~~~~~TF~~~~~

Ratchet slowed down as he drove up to the secret entrance to their base. Sending the signal the doors started to open as soon as there was enough room Ratchet shot inside. It was freezing out there and nothing was going to stop him from getting out of that snow. Since it was so late at the night not many bots were up except for whoever was on monitor duty and maybe few others. As he drove quietly though the main hangar and down the hall to his medical bay he spotted a familiar mech leaning against the front of his door with arms crossed. As soon as the white and black mech laid optics on Ratchet a sly smile slid across his face. He said as Ratchet drove up to him "Well lookey here! He didn't run away after all! Couldn't stay away from us cool cats could you Ratchet!"

Annoyed by the bots antics he huffed. "Shut your vocal processors up Jazz! Why are you here?!" It was too late at night to deal with this and he still had to go talk to Prime.

"Ok! Ok! No need to get into a tizzy!" Jazz pushed off the wall and put a hand on his hip. His visor glowed a bright blue in amusement as he stood there. "Prime just told me to make sure no one went in the medical bay while you were away. Although I doubt that he expected you to be gone so long as I've switched out with Bee since this afternoon."

Surprised, he was happy to find out that Optimous had actually posted a guard like he said he would. It was something that seemed trivial to others and not worth the time, but was important to Ratchet as some bots would try to pull pranks any chance they got. It was a perfect opportunity for them to strike while he was away but now he knew he didn't have anything to worry about. Jazz suirtlany wouldn't let anyone in while under orders and Bee although known for an occasional prank now and then, he had never tried to pull one on Ratchet without good reason.

"So did you like the humans that much that you were looking for a place that you could live out there with them?" Jazz joked. Although the bot seemed relaxed he knew that Jazz was ready to bolt if he transformed and pulled out his wrench to try and hit him. If Lexi wasn't still asleep inside him he would have done just that.

Growling at the mech he snapped at him instead "No Jazz! I did not go out looking for a place to live! Although the thought of getting away from bots like you does sound tempting. Unfortunately my duties as a medical officer prevent me from doing such, so you better count yourself lucky you have someone to repair your aft when you do something stupid."

Jazz let out a laugh at the bots reply. He might not have known Ratchet for that long but he knew the mech would never abandon them even if he refused to interact with them half the time. Patting Ratchet on the hood he said with a smile "We care about you to Ratchet. So what took you so long out there and why havent you transformed?"

Ratchet jerked back away from Jazz when he patted his hood, he was afraid that the noise might cause the tired femme to wake up. But Lexi gave a moan and rolled over onto her side before falling back into recharge. Grumbling softly to himself he spoke up "That's a long story." He sank on his wheels and sighed. "While I was out I picked up a strange energy signature."

"Oh yeah?! Well thats just snazzy! Wada yeah find out there?" Jazz replied.

"It's...complicated. When I tracked the signal I found a human...and some things happened... and I had to bring a her back to base with me. Along the way she fell into recharge and hasn't woken up yet." He shifted uncomfortably on his wheels. "There is a reason why I brought her back though and I need to talk to Optimus as soon as possible to let him know that shes here. I just don't know what to do with her in the mean time."

Jazz's mouth dropped open at that and for once in his life he was left speechless. Never in his life did he think Ratchet would interact with a human much less bring one back! Eagerly he bent down and tried to look inside of Ratchets windows as he tried to spot the human. "You of all bots brought a human? Here?! Where is she?"

"Stop that!" Ratchet snapped and rolled backwards away from Jazzes prying eyes.

"Awww come on Ratchet! Let me see her! I've haven't seen a human yet! I was supposed to go out to observe them after you got back but you took to long!" He whined as he took a step closer.

"Shes been through alot in the past solar cycle and I don't need you to go waking her up!" Ratchet snapped back.

"I promise I wont wake her up just let me have a peek..."

"I said no!"

Jazz vizor changed to a darker blue as he pouted and crossed his arms defiantly. Slowly a smile came across his face and his vizor lit back up as he came up with an idea. "Yeah know, while you go talk to Optimus I could watch her while you're gone. That way you can transform freely and also won't have to worry about waking her up while you talk to Prime" he said with a smirk.

Ratchet growled as he thought it over, he couldn't drive her around base in his vehicle form the whole time while she recharged and he just couldn't leave her alone someplace. With a sigh he would have hung his head if he was in his other form. Blast Jazz to find a way for him to get what he wanted! The saboteur was to good at that and that's what made him the best at his job.

"Ok Jazz BUT! You have to be very careful. Humans are delicate and this one has been more than she should have tonight. She might panic if she wakes up to find somebot she doesn't know looming over her." He said very sternly. Jazz let out a cheeky grin as he just stood there waiting. Carefully Ratchet transformed slowly so as not to jostle Lexi and wake her up. Luckily when he was finished she was still deep in recharge and didn't even know that she had been moved into in his servo. Looking down at the bot in front of him with a scowl he said over the com ~So help me Jazz! If I found out you woke her up on purpose I'll make sure your next maintenance exam is very painful and slow. She doesn't know about the signal yet so if she dose wake her up don't mention it. Take her to my medical bay and wait there until I return.~

Jazz through up his hands in defense ~Don't worry about a thing Ratchet! She won't hear a peep from me. I'll take good care of her and won't mention anything I'm not supposed he took the human in his servos and brought her close to his vizor to examine her better. ~Awww I didn't know that humans where this small! Why didn't you tell me. Shes like a new sparked sparkling! No wonder you're so protective of her! And she's a real cutie too!~He smiled. Cuddling her near his spark he awwd when she shifted towards the warmth in her sleep.

Ratchet gave Jazz the sternest glare he could before heading off to Primes quarters. ~I am Not protective of her! I'm just trying to make sure you don't scare off line!~ Jazz chuckled to himself and headed into Ratchet's med bay. He had never seen Ratchet act like this before. Grinning he sat down in a chair and set the small femme on the table that was in front of him. He had a feeling that this human was going to be really good for Ratchet. Even if the grumpy bot tried to act like he didn't really care and tried to cover it up. Humming a soft tune he gently stroked the femmes back as he waited for either Ratchet to get back or Lexi to wake up. Really he hoped that the latter would happen first.

~~~~~Lexi~~~~~

I reached over to try to find my blanket that must have fallen off of me during the night. Frowning I slowly opened my eyes when I didn't find it. Turning over I realized that I wasn't in my bed, instead I was on a hard uncomfortable surface. As I looked around I panicked as I didn't recognize where I was. The room I was in huge! And when I say huge I mean like a skyscraper could almost fit in this one room. Ok probably not that big but you get the picture. This place was huge! But thats wasnt all of it either! Inside this room there was giant equipment, cabinets, and shelves all with things on them I couldn't identify. I spotted some of the giant equipment that reminded me to much of things they use at the dentist office and I shivered. This room was starting to make me uncomfortable with the more things I saw.

Slowly I looked around me and soon realized that I was on some kind of giant table. Standing up I tried to figure out exactly where I was but as I turned around I froze. There at the end of the table was a giant black and white robot with some type of blue visor over his eyes. That's when I remembered Ratchet and what had happened to me.

The black and white robot was sitting in a chair and had a cocky grin on his face as he stared down at me. He was propping his head up with one hand and the other was lying nearby tapping out some kind of rhythm I didn't recognize. "Well look who finally decided to join the party! I was hoping you would before Ratchet got back!"

I started backing up as far as I could before the new bot reached a hand over to stop me before I fell off the edge. I didn't know who this new bot was and I slowly started to shake. What happened to Ratchet?! Who was this robot?! Voicing my thoughts I quietly stuttered "W-who are you?"

"Aww come on now! You don't have to be scared of me!" The bot put on a hurt puppy do look before smiling. "My designations Jazz! Ratchet just went to go tell Prime about the latest adventure he had with you. Since he didn't want you to be alone, in case you woke up, I offered to stand in while he's away. He told me to take you to his medical bay until he returns." Jazz said while waving a hand in the air. "Although I never expected Ratchet of all bots to bring a human back. Say what's your designation anyway? Ratchet never told me."

Nervously she looked from him back at the table she was standing on. It was a relief to hear that Ratchet didn't just dump her off and leave somewhere randomly. She had almost been expecting that to happen though, after all that's what her dad had done to her more than enough times. Glancing back up at Jazz she tried to calm herself before putting on a fake smile. "My names Lexi."

To her surprise he held a finger in front of her making her jump back. After a second it clicked and she recognized it as some kind of substitute for a handshake. Grinning she stepped forward and shook it with both her hands the best she could as Jazz moved his finger slightly up and down a few times.

"How did you end up here any way?" Jazz asked.

She sighed before sitting down and leaning back on her arms. Looking up at him she gave a wry smile "Well that's a long story."

To her surprise Jazz started laughing loudly. "That's the same thing that Ratchet said when I asked what happened to him while he was out."

Smirking in amusement she said "Well at least we both got our stories straight." Taking a deep breath she started to tell him how Ratchet had almost run her over when she first met him, not on purpose I might add, and then about her father selling her to these guys, then the car going out of control and walking through the snow until Ratchet had come to her rescue before offering to take her back to the base. "And that's about it. Next thing I know I'm on this table with you watching me sleep." Frowning she thought of how creepy that last bit sounded.

Jazz facepalmed when he heard that Ratchet just about squished her flat "Leave it to him to almost run over the first human he finds." He gave her a sad smile before continuing. "Sorry to hear that all that happened to you. I'm sure everybot will probably agree with me when I say feel free to stay as long as you need." Perking up he said happily "But hay! On the up side if that stuff didn't happen I never would have gotten to meet you!" He said trying to cheer her up.

"Your the first human I've met and I have to say I'm completely surprised. I had read somewhat about you guys on your internet you humans have but I didn't think you were actually this tiny." He gently tapped her on her head with a finger.

Lexi huffed and tried to bare the aggravation of being called small while he messed with her hair. "Yeah your kinda correct on that account of us being small compared to you but most people are taller than me so dont just go calling us tiney on my account."

Smiling he said "Oh well I'll keep that in mind then. Me and the other Autobots actually only just arrived almost about a week ago. Since the only information can axcess about your kind is mostly through the internet we don't know that much about you guys yet. You're the first human I've met since I've been to busy to have gotten a chance to leave." He rubbed his helm in embarrassment. After a while there was silence as neither knew what else to say.

I started to get anxious and wondered when Ratchet would get back. Without realizing it I started to fiddle with my necklace until Jass cocked his head "What's that you got there?"

"Oh this?" I held up the shiny quartz crystal on its chain. I always admired how blue it shone in the sun and also the two small swirly engravings on the side. "It was my mother's necklace. She always use to were it befor she gave it to me for my seventh birthday, right before before she disappeared. It kinda make me feel like I'm not alone whenever I think about her so I always wear it wherever I go."

Leaning forward Jazz tried to get a better look at the smaller details. "Hmmm mind if I pick you up so I can see it better?"

I slightly pailed but quickly reminded myself that Jazz wasn't going to hurt me. Ratchet wouldn't have left me with someone he didn't trust I reminded myself. I nooded and tried to act like I didn't care as Jazz grinned. Reaching towards me he paused as I stiffened as I was surrounded by his hand. Gently wrapped his fingers around my waist and lifted me up before placing me in his palm. Grinning he held me up in front of his face. "There that wasn't so bad now was it?"

I flushed in embarrassment and tried to look elsewhere. Darn it! He had noticed that I was nervous! Jazz laughed and I shot him an annoyed look.

"Sorry you're just to cute! I couldn't help myself." he chuckled. Lexi's blushed deepened. I didn't know how to respond to that. I tried to get over my embarrassment as I held the necklace up to him. As he studied the necklace I got a good look at Jazzes vizor. I stared in amazed at the detail I could see from being so close. Unlike Ratchets eyes Jazzes blue vizor had tiny pixels that lit up in certain spots. His vizor darkened when he concentrated trying to see the little details on the stone and then suddenly lit back up when he had a thoughtful look on his face. I grinned when I realized that they light up according to his emotions. If I hadn't been this close I doubted I could have seen such small details. Jazz had a smirk on his face and I realize that I had started to drift off as I stared at him. Clearing my throat I tried to stuffle my embarrassment once more.

Grinning Jazz laughed before saying to me "Thats a pretty interesting crystal you got there. Where did you say your mom got it?"

"It was my grandmothers before she gave it to my mom. I don't know how long but I was told that its been passed down through the family for awhile now." I told him.

"Hmmm thats interesting." He mumbled with a puzzled expression.

"Why is that?" I asked also puzzled by what he meant.

"That writing on the side right there is Cybertronian." Jazz explained.

My eyes widened and I gasped. "How could that be?! I thought you said that you all only arrived last week?!"

Jazz shrugged "We did. Although from the looks of it, somebot beat us here. Maybe your mom would have an answer or if there's someone else in your family they might know."

Shaking my head I frowned "There's no one else for me to ask. It was just me, my mom, and dad while I was growing up as far as I know. And I can't ask dad because he won't tell me. Whenever I spoke about her to him, he would just get mad at me and I would get punished whenever I brought something up about her."
Looking at the crystal again in a new light I now wondered how my family got ahold of something with alien writing on it. A thought struck me "What do these two symbols mean?"

"Don't know Lexi. Maybe Optimus Prime would know. That writing is an old style back from when the first Primes ruled our planet. Way before my time. Its pretty much a forgotten text and there are very few who can still translate it." he said.

Raising an eyebrow at him I ask "Who's Optimus Prime? He sounds really old if he knows such an ancient language."

Jass tried to stuffle a chuckle "Optimus isn't really that old. He's the leader of the autobots. He was chosen to become a prime when the Matrix was passed on to him after the last Prime offlined. You see the Matrix allows the next Prime to possess all the knowledge of each of the Primes that came before him. So he should be able to tell us what your necklace says."

Letting out a yeawon I said "Oh that make sense. I should ask him sometime soon then."

Jazz gave me a strange look "What was that?"

"What was what?" I asked drowsily.

"You open and closed your mouth. Why?"

Embarrassed I looked down my hands "Uhh thats called a yawn. It just kinda happens when sometimes when we're bored or when we're tired."

Smirking he said "Well thats different. So you need to recharge then?"

Laughing, I corrected him "We call it sleep instead or recharge. And yeah I'm tired but I want to stay awake until Ratchet gets back." She nearly jumped when something rubbed her back. Embarrassed she blushed when she realized it was only Jazzes other hand.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you. I was only trying to make you feel more comfortable. Guess I did the opposite huh?" He started to move his hand away but I quickly said.

"No its ok. This is just going to take awhile to get use to this." Smiling he started to rub my back again. I relaxed into it as it got harder to keep my eyes open. Just for a moment I decided to try and forget my worries. So much had happened today and I was exhausted. Everything I had was gone but maybe it would turn out better after all I had never expected to meet giant alien robots. My life was turning upside down and it wasn't something I ever would have imagined would happen to me.

Jazz lowered her halfway down his chest to a spot that was worm "Might be awhile till he's done. And you had one exciting day remember?" Jazz reminded her.

"I'm not some little kid. I can wait." I tried to argue back but ended up mumbling it instead.

He just chuckled and gently pushed me over until I was laying down. Smiling he replied "I don't think your going to last that long. Ratchets not going anywhere else and when you wake up he will probably be back." he said. I gave a sigh before giving in and closing my eyes. Jazz was right Ratchet could be away for who knows how long. As I drifted off I herd Jazz start humming some kind of song softly. Eventually that faded into the background as she fell asleep.

~~~~~TF~~~~~

Ratchet was finishing explaining how Lexi had been sold by her Sire and how the signal appears and disappears with no explanation. "And you're sure Ratchet? This signal is originating from the girl?" Optimus said with a serious expression and his hands folded in front of him on his desk.

"As far as I can tell yes. I will need to do a further study to see what is causing it though. Lexi seems unaware of whatever it is and it doesn't seem to be doing her harm as far as I can tell, so I have yet to mention it to her." Ratchet explained. "With everything Lexi has been though and after finding out about us it might too stressful for to learn that she's producing something that might put her in danger from Decepticons."

"I agree, we should wait until she will not be so overwhelmed before telling her. Thank you Ratchet, for now let the femme recharge until the morning. Until we figure out what is causing this signal I suggest she stay inside the base for now. Our shield should dampen the signal enough so that that no one will be able to detect her if it does appear again. And of course since she has lost her home she can stay for as long as she needs to." Optimus rubbed his optics tiredly before venting out a sigh "Its late and I think we all need a good recharge. In the morning I will would like to come by and meet Lexi and see how she's doing. Then we can see how she feels about meeting the rest of the Autobots."

Ratchet nodded in agreement "I'll look forward to your visit and I'll be sure to let Lexi know beforehand. But Optimus one more thing, the base might be too dangerous for Lexi to be wandering around without everyone knowing that she is here. Humans aren't like us, they lack any protective shell and are easily damaged. A friendly pat on the back to one of us could be life threatening to one of them. If possible I would like someone to be her guardian whenever it is necessary. Humans are so small that I would hate to think what would happen if she were to accidentally get underfoot."

Optimus smiled warily "I'll assign someone in the morning." Both Optimus and Ratchet stood up out of their chairs. "It's been along time since I've seen you so concerned about someone. I'm glad that this human seems to be helping you act like yourself once again old friend."

Ratchet huffed turning to leave "I'm not concerned! Its just that we barely know anything about human biology yet and I would be next to useless if something were to happen. I just don't want to be the one who has to try to repair her if something does happen!"

Optimus sighed as Ratchet started to walk away. "Ok Ratchet. Ok. Just please...try to at least be somewhat friendly to her. Who knows what she is feeling right now."
Ratchet stopped at the door before leaving "No promises...but I won't act irrational."

~~~~~TF~~~~~

Jazz was still sitting in the chair still when Ratchet came in. Carefully he took Lexi from Jazz and scanned her while checking her over. Over the com Jazz said She woke up while you were away. On her own I might add Jazz smirked at Ratchet

How did she react to you?Ratchet asked. Glancing down at her worriedly.

Jazzes playful attitude dropped as he looked at Ratchet with a serious first she was scared but calmed down somewhat when I told her where you went and that you would be back. We talked for awhile before she got tired again, she wanted to stay awake until you got back but I managed to get her to fall back into recharge...Lexi told me that her Sire sold her and that you rescued her. I mean it Ratchet if I ever see that human don't expect me to do nothin.~

Ratchet growled out I know how you feel Jazz and I wouldn't stop you. Although I doubt that Optimus would allow us to do anything.

Jazz bounced out of his seat ~There's something I found out that you and Prime should know. Lexi showed me this 'necklace' she says she wears all the time. She called it a quartz crystal but what's unusual about it is that it has an ancient Cybertronian writing on it and she's had it long before any of us came to Earth.~

Surprised,Ratchet glanced at Lexi as she continued recharging. ~That might explain why she could be producing an energy signature. I'll have to take a look at it first though.~ He walked Jazz to the door. ~Optimus plans to see her tomorrow morning so I'll ask him about the writing then~

Jazz smiled at Ratchet as he waved walked out the door. ~Let me know what you guys find out.~ Jazz grinned mischievously ~I know how cute she is but try not to have too much fun with your femme~ he said wiggling his visor up and down before taking off laughing as he ran. A wretch went sailing after him down the hall and clattered against the wall as Jazz ducked down a corner.

Fuming Ratchet walked over to a table and set Lexi down carefully without waking her up. She still had the wound that she had gotten from when he had made the car crash into the tree he had cut down. Guilt pulled at his spark but he ignored it. What was done was done and it was the only way he could think of to get Lexi out of the car without hurting the humans inside too badly. Looking around at his equipment he paused before searching the internet on ways to treat cuts.

Thank Primus she wasn't that badly damaged. It would be simple to repair a cut this size. Since he didn't have any hydroperoxide that was recommended he used the second best thing as he grabbed a cup warm of water and a clean cloth before ripping a long piece off. Dabbing the rest of the cloth in the water he lifted up her shirt just high enough over the wound on her side. Lexi squirmed in her sleep and Ratchet stopped cleaning the cut until she settled back into a deeper recharge. Once he was done cleaning it he took the long piece of cloth he had set aside and carefully wrapped it around her side with some difficulty before tying it as best as he could. Relieved that her wound wouldn't leak anymore he threw away the cloth and extra water.

Now that she was taking care of they both could get some recharge. He walked through a door that was connected to his med bay. Glancing around he wondered what to do with Lexi as he entered his room. He had a table and chair next to his maintenance drawers, a shelf with data pads on it, his berth, and a table beside it. Looking the information up, he found it to be similar to Cybertronian sleeping arrangements but instead of a hard platform for a berth they recharged on a soft bed instead. Grabbing two clean cloths he kept in his maintenance drawer, he folded one up until it was thick enough and then placed it on the table near his berth. Careful not to wake her, he set Lexi down on the 'bed' and laid the other cloth over her for her 'blanket. Smirking to himself, he looked at how she was practically swallowed up as she had sunk into her improvised bed and the cloth covered her completely. Her head was the only thing that stuck out from underneath the so called blanket. Tomorrow he could try to get something that was more her size...In the back of his processor the word cute popped up before he quickly snorted and pushed the thought away. Glancing at her one last time he turned off the lights. Tomorrow was going to be extra an busy day.

~~~~~Lexi-?~~~~~

Lexi unconsciously tossed and turned in her bed. Her head started to pound as a headache started to take ahold. In her dreams she saw bits and pieces of things she didn't understand. It was to jumbled up and pieces that she did see where to blurry to make out. Whoever it was she was dreaming about though, she could feel everything from him. Fear of being trapped, hope as the figure ran, pain that was drawn out, then sadness, guilt, and loss.

Lexi slowly relaxed as the presents in her mind struggled and push the feelings away. He felt guilty but did his best to stay as far away as he could from Lexis half of conciseness. Only occasionally when she needed someone did he try connect with her to offer her help or comfort. It was becoming too dangerous for him to do so but now that she was with the Autobots it might make things easier if Ratchet could discover him in time and suppress his corner that he took up in her mind. If anyone could do it Ratchet could.

Thanks to 1234Devyn for the Review last chapter! I'm happy to find out that there are people who are enjoying the story I'm writing. Please tell me what you think! This is my first story after . Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as well.