CHAPTER FOUR- Kidnapped

"Jackie, I'm going to need some disinfectant and fresh bandages… and Bumblebee, send a message to Prime."

Jackie nodded. "Ok."

Her and Bumblebee left the room. Sam looked at Ratchet. "What should I do?"

Ratchet hesitated, and I knew why. Sam wasn't exactly what you'd call "helpful". He looked at me.

"Hey Sam?" he turned to me. "Yes?"

"Why don't you go out front and make sure nobody comes, Ok?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! I won't let you down."

He scurried off. I laughed while Ratchet shook his head. "I worry about him sometimes…"

"Don't. He'll probably live."

Ratchet took a rag and wet it in the sink. He dabbed the dried blood around my shoulder. I winced in pain.

Jackie rushed into the room and laid the supplies on the counter. "Here, you can use the cotton balls for the disinfectant."

Ratchet nodded. "Yes, thank you."

Jackie left, followed by Bumblebee. She probably wanted to watch TV or something. Ratchet soaked a cotton ball with disinfectant. "This might sting a little. You ready?"

I nodded. He dabbed gently. I sucked in a breath and bit my lip to keep from crying out. Even though he was being really gentle, but the skin was extremely tender and sore. He finally finished. It felt a little better, but now it was stinging.

"Am I done?"

He nodded. "But-"

I didn't let him finish. "Where are you going?"

"I want a snack."

I'd seen a package of Oreos earlier. They weren't breakfast foods, but it wasn't exactly breakfast anymore.

I heard Ratchet's footsteps behind me. "You do need nutrients to help your healing…"

I nodded, pretending to listen. 'Aha.' There they are. I grab an oreo and take a bite. Is there a better snack food?

Well, there's popcorn, and chocolate, and chips… Yes, I admit it: I'm addicted to junk food.

He frowned at me. "That is not a healthy snack."

'Thank you Dr. Obvious.'

I swallowed. "Nope."

"Put that down and choose something healthier."

Now, a normal person would nod their head and agree with the good doctor. I was not a normal person.

"No way. This is good."

"If by good you mean completely unhealthy, then yes."

"By good I mean delicious."

His eyes glittered dangerously. I probably should have been scare, but I'm not exactly one to follow the norm. "I'm telling you to choose something else."

"What're you gonna do about it?"

Before I could blink, he'd grabbed the Oreos out of my hand.

"Hey! I was eating those!"

"I noticed. Now listen. I need to sew up your arm, but my materials are in my office in the base. I need you to come with me."

I raised an eyebrow. "So, in order to tell me this you found it necessary to take your frustration out on my Oreos."

He glared harder. "Yes. I'll be right back." He left quickly. Hesitantly, I grabbed the Oreos back, taking one and chewing it slowly.

Finally, I made my way into the living room. Sure enough, Jackie was sitting there watching T.V. Ratchet and Bumblebee were deep in conversation. I saw Bumblebee nod.

Looking at Ratchet talking so seriously, I couldn't help but throw one more jibe. Carefully ignoring Ratchet, I turned to Jackie.

"Hey, Jackie? You wanna Oreo?"

I felt Ratchet's eyes on me. Jackie looked nervously from the two of us. "Um... no thanks. I'd rather live another day."

I grinned. Then I plopped on the couch next to her. Finally, I looked over at Ratchet, who's holo form looked like it was about to explode.

"Ratchet? What's wrong?"

He scowled at me and Bumblebee looked freaked out. "Come with me."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because I said so."

I rolled my eyes. "You sound like my mom."

Was it possible for robot holo forms to have steam come out of their ears?

"Now."

I turned to Jackie. "Are you sure you don't want a cookie?"

She looked at Bumblebee. He shrugged, silently shaking his head. Suddenly I was yanked from my seat. "What the-?"

Ratchet grabbed my arm and dragged me out to the front. You can imagine how well that went over.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" I faintly heard Jackie mention something about it being for my own good.

Whatever.

We stopped in front of Ratchet's alt form. "Get in."

I glared at him. "Why should I?"

He glared at me. "I don't have to ask. Get in now."

I hesitated, but I also didn't think Ratchet would have any problem tossing me in. "Fine."

Angrily, I got in the passenger side of the Hummer. Ratchet's holo form disappeared and the hummer's engine roared to life.

I crossed my arms. I was definitely going to find a way to get back at him for this…

RATCHET'S POV

Why was she so stubborn? Didn't she see that he was just trying to help her?

In his holo form, he'd been able see her more clearly. Her eyes, which he'd thought were brown before, were actually a deep chestnut that seemed to have flecks of gold. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen on a human.

He'd explained the situation to Bumblebee and he agreed. "Yes, I already mentioned to Optimus the situation. He agreed that she should be brought to base for medical attention."

"She's not going to go easily."

Bumblebee had smiled at that. "Ratchet, I've never known you to meet a patient that you couldn't handle. I mean, the twin are even freaked out by you."

Ratchet smiled at that. "Ok, promise you will take care of Miss Jackie…"

Bumblebee nodded. "Sure thing."

That had been when the girl had walked in… Cherish is what they called her. Lovely name for somebody as stubborn as her…

When she'd asked him what was wrong, he thought he'd explode. He hadn't even realized he was dragging her along the hallway till she started yelling.

Now she was sitting in his passenger seat, silent for a change.

"If you would have just agreed to the inspection, this wouldn't have been this way."

I saw her tiny lips pull into a frown. "Yes, but…" I waited for her explaination.

It never came. Finally she sighed. "I know. You're right. It's just that I've had a… stressful week, especially with finals and everything."

"I thought that Sam's finals were not until next week."

She smiled. "Sam's might be, but mine weren't. We had them last week."

"I thought you went to Sam's school."

"Yes. I went to high school with Sam."

She was baiting me, and I knew it. But, I couldn't resist asking. "Where do you go to school now?"

"I'm in an out of state college."

"College? Aren't you Sam's age?"

Her head bobbed up and down. "Yes, but I graduated early… a year early actually. They gave me the option of taking my classes in the same high school, but I wanted to get as far away as possible."

"Why?"

"My parents."

"Why would you wish to be away from the people who birthed you?"

"They were arguing all the time. They always blamed everything on me, even if I didn't have anything to do with it."

"Why did you go back, then?"

"I missed them. They weren't the best parents, but they were my parents."

I understood that.

Suddenly, she started laughing. It was funny. It almost sounded musical. Curious, I spoke. "What's so funny?"

She looked up. "I think we just broke a record. We've been talking for 10 minutes civilly and nothing has exploded yet."

I chuckled. "Cherish, I'm really not a bad doctor."

She smiled. "I know. I wish I could tell you I'm really not a stubborn person, but I'd be lying."

"So, as you say, truce?"

She nodded. "Truce."

For some reason, I was very happy to hear this. Cherish was not like the other humans around the base. She was quite 'spunky' as the humans said. She looked out the window for a while. I wondered what she was thinking about.

CHERISH POV

I was considering my options. What did he mean by asking for a truce? I thought about what he'd said about being a good I'd never admit it out loud, he was right.

He'd been really nice… when he wasn't yanking food out of my hand… I coughed.

"How far are we away?"

Ratchet seemed surprised that I'd spoken.

"About 5 minutes. Why?"

"Just curious." I rubbed my arm, which had started throbbing again.

"Does it hurt?"

I jumped at the voice Right next to me. I saw Ratchet's holo form look amused.

"Jeez, don't do that! You scared me half to death!"

He looked concerned. I held up a hand. "Just an expression, Ratchet." I coughed again.

"I'm sorry I frightened you."

I smiled weakly. "It's ok. Just don't do that again!"

"Not making any promises. So, does it hurt any worse?"

I nodded. "It started throbbing a few minutes ago. Now it's feels like it's burning. And now I have this stupid headache…"

Ratchet's eyes grew serious. "Are you sure?"

He felt her forehead. "Oh, dear. You have a serious temperature."

My head started swimming. I put my head in my hands. "Ratchet? I don't feel so good…"

The world started swimming. I heard Ratchet's voice in the distance. "Cherish? Stay awake! Don't faint! You need to stay awake…"

Then the world went black.