Cleaning the woman up took a considerable amount of effort, but although she was covered in blood, it soon became clear that her injuries looked worse than they actually were. Despite her clothes being so bloodstained and filthy that they had to cut them off her, the initial scan Ratchet ran while Cade rushed to get a set of sweats to replace them didn't show any broken bones. Apart from blood loss, the medic declared that most of her wounds were not severe.
But the more they revealed, the more it became clear that what happened to her had been no simple assault.
As they cleaned the blood and filth away, they revealed evidence that what had befallen her had been much more deliberate. Red abrasions marred her wrists and ankles. Bruises and electrical burns covered her thin, dehydrated body like a grid, absolutely regular in their placement, some darkly new while others had faded to a greenish hue. Three fingernails were gone from each hand, leaving raw, ripped wounds that left no doubt of how they'd been lost. The only injury that didn't match the pattern was the one Ratchet declared most concerning–a hard, hot knot on the back of her head that pulsed in time with her heartbeats.
By the time they'd treated her burns and eased her into the sweats Cade contributed to replace the clothes she'd lost, there was no doubt about what had happened. She'd been tortured. From the amount of healing present in the oldest bruises and burns, whoever had done it had held her for several days, perhaps up to a week.
After twenty minutes of following Ratchet and Wheeljack's first-aid instructions–their hands were simply too big for the job of bandaging the much smaller human–Cade could no longer ignore the increasingly nervous looks the Autobots kept sending toward the doorway. "Who is this woman and how does she know Optimus?" he asked, staring down at the Autobot tattoo that he'd just revealed on the front of her left shoulder–exactly where Optimus had his own. "And don't even try to lie. Bumblebee insisted on bringing her here instead of going to a hospital–and not just to the base, but specifically to Optimus. You've all been terrified that he'll come in since we rolled in here. Someone clearly wanted something from her, and this–" he pointed at the tattoo, "–is the last straw. Give it up, guys. What the hell is going on here?"
The two exchanged glances before Wheeljack replied. "Her name's Dr. Anna Elias," he said with obvious reluctance.
When it was clear he wasn't going to say anything else, Cade prompted, "Sounds vaguely familiar, but some elaboration on that would be nice."
There was another loaded glance between the two robots before Wheeljack spoke again. "She's a theoretical physicist and engineer with a specialty in energy. She worked for NASA before we arrived. Then she worked with us for a while."
That explained why her name seemed familiar–he read a lot of engineering studies, after all, especially those about the Transformers. Cade again waited for more information but it didn't come. All right, so he'd have to pull teeth. "Worked with you, how? I thought you avoided people as much as possible when you arrived."
This time, Ratchet answered. "Optimus didn't land well, Cade. He crashed onto a granite outcrop and was severely injured. She found him and patched him up almost as well as I could've. Without her, he might not have made it."
Again, silence fell. Cade persisted. "And why are you two so sure that Optimus is going to be pissed enough to need Skyfire and Ironhide to restrain him when he finds out that the woman who saved his life is here? You're not making any sense at all, guys."
No one replied for a long moment. Finally Bumblebee started playing When A Man Loves A Woman.
The music only lasted a moment before Ratchet shushed him and Cade laughed… but then he noticed that no one else looked even the slightest bit amused. That tattoo suddenly took on a new kind of significance and his jaw dropped. "Wait, are you serious right now? Are you telling me that Optimus fell in love with her?"
Ratchet hesitated, then nodded. "It was mutual."
The thought of Optimus Prime falling in love with a human was incredible enough, but this? This was too much. Cade gaped at them all, torn between shock and complete disbelief that he'd heard them properly. Shock won. "But–but he's–she's not–I mean–"
Wheeljack laughed at his stuttering. "Love is rational with humans, is it? Logical? It never was on Cybertron. Maybe things are different on Earth and we haven't noticed?"
He remembered Emily, all the crazy things he'd done for her just to get her attention. No, logic had played no part in that. "Point taken," he conceded, but he still stared down at the injured woman, dumbfounded. "I just never though of Autobots as, well, the romantic type," he said lamely.
"Hey, humans don't have a monopoly on romance," Wheeljack said, sounding slightly offended now at his obvious surprise. "We fall in love and form life-bonds with our sparkmates just like you humans do."
"We've got all the emotions you have," Ratchet agreed.
Cade knew he should stop, but he couldn't hold back the question. "And no one thought it was, well, strange?"
Ratchet looked at him like he was the crazy one. "Why would it be? We love with our minds, Cade. It's not exactly common, but Transformers have been finding non-Cybertronian sparkmates ever since we left Cybertron."
"We don't control who we fall in love with any more than you do," Wheeljack added.
"Sorry," Cade said. He'd known the Autobots for almost two years now and had seen them show emotions every single day. Why did the idea that they felt love shock him so much? Changing his focus, he thought about his own history with Optimus. This woman's story was a virtual mirror of the way he'd met the Autobots. Seemed like Optimus would've mentioned her at some point during all of that. "If she and Prime are–well, whatever they are–why have I never even heard of her? Where's she been all this time?"
Finally, answers came without Cade having to dig for every word. "She stayed with us after she helped Optimus, working with Perceptor and Wheeljack on Energon synthesis from renewable resources instead of fossil fuels. Got pretty close to cracking the problem, too. Not only that, she's brilliant with mechanics, absolutely amazing. Can fix almost anything and invented half the first-aid instruments in this room," Ratchet said.
"And then the Decepticons found out about her work," Wheeljack picked up the story thread. "Even if they didn't realize what she was to Prime–and we're pretty sure they never did–the promise of endless, easily-synthesized Energon was plenty of reason for them to want to lay hands on her. They attacked the Ark en masse and nearly captured her. It was all we could do to stop them."
"So Optimus sent her away to throw them off the scent," Ratchet said. "She accepted a position at MIT and didn't work with Energon again, concentrating in other research shouldn't have brought her back on the Decepticons' radar. I can't say she or Optimus were truly happy with the arrangement, but they agreed it was for the best. And it seemed to be working until now." He glanced at Bumblebee. "You didn't see any Decepticons or sense any of them when you found her?"
Bumblebee shook his head. "Not a thing," he said, skipping the audio-clips for once.
Cade opened his mouth to ask something else when an earsplitting, enraged roar shook the entire base. Everyone flinched. "Holy shit–was that Optimus?" Cade gasped, shocked to the bone. He'd never heard the Autobot leader make a sound like that before, no matter how fierce the battle. Hell, he'd never heard any Autobot roar like that, not even Grimlock or the other Dinobots!
Ratchet and Wheeljack both hurried to bend over Anna again. "Yeah, and he's every bit as pissed as we thought he'd be," Ratchet said apprehensively as unintelligible shouting and floor-shaking bangs filled the air. "Cade, quick! Bandage up her fingers. Those two won't hold him for long. Maybe he won't realize how bad it was for her if he doesn't see–"
"By the Allspark, Skyfire, if you don't get your metal hands off me right now, I swear I'll tear them off!"
Cade's hands shook as he wrapped band-aids around the torn places where her fingernails had been. Ironhide was just audible, saying something in a soothing tone that didn't seem to soothe Optimus in the slightest, and his voice abruptly ended with a yell and crash that shook the walls.
"Bumblebee, you'd better go call them off before Ratchet has a couple new patients," Cade said an instant before an almighty bang rattled the floor. Shouts and the metallic impacts of what had to be a brutal wrestling match echoed down the long corridor leading into the repair bay. "I'll have these covered by the time he gets here."
Bumblebee transformed and peeled out, racing toward the sounds of battle, but he hadn't even made it out of the repair bay before Optimus Prime came charging around the corner in full battle-mode. Cade stuck the last band-aid down as quickly as possible. "Why wasn't I called immediately?" Optimus demanded, glaring at Ratchet and Wheeljack as Ironhide and Skyfire cautiously entered behind him. Ironhide limped with one hand on the wall but Skyfire looked even worse. Steam billowed from a crack in his breastplate and one shoulder-panel was nearly torn off. Ratchet instinctively started to go to him but Optimus, snarling, reached out and lifted him effortlessly back to where he'd been.
By his throat.
Wheeljack held up a placating hand. "Optimus, we–"
But the enormous robot had gone suddenly, utterly still, and Cade knew he'd gotten his first look at the battered woman lying on the table. His fear was almost palpable as the tension in the room abruptly cranked a thousand times higher, unbearably nerve-wracking. "Is... is she–"
"She's alive, Optimus, she's not in danger," Ratchet said quickly, and Prime's terror visibly eased at the reassurance. Still, the medic clearly realized that his shock wouldn't last and he'd damn well want an explanation for why he hadn't been notified when it wore off. "But we didn't know how bad it was when she got here, and we didn't want to delay starting first aid to–"
"Stow it, Ratchet," Optimus growled, tightening his grip on the medic's neck. "Your excuses are unacceptable. You found time to send those two–" he glared at Skyfire and Ironhide, "–to delay me. You had time to radio and notify me that she was here."
He finally released Ratchet to approach the bed and look down at Anna, his glowing blue eyes missing nothing. No one dared to move. Slowly, his face shield retracted as he let his battle mode recede, revealing his stricken expression as he took in the still-unconscious woman's pitiful condition. "What happened to her?" he asked in a voice of deadly quiet.
"We don't know," Ratchet said, sending Cade a pointed look behind Prime's back.
Optimus seemed to accept that, at least for now. "Who found her?"
Bumblebee transformed behind Cade and poked him in the back, silently urging him forward, and Cade stifled a groan. Oh, he really did not want to get involved in this, but Bee was making urgent hurry up motions behind him, and he could tell that there was going to be trouble if Optimus didn't get an answer immediately. Sensing that silence would be worse than anything he could say, Cade reluctantly spoke up. "Bumblebee found her when we were coming back from the city, Prime. There wasn't anyone around, no Decepticons or anything," he added, anticipating the next question.
"She must've activated her tracker," Wheeljack said, and Bee nodded vigorously.
"That means she was desperate," Optimus whispered. "Where was she?"
Cade looked imploringly at Bumblebee, but there was no help there. Bracing himself for an explosion, he said, "In the Third Ward. She was… she was in a dumpster in an alley. I can't tell you the exact–"
Optimus's enormous fist left a dent in the wall. "In the trash," he snarled in a tone that sent shivers down Cade's spine–it promised brutal retribution for that insult. The huge Autobot started to reach for Anna, then hesitated. "How badly is she damaged?" he asked in a tone that did not hide his fear.
"It looks a lot worse than it is, Prime," Ratchet hurried to reassure him. "Lots of dents but no internal malfunctions. All her parts seem to be in good working condition. There is a head injury and some blood loss, and she could certainly use a meal and some fluids, but I think she should come back online soon." Seeing Prime's hand hovering over her, the medic added, "It's safe to move her, if you want to."
Gently, more carefully than Cade could ever remember seeing one of the giant robots move, Optimus lifted Anna in one huge hand. She looked fragile as a newborn kitten in his palm. "She is supposed to a thousand miles away from here," he murmured as if to himself, looking down at her. "That was the plan. She was supposed to be safe. Why was she here at all?"
Cade couldn't think of a thing to say. However unbelievable it seemed to him, there was no denying that Ratchet and Wheeljack were right. The Autobot leader loved this woman.
Finally, Optimus tore his gaze away from her and looked down at Bumblebee and Cade. "Thank you for bringing her home," he said, and then turned to leave the repair bay with Anna still cradled in his hand. No one made any attempt to stop him.
Ratchet slumped against the now-empty table in obvious relief. "Best get over here, Skyfire, and let me slap a weld on that leak," he said, sounding glad to have something to do that didn't involve Optimus throwing him around by the throat. Skyfire nodded and limped over, pressing a hand to the rushing steam. "Ironhide, you're next, so don't go anywhere. I see that crack in your catalytic converter–"
Optimus paused in the doorway. "Cade," he said without turning around. "I would be grateful for your assistance."
He glanced at Bumblebee, surprised at the request. The yellow robot nodded encouragingly and gave him two thumbs-up. "Sure," Cade said, jogging to catch up with the thirty foot tall robot. "Just tell me what you need, Optimus." When he stopped beside him, Optimus lowered his other hand so Cade could climb on.
Optimus lifted his hand when Cade was settled securely and stood. He didn't bring Cade quite beside the woman, but as he began to walk down the hall, Cade was close enough to look over at her, seeing the whole picture instead of focusing on the wounds themselves. She was of average height with shoulder-length dark hair and what was probably a very pretty face when it wasn't covered in burns and bruises. He wondered how badly she'd scar, and not only on her skin.
He wondered just how this unconventional love story had started.
"This must seem very… strange… to you."
Optimus's quiet voice made Cade jump. He'd been so intent on his own thoughts that he'd almost forgotten anything else. Glancing up, he saw Optimus gazed fixedly ahead rather than down at the two humans he carried, expression carefully blank. Cade wasn't fooled, though. Prime cradled Anna protectively against his chest, right over his spark, and despite the years of implicit trust he and Cade shared, he hadn't brought his hands together. He held the two humans apart.
Oh, yes, Ratchet and Wheeljack hadn't exaggerated at all.
Before the silence could stretch too long, Cade answered him. "Yeah, a little bit," he said, still looking up into the huge face. "I think it's stranger that you kept it a secret, though. It's not like you. Why did you never talk about her?"
"She is my most guarded secret," Optimus replied, his voice still softer. "I speak of her to no one, Cade, and none of the other Autobots would ever have done so. I trust you, but what you did not know, you could not be forced to reveal should you ever be captured. I could not allow our enemies to discover this… weakness. I hope you know that this was not personal or any indication of a lack of faith in you."
"I know." And he did. The Autobots had never treated him as anything less than an equal, a full partner in their war, but more than that, he understood the soul-deep need to protect a loved one. Sending her away had to have been hard enough. Never speaking of her? Even worse. "I understand. No one could know about her or she wouldn't be safe. They'd try to use her against you."
"But someone found out." Prime's voice lowered, hardened. "And when I find out who is responsible for this, I'll make them curse the day they were assembled."
Silence fell between them until Optimus stopped outside Cade's room. "I must ask for your help, Cade," he said, kneeling to lower Cade to the ground. "My quarters aren't equipped with human comforts. I have nothing soft for her to rest upon or to keep her warm. Please, whatever you can spare would be greatly appreciated."
"Sure thing, Optimus. I'll be right back."
Cade slid down and entered his room. He dragged his mattress down off the box-spring and yanked off the sheets without hesitation, then manhandled it through the narrow door. "Carry that, will you?" he panted when it was halfway out. "I'll bring some clean sheets and blankets." Optimus grasped the heavy King mattress and lifted it effortlessly while Cade grabbed a stack of spare bedding from his closet.
Optimus hadn't moved from the tall corridor outside when Cade returned. "You would give up your own sleeping surface," he said, holding the mattress in one hand. "That is very generous of you. Thank you."
"Yeah, well, she needs it more than I do," Cade said, still a little winded from his struggle with the mattress. It was heavier than he'd remembered. "I can pile some comforters up on the floor and it won't bother me, but with all those burns and bruises, she–"
The low growl rumbling in Prime's chest stopped the words in Cade's throat and he belatedly remembered how anxious Wheeljack and Ratchet had been to shield Optimus from the full extent of Anna's injuries.
The injuries he'd just described in far too much detail.
"What burns and bruises?" Prime snarled, fury vibrating in his voice.
Cade took an involuntary step back. Even knowing that Optimus would never hurt him, standing next to an enraged Autobot wasn't on his list of favorite things. The memory of Skyfire's broken chest housing and Ironhide's many dents came back to him vividly. "Ah," he said awkwardly, wishing he could take back what he'd let slip. "Well, um, what I meant was–"
"Exactly what you said," Optimus cut across him. Leaning down further, he pierced Cade with his gaze. "Ratchet said her injuries were not severe and that she will recover!"
"Yeah, she will!" But Cade's words did nothing more than make Optimus glare again. "Okay, look, whoever did this was rough on her, there's no hiding that," he said, speaking fast, wanting to get this over with quickly. "But it looks like they only wanted to cause pain, not kill her."
"She was tortured?" Prime's shout echoed down the hall.
"I don't know, all right?" Cade said desperately. "But whatever happened, she's going to be sore while she heals and she deserves the soft bed! That's all I meant. She will heal, Optimus."
Optimus glared at him for a moment more before closing his eyes. Cade saw that his fingers had closed protectively around Anna, but then Optimus rose to his feet again. "Let's get this set up and make her comfortable," he said in the tones of one trying to put something deeply unpleasant out of his mind. "And afterward, you can tell me what was done to her in greater detail."
Cade hurried to keep up, clutching the awkward bundle of pillows, sheets, and comforters as he ran. "Are you sure you want me to?"
"No, I'm sure I don't. But you're going to tell me anyway because I need to know." His face darkened into the fiercest scowl Cade had ever seen the Autobot leader wear. "I must know how to properly repay her captors."
They turned a corner and the door to Optimus Prime's quarters slid open automatically. The huge room looked almost barren to Cade's eyes, but he knew that it contained everything an Autobot needed. The cool, almost chilly temperature was perfect for the robots. A computer terminal was set in the wall about ten feet up–far out of Cade's reach, but an optimal height for the much larger Autobots–near a power coupling, an Energon dispenser, and a vidscreen. The only piece of furniture was the multi-functional unit that served as both chair and charging bed. And that was all.
Optimus put the mattress down in the corner nearest to his chair and Cade hurried to tuck a fresh sheet around it. He stood back while the Autobot gently eased Anna onto the soft surface before Cade tucked a pillow carefully beneath her head and finally spread two blankets over her.
Optimus knelt on the floor beside the makeshift bed, settling down as close as he could get without actually getting onto the mattress. Cade stood awkwardly when he was done, feeling acutely out-of-place as Prime stared down at Anna. "Um… I'll just go, then?"
"No, stay where you are," Optimus ordered. Cade was taken aback by the command but Prime immediately raised a hand in a conciliatory gesture. When he spoke again, his tone was much softer. "Forgive me, Cade. I meant to say that I would appreciate it if you would stay, please. When she comes back online, seeing another human might be comforting in case… in case humans were not the ones who did this to her."
"Sure, Optimus, I'll wait with you." Given what had happened, Cade wasn't going to judge Prime for being a little snappy, and he had a good point. The persecution of the Autobots had lessened greatly, but there would always been some people who feared and hated anything they didn't understand. Still, knowing what he did now about Anna's history with the Autobots, it seemed much more likely that humans hadn't been involved. "You… you suspect the Decepticons did this." He tried to make it a question, but they both knew the answer and it came out as a statement.
"Yes," Optimus answered unnecessarily. "They have wanted to get their hands on her from the beginning. In fact, they almost captured her once before."
"What happened?"
The question hung in the air for a moment before he answered. "We stopped them," Optimus said simply. "And then we decided that she would be safer elsewhere."
Cade hesitated, then said what was on his mind. "I think she's probably safer with you than anywhere else now, Optimus. Don't you think she should stay here? There are more Autobots here now than there were even six months ago, and Metroplex is nearly impregnable. Surely with all of you between her and the Decepticons, they have no chance of getting to her again."
"No one will ever hurt her again." It was less a statement than a vow, and although his eyes were actually optic sensors, thoroughly mechanical, Cade almost thought he could read the deep emotions in them. When Optimus reached out one large finger and touched her hand, Cade looked away. Despite their vast differences–a human woman and a thirty foot robot, one young, one unimaginably old–it was a touch of almost unbearable intimacy, and witnessing it felt like voyeurism.
But that incredibly gentle touch roused Anna. She shrieked in fear and kicked Prime's hand away with all her might. He recoiled as though she'd blasted him with a laser cannon. "Don't touch me, you malfunctioning son of a microwave!" she screamed, fighting free of the blankets with panicked desperation and then rolling back over the mattress until she hit the wall hard. Trapped in the corner, she curled into a ball, knees to her chest and one arm wrapped over her head and the other hand clenched in a fist, ready to fight. Her entire body quaked in terror. "Get the hell away from me!"
"Anna." Optimus didn't move, didn't reach for her again. He did no more than speak her name.
It was enough. She froze in place, hand still outstretched to ward off the attack she obviously feared, and slowly raised her head. "Optimus?" she whispered, her eyes wide but unfocused.
In the next instant, she shook her head and pressed back away from him as hard as she could, crying out a little when her bruises met the wall. "No! It's a trick!"
Her agitation snapped Cade out of his shocked immobility. He rushed forward, reaching across the mattress to catch hold of her hands–if the touch of metal had terrified her, maybe the feel of human skin would calm her. "It's not a trick, you're at Autobot headquarters," he said, trying to hold her without hurting her. "I'm Cade Yaeger–I was with Bumblebee when he found you, and Optimus Prime is right here–"
She yanked her hands free and yelped with pain as the movement squeezed her raw fingertips. Her eyes were still wide, frantically scanning all around her, but it was only when her gaze passed right over him without pausing that Cade realized that she wasn't focusing on anything.
She couldn't see.
Optimus seemed to realize it at the same moment. He let out a raw sound of mingled fury and despair. "What happened to your eyes, Anna?" he demanded, bending so close that they were almost nose-to-nose. "Who did this to you?"
Anna didn't answer at first. Then slowly, hands still shaking, she reached out until she hesitantly touched Prime's face. She ran her hands over the metal, feeling the planes and grooves like a blind woman touch-reading a face. He held perfectly still for her examination. "Is it really you?" she whispered, and the raw hope in her voice made Cade wince for her. "I can't… the light from your eyes is right, but I can't… is it really you?" Then her tone changed as she snatched her hands back. "Prove it!" she screamed, once more ready to fight or flee.
"You've still got my old broken parts in your garage," Optimus said, his deep voice incredibly gentle. "Or at least you did, the last time we were there. You always said you were going to get rid of them and you never did."
She gasped his name, reaching out again in the same instant Prime did. This time she didn't shove his hand away but clutched his fingers hard as though holding on for dear life. "It's really you," she gasped, sounding as though she'd been punched hard in the stomach. "Oh, God, it's really you! I didn't tell them anything, I didn't–" And she burst into tears, hiding her face against his metal palm. "I didn't, I swear I didn't–"
"Shh, Anna, I know," Prime replied, closing his fingers around her so very gently. "You're safe now. I swear on my spark, you are safe now."
Cade backed out of the room. They didn't need him for this and it was incredibly painful to watch. They were together, they were touching, but seeing this only brought home to Cade how very far apart they were.
Most of the Autobots were standing nervously at the far end of the corridor when Cade turned the corner, grouped close to the bend that led into the repair bay. "How is she?" Prowl asked as Cade neared them. "We heard the scream. Is she still functional?"
"Yes, she just woke up scared. Who wouldn't be?" Cade reassured them. He hesitated, then looked up at Ratchet. "But I think that head injury is more serious than you thought, Ratchet. She's blind, or very nearly."
"Vector Sigma," the medic breathed, and Hound cursed and punched the wall.
Cade nodded unhappily. "Once Optimus convinced her that it was really him and not a trick, she fell apart. He's trying to calm her down now. He seems like he's handling it fairly well," he added, sensing the unspoken question.
"For now, he is," said Ironhide, glancing toward Optimus's door. "He'll continue handling it well for as long as she needs him to. After that…" He cracked his knuckles. "I think Megatron's finally going to get the ass-kicking that's been coming to him for far too long. He went way too far this time."
Skyfire shifted on his enormous feet. The largest Autobot at nearly fifty feet tall, he barely fit in the huge corridor. "This is very strange," he said at last. "Our Prime and a human. It doesn't seem right."
"You don't know her, Skyfire, but if you did, you wouldn't say that," Perceptor said. "She's human, yes, but she's exceptional. Keep an open mind. If anyone is a fit match for Prime, it's her."
Ratchet straightened from his lean against the wall. "Well, standing around talking about them isn't helpful," he said with his usual pragmatism. "So let's get busy on things that are. Cade, hop in and I'll take you to into town to get her some clothes. You were generous to give her yours, but she'll need some of her own when she's up and around again. We can pick up whatever else you think she'll need at the same time." He transformed and Cade gladly got in.
When they returned, Cade carried the shopping bags down to Optimus's area. He tapped on the door and spoke into the intercom. "Hey, Ratchet and I picked up a few things. Can I come in?"
"Yes, Cade. You may enter."
Optimus was still sitting right where he'd been, watching Anna sleep with his hand beside her on the bed. She was holding onto one of his fingers like her life depended on it, even in sleep, and it didn't look like Optimus had moved an inch since Cade had left two hours ago. He walked quietly toward the giant robot. "How's she doing?"
"I am not sure. She would not eat, but she drank a great deal. At least she is sleeping now, not unconscious."
"How are you doing?"
Optimus just shrugged. Not pressing for more of an answer, Cade put the bags down beside the mattress and pulled out what he'd brought. "I guessed at her sizes. These should be loose enough not to be too uncomfortable," he said, laying out several long-sleeved shirts and yoga pants. Next came three bottles of pills. He showed them to Optimus one by one so he could identify them for her when she awakened. "Multivitamins and iron supplement–that's for the blood loss–and this one is Tylenol, for the pain… oh, and some socks, and this–" He took out a large bag. "This is chocolate, because every woman I've ever known has considered chocolate a necessity in times of stress. There are a few other things in there, mostly toiletries. When she wakes up, let me know and I'll make her a hot meal. Do you need anything else?"
Prime looked down at him. "Thank you," he said quietly. "Your thoughtfulness honors us. I cannot think of anything else she would require."
"Tessa trained me well," Cade replied with a smile. "If I forgot anything, well, you know where to find me."
"Again, I thank you."
Cade left but ran almost immediately into Perceptor hurrying along the passage with his enormous arms full of parts. "Hey, who's hurt?" he asked, alarmed as he recognized several key components in the jumble. "I didn't see any sign of an attack!"
"No, no, it's nothing like that," the scientist replied, glancing once at Prime's doorway but looking quickly away. "Wheeljack, Ratchet, and I are working on a project. I can't talk now, but I'll tell you all about it later, all right?" And he hurried away without another word.
