Watching the entire procedure like a hawk, Nova observed as Optimus stood still, letting the medic perform whatever scans needed to be done to ensure that her guardian did indeed have a clean bill of health. Never once did her blue eyes waver from his frame. It had been seven days since that incident that had nearly taken the life of her guardian. And in that time period, Nova had rarely let the Autobot leader out of her sight. If she wasn't at the alley or the street, Nova was on base keeping an eye on Optimus. It seemed a little silly for her to do so, but she wanted to make sure that he was alright, if only for her own peace of mind.

Taking out some kind of giant flashlight and pointing it in the red and blue leaders right optic—the one that had gotten infected first—Ratchet then proceeded to have his patient, "follow the light." Not the greatest choice of words in Nova's opinion but Ratchet was the medic here.

Anyways, She don't think anyone on base really noticed her stalker-ish behavior as she tried to be as subtle as possible. If they did though, they didn't say anything. And for the most part, Nova just kept out of every one's way, sitting in the darkest corners of the main room and perching on the not-as-frequently-used catwalks. But no matter where she decided to hole up, NOva still had an excellent view of Optimus' rather large frame. You could say that it was NOva's way of staying close but still trying to distance herself. And could you blame her? She was still trying to get over the fact that after all these years of self-induced social isolation; someone had managed to penetrate her defenses without even realizing it at first. In fact, while She had resolved to let this go and see where this new bond would take her, the more overly-skeptical and cautious part of her was still predictably wary. But she guess for now only time would tell.

Down below, She could hear Ratchet make a couple pleased sounds and mumbles as Optimus apparently passed whatever medical test he had cooked up. "I wouldn't advise anything strenuous, Optimus, but it appears that your systems have fully recovered from the Cybonic plague." Ratchet said. With the press of a button, the odd chamber-like medical tube thingy, released the Prime.

Even to her untrained medical eye, he certainly did seem better as he fluidly stepped off the dais-like structure he stood on. There were no signs of a concealed limp as he walked and his electric-blue optics did not dilate in pain even once. If Optimus was feeling unwell in the slightest right now, he certainly did a good job of hiding it. "Thanks to your medical expertise, old friend." Optimus rumbled, his voice being back to its former glory.

Of all the beings she had had the pleasure of meeting, Nova think only Optimus was the only one who exemplified at being the very definition of a perfect leader. He always seemed to know what to say and when to say it. Which is why Ratchet's reply to the compliment didn't surprise her much either, since if there was one thing she knew about teams like this one, it was that they were always a reflection of its leadership. Ratchet turned to face Bee, "It was your scout who braved unknown territory to locate the cure."

Bumblebee buzzed quickly, seeming almost embarrassed by all the attention he was getting as he waved his servos frantically in front of him. Meanwhile, his teammate seemed rather amused by his reactions as Arcee said in her usual dry tone, "Lucky for us, Megatron was still alive." Bumblebee looked at her oddly for that and buzzed at her. Which it was ashamed for Nova that she hardly wished she could understand what he said even though Raf wasn't there to translate.

"Yeah, I actually said that," Arcee said, grimacing and sounding as equally perturbed by her own words as the scout was. Turning back to the Prime, Ratchet steered the conversation back on track. "What matters is that you are on the mend, Optimus," he said. "While Megatron—"

Bumblebee buzzed again

Arcee nodded grimly. "He's right," she affirmed as the scout left the room to join the others most likely. "Did my best to finish Megatron's story—" an almost haunted look now came to adorn her features. "—just couldn't stick around long enough to see how it ended." Shaking her head, the Autobot femme left the room, leaving just Ratchet, Optimus and myself to fill the morbid silence she had left behind.

She was thankful that the conversation had been cut short. While she did not know the whole story, she had learned through experience that matters concerning Megatron were always difficult for Optimus, even if he did not choose to show it. Now they had just steered themselves into dangerous waters and she don't think anyone aside from herself had realized it. Even by just looking at the unyielding mask on her guardian's features, NOva could practically see the turbulent storm of emotions and thoughts raging inside of his mind.

Some near-nonexistent social part of her told her that She should talk to go him. But the problem was: what would SHE say?

If it wasn't already apparent, Nova wasn't exactly social type of the year here, so she had absolutely zero ideas on how to, well.....be a friend. Sighing softly, She glanced down at her guardian, who was now standing alone in the empty medical bay, and shook her head in slight irritation as she left the scene. Optimus seems to notice her charge left as if she was heading somewhere. Something tells him that she seems trouble.

On the rooftop, She was sitting on the cliff with having thoughts. She was clueless that she doesn't know how to do these things, she wasn't good at talking and understanding. She pick up a small rock and tossed it over the cliff which was hardly to hear it reached to the ground. There was something that bothers her which came to her mind. Those images she saw....a flashback which shows the mysterious lady that sang her the lullaby. It was mysterious that she was the lady she saw in her nightmare and the explanation why she kept on humming that song, even she doesn't know the title. Could it be....her memory? If it was, it was only short and was frustrated that she couldn't remember more. At least, she was able to comfort everyone with song. NOva looked over to Campy who hopped out of her hood and went to her lap. She shook her head as she stroked his helm which let out a purr. She stared at the sky again, feeling depressed that she closed her eyes and wanted to sing the lullaby which would soothe her. She remembered the lyrics clearly as she began to sing. (A/N If you want to know what it means or how the lyrics goes, play the song above)

Spi, mladenets moy prekrasnyy, bayushki-bayu

Tikho smotrit mesyats yasnyy V kolybel' tvoyu

Stanu skazyvat' ya skazki, Pesenku spoyu;

Ty zh dpemli, zakryvshi glazki, bayushki-bayu.

Bayushki-bayu

Bogatyr' ty budesh' s vidu I kazak dushoyr

Provozhat' tebya ya vyydu Ty makhnesh' rukoy

Ty makhnesh' rukoy.. ..

Skol'ko gor'kikh slez ukradkoy

YA v tu noch' prol'yu! ..

Spi, moy angel, tikho, sladko, Bayushki-bayu.

Bayushki-bayu

Nova didn't sense Optimus came out of the elevator which he heard her voice. It was the song that he heard from before. Optimus carefully stood there, entranced by Nova's song.

Stanu ya toskoy tomit'sya, beZuTeshno zhdat',

Stanu tselyy den' molit'sya, Po nocham gadat';

Po nocham gadat'....

Stanu dumat', chto skuchayesh' Ty v chuzhom krayu

Spi zh, poka zabot ne znayesh', bayushki-bayu.

Bayushki-bayu

Dam tebe ya na dorogu Obrazok svyatoy

Ty yego, molyasya bogu, Stav' pered soboy,

Stav' pered soboy....

Da, gotovyas' v boy opasnyy, Pomni mat' svoyu

Spi, mladenets moy prekrasnyy, Bayushki-bayu.

Bayushki-bayu

As she ended her song, Campy seems to enjoy it until he saw Optimus behind her. He hopped up and down, telling her that OPtimus was there. Nova notice his behavior as she turned around to see Optimus standing there, much to her surprise. Nova said, "Optimus! I didn't know you were there. You know its rude to watch me without saying a word like that."Optimus replied, "Forgive me, I didn't mean to....."

"Never mind, I'll forgive you for sneaking up on me."as she went back to staring at the sky. Optimus walked towards to her and stood behind her. Nova said, with back turned, "Well, you have questions, don't you?"He questioned, "That song.....isn't that where you sing to me?"

"Huh, I guess you've heard it while I was singing."

"Yes, it was....nostalgic."

"*sigh* There's no point in hiding, actually that song was the only thing I remembered. I've been humming this whenever it soothes me and I thought it might give me a clue about myself but to no avail."

"Have you began to gained your memories?"

Nova shook her head much to Optimus disappointment, hoping he might find out about her past. "I only gained little bits...I wanted to remember further but it only make my head hurt."Nova said, rubbing Campy's head. Optimus said, "I see....you may not have memories of the past however your song was able to sooth everyone of their worries. Thank you Nova for doing this for me. You may not be able to help but I truly appreciate your efforts." Nova seems pleased upon hearing his words as she said, "It's no problem, big guy. I mean, it's the least I could do for a.....a friend." She paused when she realize what she just said.

'Imbecile! What were you thinking saying something like that?' She screamed at herself from inside her head as other mental alarms screeched and blared. She honestly hadn't meant to call him a friend like that. But the word had just sorta...slipped out.

"I-I mean if you to be friends or, um? that is if you want to consider us friends. I-I mean if you don't want to I mean that's cool, but if—"

Stumbling and stammering over her sentences worse than Jack does when confronted with his crush, She could feel as heat started to flood into her cheeks, turning them a lovely—not—shade of pink with her embarrassed stuttering. 'Stop talking, you idiot, just stop taking now.'She scolded to herself. But she couldn't, She just kept digging herself deeper into the ditch.

"Nova," Optimus suddenly cut in, his deep baritone voice silencing her rambling and probably saving her from embarrassing herself further.

"Yes?" She asked, trying to fight down my blush. 'what is wrong with me?! I never felt embarrassed before....You idiot! You dolt! You absolute imbecile! You—'

"I would be honored if we could consider each other friends." Which stunned Nova when he said that. She couldn't believe what she just heard, she encountered lot of people who wanted to picked on her but this was different. She never considered having a friend before despite being distance. She wanted to say something but she had no idea how to talk to him.

While Optimus would likely never admit it aloud to her, his usually composed charge became rather amusing when she was flustered. That's not to say that she wasn't amusing at all but simply that it was interesting to see this new side of her. She was typically so cool and collected that this break in character was fascinating to say the least. "Nova, would you like to join me on a short drive around town?" he queried, secretly hoping she'd say yes as he quite enjoyed her company. The blue-haired girl's eyes lit up, she never rode with him before since she only ride with the other humans. "I....uh....let me just get my jacket before we go." She said.

"Of course," he acquiesced as both of them head back inside. As they made it in the main hall, He watched her movements as she swiftly head to the couch to find her black jacket. As she did that, Optimus quietly brooded to himself on the best possible way to broach the topic he wanted to discuss with her. That was the hard part about talking with his charge; her reactions were so unpredictable. He never knew if he should take the direct approach or be more subtle. In a sense, it was like a chemist throwing various mixtures together at random and seeming what they would do.

Still, he needed to ask be—

"Okay, I'm done," Nova's voice suddenly interrupted from right in front of him. He transformed into his vehicle mode as she head to the passenger side door. Opening it, he allowed her to climb in fastening the seatbelt across her which surprised her as she talked. "Sorry I took so long, Optimus." placing Campy in her lap, so that he can snooze. "That is quite alright, Nova," he soothed, pulling away from the and driving to the town. He didn't notice that Nova seemed to be studying him with those piercing blue optics of hers, visually picking him apart and analyzing him. It was like she somehow knew that he was up to something and was trying to decipher what it exactly was that he wanted. Nothing else was said, both of them content to sit in mutual sustained silence for a while.

LAter

"Nova, are you alright?"

She blinked a couple times as if snapping out of a daze. "Huh? Why would you think that something's wrong?"

OPtimus vented softly, his alt-mode's air conditioning units emitting a slight gust of wind as he did so. "You have been different as of late, more..." he trailed off, searching for an appropriate word to describe her recent behavior. "cautious as of late since the....incident."

He did not name the virus that had almost taken his life. Even before he completely lost consciousness, Optimus could still recall the unsettling sensations of the virus coursing through his Energon streams, making its way to his spark. The burning sensation he had felt when the infected Energon had come into contact with his optic, signifying the beginning of the frankly terrifying process. Then the feeling of being weak and unusually unstable that had taken over next, distorting his perception of his perception of his surroundings. The world had rocked and twirled in dizzying patterns, darkening and reminding him of the uncomfortable burning flare coming from the area near his right optic. All too soon it seemed, all of his senses became useless, his vision swimming as it became more difficult to keep his optics online. His frame had heated uncomfortably with fever before cooling exponentially.

He had heard the others' voices but they seemed far away and distorted until they were warped beyond recognition. And when he had finally slipped into a fitful recharge, he felt as though he was being dragging under. Under what or by whom, he did not know but what he did know is that if he didn't fight, something told him that he wouldn't be able come back. So, weakly, he had fought for what felt like hours, struggling to stay afloat in the current that was pulling him down. It wasn't until he heard a voice that sounded like a melody which he had just about given in that something had penetrated the heated haze surrounding his mind soothing the pain he felt. That was the part that unsettled him the most; the fact that he had almost given up. And apparently during that episode, his mettle hadn't been the only thing that was shaken. Ever since the incident, Nova's behavior had changed slightly. Not obviously enough to garner the attention of the others, but enough to be concerning for him considering he was her guardian.

Where once she would at least just stand near the other children while they played on base, she now would seclude herself in a dark corner, now far away from anything else and only speaking when spoken to. Yet the odd thing was while she distanced herself from the others, she still seemed to want to stay close, especially to him. Maybe he was just imagining things but whenever she was on base—and she had been here a lot more than she usually did in the past—he could always glance around and locate her sitting somewhere nearby.....where she had a clear view of him and vice versa. In a sense, she had become like his own personal shadow of sorts. And while he personally did not mind her actions, her sudden change in behavior was still troubling.

"Nova, will you please tell me what is wrong?" he finally asked in a gentle tone when she did not immediately reply. As if a heavy burden had suddenly been placed on her shoulders while hugging Campy tightly to her chest, She sighed tiredly. Her blue eyes seemed to darken gaining a faraway look that made the remainder of the girls' features age drastically.

"I'm sorry Optimus," she began slowly speaking barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean for my actions to insult you if that's the case. It-it's just I don't want to go through that experience again," she murmured quietly, hugging her knees to her chest. "I can't, no won't, let someone in again only to lose them soon after."

Upon hearing those words, his spark clenched a little in guilt and almost reflexively, he drew the seatbelt around her a little tighter as if trying to hug her and turned on his heaters in attempts to comfort the obviously grief-stricken girl. But she didn't seem to feel it as she continued to talk in an uncharacteristically robotic tone.

"When I saw you just lying there on the medical berth after Ratchet had heaved you back through the ground bridge.....and seeing how sick you looked....It just brought back bad memories and I couldn't help but recall that time before when I could do nothing but watch as someone I knew almost died right there in front of me." She paused, taking in a shaky breath to steady herself. "And I don't want to see that happen ever again, Optimus. Just standing there, helplessly, watching and waiting for a miracle of some kind to happen while I lounge doing nothing." He could feel as her sharp little fingernails dug slightly into the leather of his seats, as he just barely made out her next words. "I almost lost Raf and Jack, I don't want to lose anyone again. That's why I don't like feeling responsible but......now I do."

The ache in his spark increased, and Optimus could almost imagine somebot just reaching into his sparkchamber, wrapping their digits around his core and just squeezing it in a vice-like grip. He knew all too well the pain of losing friends and comrades and could easily relate to what this girl felt, especially when it came to watching others perish right before his optics. As if reading his processor, the girl said lowly, "Maybe I'm overreacting a bit. I mean, you and the others are going through a war so I don't really have room to complain. Still...." she trailed off, lost in thought.

After hearing her, deciding that this issue required a different approach, Optimus drove them over to a nearby cliff side, unfastening the seatbelts and opening his door in a silent request for her to get out. Obediently, the girl did so though he did not get a chance to gauge her reaction as to what she thought of his actions. As soon as the blonde-haired girl was clear, the Autobot leader transformed into his bipedal mode, thankful that the sun had long since sunk below the horizon.

Wordlessly, he scooped up his charge in the palm of his servo and brought her close to his face, wanting her to look him fully in the optics for what he had to say next. "Nova, I apologize if this experience has brought back bad memories for you. That was never my intention. I am not mad at you if that was the impression I gave you. Given the circumstances, your actions were completely justified. I am merely concern for your welfare."

He vented slightly. Why was this so difficult to put into words?

"If there is one thing I have learned during this war, it is that almost losing someone close to you is never easy. And while I do not know what exactly happened to you, I do understand the pain you feel."

 'More than you think.' She thought to herself.

"But I also know that distancing yourself from others in order to minimize that ache is never a wise decision."

Ever so carefully, he brought up his one of his large digits and gently brushed aside a stray strand of hair from her face, and tucking it behind her audial so that he could see her features better.

"So Nova, I stand by my previous statement. While I may not be privy to all of your secrets, I still wish for you to know that you can confide in me no matter what. Please do not cut yourself from contact with others. If not for your benefit, then for my own."

Nova looked up at the gentle giant before her. He always seemed to know what to say. That was what made him Optimus Prime. She knew she could never guarantee that he would make it through this war. No one could. Nevertheless, she would do her damndest because one way or another she was determined not to lose him. But in the meantime, she would agree to his demands. Maybe he had a point.

"Okay."

And that was the end of that. But little didn't she know that her precious little mask of emotionless and safety was soon going to endure.