(Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers; just Anwen, Liam and any other OC's I've mixed into the story...Kenobi included; although his name obviously comes from Obi-Wan Kenobi which is from the Star Wars franchise, which is owned by the corporate mouse at Disney.)
(Authors Note: Hello dearest readers, fellow writers, fangirls, fanboys, and TF lovers of every faction and genera! First of all, I'm sorry for not uploading new content sooner, but I needed some 'me time' to unwind and relax. Yes, I absolutely adore writing and adding onto my FF's, but every now and then I just need some time to rest my mind and unwind for a bit. Some knitting always helps me to unravel (see what I did there ;) LOL) Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for your the continued support and the inspiring comments as they are always appreciated and uplifting. I hope you all will enjoy the new chapter! I'll be sure to post another one soon, but until then, stay safe, stay sane, stay creative, and stay awesome!)
"English/French"
'Mental thoughts'
"Flashbacks"
'Sarcasm' (or emphasis)
{Cybertronian}
::Sparkbonds::
:Speaker talk:
::Comm. Link::
*:Phone calls:*
Chapter 39
As the plane finally reached its destination, all of the N.E.S.T. passengers emitted a collective sigh of relief as it had been a long, tiresome flight back to Diego Garcia. Fortunately, Anwen had managed to set up a small potty station for Kenobi inside the bathroom by laying down some newspapers every time she brought him in there to pee or do his business. It wasn't the most ideal solution, but it worked and it's not like she had much of a choice. She was just glad that he knew what to do and that the cleanup wasn't so bad. 'At least we're home now,' she thought to herself. While the flight was long, it wasn't too bad. After all, she did spend the entirety of it with her golden Autobot…at least the parts of it when she wasn't taking Kenobi over to the bathroom for his potty breaks, or when she herself needed to use the facilities.
Upon touching down and disembarking the plane, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker escorted Anwen, Liam and Kenobi up to her apartment before saying their temporary goodbyes. As much as they wanted to stay, they needed to report to Prime and inform him of their unexpected Decepticon encounter. That, and they really wanted to hit the wash racks afterwards as they were starting to feel dirty and grimy, which was completely unacceptable by their standards.
XXXXX
Meanwhile, Optimus was currently sitting at his desk looking over this week's report with Elita. As his optics scanned over the data pad, he felt her gaze settle upon him, to which he smiled over at her and asked, "Is there something on your processor, dearspark?"
"Not necessarily," she answered with a slight shake of her helm. "I'm just admiring the view."
"Oh? Is there anything in particular that you find appealing?"
"Hmm, actually I find all of it rather appealing," she winked, causing him to emit a 'hmm' sound.
'That wonderful temptress.' While he wanted to stay professional, Optimus was finding it difficult to do so at the moment. In truth, he wanted to take Elita into his arms and passionately kiss her, but he knew that sort of action was better left for later when they were in their private quarters. For now, he'd just have to cope with admiring her from across the room.
*knock, knock, knock*
"Come in," he stated in his deep, baritone voice that sent a delightful shiver down his mate's frame.
Rolling into the spacious office, Sideswipe greeted the two leaders with a smile while his brother stepped in wearing a neutral expression on his face. "Good morning, Prime and Ms. Elita."
"And a good morning to you both as well. How was your trip," the femme commander asked as she set her data pad aside to focus her attention on the two frontliners.
"It was cold and wet, but not entirely unpleasant; however, Anwen can tell you more about it later. Right now Sideswipe and I need to inform you both that while we were in Quebec, we encountered a Decepticon."
"When," Optimus asked in a professional tone.
"Almost four days ago," Sideswipe answered. "Sunny first detected it while he was out on a morning drive around the city, but we opted to keep that information hidden from Ani at that time so as to not cause panic. However, we decided to relocate her and Liam to a safer vicinity that night as its signature showed that it was approaching our location."
"And before you ask: yes, we kept our own signatures hidden and refrained from using the Comm. links," Sunstreaker added. "Sideswipe stayed with Anwen and Liam while I headed out to lure it away from them while they evacuated the city."
"But it followed him for a while until he lost its signature; however, it appeared again a few hours before we reached the base in New York."
"You're certain that it wasn't a different Decepticon," Elita asked.
"Affirmative," Sunstreaker curtly nodded. "I know for a fact that it was the same one that dogged me through Quebec."
This caused both Autobot leaders to raise a brow, to which Optimus emitted a 'hmm' in thought. "Thank you for bringing this information to our attention. Elita and I will discuss your findings with Jazz and Prowl, but we may need you both to return later and provide further details. In the meantime, you should take some time to rest."
"Oh, we were already planning on doing just that," the silver mech casually replied.
"Well, don't be strangers," Elita added with a smile. "Stop by again, and bring Anwen with you. I want to hear all about your trip."
"Will do," he curtly nodded before he and his brother exited the office.
XXXXX
"Soooo, when are you going to take Maggie out on a date," Anwen prodded as Liam helped her unpack her duffel bag while Kenobi busied himself with exploring the bedroom of her apartment.
With an amused smile, the Major answered, "I was thinking I'd take her out this coming Saturday, provided if that's alright with you?"
"Bien sûr, pourquoi ne le serait-il pas (Of course, why wouldn't it be)?"
"Well, I didn't know if you and the twins would be doing your sparkbonding thing, and if Maggie and I aren't around, there's no one to watch Kenobi."
She waved it off, "I'm sure I could find someone else to look after him for a-ACHOO!"
"Sois béni (Bless you)."
*sniff* "Merci."
"Lottie, are you getting sick?"
"Quoi (What)?! No, no, no…at least I don't think so."
Raising a brow, Liam stepped over to her bathroom and retrieved her thermometer from the medicine cabinet, "S'ouvrir (Open up)."
"Oh come on, is that really necessary?"
"Oui."
*sigh* "Amende (Fine)," she took the thermometer from him, turned it on, and stuck it in her mouth until it emitted a soft beeping sound. Unfortunately, it read that she had a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).
"Alright, you're officially on bed rest. Take some Tylenol and lay down while I run over to the store and pick up some groceries. You're not cooking while sick."
"Oui, Dr. Bleu."
"I mean it," he replied in a serious tone. "Do I need to call Ratchet and have him lecture you?"
"No, that's not necessa-a-ACHOO!" She sneezed into her elbow before feeling a sudden gush from between her legs. "Merde (Fuck)," she then quickly shuffled into the bathroom with Kenobi prancing along behind her.
After five minutes, Anwen returned to find her brother was no longer in the bedroom, to which she used the opportunity to shower and change into some clean clothes. Seeing as how her only pair of lounging pants were dirty, she'd have to settle with wearing her periwinkle booty shorts and her old Power Rangers t-shirt. No matter. So long as she was comfortable, she could care less about style.
After ten minutes of shampooing, scrubbing and shaving, she stepped out of the shower and adorned her night clothes before retrieving all of her dirty laundry and tossing it into the washer. Afterwards, she unpacked Kenobi's things and filled his water and food bowls, to which the little pup happily began munching his kibbles.
Glancing at the counter, Anwen noticed a small note from Liam that read: I left for the store and will be back soon. Please get some rest.
With a small smile and a roll of her amber eyes, she stepped back into the bedroom, removed the towel from her head, and wove her hair into a pair of french braids before slipping underneath the covers where upon touching the pillow, she instantly fell asleep.
XXXXX
-Ten Minutes Later-
A soft whimpering sound caused the young ginger to stir from her dreamless slumber, to which she peered over the edge of her bed to see little Kenobi sitting at her bedside with the biggest sad puppy expression lining his face. Knowing he wanted to be in the bed with her, Anwen picked him up and placed him beside her (and Morris), to which he snuggled against her frame and emitted a tired *yawn* before laying his head on her stuffed moose and falling asleep.
Smiling at his cuteness, she lovingly stroked his soft fur while she willed herself to fall back to sleep. Thankfully, sleep always came swiftly to her whenever she was sick or on her period, for fatigue was a prominent side effect of both ailments. Pulling the covers tighter over her frame, Anwen allowed the darkness to envelope her in a warm cocoon as her body suddenly felt like it was made of lead, while her mind was devoid of any thoughts or dreams.
XXXXX
"Lottie? Lottie, peux-tu m'entendre (_, can you hear me)," Liam asked as he gently shook his sister's shoulder while Kenobi licked her cheek.
Upon opening her (heavy) eyelids, Anwen emitted a tired/pained groan as a cramp rolled through her uterus, causing her to shiver in discomfort. "Liam? How long have you been trying to wake me?"
"About thirty seconds," he admitted. "Of course, your baby helped," he gestured to the little pup who wagged his tail and emitted a happy whine at seeing his mommy awake again.
A smile lined the young ginger's face at seeing the adorable mixed puppy, to which she snuggled him to her chest and kissed his head while he affectionately licked her face. "When did you get back?"
"Il ya deux heures (Two hours ago)," he smiled as he approached the dresser and picked up a bowl. "I hope you're hungry because I made homemade chicken noodle soup for you."
As the hauntingly familiar stench of broth and wet noodles assaulted her nose, Anwen instantly lurched forward and threw up over the side of the bed, to which Liam placed the bowl on the nightstand and supported his sister as she shakily slipped out from the covers and made her way into the bathroom with Kenobi following closely behind her. Of course, she hadn't told him of her reason behind her extreme dislike towards that particular type of soup, so she had no one to blame but herself for her current predicament.
After involuntarily purging the rest of her stomach contents, Anwen glanced up at her brother with tears rolling down her cheeks. "..I'm sorry.."
"Shh.. Lottie, it's alright. You have nothing to be sorry about," he soothed while rubbing her back.
Glancing down, she sadly smiled at her puppy as he worriedly whined at her. "Je vais bien, mon petit (I'll be okay, little one). I'm just feeling a bit under the weather." Flushing the toilet, Anwen shakily attempted to stand up when Liam gently pushed her back down.
"You stay here in case you need to expel anything else. I'm going to fetch you some water and clean the carpet."
"..Okay," she tiredly nodded as she curled up on the bathroom floor with Kenobi nuzzled against her side.
XXXXX
-0530-
Anwen wasn't sure how long she had been asleep or when she had last been awake, or even when she ended up back in her bed, but the fact was that she felt like crap: Her eyes were heavy, her head was throbbing, and her body felt chilled and achy all over. She emitted a cough and groaned when her phone's alarm suddenly rang out as if to say 'Get your freckled ass outta bed right now!' Reaching over to turn it off, she accidentally rolled out of her bed and landed on the floor with a hard *badunk*, yet she didn't even have the energy to complain or cry out in pain for she was already in discomfort and her body felt as if it was made of concrete.
Seeing his 'mommy' on the floor, Kenobi emitted a whimper and jumped down from the bed where he approached and lovingly licked her cheek, causing her to tiredly smile before the sound of approaching footsteps was heard.
"Ani! Are you alright," Sideswipe worriedly asked as he helped her off the floor and back into the bed, to which she weakly nodded as he then gently tucked her in and placed Kenobi beside her.
"..Oui..I'm fine.."
"Like Pit you are," Sunstreaker commented with a frown as he entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed before placing a cool, damp cloth over her forehead. "Liam told us that your complexion had shifted color and that you purged your tank multiple times last night. That's not 'fine', sparklight," he gently brushed a stray curl behind her ear and caressed her cheek, to which she leaned into his touch.
"By the way, Sunny and I called Moonracer to come out and examine you about an hour ago."
"..Really? I don't remember it..," she tiredly replied.
"We wouldn't expect you to remember because you were practically in stasis," Sunstreaker added as he helped her take a drink of water from the mug he was now holding. "According to her, you have a common organic virus called the flu, which you likely contracted from one of your fellow fleshies while we were in New York."
She emitted a tired sigh as she gently stroked Kenobi's soft fur, "I imagine I'd be in a worse state if I hadn't gotten my flu shot before we left for Quebec."
"That's what Moon said," Sideswipe nodded as he measured out a spoonful of medicine and held it out for her to take. "She informed us that had you not been vaccinated, you would have likely been taken to the Med Bay and placed on an I.V. drip by now. Thankfully, your body is fighting off the virus and you've been able to keep fluids down."
"C'est bon (That's good)." Glancing around, she tiredly asked, "Where's Liam?"
"He's currently in his own barracks. Moonracer also examined him for any signs of illness and fortunately found none; however, she advised that he should stay in quarantine in case he were asymptomatic. Apparently, you weren't the only one to return to Diego Garcia with this virus, so for everyone's safety, she and the other medics have advised all returning crew and personnel to self-isolate for the next seventy two hours."
"..So, is she and Ratchet making house calls to everyone who stepped off the plane?"
"Mhmm," Sunstreaker curtly nodded as he offered her another drink of water. "Apparently disease and illness spread like wildfire among you fleshies, so they have their servos full at the moment."
"I can imagine," she tiredly sighed as she laid her head back down upon the pillow. Glancing over at her puppy, Anwen asked, "When was the last time he went outside? I remember taking him out before Liam and I started unpacking from our trip."
"Oh, you needn't worry about the little fuzzball," Sideswipe smirked. "I took him out about half an hour ago. He lubricated on the bus sign and that was it."
She smiled and gently petted Kenobi's soft fur as he contentedly slept beside her, "..Merci for walking him."
"Sure thing, sweetspark. You needn't worry about a thing as Sunny and I are more than capable of looking out for him and tending to your needs while you recover from your illness."
*sigh* "What did I do to deserve you both?"
"We could say the same thing about you, sparklight," Sunstreaker noted with a handsome smile as he gently placed his hand on top of hers. "Regardless, we'll be right here if you need anything. For now, you should get some more rest."
She tiredly nodded in agreement before closing her heavy eyelids and falling back to sleep, content in knowing that her mechs were close by and watching over her.
(Another Authors Note: Hello again dear readers, fellow writers, and TF fans of every corner of the globe (yes, it's a globe otherwise someone would have fallen off the edge by now LOL). Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this latest chapter as I had fun writing it. Can you believe we're almost at chapter 40?! WHAAAAT?! I honestly didn't think I'd get this far or that this story would receive so much positive feedback and attention. I'm glad to see that I was wrong :) Regardless, I wanted this chapter to be sweet and wholesome because you all deserve it. Thank you all so much for the continued support and patience! You're an amazing group of fans! Keep being awesome and I'll see you all again at chapter 40!)