Ratchet was not expecting anyone. It had been blessedly quiet all day. With the Terror Twins separated, he was even spared from their pranking. It was the kind of day that he enjoyed most, where he was even able to mentally read a pdf book off the internet while working. As such, he was very relaxed and at ease for the most part- something that rarely happened.

It also meant that he was very easily startled.

So when the med bay doors suddenly slammed open, he practically jumped out of his plating, the tools he was working with tumbling from his fumbling hands and clattering down onto the table. "Primus!" Ratchet cursed,

"RATCHET!"
"WHAT?!" He whipped around, and stopped cold for a split second before launching into action. Smokescreen stood in the doorway, Bluestreak draped over his arms, his expression terrified and half panicked. "On the berth, now." Ratchet was quick to point, and Smokescreen complied without a word, settling his young family member down on the berth's surface.

Without a word, the CMO instantly got to work, focusing on stopping the Energon from leaking out of Bluestreak. Smokescreen hovered nearby for a moment, before dodging out of the way of a wrench that was hastily thrown in his direction. "GET OUTTA MY MED BAY! I got work to do, fraggit!" The snarl had the gambler fleeing out of the med bay, despite his worry and desperate desire to stay near the downed sniper.

Once he was gone, Ratchet relaxed, falling into the steady, quick rhythm that came with repairing one of his fellow Cybertronians.

He grimaced in horror as he being pulling off the metal plating to get to the protoform beneath. The metal had bent and pierced inward, cutting more than a few lines and causing severe damage. The first step would be to clamp those off. Grimly reaching behind Blue's head while working, he reached within the cranium and clicked the nervous system off. While dangerous, he would spare Bluestreak whatever pain he could, and that was the best way to do so.

"Hold on, Blue."

The quiet reassurance was all he could offer.

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When supper time rolled around, Lilah found herself back at base. She had spent most of her day spending time with Mocha, and smiling goofily at the letter. What was it about receiving letters that made people so happy? It took more time than an email to write, and it took more time to reach you, leaving you in suspense if you knew it was coming. And something about receiving one just sent all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings through you.

And so it was with no surprise that everyone found Lilah nearly skipping down the halls, she was so giddy and joyful. Soldiers threw her bemused looks as she passed with a wild smile, a spring in her step, and a wave for everyone. Like a little kid on Christmas.

Lilah swung around a corner and into the cafeteria, wondering what Sunstreaker was up to, and if her favorite sniper had finished with his mission, when she spotted the very yellow Autobot she had just been thinking about. Well, one of the bots she had been thinking about, in any case.

He was sitting at one of the tables with a cube of energon in hand, smirking at something a bot sitting with him was saying. Hang on, that other bot…

Sideswipe.

That meant Blue was back!

Beaming widely, Lilah bee-lined straight for them, wanting to get details on Bluestreak's whereabouts from them. The moment Sideswipe noticed her approach, he grinned widely and nudged Sunstreaker, saying something to him that instantly turned Sunny's smirk into a scowl. Two pairs of blue eyes flew to her, seeming to stare right through her, as though knowing all she was, all she had been, and all she would ever be.

Lilah felt an uneasy, nervous tingle claw its way down her spine, but didn't allow that to turn her away. She had faced far worse.

Lilah stuck to her guns.

When she got close enough to the table, she grabbed onto the nicely placed ladder on the side, and cautiously made her way up it. The Terror Twins seemed to patiently wait for her- though she doubted patience was something they had in large supply of. Popping up over the side of the table, Lilah pulled herself up and climbed to her feet.

'Hi!' The signing with combined with a wide, cheerful smile,

'Hello.' Sideswipe, surprisingly, signed back- though something about his smile seemed… off. Almost guilty? It made her wonder.

Sunstreak snorted and decided not to greet her. Though he gave her a grudging nod of acceptance to her presence. Lilah counted that as a win.

'Whats up?' Sides shifted nervously in his seat, making Lilah frown, and the way he signed it conveyed a tone of forced casualness. A red flag went up.

'Just here for supper. Is Blue back too?' She tried to ignore the flag,

'Yeah, yeah he is but-' Sideswipe stopped for a moment, a panicked look on his face, before he forced a nervous grin and sped through his signing, as though hoping she wouldn't get it all, or perhaps hoping that she would just let it go. 'He's really busy right now. Like, really busy. I think Optimus is having him do something important.'

Sideswipe was a horrible liar. Another red flag went up.

Sunstreaker facepalmed and seemed to let out a groan- though LIlah missed it if he did. Her eyes narrowed, and Sideswipe shrinked back in his seat. She didn't hear the little 'meep' that left him, but Sunstreaker did- and he recorded it as blackmail for later with a small smirk on his face.

'What's going on?'

'Nothing!' Now Sides was defensive, 'Nothing is going on! What do you mean?'

'You are a horrible liar.'

'I'm a great liar, thank you very much!' He stopped abruptly then, catching onto his mistake, before letting his head hang forward as he realized he was caught. There was no wiggling his way out of this one. Lilah stepped closer, making eye contact with him. 'What's going on, Sideswipe?' The signing of his name was awkward, and took some time, but she managed it. The red Autobot winced and looked at his twin for help, but Sunstreaker just snorted and closed his optics, a little smirk playing on his lips.

He was enjoying his twin's squirming.

Finally, Sideswipe huffed, pouted, and looked back at Lilah with some form of resolve. Though, she sincerely doubted he enjoyed any part of what was happening. 'I'm sorry, Lilah.' Her eyebrows jumped up in surprise. She didn't think he knew her name.

And then dread set in. Why was he apologizing? Something had happened. Horror clenched her insides and Lilah found her hands drawing into fists out of fear.

'He was injured during the mission.' Sides signed slowly, looking miserable and guilty about what happened,

'Where is he?' Lilah's hands were quick and desperate,

'In the med bay, but I doubt-'

Lilah didn't wait for the rest of what Sideswipe was saying. Instead, she whipped around and practically fell down the ladder without too much regard for her safety, unlike normal. Luckily, she reached the ground safely, and Lilah instantly fled out of the cafeteria, paying no mind to anyone around her. Only the mind numbing terror existed, and the need to get to Bluestreak and make certain he was okay. She had never felt such fear before.

Why would Sideswipe hide it? Clearly it was bad. Real bad, if he felt he had to hide it from her. The thought had her heart clenching in her chest sharply.

Ducking and dodging around people, Lilah made it to the med bay in record time.

She had only ever been through those giant metal door maybe once a month, for her checkups. Lilah had never actually gone through the doors willingly or voluntarily. The medic that resided within intimidated her more than just a little. But even that intimidation couldn't keep Lilah from reaching her destination. Reaching out in near blind panic, she shoved the large doors open. They flew out with the slightest touch, thanks to how they were designed. But Lilah did not care about their design at that moment.

Running as quickly as she could without tripping, Lilah scampered into the med bay and began heading for the back, her eyes searching over the med bay berths for her target.

Lilah hoped he wasn't there.

She hoped he wasn't really injured.

She hoped this was all a joke to see her reaction.

Lilah stopped dead in her tracks.

Slowly, she raised her hands to her trembling mouth. Bluestreak was laid out on a med berth, and she could make out a great deal of his injuries. Most of his outer metal had been removed, revealing a black, slightly shiny inside, which had been patched in places with a gray, square shaped material that stood out against it. His outer metal was laid out on another berth next to him. It was twisted and painful looking, and Lilah could not imagine how agonizing it had been to have it on. Bluestreak seemed to be out cold, as he didn't move when she slowly got closer, and laid as still as a rock.

Stifling a sob, Lilah gave in to the urge to be closer to the sniper, and raced over to the ladder on the side of the berth. With little regard for her safety, she clambered up quickly, threw herself up onto the berth's surface, and hurried over to his side, tripping and stumbling as she went, tears blinding her.

At last, she collapsed beside his arm, and laid herself partially over his arm, desperately clinging to him. Tears spilled out, and Lilah laid there, holding onto Bluestreak like a lifeline.

He was precious to her. Had she not known that before now? Had she taken him for granted? It was a horrifying, terrifying feeling. Lilah could not seem to hold him to her tight enough. Could not seem to get close enough.

What had happened to Bluestreak? It made her shudder to imagine.

Unbeknownst to her, the resident CMO was stopped in the doorway from his personal quarters, one arm braced up against the doorframe, and his other dangling at his side, wrench in hand. Thinking it was the twins, or Smokescreen again, he had come charging out of his room ready to unleash hell on whatever poor, unsuspecting persons had entered. But now, Ratchet stood nearly stock still, watching with sympathetic eyes.

He knew what that was like. To be at the side of someone you cared deeply for, and being unable to do anything about it while they suffered. It was despairing. Painful.

Deciding it wouldn't hurt anything to leave them be, knowing Lilah wouldn't cause any problems, he drew back and shut the door to his quarters.

For a moment, Ratchet wondered if there was anything he could do for her. But any consolation he could offer, any kind words- they all seemed to fall flat. Like pandering, useless statements that had no place here. Nothing could magically make this seem a little brighter, and he let out a slow, deep sigh, rubbing his face.

Nothing was even for certain at the moment. That, itself, was more than a little concerning for Ratchet.

A small hand brushed against his ankle and lower leg, bringing his eyes down to the small, helmet clad, female human at his side. She gave him a reassuring half smile, silently encouraging him to come back to bed and just rest, as he had been running himself ragged for the past few hours and more than needed it. Giving a small smile, Ratchet let go of what he could not control, scooped up his human, and headed back to his berth.

He would hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

(AN: So sorry about this! I've been working on Pierce My Silence for the most part.

But rest assured my lovelies, I have not forgotten this, and I will never abandon a story c:)