Lily had ended up living on base for about a week and a half. It wasn't until the last couple days of her stay that her kidneys finally started to get healthier, which Ratchet seemed relieved about. Much to Lily's relief, she wasn't feeling as awful as she did when she came in. No more nausea, no more pain—she couldn't have been happier.
"Maybe I can get going soon?" she asked, looking at Ratchet's Holoform hopefully.
"I'm afraid not." The professional tone of Ratchet's voice made Lily's hopefulness dim a little. "You're still in recovery, and your kidneys finally started showing signs of improvement. If you leave, there's no telling what could happen."
Despite her wanting to argue and say she was fine, Lily knew Ratchet had a point. If she did leave so suddenly, then her kidneys may get worse before they actually got healthy.
"Can you at least tell me how much longer I have to be here?" Lily groaned.
Ratchet's gaze went from his data to Lily, almost scrutinizing her. "Until I dismiss you, understood?" he stated firmly. "I will not tolerate you falling ill again due to your recklessness."
Crossing her arms over her chest, Lily gave a slightly playful pout.
-0-0-0-0-
Bumblebee had been keeping the Witwickys up with whatever news he could get on Lily's condition. After a week and a half of her living with the others, her family's concern on her wellbeing had only intensified in her absence. It wasn't like Bee himself wasn't worried about Lily, he just wasn't displaying it as much as her family was. Bee was the first to know Lily's condition, so any fears he had were being pushed aside. Ratchet was saying she was improving—her kidneys finally caught up to her brain and heart!
Bee expected Sam and his creators to be ecstatic over Lily's improvement, but they looked even more worried than before.
"Isn't that good news?" Bee looked at the three humans in front of him in confusion. "Kidneys are an important factor in humans; I don't understand why you aren't happy to hear this."
"It's only been over a week and Lily's kidneys finally started showing improvement." Judy's face looked as pale as a ghost. "What if she comes home and she gets sick again? What if her kidneys fail?" Tears welled up in Judy's eyes.
"Lennox's men are providing the best medical attention they can provide." Bee's brows furrowed, the Holoform looking almost shocked at Judy's reaction. "Ratchet's our best medical officer, he'd make sure Lily came home healthy."
"But what if...," Judy tried, but Ron put a hand on her shoulder, trying to stop her from making the situation worse.
Bee could see the fear and concern in Ron's eyes, the anxiousness in Sam's eyes. That made his confusion escalate. He told them good news, and they were still looking at the negative outcomes.
"Listen, we appreciate you keeping us up with Lily, Bee." Sam tried giving the Holoform a smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "Thank you."
Nodding, Bumblebee dismissed the Holoform without another word.
-0-0-0-0-
Lennox had come by Lily's area to keep her company. Optimus was off doing whatever it was he was doing, so that meant Lily had to find some way to keep herself occupied. Typically, Ratchet only came by to update her condition and Ironhide wouldn't really come by unless he didn't have anything else to do. Epps would usually be doing whatever Lennox had him doing, and Lennox himself would be busy dealing with the higher-ups on the whole Autobots-working-with-humans thing. But whenever there was that slight chance of free time, Lennox or Epps would either spend it video chatting with their families or finding someone to talk to when they weren't really up to talking with each other.
"How're you doing today, Lennox?" Lily gave him a slightly mischievous smile.
An equally mischievous smile spread across Lennox's face. "I'm doing fine, what about you?" he exclaimed.
"I'm just fine."
Letting out a humorous chuckle, Lennox stood at the side of Lily's bed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ratch told me the good news," he said.
"I should be out of here in no time." Lily tried settling herself into the berth, hoping to find a more comfortable position. "It only took me a week and a half."
"However long it takes for you to get better."
Lily nodded wordlessly.
"Anything you're looking forward to when you get out?" he asked.
"My bed." Lily's smile broadened. "And maybe some better food."
Lennox snorted at that. "You're here to get better, not get five-star meals."
"I know, I know," Lily chuckled. "But my bed sounds really nice right now."
Lennox nodded wordlessly.
"How's your daughter doing?" Lennox would occasionally talk about his daughter, Annabelle, which Lily found to be a very admirable thing about him. The few instances Epps had come by to visit, he'd mention his family, too. Lily had to find their happiness and pride in their families to be the best quality about them. The two men would do anything to get back to their wives and kids.
"She's doing good." Lennox's eyes lit up at the mention of Annabelle. "She's getting bigger without me."
Lily always noticed the sad lilt in Lennox's voice when it came to things like that. With him being overseas or traveling to other bases in the States, he couldn't always be there for his wife and baby. She could only imagine what it felt like having to see your child grow up with hardly any contact from you.
"I'm sure you'll get to see her soon."
That was something Lily had always promised herself; whatever situation she found herself in, no matter what, hopefully she'd get out of it well enough to see her family again.
(A/N):
I know, I know—these chapters are pretty short, but I promise they'll get a little longer the closer it gets to the second movie. But until then, leave reviews on what you think.
Do the movies belong to me? No. No they don't.
Savage Kill: That's actually a really good thought on the whole situation. That could be a possibility on why Lily got sick. Or...at least a factor. Hopefully that made a little sense... Anywho, the story title wasn't from any song from the movies, it's the song Macklemore sings. I had been listening to it when I got the idea for writing this story and decided to make 'Can't Hold Us' the title. All the stories I've written so far have song titles for their titles. It just feels like those songs go with what the story's about.
Maethoriel Artemis: Thank you so, so much for your review! I was hoping that Lily's and Optimus' relationship so far was being written decently. And so far, your story has me intrigued. Clara is an interesting character, and I hope to read more of your story soon. Keep up the good work.
wolfimus prime: Thank you so much for your review! Hopefully I can hear from you again the further the story gets.
Lifes-death-bed: Don't worry! Nothing bad is happening... Lily will be just fine... XD Hopefully you'll stick around to see what happens.
Sirenix Prime: Thank you! I didn't know if the whole sick-arc was getting repetitive or not! Lily's...getting better, which is good!
Don't judge me I'm a Fangirl: School started for me, too, so I feel ya on the stress! I'm happy you're all caught up, though!
Lunaris Prime: I agree with you about the second movie, didn't really care for it all that much. XD I was hoping to have Optimus be a little shy when it came to Lily, and I'm happy you think that way about their relationship! And thank you immensely for your review, it means a lot. I hope to hear from you again.
Athena7574: Hopefully this story still seems just a little interesting to you. I've had a lot of help from other reviewers on making the story the way it is, so hopefully I can hear from you again the further the story progresses.
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story so far! It means a lot that you guys are so interested in this story. I can't believe this story's already at 100+ reviews, favorites, and follows! Thank you guys again!
(Also, before I finish up this author's note, has anyone else been hearing about this whole "creepy clown" thing that's been going on? I know it's happening a lot in America (I've only just started hearing about it recently)—mostly in random states—and I've heard about it happening in places in England, too, but I don't know. It's kind of weird that this kind of thing is happening, and it is a little scary to hear.) —Some of you might already know this, but in case there are a few who don't, I guess there are people dressing up as "creepy" clowns and kind of popping up in wooded areas, railroad tracks, cemeteries, etc. (mostly late at night or early morning, I think) and either scaring people, (from what I've heard) trying to lure children into wooded areas by offering them money and/or sweets, or just straight-up attacking/"attacking" people. I heard that some of these "creepy clowns" carry weapons (machetes, chains, knives, etc.) and whether they're real or fake, I don't entirely know. I've also heard there are clown Twitter accounts (and Facebook pages) that have threatening Tweets on there, too. I don't know if this is a prank that's gotten out of hand or what, but I am kinda scared of clowns and I know there are tons of people out there who have a more intense fear of them than I do, so it's weird that something like this would pop up so suddenly. It's also got me a little concerned as to what would happen once Halloween comes up. Whether or not I'm blowing this out of proportion, just be careful, OK? This could be really serious.—
Let me know if there's anything I can improve on.
Many blessings,
Indigo Callahan
