Heart pounding in her chest, Maria just stared at the bot. He was huge, taller than the scrap piles, and rather wide. he had turned his sirens off and looked around in suspicion. Feeling it was clear, his legs collapsed and he fell to his knees, shoulders slumped. If a robot could look exhausted, this was it.

"Ratchet...?" Managing to get to her feet, she took a step on lax legs. "Are you a-"

"Autobot," he had a hand on his head, taking it away and seeing that energon had leaked onto his hand, "yes."

"So you are not going to kill me?" She had moved a lot closer to him, but just far enough if he tried to grab her she could get away.

"No, human, I am not going to harm you." he blinked and sighed. "Where am I?"

"A small town in Massachusetts. A really small town. Mostly farm land really. You are in the scrap yard." She gestured to the pile.

"How did I get here?" He seemed agitated.

"Well if you mean here particularly you came by truck. You and five other cars. Before that I'm not sure. Donny takes scrap from all over the place."

"I'm not scrap!" He snapped, slamming his fist on the ground, knocking Maria off her feet.

"Okay okay sorry!" She held her hands up, she was scared. "I didn't mean it like that." Back on her feet she brushed herself off. Ratchet noticed the blood on her.

"Are you hurt?" His voice was softer now.

"Not the first time I cut myself open here. Just glad Donny is gone, I don't even want to think about what he would say right now."

"Donny?"

"A friend of mine...and by the way those other five cars they wouldn't happen to be-" She looked at the other scrapped cars and then back at Ratchet who was also looking at them.

"Only me."

"Oh good...I can only handle one robot at a time." She managed a small laugh before hearing ratchet groan.

"Are you hurt?" She moved a little closer.

"Took some damage. critical hits. went into cover to hide, must be how you found me."

"Who hurt you?"

"Humans," Ratchet pulled some scrap from his insides and tossed them aside, starting to repair himself, "different from the ones we have worked with in the past though. They where capturing my kind. Autobot and Decepticons. Binding them and taking them away. They took a friend of mine."

"What would humans want with...you guys?"

"I do not know. But it can't be good. I don't blame your kind for being afraid of us after Chicago. But that isn't grounds to kidnap my kind."

"Would there be others like you in hiding?"

"Yes, I can send out a message to call the ones here. But I must fix myself first." He was working all the time she was speaking, though his own tools seemed to give out. "Blast..." He snarled.

"Can I help you?"

"What could you possibly know?" A robotic eyebrow was raised.

"Well, I work a lot with metal. My father is also very much into robotics so I know a bit. Enough that I could patch you up. It is the least I can do for what my kind did to you." Maria was climbing a scrap pile. Once on top she sat, she was eyelevel with Ratchet now. "I have all my tools here, so you wouldn't have to move, so don't worry about being seen by whoever you are hiding from. The scrap yard is walled in well enough." Thunder still rolled in the sky, and the rain was coming down in a drizzle.

Ratchet looked away, not really sure what to do. Normally his personality would take it as an insult for a humans help to repair himself, but he was to low on energon to really complain.

"Very well then. But I will guide you on how to do it. Once I'm strong enough I will take over."

"Deal"

The sun sank low into the horizon as Maria worked. She was currently patching a hole in Ratchets arm armor. Ratchet remained in a sitting position and was rather quite, only speaking when Maria needed guidance.

"That wire connects over there." He pointed with his large finger, rather impressed with how well she was doing. "Have you done this before? You work well with your hands." His blue optics reflected in her welding mask before she pushed it up.

"I wasn't always an artist." Pulling a rag from her pocket, she wiped down the side of the bots arm. "I graduated high school thinking I was going to be the next best surgeon in the country. I had a full scholarship and everything." She sat back, leaning into a scrap pile she was atop to get some leverage on his height. "I even spent two full years in medical school, learning all I could. I studied hard at home and was rather successful..." She trailed off.

"And you gave that all up?" Ratchet looked over his arm.

"I gave it up because I learned there was more than one way to save a person's life. I don't have to operate on them. Sometimes there are other ways." Her eyes seemed to go a gray. "I had a friend once," She knocked down her mask again and began to work on one of Ratchets chest plates, "He was depressed. Had really nasty parents. His mother and father would fight constantly, and he lost his little brother to cancer. I did all I could for him. Hell, I even loved the kid. And I just wish I could have done more. He killed himself about two years after his brother died. I could have stopped it. I could have been there more. but instead I was so lost in what my father wanted me to be." The torch hissed as it touched the bots metal, melting the plates together to fix the large laceration.

"I could have done things in my lifetime as well. A young scout I knew had his voice box torn out. I couldn't save it. I could have done better at the time. We all wish we could change things., but we have to go with the flow."

"Maybe."

Finishing up, Maria packed away her tools and looked at Ratchet. He didn't look as bad as he had. Maria had washed all the dirt off she could and removed several gun shells from inside his armor. At least now he could walk around without falling.

"I need to get home. It's getting late. You can come with me or you can stay here. I don't really know what Autobots do in their spare time."

"Is this place safe?" Ratchet knew it was walled in but he was still visible from the air. "I sent a call out to Optimus. He should be arriving soon."

"Optimus?"

"The Autobot leader. We were all separated during the attack. It was safer for us to be hidden alone. I have called him to location so it is better that I stay here and wait for him. But is it safe here for the time being?"
"Well you are in luck. Donny, who runs the scrap yard is out of town for the next two days. So until then you are all alone here. No one should bother you. I am the only one with the key to this place."

"Keys don't really matter to our kind. If you know what I mean." He gestured to his size.

"Ah...right I forgot." Picking her bag up she pointed to the empty spot Ratchet occupied in vehicle mode. "If you turn back into the ambulance and fit yourself in that spot over there, no one will think anything off you. Just more scrap."

"I'm not scrap I said."

"I know you're not but you're not trying to fool me." Crossing her arms, Maria tilted her hip one way, giving his sass right back.

"Fine." Transforming and backing into place, his headlights went off and the yard was silent.

The next day followed with Maria returning to the yard and fixing the last bit she could before Ratchet had enough to strength to take over.

"No leader yet?"

"Something must have gone wrong. No less, more reason so stay low. It would be foolish to go out and look for him."

"I could go with you. I know things around here better. I could-"

"No. To dangerous. The last thing I want to happen is for you to get hurt is the Decepticons find me and attack. They won't stop shooting because you are with me. Worse, if those guys come around who have been kidnapping my kind come around. Who knows what they would did so someone like you who is hiding me."

"You think the FBI is going to crash though my windows. I have downloaded so much illegal music if they have not caught me now they never will." She laughed at herself but Ratchet was unmoved.

"This is serious. I don't want you getting hurt. You proved your value."

"What..." She blushed, embarrassed.

"I just don't want you hurt." He turned his head, what a grump.

"Well, tonight is the last night you can stay here. Tomorrow you will have to come to my home. Donny will be back and running the yard, I don't want him to see you. I can't even imagine what he would say if he saw you...like the real you. All unfolded."

A loud horn sounded from the other side of the scrap yards gate. Both Maria and Ratchet silenced.

"What was that?" Maria stepped back, getting close to Ratchet, not wanting to admit to him that she was actually pretty scared. "Decepticons?!"

"No...Optimus." Ratchet stood and opened the front gate, allowing the truck to roll in. The beautiful red and blue paint glistened in the sunlight, leaving Maria with her mouth wide open. "Prime."

Optimus began his transformation, slamming his fists onto the ground, dust kicked up and shrouded him. Leaning back he stood on two rather long legs, rocketing over Ratchet, making him alarmingly short, and making her even smaller.

"Oh shit!" Maria jumped, if her eyes could set fire they would. "This is to good!" She ran towards the Prime, looking up to him. The look of awe was not a strange thing to Optimus, rather familiar. Steam blew from the pipes on his back as he knelt down.

"Hello," That deep voice almost knocked her off her feet but she moved closer to him. Reaching a hand out and touching the side of his faceplate. "My name is Optimus Prime."

"H-Hi."

"Thank you for fixing my friend." Prime looked up at Ratchet who still had a grumpy look.

"Anytime really." She watched the bot stand back up and give Ratchet a hard look.

"They took Drift."

"What about Crosshairs? Or Sideswipe?" Ratchet now looked distressed. "You couldn't stop them to get Drift?"

"No, Drift and I were on our way here when we were attacked. By a lot of them. He gave himself up so I could reach you. We had hoped you had managed to find others." Prime watched Ratchet shake his head. His optics seemed to glow a little less bright now. "Crosshairs was not traveling with us. He went on his own to check out a possible base. I have not heard back from him yet."

"Not good. All we know is that the two of us are probably the only ones together. And if not for Maria finding me before the crusher did, it would only be you." Ratchet took Maria into his hand and let her stand in his flat palm. "She's a pretty good mechanic, but could be better if she learned it from the right person."

"I'm an artist Rachet."

"Not for much longer."