Sorry it took a while. I was really busy today.


If I had one wish, I would wish for two
With the way things are, sometimes gets hard
But we've come so far to be happy.

Yeah, don't think that I'm complaining
Sometimes it keeps on raining.
Oh but don't be frightened by thunder and lightning
The sun comes out and the flowers grow
And you find you're already on the road to be happy.

Jazz onlined his optics and found Katie sitting on the cot with her laptop in her lap and her ipod next to her, playing the country music that filtered through the room. She seemed in a cheery mood, tapping lightly at the keys as she hummed to the music.

Silently, he watched the human type, and then frowned as the music changed.

When you get caught in the rain with nowhere to run
When you're distraught and in pain without anyone
When you keep cryin out to be saved but nobody comes
And you feel so far away that you just can't find your way home
You can get there alone
It's okay, won't you say

I can make it through the rain
I can stand up once again on my own
And I know that I'm strong enough to mend
And every time I feel afraid
I hold tighter to my faith
And I live one more day
And I make it through the rain

"What's with the depressing music?" he asked, and Katie looked up rather sheepishly.

'I got an e-mail from my father.' She signed, looking down at the screen. 'It's nice to talk to him again, but he also brings news that doesn't make me feel to happy.'

Jazz frowned. "What news?" Katie hesitated, and he glared at her. "Katie, don't make me hack your laptop again."

Katie only gave a resigned sigh, and Jazz's frown deepened. Whenever he threatened to hack her laptop, or reminded her of when he actually did, she usually got mad at him. Now, when she didn't get mad, it meant that she was very sad indeed.

'My mother's coming out on parole.' She signed simply. A few minutes more of typing, and then she closed the laptop with a click. 'About a month from now. He just thought he'd give me a heads-up.'

"I see." Jazz frowned and Katie sighed.

'Don't look at me like that, Jazz. Come on. Let's go save Ratchet and Wheeljack from my pets.' That brought a faint smile to Jazz's face, and he picked her up and carried her to medical, thinking along the way.

Katie's mother was coming out on parole. That meant that Katie wasn't as safe as she was; physically, mentally, or emotionally. That explained that stupid song. What was it called? Whatever; it didn't matter in the least. It also explained her forced cheeriness, and the way she curled up in his hand as if it were one of her 'safe corners'.

Jazz had found soon after he met her that whenever she felt threatened, she always found someplace she could wedge her back into. It was usually corners, but once in a while she'd wedge her back between his driver's seat and the door. If she couldn't find any corners, she'd curl up in a ball and sit there with an almost blank look in her eyes, no doubt reliving memories and fantasies to escape reality.

She snapped out of it when they walked into the med-bay, even laughing when she saw Ratchet and Wheeljack who were covered in bird-poop, Sam, who was running from Snowy, and Mikaela who sat with a few birds on her shoulders and hair, talking to the one who perched on her hand.

'What happened to my cage?' she signed when she saw the mangled remains of the cage next to Mikaela. She fixed Wheeljack with a glare as a few finches came over to investigate the newcomers. Recognizing their owner (or at least the person who brought them food and water), they shrieked and spun around her as she stepped off Jazz's hand and on to the berth.

Ratchet saw the troubled look on Jazz's face and stepped carefully over as the finches on him chirped to join their flock-mates in circling Katie. "What's the matter, Jazz? I know that look on your face." He said in Cybertronian, dragging Bumblebee and Wheeljack's attention from whatever they were doing.

Katie looked up from petting Snowy at the odd sounds coming from Ratchet. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that the Autobots were having a secret conversation. With a snort, she went back to playing with her cat and the finches that continued to swirl around her.

Jazz hesitated. "Katie's father e-mailed her." He said at last, looking at the human. "Her mother's parole is coming up in about a month, and I'm not sure how she's going to handle it. I'm worried about her."

"Parole?" Wheeljack echoed, and Bumblebee looked at him before explaining the concept of jails and parole. "Shouldn't she be elated? After all, it is her mother."

Ratchet shook his head. "Not in Katie's case. Her mother abused her when she was a child, and that lead to her being mute. If anything, I believe that she is very tense, and apprehensive of having her mother back in society." Ratchet sighed, going back to working on Bumblebee's leg, making sure that no grit got in the joints of his leg. "I'll bring it up at the next meeting with Optimus." He said at last. "I'm sure we can find a solution."

Jazz said nothing, watching Katie check her pets for signs of injury, laughing as Snowy pouched playfully at Sam who screamed and ran, thinking he meant to attack him for real. There was only so much he could do for her, and he didn't like knowing that.

-

"I hope it's no inconvenience." Keller said for the fifth time, and for the fifth time, Optimus Prime reassured him that it wasn't an inconvenience at all.

"We could use all the help we can get," he said. "It would be an honor working aside you."

The general behind the Defense Secretary nodded and gave him a smart American salute, which Optimus Prime returned with an Autobot one.

"I will be there tomorrow at noon, sir." The general said with a curt nod. He was by no means rude, but he was a bit stiff, Optimus noted.

"We will be here to meet you, general. Thank you for your time." The general nodded. "Thank you as well, for your help. Now if you excuse me, I need to check on my men." Both nodded in understanding (Keller even had to hide a smile behind his hand) and Optimus signed off with a sigh. What would the future hold for them? He shook his head as he walked toward the med-bay and Ratchet's domain, hearing Katie and Mikaela laughing.

That is a question to ask tomorrow.


Songs used:
"To Be Happy" by Sara Evans
"Through the Rain" by Mariah Carey