Thank you to my beta xXRetrobotXx for proofreading and providing feedback! You're input is greatly appreciated!
Disclaimer: Don't own Transformers…I think it's safe to say that pigs will fly before I do. However I DO own Jaime though. Steal her and Ironhide will blast you to smithereens.
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Jaime gulped. She had seen the headmistress angry before. She'd seen the women furious. But in the two years that she had been at the orphanage, she had never seen Miss Narcissa look so livid. The woman stalked out of her black car. Jaime was still a few feet away from the Autobot holoforms but found herself unable to move. She was rooted to the spot.
"What…is going on…here?" Miss Narcissa asked slowly. Miss Elizabeth stepped forward.
"There was a fire," she explained. "We don't know how it happened but we were able to get everyone out safely."
"Actually we do know," Optimus spoke up. Miss Narcissa seemed to finally notice him and the other Autobots for the first time.
"This was an infraction of arson," Prowl continued. "Someone started the fire on purpose." He stared at the headmistress as he said this.
"Oh really?" she frowned. The woman turned and spotted Jaime. "And who," she growled as she stalked towards Jaime, "do you suppose started this fire on purpose?" Before the woman could so much as think of touching Jaime, a large hand snagged her by the arm. Miss Narcissa was spun around and met with the angry face of Ironhide. He clutched her by the collar, nearly lifting her off the ground.
"Unhand me at once!" she demanded. Ironhide glared at her.
"Jaime?" he asked the girl without taking his eyes off the woman.
"T-that's her," Jaime stuttered. If it was possible, Ironhide's glare intensified.
"Well then today is not your lucky day," he snarled at the woman. The headmistress began to realize just how pissed off this man—who apparently knew Jaime—was. Before Ironhide could do any physical damage that he so desperately wanted to unleash on the woman, he stilled. He glanced at Optimus, as if receiving a silent command. His gaze returned to Miss Narcissa and he scowled at the woman.
"I'm not allowed to harm humans," he sneered at her "Even if you aren't human by my standards." He disappointedly released the headmistress who tried to regain her composure by straitening her clothes.
"And what of this act of arson?" she asked harshly.
"The fire was started in your office," Prowl stated. The headmistress raised an eyebrow.
"Well then, I think it's quite obvious who is to blame," she frowned, looking at Jaime. "Someone was trying to go after me by burning my office and the orphanage down. Perhaps you should interrogate—"
"Finish that sentence," Ironhide growled threateningly "I dare you." Miss Narcissa glanced at the human tank. Jaime couldn't believe her eyes. Was that nervousness she saw in the headmistress' gaze?
"…I mean…talk to the orphans," Miss Narcissa finished uneasily. Ironhide grunted. Jazz stepped forward. He was now standing directly behind Jaime.
"Apparently, everythin' in yo'r office was completely incinerated," he scowled. "…includin' all documents."
"Is that so?" Miss Narcissa replied. "Well that's a shame. I guess there's no way of knowing what they contained."
"Not to worry," Prowl declared. "Luckily, I was able to make copies of everything of importance in your office before it was all burned." Miss Narcissa stared at him. "There was some interesting information on those documents…such as where the funds really went." Prowl's normally stoic face held a confidant smile. "If you will come with my associate Miss Narcissa," Prowl nodded at a police officer that had stayed behind, "we would like to ask you some questions."
"You can't arrest me," she paled. "Y-you…you have no proof."
"Actually I have enough proof to charge you with: child abuse, child neglect, fraud, extortion, forgery, theft, and now arson. Come quietly please. I will not ask again," Prowl scowled at her. The headmistress opened her mouth to deny the charges.
"I won't ask at all," Ironhide glared at the woman.
"Stay out of this!" she snapped. Jaime nearly laughed as Ironhide glowered at the woman. Miss Narcissa shrunk a little. He bent down to her and snarled something in her ear, too low for Jaime to hear. The headmistress became white as a sheet. Jaime suspected that he had just threatened her. Wordlessly, Miss Narcissa turned and walked towards the waiting police officer. He opened the door and she slunk inside, but not before throwing a cautious glance at Ironhide. The weapons specialist watched her the whole way with a critical eye. The police officer closed the door and—with a nod from Prowl—drove away. As soon as the car drove away, the orphans cheered. Jaime allowed a huge grin to stretch on her face. She turned to Ironhide.
"I thought you were going to squish her head like a grape?" she teased lightly. For the past few hours, Ironhide had been muttering all the dark things he was going to do to the headmistress when he saw her.
"Not today," he grumbled.
"What did you say to her anyways?" Jaime asked curiously. A feral grin appeared on his face.
"I told her what would happen to her if she ever crossed paths with you again," he stated smugly. Jaime couldn't help but chuckle.
With the orphanage half burned down, the orphans were unable to continue living in the dilapidated building. After a long discussion with his superiors, Will was able to secure a temporary place for the children to stay until a more permanent solution could be thought up.
Prowl informed Jaime that the funeral for Jeong Jeong was scheduled to take place tomorrow; he also told her that the old man's surviving family members had invited her to come if she wanted, as well as any friends. Charlie wanted to come as well, so it was arranged that he would stay the night with the Lennox's and go with them to the service the next day.
Jaime rode with Charlie in Ratchet's alt form back to the farm. He scanned the boy one last time and told him to take it easy. If he felt lightheaded, he was to immediately lay down. They had an early dinner—Charlie happily stuffed himself—and Sarah took the two children shopping so they would have something to wear at the funeral. When they returned, Jaime gave Charlie a tour of the house.
"You have your own room!" Charlie exclaimed, gaping at the room in awe.
"Yea," she grinned.
"Wow."
"C'mon," she urged him. "I want to show you the barn." He followed her out of the house and into the barn. Will was already there, finishing up the chores. Jaime pulled Charlie in front of the first stall. "This is Sizzle. She's seven and a sweetheart." Charlie petted her through the bars.
"You could call her spot!" he laughed.
"That's a dog's name bud," Jaime rolled her eyes. She pulled him to the next stall. "This is Bandit. He's the oldest and the hungriest. He's always cranky around meal time." Charlie patted the paint as well.
"I don't blame him," Charlie answered quietly. "It's not fun being hungry." Jaime ruffled his hair. Will stilled when he heard Charlie's comment. However, the children didn't notice the man's sudden discomfort.
"And this," she introduced with a flourish, "is Orion." Charlie cocked his head.
"…Orion?" the boy questioned. Jaime grinned.
"Will let me name him," she admitted. The boy glanced at Will.
"He only likes Jaime," Will shrugged. "He acts like her horse…might as well let her name him."
"…Mine?" Jaime blinked at him.
"Sure," Will smiled. "He's yours to take care of." Jaime beamed at him.
"Wait so you named him Orion?" Charlie asked. Jaime nodded.
"As in Orion P—"
"Yup." A smirk formed on Charlie's face.
"You…you named a horse after…Orion Pax!" Charlie hunched over as giggling overtook him. Orion snorted at the boy.
"Hey, it was the only name he liked!" she defended with a smile.
"That horse sure is smart then," Charlie's laughing subsided. Will studied the boy. He seemed to be familiar with the horse's namesake. But he couldn't…could he?
Later that night Charlie and Jaime got ready for bed. Annabelle was already asleep in her room. The couch had been set up for Charlie for the night.
"Jaime," Charlie spoke.
"Yea," she smiled at him.
"Tell me a story?" She grinned and gestured to her bed. The boy quickly jumped onto the bed and snuggled under the covers.
"Hmmm, what story should I tell you?" she mused aloud.
"One with Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet…And Optimus!" he answered her. She laughed and mussed his hair.
"Ok…I don't think I've told you this one before. This story is longer than the others I've told you. It starts with the battle of Tyger Pax. You remember Megatron?" Charlie nodded. "Well he was after their powerful artifact…the Allspark. To save it from his evil clutches, Optimus had the cube launched into space."
"Did Megatron go after it?" Charlie's eyes widened. Jaime nodded.
"He did. He followed the Allspark which landed on a very distant planet…Earth." Charlie sucked in a breath of air.
Will's POV
Will had just checked on sleeping Annabelle. He tip toed over to Jaime's room. He stopped when he heard her voice.
"Optimus didn't want any more people to get hurt, so he tried to finish his battle with Bonecrusher as quickly as possible." Will gasped and peeked in the room. Charlie was lying in her bed and she sat next to him, spinning her tale. What is she doing?! That's top secret information she's giving out! Before he could rush into the room, a hand stopped him. He looked over his shoulder to see Jazz's holoform who silently put a finger to his lips. The two stood in the hallway and listened to Jaime's story.
"The humans who'd had contact with Autobots or Decepticons gathered together to rally and share information," Jaime continued. When she told Charlie that they found the Allspark he stopped her.
"Wait, the Allspark's been on earth this whole time?"
"Yup."
"Where?" he asked.
"Hoover…Dam…" Jaime paused, making the connection between the Allspark and the force she felt at the monument. Oh god! she exclaimed mentally.
"So what happened then?" he prodded. Jaime pulled away from her frantic thoughts to finish the story. She told him the brief version of the battle of Mission City. She hesitated about telling of Jazz's death but upon his urging, told Charlie about the face-off between Megatron and the saboteur.
"Jazz died?" Charlie sniffed at the end of her story.
Jaime's POV
"Yes…But Optimus pulled out a shard of the Allspark from Megatron's chest. The Autobots used leftover Allspark energy to revive Jazz," she spoke. Well, it was true. She just implied that the shard revived Jazz. Charlie closed his tired eyes. She stood and walked to the doorway. She couldn't go to sleep yet. She had something she had to do. She silently walked down the steps and out the door till she was outside. She stopped in front of the Pontiac solstice.
"Jazz?" she whispered. "Can we talk?" The passenger door immediately popped open. Jaime shifted uneasily as she looked at the door. "Um…I think I'm good here."
"Wha's wrong Jaime?" Jazz finally spoke.
"I'm sorry about before…Um…It's just…" she trailed uncertainly.
"Jaime, Ah'm sorry Ah wasn' completely honest wit' ya," Jazz apologized. "Ah didn' tell ya everthin' cuz Ah didn' wan' t' overwhelm ya."
"I know that now," she mumbled. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I guess I kinda over reacted."
"Ya reacted like tha' cuz ya thought ya were goin' t' be abandoned. Ah don' blame ya sweetspark." Jaime bit her lip. They'd never really fought before. They'd had heated discussions but Jaime had never been able to stay mad at Jazz. He always wanted what was best for her. And now she just felt guilty for yelling at him when he had been trying to explain himself.
"How can you just forgive me like that?" Jaime asked. "I lashed out at you and blamed you for something that wasn't your fault. And you just continued to act like we're best friends!"
"Ain't we?" came his simple reply. Jaime was speechless. Sometimes she just didn't get the saboteur.
"…I'm not a very good friend," she frowned, shoulders hunched.
"Nonsense, so ya overreacted like Hatchet on a bad day. Everybot makes mistakes. Ya need t' stop bein' so harsh wit' yorself."
"…You're a pretty cool guy Jazz," Jaime admitted with a smile.
"Ah coulda told ya tha'," Jazz laughed. Jaime grinned. "C'mere." The girl hesitated. She wasn't mad at Jazz. She'd forgiven him actually before going to the orphanage. But she was still wary of climbing into his interior. "Jaime wha's wrong?" came Jazz's concerned voice. "Are…are ya still mad at meh?"
"No!" she quickly answered. "I-it's…it's not that…"
"Then wha' is it?" Jaime stared at the ground.
"You know how I…lost my parents in a car accident?" she whispered.
"Yes," Jazz's voice full of understanding. She'd told him of the accident only briefly, leaving out the details. After two years it was still difficult to talk about, understandable since her parents had died.
"Well….ever since then I haven't…been inside a car," she shrugged.
"My interior makes you nervous." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.
"Will said I passed out after bringing you back," she spoke. Jazz made a sound of agreement. "…I…saw it again." She shoved her hand in her pocket and snorted, trying to hold back the tears. "God…I can't stop thinking about it." Tears began to stream down her face. Unable to hold it in, she sunk to the ground as sobs racked her body. Strong arms wrapped around her. She looked up to see Jazz's holoform.
"Jus' let it out. No reason t' hold it in," he rubbed her back. And so she cried out her pain into his warm chest. She held onto him like an anchor. He patiently held onto her. He comforted her when she needed it with words and rubbing her back. He was silent when she needed it, allowing his presence to soothe her. When the sobs finally subsided, Jazz bent down and wiped her tears.
"Better?" he asked. She nodded and offered him a weak smile. "C'mon, ya need t' recharge." He easily picked her up. She still clung to him. He began to heads towards the house but she protested. Jazz frowned. "Jaime," his voice more stern, "ya really need t' recharge."
"I'll just have nightmares again," she shuddered. She paused for a moment before asking him. "…Can…can I sleep with you?" He looked down at her, completely floored. Earlier today she couldn't bear the idea of sitting in his alt mode because it reminded her of the accident. She tried to look up at him, but her eyelids were drooping. She looked exhausted. Her fatigue was understandable with all she'd been through. It seemed that stress made her tired and sluggish.
"Ya sho'r?" Jazz asked as he carried her to his alt form. She nodded wearily. "Back o' front?"
"…Back," she mumbled into his shoulder. The back door popped open and he deftly slid her onto the seats. Jaime kept her eyes closed. So long as she kept her eyes closed she'd be fine. At least, that was her hope. She snuggled into the warm seats.
"Good night Jazz," she murmured sleepily.
"G'night sweetspark," his comforting voice washed over her. The girl slept soundly that night with Jazz watching over her.
Jazz's lil ninja: Winner winner chicken dinner! Yes, Miss Narcissa was responsible for the fire. Haha yes, stuff hit the fan. *In a sing song voice* Someone's in trouble with Ironhide!
Ilikeanimeandmanga: Thank you so much! Yes she finally—well sorta…Ironhide would disagree—gets what she deserves. Haha, yup. You're screwed when you have the Autobots after you!
IronHidescannonlover: Thank you so much! I'm so glad so many people like my story!
MiniAjax: Haha! Your comment made me laugh so hard…I like that name…the house dragon…Well Ironhide gets on her case so, yea that would make anyone poop their pants.
Phoenyx Starr: Oh my gosh, I've felt the exact same way about certain characters. I remember wishing a character would die off because I hated them so much. I'm glad my evil character has reached that same level :) Heh heh. I wouldn't mind having Hide squish her or shoot her but then that would be very un-Autobot like, even if Optimus may be willing to look the other way for once…I love writing those author notes, I'm glad it made you laugh. Yes, the Bots are so funny to mess with :D
jgoss: Yep, I seem to be getting in a bad habit of cliffhangers :D
Yes, Optimus to the rescue! And Miss Narcissa is finally going to jail! Thank You!
Everythingispermitted: It's ok, I know what you mean. I hate colds. Actually I got sick the other day—bleh!—so unfortunately I wasn't able to update sooner. And don't sweat it, I enjoyed your review like always :)
I feel like including Ratchet's soft side makes him appear not as one dimensional. We all know that the grumpy medic likes to throw wrenches and all, but there's more to him then just that.
Exactly, Jaime's dad and Will share many similarities. That's why she feels so close to him. Protective Father Will is awesome! :D
Haha, him attacking Miss Elizabeth was a sneak peak for ya before he meets Miss Narcissa. I love writing Papa Bear Ironhide!
Ugh, I know. I feel so bad because a lot of people mention that :) Jaime and Jazz's relationship will not stay like this! It is just a little bump in their relationship that will bring them close together. And no, while he was connected to her, he never saw any of her dreams. Heh heh…bodyguard Jazz…
Yay! Charlie is back. I absolutely love how many people like Charlie! Heh heh…yea…Miss Narcissa is many things. I never pictured her as a Decepticon, although you do have a point. She'd get along with them wonderfully.
Jaime really needed the little boost of confidence in these last few chapters. She's always so timid and self-conscious, one of the many results of meeting Will and the Autobots. Haha, if she even tried to kidnap Jaime she'd be in deep trouble. If Ironhide had his way then yes, there wouldn't be enough pieces of her left to sew her back together :D
As for all the stress she's been through, she deals with it like any other young child…sleep. That's why she's been so exhausted and sleeping at odd times in the last one or two chapters. Exactly, Brian isn't just some stereotype bully. He really was trying to do good, just in a bad way. As for a loving family…well…you'll just have to wait and see.
Yes! Jaime gave Optimus a hug! The poor guy needs a hug because he always has so much pressure on his shoulders.
Portal3plz: Here you go :D Are you getting addicted? :)
Kurohane Ookamie: Haha…is Prowl your favorite Autobot? I can't tell you what's going to happen, that'd ruin the fun! :D
WingBladeWeaver1357: Heh heh. Go Team Boss Bot! Yea, I didn't want Brian to just be some one dimensional bully. Miss Narcissa returns but Prowl is on the case!
Guest: I get what you're saying. Thank you so much!
Rayne: Haha! But it's so fun! I know longer chapters are more desired. But you know what they say, quality over quantity. Will was with her in the beginning. He's always there for her, but she's also very independent. It was meant to be a transition chapter because there is a lot coming up. Like…blow your mind a lot. Glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for your review!
XxLosAngelesGirlxX: Yes! It's all part of my master plan! Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
hermonine: Thank you very much!
Flamingfoxviper: Thank you! I try to make my story as original and realistic as possible! That's very kind of you :)
Hawkie-chan: Thank you so much! Just because it's fanfiction doesn't mean it shouldn't be well thought out. I spend more than an hour on each chapter to make it flow the way I think it should. I plan to finish this story to the end. I don't want to be one of those authors that just never finish the story. I've read stories like that and it's frustrating as the reader. As for not updating since the 21st...well...I have an explanation in the author's note below. Here's your sparkly brand new chapter :)
Author's Note: Well there you go. Sorry about the late update. I meant to post this chapter a day or two after Christmas but well *growls* My immune system decided to ditch me this week. Yep. That's right. I got sick. Sigh. Not once...twice. I ate something bad Thursday and spent the next day with my new friend the toilet. I got better and typed half of this chapter when I got sick again. Only this time it was with a sore throat cold thingy that my brother had...yea...thanks bro. Anyways, sorry again for the wait. And I'm sorry if this chapter doesn't meet expectations. I'm still trying to beat this sucker into the ground (Have I mentioned I hate being sick?). Ratchet refuses to give me alien meds. He says that I need to let it run its course. Which is slagging ridiculous.
Ratchet: Are you a medic?
Hubero: No.
Ratchet: Then that means I'm the expert so stop complaining. Viruses are a common occurrence for humans.
Hubero: But if you could just-
Ratchet: No.
Hubero: I just need-
Ratchet: Nope.
Hubero: But-
Ratchet: My mind is made up.
Hubero: *Glares*
Ratchet: *Points a large wrench at Hubero* Don't look at me like that.
Hubero: *Grumbles* Fine.
Ratchet: *Straightens and subspaces wrench* Good.
Hubero: *Evil smile* Guess I'll just have to amuse myself by distracting myself from this stupid virus.
Ratchet: *Stiffens*
Hubero: Sunny! Sides *Leaves in search of the twins*
Ratchet *Nearly offlines* Wait! Come back! Here I'll give you some antibiotics! Stay away from those two! *Chases Hubero*