Laying in the medical ward was a little boring. Saphira had been fully examined by the doctors and she was laying in a medical ward on the aircraft carrier that was taking everyone home to the US. She was staring at the ceiling, she was feeling worried about the future. She knew she was lucky to be alive, she had bandages on her shoulders, a pad on her side and she thankfully did not need surgery for her ribs. There was no serious puncture, and it would heal on its own. She just had to be medicated, the burn Fallen gave her was already infected and she would be on antibiotics for a while.
"Well, well, well, it seems you are going to make a full recovery." Saphira turned her head and smiled slightly when she saw Simmons entering the ward. "How are you feeling kid?"
"Like I've been thrown into multiple walls and rammed by tanks," She responded sarcastically, getting a light chuckle from Simmons. "I am not really worried about that."
Simmons raised an eyebrow. "Ah, I see. You're worried about what to do when we get home." She nodded silently. "Hmm…I don't think you need to worry about that. I, on the other hand, I got home with a bit of compensation for my trouble. I still don't get a job in the government again."
"You'll figure something out," Saphira said softly. "For me…I don't even know. My college is already gone before it started…and everything else…aside from the autobots, I feel like my life might fall apart."
"Hey, you haven't even hit eighteen yet and you're already talking about your life falling apart?" Simmons smiled at her and chuckled softly. "Your life isn't falling apart. It is just beginning. I admire you though…" She raised an eyebrow at him as she thought he was joking. "I'm not kidding, Saphira. You are mature beyond your years, I suppose your parents somewhat helped with that in a twisted way by only providing the bare minimum for you. You have handled this whole thing a lot better than I have. No wonder the autobots seem to trust you more than the military."
"They trust me more?" Saphira was surprised by that, but that made her feel good as well. "Fair enough, the government is probably the part they trust the least."
"You got that right." Simmons nodded and turned his head when the door to the ward opens. "Ah, Major Lennox. I hope your briefing was a success."
Lennox smiled slightly at him. "It was. I just came in to make sure you weren't doing anything funny to Saphira."
The man scoffed and rolled his eyes. "As if I would ever do that."
Will shakes his head at him. "If you don't mind, I need to speak with Saphira." The man nodded with a smile. "Privately."
"Alright…I'll go. See you later, Saphira." Simmons waved at her and turned to leave the ward. "Rest easy and heal quickly."
Saphira watched Simmons leave as Will grabbed a chair to sit by the bed. She didn't know if this was bad or not as she looked at Simmons with a worried expression. "Is it bad news, or something?"
"Not really." The man shrugged a little, although he seemed to want to be honest about it. "I have been talking with my superiors, it has been agreed that you will be placed under NEST protection." She smiled slightly at that, though she didn't know what that meant. "We know you can't go back to Princeton, but you will be able to do college online. A house will be prepared for you to live in."
"Where will the house be?" Saphira asked curiously. "And what about when I turn eighteen? My grandfather's will…"
"I contacted a trustee, and they said that it is protected. The person who is safeguarding the inheritance for you refuses to allow anyone else to touch it. So, as far as well, it is safe." She felt some relieve hearing that, it was good to know. "And your bank account is not closed down, so the savings you have in there is safe. Though, the house that will be prepared for you will be temporary until you receive the inheritance. The house will be within the NEST base radius."
"That sounds great. Will I be able to spend time with the autobots? I would like to be able to since I am close enough." Saphira watched Will shrug at that, making her feel sad. "Oh…that has not been decided yet?"
"There's an asshole standing in the way of that decision. He's been telling everyone the bots have to leave after what happened in Egypt. He's an asshole, I doubt he'll keep his job though." She did not like the sound of that. But, Will didn't like this person, so she hoped he can be removed. "He actually thinks you should be put into jail for the rest of your life."
"Why? I've done nothing to warrant that." She was shocked that this person would go so far to want her in prison for the rest of her life.
"Theodore Galloway believes it is your fault that this war is happening on Earth, so he believes you're a criminal in that way. But, considering you had no clue about the transformers before any of this, that clears you of any wrong doing." Lennox was confident about it, but Saphira was nervous. "I have to admit though, that man's been acting nervous ever since we got on this ship. He's jumpy and acting like something will kill him. I hope he stays away from you."
"I don't even know what he looks like, but I hope for that too," Saphira said nervously. She looked away from Lennox. "I honestly did think my life would be in ruin once we returned to the US."
Will grabbed her hand gently and she turned her head to look at him. "Hey, listen to me. Your life isn't ruined. If you would like, you could also get a job with NEST. I've been hearing a lot on how good your driving is. So maybe being a defensive driving instructor is your call."
Her eyes light up as soon as he said that. "You really think I can do that?" He nodded and she threw her arms around him. "Thank you! Thank you! I will definitely be a defensive driving instructor. Hopefully, I will still get the chance to do my college studies. Although, I do think I might not need to do it."
"You should so you have a degree at least," Will said as he pats her back as she hugged him. "Plus, working with NEST you kind of need one. So, I would recommend doing it, even if you have great skills to show."
Saphira leaned back from Lennox and nodded to him. "Very well, I understand. I'll do the college just to keep the job. Still…it might change soon. I only have six months until I turn eighteen."
Will chuckled softly at her. "I know. I'll make sure you get the party you deserve as well. You missed out last year, you are not missing out again."
She chuckled again, she knew Christmas would come first and she was looking forward to that as well. "I suppose that will depend on the missions you will go on."
"I think Optimus wants to discuss that with my superiors when we get home. He wants to spend more time with you." She was surprised he would, but she guessed maybe he just wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him. "I can't say I blame him. The way you too seemed to be with each other when you returned from that pyramid, it was obvious to everyone."
"I hope that isn't going to impact anything with NEST. Plus…how do you feel about it?" She watched his face change to a surprised expression. "I mean…I am technically not an adult yet…and Optimus…well…he's not human."
Lennox smiled at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Saphira. I know for a lot of people, if they knew about you and Optimus they would certainly call it weird. And downright illegal. However…there are people out their who prefer sex robots over humans, for example." She was shocked he would bring that up and giggled softly. "Then you have those weirdos who want to marry certain animals, plants and even their own cars. Unlike those people, you are with someone who genuinely cares about you. I know Optimus seems to be having a hard time coming to realize his own feelings, I think it is not something he does very much or thinks of much. After you left with the doctors, I overheard Optimus speaking with Ratchet. It wasn't my place, I know, but it sounds like he's still not sure…"
"But…he kissed me?" Saphira said with a frown.
"Sure, but…you must feel the same way right?" Lennox asked curiously and she looked away from him. "I think Optimus is worried about hurting you. He's going the wrong way about it, I admit, but we don't even know about their ways when it comes to relationship."
She nodded slowly as she thought about that. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I didn't really think much on how relationships work for them. I sometimes forget because they've been living on this planet for well over a year. Or longer, like Bumblebee."
"Also, I think he's still got conflicted feelings because of…um, Elita, I think…" She blinked at her name and sighed, placing her hands on her cheeks. "That was a femme he previously loved, right?"
"Yeah. I had hoped he would be able to get past her easily. But…Megatron killed Elita horribly." Saphira did still think Megatron wanted her mostly because of Optimus, though, there have been hints that wasn't the case. "I think he still struggles to stop thinking about her. I just hope it does not cloud his mind."
"I hope it doesn't too. I think you and Optimus are good for each other. Though, a little word of advice from someone who is married…" She raised an eyebrow at him with an expectant expression as she waits to hear what he wants to say. "Take it slow. You're still in the very early stages of your relationship. Not many people can say their other half died and you brought them back to life. I almost wanted to call that True Loves kiss when you kissed the Matrix and put it in his chest."
She giggled and blushed at those words. "Oh, shut up, Lennox. That is not what happened."
"Uh huh…that is what it looked like to me." Lennox grinned at her and she shakes her head as her cheeks turn red. "At least in this instance, he was not in a glass coffin."
"That isn't funny!" Saphira covered her face with her hands. "You have a wild imagination."
"Do I? Never realized it." Will chuckled as she kept her face covered to hide her embarrassment. "Anyway, has the doc said when you can walk around?"
"I can walk around now if I want," Saphira responded, still keeping her face covered with her hands. "I guess I just want to rest a bit. Plus, I had a lot to think about."
"Yeah, I understand that. Well, you have no eaten much today have you?" She shakes her head and looked up at him. "I think you should have something. You've had water, great, but I have no doubt you're starving."
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am. I am also very tired."
"I can imagine. There's steak tonight." She looked up with wide eyes when he mentioned it. "Yep, there is. But if you don't want any, there won't be any left for you."
"Oh, no you don't!" Saphira giggled, moving to get up from the bed. "I am not going to let you all chow down without me."
"Then get your butt to the dining hall," Lennox teased as he stood up and helped her up from the bed.
She chuckled and gasped. "Oh, uh…I am only wearing a medical robe…" She felt self conscious rather suddenly. "My clothes were ruined…would there be anything I can wear."
"Hmm…let me see if I can wrangle up a casual uniform for you, it is all we would have on here." The man smiled at her and turned to walk out. "You wait here and I'll be right back. I promise the steak won't be eaten when I am gone."
Saphira smiled and sat on the bed, she knew he would be back. She was happy Lennox was there to cheer her up. She wished her own father had done that. She sighed and hummed to herself, letting her mind wander to Optimus. She guessed he was scared of his own feelings and maybe hurting her. She knew he would not intentionally hurt her, but they both were kind of still not sure. They kissed, sure, but Saphira felt maybe there was something missing. It wasn't their fault. But Saphira hoped they would figure it out soon.
As she was waiting for him to return, the door opened again and a man with brown, clean-cut hair walked in, adjusting his glasses and glaring at her. She tensed as the vibe coming from this man was less than friendly. "Um…can I help you?" She asked slowly, not knowing who he was.
He huffed as he closed the door behind him and placed his hands on his hips. "You really think you have it good, don't you?"
"Uhh…what?" She frowned as she grew nervous about that man. "I don't know, honestly…but…"
"Oh, save it!" He interrupts harshly, making her jump at the strict tone of his voice. "It is because of you, the war came to our world!"
She blinked at him. "Um…no…I never asked for any of this…"
"Pfft, yeah sure." He rolled his eyes, mocking her with a chuckle. "You'll probably be opening your legs soon to Optimus Prime." She narrowed her eyes as she did not know who he is. "No matter…I am sure you can enjoy it briefly."
"Who the hell are you?!" Saphira yelled at him angrily. "I don't even know you!"
"Defence Director Galloway." She tensed as soon as he said his name. Will warned her to stay away, but he came to her anyway. "But, apparently I might be former soon. No thanks to you, just like what happened to Sector Seven."
She glared at him. "Not my fault if you can't do your job properly!"
"I would do it if not you, you meddling girl!" He sneered, stepping closer to her, making her slide backwards on the bed to try keep her distance from him. "The war would have been over if you just let them take you!"
She shakes her head. "No it wouldn't. It would keep happening. You're a fool if you think otherwise." She folds her arms at him. "I suggest you leave. I don't have to listen to you."
The man scoffed with a slight smirk. "We will see. You will regret this. You will see, you will regret not letting yourself be taken by the decepticons."
He turned to leave just as the door opened and Lennox widened his eyes in surprise when he saw Galloway. "What the hell are you doing here?!" The man growled as he glared at him.
"Just checking in on her," Galloway responded in a calm voice, though Lennox glanced over the man's shoulder to see Saphira's shaken expression. "Don't mind what she says, she seems to still be worked up about today."
"She wasn't that way when I left her." Lennox stepped closer, making the man cower back slightly as Will tensed his muscles. "If I find out you have done anything to her…"
"I didn't do anything!" Galloway snapped back at him.
"No, but you said some interesting things," Saphira said bluntly as she glared at the back of his head. "Lennox would love to hear all about it."
The man stuttered something as Lennox hands her a folded khaki shirt and pants. "You can get changed and go to the dining hall, Theodore and I are gonna have a little chat." He grabbed the man's shoulder roughly and smiled at Saphira. "You will be okay, right?" She nodded and Lennox glared at the man. "Alright, let's go."
Saphira watched Lennox pull Galloway out of the room, allowing her to relax and get changed into proper clothes. Her stomach growled at her suddenly and she smiled, realizing she was indeed hungry. She was lucky she didn't need an IV bag, though she had only laid there because the doctors told her to rest. She didn't do much sleeping of course. She did wish for a pair of shoes, the floor was rather cold on her feet, but it was not horrible. She walked out of the room to head to the dining hall, she wasn't very familiar with the direction though. She asked a few people where it was and she was directed to it. Her nose picked up the aroma of food, and she definitely could smell the steak. She entered the large dining hall, she saw the tables were almost full of soldiers and she was a bit intimidated as she felt out of place. Like going to a new school for the first time. She saw that the food was distributed as a buffet, which was not horrible.
She grabbed a tray to put a plate, salad plate and soup bowl on with the utensils she needed. She walked along the buffet line, she filled her soup bowl with tomato soup, filled the salad plate with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, shredded cheese, bacon and chicken before pouring balsamic vinegar on it and filled her hot food plate with steak, mashed potato, a roast pumpkin piece, beans and gravy. It might seem like a lot, but Saphira really hasn't eaten properly for over a day. She grabbed an apple juice box and two bread rolls before she made her way to an empty table to sit at. It felt a little awkward, but Saphira didn't let it get to her. She began to eat the soup quietly when she heard someone walking over to her.
She smiled when she saw him sitting down. "Hello Epps, glad to be chowing down?"
"Oh, you have no idea. I am so hungry after all that fighting." He too had the soup, but he filled his salad plate with pasta and mince, his hot plate with steak, fries, sausages, two corn cobs and gravy and he also had a bowl with jello and fruit in it with him. "How have you been? I know you haven't eaten properly all day."
"I am still sore." She shrugged as little as she dipped a piece of bread into the soup. "It will take months to heal and get back to normal. Plus, I am still thinking about things. Though, NEST has agreed to place me into protection."
The man smiled at her. "I know, Lennox pushed for it. Now we know you're a target of the decepticons, we need to protect you. Otherwise, there is always a chance you can be in a home and the decepticons ambush you while we cannot help you."
"Yeah…but it is only until I turn eighteen. I think because I might have trouble finding rentals at the moment, getting access to my bank is not a problem and my inheritance is protected…but a normal life is out of the question for now. But, I get to still study college online and become a defensive driver instructor." She smiled at that as she was excited for that. "I wonder that will include."
"Hmm, well, I believe you get to handle what kind of cars you have your students drive," Robert said thoughtfully as he ate his soup as well. "Most of our defensive driver instructors seem to keep to general cars though. Fair enough, learning to drive heavy vehicles, but high-speed bikes and light cars are good to learn."
"Yeah, well, I am used to driving Mustangs and modified cars," Saphira said as she thought about that. "I haven't ridden many bikes, I would have practiced more with the femmes…but…I don't know if Chromia will help with that."
"I am sure she will. I know they are grieving Arcee and Moonracer, they're doing something tonight to remember them." She wondered when that would be, Saphira wanted to pay her respect too. "Though, since you can drive those things, I imagine you will get to order muscle cars and even cars like Ferraris. I would advise though to also get Jeeps, utility trucks and even a Peterbilt."
She raised an eyebrow at that. "Right…not so sure about the truck."
The man chuckled softly. "I doubt Optimus will be upset. Besides, it is part of the job. You might even teach him a few things too. I know Bumblebee mentioned that you're a scary driver because you used your skills to evade the police in Egypt."
"Oh yeah…that, well, I guess I can be scary behind the wheel." She shrugged as she didn't think it was that bad, but she understood if Bee was not used to that kind of driving. "Well, it would be fun. I have wanted to see how far I can push a truck. No trailer in tow of course."
Robert chuckled softly. "I suppose this will be a great opportunity for ya. I am happy for you."
"Thank you, Epps. You and Will have really taken me under your wing, I really appreciate it." She smiled at him as she dipped another bread piece into the soup. "You both are like family to me now."
"Aww, you make me blush," Robert teased with a big smile. "I will be honest, when I saw you back in Sector Seven, I couldn't believe you had this contact with the aliens. But, I could see you were scared, but I also saw bravery underlining that fear. Plus, we technically all went to Mission City based on your word. And it turned out to be correct."
Saphira definitely had not realized that, the fact that the military trusted her word like that was a big leap of faith. They did not know if the autobots were good or not, but Saphira was able to convince them. And it had paid off. Maybe it was how the S-Seven agents were acting, or that Saphira's story when explaining to them about the Cube was convincing enough. She didn't know, and she didn't think she wanted to know.
"I suppose I should thank you for trusting my word for it. We made good friends from it." She looked down at her tray as she thought about Optimus, it definitely was a good moment for everyone.
"Here you are." She looked up and smiled when she Lennox taking a seat. He did not have a soup on his tray, his plate had steak, mashed potato, fries, gravy and beans. "I made sure Galloway won't bother you anymore."
Robert frowned in confusion. "Hmm? Did Galloway speak with Saphira?"
Will nodded. "Yep. I went to get Saphira some new clothes and that asshole snuck in to speak with her. But I made him talk and he won't go near her again. At least, I hope not. But, he will get a black eye if he does."
"I really don't like that dude," Robert said, finishing off his soup and moving to eat his steak. "He's been an asshole from the start. I don't get his anger towards the autobots, they have saved our asses more than once."
"I don't get it either. But, there are many people in the government who want the autobots gone. Hopefully, now that the Fallen is gone and Megatron is…well, we don't know where he went." She raised an eyebrow, Saphira did not know that Megatron was not dead. "Oh, you didn't know? Starscream went back to the pyramid and got Megatron away from there. He's alive, just severely wounded."
"Ah…right." Saphira shrugged as she dipped the last of her bread roll into the soup and picked up her spoon to finish it. "Hopefully things will get better."
The men nod and they continue talking with each other as they eat their food. Simmons joined them as well eventually, he let Saphira know that he might not see her again after this. She was fine with that. He was helpful, but he was still an idiot. But, he did play an important roll, he destroyed Devastator, a giant decepticon who uncovered the machine on the pyramid. That was still good of course, he didn't have anything more to say about what happened afterwards. After that, Saphira felt it was a good idea to go and see Optimus. She was able to get a jacket and boots as the wind was very cold, and she wanted to see what the autobots were doing at this time.
