Getting to the hangar was not very exciting. She felt like she was going to be chastised for having a good time which sucked. She was finally feeling human again for once, dammit.
A stern looking Ironhide and Sideswipe were in the hangar to greet them. Jolt parked before gently unfolding around her. Her wheels hit the ground with a clunk and she was back to being Katie, the injured one. She sighed, looking up at Jolt with longing. She definitely had a lot of fun.
"Jolt. You must be careful with this human. The military is very protective over her," Optimus said solemnly.
"What? Why?" she said in reply. She wasn't about to get talked over like a kid.
"You're fragile," Ironhide said in reply to which she just rolled her eyes.
"No more fragile than any human, Hoss," she replied.
"No. It is because they are protecting their secrets," Sideswipe said, a cheeky grin on his face.
"Sideswipe, enough," Optimus said. But now she was curious dammit.
"What do you mean?" she asked the bouncing red Autobot.
"I mean they're the ones that hit you with their own weapons," Sideswipe said, nodding aggressively with a sly grin on his face.
She sat back, dazed. For some reason she had just assumed a big ass alien had bumped her car and sent it flying. Instead it was a military coverup? No wonder they were so weird about the NDA.
"Are you fucking serious? The military was fighting the Decepti-whatevers and hit me instead?" she asked, voice shrill.
"Nice going, dick head," Jolt muttered while Optimus had the gall to look sheepish.
"I'm the one that found you. We told the military that they were hurting their own civilians and they just shushed us," Ironhide said with a grumpy demeanor.
"So just like that, I'm doomed to living as a military pet because some dude with a bazooka missed?! That's fucked up. Seriously fucked up. They should be paying for me to live in a penthouse. They should be paying for me to have physical FUCKING therapy. I should be a millionaire right now," she said with a whine.
She was so so fucking done. The military wanted to play games? She was going to get them back. Somehow.
"Well now you've done it, 'Hide. You went and gave her a purpose," Sideswipe said cheekily.
"You're the one who opened your mouth," Ironhide grumbled back.
Jolt kneeled down next to her, leaning into her space.
"This goes to the top. You have to be quiet about it. We really shouldn't have said anything," he said quietly, giving her a solemn look.
"No. We really shouldn't have said anything," Optimus said, flashing Sideswipe a glare.
"So I can't do petty revenge just for the hell of it?" she asked as innocently as she possibly could.
"Oh I never said that," Jolt said, flashing her a devilish grin.
"Christ. You're in for it now, Optimus," Ironhide said with a throaty laugh.
"At least she didn't bond with Sideswipe," Optimus grumbled, turning to leave the hangar.
"No joyrides for a bit. You're making them uncomfortable," Optimus said before he was gone.
"So that means we can do joyrides, right?" she asked Jolt, turning to look at him with a wild grin which he returned.
"Eventually," he said with a laugh. Sideswipe cackled before heading out of the hangar.
"Be safe, kiddos!" he called over his shoulder before he was out the door.
It left just them and Ironhide.
"Watch yourself, Jolt. She may be no more fragile than any other human but they are fragile compared to us. Keep her safe," Ironhide said to Jolt gruffly before leaving.
"I don't know if that was a compliment to my person or not," she said, watching Ironhide leave with confusion.
"Ya never know with him," Jolt said with amusement before walking deeper into the hangar.
"Follow me," he said cheekily. They ended up near where apparently Ratchet was working on something. They avoided the apparently grumpy mech and headed towards the back wall.
What was on the wall blew her away. There were symbols painted everywhere. Just like in her mind. She could pick out a few she definitely recognized. They were symbols of sadness and grief. It was a mural of some sorts.
"What?" she asked, voice falling off. It was probably the saddest thing she'd ever seen.
"It's in memoriam to our planet and the fallen ones," Jolt said quietly, voice low.
"It's not why I brought you back here. I forgot this was here. We did it so long ago," he said staring up at the wall.
"Why did you bring me back here?" she asked, eye still glued to the wall.
"To ask you about what you wanted to do to fuck with the military," he said distinctly, breaking her hold on the wall before her.
"Well for starters, I want them to panic about my health. How do you feel about holding me up to see shit?" she asked, peering up at him with a smirk.
"Easy," he replied, laughing quietly.
A shock hit her mind and then a low buzz filtered in that she wasn't expecting. She turned towards it. It was a small room that was clearly barely big enough for an Autobot.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing towards the room.
"That's where Jazz is," he said solemnly.
"Who?" she asked, voice low.
"One of our fallen," he said with a low sigh.
"Oh. That sucks," she said quietly. She didn't know much about them but could tell there wasn't enough of them to spare. Losing one of their own must have really hurt.
What she couldn't figure out was why there was a buzz. As far as she could tell, all of the Autobots seemed to have a low buzz but should the deceased ones have one too?
It was a mystery for another day, she mused.
Jolt led her back out to the front of the hangar and she was on her way to the cafeteria soon after, forgetting she, in fact, needed to eat.
The next few days passed in a blur of sameness. The hangar doors were closed and the cars were missing so she assumed they must have gotten in trouble for meeting up with her.
That was until she came out for breakfast the following morning and was greeted by Jolt lounging by the door.
"You're up!" he said, flashing her a bright smile.
"Wanna go for a drive?"
The hunger in her entirely vanished with those words.
"You have no idea how much I want to," she replied and then she was being folded and molded into Jolt's car shape. It was exhilarating if not still a little startling.
Her friend could turn into a car after all.
She startled when she realized Jolt was indeed her friend. She didn't think she'd have made friends with the aliens but here she was, admitting it to herself.
They spent the entire morning driving around. Not at the breakneck speeds they had been before but definitely faster than she would have thought possible on the little strip of pavement they had. It was exhilarating. Especially when he wound the windows down and it was open and free.
She felt like a normal person out for a drive with her friends. Even if her friend happened to be the one really driving. It felt good.
"Better?" Jolt asked her quietly after some time.
"You have no idea," she said in response. She really felt more alive. More like herself.
He dropped her off by the entrance, unfolding around her.
"See you around, Jolt," she called as she headed inside. He waved at her. The giant alien actually sheepishly waved at her. It was adorable. She was definitely going to tease him about that at some point.
What she wasn't expecting was to be accosted almost immediately by the suit.
"What even is your name?" she asked when he appeared before her in the general common area.
"You have a doctor's appointment," he said instead of replying. He led her off towards a new door.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" she said, rolling after him.
"I mean you have a doctor's appointment," he said clearly and concisely.
"Since when?"
"Since now," he said, shoving her through another door. There was a doctor looking guy sitting there and it definitely looked like a normal doctor's office room. Weird.
"Hello Katherine," the doctor said. Well minus brownie points for him. Couldn't even get her name right.
"It's Katie," she said flatly, rolling to be across from him.
"Right. Katie. Well let's give you a checkup, shall we?"
The 'checkup' turned out to be far more invasive than she thought it would be. It was like he had to examine every part of her body. She was wildly uncomfortable with the whole situation. She especially didn't like when he poked at her legs. That sucked. Not like she could feel it.
"How is your arm?" he asked eventually.
"Sore," she replied honestly. Maybe they would give her a fucking physical therapist if she asked nicely.
"Take some over the counter pain meds. That should help with the swelling and soreness," he said. Not what she wanted to fucking hear. She wanted a physical therapist again how hard was it for them to offer something so simple.
"And physical therapy?" she asked, taking a chance.
"Not in the budget I'm afraid," the doctor said. In his defense he did look a little cowed but barely. She didn't think a physical therapist was even that much money. She knew she was at the bottom of the totem pole but really this took the cake. She just wanted to not nearly screech with pain when she got herself out of bed.
She hadn't told the Autobots or anyone really but her arm was definitely getting worse. It was significantly stiffer than it should be. At least what she thought it should be. It's not like she had a lot of experience with titanium arm bones.
"Doc my arm is not getting better," she finally spat out. She didn't want to admit her weaknesses but anything to help would be nice.
He peered at her over his glasses.
"I'll prescribe something stronger," he said quietly before standing up and grabbing a fucking needle.
"Time for a blood sample," he said. She didn't flinch away from him exactly but she did roll backwards just a teeny tiny bit. She was not impressed with needles. Whatsoever.
She didn't look when he pricked her, purposely keeping her head turned to the side.
"Alright all done," he said, snapping his gloves off. She sighed. God she hated needles.
She was scooting out the door shortly afterwards, heading straight to the cafeteria, not that she had much of an appetite after all that.
It sucked. She had been having such an excellent morning and then the suit had to show up and make her life hell. He was an omen of bad news. Next time she saw him, she was going to punch him and get it over with.
What she wasn't expecting was one of the military guys to sit down at her table. They normally avoided her like the plague.
"Katie, right?" he asked, before taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Yeah? And you are?" She didn't mean to sound so snotty but after being ignored for weeks she wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of communicating with any of them.
"Lennox," he said with a nod. That tracked. She knew he was vaguely familiar.
"What can I do for you, Lennox?" she asked before taking a bite of her own sandwich.
"The bots, they treating you alright?" he asked. How sweet. Concern. For once.
"Yeah. Better than the humans," she snarked back. It was the truth. He got a thoughtful look on his face before cramming the rest of his sandwich into his mouth.
"Nice talking to you," he said and then he was gone. Fucking weird.