A/N: I'm currently taking prompts for this over on my tumblr and twitter.

Prompt 41 - Go Back To Sleep

She felt like she was suffocating; nameless terrors clogging her throat and sitting firmly on her chest.

She realizes that she's trapped in a dream almost immediately, but can't shake herself awake no matter how determined and panicked she is. The most she can do at this point is ride it out until she wakes up...or wait for some kind of opening to jolt herself awake through. Not that that tactic ever really works.

Feelings and pain swirl around her and her dream self can do nothing but openly sob. Old fears...old stresses...old wounds that just wouldn't go away, seemed to cascade all around her, waiting for her to stop fighting and sink.

She can feel herself waning; all of the fight, all of the energy swept away as easily as a plastic bag in the wind.

On the edge of a precipice, she can feel herself begin to tip, nothingness would more welcome than this. Luckily for her the next thing she's aware of is a soft blanket beneath her, hands twisting the fabric so tightly it's surprising that it hasn't come apart.

The harsh 'whoosh' of her panicked breathing seemed to drown out all other sounds.

Still tightly held in the dream's induced panic, she sits up quickly and stares sightlessly at her lap, second blanket bunched up around her waist.

She was so out of it that the massive shape approaching from behind her garnered no notice.

It wasn't until a gentle touch to her head caused her to shoot up and attempt to stumble away that she noticed anything other than her own panic.

Feet tangling in the blankets she tumbled down into a heap. There was no pain, but she was slightly stunned. More soft prodding from a massive finger helped to completely jolt her back into the present.

Taking in gulps of air she gripped the finger tightly in her hands and simply held on while she tried to calm herself more. Her eyes focused and she let them trail upward until they came to rest on the blank screen that served as her companion's face.

She couldn't see his optics behind the reflective mask, but she could feel his curious gaze; for all the sharp edges, silence, dark coloring, and circumstances with which brought her here...his presence was surprisingly soothing.

The finger she held onto slowly began to pull away and for one moment she was tempted to cling to it. That idea was quickly tossed away and she reluctantly let her hands fall to her lap, never once taking her eyes off his face.

She fully expected him to turn away, return to his own...berth (she thinks that what they called beds anyway), and leave her be, now that she was conscious.

Maybe that simple expectation would be a good enough excuse for how she reacted when instead of retreating, the digit she had held onto slowly, gently brushed across her head once again.

A strangled squeak left her and she stiffened slightly in surprise.

Of all the things in the world, she had not once expected a Decepticon to show such kindness.

The action was...as vaguely unsettling as it was comforting.

Her eyes widened and she's sure she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. The mech in front of her seemed to catch on immediately that she didn't know how to react because after a few passes he withdrew.

Embarrassed and unsure, she exhaled slowly and as quietly as possible. Not an easy feat with a 20-something foot alien robot hovering over you.

Blinking slowly, she was able to finally tear her gaze away for a second only to have it snap back up in genuine shock and...fascination.

Query: Recharge?

He had spoken!

Actually, genuinely spoken with his real voice.

Her mouth opened and closed dumbly for a moment before she gathered enough sense to vigorously shake her head in the negative. There was no way she could sleep right now...not after that dream.

The large bot seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning his hand over and placing it palm side up in front of her.

She followed the movement blankly until it finally registered that he was waiting for her to climb into the palm of his hand.

Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was a sudden, aching loneliness.

Whatever it was, she barely hesitated to clamber on and secure herself to on of his fingers...digits?

She watched nervously as he plucked up the blankets she had been using, with his other hand. He swiftly deposited them into the hand she currently resided in and she almost didn't notice when he started to shift her closer to his chest.

But she did notice.

The close she was brought, the more her mind filled with staticky confusion.

What was he doing?

It didn't take her long to figure it out when he began to sink back down onto the berth that he would recharge (is that what they call sleep, she can't remember) in.

Realizing his intentions she clung to his finger until he had to tip his hand and let her (and the blankets) slide down and off and come to a rest on his chest.

Thoroughly embarrassed and nervous she sat as still as possible until he let out what had to be the robot equivalent of a sigh.

His hands once again coming up, she couldn't stop a flinch or the reflexive curling of her shoulders, but they simply bypassed her and went for the blankets.

She watched warily as he smoothed them out.

...It seemed as if he expected her to...sleep on them...on him.

A gentle prodding at her back compelled her forward, as reluctant as she was.

Suggestion: Recharge.

He made it sound so easy as he basically bullied (well that was a strong word and he was being surprisingly gentle and patient and man was that voice interesting) her down and covered her with one of the remaining blankets.

As...kind as this was it didn't take away the awkwardness or residual discomfort she felt.

Good thing that literally two seconds after he got her down a humming started up..from both his voice and his...chest?

What in the world?

A weighted feeling seemed to settle in her bones and she yawned silently. The two noises quickly became all she could focus on, drowning out her own thoughts and anxieties.

Not even her rapid blinking could break the spell as she was pulled deeper and deeper down.

Her breathing began to even as her eyes fluttered shut and her body relaxed.

It took less than five minutes before she went back to sleep.