Silence (TFP)

chapter 7

Chapter 7

I yawned and turned over, curling up and cuddling up to the warm, soft blanket and fluffy pillow.

"Jessica? How are you feeling?" I heard Ratchet ask. My stomach grumbled in warning.

"Suddenly...not so well," I quickly sat up and threw a hand over my mouth. I saw a bucket a couple of feet away from me. I grabbed it with my other hand and threw up into it twice. My body tried to throw up again, but there was nothing else in me. I just kept gagging painfully. It stopped after a few seconds. I set it to the side and laid back down and groaned.

"That looked painful," Ratchet commented. "Why was your body doing that?"

"There's nothing left in my stomach to come back out. I haven't eaten for almost a day."

"We've got to get something in you immediately!" Ratchet exclaimed. "But-but I don't know what!"

"Ratchet! Calm down! You've been in the medical business for thousands of years. You should be calmer than I am."

"You're right, you're right," he sighed. "I don't know what to do with myself. It's just I'm your guardian and a doctor and I've neglected to learn about human medicine and health.

"You can always learn, Ratchet. This is nothing to beat yourself up about."

"Is she alright?" I heard Jack ask from the catwalk.

"She needs to eat something. It doesn't matter if she can keep it down or not," Ratchet told him. Jack walked away and came back seconds later. He held a pack of crackers and a can of Sprite over the railing. Ratchet got them and handed them to me. "What made you decide to get her this?" Ratchet asked with curiosity.

"It's one thing that humans eat when we get sick. All humans know it because we all get sick at some point."

Ratchet looked at me in wonder as I ate. "Humans are an interesting species. What I want to know is how you got this virus in the first place."

"Probably some germs in the bathroom at that gas station I went to. It wasn't the cleanest place in the world," I said as I began to eat.

"Did you wash your hands?" Jack asked.

"I was more worried about having to go back to Con central than my hygiene, you know," I frowned. "I can't believe I fixed up the evil doctor."

"You did what you had to in order to survive. You followed Optimus's orders by doing so. You did nothing wrong. Besides, you are the sick one. You shouldn't be so upset with yourself. If anything, be upset with those miserable Decepticons who don't even bother to learn the basics about humans before they bring one onto their warship. That was the about the most ridiculous thing I've ever witnessed." He huffed as he crossed his arms.

A few hours later, I felt fine. It must have been a 24 hour virus. Those things suck.

"How are you feeling?" Ratchet asked as he walked over.

"Much better. I don't think I'm sick anymore."

"That's good. Try not to be too active today in case you're still sick."

"Sounds good to me," I smiled. I stiffened suddenly. "Wait a minute...Where's my mom?"

"She is at your home. Optimus informed her of your return and illness and assured her that you are in good hands here. She granted you permission to stay here for the summer."

"The whole summer? She's never done that before!"

"Yes, well, it did take quite a bit of convincing," he chuckled.

I hugged his finger tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're very welcome. Although, your mother did tell Optimus that you have a dentist appointment tomorrow at 4:00."

"The dentist?" This should be interesting. I bet I had three cavities since I hadn't been in so long and I do love candy. "I haven't gone in over a year."

"She said it was a new one she was trying. She gave me the insurance card."

"I'm assuming you're taking me, then."

"That would be correct," he confirmed. "Although, I'm not quite sure what a dentist does to you. We didn't have or require any on Cybertron."

"All they do is clean your teeth, give you x-rays, check for cavities, and whiten your teeth if you want them to. I like going."

"That'd odd," he frowned. "The other children say that the dentist is a horrible place."

I glanced over at them and laughed. "I guess it's a matter of perspective."

It turned out that I only had one cavity. We went back a few days later and I got it filled. When we got back to base, I might have been a tiny bit whiney about it.

"Ratcheeeet, I can't feel anything!"

"It will wear off. Just give it time. It should be probably another hour at the most," he assured me as he set me on the couch on the balcony.

"Another hour?" I groaned. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"It's not my fault that- stop chewing on your cheek! Get it out from between your teeth!"

"It's not like I can feel that it's there to know that I'm chewing on it!" I argued. I did the best I could to get it out.

"Don't use that tone with me, young lady." Ratchet using his adult authority on me? I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You really wanna go down that road?" I asked slowly in a low voice.

"I do." He narrowed his optics back at me.

Well dang. It gave me the chills when he did this and he knew it. Cheater. I threw my hands up in the air in surrender. "Ugh! Fine, you win!"

He smirked. "Works like a charm."

"Yeah, if you wanna use it to cheat," I mumbled.

"I heard that."

"You're no fun today," I complained.

"I am a highly trained medical officer and your guardian. I do not believe that being 'fun' is anywhere in my job description."

I groaned loudly. "Not cool!"

He chuckled.

"What is all the commotion about?" Optimus asked as he came into the main room from down the hall.

"She's just grouchy because of the medicine the dentist gave her," Ratchet explained. "Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?! I can't feel anything!" I whined.

Optimus looked back and forth between us. "Perhaps you should recharge and allow the medicine to wear off," the Autobot leader suggested.

"Maybe it would put you in a better mood," Ratchet snickered. "Though, it is humorous to see you mad."

"I'd punch you in the face if it wouldn't injure me more than it would you," I said with a straight face. That sent him into a fit of laughter.