It wasn't long after Agent Fowler left that the rest of the Autobots returned to base. Their engines revved as they halted to a stop, but I woke up from the noise, I did notice that they were going conveniently slower than I had seen them race in previously with the kids. I gave them all a worried glance as they transformed into their biped modes after the children had jumped out. Miko looked a little disappointed, while the two boys looked slightly solemn. As my eyes searched over the Autobot guardians, I could see why. Arcee was covered in dents and scratches, while Bumblebee's paintjob had tire marks over his chest chassis(?). Bulkhead looked fine, but his pedes were dragging across the floor as he made his way to Optimus Prime.

"We confronted some 'Cons," Bulkhead sighed. "On the way back from picking the kids up."

"Don't worry," Jack piped in, seeing Optimus bemused expression. "They dropped us off before engaging."

Miko huffed. "They didn't have to," she muttered.

"Knockout and Breakdown were escaping with Energon," Arcee said, gently rubbing her arm with her servo. "We went after them, but were cut off by reinforcements. They must have not really wanted a fight, because as soon as the duo were out of our range, the Vehicons fled."

Bumblebee whirred something to Arcee I couldn't understand, but Raf gave him a stressed look. Ratchet sighed from behind me.

"We could have used that Energon," he muttered bitterly, before waving a servo at Arcee. "You need an examination. The rest of you, as well."

The guardians begrudgingly dragged their pedes over to the medic station, which was once again out of my line of sight, from where I was. I gave a stressed, worried sigh and hugged my knees again. The other children all ran up to my medical bed, standing around me.

"So, did you do anything fun while we were stuck in boresville?" she asked excitedly. Jack rolled his eyes, but didn't comment.

I shook my head, remembering my nightmare. "Not really.. other than meeting Agent Fowler."

Their eyes all widened in shock. "You met Agent Fowler?!" Jack exclaimed.

"He must have yelled at you a lot," Raf said, shuddering at his own harsh memories of the Agent.

I shook my head again, surprising them. "Only a little.. he wasn't as bad as you guys said."

They all gave a collective sigh, confusing me. Were they worried about something?

"Well, that's good," Raf sighed, beaming at me.

"Yeah, I don't think you really need anyone yelling at you right now," Miko said in a low voice, receiving a harsh elbow to the ribs from Jack. I blinked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well..," Jack started, rubbing the back of his head. "You just seem to be going through a lot right now, so..."

"I guess we didn't want you to get more upset," the teenage girl said, smiling gently, a rarer sight form the girl.

I resisted crying out of... joy? I felt like I had already shed enough tears today. Instead, I reached out and smooshed the two closest to me into a big hug, which happened to be Miko and Raf. They laughed and returned it genuinely, squeezing me as well. Jack stood off to the side, smiling like a big brother. I looked to him gratefully and motioned for him to get in there. He blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head again, but reluctantly did so.

"Aw, you guys look like you're getting along well," Bulkhead teased, but his grin was sweet. He was up again now, standing over us with a happy look on his faceplate. 

"Why wouldn't we?" Miko told him, pulling out of the hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine," he said dismissively. "My injuries were minor. Arcee's were the most concernable, but they weren't that bad. Ratch can patch her up," he told them, shooting a smile at Jack.

Miko ran up to her guardian. "Let's go, Bulk! Weren't we going to get Taylor something to eat?"

"Oh, yeah!" He turned around to face Optimus. "I know we were going on another mission soon, but so you mind if I take Miko out to get some stuff for Taylor?" he asked his leader.

The Prime nodded. "For the moment, this is a retrieval mission. We will comm you if we require back up."

"As far as we know," Ratchet said, back to his station, "we are the only ones aware of the Data Cylinder's location."

"So we better get it before the 'Cons find out about it, too," Arcee growled, back to her feet and looking much better.

I was glad that she was alright now, and that the mission didn't seem to be any potential threat. I wondered what a Data Cylinder was, but decided not to ask. Instead, I grinned over at Miko and Bulkhead. 

"You really didn't have to," I told them. "Thanks, though."

"No problem!" Miko exclaimed, giving me a thumbs up. Bulkhead nodded before transforming into his alt mode, honking at Miko. The bouncy girl jumped in and the two sped off. As the sound of Bulkhead's engine began to fade, Optimus turned to the medic.

"Ratchet, open the Bridge, and keep the commlinks open," he instructed. The Autobot doctor did so, nodding to the Prime as they began to leave. The Autobots, not worried about battle at the moment, simply walked through the Bridge. After they had each left, Ratchet moved to shut it down.

The other two children, seeing that they really had nothing better to do, stopped Ratchet before he could and requested to go home. He seemed happy to comply, sending Jack home first before changing the coordinates for Rafael. As the young boy stepped near the Groundbridge, he gave Ratchet and I a small smile and waved slightly. I waved back, while Ratchet merely grunted and nodded in response before Raf jumped through and the Groundbridge shut down.

"Do you... think I'll ever be able to go through a Groundbridge," I asked Ratchet tentatively. "It looks kind of.. interesting." I again avoided the word "cool". Sounded to much like Miko.

"I don't see why not," he said simply, looking up at the monitor. "Since you are now affiliated with us, you will probably have to use one at some point. Once you recover, of course," he added quickly.

I frowned down at myself, annoyed that I still wasn't better. Hadn't it been nearly a week? I grunted in annoyance and swung my legs over the bed. I wasn't sure how this would turn out; the last time had been rather... embarrassing. I was still willing to try, however. The more I practiced, the better I would get, right. I took a deep breath as I let my feet hit the floor gently and shifted my weight. Immediately, my legs began to shake, and I held onto the rail for support. Breathing in deeply, I let myself slowly let go. I didn't topple over, and took the small success as a chance to take a few shaky steps. They were difficult and uneven, but I found myself being able to take more and more as I pressed forward.

I laughed in... glee? Yeah, probably glee. "Look!" I exclaimed happily as Ratchet turned to me in surprise. I made it over to the railing and leaned on it. "I was walking! I was walking just now!"

The medic blinked at me, his faceplate blank for a few seconds. I didn't allow this to disappoint me, though, and took some more steps along the rail, getting closer and closer to where he was. I must have been grinning like a madman; I felt so excited that I was managing to move again. 

"I can walk!" I exclaimed again, looking up at Ratchet. He blinked again, still watching, before his faceplate melted ever so slightly.

"Indeed you are," he replied, his voice more gentle than usual. My smile got even bigger as I grabbed onto the rail harder.

In a surge of sudden confidence, I used my arms to push my body upwards, trying to swing my legs over the railing, so that I could get on the monitor's desk and watch Ratchet. Unfortunately, I only managed to get one leg over, my strength dissipating and thus leaving me stuck in an awkward position on top of the rail. My face flushed with embarrassment while Ratchet look at me in shock and confusion.

"What in the name of the Allspark gave you that idea?!" he scolded in disbelief.

I was frozen; any movement would result in me falling over. "I-I don't know," I stuttered, my cheeks turning even redder. "I just.. was over excited, I guess."

Ratchet scoffed, crossing his arms. "Obviously."

My heart sank a little, and I glanced away. "I kind of... wanted to be with you, too. I-I don't like being by myself." I mentally slapped myself; nobody liked it when I was clingy, except for my mom, and I couldn't cling to her anymore. I felt hot tears rise in my eyes again and tried to blink them back.

Ratchet stiffened, his arms falling to his side. He studied me for a moment, before sighing and leaning down slightly. I looked up shyly, nervous and afraid he would yell at me again. Instead, he held his servo out from under me. His faceplate was gentle, and a little apologetic.

"Here," he sighed gruffly. "You must be uncomfortable like that."

I felt heat rise to my face again, and nodded sheepishly. "Y-yeah.."

I let myself slip off the rail, only falling a few inches before landing in his metal hand. I was surprised that the metal wasn't cold. I hadn't noticed it when I had hugged his digit earlier; his servo was actually kind of warm, even though it was slightly different. I relaxed as he set me down on the monitor, away from the keyboard but still close enough so that I could watch. He said nothing, starting up again on whatever he had been working on previously. The corners of my mouth twitched up slightly, and I watched contentedly. I could actually make out some of the Cybertronian words, pleasing myself as I read them aloud to Ratchet. He would either nod in confirmation or give me a gentle correction. This went on for a little while; I enjoyed his company, even if it was a little one sided. The quiet was calming, and I could tell that he enjoyed it, too.

After a near half-hour, I looked up at Ratchet, who had his optics glued to the screen. He seemed relaxed, so I decided to dare ask a question.

"The other kids all have guardians," I said quietly, as if just randomly bringing it up for no apparent reason. "Will I.. get one, too?"

Ratchet paused, his optics unlocking from the console and glancing down to me. My heart skipped a beat as I realized how stupid that question had sounded. I looked away in embarrassment and didn't say another word.

After a few moments of silence, he replied, "It is most likely that Optimus will assign one of us to watch over you."

My heart fluttered again, suddenly happy because of his response. I looked back up and gave him a grateful smile. The corners of his own mouth went up, a gentle grin appearing on his faceplate. My eyes widened as he patted the top of my head with one digit before returning to his work. I watched in utter astonishment; that was the first time I had ever seen Ratchet actually give me a real smile. The pat had surprised me as well; he didn't seem like the type to do so. I looked back up at the screen and continued to watch his research, my face a happy mess. I had to stop myself from speaking the next words that popped into my head.

I really hope that it's you. 

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Hey, look, I updated!! Sorry I haven't posted for this story in a while, guys. I had a lot going on, but I'm going on vacation soon and will have tons of free time. Yay, spring break!

I'm really excited to continue this book; you may have noticed that I mentioned some things related to a certain episode. ;) Things will finally be getting interesting! XD 

I also initially thought that this was going to be a short chapter. I kept thinking "Man, Imma gonna be so disappointed in myself" and then surprised myself when I went over my normal word limit! So, now, I'm kind of proud! ^-^

Yes, I know that is the first time that I used italics for thoughts. When I first started this book, I didn't know very many of the Wattpad writing tricks, and just put them in 'these'. When I figured out how to do it, I wasn't sure if I wanted to change all the chapters with them, or just keep them that way. I guess I'll start using them from now on, and if I want to I'll go back and change them to italics. I don't feel like it right now tho, so not right now. Sorry, peeps!

See ya next chapter! 

*waves*