When We Seared The Sky

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

What Night Forsees

“Alexis?”

Ratchet called the teenager’s name for the third time, watching anxiously for any sort of response. This time he was rewarded – her bottle green eyes fluttered open and she looked around the room hazily, blinking rapidly in the sudden light of the medical wing. A dry groan rasped from between her lips and she put both hands to her forehead, looking pained. “Ratchet?”

He knelt down next to her bed. “I am here,” he told her quietly. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Headache,” she winced, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. “Bad one. But don’t worry, I’ll live.” She sat herself up a little straighter and leant back on her plump cushions, looking down at the starchy covers she was enveloped in. “What did Optimus say to Starscream?” she asked tiredly.

Ratchet looked disapproving. “He had a few words with him,” he reported, sitting back. “Nothing serious, but I know that he warned him to give us some prior notice next time he takes you anywhere. We would not have minded if he had informed us, if I am honest, but if we do not know where he is taking you…” He trailed off. “Anyhow, he wishes to speak to you.”

Alexis looked up. “Now?” she asked.

He nodded, but still looked worried. “I can send him away if you –”

“No, no,” she said hastily, sitting up straighter and running her hands through her tousled hair. “Send him in. Please.”

He scrutinized her for a few moments before quietly radioing Starscream and allowing him entry. The doors opened and the jet came through, his red eyes seeking Alexis out at once. “I will leave you two alone,” Ratchet stated, although he sounded a little grudging. “Call if you need me, Alexis, for whatever reason.”

“Sure,” she agreed softly as he left. “Thanks, Ratch’.”

Starscream did not speak, even after the doors closed behind the yellow medic; he remained immobile by the door, looking her up and down. Finally, he broke the uneasy silence. “Are you feeling alright?” he asked gruffly, moving his gaze from hers. She nodded silently, refusing to lower her own eyes, wanting to see him. “I… I am here to ask you something.”

He took several steps forward and sat down at her bedside, looking down at her with his eyes glowing a soft shade of crimson. “Go on,” she encouraged quietly, her heart thumping as she wondered what he could possibly want.

His eyes strayed to her neckline. “It is about that necklace you wear. I want to know where you got it.”

She frowned, moving her hand to the gem almost protectively. “Why does it matter?” she asked defensively, not remembering the conversation with Skyfire due to the haze that fogged her memory so early in the morning. The headache was not helping either. At his look she sighed and leant back, letting the jewel drop from her fist to rest against her skin again. “My great-grandmother passed it down to me after she died. It was given to her by an explorer named Archibald.”

Starscream blinked. “Archibald Witwicky,” he murmured. “That makes sense.”

“Huh?” She looked bemused. “Witwicky – as in, Sam Witwicky?”

“No,” he snapped, immediately feeling ashamed of himself for speaking to her so harshly and lowering his voice. “Well, in a sense. Sam’s ancestor, Archibald Witwicky, discovered my leader – I mean, the Decepticon leader – when he was exploring the Arctic Circle. He must have found the gem there with him,” he mused. “Although why Megatron was carrying a stone of such value…”