Special thanks to Pomander for writing the idea out. You rock :)
~
A month went by and the doctors were becoming concerned with Olivers progress. He was doing really well then suddenly his health plummeted. No one knew why and his parents were distraught with grief. His grandfather continued to tell him stories which seemed to help him. But Troy was starting to struggle when it even came to telling a story. He was losing hope. The grandfather sighed shakily as he sat by the small boy. His father had left to get their older son from school, and his mother was speaking to the doctors.
The small boy smiled weakly as he hugged his stuffed lion. He coughed a little and rubbed his face. His grandfather smiled sadly and adjusted the beanie on his grandsons head.
"Are you warm?" He asked quietly and fixed the boys blankets. He nodded slowly and looked around the room.
"Can you tell me the story about the giant robots?" He asked as he smiled a little. His grandfather was staring blankly at something then looked at him.
"You mean the cars?" He asked quietly and the small boy nodded as he smiled more. He thought for a moment then looked back out the window.
"I feel that one is too complicated at the moment." He muttered and listened to the noise of the hospital. He wasn'texactly in the mood to spin a tale for him. He was too upset about the boys future.
"Oh..." Oliver mumbled with disappointment and fiddled with his small semi truck. His grandfather looked at him then sighed quietly. He stared out the window and got an idea as he saw some vehicles. He needed to distract him again and distract himself.
"Who is that?" He asked with excitement and the boy looked at him.
"Who is it Grandpa?" He asked and the man carefully picked him up then held him as he turned to the window. The frail boy held on to him tightly and looked at the outside world.
"Do you see the yellow sports car?" He whispered and pointed to the one in the parking lot. The boy smiled brightly and hugged him tightly around the neck.
"It's Bumblebee! Grandpa he is real!" He shouted and looked around at the cars. "Look! Look! It's Ironhide, Bulkhead, Smokescreen and Ratchet!" He yelled. "Hi guys!" He said happily. His grandfather smiled sadly and held him close.
"Dad... can I talk to you?" The boys mother asked as she stood by the door. He turned carefully and looked at her then gently set the boy back in the hospital bed.
"Get some rest Oliver..." He whispered quietly and gently kissed his forehead. The boy smiled and hugged his stuffed lion again. His grandfather smiled sadly and followed his daughter out of the room. He carefully closed the door and looked at her.
"What is it?" He asked quietly and saw just how exhausted she was.
"Please... stop filling his head with those stories." She whispered as tears filled her eyes. "They're not real and... he needs to start living in reality..." She said bitterly. Her father hugged her tightly and she started to sob.
"He's going to get better... and it's the only way I know how to distract him from his pain." He explained. She nodded slowly and hugged him tighter as she cried. "Let him have this time to feel normal." He mumbled and she sniffed sadly.
"I'm trying dad... I'm trying to be strong like you..." she whispered.
"I know... and it's okay to cry." He muttered as a tear fell down his face. A few minutes later a doctor walked over to them.
"Troy?" He asked and the grandfather nodded slowly. He let his daughter go then followed the man. The doctor spoke quietly with him as they walked away.
"It's... not going away... the cancer is actually getting worse. It's..." he sighed quietly and looked at the floor. Troy stared at him blankly then looked down the hall.
"Is... there anyway I can help?" He mumbled and stared at him.
"Besides distracting him?" The doctor muttered and sighed shakily. "I... I have another-"
"Bone marrow." Troy whispered and looked at him. The doctor furrowed his brow and stared at the man. "I heard you talking to my daughter about it possibly working. You need a donor and I'm offering." He explained. The doctor nodded slowly and smiled with sadness.
"We'll see if you're able to." Was all he said before he walked off with him.
A few hours later Troy grit his teeth as he walked down the hall slowly. He used the wall for support as he winced in pain. He didn't realize how painful it would be to donate bone marrow. His daughter had left for a moment to get a break. The grandfather slowly made his way to the boys room. He went inside and sat by the bed as he felt nauseous. Oliver looked at him with concern and furrowed his brow.
"Grandpa? Are you okay?" He asked quietly. The old man smiled a little and set a hand on the boys head.
"Yes... I'm fine." He whispered and gently rubbed his forehead with his thumb. He thought for a few minutes as the boy played with his truck and lion.
"Could... could Optimus in the story have a flame job?" He asked as he smiled brightly and showed him his truck. The grandfather chuckled softly and gently kissed his forehead.
"He can be whatever you want my dear boy." He whispered quietly. "Remember... he's your hero in the stories." He mumbled. The small frail child nodded slowly and stared at his lap. He winced in pain and squeezed his eyes shut. Troy furrowed his brow and watched him intently. The child coughed and whimpered quietly.
"Be brave Oliver..." he whispered quietly and rested his forehead against the boys.
"Grandpa.... will... will you tell me a story? Please?" He begged. The man nodded slowly and gently gripped his tiny little hand in his massive one.
"Yes..." he whispered and thought for a few minutes.
~
Optimus stood perfectly still as he glared at the approaching Nemesis. It was him against the Decepticons and their leader. He gripped the star saber tightly in his servos and ran towards the ship. He had to save the others from the clutches of the crazed warlord. The battle worn leader launched himself off the cliff face and raised his mighty sword. He let out a battle cry as he fell towards the ship. They fired on him but never seemed to be able to hit things. Optimus never knew why this was. He grunted as he swung the sword and a beam sliced through the ship. He crashed through the main window and panted heavily as he stood on the bridge. Megatron growled threateningly and unsheathed his blade.
"Why is it that you're so hard to defeat?" He seethed angrily through gritted teeth. Optimus stood taller and transformed his servo into a blade.
"Because I'm just that awesome!" He said seriously as he pointed his blade to the warlord.
"..."
"......"
"I don't think Optimus would say something like that."
~
"Oh okay.... um... I think you should tell it then." He mumbled and looked up at him.
"Alright then." He whispered quietly and gently kissed his forehead. He stared at the boys bright blue eyes and sighed shakily. He loved his Grandson so much.
After a while the small frail child became tired and seemed to be in pain. A nurse came in with a doctor to try and help him. Troy watched as Oliver fell asleep and he was ushered out of the room for a bit. The parents came in and Sam sat with Troy as his father and mother went to speak with the doctor in his office.
Grandpa rested his head on the wall behind the chair in the waiting area close to his grandson's room. Counting the bugs in the florescent light above him, he was brought to attention when a flash crossed the corner of his vision. A flash of movement running...no, sprinting out of his grandson's room.
Sam, sitting in a chair opposite of his grandfather, had his back turned to the sudden action and was trying to concentrate on his math homework. He had calmed down in the last few weeks from his discouragement about his brother's frail condition and had even found some positive ways to help Oliver to deal with the chemotherapy.
When a running shuffle of feet brought Troy fully out of his reverie, he saw not one, but two nurses running toward Oliver's room. A sickening thought entered his head as his stomach churned into his feet. Sam was only just taking this better than before. What would happen if... No...he had an idea.
"Sam."
The grandson looked up from his notebook. "Yeah?"
"Have I told you the part of the story where the Decepticons discovered the Autobot base?"
The boy, now attending the bait that his grandfather dangled before him, responded. "No way! They'd be toast!"
"That's exactly what it seemed like. Agent Fowler alerted the bots at Omega One that they needed to see what was going on outside the bunker. As the Cybertronians exited the shaft at the top of the base, the Nemesis was making its approach."
Sam was riveted to the story...just as Grandpa had hoped. With one eye on the unfolding drama down the hall and the other eye on the reaction of his grandson to the tale he was weaving, he laid bare the heartache of his soul into the craft of his story.
"Smokescreen felt something was wrong. He had to get back to base. With the groundbridge still pulsating before him, he ran back through."
"Alright!" Sam exclaimed. "He used the phase shifter again, didn't he!"
Overhearing the escalation of events happening around Oliver's doorway, Grandpa replied, "Yes...only he was too late." Sam's eyes widened in shock as his grandfather continued. "The base had been leveled by the Decepticon warship." Troy carefully watched his grandson's response as the story led Smokescreen to find and rescue a gravely injured Optimus.
A male nurse, running past with a defibrillator, entered Oliver's room. "Smokescreen wanted to help Optimus. He left the hidden cave and snuck aboard the Nemesis in search of anything that might help him."
Troy saw a nurse from the inside of his grandson's room come to the doorway. She was speaking to another nurse who had approached the activity in the room. He just barely make out her words.
"You should call Pastor Trion."
"I know, Grandpa...didn't you say that the Decepticons found the Forge at the base when they were looking for Autobots?"
"Yes..." Troy said, with an odd look on his face. "They..."
"Smokescreen just needs to give it to Optimus." Sam said confidently.
"Smokescreen returned to Optimus' side with the Forge of Solus Prime." Grandfather inserted John's hope into the narrative...while he heard the unmistakable sound of a flat-lining heart monitor. His own heart seemed to stop and he felt his despair take hold of the story.
"But as he urged Optimus to take it, the weary leader's chest panels opened to reveal the Matrix of Leadership." Sam's eyes widened, glistening with tears threatening to brim over. " 'It's...time...for a new...leader.' Optimus weakly directed."
"NO!" Sam shouted. Standing up in anger, he demanded, "That's not how the story is supposed to end!"