"That was epic!" Smokescreen said as they walked through the groundbridge, still pumped after witnessing such an amazing feat.

Evelyn nodded in agreement.

"Epic? Epic?! After what you did is that all you can say?!" Arcee snapped angrily.

Smokescreen and Evelyn paled and they both gulped. 'Oh scrap.' They both thought.

"What were you thinking bringing Eve out with you?! She could've died! She nearly did! I thought you'd know better after all this time!" Arcee said.

Smokescreen looked down and hung his helm in shame. 'You think I don't know that?' he thought. He'd done all he could, he didn't want to put his partner in danger-that was never his intention. Sadly, that evidently wasn't enough.

Evelyn stepped in to defend him. "Arcee, it-" Arcee scowled at Evelyn cutting her off.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow. Go home." Arcee said before turning back to Smokescreen. "What's more you tried to face them off, on your own! You tried to face Megatron alone!"

"I didn't mean to face him alone. I was trying to buy you guys' time!" Smokescreen said. "I had to do something to stall; otherwise the Star Sabre would be in the cons' hands by now!"

"Smokescreen, we will not deny that you did the right thing preventing the Decepticons from gaining the relic. While that was brave and admirable, the fact remains that you endangered a life." Optimus said. "Disregard for human safety, or anyone's safety will not be tolerated." He finished firmly and planted the tip of the massive Star Sabre on the ground for emphasis.

Smokescreen nodded. "Yes, sir." he said and Optimus knew that the message had sunk in.

"You still put Eve's life at risk, you put your own human charge's life at risk! We need another Autobot in our ranks, not another child. You need to watch out for her, that's your main priority, not your pride! What kind of a guardian are you if you can't even see that?!" Arcee said.

That last sentence stung like a slap to the faceplate and Smokescreen winced. Then his door wings and shoulders drooped. "You're right, Arcee....I guess I'm not suited to be a guardian after all." He said.

Arcee took a small step back and her optics widened a bit as she realized she may have gone too far. "Smokescreen I-"

"Nah, its fine. I-It's about time Eve gets a better guardian than me anyways." Smokescreen said with a shake of his helm.

Evelyn gasped. "Smokes, no! She didn't mean that!"

"It's cool, Eve." Smokescreen said and after a bit of straining, gave her a forced smile. Evelyn could tell it was a fake even if she was blind. "You don't have to put up with me......I need some time alone. You can ask the others to give you a lift home if you want." Smokescreen before walking off but with his door wings drooped and without the usual cheerfulness in him. 'They'll probably be better guardians than me after all.' He thought bitterly as he finally realized the truth.

He wasn't suited to be a guardian....he never was and he'd been stupid to let himself believe he ever was.

Evelyn's heart was torn apart as she watched her guardian walk off dejected. Then anger flared through her and she whipped around and glared at Arcee.

"How the he!l could you say that!" she snapped.

"He put your life at risk!" Arcee defended.

"And he risked his own to save mine! Smokes has risked his life for me god knows how many times already! He's been there for me, he gave me a shoulder to cry on, he trusts me, he'd trust me with his life in a heartbeat and I'd do the same. Doesn't that already speak volumes?! And yet you have the gall to question his abilities as a guardian!" Evelyn snapped.

"And you probably just made his self-esteem even lower!" Evelyn added. Bumblebee looked away.

The young scout wasn't as smart as Ratchet but even he wasn't dumb. Smokescreen had become like a brother to him, they'd confided in each other and the rookie had even admitted once about how he sometimes questions his worthiness of being part of the team.

Bumblebee still remembers how shocked he'd been at the revelation- that the confident rookie had his own self-esteem issues. It turns out he and Smokescreen had more in common than he thought. Deep down, the cocky cheerful confident Autobot was actually as insecure as he was. They both wanted to be bold; they both wanted to prove their worth to Optimus and they both looked up to him.

"You didn't know the full story and you already go pointing fingers and acting like Mrs. Know-It-All being the judge, jury and executioner, well guess what? It wasn't his fault for goodness sake, he didn't bring me there I went there by my own accord!" Evelyn confessed.

Everyone paused. "What?!" Arcee said.

"I.....I pulled a Miko." Evelyn said and her shoulders drooped as her anger was replaced with shame. "I could've just stayed in base but I went with Smokes anyway. If anyone's to blame, it should be me not him."

Optimus kneeled down in front of her. "And why did you commit such an action?" he asked.

"Because I thought if I did I'd get over it." Evelyn said.

"Get over what?" Optimus asked.

Evelyn took a deep breath and sighed. "Since Miko and I got kidnapped, I've been so paranoid and scared of every black car I come across. It was pathetic! I thought....I thought if I went with Smokes and confronted my fears, I could get over it."

Optimus's gaze softened. "Eve, I do not know what could've ever caused you to make such as assumption. Because you couldn't have been more wrong." He said.

Evelyn blinked. "What?"

"Courage doesn't mean you don't get afraid. Courage means you don't let fear stop you. You were scared when you were with the Decepticons when you and Miko were kidnapped, were you not?" Evelyn nodded. "And yet, you kept a level-head and a calm mind. You did not shrink from Megatron himself and were willing to sacrifice your life right then and there for one of our own. Eve, courage is not the absence of fear; it is being to find a way through a crisis despite having that fear.

"You have proven that you can do that time and time again. I think these results have already proven that you have long since conquered your fear." Optimus said.

Evelyn let it sink in for a while. When Optimus's words finally did, she realized how foolish she had been! She wanted to smack herself and kick her own arse right then and there. How could she have been so blind?

Flashback:

"Grandpa? How can I face my fears? How can I be brave?" a 5 year old Evelyn asks her grandpa.

He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Eve, you have to remember- fear isn't a dead end, it is a mere detour. Don't think about the fear of losing, look ahead and focus on the determination and excitement of succeeding. Courage isn't the absence of fear; it is what you do when you are in said fear." He said.

Flashback End

"Thank you, Optimus. You're right, I was wrong...I can see that now." Evelyn said. Then a thought struck her. "You....won't replace Smokes now, will you?" she asked worried.

"It isn't his fault! Please, he doesn't deserve to be punished for my mistakes!" Optimus put a servo up to silence her.

"Eve, I never had the intention to do such a thing. Smokescreen will remain as your guardian." Optimus said.

Evelyn released a breath she didn't know she held and it felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders.

Arcee on the other hand felt a bit guilty. Had she been too harsh? She looked at Evelyn. Evelyn noticed and coldly looked away.

"Cold shoulder, ouch." Bulkhead whispered.

"I'm going to find Smokes and hear his side of the story before making conclusions." Evelyn said giving a cold pointed glance towards Arcee. "I'll be back in a bit." She ran off towards the direction she saw Smokescreen walk off.

:The roof, that's where he'll be.: Bumblebee said.

Evelyn stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Um....sorry what?" she asked.

"Bee said Smokescreen should be on the roof. The kid likes to go up there to clear his mind." Bulkhead said.

Evelyn nodded. "Thanks for letting me know." She said before sprinting off to find her guardian.......her friend.

**************************************************

"What kind of a guardian are you if you can't even see that?!"

That sentence kept ringing through his audio receptors, mocking him and letting him know that he had been a fool to ever believe he could've been a guardian.

Smokescreen sat on the rooftop alone, something he didn't mind sometimes. Being alone wasn't all that bad, it meant no one could judge him or mock him or hurt him. It also left him free to his thoughts.

He craned his helm up and gazed at the night sky of Jasper, Nevada. 

It was beautiful. But he would've given it away to be able to see Cybertron's sky in exchange.

His spark twisted as he thought of his home-the home he could never return to. Smokescreen closed his optics and thought back. Surely enough, he could still remember it clearly as though it were yesterday.

The hundreds-no, thousands of stars gazing down at him from above like sentient watchers.

The mesmerizing swirls of Milky ways.

The two moons majestically looming over all Cybertronians.

He opened his optics and gazed at Earth's starry night sky one more time. Smokescreen pulled his knees up and hugged them to his chest. Another good thing about being alone is that you can cry and no one would notice.

"What kind of a guardian are you?!"

Again, those words came back to haunt him.

"Some guardian I am." He muttered to himself bitterly. Smokescreen picked up a nearby rock the size of his servo and hurled it off. It flew through the air before going down and landing somewhere in the vast expanse of the deserts.

"I can't even protect my sire and carrier." He threw another, this time it soared further. The image of an old mech with a wise, kind and caring faceplate came to his mind- Alpha Trion, the same mech who stepped in and became the father model he craved for vorns.

"I can't even protect Alpha Trion." Again another rock was thrown. Images of Evelyn getting attacked and kidnapped flashed before his optics this time.

"I can't even protect one human, my own partner no less!" this time he stood up and hurled the stone so hard, he heard it crash into another rock formation before it clattered down. "Some Autobot I am."

"Aaaaaand it's a homerun!" he jumped a bit and turned around to see Evelyn making her way towards him.

"Nice sky tonight ain't it, mate?" she asked and gazed up at the night sky too before snapping another picture.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Smokescreen asked. "Why do you keep taking pictures?"

"I look at your photographs all the time, these memories come back to me but I don't mind." Evelyn said. "A rhythm I made up back in the 1st grade, I'm quite fond of it."

"Oh." Was all Smokescreen said before turning away and decided to just gaze at the horizon blankly. He couldn't bring himself to look at her.

'Are you seriously that much of a wimp?' he asked himself.

Evelyn looked at him and laid a hand on his massive servo. "Smokes?" she asked snapping him out of his stupor. "Hey, look at me, what's wrong? You can talk to me, remember."

Smokescreen turned around and his blue optics gazed into Evelyn's warm brown ones that radiated warmth and compassion.

"I'm sorry." He croaked. "I never should've asked you to tag along. I don't know what I was thinking. It's was stupid of me. I put your life at risk and you almost died...again." then he turned around and hugged his knees to his chest again. Smokescreen buried his helm in his knees. "You deserve a better guardian than me." He muttered.

"Smokescreen, no!" Evelyn said and stood up. "I need anything but that!"

"Eve, let's face the facts, ok?" Smokescreen said. "I-I'm not suited for this. It was crazy for me to ever think I was. You need a guardian that can actually take care of you."

"Will that guardian look out for me like you do? Will that guardian sing songs with me? Will they listen and enjoy heavy metal and classics like you do? Will they give me a shoulder to cry in? Will they listen to my problems?" Evelyn asked.

"Maybe." Smokescreen muttered.

Evelyn scowled and whacked him. "Wrong. Smokes, I said it before I'll say it again, you are worthy of being a guardian and an Autobot. You made a mistake, so? This wasn't even your mistake, it was mine. You were just involved in it but the main fault lies in me not you simple as that. I could've just stayed at base but instead I let my pride get the best of me.

"We all make mistakes. None of us are perfect."

"What if one day my mistake costs us our lives?" Smokescreen asked.

"Then learn from the mistakes you've already made so it doesn't come to that!" Evelyn said. "Smokes, there are always going to be critics and haters because that's just the way life goes. Failure isn't falling down, it's about refusing to get back up.

"I forgive you, Smokes. And I think that you're an amazing bot." She walked forward and hugged him. "And I couldn't have asked for a better guardian."

Smokescreen's spark lifted as he heard Evelyn's words. He also felt his doubts subdue as though a fan had just dispersed the fog in his mind.

"Do you....really think so?" he asked voice thick with emotion.

Evelyn looked up at him and gave him that kind warm, beautiful smile that made his spark beat faster. "I know so."

Smokescreen smiled. "Then let's get you home.....partner."

The two of them went back to the main room and Ratchet activated the groundbridge.

That night, Smokescreen's spark felt lighter and the determination to protect Evelyn and his friends shone brighter than the Star Sabre Optimus wielded.