Cross In The Light ✔️

Ch. 60

Lightning POV
It’s a rough five days; even though Jamie spends time with me, she still suffers nightmares. I can’t believe I’m having a hard time believing she finally slept all night last night. We decide to have a fun day playing paintball since it’s still too cold for a water balloon fight. I can’t believe how well Cade, Hound, Prime, and Vivian planned this. They made light armor; not as if we were going into battle using our holoforms, but it’s close. I was warned beforehand that Crosshairs and Rangeblade would be on the same team. It’s hard to know if he’s still going to be an aft to her or not. I know he’d treat this game as a mission.

“Ok, Crosshairs, Jamie, Lightning, and Rangeblade will be a team. Bumblebee, Drift, Hound, and Hot Rod will be the other team. Cade, Izzy, Tessa, and Vivian will assist me in what humans call referring,” Prime explains.
“You separating Drift and Jamie?” Crosshairs teases, which gets him a kick in the shin by Jamie, “oh come on! It’s no secret, you-.”
I put my hand over his mouth, “seriously, trying to piss her off too?” I whisper.
“Not his fault she denies it,” Tessa adds.
“Enough! The point of this game is to build trust, not tear each other apart further!” Optimus lectures.
The game must last at least an hour. I see why Cade and Prime think that’ll build trust. We must follow the standard rules of the game. 
We are on a good-sized field, and there’s sturdy cover. I doubt this was going to be used just once for trust exercise. Perhaps we’ll play paintball for fun again and have water balloon fights in the summer.

Crosshairs is not liking my strategy; he and Rangeblade go left from where I’m standing on our side of the field, and Jamie and I go right. This training exercise goes as far as communication. It’s odd using a commlink humans use, but I agree with Prime about not using our bipedal form. It’s for Rangblade’s safety — I don’t know if Crosshairs will fight her — but I’m sure building all the stuff for paintball in our size would be challenging and dangerous for Jamie. Though it would be helpful for our trust-building that I have to protect her. I still will even in my holoform.
“Are you going to be ok?” I ask Jamie, knowing she’d still dealing with pain.
“It’s finally manageable.... unless I’m running. Still can’t run without pain.”
And Optimus would ask about her pain before deciding if we should play paintball today or not. I also suspect she finished an infusion of pain medication. I see what you’re hoping will happen. I hope you’re prepared to help Jamie’s pain after we’re done. Jamie agrees to let me carry her on my back. She should be able to fire her paintball gun while on me.

Rangeblade POV
I’m not too sure about this idea. At least Crosshairs can’t ditch me in the middle of the woods. Yet, he doesn’t keep his distance from me either. 
:: Everyone ready?:: Optimus asks.
We all say yes. After a reminder to keep this going for at least an hour, we’re told to start.
We know staying in our spots is not allowed — even if Prime didn’t say so. This adds to the challenge of keeping the game going for an hour.
It seems like Optimus knew everyone would separate into teams of two as we catch Tessa watching us.
“Probably watching to make sure I don’t beat you up,” Crosshairs sighs, “I doubt the others have a shadow watching them.”
I don’t know what to say; unless the others really think he was only distracted all this time?
“Come on, we can’t stay here.”
We go in the opposite direction of Jamie and Lightning. We can’t believe twenty minutes passed before we run into Bumblebee, who tells us Hot Rod was already eliminated — as he tries to take one of us down. 
“Those two take this game way too seriously!” He rants.
We can’t help but laugh, but we hear a scream that concerns the three of us.
“That is not a good scream,” Crosshairs frets.
Looking at what we’re wearing, it’s hard to think someone is hurt. Then I realize Jamie is still recovering from the fractured ribs.

Ten minutes earlier

Drift POV
My team split into two groups, but Hound and I ended up meeting Hot Rod at the same location. Along with Jamie and Lightning. Either Bumblebee was taken out or hasn’t headed this way.
“No, you don’t want to do this,” Hot Rod pleads. It’s hard not to laugh, “ugh, seriously?!”  He complains.
Rather than leave the field, Hot Rod stays to watch the show. 
“You’re next,” Lighting taunts, pointing the paintball gun at me. Jamie aims hers while holding on to Lightning with her legs.
“Wait, don’t!” I exclaim.
My team wanted to joke around when we cross paths with the girls, but I see disaster about to happen.
“Geez, Drift, it’s just a game,” Lightning comments as she walks closer to me, tripping over a hidden branch. Both girls go down, but Jamie doesn’t stay on Lightning as they fall.
Jamie would have been fine after the infusion before we got here, but the medication doesn’t block all pain. I hate the scream I hear. Hound is looking like he made a horrible mistake.

Bumblebee, Crosshairs, and Rangeblade rush to the scene as Hound gets on the ground to look at Jamie. Lightning sits on the other side of Jamie, worried. Crosshairs and I sit with her. I don’t think she re-broke her ribs, but we’re tired of seeing her in pain.
“Easy, I prepared for this,” Hound assures her though I don’t know if she can hear him as she’s crying and in pain, “this is still going to take twenty minutes to kick in,” Hound explains as he prepares to inject the drug.
Once done, Lighting insists on holding Jamie, being careful to limit movement. By now, the others are around. Lightning has learned what works to calm Jamie down.
“I’m sorry, I should have known it was too soon,” Prime apologizes.
“I said it was fine; I’m sorry,” Hound adds.

Jamie quickly calms down. We wait for the pain medication to kick in to figure out what to do next. We don’t want this happening again.
“Well, I’m out already,” Hot Rod starts, “I’ll carry her.”
“No, Jamie is still in the game,  so let Lighting,” Crosshairs insists, sounding like he's waiting for me to object to the idea.
“We’re seriously still playing?” Bumblebee asks.
“Yes,” Jamie says, “you think I’m done, Bee?”
“I.. uh...”
We all laugh, though we all worry she’ll deal with pain again as we play.
“I’ll be careful. Just be happy I don’t have something to act like a baby carrier,” Lightning jokes.
We all continue to laugh. This took six months, but I think we finally have the reunion we’ve been hoping for. Crosshairs has his sister back, and Lightning loves Jamie.