ASSURE YOU

"Nobody can save me now, no,"

⬵⤁

This was perhaps the first time in a long time that Jack woke up with little incident, too tired to have nightmares plague his dream state. Sitting up he rubbed the front of his head, a headache pulsing across his forehead. That was the worst part about emotional stress - the ugly pain which came after it.

Slipping out of bed he grabbed a fresh change of clothes, switching into a more casual wear than the camouflage fatigues he had rolled into bed with. His sheets were probably filthy as well, filled with sand and dirt, but only his mother would truly care.

Jack had slept in much more uncomfortable conditions before.

Deciding his headache would be the perfect excuse to check on Sierra, the young man made his way towards the large medical bay. The sterile white environment brought an odd comfort to him, multiple nurses and doctors of various specialties milling around. Area 51 was not just a military base, though the majority of its citizens did contribute to the goings-on of the military, but it was also like a small city. The "Groom Box" of Area 51 covered approximately 600 square miles, and the military had utilized every inch - underground. The upper part of the base, the heavily militarized area, was barely a quarter of that, however it was large enough to house the Autobots.

The barracks and hospital were underground, which meant it was always fairly cool and made the perfect working environment for the medical staff. It was here his mother worked, one of the charge nurses that worked in the ER section of the hospital, which doubled as the front lobby.

The nurse at the check-in desk smiled at him, recognizing him. Jack was a frequent visitor, mostly just to check on his mother during his down time. Consequently, most of the staff could pick him out of a crowd easily.

"Looking for June?" She asked, eyes sparkling.

Jack nodded. "Yeah . . . well, I'm actually here for a headache, but if my mom's available, I'd like to see her too."

"Of course," the young woman dialed June's number, waiting patiently for her to pick up. "Jack's here," she announced once the nurse picked up. "He says he has a headache, but would also like to see you. Yes I can. Just have Dr. Hans put it in the system and pharmacy will send it over. M-hmm. Can do."

She hung up, smiling. "She's back at the nurse's station. Dr. Hans will prescribe a dose of Tylenol; it should be there before too awful long."

"Thanks," Jack made his way towards the back, the interaction only exacerbating the throbbing in his head.

Because of the limited amount of access to amenities, the Pharmacy had sole control of the drug distribution at Area 51. Doctors had fairly unlimited access through prescriptions, but regular citizens could go to the pharmacy to request certain medications. Jack could have easily just gone and asked for a single Tylenol, but he wanted to knock out a few birds with one stone: seeing his mother, seeing Sierra, and getting rid of the headache.

His mother's face immediately lit up as he entered the nursing station, walking over and pulling him into a tight hug.

"I haven't seen you since you were deployed, are you okay?" She took half a step back to look him up and down. "Miko said you had a long night."

Jack nodded. "Yeah . . . nightmares," he said, trying to still the shaking in his hands. "Starscream sent me out for a brief recon mission; since it tired me out, I can say it worked."

June frowned. "He shouldn't have done that. You know that driving while sleepy is much more dangerous than driving drunk; I can only imagine what doing a military activity while tired could mean -"

"Mom, nothing happened," he said, "besides, I was with Epps. He kept me awake. And I have a headache; I'm not really up for an argument right now."

The woman softened, looking him up and down one last time before sighing quietly.

"I'm just glad you're safe," she said. "And I just want you to be responsible."

Jack nodded, taking a breath. "Speaking of safe . . . I heard what happened in Colorado. How is Sierra?"

A knowing smile crossed his mother's face. "You know I can't say much . . . HIPAA still applies, even now." Her eyes sparkled ever so slightly. "But if you would like, I can ask if she is okay with you visiting. Then she can tell you for herself."

He felt the blush on his cheeks, unable to help the small huff as he tried to force the blush away, only making himself redder. "Yes mom . . . I would like that. Thanks."

"Dr. Hans will be around with the Tylenol shortly. While you're waiting, I'll talk to Sierra," June smiled, letting Jack sit in her seat while she disappeared to go speak with the former classmate.

Jack glanced at the stack of papers on the workspace. Paper charts were used to prevent Soundwave from acquiring any information, ever. It was unlikely that the Decepticon would be able to break through the various trapdoors, firewalls, and false links set up by Rafael to access Area 51's computer network, but one could not be too safe. Besides, that was assuming the Decepticons had any clue where they were hiding.

It was not long before Dr. Hans swung by with a bottle of water and a cup with a single Tylenol pill, few words exchanged as Jack took both. He was one of the six ER doctors that worked, but was actually the only true ER specialist. One of the others was a pediatrician, the rest a handful of specialties that, when put together, still had a plethora of generalized medical knowledge. Regardless, it left Dr. Hans stressed, as he had to pick up what slack there was and rarely had a day off.

June eventually returned, still smiling. "Sierra would be more than happy to see you," she said, looking close to chuckling. "Did you get the Tylenol?"

"Yeah," he stood, following his mother through the hospital. He cringed as he heard a few vomiters, others groaning in pain as they waited for their medications. It was not long before they reached the military wing, where those who suffered casualties on the battlefield were treated. It was a nice commodity for those who served, as they were separated from the civilians and had their own set of doctors and nurses to tend to them.

June quietly knocked on the wall before pulling back Sierra's curtain. The young woman was sitting up in bed, her right arm and leg wrapped up in bandages and an IV in her left, dripping fluids and a small dose of pain medication into her system. She had a few scratches and bruises, but otherwise appeared to be okay.

Looking up she smiled at Jack, speaking softly. "Hey."

"Hey, Sierra," he was grateful when his mother pulled the curtain closed and let them have a bit of privacy, sitting in a chair next to her bed. "I heard things went south in Colorado. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," she confessed, lifting her bandaged arm for him to see. "Did Starscream tell you what happened?"

Jack shook his head. "No. I was just told there was an attack."

Sierra took a shuddering breath. "Yeah. Soundwave."

It was no secret to anyone that Jack had been a prisoner of the Decepticons prior to the invasion. The three scars which stretched from beneath his right eye to his jaw was proof enough of that. Having never encountered Megatron herself, Sierra did not know the full extent of how terrifying the experience was. Yet the terror still lingered, because she could see Jack's expression darken at the mention of the communications officer.

It honestly scared her how the fairly handsome man easily switched from pleasant to almost downright demonic, anger glinting in his eyes.

As quickly as the expression crossed his face it disappeared, softening into a concerned, genuinely caring look.

"And you were hurt," he said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah. My jet ran out of fuel and, well, exploded," a bitter smile quirked up the corner of her lip. "I've got second and third degree burns on my arm and leg - didn't even notice them until we got back to here. Now I can only thank whoever invented pain medications. Can't feel a thing."

Jack laughed a little at that. "That's good," he said, smiling a little more now. "Are you otherwise unhurt?"

"Pretty much," she shrugged. "A few scratches, a few bruises. But I would have died if Starscream hadn't been there. My jet's parachute failed to deploy - we're still not sure if it was due to Soundwave messing with the systems, or if I was actually screwed regardless."

He was relieved to hear that, pausing as he was unsure to give his condolences about the other pilot. He had no idea if Sierra knew him, or if they were close.

"Yeah. Never thought I'd actually say this about him, but I'm glad he's around," Jack chuckled softly.

Sierra tilted her head. "I know he used to be a Decepticon, but . . . was he really that bad?"

He shrugged. "Starscream was reliably unreliable, to put it lightly. He tried backstabbing Meg-Megatron at every turn, turned on the Autobots a lot, and was just a nuisance. But . . . the whole reason he was that way is because he wanted to rule the Decepticon faction. And it wasn't until Megatron almost went through killing him that he's had a wake-up call. Now, he's a lot more tolerable than he used to be."

The woman chuckled softly, her eyes sparkling. "Agent Fowler still doesn't seem to think so."

Jack snorted. "Yeah, well, it took a long time for him to warm up to the Autobots . . ."

He paused again, remembering. Before all of this, three years ago, the war seemed so much more simpler. And with Arcee at his side, they were almost unstoppable. But with her gone . . .

It felt like there was a hole in his chest that would never be filled, a void that the small Autobot had a place in. The other Autobots did not click like she did, nor did they have the same headstrong bravery which had made him admire Arcee. Sure, he respected the other Autobots, including Starscream, but it was not the same.

"Jack?" Sierra jolted him from his daydreaming, her brows furrowed in concern. She reached out to touch him, but stopped. He appeared disturbed, even sad.

"I'm sorry," he said, standing and shaking his head. "I should leave you to heal. Do you want me to come visit another time?"

Her head tilted to the side, not quite sure what was wrong with him. Again, Sierra did not know the details of Jack's capture, but it left lingering effects. And she was worried that he was reliving a part of it now.

"I would like that," she said after a moment. "For you to come back. Thanks for seeing me, Jack."

"Thanks for letting me see you," he said. "Get well soon, Sierra."

Quietly slipping around the curtain again he paused, feeling his head continue to throb. The headache only seemed to worsen instead of getting better. So, he decided it would not hurt to go visit Miko.

She normally hung out with Wheeljack and Bulkhead, the former working on tinkering with the human's equipment while Bulkhead remained on standby for destruction. Fittingly, the large Autobot was perfect for battering, destroying anything that he was allowed to, which included some spare parts Wheeljack needed in pieces, or enemy soldiers.

Currently, Miko was resting on her guardian's shoulder, the pair conversing with Wheeljack as he tinkered with a new bomb type. The human girl was far from scared of the device; surely if the Wrecker had perfected grenades, other types of explosive devices were not an issue for him.

Jack walked into the workshop with a pair of earplugs in, drowning out most of the noise and only helping slightly with the headache. As soon as he entered he heard Miko's muffled should of excitement, and before long Bulkhead had lowered her down to tackle him.

"Jack!" She grinned. "Glad to see you up and at 'em. How's it going?"

How she did not lose her hearing without earplugs was beyond Jack, but he knew handing a pair to her was a fruitless attempt to make her wear them.

"Been better," he said. "Got a headache, but hopefully it goes away once the Tylenol has kicked in. Working on any fun projects?"

"I helped Wheeljack make blueprints for the Phase Shifter," she said. "And we even have some concept ideas for another Apex Armor! But for right now, we're seeing if we can make more bombs."

Typical.

"Sounds like fun," he said, smiling a bit. It made him happy to see Miko so excited - despite everything that had happened, she remained incredibly optimistic. Where he had nearly lost hope, she had been able to pick up some of the pieces and help him back on his feet. Now, Miko was always finding ways to look at the positives.

"For sure!" She grinned, walking with him past Bulkhead to an accessible catwalk.

While Miko did not mind when Bulkhead picked her up to transport her, the last time he tried it with Jack the young man had a Chernobyl-level meltdown. Jack remembered it all too clearly: the screaming, crying, and sobbing on the ground as he shivered. After that, the young man elected to just use the various stairs and catwalks to be level with his Cybertronian counterparts. A psychiatrist had diagnosed him with PTSD, however Jack rarely went to therapy. He preferred the battlefield.

That was one of the few places Jack finally felt normal. Retaliating against the Decepticons, and the thrill of the fight, made him forget, if only for a few hours. Still, it was better than sleeping, and better than being left in his own thoughts.

Jack leaned against the railing as he watched Wheeljack work, the Wrecker giving him a "hey kid" of acknowledgement before refocusing. They were well within the blast radius, but neither Miko nor he cared for much protective equipment. Wheeljack put it nicely:

"If the bomb ever does actually go off, well, not like we'll care now won't we?"

A morbid thought, but amusing all the same. And he was right.

"So, did you just get up at six in the afternoon, or have you been milling about?" Miko asked.

"I woke up with the headache," he admitted. "So I went to the hospital to visit my mom . . . and Sierra."

"Ooh, how is Sierra?" Miko asked, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly. "Probably doing much better after your visit -"

"Miko," he whined. "It's not like that. And she's doing . . . fine. You know, as fine as one can be after a Decepticon attack."

The girl just grinned at him, her hazel eyes glittering. She just loved to mess and tease at Jack and his crush. Ever the perceptive one, Miko was aware that Sierra seemed to like Jack back, but after the invasion they had become somewhat distant. She could not blame them, especially after Jack's capture. Everybody was busy, even Miko.

"I was just wondering," she shrugged, still giving him a toothy smile. "And I'm glad to hear she's alright."

Jack huffed softly, smiling just a little bit. Miko had his best interests at heart, and he was grateful for that. Silently they stood and watched Wheeljack work, Bulkhead helping his friend where he could, and occasionally getting tips from one or the other human onlookers.

Calm settled over Jack, the young man taking a deep breath. Despite his pain, the distraction of watching the meticulous work of the Wrecker helped him feel safe. It was the most calm that had settled in his bones in a long time.

He felt at home.