A Small Dose of Ratchet Fever - A Transformers Bayverse Fanfiction

Chapter 10

The news I got as soon as my family were allowed transport to the base broke my heart. It truthfully wasn't heartwarming to know that my cousin, whom also had cystic fibrosis, had died just a few weeks earlier. And now, my family would be forced to go through another death.

"Why didn't you guys tell me?" I mumbled, not daring to meet my father's eyes. He kept a secret like that from me. My best friend, my cousin. They didn't bother to tell me. I wasn't able to go to her funeral or viewing.

They took that away from me. It was as if nothing at all was in my control.

My dad sighed, shaking his head. Though I wasn't looking at him, I could still tell. "When she was on her deathbed-"

"You never had her call me," I said coldly. "You never wrote me a letter. You left me completely in the dark. And when were you going to tell me? In a few months? If I wasn't dying, would you not have told me?" My voice raised as the conversation grew on.

Ratchet was monitoring my health stats, to warn us of anything, but at the moment everything seemed to be stable.

"We wanted you to focus on your work, sweetheart," Mom told me gently. "News of her passing wouldn't help you in your work."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, and keeping it a secret from me for a long time is going to be more beneficial to somebody?"

A hand was placed on my shoulder. "We didn't want you to get upset..." my little brother murmured to me softly. "We know how important your work is to you... All we want is for you to strive in what you do best."

"She does strive," Ratchet finally spoke up. "Sara has been the best medical assistant I have ever had, even compared to my past Cybertronian assistants. It breaks my spark to know that soon, she will become one with the W- with God."

Gabriel, my brother, looked up at him. "Are you sure there's nothing more you can do, mister?"

Ratchet knelt down as far as he could go, comfortably, and spoke softly to my brother. "I did all that I can, young one. Everything that is possible that could be done, I have done it."

"Have you tried antibiotics?" Mom asked.

He almost rolled his optics. I could see the refrain. "Antibiotics are for bacterial infections. She has a viral infection, a virus running rampant through her lungs, even as we speak. One could not simply use antibiotics on a virus. It is not useful at all, and is a waste of good medicine."

"How would you know?" she scowled. "You're not even a human."

He gave her a look of challenge. "So we will go this route. Well, Mrs. Griffin. Sara is most definitely not a Cybertronian, and yet she knows more about the Cybertronian anatomy and structure, viruses and how to cure many diseases and how to diagnose them, more than any other Cybertronian on this Earth, excluding myself. I can assure you, I have done extensive research on multiple different websites on the World Wide Web, in all languages, with doctors of many different nationalities. Doctors that are not just American doctors. I have privately spoken to a number of doctors that lived in Japan, China, England, Italy, Brazil, and more. Do not question me when I tell you that I have done all that I can do for your daughter. When she leaves this Earth, it will not just be your loss. I assure you, it will be a lost of many. Myself included."

He spoke so strongly. He never told me that he'd gone that far in looking for something, anything, to give us both hope. It only showed me how much he actually did care. He cared more than I ever realized. Did I take it for granted all of this time?

How had I not known that he cared so much about his mere human medical assistant?

Mom took a step back, surprised. Surprised that she had just been spoken to by a different species, and that he had challenged her. "W-Well..."

"Yes?" He raised an optic ridge. "Spit it out, Mrs. Griffin."

She huffed quickly. "I do not need to explain myself to you. We are here only to see our daughter in our final days. If you would, we would like some time alone with her-"

"No..." I said slowly. "Either everybody stays and gets along... Or you go, and he stays."

Mom frowned. "But, sweetie-"

"But Mom," I countered quietly. "Don't make me argue... Not now."

A few long minutes passed, nobody said anything. Nobody moved, except for Ratchet when he had to check my vitals.

"They're getting worse... Quickly..." he said to me, extremely softly.

I took a deep breath. "Can you change my medicine? Give me a different serum, so I can last just a bit longer...?"

He shook his helm, biting his lower lip plating. "I'm so sorry, Sara..."

A thought popped into my head. It wasn't a very happy thought. But it was something that I needed to consider.

Just a few months ago, a woman with a terminating illness was allowed to give herself medication that would kill her. Almost like suicide, but she had chose to go with more dignity than she would have if she let the illness itself kill her.

That was how I wanted to go.

I gave Ratchet a pleading look. We had earlier spoken about it. He had even made up an injection that would do the job, just in case we decided to do it.

Ratchet sighed. "Are you positive?"

"I want the pain to end..." I whispered. "Please."

He walked slowly over to his cart, which held a tray, and on the tray sat the specific injection he had made up. It was the same concept of when an animal was put to sleep. But much more powerful.

My parents both looked like they were about to cry, but I forced a small smile at them. "Don't worry. I'll still be here. I'll be with you. I'll be in a better place."

"What better place would be t-than in o-our arms?" Mom spluttered out.

"I'll have no more pain, Mom..."

"Do you wish to do it, Sara?" Ratchet asked me tensely.

I shook my head. "I can't do it... Could you?"

His optics widened. "I-I can't-"

"Can't what? Kill? I'm sure you've done it before," I forced a small laugh. "Please... It's my last wish. Please... Do it for me...."

The tip of the needle pierced my skin. A soft numbing feeling ran through my body, I felt my eyes slide shut.

And there was no more pain.