I pulled the covers over my shoulders uncomfortably, shivering as another bout of cold hit me. My chest seemed to burst as I erupted into another bout of coughing, squeezing my eyes shut as I did, my body rattling and shoulders hunching. I sighed heavily when I finished, rolling over on the couch and groaning slightly. The night was passing slowly, and I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. For the past twenty-four hours, I had gained and kept a temperature over one hundred degrees, my body was throbbing with aches and pains, and I had occasional coughing fits. Ratchet had fretted over me almost immediately, but he had concluded that this was normal for someone who had just gone through spark surgery, especially if the person was, in his terms, a bit under the weather.

Which basically meant weaker, since I was human.

Sort of.

I groaned again as my arms decided to be the center of pain right now, sitting up in slight annoyance. I wanted to get some sleep. It was late, and I'm sure I was bothering my guardian, who was busy at the console. His gaze would fall to me every time I stirred, but then fell back to his work. I felt bad; he was already staying up so late to continue working on the mainframe, and now he was hardly getting any work done because of me.

Giving up on trying to sleep, I draped the thick blanket over my shoulders, holding it with my hands, and got off the couch slowly. My face flushed from the fever, I weakly started to walk over to the railing closest to the console, my feet tingling as it touched the cold floor and sending chills up my body. I looked up at my guardian, who had finally gotten so focused on his work that he hadn't noticed me get up. I decided not to bother him and leaned my elbows on the railing, holding the blanket in one hand and my chin in the other, watching him work in silence.

Looking at him, my brain instantly told me that he was the one for me. It didn't matter that he was an alien from a different world. It didn't matter that he was so much larger from me, built entirely different. In some weird way, I found it attractive. Sometimes it made me feel stupid. I had never pegged myself to be the kind to fall for something so out of this world. It seemed more of Miko's forte. However, my love for him had overcome those awkward feelings. I didn't care anymore, it didn't matter how different it was. I loved him. I wanted him.

The only thing in the way was him.

The only thing that made it still hurt to wait was him.

Because I had no idea how he felt.

And I had no idea how to tell him.

It was kind of depressing, really.

My eyes widened a little when another cough burst from my chest, surprising both me and my guardian. Ratchet looked over to me in surprise as I brought my hand to my mouth, my shoulders shaking. I cut myself short, avoiding his gaze awkwardly. I could feel my face burning bright red as I chuckled nervously. Here I was, standing here and staring at him in the middle of the night, when I was supposed to be asleep.

"Taylor," he hissed quietly, narrowing his optics. "What are you doing up?" He turned himself away from his work, quietly walking over to the railing and bending over, so that he was closer to me.

I raised my hands, the blanket falling off my shoulders, in an attempt to block his view from my beet red face. "N-Nothing!" I squeaked silently, still avoiding his gaze. "I.. I, uh, couldn't sleep. I thought I would just.. I don't know..." My voice got quieter and quieter as I tried to think of what to say. I couldn't find anything and gulped, closing my eyes and letting my hands fall in defeat.

Though I didn't see it, Ratchet raised his optic ridge at me in confusion. "Is something bothering you?" he asked silently.

I quickly shook my head, though it throbbed afterwards. "No, no! I'm fine!" Suddenly I felt seriously dizzy, my feet taking a few small steps back and forth as I tried to steady myself. My eyes suddenly went lazy as I wrapped my hands around my arms, shivering from the cold. "Okay, maybe not completely fine.."

Ratchet scoffed, looking unimpressed. His servo reached past me, his digits pinching something small and lifting it above my head. A moment later, my blanket fell on top of me, draping over me with a small rush of wind. I made a small noise of surprise, reaching up and tugging the blanket away from my eyes, peeking out sheepishly. My guardian raised himself to his full height as he cocked an optic ridge.

"Obviously not," he grunted. "You need to be resting, not walking about as you please. Go back to bed," he ordered gently, waving his servo towards the couch I was supposed to be sleeping on.

I pouted despite my heated cheeks. "I told you, I can't sleep!" I protested, shivering again. "It's cold, and I can't get comfortable." I groaned when he only narrowed his optics, once again pointing to the couch.

"Doctor's orders," he told me as I began to begrudgingly walk away. He turned off the monitors and began to head out just as I sat down. "Wait there."

I sighed dejectedly as he walked away, plopping down onto the couch and closing my eyes. The cold hit me almost instantly, making me curl up and shiver. I whimpered as the ache in my body grew, and once again I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep like this. Rolling over again, I pulled the covers over my shoulders, squeezing the fabric tightly as I brought my knees to my chest. I started to hear my sparkbeat in my ears, something that was happening often during my fever, and couldn't hear the footsteps approaching me. Suddenly, I felt something heavy drape over me, my eyes flying open as I sat up quickly in surprise.

Ratchet's holoform was standing above me, not startled in the least. "You said you were too cold. Would another set of covers help?" His eyes fell to the thick blanket he had just thrown over me again.

I blinked, still a little surprised, and looked down at the blanket. My hands came out and grabbed them, my fingers rubbing the soft fabric. My face lit up a little as I smiled slightly and giggled, shaking my head a little. "I hope so," I said quietly, looking up at him with grateful eyes.

He tilted his head a little, his hands on his hips. "And you said you couldn't get.. comfortable?"

I sighed, shaking my head and looking away. "It's the fever. When I lie down, my head starts pounding and my body aches more. But if I sleep sitting up, I'm even colder." I pulled the covers up higher, burying my nose into it.

I wasn't paying attention, but I jumped when I felt something tug the blankets away from me. I was about to look up in surprise, but then the covers fell over me again, this time falling over my hunched back so that it draped over almost my entire body. The warmth sent a soothing feeling over me. Before I could turn my head, I felt something sit next to me. Not expecting the sudden movement, my body fell into someone. I clasped a white coat in surprise, looking up with wide eyes as my entire face turned red.

Ratchet was sitting against me now, his arms draped over the top of the couch. He looked down at me, his face not weirded out at all, as he raised an eyebrow as I instinctively clung to him. "Is that any better? You said you were cold if you were sitting up."

I blinked a few times, my mind drawing a blank. I had no idea what to say, or how to even reply to what he had so simply stated. I nodded slowly, utterly embarrassed, and was about to let go and back away, my heart beating too quickly for my liking. However, I stopped myself and gulped when I realized how warm his holoform actually was. Almost like a real human body. My head turned as I glanced away, my hands clinging to his doctor's coat a little tighter. I dared to lean in a little closer, my knees resting on his legs while the covers completely covered me. I leaned my head on the side of his chest, just under his shoulder. Although I was sure I was blushing madly, I could feel my heart and spark slowing down, my eyes turning calm as they began to fall closed. No words left me as I slowly relaxed on my guardian's holoform, drowsiness taking away the embarrassment of him watching me.

For a little while, I was drifting in a half way of sleep. It was like I was surrounded by the warm and fuzzies, my body floating on the warm air. It felt amazing, my tired and weak body relaxing almost completely. My closed eyes could only see darkness, but I felt like I was blanketed by familiar light. I heard myself sigh slightly as I snuggled a little closer.

I had no idea how long I remained that way, but I felt something light tickle the top of my head, waking me. I moaned a little as I shifted, opening my eyes and looking up. Surprise struck me when I saw that Ratchet's head had slumped to his chest, stray pieces of whit hair falling down, probably what had tickled me. His eyes were closed, though his his brow was furrowed a little. My heart fluttered in my chest as I looked at his sleeping face.

He looked kind of... cute.

I remained frozen, staring at him with wide eyes and heated cheeks. A started a little when his eyes open and he lifted his head quickly, glancing up dazedly. He turned his head to look at me, and I squeaked in embarrassment, though I didn't look away from his vibrant blue eyes. Those eyes widened a little, and to my surprise (again), his holoform's cheeks went the tiniest bit red.

"Ah," he said quietly, glancing down nervously. "I apologize."

"I-It's okay..," I managed to stutter, trying to give him a shaky smile. I held back another noise of shock when his head fell forward again, bonking the top of mine. He instantly flew up again, tensing for a moment before he deflated with a sigh, bringing his hand up and rubbing his face tiredly.

"It's been a while since I recharged," he said sleepily, slumping his arm over the couch again and laying his head back.

My spark involuntarily skipped a beat as I frowned a little, trying to ignore the flush on my own cheeks. "Y-You should be," I scolded, but it came out more like a stutter. "You've been staying up late setting up the mainframe for days."

He nodded sleepily, gazing off into the distance with half-lidded eyes. "And making sure your spark functions properly..."

This, of course, made me feel more embarrassed. I looked away, and, curse it all, my cheeks flushed a brighter red. I wanted to lean away from him, let him go rest on his own, but the selfish part of me said not to. Taking a deep breath, I settled against him again, my fingers clutching his coat tightly. My eyes closed as I sighed softly as I relaxed.

"Sorry for keeping you awake..," I apologized quietly with a small smile. "It's alright... if you rest for a while with me... I don't mind." I swallowed nervously, a little surprised with myself. "I'll be asleep anyway..," I finished, my voice getting quieter as I felt myself beginning to drift off.

There was no response, only awkward silence. Then, just as I had started to fall asleep, I felt his head rest on my own. I did my best not to stiffen as my eyes flung open again, my spark and heart beating quickly. Ratchet sighed a little, not saying a word as I felt him relax and drift off into recharge, still in his holoform. My lips curled up in a gentle smile as I closed my eyes again.

I knew I wouldn't be plagued with nightmares tonight.

~

I FINALLY UPDATED-

Lol this took forever. But I finally know what I'm going to do with this book now!! Yay!!

I thought this fluff chapter would be awful, and short, but it turned out okay in the end!

At least, I think so.

I hope you guys do too.

See ya!

*waves*