Jayce POV
Midnight and no bot is in the room with me. My room is close to the stairs. There's also the window. I have to get out of here somehow. Even if I'm caught and say I was going to the bathroom, one of the bots will follow me.
I tried my best to walk out of my room and downstairs quietly, but I was caught. Might as well run now.
"Get back here!" Crosshairs yells, panic in his voice.
I trip and fall halfway down the stairs. Crosshairs is able to stop me before I get up.
"Get off me!" I yell as Hound helps Crosshairs and puts a tight hold on me.
"Stop, you're ok," Crosshairs says, but I see the fear in his eyes. I know everyone is afraid I'll never get over this shit but won't let me go home. They know what I want to do. Looking at the top of the stairs, I see J.R. and Jamie, fuck. Then everything goes black.
J.R. POV
Fuck, this isn't good. Jayce trying to get back to her dimension is bad enough now Jamie sees Jayce go through a seizure. She's not freaking out...yet. I catch Bumblebee running to Jamie's room.
Bad night to be in a deep sleep, Drift.
I don't know who to focus on, Jamie or Jayce.
"I'm here," Drift says, pulling both Jamie and me towards him.
Maybe he wasn't in a deep sleep, but he e didn't hear Crosshairs yell earlier?
"Get those two out of here," Cade says, which scared me, but Jamie is still calm unless she's shocked at what she's seeing. Bumblebee and Drift took Jamie and me to Jamie's room. H
Jamie didn't say anything about Jayce, and Drift didn't seem concerned. He had her sitting in his lap. She was leaning on him as he hugged her. I have to see if Jayce is ok.
"Let me go, Bee," I tried to hide my fear but failed. Drift pulled me to the bed and had me sit next to him before putting his arm around me.
No, Drift, let me go. I don't think I can avoid crying, and it'll be bad if Jamie sees me cry.
All I can do is bite my tongue.
Crosshairs POV
I carried Jayce to her room, laid her in her bed, and covered her with the blankets. She's half out of it, but I see the sadness her blue eyes. I take her hand and tell her everything will be ok, even if she thinks it won't be.
You're going to fight sleep, aren't you? I wanted to talk to Cade, but I'm not leaving you alone. I'll talk to him tomorrow.
I slid her to the other side of the bed and laid on the bed next to her. I texted Cade, unsure if he went to bed or waiting to talk to me, telling him to go to bed, and we'll talk tomorrow. Then I texted Bumblebee telling him the same, and that Jayce is back in her room so J.R. can go to bed before asking him how Jamie is doing after seeing Jayce go through a seizure. Not sure if it's good that she's been quiet.
Drift POV
"I want to sleep in here," J.R. says, trying not to cry. It's amazing she hasn't yet.
"Take Jamie, Bee."
Bumblebee takes Jamie from my lap, though I was expecting her not to like the idea. She is quiet, and I can leave the room with J.R.
"You know what will happen. I know you haven't had nightmares the past ten days, but it may be sick. Jamie will be fine. I'll be with her."
You want to know what she's thinking after seeing Jayce, don't you? I'd rather not talk about it with her if I don't have to.
"Come on, J.R., you know how Drift is with Jamie," Hound says. Didn't know he was standing by her. He took her hand and led her to her room. J.R. didn't refuse but looked back at me during the short walk.
Bumblebee POV
Jamie is quiet, which is strange considering what she witnessed.
Are you that shocked about it?
We all thought she'd be distraught, J.R. thought Jamie would blame herself for how Jayce is. At least for now, she knows Jayce had a seizure but doesn't know why. Is that why you're quiet, Jamie? Are you trying to figure out why Jayce had a seizure? I laid her in bed, hoping she'd fall asleep. I'm sure Drift would be doing the same once he comes back.
Jamie is still awake when Drift wakes in. Saying nothing, I leave the room as Drift lays in bed with Jamie.
Hound is with J.R. in her room, but J.R. refuses to go to sleep. Hund tells me Drift got her to lie in bed and use her tablet, hoping she'll want to sleep soon. He tells me to go to sleep, whether in my quarters or the hall. I look in Jayce's room before sitting in the hallway. Jayce is asleep, but Crosshairs had to lay with her; he's also asleep.
I sat in the hallway, wondering what can we do? I know the other Autobots and Cade have been thinking the same and come up with nothing, but we all refuse to think we're out of options.
Seven hours later
I'm not sure when I finally fell asleep or how much sleep I got, but I thought of a feasible way to help Jayce. Seems silly but perhaps time together with Jamie and J.R. out of the base is what she needs. The three of them are always happy when we go out. Though I doubt this is something that makes you think 'you didn't think of that months ago?' Jayce needs to see Jamie is happy... or happy as she was before Buddy's passing or before her parents brought it up. That couldn't have been done until now. Jamie is getting back to something she loves doing. She's starting her mental recovery, but Jayce needs help with here. J.R. seems to be more worried about Jayce, but the same strategy applies; she needs to see Jayce is happy. It's complicated though outings seem like a simple solution.
"What are you thinking?" I hear Crosshairs.
"Doubt I can wait to tell the others, but you'll tell Drift later," I start.
This worried Crosshairs. Crosshairs wasn't sure what to think about my idea. He agreed it might be what Jayce needs but with her poor sleep and being exhausted by the afternoon, it will be challenging. Plus, Jamie is dedicated to her work since she took time off.
"Drift can convince her to take a break," I joked; we both laughed though this is true.
I was going to stay in Jayce's room, but Crosshairs insisted he goes back to her room. He didn't say I couldn't follow him. I say at the desk as Crosshairs laid back on the bed and moved Jayce on top of him. He tells me this makes it easier to calm Jayce. I see what he means by easier a half-hour later.
Jayce is more vocal during the panic attack though it's just a way we can tell how much she can't take this shit.
I know you want to go home, Jayce, but we have to keep you safe.
That's what Crosshairs tells her, along with everything else we've been telling her during a panic attack. He's right; having her lay on him does make calming her a little easier. She fell asleep, so I left the room and sat in the hallway, hoping to talk to Drift before Jamie wakes up.
Hound POV
J.R. slept all night if only I could say she's done dealing with this shit. The only good thing is she's up early and not tired. What I didn't like is how she's already worried about Jamie and Jayce. She went to take a shower. It's hard not to worry she's going to hurt herself as Jayce did weeks ago. Bumblebee tells me about an idea he has and that he's already told Crosshairs. We agree to let Crosshairs and Drift decide how these outings will work, even if it means we don't join them. We have to focus on helping Jayce recover. This is when the three girls' domino effect is a good thing. We have to focus on Jayce, and J.R. will also recover. We don't know if Jamie had a delayed reaction to what she saw last night or unusually calm about what she saw. Though we don't want the reaction we thought she'd have, it's odd she's not concerned.
I wasn't sure if J.R. would eat or if Crosshairs would want me to try to get her to eat. She chose to make a little oatmeal, but I could tell she is worried about throwing up.
You don't have to eat now if you don't want to.
J.R. ate and returned to her room once she took care of the bowl. She laid on her bed and covered herself with a blanket. Saying nothing, I sat at the desk.
It's fine if you want to go back to sleep.
J.R. falls asleep ten minutes later as Crosshairs texts me, asking how she was overnight. He wasn't sure what to think about J.R. going back to bed but relieved she can eat without throwing up.
An hour pass before Jamie and Jayce are up.
Oh boy, is Jamie going to find out Jayce isn't eating?
We have a little time while Jamie is in the bathroom to get Jayce a bottle of the nutrition drink and pour it into a cup.
Cade comes down as the two girls sit on the couch.
Cade POV
How long can we keep all of this secret from Jamie? I'm hesitant to ask Drift how she was overnight, though he doesn't appear troubled. Bumblebee tells me about an idea he has to try to help Jayce. He might be on to something.
Well, at least Jamie wants to eat breakfast.
Drift is able to leave Jamie to talk to Crosshairs. I assume they're going to talk about how they can put Bumblee's plan in motion and tell each other about how Jayce and Jamie were overnight. Just by their facial expressions, I can tell neither girl had a good night. Please don't tell me we have Jamie to worry about now, though we thought she'd be the challenge since this all started.
Drift POV
Even though Jayce has been dealing with this for just shy of four months, I still hate hearing how bad of a night she had. At least having her lay on him makes it a little easier to calm her. As Crosshairs tells me about Bumblee's plan, I think what if this doesn't work? I can at least give Crosshairs good news though I'm not sure if we should expect her to become distraught over Jayce.
"You think she will be distraught?" Crosshairs asks.
"I don't know if she's ok or terrified thinking why Jayce could have a seizure but not showing she's distraught, but we know Jamie can't hide her emotions. Still, I worry I'm going to miss something-."
"Drift! She'll be ok. All three of them will be ok."
Crosshairs has seen more than me, and worse yet, he still thinks Jayce can get through this. He wouldn't lie if he had any doubt she could get over this. As for J.R., she might be recovering mentally. We have to ask Hound.
Though we have a plan that'll be good for both Jayce and J.R., we'll plan on s outing tomorrow since J.R. is still asleep, worrying Crosshairs. We were able to ask Hound how J.R. was overnight. He tells us she did wake up, ate a little oatmeal, and went back to sleep, but she didn't look sick. Crosshairs decides to let her sleep for a bit.
Jamie finished breakfast and went back to her room to do some work. Jayce asked me how Jamie was overnight, with fear in her voice.
"Jamie is fine," I tell her.
This isn't enough; I had to tell her Jamie slept all night and is doing recording. Jayce knows Jamie wouldn't do that if she's not in a good mood. I could tell Crosshairs worried she'd panic, but Jayce took care of her bowl and went upstairs. Crosshairs and I followed. As we thought, she's going to bother Jamie.
She opened the door a crack and listened to Jamie's commentary.
"What are you doing? GET OUT!" Jamie yells.
Jayce closes the door before Jamie closes it on her.
"I told you, she won't even let me in the room when she's recording."
I followed her to her room, and Crosshairs went to J.R.'s room.
Crosshairs POV
Hound said J.R. went back to sleep an hour ago.
In a depressed mood today after last night, huh? Don't tell me you're thoughts are getting worse.
I laid next to her, though I suspect she'll be mad when she wakes up.
