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| - Lifeline ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You see a man in his late 20s - early 30s, who stands a few inches shy of 6 ft. tall, and has an average build. His hair is dark, nearly black...parted and combed neatly to one side. His eyes are hidden behind green-tinted prescription glasses. Today, Edwin is dressed very casually. He has on a long-sleeved, green-and-blue plaid workshirt, which looks very comfortable. He also has on a pair of blue denim jeans, which fit him very nicely without appearing too tight. On his feet are a pair of black cowboy boots. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike is at the Witwicky's kitchen - coming up with two dishes to bring to the Labor Day 'meet and greet' - one is a simple guac recipe, using avocadoes, a mortar and pestle, another is a 3-bean recipe with a bit of Indian-style relish. Being the multi-tasker... Spike's also reading on a mounted i-Pad like tablet a few articles from world newspapers about the Autobots, taking mental notes what to relay to Prime and Prowl. In the background, the Meat Puppets II is playing. Ed strolls in from the outside, giving Megan a ride on his shoulders. To him, she isn't any burden at all, but the more he makes a big deal of it, the more she giggles about it, so he staggers playfully. "Megan! If you grow any bigger my back is going to snap in half! Agh...help!" Megan giggles and messes up Ed's hair before he finally lets her down on the couch. Then he heads in to see what Spike's cooking. "Wow. If you could make the Joes menu look anything like this, I'd pay you my salary for the week. They're out there having a rib-eating contest right now. The burger-eating contest is later." Spike looks at Edwin and gives a knowing grin. He then chops up a few cold bits of watermelon and puts them in two bowls, one for Ed, one for Megan. He says in a permissive tone "They'll work it off, don't worry." Megan tilts her head curiously at the music and without que, she says "Meat Puppets...Meat Puppets." "Thanks. And you're right, of course. I'm just reverting to my old ways of trying to nag them into eating better," Ed admits as he gratefully accepts the watermelon. "Never works that way, and I should know that by now. You need any help with any of this? I don't want to disrupt your system here, but you have a lot of prep going on...is Buster going to pick up Sparkplug and bring him over?" "That's right, kiddo, Meat Puppets," the doctor exclaims with a grin. "Daddy's taught you well." Spike nods and slides some cilantro over to Edwin. "Yeah, you can chop this." He then goes to his fridge and takes out two Rogue's October fest brews, along with two mugs in the freezer, almost predicting Edwin would be here at this time, and pours out one for both. He looks at Edwin and shakes his head. "Sparkplug's back here now." In Mr. Mom fashion, he has goes to a cabinet and gets out 6 pills. A variety of colors and sizes, ranging from a dot to a horse-like tranquilizer. As he's talking, Sparkplug walks slowly out of his room. Ed's seen the pictures of old, where Sparkplug seemed to tower over his lanky 14-year-old son. Now, Sparkplug's arms are thin enough to fit the diameter of an 'ok' gesture by Edwin. Sparkplug walks toward the two. And Spike obliges his dad by giving him a big glass of water, and a cup of coffee. "Oh, did I miss him?? -- There's so many people here already, between the Joes outside and in here." Edwin smiles slightly as Sparkplug heads into the kitchen to take his medication. He's practiced at hiding his true emotions, so it's impossible to tell if he is feeling actual shock over Sparkplug's decline, or pity, or whatever. He just has a very calm expression in place. "Mr. Witwicky! It's good to see you again, sir." Sparkplug looks at Edwin and his mouth gapes slightly, his face looks like nothing is registering, but those eyes look like he's processing a lot of information. Spike slides Edwin's brew over to him. Spike leans over and says clearly "That's Edwin, dad. You remember - he helped me walk and talk again - after my mind was swapped with Motormaster's." Spike says the last like it was a tennis injury. Just another injury in their clan. Sparkplug nods slowly and takes his medication. Lifeline gives Spike a sideways glance that will probably induce a few goosebumps. It isn't what you would call 'stern', but it's certainly the sort of sympathy a doctor might give the family of a terminal patient. Then, he takes a long pull off his beer. Spike looks at Sparkplug and says calmly and clearly "After you finish your coffee, get Helperbot to help you with your shower. Your clothes are laid out on your bed." Sparkplug nods slowly and says "we have...the picnic today?" Spike nods and grins. "That's right!" Sparkplug nods and takes his coffee, slowly walking back to his room. Ed says nothing during this exchange; he simply keeps that mild-mannered, kind expression and chops away at the cilantro. When Sparkplug leaves, Spike looks at Ed. Spike 's eye gives an accusatory flare. "What?" "How long has he been like this?" Edwin asks. "I don't mean just 'forgetful', I mean.../this/ bad." Spike sighs and says "Like THIS...maybe...six weeks." He looks at Ed. "They had to switch his medication, because he had an ulcer in his stomach. Trust me, he gets better after he takes a shower and his meds take effect." Spike looks at Edwin and says "I DID ask Buster and his...I guess you could call Jesse his wife - to START pricing nursing homes in their area, but he genuinely loves it here. And his sentient caretaker is great with him." Spike looks at Lifeline and says plainly "I'm guessing your dad's not this bad?" "No, he isn't." Edwin looks pensive for a moment, then asks, "If I recommend something, will you..." He thinks for a moment, then shrugs. "Look, never mind. I'm probably overstepping my bounds, especially today. Let's just focus on having a good time." Spike puts a hand on Lifeline's shoulder. "Lifeline...please - what is it?" He says calmly "I've never done this before. And I'm sure I'm making mistakes by the buttload, but he HATES being humiliated. I may have been a bit cold with him, but he's an army and mechanic guy. You get too soft with him, and he lashes out." "You're not doing anything wrong," Edwin reassures Spike calmly. "Believe me, this is a conversation for 'later'." He goes to the sink and washes his hands, then pulls his wallet out, and hands Spike a business card. "Keep this for now...and let's not talk anymore about this, okay? Because today isn't for dwelling on these things." Spike looks at the card. "Okay.." He gives Ed a skeptical look. "So...we cool?" Spike looks over Edwin's shoulder as the Meat Puppets' CD comes to an end. He looks over at Megan. "All done! What should we listen to now?" "Of course," Edwin says with a reassuring grin. "Just...keep that card handy." The card has the name of another MD on it, a woman's name that Spike will not recognize from Seattle Memorial. She's part of some sort of program at the hospital. Spike frowns at Edwin. It's the frown that a little brother would give to a big brother who's instructing him. "I won't forget - " Megan heads over to the player, and picks out KT Tunstall's 'Eye To The Telescope'. Did she do this randomly? She looks like she knew exactly what she was doing. "Leggoooooos," she exclaims, heading over to her Lego station in the living room. Spike rolls his eyes and smirks. Edwin blinks in surprise. "Huh. She do that a lot?" Spike looks at Edwin and shakes his head. "Yup." Spike gives Ed a challenging look. "What do you think of the brew? I like it...but I think they put a bit too much alcohol in it this time." "It goes down easy, I like it. Labor Day's always the best time to break out the Octoberfest brews," Ed comments. "So are you going to miss the Joes when we finally leave? ...I can't imagine the Autobots will." Spike looks at Ed and grins. "They're fine. Honestly. It's called 'Autobot City' for a reason. Prime engineered 'bot City to be a 'living' city - weaving in just as much human experience as Autobot experience." "Now...Metroplex...he's a sentient being as well, yes? How does he feel about all of us being here? Does he ever tell you?" Edwin wonders. A few moments later, Sparkplug emerges. He's still a bit slow, but he has his jeans on. An Oregon Ducks t-shirt. The jeans almost entire mask the adult diaper Sparkplug is wearing, something a slight adjustment of his t-shirt will be able to mask entirely. Spike opted for the extra $5 per package to get the 'ultra thin' types for Sparkplug's dignity. Spike pours about three fingers of beer into a glass for Sparkplug and cues up Netflix, which will resume the last 30 minutes of 'The Good, The bad and the Ugly'." Sparkplug takes the beer and gives Ed a friendly smile. "Hi, Ed-" He then goes to sit down - watching a western, while watching out of the corner of his eye his beloved granddaughter play Legos. Spike smiles at his dad as if this is the routine for the day. He then looks back at Ed. "Huh? Oh...uh...yeah." He tries to convey the whole 'Autoobt/sentient thing. "OK...he doesn't mind at all. Obviously, he can't really be a 'loner' since we all live in him." He adds "The only time he gets irate is if Autobots are rowdy enough to start tussling - like hitting his walls. That rarely happens, 'cept when the Dinobots get out of hand." "It's good to see you, sir, Happy Labor Day," Edwin greets the slightly-improved-and-medicated Sparkplug with a smile as he passes through. Turning back to Spike, he focuses on the conversation so things don't get sidetracked into...something he doesn't want to discuss on a holiday weekend. "Okay...it must be an unusual existence, though, to have more function than you're expected to have personality, especially when the 'average' sized Autobots seem to enjoy a more social life." Spike nods. He doesn't seem to notice, happy just to have his dad still enjoy things he's always enjoyed. He looks at Edwin and takes a sip. "Not that we're looking at our watches, but what about you guys? Are you going to rebuild the Pitt near Offutt, or...take things elsewhere?" Spike says seriously "If it's elsewhere, I'd think you guy would need to live here at least two years." "Actually? ...For security's sake, /none/ of the team will know where this new base will be located until the day we move there. Things I know for sure -- it will be just like our other bases have been, and will very, very likely be in another location. It's just too risky to try the same location. Cobra learns things too quickly. This is one of those top brass decisions, all the way," Edwin explains. Spike nods and says in a passive tone. "Okay..." He grins. "I'm just glad you're here. It's nice having you around." "Hey. Doesn't matter if we end up in Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, or Saipan, whatever...if you ever want to talk, you're one of the few people on this planet who have my direct line, and we can always find a way to meet up, okay?" Edwin says, giving Spike a warm glance. Sparkplug looks over his shoulder, frowning. "Ed, you don't need to work! Spike has it - get over here and watch the last of this movie," he says gruffly. Spike grins and says lowly "I've got the rest... "He gestures with his head. "Go..., if you don't mind." Spike almost whispers "It'd mean a lot to him." Megan turns her head quickly "Yeah, Ed! Sit down!" Edwin can't help but grin. He pats Spike on the shoulder, then heads in to have a seat beside Sparkplug. "Just in time for the best part!" he exclaims.
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