"Ugh..." Sam groaned, opening his eyes and blinking in the dim light of an unfamiliar room. Frowning, he looked around. The walls, the sheets, the curtains...everything was white, sterile and there was an underlying smell of disinfectant. A hospital room. Well. That explained why Sam couldn't really feel any of his limbs and his brain felt like soggy cereal. Bracing his elbows against the overly starch sheets, he tried to push himself up and collapsed with a gasp as a wave of dizziness washed over him.

"Sam?" A slim hand grasped his and he met Mikaela's eyes and hopeful smile. "Hey, welcome back. How're you feeling?"

"Awesome," he responded, voice a hoarse crack. "Couldn't be better."

Mikaela laughed softly and pushed his hair off his forehead. "That's good to hear," she said. "You're parents are waiting outside. Do you want me to..."

"No way," Sam said, shifting against the sheets. "I already feel enough like crap without my mom acting like I'm terminal or something."

Nodding, Mikaela reached over him. "Here, chew on this," she said, spooning out some ice out of a large plastic cup and offering it to him. As Sam suck on it, she asked, "Do you remember what happened?"

Sam paused, mouth moving around the ice, brow furrowing. "Little bit," he managed. "After you dumped me, you mean?"

Wincing, Mikaela ran a hand through her hair. "Uhm, yeah," she looking away before meeting his eyes squarely. "After I broke up with you."

"Well, not much," he said. "I'm guessing heartbreak isn't what landed me in here, right?" He winced along with her that time and took a ragged breath. "Sorry. I just, you know, that kind of came out of nowhere and I wasn't expecting it at all." He paused before moving on. "Anyway, what happened after that."

Mikaela hesitated. "Well, you took off," she said. "I guess you weren't really paying attention to where you were going because you ran out in the street and in front of a car."

Sam barked out harsh laughter and immediately regretted it as his lungs filled with needles. "Wow. I guess heartbreak did land me in here," he said after a moment.

Sucking air between her teeth, Mikaela raised her eyebrows. "Yeah...I guess." They were quiet for a moment, awkward, before a thought occurred to Sam.

"Wait, was this a car-car or, you know, a car?" he asked, eyes suddenly wide. As far as he knew, Decepticon activity was at a minimum but just because he didn't know didn't mean that the Autobots knew and just didn't tell him.

"It was a car. Just a regular car. The driver took off but I got his license number."

"Oh. Well. That's good." Sam relaxed back against the stiff pillows before suddenly snorting, wincing as he did so. "Jeeez. I manage to dodge Decepticons who are actively trying to kill me only to get taken down by some asshole who didn't know how to use his breaks."

"You always had the strangest luck," Mikaela said, flashing a smile at him.

"Yeah." Sam stared at her for a moment. "I guess." He chewed on the inside of his lip before looking away, rolling his head against the pillow to look out the window. The shade was drawn so he didn't have a view at all but it was better than looking at Mikaela and knowing that once again, his luck ran out. He really should have been expecting this. "Hey-"

"Everything okay in here?" A nurse walked in, clad all in white with a cheery smile. "Oh, you're awake!"

"I-yep," Sam nodded, wishing they'd both just go away. Or that he could go away, slip into Bee and just drive off.

"Well, that's good," she said, hooking a new fluid sack to his IV. "This is some pain medication. You didn't break anything, Mr. Witwicky, but you've banged your ribs up pretty good and we're going to keep you here for a little while, make sure there's not any kind of internal damage. Okay?" She didn't wait for him to answer, instead checking something off on the tablet she carried before offering them both a smile. "Young lady, the drugs I've just given him are probably going to make him incredibly drowsy."

"Right." Mikaela stood, tucking hair behind her ear and looking down at Sam, something close to pity in her eyes. "Sam-"

"I'll see you later, okay?" he said, smiling up at her. At least, he thought he was smiling. It didn't feel right, the muscles in his face too tight, but it seemed to make Mikaela feel better; her own smile brightened and she nodded.

"So...we're okay?"

"Yeah." And Sam meant it because even if she wasn't his girlfriend, Mikaela was awesome probably still too good to even be his friend. "We're okay."

"Okay." She gave him a hesitant little wave before disappearing behind the hospital room door.

Chewing at his bottom lip, Sam stared up at the ceiling, feeling the effects of the drugs as his eyelids started to droop. Scrubbing a hand over his eyes roughly - and ignoring the wetness that clung to his cheeks - Sam carefully rolled so that his back was towards the door and went to sleep.

The sun was hiding behind the horizon, staining the sky orange and yellow, when a young man appeared in the hospital room. He walked to the bed and took the seat that Mikaela had abandoned, reaching out and touching Sam's hand cautiously. His eyes were a brilliant blue, nearly glowing as he stared down at Sam with a fierce expression. Gripping Sam's hand in one of his own, he brought it to his face, letting the fingers curl around the natural curve of his cheek.

"Sam," he whispered, his voice not matching his body; it was too deep, with a metallic edge, as if he were speaking through a radio. "Can you hear me?" In his sleep, Sam sighed, turning towards the voice and hummed out a questioning sound. The man leaned closer, nuzzling against Sam's lax hand as if he couldn't help himself. "Sam?"

"Hmm...Bee?"

Bumblebee's holoform nodded against his hand. "Sam, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

Sam, eyes closed and voice muffled, said, "It's 'kay. Nothin' you could have done."

"No, I would never have allowed you to wander into the street." Bumblebee reached out and stroked Sam's face clumsily, unused to this human form. "I would have protected you."

"S'okay." Sam rolled over and Bumblebee let his hand free, staring at Sam helplessly. His scanners told him there was nothing wrong with Sam that couldn't be quickly fixed but there could have been. What kind of guardian was he to allow this to happen? Humans were so frail and so seemingly ignorant to the dangers around them. Bumblebee was tempted to give into rage - what was Sam doing in the street to begin with? - but he knew that no good would come from dwelling in the past. Sam was fine.

Still, this reassurance didn't stop Bee from holding his hand out and touching Sam, needing to feel human warmth under his fingers. Needing to feel the organic's heart beat, his chest raise and fall as he took in oxygen. Before he knew it, Bumblebee was crouched over Sam, his head pillowed against his chest, his hands clasped tight around his shoulders.

It was stupid. it was ridiculous to feel this way towards his charge. Bumblebee pulled back enough to look down at Sam's face, wanting to see his eyes open, to look. That would be a disaster, Bumblebee knew. Sam didn't know this form, he would only see an unfamiliar human male invading his personal space. Still Bumblebee stared, blue eyes nearly glowing, recording how Sam's eyes moved under their lids as he dreamed, how his lips closed and parted. It wasn't until his scanners warned him that a nurse was about to enter the room that Bumblebee moved, muttering a soft Cybertronian curse as he allowed his holoform to disappear, fragments of dead receptors glittering and shining as they fluttered to the floor and disappeared. Abruptly conscious in his alt form, he immediately scanned the area for danger. There was nothing, of course and he settled on his tires, waiting for morning to come. Sam would be released from the hospital and Bumblebee would have him again and he would do better this time. He would not allow this to happen again.