Hound watched the two girls hoping they'd be able to sleep tonight. Not because he doubted he and Bumblebee could help the girls but because he hated how they were having nightmares, and how Jayce is afraid to sleep because of them.
Crosshairs moved a chair next to Drift's and sat down.
"What are you doing here?" Drift asked.
"Hound insisted I join you, though I don't think they can handle the girls. I told him how difficult Jayce is to wake up."
"I can't stay here much longer; I hate this."
Crosshairs noticed that Drift wasn't holding Jamie's hand. He always did and always felt a little better when he held it. Crosshairs held her hand but released it. He hated how warm it was.
This is what a very sick human feels like, damn.
"I'm leaving," Drift said with sadness in his voice. Crosshairs watched him walk away.
Not even five minutes, damn it.
Even Crosshairs couldn't stay much longer. He stayed for five more minutes before returning to where the girls, Bee and Hound were.
"Where's Drift?" He whispered.
"He's not with Jamie?" Hound asked, whispering.
"No, he stayed for five minutes. I had to leave soon after," Crosshairs frowned, "I'll leave him alone for a while."
Crosshairs left Drift alone for an hour, half expecting him to come back. When he didn't, Crosshairs left to find him though he was sure he knew where Drift was.
"Isn't that Jayce's phone? How did you get it?" He asked as he sat next to Drift.
"It was easy. I had to, Jayce makes herself more upset by looking at the pictures on here. I was going to give it to Bulma."
"And you're not making yourself more upset?" Crosshairs noticed Drift was looking at the same photos Jayce has been looking at.
"Yes," Drift sighed, put the phone down, and they sat in silence. It wasn't long before they thought about going back to where the girls were. Though they knew Hound was trying to get them to either take a break or be with Jamie.
Damn it; I was hoping she'd get more sleep. Four hours is very little. Hound watched Jayce toss and turn for a minute before holding her, trying to wake her before she ended up crying and before J R. woke up. He didn't expect her to wake up, hyperventilating. He felt her heart racing. Bumblebee and Hound looked at each other.
"Easy, Jayce, it's ok."
Neither Bumblebee nor Hound noticed that J.R. woke up. She watched Jayce, shocked at how upset she was.
I knew you were having nightmares that wake you up, but I didn't think they terrifyed you this much.
She started tearing up when Jayce started bawling. Bumblebee sat next to her.
"Help Jayce, Bee."
Bumblebee moved J.R. into his lap and hugged her. Though J.R. wanted Crosshairs, she let herself cry as she watched Jayce.
Not only is she afraid, she's having a panic attack, shit.
J.R. waited five minutes before thinking maybe she should get Drift. Though there's not much either mech can do, J.R. thought because Jayce is more comfortable with Drift, he can calm her sooner. She tried to get up, but Bee didn't release her.
"I think we should get Drift," she told him, Bee shook his head no.
Crosshairs and Drift return five minutes later.
Crap Drift thought seeing Jayce.
"How long has she been like that?" Drift asked.
"Twelve minutes," Hound replied.
Crosshairs walked up to Bee and J.R.
"Are you ok?" He asked J.R.
"Better than Jayce."
Crosshairs sat next to Bee, "good job, Bee."
Though he wasn't sure what happened, it surprised him J.R. is as calm as she is.
"You want to take her?" Hound asked.
"No, it's fine. Jayce takes a while," Drift sat in front of Bee and J.R.
"Take her Drift. She's having a panic attack, and she's terrified," J.R. urged.
She wasn't sure if Jayce would calm down with Hound or she wanted Drift. Drift sat on his knees in front of J.R. and put his hands on her shoulders.
"It's ok; Hound's got it."
He saw how worried J.R. was. He got up and sat next to Hound.
"Come on," Crosshairs got up and extended his hand to J.R. She didn't want to go, though she can't help Jayce. She took Crosshairs' hand, and they walked away. Crosshairs wanted to get J.R. away before she became more upset and to get J.R. to go back to sleep.
Five minutes later, Jayce is coughing.
"Take her. You'll do better calming her," Hound insisted. Hound put Jayce on the ground and stood up. Before Drift sat next to her, Jayce vomited, she vomited on the ground then started coughing. Drift sat next to her, put her on his lap and hugged her tight.
"You're ok," he knew what the nightmare was about or at least part of it.
Bee and Hound watched, hating how the nightmares are getting worse and whatever this one was about frightened Jayce. They both thought she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Jayce calmed down five minutes later. Hound isn't bothered by how Drift had better luck getting her to calm down. Drift wanted to get Jayce back to sleep. As he expected, Jayce grabbed his arms so he couldn't lay her down. Bumblebee and Hound left Drift and Jayce alone.
They wanted to see if J.R. was ok after watching Jayce.
Bumblebee and Hound found Crosshairs and J.R. laying down. They figured Crosshairs was trying to get her to fall asleep. He stood up when he noticed them.
"She's asleep...for now."
"She's doing better than Jayce."
"For how long?"
Crosshairs was frustrated. They all knew J.R. might end up having a nightmare like Jayce, and now she has them. Now they worried she'd end up having a panic attack like Jayce. Crosshairs is also concerned about Jayce but couldn't leave J.R.
"How was Jayce when you left?"
Hound answered his question, and as Hound expected, Crosshairs hates what he's told.
"Great. Maybe Drift and I should have let her leave, but we weren't sure if she'd still have nightmares, and she'd be alone."
"No, you two made the right decision. You're both doing all you can for Jayce and J.R., but you two need to be with Jamie. I don't know if J.R. is right or not, but what if she is?"
"And if she's wrong?"
"You two won't know if you avoid Jamie. I know you're both terrified, we all are." Hound and Bee walk away. Crosshairs sat down next to J.R. and thought about what Hound said.
Two-thirty A.M., Jayce is calm enough that Drift could lay her down on the ground. She was exhausted, but he knew she'd fight going to sleep.
Jayce tried not to sleep, but she lasted five minutes before falling asleep.
Please let her sleep for a while.
J.R woke up when the sun rose. She got up and walked away, Crosshairs followed.
"Leave Jayce alone; she might be sleeping. Come on, you need to eat."
As Crosshairs expected, J.R. didn't eat much. It was more like a snack. Crosshairs knew he wouldn't be able to get her to eat more. Hound and Bumblebee join them five minutes later. They are no longer using holoforms. Hound knew Crosshairs wanted to make sure Jayce was all right.
"Go ahead; we'll stay with her," Hound assures him.
Crosshairs wasn't sure if he can leave J.R. She was calm now, but for how long?
It relieved crosshairs to see Jayce was asleep. He sat next to Drift.
"How long has she been sleeping?"
"Three and a half hours. I'm hoping she'll be able to sleep for a while."
"You think we could have done anything to prevent her from having these nightmares and now a panic attack?"
"No, this is because of all the stress. It's amazing this didn't start right after we got back from Jadin's hideout. Jamie flatlining scared her, so now these nightmares are scaring her."
"And J.R. now has them. Not even Bulma taking over helped them."
"Yeah, that may have caused more stress on them."
"And all we can do is watch them, all three of them. I hate it." Crosshairs got up and walked away.
I also hate this. Drift thought as he watched Crosshairs walk away.
All J.R. wanted to do was sit with Crosshairs, which was concerning to him, Hound and Bee. Most likely, Jayce will just want to be with Drift. Crosshairs worried.
All the Autobots worried the situation was changing their friends' personalities. They were all thinking they had to talk to Bulma and Cade about last night or at least Bulma since she's known all three girls longer than them. Hound and Bumblebee stayed with Crosshairs, and J.R.
Cade finds them all gathered twenty minutes later. He was relieved that J.R. was calm, but Looking at the Autobots' faces, he assumed it wasn't a good night. Cade wasn't sure if Bulma was up or not. He walked five feet into the building before finding that she was up.
"Have you seen J.R.?" He asked.
"No, I just finished with Jamie. Why?"
"I don't think she had a good night. Bumblebee, Crosshairs, and Hound are with her, and they all looked concerned."
"Let's go."
The two walked out of the building and joined the others. Cade tried to get J.R. to go with him, but she refused. Even Crosshairs had a hard time getting her to go with Cade, but he got her to go with him. Cade figured Bulma would tell him what Crosshairs tells her later. Crosshairs told Bulma about Jayce, and they all expressed their concern about how Jayce and J.R are changing because of this situation.
"Damn it," Bulma sighed, "all you can do is be there for them. No way to know if this is just how they're choosing to deal with this or not. I'm sorry there's a lot of unknown. It may be temporary, but it's hard to tell," she informed them.
Crosshairs walked away when she finished. Bulma frowned as she watched him walk away. Hound noticed how Crosshairs walking away bothered Bulma.
"It's fine, Bulma. He wanted to know if he could help Jayce and J.R., and he got the answer."
Crosshairs sat in his vehicle mode. He was hoping there was more that could be done to help Jayce and J.R. He just sat lost in thought for ten minutes before thinking he had to get back to J.R.
Crosshairs found J.R. laying down on her side, back towards Cade. He laid down beside her; Cade left them alone. Crosshairs watched her try not to fall asleep, bothered by how the girls had been training for hours before Jadin attacked. Now, J.R. is tired already from depression, hoping it was temporary.
Jayce slept until eight am. She laid awake for two minutes. Drift was looking at the pictures on Jayce's phone again. Even though looking at them made him think he could lose his friend, the one he loved, he still wanted to look at the memories. He looked up from the phone and noticed Jayce was awake. He put the phone away and moved closer to her. She had to eat, but Drift didn't want to make her get up. He wondered if she was still tired, but the sun woke her?
Jayce got up ten minutes later, and Drift followed. Jayce got some food, but like J.R., she had very little. Bulma watched, seeing how tired Jayce looked. Drift noticed Bulma and walked up to her. He handed her Jayce's phone.
"This is Jayce's. I had to take it from her. She kept looking at the pictures on there and making herself more upset," he walked away. Bulma could tell Drift was upset.
Did you look at the pictures too? She thought.
Hound stopped him before he could get back to Jayce. He was using his holoform.
"You want me to take over?" He was trying to suggest Drift goes to see Jamie and not make it like he's forcing. Drift nodded and walked into the building.
Take all the time you want. Hound was hoping Drift would stay with Jamie for at least two hours. Hound just sat across from Jayce. He wanted to distract her, but he wasn't sure if he could without forcing her to do something.
Bulma was on her laptop when she noticed that Drift walked in. She said nothing since he wasn't aware that she was in the building. She just watched him sit by the bed and hold Jamie's hand that was still warm. Bulma watched tears roll down his face. She left the building.
By now, Bumblebee joined Hound, and Jayce Hound got up and walked to Bulma.
"Something wrong?" He asked.
"Look for yourself."
Hound looked in the building.
"I knew he was hurting over this, but I didn't think he was this upset."
"It's possible almost losing Jamie and now watching Jamie decline is what's upsetting him plus watching how distraught Jayce and J.R. are. Jayce told me he and Crosshairs didn't want to be near Jamie until she flatlined."
"I know he couldn't stay near her longer than five minutes last night, and Crosshairs left five minutes after him. They're losing hope that she'll survive. Jayce seemed to have given up already."
"I know, I don't understand why she wants me to develop equipment for you guys but also thinks Jamie will die. I think she's just depressed. I hope it's temporary. I hate not having the answers for everyone. Jayce told me when J.R. told Crosshairs and Drift about the last severe flare-up, they had hope, and now it's gone again."
"Tell me, is this the worst now?"
"Yes and no. It's the worst, but Jadin started it."
Hound frowned and walked back to where Jayce and Bumblebee were. Bulma left to find Crosshairs and J.R. she wanted to make sure J.R. was doing all right; also, it was something to do away from the building so that Drift could be alone. Bumblebee and Jayce weren't where Hound last saw them.
Bulma found J.R. sleeping and Crosshairs watching.
"How long has she been sleeping?" She asked.
"An hour," Crosshairs replied. Crosshairs guessed that Bulma was here because Drift was with Jamie, and Bulma wanted to leave him alone. He thought of joining Drift but worried about J.R.
"Go ahead," Bulma insisted. Crosshairs got up and walked away.
Jayce just wanted to be left alone. Bumblebee did what she wanted but watched her from a distance. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but he was ready if Jayce needed him or tried to harm herself. Jayce was feeling many emotions. She wanted to leave, afraid Jamie would die but also wanted to stay. She felt better being with Drift.
"Where is she?" Hound asked Bee. Bumblebee pointed out where Jayce was. "I'm not sure this is a good idea, Bee, but if she wants to be left alone..." He trailed off.
Crosshairs moved a chair next to Drift and sat down but said nothing.
"I think we need to get the girls out of here," Drift spoke after two minutes of silence.
"It's a good idea, but I know you don't want to leave, plus Jayce left for three days, and that did nothing."
"After what she dealt with last night, leaving seems like a good idea."
"No, it won't help," Bulma jumps in, "sorry to intrude." The two mechs turn to face her.
"You left J.R. alone?" Crosshairs asked, trying not to sound angry.
"No, Cade is with her. I know taking them away from the situation seems like a good idea but not in this situation. They'll continue to be concerned about Jamie and still struggle," she left them alone.
Everyone is falling apart, and I can't give them hope. She thought as she walked away.
"Damn it, "Crosshairs mumbled, "If J R. is right, then there's still six weeks of this crap. How much more can they take? And you."
"You know we all want this to be over and for Jamie to survive. For Jayce and J R. to be themselves again," Drift held Jamie's hand, "come on, Jamie."
Crosshairs put a hand on Drift's shoulder and his other hand on Drift's
J.R. wanted to find Jayce when she woke up. Cade just followed her. When he noticed Hound was watching Jayce, he turned around and walked away. J.R. sat next to Jayce.
"You ok?" She asked.
"As ok as I can be right now. You?"
"Same."
They sat in silence for a while before J.R. suggested they get some food. Hound followed them. He was concerned that they would leave the dimension if none of the Autobots were watching them. Neither of the girls said a thing as they ate. They still weren't eating much. Hound wasn't sure if he should be concerned or not. By now, Cade and Bumblebee were nearby.
"Are we getting out of here?" J.R. asked, but Jayce ignored her, "what's wrong?"
Crosshairs and Drift walked up to the girls. They noticed something was off about Jayce. Drift watched as Jayce stood up and then started to fall to the ground. He hurried to catch her. J.R. watched, frightened. Crosshairs walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Cade walked up to Drift. Bee and Hound watched, worried.
"Crap, Jayce?" Cade knelt beside Drift.
"Will she be ok?" Drift asked.
Crosshairs tried to get J.R. to leave, but she refused. The Autobots didn't know why Jayce would pass out, but they were too worried to ask.
Come on, Jayce, wake up. We can't have two friends down. Hound watched, waiting for Jayce to wake up. They waited a long minute before Jayce woke up. Drift had no problem keeping her still when she woke up.
"What happened?" Bulma asked as she walked up to them.
"Jayce passed out," Cade told her. Bulma knelt in front of Drift and Jayce, making sure she was ok. J.R. was fighting Crosshairs to get closer to Jayce.
"She's fine, J.R.," Bulma told her. She gave Drift some instructions before walking away, Cade followed her. Drift carried Jayce away and, J.R. and Crosshairs followed. Bumblebee and Hound both walked into the building.
"What caused Jayce to pass out?" Hound asked Bulma.
"Too much stress. I'm worried Jayce could pass out again, and J.R. seems to be on the same path as Jayce with her stress."
"Crap," Hound mumbled. Bumblebee pointed to Jamie. Bulma knew he was asking how she was.
"She's not doing good. The level of the chemical won't go down."
And that's what caused her to flatline. Cade thought.
"Do..do you know if..." Hound trailed off.
"It's possible," Bulma said in a sad tone. Bumblebee, Cade, and Hound frowned.
