Chapter 21

It can only get worse before it gets better.

I want to sincerely thank everyone for his and/or her reviews. It really means so much to me. Seeing the traffic stats has really been uplifting for me too.

I will have to take another break after this for about a week or so until my schedule goes steady again. This is Vegas we work weekends here. LOL

I do not own Transformers

It was the weekend, and it was cooler outside. Gabby had the day off, so she decided to go sit out by the lake. She was getting restless to get out and about. She felt like a prisoner here at NEST. Her and Optimus had not spoken since that night, which was only a few days ago. There were a few soldiers milling around, and Ratchet was still working on Ironhide. She had volunteered to help him, but he said no.

The word around base was Galloway was getting news of Optimus's actions, and that he was calling for them to leave Earth again. Mearing was suggesting they move to somewhere in either Arizona or Nevada by themselves. She was also concerned about Optimus as of late. In a way, Gabby could not blame her.

They were still keeping SonicBreak prisoner. He was not budging, and from what Lennox had told her they couldn't afford to keep him forever. Gabby knew what that meant.

She watched as the lake rippled in the breeze. She was in no mood to speak to anyone. Ratchet had been quiet. You could cut the tension on the base with a knife. The Autobots doubted their leader, and the humans were afraid of him again.

Gabby knew she would have to step in eventually. They all looked to her to save the day.

She scoffed at the thought. She was no fucking hero. She had no idea what is going through Optimus's processors right now. And if she tried to get through to him, what if he didn't respond? What if he just pushed her away? What if she decided to push him away? What was going on with him?

He was kind of reminding her of her brother, when he first came back from Iraq. The pain of war took its toll. With Gabby being shot that only made things worse, and opened up a can of worms that had been closed for so long.

Optimus was gone again from the base. However, with Mearing's insistence he had taken the twins, Dino, and Sideswipe with him.

Whenever him or Gabby would pass each other, it would be stares again. Neither one wanting to budge, neither one wanting to say anything for fear of a fight.

Optimus also stayed in robot mode. Not that Gabby didn't love him just as much in that form but she missed the heat of his holoform against hers.

Gabby fought back fresh tears. She missed everything about him. Where was he? What world was he in right now? How could she handle this?

"Gabby?"

The voice so startled Gabby that she reached for her gun. She now carried her Glock at all times.

"Whoa, Gabby. It's ok."

She turned and looked up to see Bee's holoform looking down at her. His hands were up in surrender.

There was a couple standing a little behind him.

Gabby didn't know them, and it was obvious they were civilians.

She stood up eyeing them with some suspicion. She was kind of embarrassed. She had old ripped jeans on with a tan T-shirt and flip-flops. Her hair wasn't exactly combed, and she knew she had puffy eyes.

"I'm sorry Bee. I didn't hear you guys walk up," she said smiling and blushing.

They laughed a little. Feeling awkward.

The man standing before her was a little shorter than her, and way shorter than the woman beside him. He had very dark, short, wavy hair, and hazel eyes. The woman was a model! She was tall, and very thin. Her long light brown hair flowed past her shoulders in waves. Her blue eyes glinted in amusement. They were both younger than Gabby, but not too much. She suspected mid-twenties. The woman was also sporting a huge ring. They were engaged. Gabby fingered her necklace. She still refused to take it off. She held out hope.

Gabby realized who they might be.

"Gabby, I wanted to introduce you to Sam and Carly," Bee said smiling.

Sam walked up to Gabby first, and instead of a handshake he hugged her. Gabby was surprised, but found it very nice.

"It is so nice to meet you!" He said with a laugh at Gabby's reaction. "I have gotta say that is one hell of an accent you got there."

Gabby scratched her head and blushed. "Jersey girl."

Sam and Carly laughed. "I know I went to school out there. I haven't heard it in a while."

"Gabby this is my fiancé, Carly," he said smiling at the woman.

Carly also hugged Gabby. "So nice to see you," she said. Gabby was surprised to hear the British accent.

"You too!"

Gabby felt her mood lighten. Sam and her started comparing their schools, and ribbing each other a little. This was the first time she smiled in a while.

"So, what brings you both out here?" Gabby asked.

Gabby found out they had moved back to California after the events in Chicago. Sam had wanted to live a quieter life with Carly they were planning on getting married by the end of the year. They were thinking about getting married in England so Carly could be with her family.

"We are just visiting for a few days. Can't go too long without seeing my buddy," Sam said patting Bee's shoulder.

Gabby smiled at that. She could see the mutual love between the two. It was a friendship and a bond that could not be broken.

"We wanted to know if you wanted to get out of here for while, and go to lunch with us?" Carly asked.

Sam rolled his eyes. "In other words, she wants to go shopping."

Carly hit him on the shoulder, and Bee and Gabby snickered. "Well, that too. The Magnificent Mile is rebuilt again you know."

She grinned at Gabby.

Gabby so badly wanted to go. "I don't think I am dressed for that."

Carly grabbed her hand. "Oh come on, the boys can wait. We know what is going on, and you need to get out for a while."

The rest of the afternoon was a whirlwind of activity. Carly had come to see Gabby's room. They talked about mostly family and other things. Gabby hugged Carly who had lost her brother in Afghanistan. They cried together as they compared the military backgrounds, and Michael's suicide attempt. Gabby had the sneaky suspicion there was more to this lunch than just making new friends, but for right now she needed a good time.

They went and had lunch. Carly and Gabby broke off with the boys and went shopping. Gabby threw caution to the wind. She was never much of a shopper, but today she bought tons of new work clothes, and casual stuff. Shopping really did ease a hurting heart, she thought warily. Now where she would put all this shit was a different story.

Finally, they sat by the river admiring the view. Gabby had immediately felt comfortable with Sam Witwicky and his fiancé Carly. It was like they had been friends forever. They all had one thing in common, and Gabby knew that's what connected them.

Sam and Bee were sitting there doing guy things. Who could throw the stone the furthest, elbowing each other, wrestling around. Bee won every time. Gabby and Carly laughed at them.

Finally, they walked back over and sat down. Apparently, this was some kind of message, so Carly stood and said her and Bee were going for a walk. Gabby knew this was coming. She wondered what Sam could possibly say to her. She really didn't want to go into her relationship with Optimus.

"Gabby….." he began quietly. He was looking off in the distance.

"Sam, if this is about Optimus I really don't want to talk about it," she said feeling her sadness come on inside her again.

"Gabby, hear me out ok?"

Reluctant, Gabby agreed, and nodded for him to continue.

"Optimus is my friend. We have saved each other's lives twice. I knew after Chicago he was down and out, but I didn't think it was this bad. He was already suffering inside his mind before Chicago, and after. Then Bee told me about you, and I thought there was hope again. When I found out you had been shot, you have no idea how I prayed that you would live."

He turned to her and smiled. "Here you are."

Gabby felt tears sting her eyes, but she tried to hold back.

"The thing is Gabby, he had already lost one mate, and it would have killed him to lose you."

Gabby gasped. No one had ever told her about a previous mate. "How did he lose her?"

Sam looked down at his hands and back to her. "She was an Autobot named Arial, and when Orion became Optimus, she became Elita. She was shot down."

Gabby felt the rush of tears.

Sam continued, "But there was one thing he told me himself that you, you were different. This was different. He had put away his promise never to get involved with a human until you. It really surprised him how you put your life on the line to help with Barricade. Believe me, I have had Barricade in my face, and it is not pretty."

Sam laughed softly at the memory.

Sam shook his head. "Bee told me everything that has been happening. I never thought he would react like this, but you getting shot was too much for him. You may have lived, but it still broke him. They are just as human as us when it comes to those things. Then he has to look at his best friends bodies everyday, and deal with idiots like Galloway. It is a burden I could never carry."

Gabby thought she saw Sam's eyes wet, but it was hard to tell in the light.

"I don't know what to do anymore," Gabby said softly in between sobs.

Sam put a hand on her shoulder. "Neither do we."

He looked at Gabby's necklace, and smiled softly. "I have seen that. You earned it."

"It can only get worse from here Gabby, before it gets better. That I can tell you but I ask you not to give up because we are not. Right now it is up to him to come back from wherever he is right now. I know the Autobots will stick with him till the end. If I know Optimus, in the end, he will not go the way of Sentinal."

Gabby wiped away her tears, and smiled to Sam.

"I know one thing. He does love you more than anything I have ever seen."

…

The ride back to the base was quiet. Bee stayed in his holoform as he drove with Carly and Sam in the backseat and Gabby in the front with Bee.

They helped Gabby with her bags to her room, and they all hugged tightly, and said their goodbyes. Carly and Sam wanted to spend some time with Bee alone before they flew back to Los Angeles. She felt good to make two more good friends.

Gabby was exhausted, but it felt so good to get off of NEST base again.

Gabby had been thinking about doing something on the way back to NEST. Now, she would try.

She walked to the main hall. The place was really quiet. The soldiers who were there were sitting watching some baseball game on TV, and there seemed to be no one else around.

She spotted Ratchet outside recharging. He always likes to sit outside to recharge, and the other Autobots were with him. This was her chance. There was no sign of Optimus. Gabby would have rather seen him, and try to talk to him, but it would have to wait.

She kept going over and over this situation in her head. She knew she could get into deep shit from it, but decided to anyway.

She walked into the office where Jazz and Ironhide lay quietly on their gurneys. She sent her regards, and silently promised them she would bring them back. She didn't spot Brains in his usual spot. He must have been with Wheelie. This could not have been more perfect.

Then she spotted the MPs. Damn! They looked bored, but they eyed her warily.

They were still guarding SonicBreak. Have no fear, she thought. Ratchet had shown her a secret entrance he made to the drone graveyard a while back.

"Hey guys!" She said casually walking over to her desk to get her notebook. She would drop it somewhere on her way and get it later.

"Hey Gabby," they said in unison.

She picked it up trying to stay as casual as she could. "Did you guys see Brains anywhere? I wanted to do some paperwork."

"Yeah, he went running off with the matchbook car a little while ago," the one said.

Both soldiers snickered. They meant Wheelie. Gabby rolled her eyes, and said thanks she was going to go hunt them down.

She slipped out through the main door and to the side of the building. Ratchet had found a place with no cameras to get into the graveyard.

She casually walked by the last of the cameras and dropped her notebook into a corner. She would get it later. Not that there was anything important on it anyway.

Still eyeing the area and not spotting a soul in site, she made it to the door. Though her heart was pounding in her ears. Using her copy of the key, she slipped into the darkened warehouse type area. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, and she quickly closed the door. She was then bathed in the blackness for a few moments before the low lights finally showed themselves to her eyes.

She could hear the faint scraping of metal, and wheezing off in the distance. SonicBreak was trying to escape, but they had him tied down pretty good, and he was injured severely courtesy of Optimus.

She made her way through the maze of drone bodies. She felt nervous as she approached the Decepticon. The shooting ran across her thoughts. She felt the phantom pain in her side. Sweat started to wet her brow. Taking a deep breath, she knew she had to do this. She was not going to back down.

She reached for her Glock making sure it was ready at her hip if need be.

The Decepticon struggled against his ties. He was completely tacked to the ground. Half of his face was dented in, one optic completely gone.

She heard him talk low in his language. Sparks flashed here and there. His wings were off, and were sitting in a corner where he could not reach. She also spotted some weapons also sitting in a corner.

He felt her presence. Gabby was behind him, and he turned his head towards her. Gabby reached for her gun, but relaxed when he turned away.

He still struggled against his the wires that were holding him down. His hands were behind his back. She could see the small amount of energon leaking to the floor.

He spotted her and smiled through his faceplates. Though it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Oh look, it's Optimus's human toy," he said and then coughed. "Did you come here because you came to your senses, and realized the Prime is weak in the mind?"

Gabby ignored the insult, and stared him down. Though she was shaking on the inside.

"I seriously doubt you could satisfy a rock," she shot back.

The Decepticon growled, but snickered. "Feisty. No wonder Laserbeak couldn't kill you."

"I have to give you props femme. You fucked him up pretty good," he commented.

"I will take that as a compliment, I guess," Gabby said crossing her arms.

He still struggled against the wires. He finally gave up wheezing heavily.

He turned to her again, and asked, "What do you want femme?"

"You have something I need," she said.

The Decepticon looked surprised. "So do you," he said lowly and menacingly.

Gabby would not be intimidated. "What is going to happen when you are released back to Starscream?"

"If your boyfriend doesn't kill me first, I will be as good as dead if I don't return with those plans."

"Well, then you might as well just tell me where your main base is, and maybe Optimus will show you some mercy in death."

"Give me the plans!" He growled.

He struggled against his hold again, and Gabby backed away a few steps. She put her hand on her Glock just in case.

He looked at her, and said," You think you're so brave with me being tied down?"

"It's so tragic. Here you are in a graveyard among your brothers, and you know what your fate will be. Yet, you don't want to do the right thing. I bet this would be different if Megatron had lived."

SonicBreak growled again. "Hail Megatron! Starscream is an idiot, and he is no leader."

"Then why do you continue to?"

SonicBreak laughed sarcastically. "Do you think that I am stupid femme? I know your game."

Gabby smirked. "Your smarter than I thought. Good job."

The Decepticon laughed at his own smarts.

Gabby sighed loudly. "Well, I guess this is going nowhere. You have something I need, and I have something you need. Both of us are not willing to give in, so I will be going."

Gabby turned to walk to the secret door, but she moved slowly just in case…..

"Wait!" He called to her back. Bingo!

Gabby turned around looking skeptical. "What is it SonicBreak?"

"I knew you would come. I knew it would be you."

Gabby narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

SonicBreak scoffed. "Everything is not all that it seems Gabrielle Ryan."

Gabby thought for a moment. He was going to tell her, why she didn't know.

"Well, the world is full of secrets."

SonicBreak laughed lowly again. He wheezed and tried to adjust his position. Gabby realized he was dying. She kind of felt sad for him. Maybe it had to be her to put him out of his misery.

"There is someone who watches your every move, your every step," he continued.

Gabby moved closer to him. "Stop with the riddles! Tell me what you know."

"It's a human." He coughed, and some energon began drooling from his mouth.

Gabby took a few steps back. Her face paled. Was it Dylan Gould? No, Sam killed him. Questions raced through her mind. Who the hell was the human who betrayed the Autobots now?

"Do you think that Starscream gives a shit about your relationship with the Prime? No! This guy hired Laserbeak to kill you."

Gabby moved closer to SonicBreak again. She softly touched his faceplates. He didn't flinch. He looked at her with a sad eye. "You're a good femme. Thank you. I see why the Prime is in love with you."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

The robot looked at the ground and around at his brothers. "Just make it fast after I tell you."

Gabby moved back again, and checked her Glock. She felt the tears coming into her eyes. She never killed someone ever not even a robot, but this was a mercy killing. Right through the spark.

The Decepticon wheezed and coughed again. "Your enemy is right under that pretty little nose of yours. The Prime hasn't even guessed it yet, I think."

Gabby looked at him again waiting. She took aim.

"Tell me," she said lowly.

"Gal-"

SonicBreak didn't even get to finish. A loud bang rang out and the shot hit him squarely in the chest. Sparks flew, and his spark shorted out. His good eye went dark.

Gabby was thrown back a few feet, and landed on her butt from the force of the shot.

Gabby looked to where the shot came from and saw Optimus standing there with his gun smoking.

Gabby could hardly believe what he had just done. She stood and looked up to him. She felt like she just met this Autobot for the first time.

Her emotions ran crazy, the sound of the shot still ringing in her ears. She shook her head in disbelief. She felt the tears come as she looked over the now deceased SonicBreak.

"Why did you do that?!"

That was all she could think to ask.

Author's note; Guys, please don't give up on Optimus or think he is turning to the dark side of the force. :P Believe me there is a reason he killed SonicBreak, but Gabby doesn't know that yet. You will find out soon enough. This is all part of my plan. =)