The next morning I woke up as the sun burst through between the curtain. June was still asleep across my bare chest. The sun was shining on her eyes and she started to stir. Her eyes opened and squinted because of the light. I shifted slightly so her eyes weren't in the direct sun light. She was startled by that. Then she notice she was lying across my chest. She looked at me with deep confusion.
"Morning" I said. She sat up and noticed my shirt was undone. She looked down at herself and suddenly tried to cover herself up.
"What happened last night?" She was putting two and two together, but coming up with five. Her eyes open to their widest. "Oh god. Please don't tell me we-"
"No. You only snogged me all over like I was an addictive drug. Nothing else. You had way too many last night" I chuckled.
"I remember kissing you at first then the rest is blank" She said.
She got off me and put her blouse back on. I buttoned my shirt and stood up.
"Breakfast?" I offered.
"Please" I went into the kitchen and made us some eggs and coffee. I heard Jack get up. Most likely due to the smell, so I made him some as well.
We all sat at the table and ate in silence. Jack could guess why I was wearing the same thing as last night but couldn't understand why his mum was too. But I could tell he wasn't trying to read too much into it.
Soon Jack was off with Arcee to school. I still remained for a short while. June clearly needing to talk to me without him around.
We were in the kitchen and drinking some coffee. She clearly needed it as she looked like she had a few too many last night and she was working this afternoon. "I just want to say, I'm sorry about what happened last night" She said.
"Hey it's alright. You had a few too much. We all do regrettable things when we're drunk. I should know. You wouldn't believe half the stuff I did" I chuckled to myself.
"Still, I shouldn't have done what I did" She said with conviction. From the way she sounded I could tell there was something she wasn't telling me. I thought about what is was. It clicked.
"Has been hard since Jack's father left?" She quickly looked up at me wondering how I knew. "I pick up on things quick"
She hesitated. "Your right. It has been hard. I've spent so long raising Jack and looking after him and I've had no one to look after me"
I felt very sympathetic. I put my mug down and stepped right in front of her. She craned her neck up to look at me. I looked down on her. For that moment she looked so small and fragile. I put my huge arms around her small figure and I held her close. She rested her head on my chest and she started crying. We stayed like that for a while. In time the tears stopped and she wanted out of my arms. I let her go and stepped back.
"Thank you Michael. I needed that" She wiped her eyes dry.
"That's ok" I leaned down to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She blushed.
"Well, I've got to go now. Will you be ok?" I asked.
"I'll be fine" I nodded in understanding.
I went into the garage where Elita was parked up for the night. She didn't respond to me coming into the garage.
I kept quiet for a moment. Nothing. I crept to the driver's door and opened it and slowly got into the seat. I slowly closed the door making at least noise as possible. She didn't respond. I had this feeling she was recharging.
"Morning!" I yelled. The car shook violently and the starter motor whirred.
"AHHH!" She shouted. "What the… Michael what was that about?"
"Sorry, couldn't resist" I held my hands up laughing.
"It's not funny" She whined.
"It is"
"Whatever" She sounded slightly miffed. She reversed out the garage onto the driveway and back out onto the road and drove in the direction of the base.
We were driving along when she said. "So what happen between you and June last night?"
I looked at the dash board in shock. "N-Nothing happened"
"Hm. So what was this nothing. Both your body temperatures increased at the same time and you were extremely close to each other"
"Look she had a few to many last night, that's all"
"All?"
I looked out of the window trying to avoid the question.
"What else?" She asked.
"Fine, seeing as you want to know so much. June made a pass at me. She had too many glasses"
She remained silent.
"I didn't do anything. And for god sake don't tell anyone. Especially Miko" I warned.
"Your secret's safe with me" She said.
We drove on in silence.
We had returned to base and it was now sometime around ten in the evening. I had spent most of the day slowly starting to put my things together to pack for my two month trip. So far just some of the clothes I had bought in Salt Lake City. I sat down to have a Chinese dish I had cooked and was watching my favourite TV show, Spooks or as it's called MI5 in the US. It was the last series and I was saddened by this. It had been going for ten years and it had always been a brilliant series. Sometimes one or two of the Autobots would watch it with me.
Everything was quiet until a call came through to the base. June was calling. Ratchet answered it. "Hello Mrs Darby"
"Hello Ratchet" She said shakily. She was scarred. We all could tell.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"I was about to leave work and I noticed this man was following me. I went back into the hospital but he's just waiting outside. I think his stalking me" She said nervously.
"June, Michael here. Do you want me to come for you?" I asked.
"Yes. Please hurry"
"I will. I want you to stay in the reception area and where you can been seen by those you know" I instructed her.
"Ok. I'll be at the reception desk and stay with the receptionist"
"Good. I'll be there shortly. Just try to remain calm"
"See you soon. Please hurry" She hung up.
I looked at the Autobots. "Anyone about to go on patrol?" I asked.
"I am" Said Optimus.
"Could you give me a lift to the hospital. I'll escort her to her car and stay with her and Jack for the night" I told him.
He nodded once. I went to my desk and got my jacket and loaded it with my knife and side arm. Can't be too careful.
Optimus transformed into his vehicle mode. I got in and he drove out of the base. Soon we were on the road. Optimus going as fast as he dared on the desert road, slowing down when we hit the outskirts of the town.
Soon we reached the car park entrance to the hospital.
"Here will do" He stopped at the side of the road. I got out. Shut the door and patted the door twice. He drove off to go on his patrol. Soon he was gone. I walked to the entrance into reception. It was quiet. I few people on the seats in the waiting area. Waiting to be seen for a whole multitude of injuries. It being night so most were under twenty five unsurprisingly. I approached the desk and a receptionist looked up from her seat.
"Yes sir, how can I help?"
"Is nurse Darby here? She's expecting me"
"What's your name?"
"The names Rickers"
She looked at me hard, trying to see if I was lying.
"Come through with me" She got up, she was a short person. She lead me into a back office where June was sitting in a chair, looking frightened. She saw me come in and she got up and dived at me. She held on to me tight. I put my arms around her and held her tightly as well.
"You ok?" I asked gently.
"Now you're here, yes" She stepped back.
"Where's your car?" I asked.
"Few blocks down the road. I couldn't get a space in the parking lot when I got here"
"Ok. I'll walk you to your car and we will go back to your place and I will stay the night. Is that ok with you?"
"Yes" She sounded relieved.
"Come on, lets go" We walked out of the office and back into the waiting area with the few young idiots who did stupid things that landed them here.
We walked out of the doors into the night.
"Can you see him?"
She looked around. "No"
I offered my arm. "Put your arm in mine" She didn't question why and just did. She held on close to me. We walked out of the car park and along the deserted streets. We walked the first block. Nothing. We crossed the junction.
"You feel safe now?" I asked.
"I do now" She rested her head on my arm. She was a little too short to rest it on my shoulder. We continued walking. We crossed the second junction and onto the next block.
"Hey, beautiful" A man's voice said. June instantly froze. We both turned around behind us. There was a group of men. All looking at June. In the way they were looking at her I knew what their intentions were. I put myself in front of her and stare down the men. They didn't back off. They all slowly moved forward. I took a step back. June did as well. I was looking back at June then back at the men. There were eight of them. They kept moving forward gaining speed slowly. Only one cause of action right now. I couldn't hold them off in this situation. There were too many angles. I needed to find a place where I could engage them but still keep myself between them and June to keep her safe. So I quickly darted my vision around the area. I found it. I turned right round to face June and I reached down and picked her up and bolted it. They chased us. I picked her up because I could outpace them, where as she couldn't. I ran down an alley. It was a dead end. I set her back down and she backed up right against the wall. She was whimpering. She knew what they wanted.
If I couldn't hold them off, they were going to rape her. I wasn't going to let that happen.
The lead guy came up to me. He didn't care for my massive size. It usually puts most people off from trying it on with me. A physiological front. He stepped right in front of me. I stood with my feet shoulder width apart with my hands on my hips and just trying to make myself look as big as possible. He didn't have a moment of pause. He was actually stupid enough to try and intimidate me.
"You must be the protective boyfriend. Well sorry to say but were having her and there's nothing you can do about it"
I didn't respond. Treat this situation in the way I was trained to. I stood my guard.
"Oh, being the big man. You don't scare me" He said, almost whispered. "You can't take us all on, you don't scare us" He continued more loudly. I could hear June fearing for her life.
"So you're not scare of me? You really should be" He heard my British accent, and became a little confused. But quickly took his earlier stance. It was pointless. I grabbed both the parts of the front of this black leather jacket and with all the new gained strength in my right arm I lifted him off his feet and I held him high with my arm out stretched. I was now a very strong man. He kicked his feet around and swung his arms about.
"You picked the wrong person to fight against, and now you will suffer" I threw him as hard as I could to my left sending him flying into a brick wall. His head cracked and he went out cold. All the others saw this and still thought they could all take me.
The second guy ran at me. I gave him one hell of an underarm punch to the stomach he flew backwards into the others. Two came at me. I made a big long swing with my right arm and my fist smashed into the first guy's head which careered into the others head with my fist still going. They too went out cold. The other four looked at me. I stood back up straight. And took a step back so June was right behind me. She was curled into a protective ball right behind my legs. I clenched my fists and snarled at the rest of them. They decided to run. They knew now they couldn't get past me. They bolted it the way they came and soon the danger had past. I turned around and bent down. June was scared to death. She was violently shaking. I put my hand on her back. She popped her head out and saw it was me. She was still frozen with fear.
I had to get her to safety before they changed their minds. So I got a hold of her and lifted her up in bridal fashion. She put her arms around my neck and held on close. I walked out of the alley and back onto the street towards her car.
Soon we reached the car. She handed me the keys. While still holding her in my arms I unlocked it and opened the passenger door. I lowered her into it and closed the door and got in from the driver's side door. I started the car up and pulled away.
On the drive back to her home. She leaned over and wrapped herself around my arm. I lifted it up and she lean into my side with my arm coming over her. She needed to feel safe.
"Thank you for saving me" She whispered.
I gave her a gentle squeeze. She snuggled up to my side.
"No need to thank me" I said.
We arrived at her home. I parked the car on the driveway. The garage was open and Arcee was parked up in it. I got out of the car.
"Michael?" Arcee saw me and was confused.
I walked around to the other door and opened it. June just sat there. She was still shaken up by the event that took place. I reached in and lifted her out. Again holding her bridal fashion. I used my knee to close the door and I managed to lock the car. I carried her into the house through the garage.
"I'll explain later Arcee" I told her.
I carried her inside. Jack was there.
"Mum!" He was panicking.
"It's ok Jack, everything's fine. Just ran into a little problem" I smiled to reassure him. He visibly calmed down. I carried June to her room and set her on the bed. She was still frightened by it all. I put the sheets over her and sat on the side of the bed.
"You ok?"
"Fine, thank you" She managed.
"I'll stay awake on guard tonight. You can rest easy. Your well protected. You got me here and also Arcee's here as well. So your quite alright"
She nodded.
"Try to get some sleep" I got off from the bed and left the room closing the door behind me. I went back to the living room. Jack was watching TV. I looked at my watch, it was ten to eleven.
"Hey Jack don't you have school in the morning?" I asked while actually saying something else instead.
"Oh, come on" He protested. I couldn't be bothered.
"Well if your late getting up then by all means get woken up by a mini earthquake" I left and went into the garage.
"Alright Arcee?" I greeted. She was in her vehicle mode. The doors were open so I closed it. She then transformed. She sat down leaning on the back wall.
"So what happened?" She asked.
"She called the base saying she had someone stalking her, so I went to escort her here. We were jumped my some men. Either they wanted to mug us or rape June I don't know for sure, maybe both. Anyway I dealt with them easily, eight of them. I knocked four out the others ran. Then I brought June back here" I explained.
"Well at least she's safe now"
"Yeah, I told her I would stay the night. In case they know where to look. I don't think you'd be all that pleased to break your cover over the sake of petty thugs" I said.
"Michael, I swore to protect them. And I will, no matter the threat" She paused. "You are right. I wouldn't have been pleased"
"Well tonight you've got me around. Together we'll keep the bad guys away. You, the Cybertronian kind. Me, the human kind"
"You armed?" She asked.
I opened up my jacket for her to see the gun and knife. "As always".
We heard the TV suddenly get louder. I could hear the sounds of gunfire and explosions. We both looked through the door Jack was watching an action film. We both shook our heads.
"Can you deal with him please, I'm sick of always asking him to go to bed on school nights" She asked.
"Yes ma'am" I saluted in a casual way.
I walked in and stood behind the sofa looking at the screen.
"Absolutely stupid I wouldn't storm a building like that on my own" I said. Jack turned around to look at me.
"Do I have to say it?"
He sighed. Turned off the TV and got up going to bed. I made sure he had gone into his room then I checked the front and back doors. Both locked. I checked the windows. All closed. The house was secure. I left the lights on in the kitchen and the living room. It was to make the house look like people were still awake. Most people only leave one room lit, but having at least two makes it look more convincing.
I went back to the garage.
"Looks like I'm on guard duty with you then?" I commented.
She simply nodded. We fell silent.
"Well I have to stay up all night so" I pulled out my phone and ordered a pizza for delivery. Large meat feast with a large bottle of coke.
"Arcee, could you just make sure that I'm still paying attention around four in the morning?"
"Why?"
"Because that's the most likely time for an attack"
"How do you know that?" She realised her mistake. "Why did I ask?"
"Yeah, anyway. It's at four in the morning people levels of alertness are at their lowest. So that's the best time to attack, while the enemy is sluggish to respond"
"You used this knowledge before?"
"Yeah. Let me tell you something from my past"
She nodded. "Ok"
"Right. Well, I was sixteen and I had refused to join the royal navy, as you know" She nodded. "As a result I had a massive falling out with Baines and I decided to run away for a while. It was probably one of the most stupid mistake of my life"
"Why's that?" She asked.
"What happened was I went mountaineering up in the Brecon Beacons, which is roughly fifty miles north of Cardiff. I'd kitted myself out with everything to go on for a few days. I had a massive back pack with a tent and everything else"
"What happened?"
"I got tracked down by the Argentinians. They got Intel that I was roaming the Beacons so they sent an elite special forces group to capture me. Didn't take me long to find out they were on to me. I couldn't call for help as they was no mobile phone signal around. When they first had a visual on me they fired machine guns. Luckily they were a good mile away so there aim was rubbish. But it was enough to scare the shit out of me"
"So what did you do?"
"That's the good bit" I grinned. "After being chased all over the place for two days, my supplies were almost gone and there was nowhere for miles, where I could get more. I set up camp putting a good distance from them and waited. Night came so I left my camp and doubled back. Sure enough I found them too camped up. I waited till it was around four in the morning. The guy on watch was feeling sleepy, not at this best. I crept up on him and… well I'm just going to say I neutralised him. Then I took his gun and sorted the others out and then got the hell out of there. Since then the Argentinians have wanted me dead"
"You took out and elite special forces group, all by yourself when you were Jacks age?" She sounded like she didn't believe me.
"Yeah. If you want I could show you the evidence of it?"
"Oh, no that's fine. There's one thing I haven't asked you yet" She said
"Fire away"
"Where did you learn to fight? I take it, it wasn't by football related violence?"
"Yeah your right. When it became clear that I was going to have to defend myself. Baines used his many resourceful contacts and got in touch with a sergeant in the SBS, the special boat service. And I was put through an intensive training course by them. It's from that training and the experience I have, is what makes me the fighter that I am. As you can see it has paid off"
"How long was the training?"
"Seven months. All day, every day. I hated it at first but I soon got to enjoy it. Guys were great. Completely serious when they had to be but when they weren't… well they certainly knew how to have a good time" I grinned.
Later on I stayed with Arcee in the garage chatting away, being quiet so not to disturb June and Jack. A knocking was heard on the front door. We both looked in its direction. I pulled out my gun at the ready. I motioned to Arcee to be quiet. She transformed back into vehicle mode. I slowly approached the door aiming at it. The knocking returned. I unlocked it and with my gun hidden behind the door I opened it. It was the pizza delivery man. I put my gun in my pocket without him seeing it and came into full view. I paid the guy and took the pizza and coke from him. He left and I locked the door again. I went back to the garage.
"Don't worry, only this" I raised the pizza box. She transformed back into robot mode.
We carried on chatting.
"So what's the SBS like?" She asked.
"They are a special operations force set up at the end of the second world war. More specifically the water born type of missions. A well-known example was during the Falklands war. An SBS team of roughly twenty men took speed boats and beached them in mainland Argentina. They broke into an airbase where planes bombing British warships were based at. With nothing more than assault rifles and frag grenades they destroy all the planes. As a result it seriously reduced the number of Argentine planes attacking the British" I said. She nodded in approval.
"Have to be completely nuts to join them. Their idea of fun is hunting sharks with knifes only"
"That does sound a bit crazy" She commented.
I ate a slice of pizza. Raised the box slightly to her. "You want some?" I asked. We both laughed quietly.
"I'm alright thanks"
Again we carried on chatting the night away. I ate my pizza and finish the coke over time.