This wasn't the first time June nearly dropped her telephone.

"Mom, what's going on?" Jack asked

"Jack… they found a donor for Rafael, Dr. Woods says it is a live donor"


"So someone is actually volunteering to give up a kidney for Raf"

June nodded

Yessenia was stunned Charlie told her she was donating her kidney for Rafael.

"Charlie I can't believe you're really doing this" Yessenia said

"Believe it, because I am" Charlie replied

They arrived at the hospital and Yessenia noticed June bringing Rafael in for the transplant. So far June hadn't seen her yet. Charlie was soon escorted to a pre-op room where her friends voiced their support for her one last time before being escorted out. Yessenia also voiced her gratitude saying that she would never be able to repay the debt she felt she was in from Charlie doing this.


Meanwhile Rafael was defiantly nervous and June wasn't surprised when Erin Brody entered. Erin was a kind hearted young nurse with an obvious soft spot for children thus she was regularly assigned to the pediatric unit and sent to coddle children nervous about being operated on as that was one of her strengths. She was single with no children of her own but few could tell when she stepped in to tend to her youthful charges.

"Hello June, and you must be Rafael" she said her voice toned with a light Irish accent

Rafael nodded quietly, June knew this woman as she did most in this hospital but he was still nervous

"Most people call me Raf"

"Well Raf, I'm Erin, I just want you to know you have nothing to worry about" Erin said confidently as she prepared for the IV. Erin had once heard that working with children was very rewarding, which she wholeheartedly agreed to but she also stated that with the smaller children that only extends to the moment you have to stick them with a needle then they hate your guts. She smiled to Rafael knowing that he would be okay; even though he was leery of the needle he understood it was a necessary evil. Erin herself was a small woman at four foot ten inches tall, not much taller than Rafael himself making for an unimposing stance compared to children who might be already scared and honestly afraid of strangers. Her red hair was now tamed into a bun but during off hours it was much like Yessenia's hair very curly and sometimes unruly.

"Does he have any allergies?" Erin asked

"None that I am aware of, but I was warned that he is at a high risk of developing a latex allergy" June explained "she has gone into anaphylaxis before due to exposure"

"I'll let the others know to keep watch for any symptoms, but we seem okay for the moment" Erin replied returning to Rafael to get the IV in and prepare the thirteen year old for what was to come.

Ratchet sighed quietly as he noticed something peculiar and notified Optimus of his findings.

"I will take Bulkhead to check this out" Optimus said welcoming the distraction from worrying about Rafael

"Okay"


Ratchet secretly wondered how many prayers had already been said to Primus along with the Earthly deities when it came to Rafael and the surgery he was about to undergo. He then looked at Elita-one and Ironhide they had barely arrived and were thrust into this emotional turmoil. Elita was calming Bumblebee who was obviously distressed by knowing what was going on with his partner but at the same time knowing there was nothing he could do to help

"I will come too, Optimus" Ironhide said

"I welcome you, my friend" Optimus said

They got to the location and Bulkhead recognized the spot instantly.

"Isn't this where we picked up Arcee?"

"Indeed it is" Optimus replied

"What are we looking for" Bulkhead asked

"I don't know"

"What happened to Arcee?" Ironhide asked

"She was turned human by a yet unknown force" Optimus replied as they walked up on a familiar blue ninja motorcycle.

"That… that is Arcee's vehicular mode"

"Are you sure?" Bulkhead asked skeptically

"Very sure" Optimus replied


June sighed as she paced, they had taken Rafael to the operating room twenty minutes earlier and she was fretting already, the next few hours were going to be long.

"June, sit down, you aren't doing any good by pacing" Arcee stated

"It's keeping me busy, Sadie" June snapped

Arcee sighed at June's reaction, she wasn't surprised. June had just watched her baby we wheeled into an operating room to be cut open so someone could mess with his internal organs. She was scared and Arcee would have questioned her sanity if she hadn't been anything but scared out of her mind.

"I know Sheldon Hawkes is one of the best surgeons there is, but that was my son they wheeled in that operating room!"

"June calm down" Arcee said, but her words were lost on the nurse

"Nurse Darby you know you aren't doing yourself any favors worrying this way" one doctor said

"I know Dr. Robbins, but…"

"A friend of mine once said that 'worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but gets you nowhere'. I understand that this is your son and you are allowed your worries but don't you have another son to check on?" Al Robbins said gently "As you said Sheldon is one of the best surgeons around, he and his team will tend to Rafael; you tend to Jackson for now then fuss over Rafael when he gets out of surgery"

It sounded so easy when Al said it, but to June the instinct to want to know that both of her boys were okay was just too strong to ignore. The fact that one was in jeopardy made it that much worse for June.


Yessenia was kneeling in the chapel with her rosary in hand praying for her brother and best friend. It was hard for her to think that she had just found her brother and now was in danger of losing him forever. She heard a male sigh as she sat beside her.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a little more bite than she intended but she was upset

"No, but I think I can help you" he said gently "my name is Leo, I'm the hospital chaplain, I couldn't help noticing what you were doing and thought you might need someone to talk to"

Yessenia sighed, she was talking to someone but this meant she'd actually hear a response; she sat on the pew beside Leo

"my brother just went in for a kidney transplant, my best friend went in as his donor" Yessenia explained

Leo winced slightly at those words and the obvious fear behind them.


Ratchet sighed as he investigated Arcee's cybertronian body. They had yet to alert her to their discovery as he wanted to make sense of why it was abandoned with apparently nothing missing except Arcee's consciousness which now inhabited a humanoid body.

"This doesn't make sense, Optimus!" he said for about the fourth time since this discovery was made.

"I know it does not, but this is what we must deal with" Optimus sighed

"Bumblebee is so worried about Rafael he doesn't know what to do with himself" Elita sighed stating the obvious "and there is nothing we can do about it" Elita paused looking over to the young scout "'ll just be glad when this is over and the child is safe"

"I think that goes for us all my love" Optimus sighed reflecting on how Ironhide and Elita had nearly crashed on their way to the planet but he had been happy to find out they were okay.

June sat heavily in a chair beside Jack and Arcee. It seemed like it had been days since Rafael was wheeled away but in reality it had only been hours. She looked up as Dr. Hawkes entered the room.

To Be Continued…