Sanctuary TFP/RB

Chapter 2

Jack blinked open his eyes to a white hospital room and a vicious headache.
He groaned softly.

An older looking woman with mustard colored hair stood nearby. She looked up from her clipboard and smiled. "Hey, you're awake! That's good."

Jack shakily sat up. His entire body ached like it had never ached before."Where am I?"
"Steady." The woman hurried over and raised the back of his cot to give him support. Jack gratefully sat back. "You're in Griffin Rock. Chief Burns said you had a bit of an accident on the mainland."
The past few days came back in a flood. The Cons, the ambush, his capture....
The doctor looked him over. "How do you feel?"

Jack hesitated. How much should he say? He lightly rubbed his temple with a wince. The crusty handkerchief had been replaced with a real bandage. But it still throbbed with a burning passion. "I hit my head."
"Yes. You have a small cut, but it isn't deep." She give him another smile. "It wasn't as bad as it probably looked. Head wounds bleed a lot."
Jack drowsily nodded. "Thanks."

The doctor stepped back. "Chief Burns wants to talk to you, so I'll give you some time to wake up a bit. Then I'm going to check you over one more time and hopefully let you go." She gave him a last smile and left him alone.

Jack felt a pang of homesickness deep in his stomach. This doctor was nice, but he couldn't help but wish it had been his mom he'd woken up to instead. He glanced towards the large window and imagined Arcee was waiting for him outside. Or Raf. Or Miko, ready to give him one of her choking hugs. But he was in Griffin Rock, not Jasper. Arcee probably didn't even know where he was.

The door opened again, getting his attention. A police officer with all gray hair and a matching mustache entered. He greeted Jack with a reassuring smile. "Hey, it's Jack, right?"
Jack nodded. "How did you know?"
"Optimus told me."
Jack blinked hard. "You know about the Autobots?"

The officer nodded. "My family has been working with Cybertronians for a while now." He stepped further in and sat in the chair across from Jack's bed. "Optimus called us, and told us one of the human kids on his team needed rescuing, but he couldn't get to you."
Jack gave a small smile. "Right. He did say he was sending help."

"I'm Chief Charlie Burns. As soon as Dr. McSwain gives you the all clear, you can come with me. We've got room for you at the firehouse until Optimus and his team can get you back."
Jack glanced back at the window. The GroundBridge had been down for days. Who knew how long it would take to get it running again?

"Don't worry, Jack." said Chief Burns as if he had read Jack's thoughts. "It can't be too long before you can go home. But in the meantime, I'm sure the Bots are eager to ask you a few questions."
"Bots?" Jack snapped back to attention. Chief Burns chuckled. "Yep. Four of them live in the firehouse with my family."
"You live with them? In the same building?" Jack tried to imagine Arcee living in his house. She barely fit in the garage in bot mode.
"You'll see." Chief Burns didn't bother to hide his amusement.

Jack rested his aching head back against his pillow. "Was I out for long?"
"Only a couple of hours. You didn't look so good when Dani and Blades brought you here."
"Tell me about it." Jack moaned.

A quick knock came from the door, and the woman from earlier, Dr. McSwain Jack guessed, came back in. "Okay, Jack. Now that you're awake, I'm going to give you a quick checkup to make sure everything's going smoothly."

Jack bit his tongue on any complaints as she shone a bright light into his eyes, and asked him a few questions. Stuff like, does your head hurt? Do you feel sick, lightheaded or dizzy? Do you remember what happened?

Finally, Dr. McSwain took a step back. "Okay, I don't see anything serious. Just that cut, and you show symptoms of a mild concussion. Those will heal up soon enough if you take it easy for the next little while. I recommend you also stay away from the TV for a few days, just to make sure you don't strain your mind too much."
Jack resisted the urge to rub his head. "Okay."