Chapter 6:

How Far Will You Go?

While Optimus' hologram prepared a decent breakfast for Jasmine, Ratchet's own hologram, Dr. Ryan Ratchet, took care of her. Jasmine had removed her shirt, only to reveal her breasts. She felt embarrassed that she was showing Dr. Ratchet what was beneath her shirt, but she realised that he did not ogle her for what he saw.

As soon as Dr. Ratchet placed the stethoscope against her sensitive skin, she flinched from the cold metal, doing her best not to shiver. He'd obviously failed to notice her nervousness about the metal, but, to her amazement, the temperature of the stethoscope changed automatically to warm and relaxing. She tried to question him about it, but he didn't answer how he did it nor did he explain how it was even possible. Instead, he told her that the temperature of the room must've changed because of the sun's heated rays were warming up the room.

Funny, Jasmine couldn't feel any warmer. The window wasn't even open. She decided not to argue against the opinion.

Ratchet used the stethoscope to listen to her heartbeat, and he was amazed to hear that it was pounding furiously against her chest. He knew that she had been terrified during the seizure and was trying to find a way to calm herself down.

Ratchet wasn't really using a stethoscope. While he had it placed against Jasmine's chest, he used his sensors to scan her while she breathed in and out. Again, he was shocked at the way how fast it was going. He knew that he had to get her to slow her breathing down as quickly as possible, or else it could trigger another frightening seizure and he didn't want to alarm Optimus at all.

"Your breathing and heartbeat are pretty laboured," he told Jasmine when he removed the stethoscope from his ears. "You would do well to take slow, deep breaths. Should you keep up the laboured breathing, you could trigger another seizure, and I don't want Tim to be worried about you all over again. Can you do that?"

Jasmine eyed Ryan suspiciously, as if she was trying to figure out if his words were truth or not. She finally agreed and took slow, deep breaths to try and calm her fear down. It didn't take very long, but she finally managed to get her quickly beating heart under control once again.

"Well done," Ryan praised. "Hopefully you don't strain yourself again like last time. Don't want another seizure like that again."

Jasmine shook her head slowly. She watched curiously as Ryan put the stethoscope away and pulled out an otoscope from his pocket. He used his hand to motion her to turn her head around so that he could examine one of her ears. Again, she reluctantly obeyed and turned her head to the left.

Ryan gently poked the otoscope into her ear and had a good look at it. He was impressed to see that it was nice and healthy. Taking the scope out, he then turned her head around again to show her right ear. He got the same result as the left ear, seeing that it was the same as the other one, healthy and clean. He nodded his impressiveness and he began to feel around her abdomen, her back, and her good arm and leg.

"So how have you been doing since your last examination?" he asked when he noticed the uneasiness that Jasmine was displaying as he felt around her leg. He only wanted to ask because he didn't want her to feel so nervous when he was touching her all over like a doctor should.

"I've been… better," Jasmine said, her voice stuttering a little as a result from her seizure. Her struggle with words proved otherwise that she was not going to ease up as easily as one might expect. No, she needed time to adjust to her new and perhaps limited life and things may not be so easy.

"Perhaps you'll feel better when I'm done examining you," Ryan suggested.

Jasmine nodded slightly, still not believing that he was trying to help her. Was she hostile to all strangers now? Ryan hoped that this was all just a big fat joke and he could just get up and walk away right now and return to where he was working on Ironhide's upset joints. Oh joy!

When Ryan had completed his examination he nodded towards Jasmine to confirm that she was physically healthy. He'd looked at her paralysed arm and leg and he knew that it would be impossible for him to perform his famous miracles that he was well known for. He felt sorry for Jasmine that he could do nothing for her injuries, but he knew that she would have to cope with these… disorders on her own.

As he was finishing up, he and Jasmine heard a knock at the door, signalling that Tim had come back with Jasmine's breakfast. Ryan instantly handed Jasmine's shirt back to her and helped her get dressed again. Jasmine wasn't thrilled about the help, but she was glad that Dr. Ratchet managed to slip her injured arm through the impossible sleeve.

"Thanks," was all Jasmine said.

"You're welcome," Ryan replied.

He then stood up and walked back over to the door. He opened it up and there was Tim, standing right there in the middle of the doorway with a tray of pancakes in one hand and a glass of juice in the other. On the tray next to the pancakes was a pair of oval shaped capsules that Ryan guessed was Jasmine's painkillers.

"Special delivery for Jasmine Clark," Tim said teasingly as he held the tray of pancakes out to Jasmine.

Jasmine tried to ignore the growling protest of her stomach, but she hadn't had any breakfast since yesterday. The hospital had given her nothing but disgusting food that was supposed to give her vitamins and minerals that was good for her. She looked away for a brief moment, but the sweet smell of butter and syrup tickled beneath her nose and she was forced to turn back to look at the wonderful pancakes that Tim had dished up for her. How did he know that she liked her pancakes just like that?

She could only guess that Jason had told Tim about what she liked.

Ryan stepped aside as Tim walked forward and placed the plate right on her desk. He noticed that he was being extremely careful not to spill the syrup on Jasmine, even as he placed the glass of juice right next to the plate. He even saw that there was no fork or knife for Jasmine to eat it.

Ryan was about to protest when Tim revealed beneath his wrist a fork and knife that had been hiding underneath his sleeve while he had been carrying the tray of food. Ryan could only shake his head and laugh in amusement.

He then turned to Jasmine and said to her, "Once you have finished your breakfast and had your medicine, I want you to get back into bed and rest up."

Ryan managed to catch Jasmine's tongue as he went on, preventing her from arguing. "Don't you dare argue with me," he growled. "My orders are doctor's orders, and I expect you to obey them, whether you like it or not."

Tim chuckled from afar, but Ryan shot him a death glare. "You're lucky you aren't sick," he hissed. "Or else you might receive worse treatment from me yet."

"Knowing you, Dr. Ratchet, I hardly think so," Tim retorted.

Ryan rolled his eyes and watched as Jasmine looked at the food. Somehow, he almost sensed the hurt flowing from Tim when he too almost noticed her cautious look at it. "Is there something wrong with the food?" Ryan asked.

Jasmine blinked and shook her head, not wanting to be rude to Tim at all, since he had kindly prepared the food for her without even thinking that she liked pancakes in the morning. She'd missed the sweet flavour of the butter and syrup running along her tongue and down her throat. "No," she said, "there's nothing wrong with it. I just haven't had this kind of food for a while."

"Then why are you so nervous?" Tim asked, tilting his head to one side. Ryan could've sworn he saw hope and concern in his cobalt eyes. "Are you thinking I may have poisoned it or something?"

Again, Jasmine shook her head. "No," she said, "I'm just—"

"It's alright," Tim said as a warm smile of understanding crossing his lips. "I know you might be afraid of me, but there is no need to be. I'm just here to look after you while your brother is out."

Jasmine took a deep breath and she looked into Tim's eyes, wondering if he was telling the truth or not. "I guess so." She felt a random muscle twitch beneath her skin, almost like as if they were mild tremors underneath the Earth's crust. "I was wondering why he hasn't told me anything about you."

Tim looked a little taken aback, but Ryan noticed that he had been quick to recover when his cobalt eyes warmed up again. "We only just met a couple of months ago," he explained. "He was asking me that if I would like to meet you, but your accident happened and we had to cut off the moment. Since then, he's been busy trying to get things underway such as getting his driver's licence so that he can drive the truck that is sitting out the front."

"Oh." Jasmine had been wondering about the truck since her seizure. Now that she thought about it, the truck had been far from her mind for a little while. However, that didn't take her mind off of the figure that had pulled her out of Silverflame after her accident.

"When you have finished your breakfast," said Ryan, interrupting Tim's and Jasmine's discussion, "perhaps you might like to get some rest. As I said before: doctor's orders."

Jasmine smiled and nodded, grateful that Dr. Ratchet had spoken up. Somehow, talking to Tim had made her feel a little bit uncomfortable. It was not that she didn't dislike him or anything, she just wasn't sure on whether or not she should trust him or not. "Ok," she said.

"That's a good girl," Ryan said, patting Jasmine on the head gently. "Now eat up so that you can get your strength back and recover from your incident. I can't have you looking like a thin stick while you're under my watchful eye."

Jasmine giggled. "I will," she replied.

Ryan then turned to Tim and he beckoned him to follow him outside the room. Jasmine watched as they walked out and closed the door behind them so that she could have some privacy to herself.

She looked at the food that was laid out before her. The smell was intense and it made her mouth water at the scent of it. How could she ignore her favourite breakfast when all she knew was that she could starve herself if she did not eat her fill? And plus, she didn't want to upset Tim just because she had turned up her nose at something when he was being so generous to her.

Carefully, Jasmine dug into her breakfast while sipping at her juice.

Outside Jasmine's room, Ryan walked down the stairs with Tim following close behind him. When they reached the bottom of the stairs and Ryan halted in front of the door to the outside and he turned to look Tim in the eye. When he spoke, his tone was calm, but serious. "So, Optimus," he began, "when do you plan to reveal yourself to her? You can't remain motionless like this forever. You do have to attend to N.E.S.T's needs as soon as possible. You have been gone for almost two months since you had appointed yourself as Jasmine's and Jason's guardian."

Optimus lowered his hologram's head; his cobalt eyes were unreadable and emotionless. When he spoke, it was almost hard to tell if he was serious or not. "I don't plan to reveal myself just yet to Jasmine, Ratchet," he told the medic. "As I said before, I plan to make Jasmine well again."

"Well," said Ratchet, "it will take a long time to heal someone who is mentally damaged. She is brain damaged and requires a lot of constant care and attention. I don't know when her next seizure trigger will be, but I can assure you that it won't be any time soon."

"And when will her next seizure be?" Optimus asked.

Ratchet lifted an eyebrow in curiosity, but he answered, "By my estimations, she will have it in about five days. If she ever triggers another one like overstraining her arm again, it will be tomorrow."

Optimus frowned; worry now crossing his facial expression. He then turned his gaze to the upstairs room where Jasmine was happily eating her breakfast and then looked back at Ratchet. No matter what he did, Optimus knew that he could not stop the seizures from coming back to haunt Jasmine's mind and body, but he could help her cope with it as time went on for her.

"So are you going to reveal yourself when the time is right?" Ratchet asked.

Optimus nodded. "When I have gained her trust and when she believes that she is willing to drive again."

Ratchet shook his head. "I highly doubt she'll be able to drive again," he said severely. "But I guess it's only a waiting game for all of us. Just make sure that you come back to the base so that we can figure out the whereabouts of Starscream. He hasn't been sighted since Jasmine's accident and I'm guessing he's hiding because he wants to wait out the police."

Optimus nodded again. "Yes," he said before he placed a hand on Ratchet's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I just hope that we'll be able to find him soon before I am able to make my presence known to Jasmine. I want her to feel reassured that everything will be fine."

The medic looked at Optimus so seriously that the Autobot leader could've sworn that he was about to explode with seriousness. "How far will you go?" he asked.

Optimus was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Ratchet sighed and rolled his eyes before he repeated the question again, "How far will you go in order to make Jasmine well again?"

The Autobot leader wasn't sure how he was going to answer the question. It was a puzzling thing. He tried to answer, but he had a feeling that he didn't know the answer right away. However, he knew that he would do anything to make his new friend well, but he would first have to earn her trust and let her know that there was nothing to be afraid of. Perhaps it would be best if he did not answer the question right away until he was sure he knew the answer.

"You don't have to tell me right away," said Ratchet gently, as if he had read Optimus' mind. "Just make sure that you know what you are doing. I'll be back next week to give her another examination." Ratchet's hologram disappeared and Optimus listened as the big green ambulance pulled out of the driveway and vanished down the road, back to N.E.S.T where he would be needed more than he was here.

Sighing, Optimus walked back up the stairs to check up on Jasmine. He was about to knock on the door when he heard another vehicle pull in. Surprised, he walked back down the stairs and peeked out the window to see Jason closing the door to a taxi.

Optimus wasn't surprised to see Jason back so soon, and he could only assume that he hadn't past the test to apply for his licence. However, if he had, it would be a miracle, and Jason and he could drive anywhere without having any suspicion from Jasmine and they could discuss whatever possibilities there were about making her well again.

Jason walked through the door and nearly bumped, or walked, through Optimus' hologram. He laughed in an amused tone and Optimus wondered where the humour was in what he had almost done. "I fail to see the humour," he said.

"It's not you, Optimus," said Jason as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sometimes when we make mistakes, we find it a little funny. But you probably wouldn't get it anyway, even if I explained it to you a dozen times."

Optimus shrugged his shoulders. "How did you go with applying for your licence?"

Jason smiled. "Not too badly," he answered. "I found it a bit confusing for a bit, but the trainer explained it to me, making it as clear as a picture. If I do well for the next two years, I'll have my full licence."

"Ah," said Optimus. "Then that will mean an experienced driver will be able to ride with you. Am I correct on that matter?"

"Yeah, that's true."

"Then might I suggest that we go out for a bit of a drive so that we may discuss about Jasmine out of hearing range. Just because she is staying upstairs, doesn't mean that she'll accidentally walk in on us when we are talking about her. I do, however, wish to ask you a few things so that we may increase the bond that has started to bloom between us. She may not realise it, but I can sense that she is beginning to like me through my hologram's form."

Jason nodded. "Sure," he said, "we can do that. I'll let her know that I'm just going out for a little while and she can do whatever she likes in the house while we're gone."

Optimus mirrored the gesture. "I'll be waiting for you outside," he said and his hologram whisked away without any hesitation or without much of Jason's knowledge unless he turned around to find he had gone.

While Jason went to tell his twin sister that he was going out for a little while with Tim, Optimus sat calmly outside, observing the scenery that lay out before him and behind him. But while he did that, he also thought about what Ratchet had told him.

The Autobot leader sighed gently, his hood jumping a little at his sigh. For some reason, he couldn't get Ratchet's question off his mind. It bothered him a little, but not badly enough to make him worry at all. Why did he feel so responsible for Jasmine's condition? Wasn't it obvious? It was only because he and his kind had brought their war to this peaceful planet...

Because of him, a Transformer, an alien, had brought this upon Jasmine because she had owned a truck that looked just like him. Because of that fatal, little mistake, Starscream had mistaken Silverflame for the Autobot leader and had hoped to kill him in the process. Instead, he had only ended up damaging an innocent young woman who had nothing to do with their war at all. This made Optimus feel worse than ever and he wondered if Jasmine would ever recover at all.

Optimus continued to ponder on this situation for a little while longer until he heard Jason coming out the house with the keys in his hands. He watched as he locked up the house and climbed into the driver's seat. He started Optimus' engine, but Optimus became aware that Jasmine was looking out the window with a strange look in her eye. He tried to ignore it, but the feeling of being stared at right through his frame and into his Spark made him feel uneasy.

Jason played around with his gear stick and gas pedals. Optimus reluctantly pulled out from the driveway and drove away from the house. Somehow, he could still sense that Jasmine was still looking at him until he and Jason disappeared around the corner.

Even as he drove, Optimus felt Ratchet's question boring down through him like a thick piece of glass slashing through the weakest part in his body. "How far would you go in order to make Jasmine happy?"