Two days have passed. J.R. is struggling; Crosshairs watches, wondering what he could do to help, why hasn't he heard from Drift, and when will he and Jayce come back? Bulma doesn't even bother contacting Drift. Cade wants to but doesn't dare touch Bulma's laptop, and Bulma put Jayce's away somewhere.
Cade, Bumblebee, and Hound stay away from the building. Cade isn't sure if Bulma is still angry, but he'd rather stay away. Hound tries to get Crosshairs to be with Jamie, but he refuses. Crosshairs doesn't know about the last video call Bulma had with Drift, nor does he ask if Drift has contacted her. Jayce has said nothing about going back or even telling Drift to go back. He doesn't ask her if she'll go back or try to get her to go back.
Early morning, J.R. doesn't get up when the sun rises; Crosshairs tries to keep her out of the sun. Cade watched Bulma from the entrance to the building while Bumblebee and Hound watch Bulma from the stack of cars. No one knows how Jamie is. All they can do is hope she's making the slightest improvement. Cade noticed J.R. and Crosshairs haven't come by; he goes to make sure J.R. is ok, Bumblebee and Hound go with him.
"Strange she's sleeping late, well it is since she always woke up as the sun rose," Cade comments.
"All she wants to do is sleep. Nightmares wake her up, and now has panic attacks like Jayce. I'm wondering if she thinks this is some dream she's not waking up from," Crosshairs tells him.
Shit, this bad in eight days.
"How are you holding up?" Hound asks Crosshairs.
"How do you think? Both the girls are getting worse mentally. I hate watching the pain they're dealing with. I doubt Drift is doing well, either."
Cade and Hound look at each other and nod.
"Go be with Jamie, we'll stay with J.R.," Cade insisted. Crosshairs hesitated, but he knew most likely J.R. would be asleep for a few more hours. Cade and Hound watched him walk away,
"Twenty days of this. How much more do you think the five of them can take?" Hound asks.
"I have no idea. All I know is that they're hurting more than you, me, Bulma or Bee."
"Both Bulma and Bumblebee have known Jamie the longest."
"Bumblebee doesn't have a close relationship with her like Crosshairs, Drift, Jayce, and J.R. Bulma has seen this several times, but I think she's losing hope too."
Crosshairs saw Bulma on her laptop. She was occupied with whatever she was doing to notice Crosshairs. He takes his usual place beside Jamie.
Twenty days of this. Come on, Jamie.
He couldn't keep himself from crying. Bulma heard him; still, amazed Crosshairs can stay strong until he's with Jamie, but then she thinks of how worried he is about J.R. and Jayce.
"It's ok," Bulma walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Jamie is improving but very little. I wanted to wait until it was significant. The fever is going down, but not by much."
"There's a but to this, isn't there? Tell me."
"The level of the chemical is still high," Bulma sighed, "it's complicated, but you don't need to worry about all of this."
Crosshairs wondered if Jamie was still too weak, and her heart could stop again, but he didn't want to ask. Bulma wasn't expecting Crosshairs to stop asking about Jamie, but she didn't continue either.
"Have you heard from Drift?" Crosshairs asked.
Bulma tells him about how she yelled at Drift.
"You didn't. Did you even think that Jayce most likely heard all that?"
"No," she replied in a sad tone, "I know he's angry at me."
"Let me try contacting him." Crosshairs tried but had no luck.
"Try sending a message," Bulma suggested, but there was no response. Bulma thought Drift was angry at her, but both her and Crosshairs worried that something was wrong.
"You think we should go?" Bulma asked. Crosshairs didn't want to stay away from J.R. longer than he has, but if something was wrong and Drift needed help.
They figured Jayce would still be asleep, Drift sitting by her, but they were very concerned seeing Jayce's arm up to her elbow wrapped up.
Oh shit, she didn't. Crosshairs thought.
"What happened?" Bulma asked, concerned and afraid to hear the answer. Drift couldn't say anything. Bulma carefully cut the wrapping. She and Crosshairs are shocked to see what Jayce did. She had four cuts that had to have been two inches long. Bulma was amazed by how well Drift took care of the cuts. She did her best to look at them without waking up Jayce.
"She's lucky not to need stitches. You did a great job taking care of these. What did she do?"
"I failed to protect her. I don't know where she got this. I didn't even know Jamie had this, but Jayce claims it's Jamie's," Drift showed them a pocket knife. This was not a cheap one, either.
"I thought Jamie got rid of it. It's been years since she used it. You didn't know she had it?"
"I knew Jamie had three swords. Jayce showed me months ago. I should have looked at what else she had."
Oh shit. Crosshairs thought. I remember seeing the weapons. Jamie had a handgun too. Please tell him Jayce has to come back, Bulma.
"I didn't think she'd harm herself. I would have told you to bring her back," Bulma thought for a moment, "when did she do this?"
"Yesterday."
"Shit, she heard me. This is my fault."
"No, it's that bastard Jadin's." Crosshairs raged, "we all watched the girls go downhill emotionally. Jayce needs to come back whether or not she wants to."
Bulma and Drift agreed. They didn't wait until Jayce woke up before bringing her back. Bulma rewrapped Jayce's arm before they left.
Drift laid Jayce next to J.R. when they got back. He did his best to position his Cybertronian form to block the sun before using his holoform.
"How's J.R. been holding up?"
"She spends most of the day sleeping, and I hate it. She has panic attacks like Jayce now, and she barely eats."
"Damn it; she needed Jayce."
"I don't think Jayce being here could have prevented them, and J.R. got very upset watching Jayce go through one."
"And Jayce barely eats now."
They sat in silence, watching the girls.
"You got Drift and Jayce to come back?" Cade asked.
"No. We had to bring Jayce back. She resorted to self-harm."
"Shit."
"Drift blames himself and considering the timing-."
"No, it's that bastard's fault."
"That's what Crosshairs said."
"He's right. Jadin caused all this to happen."
Bulma checked on Jamie; Cade watched, hoping there would be some kind of improvement.
Bulma was thinking of Jayce and J.R. as she checked on Jamie.
Most people would be pissed that we're not making the girls get "professional" help. How five Autobots aren't licensed to help nor are Cade, and I. Jayce and J.R. choose who they need to help them through this. This is better than someone who doesn't know them.
Cade waited until Bulma started typing on her laptop to ask about Jamie.
"The fever is going down. To a point, the fever is a sign Jamie's body is fighting the chemical, but a higher fever isn't good. This is a good but small improvement. Until she gets off the ventilator, she's still very weak. Even off of it, she's weak for a while. It's complicated."
Damn it, still a long road ahead.
Cade took his place by Jamie. Bulma continued typing.
J.R. woke up an hour later, afraid of what she saw going on with Jayce's arm.
"It's ok," Crosshairs assured her. He wasn't sure what else to say.
"She'll be ok, J.R.," Drift didn't dare tell her what happened. J.R. was happy to see Drift. Though she had a small smile, Crosshairs and Drift knew she was happy to see him. She crawled onto his lap and hugged him. Drift wasn't sure what to say as he hugged her. Crosshairs waited a few minutes before getting food for J.R.
"This is from yesterday," Crosshairs informed him. Drift hated how the box was mostly full, "see? Very little. I don't know when humans start losing weight from not eating, but I worry she'll end up losing weight and a lot."
As Crosshairs expected, J.R. didn't want to eat.
"Does Bulma know how little she eats?"
"She's the one who made these."
"Wait a little bit. Could be J.R. just woke up and found Jayce and I came back. Go be with Jamie; I can handle these two."
"You haven't seen her in two days, why don't you go?"
"How about you both go?" Hound jumps in. Bumblebee and Hound sit next to Drift.
Drift didn't want to leave Jayce alone anymore, but he couldn't tell Bee and Hound why without J.R. hearing it. Crosshairs shook his head no and pointed to Jayce. What they saw concerned Bee and Hound but figured they shouldn't ask in front of J.R.
Crap, no way Drift will leave Jayce alone. This isn't good. How long before J.R. resorts to self-harm? Hound wondered.
Hound also figured J.R. wouldn't let either of them leave seeing how tight a hold she has on Drift. They all just sat quietly, thinking when will this end? When will the girls be ok?
Jayce wakes up twenty minutes later. Everyone expected her to be pissed. Jayce looks at J.R., expecting J.R. to get up and slap her again, but J.R. avoided looking at her. Bulma comes by five minutes later, insisting Jayce go with her. She knew not to say more in front of J.R. Crosshairs takes J.R. so Drift can go with Jayce.
What the hell? Cade couldn't believe what Jayce did to herself. He also was surprised to see Jayce did not react as Bulma cleaned her arm. Even Bulma was concerned, thinking maybe she's wrong about how deep the cuts are that she looked at them again.
Yes, these sting, but I deserve it. Jayce looked over at Jamie. Still think she'll survive, Bulma?
Everyone thought Jayce would go over to Jamie when Bulma finished, but she walked out of the building. Drift walked out but didn't follow Jayce.
"Strange that he's not following her," Bulma observed.
"I'll follow her," Cade walked out of the building. Bulma wanted to know why Drift didn't follow Jayce or sit by Jamie; she went to find him.
Cade followed Jayce to the end of the property away from the others. She leaned on the fence and slide down to the ground and let himself cry. Cade sat beside her.
"I'm not as good as Drift, but I'm here for you," he said as he put his hand on her shoulder. He wanted to know what she was thinking, but he'd wait for her to talk though he worried she'd keep it bottled up.
Drift sat where Cade would watch the sunset and call Tessa. He wasn't trying to hide from everyone though he didn't think anyone would follow him.
"Are you ok?" Bulma asked as she sat beside him.
"They're both giving up on Jamie and struggling. Jayce blames herself, and there's nothing we can do. I hate it."
So much for not telling anyone.
"I wanted to wait until there was a significant improvement, but Jamie is improving but, very little, though. The fever is going down, but not by much."
Drift was happy to hear Jamie started improving, but he knew because it was a small improvement, that there's still a long road ahead, that she could still die.
"I won't tell the girls. I don't want to until we know Jamie isn't at a high chance of getting worse. Does Crosshairs know?"
"Yeah, I ended up telling him," she left him alone to find Jayce.
Crosshairs got J.R. to eat a little while trying to be encouraging and not forcing. Bumblebee and Hound were still with them and relieved that J.R. ate something but would like it if she ate more. All J.R. wanted to do was sit with Crosshairs.
Are you still angry at Jayce that you'll fight her? How long before you go back to sleep? I Would like it if I could get you to do something.
Bulma figured Jayce would be crying.
"She won't talk," Cade informed her.
"Leave her alone," Bulma told him. She knew Jayce wouldn't talk though Jayce needs to. She knew Cade would stay with her until Drift came by so, Bulma walked back to the building.
After an hour alone, Drift wanted to find Jayce and check on J.R. He was hoping J.R. wouldn't be asleep, but she was.
"When did she fall asleep?"
"Twenty minutes ago. Are you ok?"
"I hate how Jayce gave up on Jamie. I was expecting Jayce to sit by Jamie, but Jayce walked away when Bulma was done. I doubt she thought we'd make her leave."
Drift walks away.
Damn it, did you give up on Jamie too, J.R.? Crosshairs wondered, looking at J.R. sleeping. He knew he'd find the answers to his questions just by watching J.R.
Cade got up and walked to Drift when he noticed Drift was coming over to them.
"I can't get her to talk."
"Don't force her to," Drift walks up to her and sits next to her. He knew seeing Jamie upset her. He worried she'd try to pull the plug. Jayce wasn't any better here than in Jamie's dimension and probably no better if she returned to her own. Drift was hoping he'd be able to keep her safe, help Crosshairs, and, if possible, be with Jamie.
"Come here." He moved her into his lap and hugged her tightly.
She needs something to know there's hope, they both do, but I don't want to tell them then Jamie has a setback.
Cade watched, hating the pain Jayce was in and how she gave up. He left after a minute.
"She's asleep already?" Cade asked.
"Yeah, it's all she wants to do."
"You're bothered by something."
"Have you seen Jayce's face? J.R. did that. She was furious at Jayce, and I'm not sure if she still is."
"I thought J.R. wanted Jayce to come back?"
"She did until she realized Jayce gave up on Jamie, and J.R. felt Jayce abandoned them. Though she was concerned seeing Jayce's arm, I'm not sure if she's still furious at Jayce. They both have very little hope," Crosshairs said as he looked at J.R.
Two hours later, Jayce and J.R. are left alone, but Crosshairs and Drift can still see them. Unknown to them, the longer J.R. sees Jayce, the angrier she gets.
"...We should tell them about Jamie," Crosshairs insists.
"No, I don't want to give them hope that could be lost. Until Jamie isn't at a high chance of setbacks, we're not telling them."
"They need something. They're falling apart."
"I'm sorry," Jaycee tried to apologize, but she was afraid of how J.R. will respond.
"Sorry?! You gave up on Jamie and abandoned me. You split the team, and I'm supposed to think you're sorry?!" She got up and walked up to Jayce. Jayce was afraid of what J.R. would do. J.R. picked her up by her clothes and threw her several feet. Jayce watched J.R. run up to her.
"Stop, J.R. you're letting your anger blind you!"
"Stop, J.R!" Crosshairs yelled. J.R. picked up Jayce again and threw her into a pile of cars just like Jayce did to her. Crosshairs and Drift watched as Jayce fell to the ground.
"Shit," Crosshairs ran to Jayce. J.R. ran towards her, but Bumblebee comes out of nowhere and grabs her; he has a tight grip on her
"Stop - fighting."
"Easy, Bee. Anger is blinding her thinking," Drift says before joining Crosshairs by Jayce.
"Come on, Jayce, wake up."
"Don't touch her. Go get Bulma."
Crosshairs did as Drift instructed. Bee was still keeping a grip on J.R.
I just hope this is like when J.R. got knocked out, but I noticed that J.R. used more of her strength. Drift looked at Jayce's injuries. The cut J.R. gave her two days ago, and the cuts she gave herself are now bleeding, and she had several cuts on both arms. All Drift could do was hope these weren't deep and that Jayce would wake up soon.
Crosshairs comes back with Bulma, Cade, and Hound two minutes later,
'What the hell?" Cade exclaims.
"I told you this was bad," Crosshairs says, concerned.
"J.R. used more force than when Jayce knocked her out," Drift told Bulma.
'Wait? J.R. was knocked out? You telling me these two have been fighting each other?"
Drift explains to Bulma what happened.
"I watched them fight. Jayce wasn't fighting at full strength. I don't think she meant to knock J.R. out," Hound tells her.
"And J.R...shit," Cade looks at Jayce, hoping she doesn't have any serious injuries. By now, Bumblebee had walked away from the others. He still had J.R. in his grasp.
"I won't know anything until she wakes up. Guess it's a good thing I made several of these."
She took out a capsule that revealed a stretcher. Cade helped Bulma put Jayce on it. Hound walked away to join Bee.
"You go with them, I'll help Bee with J.R," Drift insisted, hating how he failed to protect Jayce,
"No, she'll want you when she wakes up," Crosshairs put a hand on Drift's shoulder, "I didn't know J.R. was still this angry, I could blame myself for this, but we can't point fingers, we need to help them."
Drift was amazed Crosshairs said that. He followed Bulma and Cade. Crosshairs watched, hoping Jayce didn't have any serious injuries.
"Stop!" Bumblebee was having a hard time keeping his grip on J.R.
"Let me go!" J.R. yelled. Bumblebee knew she wasn't trying to break free. J.R. could break free, no problem.
Why are you yelling to be let go but not even trying? Hound wondered.
"Let her go, Bee." Crosshairs yelled. Bumblebee released J.R. in front of Crosshairs to grab her if she tried to run, but she didn't. Crosshairs got her to sit on the ground.
I know you're furious Jayce gave up, but you didn't have to fight her.
Hound and Bee leave Crosshairs alone.
"These aren't deep," Bulma said as she cleaned the cuts. Drift leans on the wall by the entrance. He hated seeing Two of his friends down and how this time felt different from when J.R. was knocked out. Not because it was Jayce this time, but because of what caused the fight, add how much anger J.R. had. Jayce was mad J.R. left while she was asleep. No one who knew how to care for Jamie if she declined was around, but J.R. is furious Jayce gave up on Jamie and left.
"Drift, it's not your fault. Not for this or when J.R. was knocked out," Cade tried to assure Drift.
"No one could have prevented it from happening besides them. Jayce pissed off J. before J.R. pissed off Jayce," Bulma pointed out.
"It's that bastard's fault when you think of it," Cade adds.
"She'll be ok," Bulma assures Drift. Drift decided while Jayce is out to sit by Jamie.
I would have liked to say they'll both be ok, but it's still unknown with Jamie. Bulma thought as she watched Drift sit on the chair by the bed.
When J.R. calmed down ten minutes later, all she wanted to do was make sure Jayce was ok. Crosshairs wanted to let her see Jayce, but with the emotional state she's in, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea. Crosshairs wasn't sure how Drift was holding up either. Bumblebee and Hound devised a plan to help Crosshairs and if it's too much for J.R.
"Bulma, J.R. wants to see Jayce," Hound informed Bulma as he walked into the building. He told her how they had a plan to get her out if it's too much for her. Bulma isn't sure if it's a good idea but agrees. Drift watches as Crosshairs and J.R. walk towards where Jayce is, ready to help if needed.
"I'm sorry," J.R. said before bawling. Crosshairs side hugged her, and she leaned on him. Drift walked up to them.
"It's ok, she'll be ok," Drift said as he knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder.
"What are you going to do if she wants to see Jamie?" Cade whispered.
"Let her," Bulma sighed, "though I doubt she'll notice the slight improvement. I'd like to keep Jayce and J.R. away from Jamie until there's a significant improvement, but I think it's impossible. J.R., in particular, will just become more upset."
Sure enough, five minutes later, J.R. wants to see Jamie too. Crosshairs and Drift look at each other, unsure if it's a good idea.
"It's fine," Bulma tells them. Bumblebee, who has been at the entrance in his Cybertronian form, nods. Crosshairs knows he's saying to let J R. see Jamie and stick to the plan if it becomes too much for her. Crosshairs and Drift stay with her as she sits by Jamie. She looks at Jamie for a minute before hugging Drift.
Do you have guilt too? Drift wonders as he hugs her.
Crosshairs and Drift get J.R. to leave five minutes later. Drift ends up carrying her out. They both want to get J.R. to eat since she didn't eat much before fighting Jayce. They knew she wouldn't eat much, but it was something.
"Go be with Jamie. She will not let me go. I think I know why."
Crosshairs nodded and walked away. He could guess why J.R. won't let Drift go.
"What's going on with you?" Drift asked, "come on; you know keeping emotions bottled up eventually makes you angry."
J.R. told him how she was angry at Jayce for leaving again and for giving up on Jamie. She felt Jayce abandoned them. Drift found out just like Jayce, J.R. felt like a burden and failed to help Jamie. J.R. didn't say, but Drift figured that meant she thinks she broke his spark. He assumed she already told Crosshairs what she just told him. Drift repeated what he told Jayce though he wasn't sure if it helped either of them.
"...What about you? Did you give up on Jamie?"
"I don't know. She flatlined twice and is showing no signs of improvement. I know this isn't the first time she's been like this, but..." She started crying. Drift wasn't sure what to say.
Twenty minutes pass before Crosshairs comes back. He sees J.R. still has a hold on Drift and is trying not to fall asleep.
"Guess you're not going anywhere," Crosshairs joked as he sat on the other side of J.R., "I didn't do as good as you."
"Then why has she been staying with you?"
They needed to talk but not with J.R. around. Drift sees Hound walking up to them.
Perfect timing, now hopefully J.R. will go with him.
Unfortunately, J.R. refused.
"Go, Crosshairs. One of us should be there when Jayce wakes up," Drift insisted. Crosshairs walked away, and Hound sat where Crosshairs was sitting.
"She feels terrible about what she did."
"I think she thinks Jayce will be out for a long time like Jamie, Hound."
