Disclaimer: I still don't own Transformers, however much I wish I did.
Shiloh ran around the corner, dodging a nurse carrying a stack of papers. Her eyes were bright, a smile on her lips for the first time in days. She slipped on the slick tile of the hospital floor but quickly regained her balance. Finally reaching her destination, she grabbed the doorknob and yanked the door open.
Inside, Marc was sitting next to the hospital bed, grinning from ear to ear. And next to him...
"Seth!" Shiloh yelled happily, throwing herself at her cousin. He smiled weakly in reply as she squeezed the breath from his lungs.
"Go easy on him, Shy," Marc cautioned, prying her off of Seth. "He only woke up a half-hour ago."
Seth lifted his right hand - splinted, as was his left hand, thanks to Nurse Darby's efforts - and touched Shiloh's upper arm. "Hey." Shiloh suddenly grabbed the front of his hospital gown and pulled him into a half-sitting up position.
Shiloh leaned in so their forheads touched. "You ever scare me like that again - so help me - I will kill you." She took a shaking breath, not letting go of him.
Marc knew he shouldn't get involved with this; affection from Shiloh usually came in the form of death threats and bruises. However, Seth was still in pretty bad shape. He rose and separated the two.
"Seriously, though. I will kill you, lauoho polû." Shiloh sat in the empty chair. Her smile returned.
Seth made a sound that might have been a laugh. "It's not blue anymore, see?" he rasped, pointing unsteadily to his hair. He was right. The parts of his hair that had been blue earlier were the same color as the rest. He dropped his hand. "I'm sorry I scared you." He flexed his fingers. Shiloh understood the action and placed his switchblade in his hand. Seth smiled a thank you and flipped out the blade. A heavy sigh of relief escaped him.
Marc observed silently from his seat. As glad as he was now that his son was awake, he could sense something off about the room's atmosphere. There was something someone wasn't saying. But he wouldn't press. Good things come to those who wait, he mused.
Shiloh leaned on the bed, burying her face in the sheets next to her cousin's arm. "I don't know if I should hug you 'cause you're okay or punch you 'cause you made me worry."
Deliberately being over-dramatic, Seth groaned. "Don't think I can take another hug. You almost crushed what good ribs I have left." He used the very tip of his switchblade to tickle Shiloh's ear. They both laughed. "I won more races than you did," he teased, changing the subject. He ran the tip of the blade along the back of Shiloh's neck. He wasn't trying to hurt her, just messing around like siblings do. It felt so good to be playing with his knife again.
"No aak!" Shiloh shrieked. She sat bolt upright and swatted at his hand. "And you're lolo if you think you won more races than me." Despite her tone, there was no irritation evident on her face. She turned her attention back to her mental dilemma. "Your choice: do I hug you or punch you?"
"Hug me now; punch me later." Seth had already resigned himself to the fact that even if he chosen only the former, he would get punched. "But I'll return the favor as soon as I'm back on my feet."
The room went dead silent. Marc looked out the window and pretended he wasn't paying attention. Shiloh's smile faded away and her gaze dropped to the floor.
Seth blinked. "What's wrong?"
"I didn't want to tell him," Marc explained, with a glance at his niece.
Shiloh swallowed, bringing a hand up to wipe her eyes. "Seth, your spine is broken. In two places." She couldn't find the words to go on.
But she'd already said enough.
A light thunk echoed in the room. Seth stared blankly at his cousin and his dad, the fingers of his right hand curled around an invisible object. "No," he said. "No, they got it wrong. The doctors got it wrong!" The machine monitoring his heart rate started to give off warning beeps. "They have to be wrong!" The machine beeped faster, sending out an alert to the technicians and nurses outside.
Shiloh could only watch as several nurses came in and sedated Seth. Once he was asleep, she pulled her feet up onto the chair. She held his hand, trying to justify to herself what she was planning to do.
How could she even think of leaving him?
Seth could tell something was bothering her. Marc had told him that she hadn't slept or eaten much since the accident. Both of them knew this only happened when she was deeply upset or when something went horribly wrong.
Shiloh whimpered in her sleep, gripping the sheets. Seth wished he could hug her, but the doctor had told him to stay as still as possible so as not to injure himself any more. He contented himself with a quiet, "Everything's alright," as he tangled his fingers in her hair. She relaxed a little but. Seth had seen that something was tearing her apart on the inside though she tried so hard to hide it. The signs were all too obvious: the broken look in her eyes even while she smiled; the desperation in her voice as she threatened to kill him; the way she'd clung to his hand like it was the only thing keeping her alive; and most importantly, the guarded expression she'd had when Marc asked where she was earlier that day.
Seth tightened his grip around the switchblade in his other hand. It wasn't fair. He was the one with a broken spine who would never walk again. He was the one the doctors had said wouldn't last more than another year. He was the one who lost what he loved almost as much as his family.
And yet she was the one suffering.
Another whimper escaped Shiloh, prompting Seth to gently shake her conscious. Barely lifting her head, she gazed at him with that same broken look. "It was only a dream. Nothing is going to hurt you while you're near me. I'll still protect you, even from your own nightmares."
"I'm afraid I'll lose you," Shiloh whispered. She took his hand in one of hers, gripping it in the same way as she had earlier. "I'm afraid I'll lose you because of what I'm going to do."
"You can tell me anything," Seth prompted.
"I can't- I can't tell you this. It would hurt you too much."
Seth squeezed her hand as he noticed the desperation creeping back into her voice. She was slipping. It was only a matter of time before she fell. And if that was the case, he'd hold on to her for as long as he could. "Then promise me something."
Shiloh leaned her cheek against their entwined hands. She sighed. "If I can do it, I will. You know that."
"No matter what happens to me, no matter how bad things get, promise me you'll let go," Seth pleaded. He released her hand and tilted her chin up so she was looking straight at him. "Just promise me you'll let it go. It could've happened to anyone."
"But it happened to you," Shiloh objected.
Seth pressed two fingers to her lips, cutting the rest of her reply off. "I know. But don't let this ruin your life, please. Forgive him for what he did." The pained expression she was giving him nearly made him choke on the next words. "I'm begging you, Shy. I don't want this to take you away from me."
"You had to ask that, didn't you?" Shiloh moved his fingers away. "You had to ask me to do the one thing I can't." She buried her face in the sheets again, ignoring Seth's comforting touch. "I can't do that. It hit too close to home for me to just let it go. You mean too much." The last sentence was barely audible, dissolving into slow, steady breaths.
"Hiamoe maika'i," Seth whispered as she began to fall back asleep. A tired smile touched his face, and he settled his hand on hers, his eyes slipping shut. "Like I said, I won't let anything hurt you while you're near me."
Knock Out finished transcribing the last of his notes onto the datapad. He set it down on the edge of his berth, mulling over his last meeting with the human. She was visibly more strained than when he'd allowed her to repair the scratches on his door. And he hadn't missed the hesitation before she told him she'd be willing to do anything.
The more time Knock Out spent around her, the more weaknesses he could pin down and exploit. Today he had learned she was afraid of water, though she comically denied the fear. He had also learned that she was beginning to draw away from the other humans, such as Vince.
What remained to be seen was if she would cave the way Knock Out expected her to. If she didn't, then there was no further reason for him to continue meeting with her.
A pity, really. Knock Out had a bad habit of breaking his toys once he tired of playing with them.
Translations:
Lauoho polû - Blue hair. (Here used as a nickname for Seth)
No aak - "Quit showing off!"
Lolo - dumb, stupid, idiotic.
Hiamoe maika'i - "Sleep well."
