around like a dog's chew toy and being used as a bargaining chip, but after that it gets a little hazy. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"How did I end up here? How did I escape from those killing machines?/em I mentally tried to shrug it off and counted the square tiles on the ceiling. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"It'll come back to me. I just have to give it some time. /em/p
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p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal""Fraggin' femme and her smart mouth." Ratchet grouched. The medic tossed the plastic chart onto a nearby table and disabled his holoform, the digital projection sizzling away into a cloud of sparks. His optics powered online, the familiar surroundings of his private office and a stack of untouched datapads greeted him from his time away. The old medic wasted no time and stood up from his chair, grabbing a datapad sitting at the edge of his desk, and marching out of his office into his awaiting med-bay. He skimmed through its content distractedly, too absorbed in his thoughts about his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"patient /emto notice his leader examining the various organized tools on a nearby counter./p
p class="MsoNormal"The Prime turned away from his inspection, optics following the preoccupied medic march over to an empty berth. The older mech's white and red armor gleamed under the bright florescent medbay lights and from where the Prime stood, he could hear the medic quietly swearing under his breath. Optimus waited patiently, his blue servos clasped behind his back remaining respectfully quiet for the medic. A few earth minuets pasted by, and Ratchet still made no move to acknowledge the Autobot leader's presence. The Prime made a noise in the back of his vocalizer, but the medic made no move still too absorbed in his datapad. Sighing, Optimus walked over to his old friend and set a servo on Ratchet's red shoulder plating. That seemed to snap him out of his musings. The medic jerked up and spun on his heel to face the Prime, optics widening./p
p class="MsoNormal""Primus, Optimus. Don't creep up on me like that." Ratchet glowered, subspacing the datapad for further review later. White armor-plated arms crossed over the medic's chest, his back-struts whirling and hissing as he leaned back against the berth. "I'm guessing you're here not for pleasantries?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""How is she doing Ratchet?" The Prime rumbled./p
p class="MsoNormal"The older mech sighed, cycling air through his vents and shifted his gaze away from his leader toward the small door at the back of his medbay. "It's miracle she has mild injuries and isn't in a comatose state. Pit, it's a miracle she's alive." A small smile tugged at the edge of his mouth plates. "By Primus she's quite the little firecracker."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Optimus smiled behind his face-mask, raising an optic-ridge at his friend. "Too much to handle for the infamous Ratchet?" In the blink of an optic the smile vanished, and a wrench appeared waving threateningly at the Prime's helm. "Don't push it with me mech."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The Autobot leader remained unfazed, having been come accustomed to the old medic's threats for a millennium now. Instead the Prime looked past the wrench and scanned the human sized doorway at the far end of the medbay, concern flashing across his optics. "Does she know where she is? Or remember any of the events of yesterday?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet also glanced back to the tiny door, pressing his mouth into a thin line. "I didn't disclose our location to her yet." Optimus raised an optic-ridge, giving his friend a curious glance. "I'm afraid she might go into hysterics and injury herself even further if I did. From the way she's acting, it would appear she has total memory recall."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Optimus nodded in silent acknowledgment, but the news still left him concerned. "And when, old friend, do you plan on disclosing our location to her?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet pinched the bridge of his nose-plating with two red digits, fighting back the processor ache that was bound to come. "Truthfully, I don't know. Probably when her bruises lightened up and she can move around without feeling the amount of pain she's in now." His optics flickered over to the Prime, his digits lowering to rub chin thoughtfully. "She believes First Aid and myself are doctors in her country's military, when should we reveal ourselves to her?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Optimus once again clasped his servos behind his back, optics lost in thought. "It would be beneficial, as you said, to wait for her recovery to reveal any and all information."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ratchet made a noise in agreement and stood up from his leaning position, his ancient back-struts whining in protest. Wordlessly the old medic traversed across his medbay to the same spotless tools his Prime was examining earlier, picking up a particularly sharp scalpel-looking tool. He twirled between his digits with ease, watching the way the metal glinted off its surface. "The Decepticons never forget a face," He said absently. "They'll be searching for her." The metal danced gracefully between his two digits, as he flipped it around. A few quiet moments passed between the two. Satisfied with the tool's condition, he placed it back with the others before examining another. "Will we keep her on base until they lose interest? Or will we release her with the possibility she'll be stalked and likely captured?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Optimus joined his friend, sighing softly under his mask. "As the human's say, 'We will cross that bridge when we come to it'." Silently, the Prime turned and existed toward the medbay doors. Filling the empty silence was the whirling of his hydraulics and the doors hissing open. He stopped before existing, staring out into the hallway before him. "I pray to Primus for her swift recovery. And for the medbay to stay quiet a few breems more, if only for your sake old friend."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"Ratchet huffed, a small rare smile tugging at his lip plates. "I hope so Prime." Silence was the only response as the door softly hissed closed. Ratchet pulled a cloth from subspace, polishing a different tool thoughtfully. "I certainly hope so." He said quietly./p
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p class="MsoNormal"A few hours have passed since I've last seen Fred. The pea soup he brought me earlier, as per all hospital grade food, was gross to put it nicely. It was chunky and a little too salty for my taste. The bright side being the delectable slices of buttered bread that came with it. Those butter slathered morsels made the soup bearable and the cup of water almost washed away the salty taste. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Almost./em After I was done with my soup, Fredrick was kind enough to carry it away and come back rolling in a tv set on a cart. "I figured since you'd be staying with us for a bit, you could at least have something to keep you occupied." He positioned my bed into an upright position and deposited the remote on my lap before giving a cheery goodbye, leaving me to my own devices./p
p class="MsoNormal"I exhaled nosily, rolling my eyes. Watching another episode of Dr. Phil was probably the most agonizing thing to watch without heavy binge drinking. But since I'm sober, his guests were the only thing keeping my eyes glued to the screen. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Seriously how many people can be this dumb?/em I snorted and rested my cheek on my fist. Three women were having a screaming match with an asshole of a man sitting across from them. It beginning to get saucy, but it dramatically cut to commercial break before anything em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"exciting/em could happen. My guess, probably the three women ganging up and kicking the jackass in his balls. I snorted again at the scene playing in my head./p
p class="MsoNormal"An ad winked on screen, a young twenty-something demonstrating a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"new /emskincare product to reduce wrinkles and reverse aging. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. It feels like ever since I turned thirty the world was hellbent on convincing I was aging rapidly and going to turn into a wrinkly flappy monster by forty. I made a face and changed the channel, hoping for something good to be on. Catching my attention, a woman in a hot pink blouse appeared on screen. Her perfectly applied makeup contrasted with her grim and serious appearance, her ruby colored lips frowning as she addressed the camera./p
p class="MsoNormal""-he sudden attack on New York is still fresh in the minds of American's everywhere. A lucky news crew from New York captured the destructive battle and barely escaped with their lives. The footage about to be shown is violent and maybe disturbing to young viewers, viewer discretion is advised."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The screen faded out and footage shown front a helicopter's view appeared on screen. The camera pointed down to the skirmish in Central Park, zooming in on the robots being thrown, shot at, and blown out of the sky, both sides struggling to gain supremacy. The camera was thrown up violently, the sound of a jet roaring over them. Violently the crew were tossed around the cabin, desperately holding to any purchase they could grasp. Grunting could be heard as the cameraman struggled to regain control on his equipment. One of the men aboard the helicopter shouted over the roar of the helicopter. "Holy [bleep]! Jesus, that's too close for comfort!"/em The jet continued to plummet down into the skirmish, its hauntingly familiar black and purple color scheme bringing up bad memories. I felt my skin breakout in goosebumps and a shiver crawl up my spine. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I was in that thing. Jesus I was in that monster. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The camera steadied itself and zoomed in on the jet soaring over the battle below. The jet released a barrage of missiles down to the earth, scorching it. It rolled lazily out of the way of the returning fire then blasted away to a line of awaiting Deceptions. Abruptly the footage ended, fading back to the female news anchor. /em"The footage ends there, the camera crew's helicopter having to make an emergency landing. The close encounter with the notorious Decepticon Skywarp caused critical damage to the rotor bla-"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The television shut off with a hiss, my wide-eyed frightened reflection mirrored on the dark glass. Unpleasant memories rushed back to me like a tidal wave slamming onto a beach. My hands trembled around the remote and my stomach churned, the pea soup suddenly not agreeing with my stomach. I could hear my heart drumming in my ears, and I felt tears damming up behind my eyes. I blinked them back and took deep breaths, placing a hand over my racing heart./p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I'm safe here. That thing can't hurt. Stop acting like a child! /emI mentally scolded. The door opened, Fredrick's concerned face popping in. Seeing my ragged state, he stepped in and closed the door behind him. "Ms. Cooper? Your heart rate is elevated, are you feeling alright?" He asked calmly./p
p class="MsoNormal"I weakly waved him away, trying my best to smile. "I'm perfectly fine. I got a little spooked is all." He stared at me apprehensively, not buying my excuse. Fredrick shuffled closer, examining me critically. My smile turned sheepish and I shrunk into my bed, trying to think of an excuse. "Hey, um, you know what I could really use right now?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Fredrick blinked rapidly, my abrupt question taking him back a little. His cobalt eyes met my steely blues, silently acknowledging me. "I could really use a shower. Do you mind showing me where they are?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The younger physician eyed me skeptically slowly nodding. "Would you like help to get you there?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""No thanks. I think I'll be fine." I said sweetly. Carefully I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and slid down, the tile below chilling my bare feet. I barely took two steps before almost crumbling to the floor, gasping at the pain in my chest that squeezed painfully. Fredrick was by my side in a flash, catching me before I could fall. He supported me, his hands gripping my shoulders firmly and stabilizing me on wobbly legs. "Ms. Cooper, I think it would be wise if you let me help you." span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal""Ugh…" I groaned. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I hate being this weak./em "Fine."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I hobbled along side him, clutching his shoulder as pain continued to squeeze around my chest. We stopped in a narrow hallway, its features also devoid of color and decorations like my room. "Lead the way Doc." I hissed, my hand feebly holding on my side./p
p class="MsoNormal"Slowly, for what felt hours, we traversed down the hallway and into an open lobby. A familiar voiced groused from behind the counter, his dark blue hues peering from behind a chart. "Finally going to freshen up?" He called out. "Good, you're beginning to stink up my medical bay."/p
p class="MsoNormal"I shot Ratchet a glare. My hand let go of my side and I flipped him off. "Fuck. You." I quipped back. "You better be happy I'm not feeling too well or else I'd kick your ass!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"A smirk graced his punch-able face, something akin to mirth dancing in his eyes. "I'm sure you would Ms. Cooper. Now off you get, I'm busy." He shooed us away, checking back over the chart. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"Fredrick more or less carried me down a different hallway, and into an open doorway. Rows of yellow shower curtains lined the left side of the wall, bathroom stalls lining the right. This was defiantly not what I was expecting. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Who built this shower room? Well whoever they were shouldn't be given an architectural degree./em We shuffled in and reached a large shower stall closest to the doorway. Fredrick pulled the yellow curtain back; a bench was connected to the wall and a handicap bar was attached to the wall next to it. I sighed and looked up to Fredrick's pretty, young face, wanting nothing more to rip off my clothes and soak in the hot water. "You know, I could still use that bottle of scotch and pack of cigarettes right about now."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He rolled his eyes and gently deposited me on the bench. "I'm assuming you don't need me to undress you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"I smirked, arching an eyebrow. "Not unless you buy me dinner first."/p
p class="MsoNormal"His cheeks and ears turned pink and he looked away bashfully, coughing as he did so. I giggled and patted his knee, smiling at him kindly. "I'm only teasing cutie. Now, will you give me some privacy please?" Without saying a word, he spun on his heel and left the stall politely closing the curtain behind him. I turned and looked at the shower head, still smiling. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Finally, time for a much-needed shower. /emI sighed blissfully and begin the obnoxious process of peeling my clothes off./p
p class="MsoNormal"strongThank you for reading! Please leave a review and comment what needs to be improved and what you liked! Chapter three is in development now so please have patience. Until next time! /strong/p