Months had passed of working with Alexis, months that Bee could have lived in and been content. Of course, they had worked together over the years, but never quite like they were now. He found a sense of fulfillment out of it all as he clung to every moment, finding himself so happy at the strangest moments that sometimes he almost considered doing a self-diagnosis. Bumblebee refrained though.

The recovery mission they had just completed was supposed to be easy. Go in, disable the automated sentinels and rescue the humans. However, somewhere along the line, about the time they got the humans out of their confined cells and outside, armed guards were waiting for them. An internal alarm had been tripped that they did not account for. Bumblebee would have been happy to take them on, but their small forces were inadequate, so a retreat had been the best they could manage.

The rescued individuals put on transport vehicles, the rest of his Autobot's provided cover. Bee didn't know Alexis had been hit, but he discerned something was wrong when she crashed in the back seat instead of sitting up front. Bumblebee was given no time to say anything to Alexis since he was busy issuing commands. It was when they were a good distance away that he felt her slump back. Strange sticky liquid spread across his interior, a hand pressing firmly against the edge of the seat before it fell limp.

Entering coordinates into his automated system and informing Sideswipe of his status, he activated his holo-form and pushed himself into the back. The sight of Alexis made everything seem to stop.

She didn't even scream out when she had been hit. And now here Alexis was, eyes open but misted over, pulse erratic and a fine metallic dart sticking out of her upper leg. He did a scan and found out that it held poison, a virulent chemical that was spreading with ease. Her skin was already flushed white. Thin blue lines spread underneath Alexis' flesh as it coursed through her body.

A knife folding out of his hand, Bumblebee pushed her gently backwards, bringing her leg in his lap as he gripped the bottom seam of her black pants. He cut through the thick fabric and ripped it back. The blood was no longer escaping; her skin puckered around the metallic barb. Bee almost wished he didn't know what needed to be done.

"Alexis, you are going to hate this."

Green eyes looked upon him. Blinking several times, she spoke, "Just tell me."

"I'm going to have to push this all the way through."

Alexis' orbs widened, and she groaned. She shook her head and swallowed hard. "There has to be another way."

"No. The poison is spreading too fast. I have to do this now, or you may..." he stopped himself from completing the sentence. Instead, he expelled a couple of curses, his hand finding hers as he squeezed it gently.

"I'm going to get Ratchet on the line. Don't go anywhere, OK?" he said to gain levity, his tone misplacing the mirth he had intended.

"Okay," Alexis said weakly, actually managing to smile.

The scream that followed was Energon curling. The Camaro nearly crashed off the road from her reaction, quickly gaining control as his human form momentarily lost stability.

Bumblebee knew it was painful, even before he started the main process. He had to burn the end of the rod, forcing the metallic barbs that opened into her flesh on its contact to retract and fold back into the spike. Pushing it through, Alexis bit down on his arm, managing to keep eye contact with him as he ordered.

"Whatever you do, make sure that she remains conscious," Ratchet told him before he began. "If you fail, her systems will shut down and there will be nothing that we can do for her."

"But the nanites. Surely, if I gave her a sedative, she could just sleep."

"No. Certain fluids are not easily warded off in Alexis' system. You will need to listen to me. We need to extract the poison from her body."

Bee listened to the instructions. Alexis watched him, clinging to his hand. They were so close. Bumblebee pressing hard against her side, he kept himself balanced above her. A perception grew that he was unwilling to acknowledge. Ratchet continued, uploading a file that contained the adjustments the scout was going to have to make to his holo-form. When he read over exactly what he needed to do, he hesitated.

"Are you sure this is going to work? I mean..." Bee's voice faded.

"Are you actually arguing with me?" the medic questioned. "Perform the procedure or watch Alexandra die."

That was enough to get him on with it. Leaning forward, informing Alexis what he was going to have to do, he finished up the modifications to his holo-form. He paid close attention to the pressure he was going to need to use if he didn't want to damage her further. And then he was sucking on the wound. Blood pulled into his mouth along with the poison. Alexis writhed underneath him as Bee tried to keep her still with his other arm. Several long minutes passed until his systems told him he had taken enough of the deadly liquid out to ward off what could have been the worst. He cleaned and bandaged the wound, coating it with an analgesic. Formatting his human form, it blinked off momentarily and purified itself. Done, the scout sat back down beside Alexis, who was now on the edge of the back seat.

"You will be okay," he whispered.

Her eyes were tightly shut, body still.

Panic unfolded in his belly, keen desperation pinching every nerve along his spinal cord. "Alexis!" He pushed back toward her. Leaning over Alexis, he avoided her injured leg.

Her unfocused eyes flickered open. "So tired, Bee. Let me sleep."

"No!" He took her hands. Squeezing them, he pushed further up her arms and pressed against her shoulders. "If you sleep, you'll die."

"Let me go... So tired..." Alexis said, her words even softer than before.

Bumblebee let go. Bringing his hands to her face, he brushed against the clammy flesh. Bee's fingers wandered over her eyes and nose, stopping on her mouth before they dropped down to her chin. Alexis gave him a strange look before her eyes closed firmly.

He refused to give up. Bumblebee wasn't willing to have come that far to lose her to something as trivial as a stray trindart. That was why he kissed Alexis. Bee was surprised how hot she now was but not how pliant. Never would he forget what it had been like all those years ago when he had her all alone on the Decepticon base. A strange hunger came and unexpectedly his lips were wandering lower. His mouth found and pressed against the life that pulsed in her neck, tongue flicking outwards as he tasted the saltiness of her flesh. Feeling immediately light-headed, he moved his lips back to her mouth. He waited for her heart to quicken, waited for Alexis to show the signs of renewal as she stirred. The renewal came in the form of the unexpected when suddenly she was returning the kiss. Alexis' hand wrapped firmly around his arm and pulled him down. Bee felt the eruptions of madness as the desire that he had pushed back became so powerful that it was past the ability to ignore or subdue.

Until Alexis opened her eyes. Until she looked up. Until she pushed him off as shock, hurt and embarrassment swept through her eyes. Bumblebee wanted to regret what he did. He wanted to feel guilty, but he didn't. Especially not when it was enough to keep her conscious until they met up with Ratchet.

"You did well, Bumblebee. You saved her life."

He should have felt elated at Ratchet's words that were actually filled with praise. However, he was more pleased that they had made it safely back to the base.

"She wants to see you before I issue the sedative," the medic continued. "Don't worry. She'll be up and at it in a matter of days, knowing her healing factors."

Before he could acknowledge what the medic had said, Ratchet pushed him into one of the medical bay's recovery rooms until he stood before Alexis' bed. Ratchet chuckled and departed.

He was alone with her, Alexis the only occupant. Sheets pulled up over her small frame; tiny modules blinked on her forehead, a couple more on her left arm. Alexis' eyes opened as her mouth curved upwards, her hand rising as she motioned for him to come closer to the bed. Bending down on his knee plates, he felt nervous. Unable to look her in the eyes, he waited for her to speak.

"It's OK, Bee. Everything's OK," she whispered.

A weight came off his frame; his circuits pulsed with energy.

"You saved me," Alexis said with an awe filled with gratitude. Finding the tip of one of his digits, she rested her hand there.

Bumblebee bowed his head as he allowed himself to look at her. Locking onto Alexis, he found her luminous eyes. Somehow, he knew then that they would never be talking about what had happened in his back seat, the kiss not even hours in the past and already as good as gone.

Bee visited Alexis off and on between duties. The days went by slowly for each time he saw her, she was sound asleep. Her system was obviously hard at work as it repaired her body. The scout finally informed that she was awake; it was more than inconvenient when he wasn't even on the base.

Returning to the command center, he settled along a corridor that attached to the human's wing. He deactivated his systems and stood on his fleshy legs, then headed toward Rad's workstation. The young man had requested Bee's presence. The scout's thoughts turned to a report he needed to make as he mentally started to prepare it.

Halfway there a noise caught his attention. Stopping, Bumblebee turned back around and walked slowly to where it had originated. He didn't know why any humans would be inside the research center at that time of the night. Activating his scanners, they pushed easily through the room's thick walls. The sounds became more erratic as his vision found its clear point and stabilized.

Bumblebee was all ready to barge in for what he heard sounded like a fight of sorts. Instead, his legs stiffened and stuck to the floor. His human stomach convulsing, his fingers balled up as they landed roughly against his thighs.

It was Rad and Alexis was with him.

He should have stopped his sensors the moment he knew what they were doing. He should have backed up and gotten out of the fraggin' building and pretended like it wasn't what he was seeing. But the sounds, the movement and the labored breathing...

Bumblebee's systems suddenly crashed and his human form turned off without warning, thrusting him back into his true form. He brought his frame upright, his gears straining hard against the quick pressure. Forming a fist, he used it by pounding against a nearby wall. A couple of optics and eyes turned toward him as he transformed. Speeding out of the building, he crashed into the darkness of the night.

To think he had looked forward to their next mission together. To think that he had been so happy when they had worked with one another. Bee was proud of Alexis and the efforts she was making. But now returning from their recent endeavor with data acquired that would probably save many a life, Bumblebee reminded himself again that it was her life, and she could do with it as she pleased. He just wanted her to be happy and... Bitterness caught up with him once more, a sort of lag that seemed to be following his thoughts lately. One that jumped in and out as it took his careful reasoning and jolted him with jealousy and deep-rooted confusion. A part of him declined to believe what had happened between the two humans despite that he had seen it for himself.

"What is going on, Bee? You have barely said three words to me in days," Alexis said from where she sat inside him, her voiced hushed and working toward cautious.

Internally, he was damning her healing abilities. Knowing that he wanted Alexis feeling well, but not so the human could do what she did. He still felt sick and shocked and deeply hurt, a sense of betrayal as well. A feeling that Bee knew he wasn't even entitled to. He wanted to yell at her. He wanted to continue to reason the answer out of logic and dictate to his fluttering spark that it wasn't supposed to matter. But here was no denying that he and Alexis were close, closer perhaps than the best friend title that she had bestowed upon him.

"I could have given you that, Alexis," he began, startled at the strained sound of his own vocals. "If all you sought was... release. I could have been the one. I... I wouldn't even have asked for anything in return... especially... to be with you... to give you something you needed... I... I just I thought you..." His vocals crashed all together when her bewildered eyes jumped upwards.

He never thought that Alexis found the male attractive. Yes, she was friendly, but she was friendly to everyone. And even though Rad made no secret of his attraction toward her, she showed no interest over the years. Not even when the boy became a competent soldier and had the privilege of going on several missions with her and Optimus. Or when he became the leader of his own unit and gained a following by the females. Not even when Alexis' parents tried pushing the male toward her at every opportunity when they found out that he frequented the base's church. And not once did she show any of the usual physical reactions. Why would she cling so vigilantly to her virtue only to throw it away on someone she cared nothing about? Bumblebee just didn't understand. And he thought he understood her.

He started to burn when Alexis placed her hand on his dashboard. A feeling lifted to the surface that he acted on without thinking. Braking, they came to an abrupt halt.

"I need you to get out."

"Bee, what is goi..."

"Please." His voice dropped as he begged desperately. "Get out."

Confusion and hurt welled in her eyes from the harshness of his tone. Alexis made a move to touch his wheel, but pulled back when he sank on his shocks and recoiled. Nodding her head slowly, biting down on her mouth, she got out. Bumblebee left her standing in the middle of the road. He watched her get smaller and smaller until he could no longer see her at all.

Optimus didn't question him when Bumblebee requested that Rad and his team be reassigned elsewhere, but he saw the inquiry in his optics just the same. Bee just didn't expect the male to still be on the base when he returned, nor to be joking and talking as he packed up his things in a nearby jeep.

He also didn't expect the men to all start talking and playfully banter with one another. Of course, Bee most certainly didn't expect for his legs to start moving. He ran toward the astounded group, his human form coming on-line as his other stilled. A primal yell gushing out from his lips and his fist made contact with Rad's face. He wanted to do so much more. But the sound of the human's nose breaking easily under what was a rather light tap had the scout stepping back in horror as Rad was blocked from him.

His arm lifting, Bee saw blood on his hand. He had physically harmed a human that he had vowed to protect. Bumblebee didn't try to struggle when security ordered him to terminate his holo-form. The scout led to the brig; shame spread through his mainframe.