I'm sorry for the late update -I'm currently working on a paper that's due on thursday about the Psalms in the Old Testament. Takes a lot of the inspirational creativity out of me. But don't worry I haven't forsaken the story, and I fully intend to keep writing it.
Well heres the NeXT chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 5: Coming Home

Jack woke early in the morning, just as the sun decided to peek in through the window. He blinked a few times and studied the room. Arcee's holoform was nowhere to be found. Instead there was a young looking man with blond hair and slightly curly sleeping in the chair next to him. He was slim but a tad bit restless. Even as he was sleeping he twitched once in a while as if he couldn't wait to go do something. Jack smiled. He hadn't seen the holoform so often, but he knew it was Smokescreen.

Jack tried to sit up a bit, and winched a bit from the pain. With the prospect of a long healing process in front of him he took a heavy sigh. He was already annoyed with it. He looked out the window as the sun slowly rose. He thought about the Key of Vector Sigma and took it out from his shirt and carefully caressed it.

"What a bunch of trouble you can give me, huh?"

It the sound of Jacks slightly groggy morning voice, the holoform next to him stirred and opened his eyes. They were bright blue. It took him only a second to realize that it was Jack who was talking.

"Hey buddy, how do you feel?"

"Leg is a bit painful, but other than that fine."

"Bummer you have to stay here though. Been a while since we had some fun together." Smokescreen noticed that Jack was caressing the key, but didn't know if he should talk to Jack about it. Arcee and Bulkhead had both reported that Jack hold it on a regular basis. Like he couldn't stop himself from hold it and caress it all the time. It was like he was possessed or something. Smokecreen couldn't help but being slightly concerned and scared of the whole ordeal. He didn't know if the circumstances led Jack to do it, or the circumstances started because Jack did it. Either way there was no longer no denying it. Everything was tied together.

Smokescreen received an incoming call on his comlink. It was Bumblebee. He had just dropped of Rafael and Miko at the school and was heading over there to relieve Smokescreen of his guard duty. He sighed at the same time as Jack, and both couldn't help the little smile that crept on their faces. They knew both were troubled but most of all bored with being stuck in the hospital. Smokescreen gave Jack a small nudge on his shoulder and shut off his holoform.

Two weeks later, and Jack slowly walked with crutches out of the hospital, his mother following suit with the wheelchair in case he needed it. She couldn't stop being both glad and worried at the same time. On one hand, she was glad that Jack finally was getting home, but on the other, she couldn't help but worrying if it was too soon. He walked slowly and June could see that he struggled. It still hurt some and he wasn't all that use to the crutches yet. The cast seemed bigger and more eyecatching as he came out into the sun. But he wouldn't sit in the wheelchair. She had argued with him, but he had refused her time and time again. Jack didn't wan't to look week, and June knew it. It didn't sit well with her son that he was going to be out of commission for as long as he had. And it bothered him that the decepticons managed to hurt him, and that they probably wasn't done trying to get to him. June didn't like that either, and she was grateful for the fact that Team Prime had agreed to keep watch over Jack 24/7.

At the Autobot base, Arcee paced back and forth, while Optimus, Ratchet and Wheeljack watched the monitors. Bumblebee was the one to pick up Jack and June from the hospital. The rest of the team, that wasn't on patrol or waiting for the kids at school, watched Jack on the monitors as he left the hospital. Everyone wanted to make sure that he got home alright. Arcee saw how he struggled to get to Bumblebee but wasn't going to listen to Junes antics about sitting in the wheelchair. Arcee was frustrated that she couldn't be the one to bring him home. The whole thought that it would be about 18 weeks yet for him to even ride with her was more than aggravating.

Everyone was silent, since Jack didn't know they would be watching from base. June knew and it made her slightly nervous, but she was glad for the extra protection.

"Hey 'Bee, thanks for giving us a ride" Jack huffed, when he came close enough. Bumblebee let out a couple of exciting chirps and Jack smiled, gently patting the hood before his mother came up. Bumblebee watched in silence as she tried to help her teenage son into the car, which proved to be quite difficult, since he couldn't bend his knee. Bumblebee could hear a low grumble in the background of the comlink, which was most likely from Arcee, who couldn't stand to see her partner struggle like that. Finally, after Bumblebee had pulled the seat as far back, as it possibly could go, Jack was inside, although a bit paler and with a grimace to his face. June sat at the driver's seat, pretending to drive, as Bumblebee led the way from the hospital towards their home. Although it was only for one night, June was more than pleased. Tomorrow they would stay at the autobot base, since it was much safer for Jack.

The drive so far was in silence. June eyed her son, who seemed lost in thought. He looked out the window without really looking. She knew the autobots at base could see it too. She knew her son, and he was much more silence than he usually was. When Jack thought his mom wasn't looking he rubbed his head a little a frown showing. June however did notice and was alarmed. Either he was thinking too much or else he was having a headache. Jack never got headache.

Jack wanted to rub his forehead again, but didn't. He knew his mom would notice if he kept rubbing it. But he kept having this weird feeling, almost like a buzzing noise inside his head. It had started while he was still admitted to the hospital, but back then it was only when he was holding the Key of Vector Sigma in his hands. Then it had slowly increased so that he also heard it at night. Most of the time he could ignore it, but by now it was constant. It wasn't very loud, but still annoying. It was almost like having a small beeping sound in the ear after a concert. Not loud, but there. It was the same with the stupid buzzing. At first he had thought that it was emitting from the Key, since it had felt similar to when it healed Arcee. But now he was certain that it came as much from inside him as it did the key. He didn't want to tell his mother, since she was already scared or freaked from the whole ordeal. He would see if he could talk it over with Optimus tomorrow at the base. He tried to ignore the buzzing for now, but subconsciously he rubbed his forehead again.

"Honey, are you okay?" Scrap, she noticed.

"Eh, yeah, sure mom, just a slight headache…"

"Jack, you never get headache. Last time you had a headache you were ten, and you had it because you hit your head falling of your bike." Why did his mom have his entire medical record memorized by heart?

"Maybe it's the medicine that's messing with my head?" Jack rubbed his neck nervously, as June knew he did, when he wasn't telling everything. Something was wrong.

"Bumblebee, please ask Optimus if it's okay we come tonight instead? I want Ratchet to have a look at Jack."

"What, mom, no! I'm fine really. I just need a good night sleep in my own bed. Please mom. It's no big deal."

June sighed, but knew he wouldn't give it a rest.

"Fine Jack, but if it gets any worse before tomorrow, I am taking you to base, even if I have to drag you there myself!"

Bumblebee pulled up in the garage and June helped Jack out of the car. It went easier than getting him in the car. Bumblebee watched as they went inside the house and waited until June had closed and locked the door before chirping to the other autobots at the other end of the comlink.

At the other end everyone was standing with frowns on their faces. Clearly there was more wrong with Jack than just a broken leg.

"Ratchet, when they come in tomorrow, regardless of Jacks insistence on his wellbeing, I want you to examine him."

"Yes Optimus, I am concerned as well. Do you think the key did something to him?"

"I do not know, but I know that I now regret ever giving him the key."

Optimus walked down the corridors away from the others. They were all so worried and seeing their leader worried was not going to help him. Oh, how Optimus regretted the decision to make Jack the guardian of the key.

Ratchet looked at Arcee and Wheeljack. They were concerned for their leader and the boy.

"Optimus may think he made a mistake, but without the key in Jack's possession, Optimus wouldn't even be with us. I cannot agree with him that it was a mistake."

Arcee blinked and looked sad and tired, but gave a small nod: "I hate what is happening to Jack, but I agree with you Ratchet. Beside; Jack and Optimus are more alike than either would care to admit. Jack would never blame Optimus for his decision and he wouldn't have it any other way. He is the guardian of the key now, no matter what."

"Your right, Arcee. Now both of you: go recharge. Wheeljack, you are to relieve Bumblebee in a couple of hours, and Arcee you need a good recharge. You haven't had one in a while, and you need to look fresh for tomorrow, when Jack and June arrive."

Both nodded and when to their rooms. Ratchet went back to search for more knowledge of the key. He hated the unknown too much.