Optimus Prime's P.O.V.
Jasmine still looks awful, but Ratchet says she's getting better. I worry about her mental state once she's over the flu. No doubt what Yazmine did affect her, but how badly? I am saddened she already thinks she won't be allowed to see her baby sister and doesn't want to bond with her once she's recovered from the flu. They could release the baby in a month. I hope that all the legal scrap will be dealt with in a good way.
The only good thing about Jasmine being sick is the nightmares aren't happening.
Ratchet walks in stressed; this can't be good.
I have him tell me what happened in the hallway. It's hard to believe he's full of anxiety — unless he usually does well hiding it until now. Everything that was in his control had been taken care of. Now we wait for a stranger to decide what happens with this family.
The others know a baby could live here soon, and some are excited. Of course, Sunstreaker is not pleased, but he's more pissed at what Yazmine has done, and now is not the time to find her and deal with her.
I visit the baby daily. The little girl in the incubator, staring at whoever sits by her, is no longer on a ventilator but still needs a little breathing assistance. She's working on transitioning to an open crib — though only for the morning, for now. She's doing very well for being born at twenty-seven weeks gestation.
"I wonder what we'll be calling you when you're released?"
I didn't think I'd be allowed to hold the baby. I see why Ratchet is full of anxiety. There's little I can do if I am asked about Jasmine and Ratchet or how we'll keep the baby safe while living at N.E.S.T.
Jasmine's P.O.V.
I'm happy to wake up not freezing until I see I'm on IV medication. I'm over being sick, but I know nightmares will happen once I feel better. There's also the nightmare dealing with the legal system. I don't know if I should be happy I missed my parents' funeral, and I know I wouldn't have been able to handle it. I didn't know Ratchet was in the room until he sat on his knees next to me and wiped my face with a cooling cloth. I've been sick for eight days. I know the flu can last longer, but I worry this will turn into pneumonia.
"You want to go for a walk like I used to after the accident?" He asks.
Knowing Ratchet, he's prepared with a wheelchair with an attached IV pole.
I didn't think Ratchet would be prepared with security though I doubt Yazmine will try to kidnap me again this soon.
"Ti proteggerò," Mirage says.
"Seriously? He says he'll protect you — we will protect you," Sunstreaker explains.
As I thought, Ratchet is borrowing a wheelchair from the hospital, and he says nothing about going to the hospital to visit the baby.
We go to the park, but Ratchet keeps the walk short and takes me to the medbay. I know he's worried this flu will turn into pneumonia. I rest in a room while he looks at a sample he took from me. Being in the room designed to resemble a hospital room, I can't stop thinking about the baby. I don't want to think about her if I'll be forbidden from seeing her. I try not to cry, but tears run loose.
"What's wrong?" Jolt asks. I'm certain Ratchet told him when I'm due for more medication, "did Ratchet not tell you about your baby sister?"
"He did," I sob, "but I don't want to see her just to be forbidden from seeing her."
Jolt's P.O.V.
It's not my place to say anything. I make sure Jasmine is ok before going to talk to Ratchet.
"I don't want to force her to see the baby or tell her she's risking not being allowed to be her sister's guardian by not seeing her in the hospital. I worry how bad she will be mentally once she's recovered from the flu if she's already like this," Ratchet sighs, "I don't know if having Damian and Ryley explain things will help. I hate. I don't know what to do. Why did I have to fall for a human?"
"You know how fragged up that is? That this scrap could happen on Cybertron? Most of us consider each other family, and she'll need as much support as possible, but you're her boyfriend."
"Well, her mental struggle is delayed," Ratchet sighs, "It's one of those 'pick which scrap to deal with' situations."
There's evidence that this will be a bad case of pneumonia, and it's a good thing Jasmine is already in the medbay. I worry we're missing something for the Energon to struggle to help Jasmine as it should be. Ratchet tells me Jasmine's breathing was already abnormal and not flu abnormal when he checked her before she fell asleep.
Ratchet dreads telling Jasmine she's getting sicker and explaining he's putting her on a little oxygen and drawing more blood. I think he is worried he's missed something that can take a while to make someone sick or even kill. Then I realize; Yazmine was the one who suggested trying an Energon infusion to save Jasmine. What if this has all been planned, even if she was hoping the infusion would kill Jasmine? Could we be looking at human pneumonia and cyonic plague? Damn, no way I'll get Ratchet to stop working and act only Jasmine's boyfriend. I watch him sit by the bed, holding Jasmine's hand as she falls asleep. I see her vitals are slightly elevated.
Looking at Ratchet's notes in the lab, it's worsening flu for now, and he already marked the cyonic plague as negative.
This will make the custody case more difficult as now Ratchet will visit the baby less often or not at all. I don't think it'll make a difference if Prime visits her. While Ratchet is with Jasmine, I go visit the baby. I didn't think I'd be allowed in the NICU, though. Apparently, Prime argued for most of us to see the baby if we wish.
Already wanting everyone to see her as family, huh, Prime? I don't know if it's a good idea.