One Day At a Time ✔️

Ch. 9 Embarrassed To Be Seen

Ratchet's P.O.V.
Jamie does well with the deflated cuff. I continue to make sure Jamie can swallow. Jamie likes it. I have been switching between water and apple juice, even in small amounts. This is also helping Jamie's stomach adjust to getting different fluids. The tricky part is deciding when to try to get Jamie back to eating food after I remove the trach. I don't know if she'll want to try while she still has the trach in. There's likely going to be throwing up for at least the first few days. 

Today, I have Drift give Jamie a small amount of what we give Jamie via the feeding tube by syringe before finishing with the feeding tube.
I know Crosshairs and Drift like the little progress Jamie is making, but I also know what Jamie will still deal with. 

I wait an hour before deflating the cuff again. One more full day, and we can move on to the next step. I try to convince Jamie that it is ok to go to Crosshairs and Drift's room. Not even Prime has luck convincing her. I am concerned she doesn't feel safe anywhere else, even if Crosshairs and Drift will be with her, more than embarrassed the others will see her. This isn't good, and I am unsure how to remedy this. 

Drift tries his best to get Jamie to go with him and Crosshairs, but again fails. They will not like hearing what I'm thinking, and this is a bad sign if she's not trusting her best friends. I think they might have figured it out, judging by their expressions. 

Jamie's bladder and kidneys function properly, and she can use the bathroom. Jamie is not using the bathroom as much as a human normally because of her lack of food and drink during the day. 
I'm changing how frequently Jamie gets a drink, but still using the syringe. More for better control, as I believe Jamie would drink too fast. 

Drift's P.O.V.
It's heartbreaking to see how much Jamie has been through and the long road ahead, but she's scared and doesn't feel safe. This is my fault.
Sitting on the bed, holding Jamie, I try to think of a way to show Jamie that she's safe. I don't think she knows Megatron was behind this, and I know she'd be angry and want to fight him. I don't want to force her to come up to our room, but what else can I do?

Mirage's P.O.V.
I have an idea that might help Jamie heal. I believe she's embarrassed the others will see her, though we all have before the medically induced coma ended. I can enter the room in the medbay and sit by Jamie. Drift is laying on the bed, holding her. I can see Jamie is scared and embarrassed that I'm seeing her. All I see is the trach and IV; I can also tell how skinny Jamie is. 
"You're safe; we all miss you and want you to recover."
I move my hand slowly towards hers, unsure if Jamie will get scared. Drift is watching but says nothing. I'm not an expert in human psychology, but I think Jamie is more embarrassed than scared. She stays calm as I hold her hand. I stay a few minutes before talking to Ratchet in his office.

"I'm not sure what to do to help Jamie. It'll be hard to know if your idea will work, and there's no period to know if it's working. Talk to Crosshairs and Drift. They'll be dealing with her," Ratchet explains.
I know Ratchet worries about ruining the progress made with trach weaning, but we need to help Jamie mentally.

Crosshairs, Drift, and I get lunch an hour later. A perfect opportunity to tell the two mechs my plan. I can tell Jamie doesn't want them to leave. Not sure if Jamie would say something if she could talk.

"I don't know," Drift frets, "I worry we will lose the progress made with the trach."
"We have to do something about this problem. The sooner, the better, and you know Mirage would have talked to Ratchet first," Crosshairs points out.
"I did, Ratchet is not sure what's the right way to deal with this problem, but he didn't say we couldn't try."

Crosshairs' P.O.V.
I know why Drift is worried; every Autobot and a few soldiers worry Jamie could have setbacks, but this problem will take a while to fix.
Jamie is hesitant about the plan but agrees. Ratchet already took the catheter out and put an adult diaper on. Oh boy, another thing we'll have to worry about.