Hello folks, I'm rather light on my feet lately since ideas have been popping in my head.

Trials, Tribulations and Transformations

IV

When did I first start to like Jack?

"It's hard to say really. Jasper's not a big town. And I first noticed him around the time I arrived here from Japan."

"That was over two years ago Miko," said Nurse Darby.

Miko Nakadai turned her head a fraction from Nurse Darby's direction, finding it difficult to look at the mother of the boy she was taken with. She was comfortable enough on the bed of her host and impromptu physician (and as of late, her impromptu counselor), but this conversation was not at all comfortable for her.

However, while Miko's efforts as a high school student still left a great deal to be desired, she understood that by submitting to June Darby's counsel and expert opinion as a nurse and a mother, she will be spared from enduring a session with a different person whom would not know her as well as Nurse Darby.

Besides, Nurse Darby's conduct towards Miko has been nothing short of extraordinary. The love and compassion that June had shown towards Miko, the trust she instilled in her when most to all others have failed miserably, as well as the discernment she has displayed, as though she had read Miko's mail so to speak.

This may be the best chance I have in getting through this rut and not falling back in. Because if I do fall, I don't know if I'll come back.

"Miko?"

Miko turned her head quickly back to June, who was looking at her with genuine concern.

"Yes?" Miko answered.

"You were saying?" June said, urging Miko to continue.

After a moment of silence, Miko continued.

"Jack did not really stand out to me, at least not in the way most boys did. He did not try to stand out. He was definitely the quiet sort.
At first, I did not pay him much mind but...now that I think about it, there was something about him that stood out to me."

"How's that Miko?" June asked with interest.

"It's hard to explain," Miko said, as she folded her hands over her stomach. "He was just different to me but I didn't know why at the time, it was just a feeling I had, that I've been having over the years."

"Go on."

"Ok, he was not only not like the other boys, he was like the farthest thing from. He didn't puff himself up, flex his muscles or act like a jerk like Vince Raider. And he certainly did not act like people were beneath him or act like he was better than everyone like that idiot Terrence Crowson," Miko said, not bothering to hide her disdain.

June raised an eyebrow. "Crowson? Any relation to-"

"To one of the town councilmen Felix Crowson? Yeah, that's his son."

"I see. And Vince Raider? Wasn't he the one that found you?" June asked.

"Yeah, so what?" Miko said with impertinence.

"Jack told me that he ran into Vince and that he agreed to help him find you."

Say what?

"Just like that?" Miko asked, unconvinced.

"That's what Jack told me and seeing that Vince did find you after he said he would seems to speak a good bit about-"

Miko didn't let June finish.

"I thought we were talking about me and Jack?!" Miko almost shouted.

June would've been greatly taken aback if she wasn't expecting Miko to show outbursts in the emotional state she was in.

Miko immediately regretted it.

"Ms. Darby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

"It's ok Miko," June said gently. "You were in a very bad place and you've been through a great deal. But I want you know that this," June motioned to her room for effect. "This is a safe place for you and you have my word that what is said in this room, will stay in this room."

"Thank you," Miko whispered as new tears were shed.

June immediately handed Miko a box of Kleenex tissues, which she accepted gladly. She would definitely need those tissues.

After wiping her eyes, Miko said, "Where was I?"

"How Jack was different from other boys."

"Oh yeah. Well...Jack was always behaving himself. He didn't look for trouble, but when trouble found him, he just took it."

June grimaced, remembering the times that Jack came home from school, tending to the number of bruises and cuts he received from the occasional bully, and not just Vince Raider.

"In class, he never disrupted class or gave the teachers a hard time. Heck, even when the teacher was giving him a hard time, he's always so calm. It's unbelievable. No student I know of does that."

June smiled, hearing that her son has conducted himself so well in school, especially in a classroom setting.

"How did the two of you meet?" June asked.

Miko paused.

"I don't really like this part," she said sullenly.

"What happened?" June asked with a serious tone.

"What happened was the quite possibly the worst night of my life," Miko said with angry tears.

"What does this have to do with Jack?"

"Well, he helped me," Miko said.

"Could you explain?" June said.

Miko took a deep breath and wiped her eyes before she continued.

"It was the freshman homecoming dance. I was still new to this kind of socializing, being a foreign exchange student. I spoke English well enough because my parents made sure I was well-taught for it in case I ever had to travel abroad. But I was still a fish out of water and I didn't know how to handle this new environment.
So naturally, I was not the least bit interested in going to homecoming, at least until...he asked me to meet him there."

"He who? Jack?" June asked.

"No, of course not," Miko said, dismissing the idea.

"Who was it then?"

"Terrence Crowson." Miko spat the name like it was foul-tasting.

"He asked you to meet him at homecoming?" June asked, confused for a moment, but then a terrible thought occurred to her as Miko's answer sank in.

"What did he do?" June asked, dreading the answer, but forced herself to be steady.

"Well, let me start off by saying I was surprised. Shocked really. The high school prep that many girls rave about, asking me, ME, to homecoming. I couldn't believe it."

"And you said yes?"

"Of course I did," Miko answered. "It seemed like a dream to me. Yes, I didn't know much about him, I was new after all. And Crowson was fairly new to this town and school too, so it's not like anyone could've warned me about what he was really like."

Miko turned over on the bed, facing the wall opposite to June, keeping her back to her.

"So I put on my best dress and spent almost two hours doing my makeup. My host mother dropped me off at the school and I wasted no time getting to the gym where the dance was being held."

June did not see Miko's face but judging by how she was trembling and the soft sniffles, she could tell that was trying so hard not to cry.

"As I was trying to find him, I noticed that some of students laughing to themselves as I was passing by."

Miko crosses her arms very tightly across her chest, gritted her teeth, as she drudged up the memories she's prefer to forget.

"As I reached the center of the dance floor, I finally caught a glimpse of...well, you know, him. I remember how handsome he looked, how Well styles his dark brown hair was, how expensive and how so well done his suit was. I was about to rush over to him and call out his name until he tu-"

Miko stopped mid-sentence with a mild sob.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," June said supportively.

"I will, it's just rough is all."

Miko took another deep breath and then she exhaled. After a moment, she continued.

"His back was to me, I was about to call his name and then he turned and I saw this girl with him. They were dancing together."

June shut her eyes and she sighed a sigh of grief.

"Then what happened?" June asked, with a tone that was full of sadness, but she remained resolute.

"I went up to them and said 'Terrence, what are you doing? What's going on?' And then he looked at me with that stupid smirk on his face, that blonde bimbo he was with had the same stupid smirk, and he said 'What? Did you actually think I was serious? I know English isn't your native tongue but come on.' And then..."

Miko choked up another sob but she forced herself to continue.

"And then he laughed. His bimbo fish-lipped girlfriend laughed too. I heard laughing coming from every direction. I looked around and I could see that most to all of the students there were laughing. At me."

June felt a tear go down her cheek. She had counseled many patients but not many of them have ever gone through something so cruel and humiliating.

"It felt like my world was shattering. I didn't feel or hear anything, nothing but that mocking laughter.
Next thing I knew I was running, I ran faster than I ever thought possible. I wasn't thinking, I just acted. I had to get away from there. I didn't care where I was going as long as it was anywhere but there.
And as I ran down the school steps, I tripped and fell down. I managed to catch myself to keep myself from landing face-first on the pavement. I turned my down to look at my feet, I saw that one of my heels on my high-heel shows broke off as I was coming down the stairs.
I kicked them both off and took off running. It hurt my feet to do that but I didn't care. What Crow boy did to me hurt worse than any of that."

Miko heard the sound of someone blowing their nose in Kleenex. She didn't have to turn around to see.

"Where did you go?" June asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Well," Miko started, her voice trembling as well. "I didn't know where I was going at first. I never felt so humiliated in my entire life. I became afraid of going back to school, of being the butt of the joke, of being made fun for something even worse than being stood up on a date.
I just kept running until I got too tired to keep going. And then I looked and..."

"Yes Miko?"

"I saw that I was right next to...a public parking garage," Miko said. "I thought to myself that I had nothing better to do, so I went up there-"

"What level do you go to?" June asked firmly.

"Um, the top."

"To what?" June asked with growing dread.

"To...think," Miko said, trying to sound convincing.

"You were planning to jump off," June said, her voice breaking.

Miko said nothing. She just curled up and wrapped her arms around her body.

"I...I didn't know what I was doing," she said, sobbing bitterly. "I was hurt so bad I wanted to die."

June got up from her chair, removed her shoes, got on the bed and picked Miko up into her arms. Miko made no attempt to resist as she allowed Nurse Darby to hold once more as she cried. June cried along with her but not so strongly.

"What stopped you?" June whispered.

After a moment of finding her voice, Miko spoke up.

"He did."

"Jack?" June asked.

"Jack."

Miko's crying softened and almost smiled at the mention of the topic of their one-on-one session.

"I was...at the top of the garage. I remember it being really windy and cool. My face felt really cold...and when I touched my face, it felt wet. I was so...messed up that I didn't even know I was crying the whole time. Almost without thinking, I stepped onto the ledge of the garage and looked down to see that it was an 8-story drop."

June tightened her hold on Miko, ever so slightly, soothingly rubbing her back all the while as she continued her dreaded story.

"I was about to take a step forward until I heard the sound of someone running behind me and then I felt someone grab me from behind and pull me back. We both fell but whoever grabbed me shielded me from the fall with their own body.
The impact when I hit the ground didn't hurt but the wind was knocked out of me. And then everything went black. I guess the stress of everything that happened took a toll on me and almost dying and that fall was what did it. But just before I passed out, I saw his face. He look worried. His mouth was moving but I didn't hear anything. And then blackout.
Next thing I remember, I felt that my arms were wrapped around someone and we were moving like really fast. I heard someone panting and the sound of shoes hitting the pavement really fast. And I could my feel my face pressed up against smooth fabric and greasy hair. And I could smell something really funky. At this point, I think I'd know that cheap cologne anywhere. And when I woke up again, I was in the hospital."

June didn't say anything. Her mind was reeling from what what she just heard. From when Miko spoke about the parking garage, how she almost jumped, and how her son saved her and then carried her all the way to the hospital, in a suit, running all the way.

It can't be...it can't be the same girl.

"Ms. Darby?"

June was almost startled when Miko got her attention.

"Yes Miko?"

"Are you ok? You zoned out for a second there," Miko asked.

"Yes, I'm alright. I'm just...deeply startled is all," June said.

"Pretty crazy huh?"

"Yes, pretty crazy," June answered.

What are the chances that that mystery girl happened to be...that just leaves one question.

"What happened after you woke up Miko?" June asked.

"I left as soon as I was sure I was alone," Miko said.

There's my answer. That explains why there is no clear record or identification of that particular patient.

"Why did you sneak out of the hospital?" June asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

"Because I was afraid, afraid of not only being a laughing stock for being stood up in the worst possible way, but also probably being put away for almost taking my own life," Miko said bitterly.

"How did you sneak out of the hospital?" June asked.

"I used the fire escape,"

"Want to try again?" June asked unconvinced. "You couldn't have used it without setting off any alarms and I should know because I was working that night."

"OK fine. I climbed out the window and used my bed-sheets as a rope to scale 7-stories down the building."

Sweet mercies. This girl really is nuts.

"I thought as much," June said, satisfied with Miko's answer yet dissatisfied that she went to such lengths just to run away.

That one unidentified patient who escaped the hospital, using her own bed-sheets as a rope. I can't believe I didn't realize sooner.

"Then why did you bother asking?" Miko asked.

"I wanted to be sure it was you," June answered.

Miko raised an eyebrow. Say what?

"What are you talking about?" Miko asked.

"Miko, the doctor that saw to you did not have a chance to identify you before you escaped. We were short staffed that night and I was not working on that floor."

Miko was confused.

"But...didn't Jack tell you who I was?" Miko asked.

"He couldn't because he never saw you before Miko. He told me that you were a total mess."

Miko's mouth had set in a grim line. In more ways than one.

"He said your face was covered with filth and your hair was tangled and wild. Plus it was dark and he couldn't see much of you so he didn't get a good look at you. The only thing he knew of you that you were at the homecoming, judging by your dress, despite the shape it was in. So he most certainly didn't recognize you then and so he might have a hard time recognizing you today."

Miko was stunned beyond belief.

So he never spoke to me about it afterwards or even approached me back then, not because he didn't care, but because he didn't know who I was?

"What was Jack doing at the parking garage?"

"Because I was working late, I couldn't take him to homecoming myself, so he walked."

"Who was he going with?" Miko asked, dreading the answer.

"No one," June said.

"He went alone?!" Miko exclaimed.

"Couldn't find a date."

"So he went alone?!"

"No, because he didn't make it to homecoming that night," June answered simply.

Because of me of course.

"So how did he end up at the parking garage?" Miko asked.

"He tried to take a shortcut and ended walking past the garage. From what he told me, he doubled back because he had a bad feeling, like something bad was going to happen. And then he saw you.
He saw on the third level from the ground level. He said you were walking like a zombie. He thought that you might've been really hurt so came up the stairs to try and see if you needed help."

Hurt? Well, he wasn't wrong.

"By the time he reached you, you were already standing on the ledge with your arms spread out. Jack feared the worst and he called out to you but you showed no signs that you heard him.
So he did only thing he knew to do. He grabbed you, you lost consciousness, he carried you to the hospital and the rest is history."

Miko was almost speechless.

But she was not entirely convinced.

"How is it possible that he hasn't recognized me all this time? Just because I was a little dirty?" Miko asked, almost angry.

June knew she'd ask this question and was prepared.

"I'm not entirely sure Miko. But consider this, Jack knowing who you are now, how you dress, your mannerisms, your certain behaviors, how spritely and outgoing you usually are, your longing for adventure and excitement, as well as your passion in the musical arts."

Musical arts? That's a delicate way to put it.

"And now think back on how you were that night. How miserable you were, how broken you looked, how you seemed to have given up on life, and how you looked no less.

Do you think Jack would have made the connection that you and her were the same person?" June asked.

That's a good point I guess.

"Aside from how filthy you looked, have you ever worn a dress after that?"

"Never, I hate dresses," Miko said.

"What happened to the dress you were wearing? June asked.

"They had it folded and packaged for me and left it in my room. I threw it out," Miko said.

"Why?"

"Because it was a constant reminder of the worst and almost the last night of my life, so I got rid of it. I never want to see it again," Miko said.

June grunted in sadness.

"Has Jack fjgured it out yet?" Miko asked. "That that same girl was me?"

"I don't know Miko, if he has, he has shown no sign that he did," June answered.

"What should I do?" Miko asked.

"Talk to him, whenever you're ready for it."

"Ready for what exactly?"

Now the big question.

"Miko, do you love my son?"

June felt Miko's body tense up in her arms.

Haven't I answered that already?

"What are you-?"

"How much do you love my son?" June asked.

Oh man, I could really do without this day right now.
What am I supposed to say? Why is she asking me this?

Miko looked up at June and then she found herself focusing on her eyes, those familiar, ocean-blue eyes.

Those eyes, she has the same eyes, his eyes.

"I'd die for him," Miko said suddenly.

Damn it!

June smiled. And she held Miko closer, laying her head against her.

"And I don't doubt it one bit he'd do the same for you."

Miko's eyes seemed to light up as she looked up at June.

"Really? You think so? Would he really?"

June raised an eyebrow as she gave Miko a lopsided grin.

"Did he not protect you, or at least try to protect you from a Decepticon, when you were in that mine?"

"You know about that?!" Miko exclaimed.

"Jack told me after some convincing. The rubble I found in the pockets of his jeans when I washed them were a dead giveaway," June said, none too pleased of remembering that incident.

Seriously?! How much does she know?

"And yet you haven't-"

"Haven't what?" June asked. "Banned him from meeting with Arcee and going to the Autobot base?"

"You're not going to do that?" Miko asked.

"Even if I wanted to, and I do sometimes, it wouldn't really solve anything, not in the long run."

June looked deeply sullen.

"We're known to the Decepticons now, especially you, Jack and Raf, correct?"

"Well Soundwave did take our picture," Miko said.

June looked stricken.

"It's ok, I took his picture too," Miko said as she took out her phone, accessed her photo gallery and showed June the pic of Decepticon communications officer.

June seemed visibly disturbed by it.

"And I thought Airachnid was creepy," June said.

"I know right?" Miko said, fully agreeing.

June sighed. "Moving on, my point is we are all targets now. The Decepticons know we are friends to the Autobots and keeping you kids from the Autobots will not solve anything, not for sure. Even if we were able to hide you away from the Decepticons, they are far more advanced than our military and government. They would not be able to protect us like the Autobots can."

"Yeah, that's true," Miko said forebodingly.

"And Optimus told me that they see us as nothing more than vermin, not even fit to be slaves," June said, her anger coming in waves.

"Yeah, that's really messed up. They're like space nazis."

June laughed. "They are space nazis."

Miko laughed as well. And they laughed together.

Miko stopped laughing abrubtly.

"What if he doesn't love me?" Miko asked.

June smiled reassuringly and laid her head against Miko's.

"Ask him," June said.

"Just like that?"

"You'll when the time is right to tell him."

If he doesn't tell her first.

Miko didn't say anything at first, and then she nodded.

"I will, one way or another," Miko said nervously but with some determination.

"Good girl."

And then June hugged her once more.

And then Miko yawned.

"You're exhausted," June said.

"What, no. I'm not sleepy," Miko, trying not to sound tired.

"Miko-"

"Alright, yes, I am. I didn't sleep all that well last night anyway."

"I thought so. You'll sleep here then."

"What, here?" Miko exclaimed.

"Yes, I took care of your host parents and we've come to the agreement that you need time to heal from your ordeal. You'll stay here for a while and this is where you'll sleep."

"In this bed?!"

"You think I'd let you sleep on the couch?" June asked.

"I...well, I..."

"This room has a bathroom you can use, being a young lady. And the bed is large enough. And it's Tempur-Pedic, so don't worry about disturbing me. But don't hesitate to wake me if you need anything," June said assuredly.

"I...I don't know what to say," Miko said. She was not used to anyone showing her such kindness.

"You don't need to say anything Miko."

Miko gave June a bone-crushing hug, not wanting to let go. June patted her hug, making an effort not to show physical discomfort from Miko's vice-grip embrace.

"But first...," June started, placing her hands on Miko's shoulders, looking her in the eye. "You need to wash your feet."

"Huh?"

"They stink, really bad and I don't want them stinking up the bed. I have to sleep here too you know."

That's another chapter down.

It would've been nice if Miko was given more of a backstory and if she and June had more moments together, even a mother/daughter moment.

Thank you so much for those of you who waited on me. Tell your fellow readers, I'm looking forward to your reviews.

And for all you Deviantartists, feel free to do art based on my story here, please.

May you increase in the knowledge of the One who gave Himself for us all. Love ya'll.