The next day, I continued my tour through Washington DC. It was a chilly day and I felt sick. I think that all the food I had eaten upset my stomach and now I have these horrible cramps. I am not used to eating so much food at once. Along with the bruising I felt really bad. I was stranded somewhere next the road against a building and waited for the pain to fade. People didn't even look at me as they passed. That's what you get when you spend most of your time on the streets. At some point, no one cared about you anymore. They simply forget you exist and that's what happened to me too. I am nothing more than a parasite or streetrat.

A little girl walked up to me. She was smiling and hand blonde hair, blue eyes and she looked very friendly. "Why are you sitting here?" she asked. "Oh, just waiting for a friend," I replied and returned the smile she was giving me. A man approached and grasped her hand. As I made eye contact with this man, I knew who it was. Ironhide. "Amethyst... what are you doing here?" he asked. "Just sitting here," I replied casually while looking up. "The twins already told me they had found you the other day... you should go home. I can give you a ride," he said. I shook my head, "no... I don't want to go home. It's fine... I am fine," I stated and tried to sound convincing but Ironhide didn't believe me. With a groan, I hosited myself up. "You look sick––" I cut him off. "Please stop... leave me alone," I snapped and walked away from the scene, only to sit down on the ground a few yard away.

It didn't take too long before an ambulance pulled up. I had never seen the Autobot medic before, but I was pretty sure he knew who I was. A man hopped out and walked up to me, crouching down. "You are not taking care of yourself very well, Amethyst," he said. "Don't tell me what to do!" I snarled. "You need help... just let me check you up, alright?" he asked. "I don't need any help," I snapped. He shook his head, "Amethyst, it will be a very quick check-up. You don't look good and it's my job to help sick and injured," he stated. "Where have you slept?" he asked. "On the streets." Ratchet shifted, "look... I will give you a quick check-up and if you'd like, I can give you some food and a place to sleep," he said. "You have been eating from the bins, that makes you sick," he said.

Ratchet helped me back on my feet. "It will be a quick check-up," he said. I didn't want to go through with this, scared for what he may find, but on the other hand, Jack had been right. I needed to see a doctor so he could treat my wounds. I didn't feel comfortable at all as I hopped in the ambulance and Ratchet took off. "Have you ever visited a doctor?" he asked, looking beside me. I shook my head and looked down. "No, never..." I mumbled. "You don't have to worry. I will not do anything you're comfortable with or hurt you, okay?" I nodded and looked out of the windshield. Apparently, I wasn't too far from the base, just a few blocks and so, Ratchet drove through the gate that was guarded by heavily armed soldiers and rolled into, what I assumed, the main hangar.

I slid out of the vehicle as Ratchet had parked and cut off his engine. People looked at me, assuming I am homeless or they have heard from Sophie who I am. I never in my entire life felt so uncomfortable. People were staring at me. In comparison with them I am a stick. Only bones with skin over it. It was the result of poorly feeding and stress. I think Ratchet noticed how I was feeling and halted for a moment. "Come on, they won't do anything to you," he said.

Once we entered the medbay, I was able to relax a little bit and sat down. Ratchet filed a couple of things like my name, age, blood pressure, how hard my heart was beating, length and weight. Once Ratchet had finished with that he started the real check-up. "Can I have a look at your body?" He asked. I gave a small nod and undressed so I was only in my underwear. He didn't say anything but, I could read from his face that he was worried. "I am not dying, right?"

"No, no... just sit down and relax."
He started with my ribs. My chest and stomach were severely bruised and I had some wounds here there form fights I had on the streets. "I am going to take an X-ray and vaccinate you for all kind of diseases and protect you but I can tell that you have some serious damage to rib cage and I am worried about your vital organs. How did this all happen to you?"

"Fights..." was all I said and sat back. After the X-ray, Ratchet pointed out that I had broken some ribs, which wasn't a big surprise for me. My organs were surpassingly enough doing quite okay, but I had an inflamed stomach. Ratchet gave me the injections I needed, including pain relief and dismissed me. He gestured me to follow him again. "You can stay here for the day and night," he stated. "You don't have to do that... I can easily find a good place—" he cut me off. "Your good place is the streets and that's not a good place in my opinion," Ratchet stated in a matter-of-fact tone and unlocked the door of a small room.

"This will be your room. Remember to eat small portions and food like bouillon, soup or rise. It's very important, okay? If you keep having these horrible cramps, you need to come back to me, alright?" He asked. I nodded, "alright." Ratchet left and I had a quick look around before I sat down on the bed and slowly started to realize where I was and that I have no idea where to go. Everything is huge, people obviously don't like me and I am scared to go out there.

I told myself that it was nothing new and got up, heading for the bathroom and took a nice warm shower. I washed my long straight dark blonde hair and all the dirt off my fair skin. As I finished, I wrapped the towel around my body and looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale and I had blue underneath my eyes, my body was bruised and bones were sticking out. I sighed and turned away from the mirror. In the closet I found a shirt and pants, which were too big for me, but good enough for now. I don't want to lay or sit on the bed with dirty clothes.

I spent my entire day in my room, watching TV in peace without someone interrupting and telling me to switch the channel or even chasing me away. I hadn't even realized how exhausted I actually was, but now I am relaxing all the things that happened to me the last couple of weeks washed over me and it felt like I have been hit my truck. I laid down and turned off the TV, taking a nap.