Strongarm looked at the man as he turned off the comm systems, "You're Silas' nephew?"

"Yep," the guy responded as he turned to face her.

"That explains how you got their equipment and knowledge of us. Listen, I'm sorry about what happened to your uncle but this isn't--" She starts trying to reason with him.

"Isn't the way to go about it!?" He cuts her off, yelling. "What would you damn machines know about feelings and loss? Because you supposedly have the same kind of feelings as humans? I find that hard to believe. You all are still just machines..."

"Then why did your uncle want to do research on us so much and why are you wanting to do the same research if we're just machines?"

"Because you're still different. Nothing like the machines we have."

"What happened to the rest of your family? Your parents?" Strongarm asks trying to change the subject.

The guy snarls at her, upset with her for asking such a personal question. But before he can say anything one of his guys comes onto the monitor, "Sir, we have a situation!"

"What kind of situation?"

"The male Cybertronian is going berserk!" The guy shows the cell where Steeljaw is continuously ramming the doors to break free, "We've done all we could to stop him but he won't stop!"

Strongarm looks at the monitor and watches Steeljaw ram his shoulder into the cell door one after another, relentlessly. Of course, he would be trying to free himself. He's using me to keep them distracted while he breaks free and leaves. Typical...

Before she could finish her thoughts the guy spoke again, "He's wanting that female! He's trying to get to the female!"

"YOU FILTHY HUMANS!! I SAID TO GIVE ME BACK STRONGARM!!"

Strongarm was shocked when she heard him shouting for her. He's doing all this just to get to her? She thought he was doing it to save himself, not for her.

The guy growls, "Let's get her back to him before he ends up killing himself! We need both of them alive!"

His men came over and removed the straps, "Get up! You can walk yourself to the cell!" The guy says as he walks over to her. His men grabbed their guns and pointed them at her to ensure she didn't try anything and they motioned for her to start walking.

Strongarm started walking and her hand instantly shot to her chest as a burning pain shot through her. They went on walking toward the cells, all the way Strongarm could feel pain shooting through her body. On the way to the cell, Strongarm noticed a room with what looked like a Ground Bridge in it. These humans must have found out about it and somehow got one to do some research on it. How they got it she's unsure, but she could use it to get out with the right plan.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Enough! We're bringing the female back!" One of the soldiers tells Steeljaw. Steeljaw rams into the bars one last time before looking at the human, "They're bringing her back as we speak!"

Steeljaw lets out a vicious snarl, "This better not be a trick!"

The guy just shakes his head before looking over to the way he knew his boss would be coming with the Cybertronian female. Not a moment later, the other humans come into sight, along with Strongarm who is still holding her chest. Steeljaw sees her and his protective instincts get even higher than before. He can tell she's in a lot of pain and she looks as though she's gonna pass out at any moment.

He growls viciously at the humans, baring his fangs, with his claws extended out. He glares at them as he thinks of all the ways he could brutally kill them, with no remorse. He stands back as they open up the cell door to let Strongarm walk in, all the while glaring daggers into the humans, namely the leader.

Strongarm enters the cell and collapses to her knees, she feels so weak but she manages to pull herself over to the wall and sit against it. The humans close the cell door and then leave. Steeljaw continued to glare at them as he slowly went over to kneel beside Strongarm, he watched them take their leave then he calmed himself down and looked over at her. He looks her over and sees the laser cut on her chest, just under her servo. That infuriated him. He balled up a fist and slammed it against the wall next to Strongarm.

Strongarm jumped and looked at him with wide optics as she moved over an inch, thinking he might do something to harm her. Sure he was just trying to break out of the cell to get to her, but how real was that? It could have just been a façade, and the state she's in now she can't fight him off if he attacks her. Not that she ever could fight him off, he always got the upper hand over her every time they scuffled.

Steeljaw noticed her fear and how she moved away from him and he calmed himself down. The last thing he wants is for her to be scared of him, especially now with the state she's in. He gives her a gentle look as he grabs her arms and gently pulls her closer to him. She places a servo on his chest as she looks at him with uncertainty while he softly places a claw on her cheek, "I'm not gonna hurt you," he tells her as he stares into her optics.

Strongarm stares back as she looks for any falseness in his words. All she sees is sincerity and... love? Is she seeing that right? Is she really seeing love in his optics? Is this hard aft criminal really showing love? It would be unbelievable if she wasn't seeing it herself, though she still finds it hard to believe. But never the less, she doesn't see any falseness which shows he really means her no harm. She leans into his body, lays her helm on his chest, and cuddles up against him.

Steeljaw looks down at her in disbelief, but he slowly wraps his arms around her. He carefully adjusts himself to where he's sitting and leaning against the wall as he positions Strongarm to sit between his legs, with his tail softly wrapping around her waist.

Strongarm didn't care, she just continued to snuggle against his chest, taking in all the comfort he was offering. That's all she wants right now is comfort and Steeljaw is willingly giving it, so she's gonna take in all of it.

"Sorry to scare you I didn't mean to. I was angry at the humans for hurting you."

Strongarm didn't say anything, she just continued to hold her chest and moan in pain. Steeljaw reached to remove her servo so he could look at the wound. Strongarm was hesitant but she let him. After looking at it he pushed her forward a bit and shifted to get up. He walks over to the corner of the cell where the Energon cubes are and grabs one.

Strongarm just watched him as he walked off, kind of missing the nice embrace. She wondered what he was up to as she watched him walk over and pick up an Energon cube then head back.

Steeljaw returned with the cube in hand and sat back down behind Strongarm, pulling her back to rest against his body. He dipped his claws into the Energon before putting it on the wound on Strongarm's chest, gently rubbing it over the wound.

Strongarm's servo immediately shot up to his arm and gripped it as she hissed in pain, "Steeljaw... why didn't... you warn me!?" She scolded him through hisses and clenched dentures.

Steeljaw placed the cube on the ground and then started rubbing her arm to help soothe her while whispering into her audio receptor, "It's gonna be alright. The pain will subside. This won't heal the wound but it will help with the burning sensation so it won't hurt."

Strongarm couldn't help but shiver a bit at the tone of his voice, so smooth and gentle. She looks up at him then looks down at her chest and watches his claws rub the Energon over her wound. He wasn't lying, the pain was starting to subside. "How do you know how to do this?" Steeljaw's movements stopped as he looked off to the side with a slight growl. Strongarm looked back at him with curiosity, "Was that a bad question?"

Steeljaw vented out a big flow of air and looked at her, "I learned it from a femme I uh..." He speaks but feels hesitant. He trails off a bit not wanting to mention it but Strongarm knows what he's trying to say.

"You sweet-talked and courted?"

Steeljaw nods, "I saw her use this on a mech once that had a laser cut. She said it helps with any kind of laser burns, it at least cools it down to reduce the pain until you can get it properly fixed."

Strongarm giggled, "At least you learned something from fooling around with all those femmes and it wasn't just you having fun."

Steeljaw just rolled his optics as he got back to what he was doing. Just a couple more strokes and he was done. He then grabs the Energon cube and hands it to her, "Here, you need to drink."

Strongarm looks at him for a moment before taking the cube, he must have gotten the Energon completely for her. She drank it until it was half empty then she tried to hand it back to him. He looks at her in confusion, "What?"

"You need to drink too."

"You need it more than I do."

She looks at his shoulders, the burn marks and scuffs on his armor, "I don't think so. By the way, why did you damage your body trying to break out to get to me?"

He looks into her optics and strokes her cheek, "When I woke up and saw you weren't in the cell and I knew they had you I panicked and my protective instincts went into overdrive. I needed you back and I was gonna get you back no matter what. I always will, no matter the circumstance. Now finish the Energon, I'll get my own later."

Strongarm decided not to argue. She turned around and leaned against his chest as she continued to drink the Energon. She noticed his tail tightening a bit around her waist, holding her firmly against him like he was afraid if he loosened up or released her he would lose her. He wraps his arms around her and buries his face into her neck, making her glance over at him. He's so cute. Wait, what!? No! I'm not falling for a 'Con! Not happening!

She looks away from him and continues drinking the Energon as a soft blush graces her face, she's just happy he has his face buried so he can't see her blush. She soon finishes the Energon and sets the cube down on the floor, she lays her helm on his shoulder and falls into recharge.