A/N: WOW HEY LOOK I'M NOT DEAD. Well, I'm kind of dead lol. Sorry this has taken me so long guys but I really have lost a good chunk of my inspiration for this story. It feels like a chore to write this now and that's a problem. Hopefully, after I watch the newest TF movie tonight I'll get a sudden burst of inspiration to write this story. If that doesn't work then I might just have to write a quick drabble or something else to distract me. That works sometimes.

Anyways, this chapter ends kind of abruptly b/c it's only about 25% of what I planned. I just wanted to get this out since y'all haven't heard from me in a while.

ALSO ONE LAST THING: To the guest reviewer who called Aj a Disney princess—you rock. I'm so glad that someone remembered that little joke I made ages ago! It's really nice to know that my jokes amuse more than just me haha.


Chapter Seven:

Never Healed


"While they all fall in love with her smile she waits for one who will fall in love with her scars." –The Dreamer


"Can you stop looking at me like that?" I asked, but I couldn't keep the grin off my face or the amusement. "I feel like I'm about to spontaneously combust."

Jazz, who sat across the room from me on one of Ratchet's medbay berths, chuckled and shook his head. His visor caught the overhead lights and glinted slightly, "Sweetspark, I aint ever takin' my optics off ya again."

My chest filled with warmth and I bounced slightly on my heels. I was standing on the opposite berth from him watching as Ratchet got ready to do some sort of checkup. The medic was also waiting for Bumblebee to show up as well. Jazz and I had both come straight from the break room after seeing each other while Taylor ran off to find Bumblebee and Bear wandered off on his own. Anytime Bear wandered off like that he was usually looking for Sunstreaker.

"We're 'ere now." Jazz motioned with his large arms to the medbay. It was so odd seeing my friend so large. Jazz, unlike some of the others, looked exactly like he did back in our universe except ginormous. There were a few differences, I supposed. Now that I was really looking at him I could see them. He wasn't as boxy anymore, and now had round features on his torso and hips that made him look sleeker than before. Something told me his alt mode followed suite. Jazz's helmet was a bit more modern looking as well along with his dark, reflective visor. "Aj?"

"Hmm?" My eyes widened as I realized I had zoned out while he was talking.

Jazz twisted his metal lips, "What happened, girl? What's with the knee brace? And why are you- I mean, you haven't aged a bit."

"You have all that information on file." Ratchet spoke up as he came over with a tray of tools. Jazz eyed the tools warily while the medic continued, "You can read up on everything you missed, Jazz."

"I know." Jazz nodded and rolled his shoulders, "But I wanna hear it from 'er. I haven't heard that voice in twenty human years."

I smirked, "Aw, the big tough Jazz man missed my voice?"

"More than you will ever know." Jazz replied with a soft smile, his words untinged by his usual accent.

It felt like my cheeks were heating up so I just shrugged and crossed my arms, "What do you wanna know? Should I start from the beginning? It's a long story, Jazz."

Jazz didn't reply, he just nodded at me once while holding his arm out toward Ratchet who took a seat on a stool beside him. Ratchet began to pull back the plating on Jazz's arm to take a look at his protoform and wires. I sucked in a deep breath and started from the moment I realized the portal wasn't originally working for me.

It was strange to go over this story again, and I wasn't exactly enjoying reliving these moments. Just like before, I skipped over the conversation with those weird ass visitors and went right to Boss' brother Morgan. Jazz apparently was enjoying this story as much as I was. His features had grown solemn and I could see his body stiffen unhappily. By time I got to telling him the last bit of my tale, Wheeljack applying the brace to my leg, Ratchet had finished with Jazz's arm and was checking something at the back of his torso.

"He's working on a new one already." I clapped my hands and kicked my bad leg out, "One that comes off without having to destroy it."

"How do ya feel? Is there any pain still?" Jazz pressed. He nodded toward me, "It looks like it hurt, sweetspark."

The urge to use my hand to cover the scar washed over me, but I bit it back with a forced smile, "It is what it is. There really isn't any more pain, just discomfort. Except when I'm doing physical therapy. That hurts like a bitch."

"Language." Ratchet spoke up.

Jazz shook his head, "I'm sorry."

"What?" I questioned in confusion. It sounded like he apologized, but I must have heard him wrong.

"I'm sorry." Jazz repeated himself, "I-"

"You have nothing to apologize for." I replied, "No one could've predicted or prevented what happened to me. No one is to blame for my condition except myself."

Jazz didn't look like he agreed, but he didn't have the time to say otherwise. The sound of footsteps made us all look to the doorway in time to see Bumblebee walk in with Taylor perched on his shoulder. He had the same shape as his form back in my universe, door wings and all.

"Aj!" He chirped and lifted one hand to steady Taylor before jogging over toward the berth I stood on. He knelt down in front of me so we were closer to eye level. Taylor jumped from his shoulder to the berth while Bumblebee scooped me up into a makeshift hug. "We missed you so much! Are you alright? I read the reports about your knee."

"I'm fine, Bee. It's nice to see you again too." I replied and let my small hand pat the spot on his that I could reach.

"Set her down and get over here." Ratchet called out to the younger mech.

Bumblebee groaned and set me down, "You have her in here as a trap."

Ratchet smirked but didn't reply. It actually made sense now. No wonder he let me stay in here while he worked on these check ups. That sly medic. If Ratchet decided to try and take over the world, instead of the decepticons, we'd all be in a world of hurt. The thought of the decepticons had slipped in unwillingly and I felt the ball of anger and bitterness in my stomach grow. I stopped thinking of them after my talk with Ratchet. It just bothered me too much.

"I'm done now, ain't I?" Jazz asked and Ratchet grunted out his affirmation. Jazz turned his head to grin at me, "Wanna accompany me to go see the higher ups?"

"Are you sure I can?" I raised an eyebrow at him and ignored the slight yelp that came from Bumblebee as Ratchet checked his wires. "Don't you have to go talk shop with them about secret missions and the like?"

Jazz offered me his hand and I stepped onto it without hesitation, "I told ya, femme. I ain't letting you outta my sight again."


Jazz knew he should've been listening to the little mech in front of him, but Primus the words were going right over his helm. This was important information. He was being updated on all the meetings he had missed while gone on his mission with Bumblebee. It was stuff he wanted to know, yet he couldn't focus on a single word that Tyler said. Instead his optics were glued to the hallway entryway waiting for his femme to come walking through.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I transcribed all this into your files since you're not listening to a word." Tyler sighed.

Jazz turned to look at him with a small smirk, "I'm listenin', little man."

Tyler scoffed and leaned against the railway in front of him. He was standing on the walkway above the hanger's floor so Jazz could stay in his bipedal mode while speaking to him. Tyler chuckled, "Liar."

"She should be done by now, shouldn' she?" Jazz questioned and shifted his weight from pedal to pedal. He had just gotten back. In his opinion, it was too soon for him to be away from her. They had so much to catch up on, at least in his view. After talking to Prime with her in tow, she had to leave for physical therapy.

Physical therapy. Jazz's energon boiled at the thought of what she had to go through. The pain she had to endure. He promised to protect her, to keep her safe, but he failed yet again.

"You're not listening to me again."

Jazz's attention snapped back to Tyler in time to see another human join him. He recognized this female soldier. She was with the Air Force based on her uniform and he believed she worked directly under Lennox. She leaned against the railing beside Tyler, "To be fair, who does listen to you, Williams?"

"Hardy har har, Kang." Tyler scoffed in response.

The female's last name was Kang and it took a moment for Jazz to remember her first name. It was Hemi. She was Korean in descent. Her black hair was short enough that it didn't have to be pulled back in a regulation bun and her face was petite and heart shaped. She had a naturally tan skin tone with large, dark eyes.

Hemi smiled at him, "Nice to see you back, Jazz."

"It's good to be back." He nodded in return. She was a good soldier. Small in stature, but good with a gun and loyal to the cause. Plus she was fun to be around. That was always an added bonus. Then again, there were few soldiers that Jazz worked with that he didn't like. The humans were good allies.

"What are you two doing here?" Hemi asked in Tyler's direction.

"Waiting for Aj to finish with physical therapy." Tyler sighed. "She should be done soon and Jazz wants to spend every winking moment with her."

Jazz leveled a slight glare at him, but he didn't seem to notice or care. Him and Hemi drifted off into their own conversation while Jazz's gaze slid back over to the hallway entryway across the hanger. A few more moments passed before a familiar face came into view. He felt his lips twitch up in a smile, but it didn't last long.

Aj was eating what looked like a small tub of ice cream while happily conversing with another one of Lennox's soldiers, Joey Moretti. The two paused at the entryway with Aj leaning against the wall casually. Joey stepped toward her and planted one hand against the wall beside her so he could lean in her direction. Jazz stiffened at the motion and the only thing stopping him from going over was the laugh that spilled from Aj's lips.

"Calm down, Jazz." Tyler spoke up, "They're just friends."

"Who?" Hemi leaned over to view the two of them, "Oh, of course it's Joey flirting with her."

Tyler cut in quickly, "It's just him being him. Aj has already made it explicitly clear that she's not interested in him. In fact, I know that Joey just scored a date with one of the nurses tonight."

"Then what's he doing?" Jazz asked.

"He's just messing around. You know him." Tyler shrugged. "Please don't kill my best friend."

Hemi raised an eyebrow, "You seem pretty protective, Jazz. Is she his ward?"

Jazz didn't bother answering because Tyler took the initiative too. He cycled air through his vents and tried to calm down. He was being absurd now. The fact of the matter was, he had been out in the field too long. Jazz needed to take a breather, as the humans say, and relax for the next few days. Get his helm on straight.

He glanced back over, calmer than before, and prepared to make his way over. Joey had pulled his arm away and glanced down the hall at someone else. A few earth seconds passed before Sideswipe's holoform showed up. The three shared a quick word before Joey entered further into the hanger. Aj and Sideswipe spoke for a moment before he began to lead her back down the hall away from the hanger. Jazz narrowed his optics and before the two left his view, Sideswipe glanced over his shoulder at him.

"Now that, I don't know what to say." Tyler cleared his throat.

"Hey! Jazz man, you're back!" Joey yelled as he got closer, "Tyler, Hemi! What's up?"

Hemi smiled and spoke loud enough for the Italian man to notice, "Oh great, he noticed us."

"You know you love me." Joey called back.

Jazz didn't mean to ignore the soldier, but he quickly transformed and moved on from the scene. Aj and Joey spending time together didn't worry him much. He mainly just didn't want to see Joey even try and attempt to treat her like he treated many other females around the base. The human had quite the reputation. However, Aj spending time with the twins truly did worry him and it was for an entirely different reason. A comm was sent across his system from Prime. Jazz hesitated a moment before changing direction and heading to where Optimus was located. Maybe he did need that vacation Ratchet suggested.


Sideswipe was still in his military uniform as he half dragged me down the hall with a lopsided grin on his face. Those walking the opposite direction of us cleared out of the way either due to his pace or the impish look in his pretty eyes.

"Sides, I told Jazz I'd meet with him after PT." I chuckled and finished the last of my ice cream. Sideswipe noticed the empty carton and took it and my spoon away from me. He handed it to another passing soldier, one I didn't recognize, and continued to lead me away. I glanced over my shoulder at the man's confused expression, "I am so sorry!"

"Don't apologize. He's closer to a trash can than us." Sideswipe laughed.

"You can't just do that, dork." I punched him in the arm, "And seriously, I saw Jazz across the room talking to someone on the walkway."

Sideswipe waved away my words and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, "He's just catching up on work stuff. It'll be boring. Plus, you haven't hung out with me and Sunny in a while."

"Y'all have been busy with work." I argued, "Like non-stop shifts."

"Well we're back to our normal schedule starting right now."

I smiled at him, "Then you should get some rest or something. Jazz isn't gonna be happy with this, you know."

Sideswipe scoffed, "I think we'll survive."

I opened my mouth to speak when a sharp pain radiated through my knee. A yelp came out instead of words and I wobbled in place. Sideswipe's arms quickly wrapped around me as alarm spread across his features. The pain was gone as quick as it came.

"Are you alright?" Sideswipe pressed, "What happened?"

"I think my knee's just exhausted from PT." I shrugged and tried to shrug out his grasp to stand on my own. His grip tightened, "Sides, really I'm fine."

Sideswipe shook his holoform's head, "No way. We should go see Ratchet or Wheeljack. You lost your balance which means the brace wasn't doing what it was supposed to do."

I lifted a hand to press against his cheek, "Sides, I promise. I am ok. Jackie is working on a new one as we speak. The pain is already gone too."

"Still." Sideswipe whined in worry. "If I wasn't here you would've hit the ground. The ground."

Before I could reply to him the roaring of an engine began to fill the hallway, as did the startled cries of multiple different humans. I could feel the ground beneath my feet vibrate slightly before a bright yellow Lamborghini whipped around the corner. It skid across the floor slightly, but didn't touch either side of the hallway walls.

"Sunstreaker?" I cried in surprise as my eyes landed on the bright red autobot face where the Lamborghini symbol should be. The soldiers in the hall rushed to the side as Sunstreaker drove right up to us, screeching to a halt. Transforming in this hallway would lead to disaster, but they were built for the Cybertronians to drive in.

The yellow door swung open and up and his holoform came storming out with furrowed brows and a look of worry. The twins shared a glance and I knew that glance was just a conversation I wasn't privy to.

"Sit down." Sunstreaker said as he easily looped his arms around me and pulled me toward the front of his alt form. "Careful."

"I'm fine. Come on, we're causing a scene." I sighed as Sunstreaker carefully set me down to lean against the front of his hood. The other soldiers in the hall had pulled away from the wall now that Sunstreaker wasn't speeding through. However, they weren't being subtle with the stares as they passed.

Sideswipe glanced around as Sunstreaker slowly lifted my leg, "Do you want me to get rid of everyone?"

"No!" I cried and pulled his arm toward me, "The scene is quite large enough, thanks."

Sunstreaker cradled my ankle with one hand while holding my foot against his stomach. Like Sideswipe, he holoform wore his military uniform. The mech's serious gaze was focused on my brace, "What happened?"

"I'm just tired from PT." I answered. Sunstreaker caught my gaze before looking over at Sideswipe. I raised an eyebrow at both of them, "If I'm forced to be in this mess the least you can do is talk about me out loud."

Sideswipe grinned, "Sorry, babe."

"Sunflower", I said to the mech actually holding my leg, "I really am fine. Nothing is wrong."

Sunstreaker shook his head, "Am I allowed to double check that theory for you? Please?"

I sighed and lifted a hand in allowance. Sunstreaker nodded before using his free hand to feel different areas on my brace. I tore my glance away to make awkward eye contact with some of the passing soldiers. Some would return the grimace like smile I offered, but others averted their eyes and hurried on their way.

That wasn't just me though. I had noticed some of the soldiers on base avoided the twins, and when I say twins I mostly mean Sunstreaker. It didn't surprise me too much considering he could be pretty intimidating. It'd bother me if I didn't know that Sunstreaker liked the solitude his intimidating demeanor earned.

"Your brace is malfunctioning." Sunstreaker suddenly spoke.

I blinked in surprise, "What?"

"Here." He motioned to a spot behind my knee, "This area is shutting down which means it isn't providing the support you need. That's why you felt pain."

Now the twins' worry had spread to me. I stared at my brace, "Well what do we do?"

"We take you to Wheeljack." Sunstreaker scooped me up and glanced at Sideswipe. His holoform nodded before disappearing from view leaving Sunstreaker and I. "And you stay off your leg."

"No!" I whined as he set me in the passenger seat, "He'll take it off and since he hasn't finished the new brace I'll be back with my crutches."

Sunstreaker drove off without bothering to activate his holoform inside at the driver's seat. I crossed my arms unhappily. Like hell I was about to start limping around the base again. Fuck that.

"If you keep walking around on that broken brace you'll make your knee worse." Sunstreaker replied. I could tell he was taking the path to the main elevator so we could make it to Wheeljack's lab.

I leaned back into the seat and let my gaze fall onto the ugly scar, "How do you even know it's malfunctioning?"

"I had Wheeljack send me the schematics when he first put it on."

"Why?"

"For moments like this obviously." He replied and my lips twitched up slightly. As Sunstreaker came to a stop in the elevator, I let my fingers trace the edges of my brace around the scar. It seemed like every time I got close to forgetting about this stupid injury something happened to remind me that it wasn't ever going to go away. This scar wasn't like my others and that was because this injury, unlike all the others, would never truly heal. Without a brace, I'd walk around with a limp and an extremely weak leg.

A warm hand slid over mine startling me slightly. I glanced up to see Sunstreaker's holoform was sitting in the driver's seat now. Our eyes were locked as he comfortingly gripped my hand and pulled it away from the scar. He didn't say anything, but he really didn't have to. His eyes said it all.

I nodded and gave him a small smile as thanks. I wasn't dealing with this alone. That was also different with this injury. It wasn't just me sitting in a shitty apartment by myself hoping it would get better one day. I had a team that cared about me. A family.

"Let's go see Jackie, huh?" I chuckled.

When Sunstreaker and I arrived at Wheeljack's lab, I was surprised to see the door already open with the sound of Cybertronian language. Sunstreaker didn't react as he drove in, but my eyes went wide at the sight of Sideswipe and Wheeljack arguing in Cybertronian. Their language always seemed sharp and harsh to me, but it was even more so now and the way they stood toe to toe made me think they were going to suddenly start fighting.

"Sunstreaker." I said in panic.

The door opened and his holoform was suddenly by my side pulling me out. Wheeljack said one last thing, his fins flashing brightly, before he came over and knelt down, "Are you alright, Aj?"

"I'm fine, Jackie. What's wrong?" I questioned as he carefully took me from Sunstreaker. His battle mask his a lot of his features and emotions, but his eyes looked frustrated and angry.

Sunstreaker transformed, "We'll be back. Come on, Sides."

Sideswipe's gaze softened slightly before he nodded at me and left with his brother. Wheeljack didn't say anything as he carried me over to his workbench and carefully placed me in a clear area, "Please don't stand. If you want to move let me know first."

He didn't wait for me to reply and instead walked away to gather supplies. I cleared my throat, "Jackie?"

Wheeljack came back and tilted his head at me, "Hmm, I don't want to risk doing this at this size. I have to remove the brace." He transformed down to the floor where I could no longer see him, but his holoform appeared by my side. Wheeljack kept some human sized tools on the workbench to use on the kids, and now apparently me, and it took him only a moment to grab them.

When he came back and knelt down by my side I could see the anger on his holoform's face. It took me a minute to recognize it because I had never seen Wheeljack look so upset. Hell, I don't think I've ever seen Wheeljack look angry about anything.

"Wheeljack…" I said softly.

"I'm sorry." He snapped and though I could tell his anger wasn't directed toward me his glare didn't lessen, "I have no idea what malfunctioned and I probably won't until after I look it over."

I lifted my hand and placed it on his shoulder, "Wheeljack, I'm fine. Nothing happened, but…but why were you and Sideswipe fighting?"

Wheeljack dropped his head and heaved a sigh, "He was upset about what happened. I'm sorry you had to see that from both of us. We both lost our tempers."

"Because of my brace?" I questioned in confusion.

"Hmm." Wheeljack hummed as he used his hands to feel spots on the brace a lot like Sunstreaker had done earlier.

"I've seen Sides lose his temper before, but never you Wheeljack." I pressed, "Are you ok?"

Wheeljack let his hands drop as he paused in thought. He scoffed lightly and gave me a firm smile, "I'm a good engineer, Aj." My eyes narrowed in confusion. Why would he say something I already knew? "I was top of my class in Cybertron and I was sought after by many…companies, before the war."

"Jackie, you built a portal into a different time and universe with scraps from my garage." I shook my head, "I'm fully aware of how good of an engineer you are."

"Some of my work, my inventions, do tend to explode." He said firmly, "Admittedly, I get overexcited sometimes, but I also get impossible deadlines. When you spend a joor wiring something that should take at least half a vorn, of course it will glitch." To be honest, I couldn't remember how long a joor was, but the saying still made sense. I understood what he meant. The anger faded and was replaced with this serious look of sadness. "But when it comes to… I wouldn't- I wouldn't ever, ever put you or the younglings at risk."

My eyes widened at the sudden turn this took, "Of course not. I know that. What the hell did Sideswipe say to you?"

"He was just upset that the brace put you in harm's way. He… He made a joke and it just got out of control." Wheeljack stood and took a few steps away to where his tools were. Sideswipe must have made a jab at the whole 'explosion' thing. It was a common joke to make around Wheeljack and he usually took it well. Since this one must have been about me though…

"I'll beat the shit out of him if you want." I offered.

Wheeljack let out a soft laugh and turned back around with an amused smile, "I shouldn't have gotten so upset at him."

I shook my head, "He shouldn't have said anything like that,"

It was silent for a brief moment as his smile slid away, "As long as you know that I would never put you or the younglings at risk. If there were any risk of-of anything, an explosion or anything of the sort… I would never-"

"Wheeljack." I pushed myself off the ground to stand and Wheeljack rushed over just in case the brace malfunctioned again. I put my hands on his shoulders, despite the fact that he was taller than me now, and smiled, "Everyone knows that. Even Sides. He just wasn't thinking."

Wheeljack nodded and set one of his hands on top of mine while it was still on his shoulder, "I just owe you so much, Aj. I want to do everything in my power to fix this, but it's proving to be difficult."

"You don't owe me anything, Jackie." I argued. "And I know you're doing your best."

The mech gave me another firm smile before going to work on my brace. He quickly explained that the entire thing was going to come off before beginning to use some sort of electrical saw. The tool itself was loud and a bit terrifying looking, but I was far from concerned. The last conversation alone was proof that I was in good hands.