The hospital room was quiet as his mother rested and he stared blankly out the window. He watched the rain hit the glass and looked to the people wandering the streets below. He glanced over to his phone on the window sill as it vibrated, his father was calling him. He stared then frowned and looked back to the rain. His mother stirred as she rested and looked at him.

"Is he calling again?" she asked quietly and he glanced to her once more. He didn't respond but she knew. "Sweetie... you should talk to him." she whispered as he glanced to the tenth voicemail from his father that day. "He's trying." she said gently.

"He should have tried harder before he abandoned us." he glared and went over then sat by her side then made sure she was comfortable. "Living a double life in a foreign country and leaving you as soon as you get sick." he growled as tears filled his eyes. She gently set a hand on his face and he looked at her.

"Don't be angry with him... we had many wonderful years together." she smiled a little, though he knew her heart was broken. "He didn't leave until after you graduated high school."

"After he forced me into the military, mind you." He frowned. "He was always so hard on us and being a military drill Sargent... didn't help." he whispered. "I had to listen to him talk about me becoming a marine everyday after high school. Then I was in the military after school for only two years and he left." he muttered bitterly as he smoothed the blankets out gently. "I don't understand why he had to leave you like this." he said through gritted teeth. "It's not your fault that-" he stopped as she gripped his face, tears falling down her cheeks.

"My dear Ultra Magnus... don't dwell on the past my love." she said and he sighed shakily as he gently kissed her hand. Doing his best to be careful with his fragile mother. "Now... I talked to the doctors about a nursing home." she said seriously.

"Mother I-"

"No." she said and set a finger on his lips. "You're a good boy... well man. You have your own home and need to live your own life. I don't want to hold you back anymore." she said seriously and he frowned at that. "Besides, I already signed the paperwork and found a place not far from the house." she smiled. His eyes flashed with rage as he stared at her and he gently took her hands in his. 

"Why would you do that without talking to me first? You live in my house so I can take care of you. Mother you can't just leave unannounced and run off to some nursing home." he frowned deeply. "I didn't even get to look at the place." he glared. She sighed and gripped his face again.

"I'm a grown woman and can make my own choices. Besides I'm not going across the world. I'm doing this so you have a chance to grow up and move on without me." she said and kissed his forehead.

"I am grown up..." he muttered and she chuckled as she looked at her sweet boy, seeing him as a teenager again. A boy who only wanted to protect his parents from the world. She felt guilty that she couldn't provide her husband with more than one child. But oh how proud she was of her son. Her only child who worked hard to take care of her because he loved his mother. The women around him only saw her as a burden, if she removed herself then he could get married, he could do so much more. It broke her heart to realize this, but it had to be done.

"Just don't forget to visit me." she scolded and he sighed quietly then smiled a little. He gently kissed her head and hugged her gently. He didn't want to let her go, but he would if she asked him to. He didn't want to abandon her like his father had.

"Ultra Magnus." The doctor said and he looked up before going over to him and stepping out of the room. "She told you about her decision to go to a nursing home?" he asked and the cop looked off to the side as he nodded. "We got her results back...." he said as he looked at the file and Magnus looked at him hopefully. "Unfortunately there haven't been any changes. The good news is the blood transfusions are working... but slowly. We'll continue to give her medication and have someone help her in the new location." he said seriously. The cop nodded and thanked him. They talked for a moment before he went back to his mothers side where she was trying to stop a bleeding nose. He gently pulled out a handkerchief and moved the tube across her face before he quietly worked on wiping up the blood. She looked at him tiredly and smiled as he watched her sadly. He couldn't trust anyone to take care of her. Could he?

After she was settled into her new home he promised to visit and left her room untouched in his own home. He didn't want to box anything up yet. The same day that she settled and he left her, he went to a diner and stared blankly as he sat at the counter. He gripped a cup of coffee in his hands as he thought. Was he really a loser? He cared for his mother. How was that such a bad thing? He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before setting his hat by his cup. The waitress set another cup by him and a doughnut. He frowned and looked up at her.

"Excuse me Julie, but you know I don't eat these." he said seriously and she looked at him then set a hand on her hip in a sassy way.

"Oh I know that. But little miss 'I know better' insisted that she buy you one and another cup." she huffed and motioned to a woman sitting in the far corner. "I told her you've been coming here for years and never get these diabetes circles. But she said I'm just a waitress and don't know anything." she said in a dramatic southern bell accent. He smiled a little and thanked her. He and Julie had been friends since middle school, but that was it, just friends. He always came here when he felt down because she cheered him up and her dad owned the place. Her dad was a successful business man and owned several companies, she just wanted to have a diner, so he bought her one and let her run it.

He got up and walked over with the plate and cups off coffee before sitting with the woman, who was smiling and blushing at him. He watched her and gently set the plate and cups of coffee on the table, giving her the cup he hadn't used.

"Thank you ma'am, but-"

"My name is Careen Johnson." She smiled as she looked at him and took the extra cup. "Pronounced 'Karen' but spelled C-A-R-E-E-N. Most people just call me Miss or Mrs. Johnson." She smiled and sipped the coffee.

"Surprised you didn't spell your last name." He muttered and watched her but she either didn't hear him or didn't care. "Ma'am, I thank-"

"Careen." She corrected as she smiled brightly. He watched her for a moment and furrowed his brow.

"Right... thank you anyway. But I don't eat doughnuts anymore. Haven't for years." He explained.

"Is something wrong with it?" She asked and her eyes widened in surprise. "I'll call someone over to get it fixed. This is an outrage. I'll have this place shut down." She huffed and raised her hand to signal someone over.

"Please don't do that. Actually... I am... craving one." He said and took a bite of the doughnut. Knowing it would make him sick the rest of the day. He furrowed his brow as she smiled brightly, why did he care? Was he really that desperate for happiness? He looked at her and smiled a little, he could give this a shot. It wouldn't be that bad.

Magnus spoke with her the rest of the day and started dating her after for a month, he felt happy again as he did things with her. She wanted to move fast but he didn't see the need to. Every night he'd visit his mother and tell her about what was going on in his life. As the second month passed he felt happier but also miserable. He didn't understand why and tried to figure it out but felt he was just stressed. By the end of the third month he was just always exhausted. He looked for breaks from Careen and was relieved when he was alone. He was currently sitting at the counter in the diner again. He stared blankly at the cup in his hands and swayed a little. He was pale and didn't sleep much. Julie walked over and frowned then set a hand on his to get his attention.

"Hey you..." she whispered and looked at him with concern. "What's going on?" she asked as he looked at her tiredly. He furrowed his brow in confusion and looked around a little as he realized it was late and they were closing. He moved to leave and she frowned as she gripped his arm. "No." she said sternly and he looked at her. "What's going on?" she asked again, firmly this time. 

"I'm.... not sure...." he admitted and looked at her then sat down again. "I'm just so tired... and..." he stopped as he opened his wallet to pay. He didn't have any money. "What?" He trailed off and looked around as his eyes widened a little.

"It's that woman, Magnus... the one you're... dating. She's abusing you mentally and emotionally. Stressing you out and draining your bank account. Destroying your credit and making you live in a fog. When was the last time you visited your mother?" She asked gently and he blinked a couple times.

"I... I don't know... it was-"

"Two months. You wanna know how I know? Because I visit her last week and things are bad, but I can't do anything. You've hurt her. Abandoned her to the nursing home where she waits for you. The hospital has covered the expenses as promised but only a certain percentage. You've neglected to pay for two months." She said seriously.

"What? No... I sent the payments out myself. I would never abandon her... I gave the payments to the home..." he trailed off and paled a little bit.

"Careen is bad news Mags.... dump the leech and move on." She said seriously and looked at him again. He nodded slowly and looked at his wallet but didn't even see his cards.

"I... I can't even pay for a cup of coffee..." he whispered quietly and shook his head. She smiled sadly and gently gripped his arm.

"Don't worry about it dude. I got you covered." She whispered and winked before he smiled a little. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you Julie." He said gently. "For waking me up..." he whispered before rushing out to go home and fix this.

The next day he went to the nursing home and apologized for his neglect. He had a day off so he was in normal clothing. He asked to see his mother and they took him to her. She was laying in bed and looked sick. He frowned and looked to them before going to her and taking her hand.

"Mother? I'm so sorry... I'm here now..." he whispered as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him.

"M... Magnus..." she smiled weakly as she watched him. "You came for me..." she whispered. He furrowed his brow and realized she had lost an unhealthy amount of weight. He stood and gently set his hand on her cheek the realized she was filthy. He whipped around to look at the nurses.

"When was the last time she had a bath or shower?" He asked and narrowed his eyes. She weakly gripped his hand and spoke his name quietly. "When was the last time she ate?!" He boomed as the nurses jumped. The owner rushed over and frowned.

"Calm down sir and don't cause a fuss. She hasn't been strong enough to be given a bath and won't eat." He said seriously. Magnus glared and looked to his mother then noticed her bed was dirty.

"I... haven't... been strong... enough to... get up...." she rasped and looked at him, feeling embarrassed about her state. He looked at them again as his rage grew.

"She's had accidents but its-"

"This is abuse!" He boomed and looked at them. "You've intentionally neglected her because I haven't paid!" He roared angrily and glared at them. "What else have you been doing to her?" He spat then carefully inspected her for injuries. She had some nasty bruises and her heels looked infected from wounds the wheelchair caused.

"Calm down sir. We've simply been busy and have been doing our best to-"

"This is your best." Magnus growled angrily through gritted teeth and looked at him again. "You sir, have lost your job and now have a massive lawsuit on your hands." He seethed. They were silent and the man stuttered in surprise.

"It's not my fault she's constantly bruising or-"

"She has aplastic anemia. You'd know that if you read her file." He said darkly. "To make it easier for your simple mind to understand, she has an issue with her blood, where she can't produce enough red cells." He growled. The other man was silent and paled a little.

"You aren't the law! You can't do anything to-"

"I'm a police officer and a man of the law." He said seriously and the man paled more as Magnus showed him his badge for proof. "Get my mother cleaned up. I'm taking her home." He growled angrily. A few nurses snapped into action and got the bathroom ready. They carefully put her in a wheelchair and took her away. 

Magnus called the police department and reported them as he took pictures. The owner protested but couldn't do anything. By the time the cops showed up, his mother was cleaned and in new clean clothes. They attempted to take her to her room but he stopped them. He picked her up and carried her out of the building with a dark expression.

"You'll get my full report in the morning." He growled at the chief and Optimus as they walked by. They didn't say anything to him and just nodded as he took his mother home. She was sleeping peacefully now as her son rescued her. 

He took her to his warm home and walked to her room before gently setting her in bed. He then got bandages and carefully tended to her injured feet. He stared blankly and looked at her as he felt guilty. He was no better than his own father.