Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers

Dawn placed her hands on her hips and shot a frustrated look at Optimus, or rather, his holoform.

"You can't be serious. But you promised me…"

"I promised that you could join us in our missions after you've honed your skills enough."

Dawn frowned at the unwavering leader of the Autobots. It was easier than usual, since his holoform was pretty much human size. She had to admit, it was thoughtful of him to use it when speaking with her. Unfortunately, it didn't diminish the authoritative aura he had.

"I've been practicing my ass off", Dawn protested, trying her best to endure the piercing gaze of the azure optics that were fixed on her. Despite her objections, Optimus kept his calm, but stern tone.

"Indeed you have. But you still have a weakness that makes it too dangerous for you to participate in any missions involving the Decepticons."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dawn asked aggravated, but lost some of her confidence when Optimus stepped right in front of her, making her turn her head up to be able to meet his optics. She couldn't help, but admire how well the role of a leader suited the Cybertronian. He was, simply put, impressive.

"First of all, your powers make you a target for the Decepticons…"

"But I can take care of myself! That was my point when I said I've been training…"

Dawn's rant was cut short and changed into a gasp when Optimus grabbed her by the wrists, giving her a fiery glare. "What are you going to do when a Decepticon catches you? What are you going to do when you can't use your hands to focus your power?"

Dawn could neither answer him, nor struggle to free herself. She was too shocked by the sudden anger in the normally calm mech's voice and by the fact that he was actually holding her in a rather tight grip. "Optimus…"

"You haven't been practicing that like Ratchet advised you to do, have you? You have to be able to use your powers without depending solely on your hands."

"I… i-it's too difficult", Dawn stuttered, trying to find what to say.

The Autobot leader wasn't going to let her get away with that. "Show me what you would do."

"What?"

"What would you do if I was a Decepticon?"

Dawn stared wide-eyed at the red and blue mech. "You can't be serious."

Optimus' reply came with a harsh tone. "I won't let you go until you show me."

Dawn shook her head in disbelief. "N-no, this is…"

Again she was cut off in the middle of her sentence, as Optimus abruptly pushed her back until she hit a wall. Dawn tried to catch the breath that had escaped her. "L-let me go..."

"Make me."

Dawn was startled by how Optimus was acting. Wheeljack had been tough on her when training her, but even he hadn't done something like this. Optimus kept pushing her harder against the wall, still holding her wrists. Dawn started to instinctively feel panic, as it became harder for her to breath properly.

She couldn't use her arms, but her hands still moved above the wrists. That was probably enough for her to move any metal objects that could be found. She moved her fingers, trying to pull something.

Optimus immediately picked up on what she was doing. "Not like that."

The pressure released for a moment, but before Dawn could do anything, she was thrown on her back to the floor and pinned again. This time so that she couldn't move even the tips of her fingers.

"Let me go!" At this point, Dawn was yelling and struggling against the overpowering mech. He had no difficulty holding her in place with his sheer weight.

"What can you do now?" Optimus demanded. "What will you do when a Decepticon gets a hold of you?"

"Get off me!"

"Do you realize that right now I could do whatever I wanted with you?"

"Get the FUCK off me!"

"They won't just kill you. They will humiliate you, torture you; they could even rape you just for their amusement. And you are going to let it happen, if you're not prepared to defend yourself…"

"OKAY!"

Tears were welling up in Dawn's eyes. "I get it! I get it... I'll train more."

They stared at each other for a while, until Optimus let out a heavy sigh and released her. "I am deeply sorry I had to use such harsh methods, but I hope you understand why."

Dawn sat up, shaking visibly. Optimus gave her a hand and helped her up. Since she wasn't saying anything, he continued. "You have seen few battles and hardly know what this war can be at its worst. I need you to understand the dangers."

"Y-yeah, I get it", Dawn spoke quietly, looking down at her feet. It wasn't difficult for the Autobot to see that she was still angry and in shock.

"Dawn, can you forgive me?"

The woman cleared her throat and glanced up, giving a bitter smile. "For what? You're right, as usual."

What followed, gave Dawn a new reason to be shocked.

Optimus pulled her closer into a hug.

Dawn went rigid at first, but the soft, baritone voice vibrating from the mech's chassis had a strangely calming effect. "Please hear me. I would never forgive myself, if I sent you to a battle, knowing you're not ready, and then saw you get hurt. So believe me when I say that what I just did pained me greatly, but I felt it was necessary."

Dawn was starting to feel better bit by bit. She rested her hands against Optimus' chassis, actually enjoying herself. She wondered if it was the Autobot leader's spark somewhere close to her hands that made her feel a little funny. Nevertheless, it was amazing how much he was able to comfort her, even after giving her such a scare.

Dawn looked into the bright optics that seemed to be filled with a kind of sadness and anxiety. She managed a more genuine smile this time. "Yeah, I believe you. Don't worry."

That obviously eased the mech's mind too. He returned her smile and Dawn was left briefly baffled by how warm it made her feel. Then the moment passed and Optimus' gaze turned distant for a second.

Dawn had seen that look enough times to know he was listening to someone on their internal communications link. "I guess duty calls."

Optimus turned his attention back to her and nodded. "Will you be alright?"

"Of course. Besides, I got some training to do, don't I?"

"Yes you do."

They were clearly done talking, but still it took a little longer until Optimus let her go. He looked like he yet had something to say, but whatever it was, he didn't say it.

"Be careful when you go bust up those Decepticons", Dawn tried to sound cheerful.

Nodding again, Optimus' holoform was gone in the blink of an eye. Dawn's smile faded away as she was left alone with confusing thoughts and a rapidly pounding heart. It wasn't enough that Optimus had been acting strangely; she had also made a notion of herself.

She shivered; thinking about what Optimus had said when he had pinned her down to the floor. Do you realize that right now I could do whatever I wanted with you?

That had both frightened and excited her so much. It still gave her shivers, just thinking about it.

Dawn couldn't get her thoughts straight. She had a feeling something was about to change.