Through Ash and Dust (ROTB)

Chapter 29

Two days has passed since Saphira had gotten sick, and two days since she has wanted to eat. She ended up getting a bit worse even after getting the medicine, and she struggled to get up to even use the bathroom or drink water. Optimus was extremely worried for this human's health, as she seemed to be getting sicker, not better, as the days go by. He has tried to get her to seat, but she refused, and focused on sleeping. Getting her to the bathroom proved tricky, as she had weakness in her muscles currently, and it was hard for her to move. So the autobots located a public bathroom that was not used by humans much, and Optimus himself helped Saphira. The girl had refused at first, because she didn't want him to see her naked. It was most likely the trauma of what Transit had done. But she honestly felt shy with Optimus, but he insisted, and she didn't have the mood to even want to refuse him.

The autobots had also worked out how they would heat up the soup for Saphira when she wanted to eat. Now that it has been two days, Optimus felt that the answer no was not an option. Saphira needed sustenance, and she was losing more weight again, and he didn't want her to starve to death. Plus, her body needed the food in order to get well faster, and he wanted to make sure that would happen. Saphira didn't deserve to be sick for as long as she was.

It was midday currently, and there was a snow fall currently dusting New York, and Optimus was inside the wharf park at an angle looking towards the ocean. The other autobots were by him in their full forms as they all wanted to take shelter from the weather, though Mirage and Bumblebee were currently discussing things about Christmas, while Arcee kept a close eye on them. With Optimus preoccupied with Saphira, she's had to keep a closer eye on them. They were making it easy at least, as both Bumblebee and Mirage were worried about Saphira. They wished they could do more, but Optimus wanted to make sure that he was in charge of her care.

Optimus's holoform was sitting on the central console of the truck as he stared at the girl. Saphira was sleeping on her side with her back facing him while her cheek was resting on a pillow. She had several layers of blankets on as she had complained about being cold, despite her body temperature being quite high. Optimus was very worried for this girl, as she coughed and sneezed even while she slept. He sighed, knowing he would have to wake her up. She's been asleep for ten hours, and she needed to wake up. He knew she might want to use the bathroom, and he would take her there if she wanted to, but as she wasn't eating or drinking much, she doesn't really go much.

Optimus gently moved closer to the girl and placed his hand on her shoulder. Her trauma regarding Transit has made her sensitive when it came to any of the bots touching her shoulder to get her attention, so he knew she would wake from it. "Saphira, it is time to wake up. You need food, and some more medicine." Saphira grumbled and shifted, rolling back as her body flinched. But as she rolled back, she almost fell off the seat, causing her to fall into Optimus's arms, making her open her eyes suddenly in front. "It's okay, Saphira. You are with me, you are safe."

Saphira blinked several times before her cheeks blush upon realizing she was staring right up at Optimus's face. Her head was resting on his chassis, and she could feel her heartrate increase as she felt butterflies in her stomach. But that quickly faded when she began to cough loudly again, and Optimus gently helped her back onto the chair. Saphira placed her arm on the back of the chair to brace herself as she shifted while coughing. She grabbed a tissue, as Mirage had found a bunch of tissue boxes in a crate on the side of the road, though she didn't know where, but she didn't care. She blew her nose loudly with a groan.

"Optimus...you know I just want to sleep." She looked at him as he gave her an understanding expression. "Waking me up like that isn't really nice..." She sneezed and grumbled to herself for a moment. "Why did you wake me? I don't need to use the bathroom, and I don't feel thirsty...I'm going back to sleep if you woke me up for nothing."