Fowler left an hour or so later, leaving Ratchet with a list and a lot to think about. The medic waited until the elevator closed, concealing the agent, before he sighed loudly and heavily, and closed the list he had made on the monitor. His optics found Jennie's sleeping form; she was in a position that looked incredibly uncomfortable, but seemed perfectly content. He wouldn't wake her... They'd talk in the morning.

Distractedly, Ratchet turned off the monitor, and retired to his room. It was earlier than he normally would, but he found no need to stay up any later. It took a long time for him to reach recharge, he simply couldn't clear his processor enough to reach that relaxed state. Instead, he stared at the ceiling, continuing to turn things over in his head and consider everything Fowler had left him with. Jennie wasn't going to like it at all, and admittedly, he didn't either, but the points Fowler had made were too strong to argue with.

He'd also have to speak with Optimus, who also might be wary. Ratchet would love for Optimus to argue against it, and use his reasoning skills to convince Fowler otherwise, but even he would have to agree. This was the best option.

He wasn't looking forward to arguing with Jennie the next day.

Locks of white hair were sticking out in every direction when Jennie woke, partially covering her face. She squinted for a moment, before lazily shoving the hair back. Hair was a pain, even when it was short. One hand drifted to the floor to feel around for her hairbrush, groaning quietly when she couldn't find it. Slowly, she sat up, looking around with tired eyes, before her gaze came to a halt on two figures quietly talking at the far end of the room. Jennie watched Ratchet and Optimus for a moment, confused at the agitated look on Ratchet's face. Neither of them looked very happy.

Her hand found her hairbrush and she quickly smoothed out her untameable mane, before she stood up, throwing the blankets aside.

The movement caught Ratchet's optic, and their discussion ended abruptly. "Jennie," he greeted, "did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, had a dream about marshmallows." She said with a tired grin. "What about you?"

Optimus gave Ratchet a quick nod and walked off, leaving her guardian to converse. "Fine." He approached, sighing. "Grab something for breakfast, we're going on a drive."

That set some alarms off. What was wrong? "Alrighty." She grabbed a hoodie and a small package of poptarts, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. "Is something wrong?" She asked as she made her way down the stairs.

"We'll see." Ratchet muttered. Jennie raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to transform.

When he did, she slipped in and relaxed in the driver's seat, nibbling on her poptart quietly. They left the base in troubled silence, and it lasted until they entered Jasper.

"So, you wanna tell me what's going on?" Jennie asked in a quiet voice.

"I will." Her guardian answered dismissively. "Did you sleep well?"

"You already asked me that."

Ratchet huffed. "Right, right, dream about a marshmallow. Right." He turned a corner with a long sigh. "You ate, correct?"

"Yeah, cinnamon poptart." Jennie slumped in the seat and stared suspiciously at the wheel. "You're distracted. Something's up. Why don't you tell me?"

"A few more minutes, Jennie..."

They continued the drive in silence, and Jennie moved her attention to where they were going. She had never been to this part of Jasper before, it was incredibly out of the way, and was far from her previous home, which was what she immediately noticed. Leaning against the window, she stared suspiciously at their surroundings. There were less houses out here, and the number was thinning out the further they went. Finally, they came to a gate, sealing off a driveway.

"What's this?" She asked.

"I'll tell you in a moment." Ratchet replied, drawing a huff. "Could you get the gate?"

Grumbling, Jennie opened the door and stepped out, pushing the black gate enough so Ratchet could drive through. She closed it behind him and turned around, eyes following the driveway path up to a nice looking two story house. It was a deep brown, with white framing around the door and windows to compliment it. Ratchet parked, and his holoform stepped out, looking at a small piece of paper.

"What is this place?" Jennie jogged up to him. "Why are we here?"

"Come inside." Ratchet averted his gaze and led the way up a couple of steps to the door. He pulled a key out of his pocket and opened it.

His charge stared in frustration, but stepped inside in silence.

The house felt roomy and open, with nice furniture and nice decorations. Jennie gaped at the size of the TV, while Ratchet made his way to the dining room table and sat down, motioning for her. She sat down across from him.

"This suspiciously looks like I'm going to receive a good parent talking to." She joked.

Ratchet barely smiled. "So, you're a missing person." He began, and Jennie couldn't read his face. "Your father has made it rather difficult for us. He isn't a convicted child abuser, and as of right now, we have no evidence to convict him, you've been with us for a long time. So, obviously, if you're found, you'll be delivered there immediately. Even if he was proven guilty and you were removed, you'd end up in foster care, and you wouldn't be able to get out of that and come to us as well as with Jason. Basically, if you're found by the law or by anyone who recognizes you as a missing person, it's over." He leaned back in the chair and sighed.

"Okay, we knew that, so why are we here?" Jennie pushed.

"Currently, you're a runaway, in reality. But people believe you've been kidnapped. In either cases, the Autobots could get in serious trouble if you're found with us. Harboring a runaway, or worse, being the captors of a kidnapped girl? There's no way Fowler could save us from his superiors if they found out about you." Ratchet shifted, not looking at Jennie. "Knowing this... Fowler has ordered for you to not stay in the base anymore, instead, he has found several, out of the way houses for you to choose from. He will pay for everything, it will be under his name, to keep you hidden. Today, we're going to go around and look at the houses so you can choose."

Jennie stared at him until he finally looked back at her. She inhaled sharply. "So you're just booting me out? Not even going to fight back for me? Just gonna let them stow me away?" Her voice was quiet and strained.

A flash of hurt was present in Ratchet's eyes for only a moment, but he suppressed it quickly. "Jennie, I understand why you're upset." He said gently. "This isn't because we don't want you at the base, I don't like this either. I don't like the idea of you staying here on your own, where I can't protect you, where I can't keep you company. This is so the Autobots don't get into trouble... Fowler would much rather take the blame than have us demoted."

"So, I just stay here, alone. I'm on my own now." Her back hit the back of the chair with a creak as she sat back angrily, arms crossing.

"I'm going to visit you as much as I can." He insisted. "And the other children would love to come here... You'll have more space here, to do human things, an actual bedroom, there's a pool-"

"But you're not here." Jennie's voice raised to a yell. "Did you even fight back? Did you argue at all? Or did you have no problem dropping me off?" It echoed through the roomy house, catching her guardian off guard. "After all that we've been through, this is it?"

Ratchet sat there silently, staring into her eyes with his own being blank and unreadable. She hadn't yelled at him like this in a very long time. He didn't miss it. Without saying a word, he stood up, pushing his chair back. Turning his back to her, he approached the sliding glass door, and disappeared into the backyard.

He needed a moment. He had expected an argument, but not Jennie misunderstanding to this level. Her guardian loomed around the yard with a sigh. The pool was decently sized, and there were patio chairs along the lawn. The kids would love swimming here... and the fence was high. It felt so private, so undisturbed. He hoped Jennie would like it.

The sliding glass door opened again. Jennie walked over and stopped next to him. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I should've thought about how all of this made you feel. I was insensitive. You're doing everything you can for me."

Ratchet turned to face her and smiled. "It's alright, I understand why you're upset, but I just want you to be safe. Living somewhere else won't be so bad... Especially when you have all of this to yourself." He gestured to the house and pool.

"Miko and I will have epic sleepovers..." She said thoughtfully, nodding. "And it's not like you're gone forever, I'll see you really often."

Ratchet suppressed a sigh of relief. "Why don't you check the house out?"

She immediately disappeared inside, and took her time in observing every room in the house, while Ratchet waited in the wide kitchen, curiously holding a cheese grater and wondering what it's function was. She bounded back into the room.

"I like it here. It's mine."

Ratchet looked up from the cheese grater. "Do you want to look at the other places?"

"No. Call Fowler now, I want to move in as soon as I can. Oh, I'm gonna make you buy me a ton of movies, since I can't go into stores." Jennie took the cheese grater from him and stuffed it back in a cabinet. "Let's go, get a move on!"

And then she was off again, bolting for the door. Ratchet rolled his eyes and followed her with a quiet laugh.