Special thanks to wendydash

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The sound of constant beeping filled the darkness surrounding the man. He slowly felt items attached to him and something poking into his skin. The smell of cleaner filled his nose and he registered where he was. Memories filled his mind from what happened and his eyes shot open. Magnus sat up quickly and gasped as he felt pain. Wires and tubes pulling on him.

"Wow!" Julie cried and stood before she gently gripped his shoulders and made him focus. "Calm down Mr. Bond.'' She teased a little and he looked at her.

"What?" he asked groggily and scanned the area for a moment. He was in a hospital room, that was good.

"You know... James Bond. Or would you prefer Jason Bourne? Indian Jones?" she listed and he stared at her in utter confusion.

"Ultra Magnus." he said seriously and she rolled her eyes as she had him lay down again. She hit a button to call for a nurse.

"No duh." she muttered as she sat down. "I mean like a- you know what, never mind." she shrugged figuring she could address this later. He scanned the room again as he frowned and tried to understand what was happening.

"Don't worry, your mother is safe." she said as she gently gripped his arm. He sighed in relief and relaxed some. 

"Thank you..." he whispered quietly and looked at her. He smiled a little at the woman. She was so beautiful with her mahogany skin and midnight hair that flowed like a river. He blushed a little at the thought and she raised an eyebrow.

"What's going on in that head, soldier?" she asked and he blushed more. "Oh wow..." she teased and he looked away to clear his throat. She chuckled softly and smiled a little, a comfortable silence slowly settled over them.

"Julie... why am I such an idiot?" he whispered, staring at his hands as he thought about his situation. How he ended up here in this place, with these injuries. A gentle hand grabbed one of his pale and shaking ones.

"You're not an idiot. You're an amazing man who has a massive heart, but people don't see that... sometimes you don't even see that." she whispered. He stared at her wonderful, beautiful eyes as his blush returned. 

"Thank you..." he muttered as he felt a little better. She stared at him intently for a few minutes as he watched her expression. Why was she so beautiful? Was he realizing this only now?

"This is where you complement the other person." she said and he stuttered as she caught him off guard. She laughed and let go of his hand. "I'm joking! You take life too seriously." she grinned. He blushed again as he smiled just barely, he found that he liked the sound of her voice and her melodious laugh. She got up when the nurse came in and said she'd go check on his mother. He thanked her and watched her go before closing his eyes. 

A few hours went by and Optimus came to the hospital with the chief. They spoke with the cop and figured it was best to relocate him to a different part of the city. Someone had broken into his house again and started a fire. They discussed what needed to happen before they left to get everything into place. Magnus lay there as he thought about how they came to this point. He frowned and looked out the window when his mind drifted to Careen. He narrowed his eyes and quietly promised himself to take her into the station if he ever saw her again. He knew she'd show up soon. She seemed to show up unexpectedly like a cockroach.

A week went by and they were finally able to leave the hospital. Julie stayed with them as much as she could and helped get them moved to their new house. Magnus was happy that they found one with accessibility for his mother. Making it easier for the both of them. Julie decided to help them out and trained to be an aide. Magnus protested but it didn't hold up with the girl's sass. He gave up and offered to let her live in the house since it would be a demanding job. She agreed and took up the extra room. The cop was extremely grateful for her and didn't know how he'd repay her kindness. 

He went back to work and took a few extra shifts to pay for the bills. He felt better about the whole situation, but was bothered by one thing. He hadn't heard from Careen, yet he knew she'd find them again.

One day he got a call and tip off for a drug ring in the bad part of town, a well known neighborhood with the cops. That place constantly had trouble. Drugs, gangs, fights and once in a while murder. It was in Kaon and all the cops knew this area all too well. Magnus pulled up with a few others at a safe distance. He led a team to the door as Optimus stayed by the cars for backup, and in case anyone ran. Ultra Magnus waited for everyone to get into position before they broke the door and ran inside, yelling at everyone to get down. Some gang members took off running as they grabbed the drugs, others pulled out guns and fired on the cops. Magnus pushed forward as the gang members yelled orders or signals to each other. 

"Don't let them escape!" he yelled as some ran into the other rooms or ran out the back. They quickly worked to get them arrested, soon having them in the main room and sitting on the floor. Magnus went upstairs with a few others to search the rest of the house. Some went down into the basement as they searched everywhere. They searched the rooms and found a few gang members but thankfully they just surrendered. 

Magnus listened to the men talk about how successful the drug bust had been. He didn't respond as he focused on finishing the search. He held his gun at the ready near his hip as he slowly opened the last door. Ready to fire if need be, but not wanting to provoke them. The cop paused as he saw a dirty mattress on the ground and two children. The boy looked at him as he was tucking his sister into bed. 

"Hello." Magnus said gently as he discreetly put his gun away. He didn't want to frighten them and wasn't sure why they were here. 

"We're trying to sleep." The boy said quietly as he watched him. Acting as if he'd get in trouble for being awake. "B-but it's noisy." he explained as if the cop didn't know. 

"That's okay... Rodi... right?" the man asked as he walked over slowly and crouched down. The boy gasped and smiled brightly, excited the cop remembered him. "Where are your parents?" he asked gently.

"They're busy with the loud party. But we have to be quiet." he whispered and put a finger to his lips. The man nodded in understanding and glanced around. Their parents wouldn't be coming up here for a while. 

"Let's get you two to sleep." he said and helped fix their bed the best he could. He had them both lay down, the little girl watching them as she sucked her thumb. He tucked them in as he sat on the floor, finding a book to read to them. The children listened intently to the story, though they probably heard it a million times. At least that's what he figured. He finished the book and set it aside as he made sure they had their stuffed animals. Rodi got up and hugged him tightly around the neck.

"I wish you could be our daddy." he whispered quietly as he held on tightly. Magnus stared at nothing as tears filled his eyes. How could these children live like this? He hesitated then slowly hugged the boy back. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help it. He tucked him in again and left the room. He couldn't just take them away, could he? Was that considered kidnapping? Or saving?

He felt as if he was in a fog or a daze as he walked. Magnus stared straight ahead as he went down the stairs, not hearing what the others said. They followed him and kept asking questions but he couldn't hear them. He couldn't focus as he walked. He left the house and walked towards the barricades. Optimus looked at him and asked if he was alright, Magnus kept walking until he passed the squad cars. He stared blankly at the road then slowly looked to the sky before he screamed angrily. All his stress from the past few weeks crashing down like a waterfall. Why did he become a cop? To watch people and children suffer? Why did he feel so helpless?