Haven ✔️

Ch. 35 Beach Day

Sunstreaker's P.O.V.
"You want me to what?" I ask Lightning, "no, it's supposed to be a nice day with the others."
"So, how will you keep your aft out of the brig or Cybertron?" She asks, "you should be locked up for murder."
"I have an idea," Sideswipe smirks, "let her prank you with me."
Lightning laughs at this idea. I know what Sideswipe has planned.
"You guys go realize she panics when she sees me."

I walk into the cafeteria with Lightning and Sideswipe following me, laughing. Probably thinking about what pranks to do on me. I see Steve smiling as I walk by.
What do you have planned aft?
It's been three weeks since Sideswipe and I saw Jadin. How long is she waiting before she attacks us? No way Prime would assume she won't attack six months from now.

Lightning goes to sit with Crosshairs, Drift, and Jamie while Sideswipe joins me at another table. I watch Jamie as Lightning talks to her, assuming she's telling Jamie I'm coming to the beach with the others. Jamie goes from being uncertain to smiling.
"I knew saying she'd get a chance at payback would work," Sideswipe smiles, "at least the kind that won't get her in trouble."
Even with a broken wrist, I'm sure I'll get my aft kicked with her power to bend the four elements. She could make a muddy mess. I hope she doesn't add fire to the mix.
"Hey, maybe this will help her start to trust you."

Jamie's P.O.V.
How the frag am I going to enjoy a day at the beach with that aft with us? Yet Crosshairs and Drift didn't tell Lightning this is a bad idea. I can't do much with a broken wrist, either. I don't know why Ratchet won't let me heal the bone myself. I'm unsure if I can now that it's been two weeks. I have to heal injuries within a certain timeframe. I've been lucky to heal injuries within ten minutes of getting them. It's interesting eighteen years, and I'm just now experiencing a naturally healing broken bone.
Unfortunately, dealing with the pain is also something new. For the most part, I can ignore the pain.... unless it's unexpected pain from falling onto the floor just right. It's not as bad as a fresh break, but hard to ignore. It hurts more than whacking the elbow just right.
"I'm sorry," Sunstreaker apologizes as he helps me up. I try to ease the pain, but the cast makes it hard, "come on."
He carries me to his room.

Sunstreaker puts me on his bed.
"I'm not going to hurt you...more than I accidentally have."
I take the pain medication he gives me.

Sideswipe's P.O.V.
I walk into the room, not expecting to see Jamie here, for Sunstreaker to feel bad he caused Jamie pain, or for Jamie to be relaxed. Though I worry she's distracted by the pain. She lies on Sunstreaker's bed, waiting for the pain to stop.
"Stay with her. I don't know if she's in too much pain to care I'm near her," Sunstreaker tells me before leaving the room.
I have to know what she's thinking.
"You know him, and if I don't obey him - or we'll, in this case, let him carry me to the room. I'm already in pain."
I change the subject and get her to play video games with me, even with a broken wrist, until Drift walks in fifteen minutes before leaving for the beach. By now, the pain medication kicked in. Jamie says nothing as I tell Drift I wanted to play video games with her. It's not exactly a lie.

Many bots going to the beach are looking to sun tan or float in the water. Some will build sand castles, or we'll work on another big castle. I brought a few water guns. I didn't think Mirage or Ratchet would've come to the beach. I see Ratchet putting protection on Jamie's wrist. Is that why he came, or will he act as a lifeguard?

How could I forget Jamie's damn broken wrist? And she's the only one who'd have a water gun fight with me. Sure, she managed to hold a controller, but I wonder if she'll be successful with a water gun.
"There's still her water bending," Optimus informs me.
I look around to see who else might be interested in a water gun fight, "I'm not staying for long. I have meetings today."
"Well, I know Lightning tried to pick a day everyone wasn't busy - or are you just saying you have meetings and want to be at the base in case Jadin or the cons attack?"
"Both, really; even though Red Alert and Prowl stayed behind, I need to be there."
I watch Prime talk to Jamie, then Sunstreaker before leaving as Sunstreaker walks towards me.
"I don't know if I can do this," Sunstreaker tells me.
"I told you to let Jamie prank you...if she can. I'm not sure how strong her bending is with one hand.... unless you want me to help her?" I smirk.
"Fine," Sunstreaker sulks.
I go talk to Jamie.

Jamie's P.O.V.
Sideswipe asks if I can use my bending power with one hand. I can, but it's not as powerful. He suggests dumping sand and water on Sunstreaker.
"...payback for what he did," he explains. What I don't understand is why am I sensing he's lying? Sideswipe loves pranking, but also Sunstreaker is trying to kill me.
"And when he fights back? It's hard to fight with a broken wrist."
"He won't with all of us here."

It must look strange for a group of adults aged nineteen to forty - though most are actually thousands of years old - to have a stack of buckets, gardening shovels along with a stack of innertubes, and an air pump. Now add I'll be moving sand and water with my hand. Good thing we are the only ones here.
I convince Sideswipe to work on a sand castle instead of pranking Sunstreaker. Some of the others join us.

We keep working on the castle for three hours before taking a break to eat lunch.
Sunstreaker acts like Vegeta, keeping his distance from everyone until I watch Ratchet sit with him.

Ratchet's P.O.V.
This situation has Sunstreaker acting differently, but I didn't think he'd avoid everyone.
"Why should I be with the others?" Sunstreaker asks before I can say anything, "they all hate me and think I should have been locked up - except for Sideswipe. He thinks his idea can still happen."
"What do you think?"
"I accidentally bumped into Jamie, causing her to fall to the floor just right. She let me take her to my room and give her pain relief."
"This is good. She would have ran off if she didn't trust you at all - probably after punching you. It seems like she's a child, but she's twenty-seven."
"It's because of what the humans did, right?"
"More like what they didn't do," I explain, unable to hide my anger, "I don't know everything when it comes to human psychology, but the damn humans left her to deal with bullying and having no friends, even as kids refused to play with her. For three years, she dealt with that, and I think some kids picked up on what she's been through and took advantage of her, acting like her friend. The two girls who were her friend ended up moving. Jamie tried to keep in touch with one, but it didn't last long - just like with a friend when Jamie's family moved. For the last five years of Jamie's school years, her friends were children with disabilities in a class that taught basic life skills."
"But she still felt alone to the point she feels alone even spending all this time with her friends in other dimensions," Sunstreaker concludes.
I nod, relieved I didn't have to talk about Jamie's disabilities in her dimension. She refuses to tell Crosshairs and Drift after the bullying she dealt with. Only Bumblebee, Prime, and I know. I'd like to do a health check on her other form, but I don't think she'll let me.
"Her mental state is challenging. Tomorrow she can be so happy, then a few days later be depressed again, but we've never dealt with her wanting to die. Unless Crosshairs and Drift haven't told me, they have."

Sunstreaket's P.O.V.
Damn, it's easy to assume Jamie's cross-dimensional travel is to escape the shit she deals with, but her mental struggle still exists, and her condition can kill her. Looking over at the others, I realize why Lightning says Jamie is her sister and Sideswipe wants to say Jamie is our sister. Most think of Jamie as a human sister even if all of the Autobots aren't biologically siblings.
"Some humans call non-biological humans family," Ratchet explains before getting up and walking away.
He sits next to Jamie. It's obvious he's talking about me by the look on Jamie's face. Forget it; I'm leaving.
Wait, where are you going? Sideswipe asks.
She can't have fun while I'm here. I-I'm sorry, Sideswipe, but I'm accepting my fate. I'll be sent to Cybertron, even if no prison is built yet.