Note: I do not own Transformers. I do, however, have my own oc's Reese Shields, Chase Sanders, and Lyric (minor character). Electra is my sister's Character.

Chapter 25

This chapter takes place during the episode "New Recruit"

Reese, Raf, and Jack sat on the sofa scanning the internet for more Bumblebee sightings. It didn't take them long to find a clear shot of him on a conspiracy website.

"Bumblebee, you silly bot, you gotta stop showing your face to the public!" Reese laughed as she playfully punched Bumblebee's arm.

"What can I say? The camera loves me!" Bumblebee chuckled.

"Bumblebee sightings on the world wide web and no laughing matter you two," Ratchet scolded from his station at one of the computer consoles.

"Don't worry about it Ratchet. I will just scrub this pick of Bumblebee and replace it with the tap-dancing monkey," Raf tried to reassure, not much to Ratchet's amusement.

"Hey, what's that?" Jack pointed at another picture on the conspiracy website.

Raf clicked on the pic and enlarged it. "It looks kinda like a Cybertronian escape pod."

"What would a Cybertronian escape pod be doing in Earth's atmosphere?" Reese wondered aloud.

"I don't know. Here, let me put it up on the main display," Raf pressed a few keys on his laptop and the image suddenly appeared on the main screen for all to see.

"Is it autobot or decepticon?" Arcee asked as she walked over to get a closer look.

"It's impossible to tell. The resolution is much too pixilated." Ratchet tried to get a get a clearer image, but it was no use.

"Well, whatever faction it's a part of, it could still be a trap, and we are one team member down," Arcee cautioned. "Maybe we should reach out to Wheeljack."

"Excuse me, I can hear you, ya know," Bulkhead snapped from the floor where he was doing leg exercises with Miko. He still hadn't regained the strength in his legs to walk, but Miko was training him hard to get him back in shape.

"I don't care if Bulkhead is still recovering from his injuries and isn't fit for combat. After the revenge stunt that Wheeljack pulled with Miko, he can stay rogue. He put her life into danger, as well as his own. His disregard for human safety, or any safety for that matter, should not be tolerated." Ratchet snapped.

"Either way, an autobot may be in distress. Ratchet bring your medical kit. We are going to go investigate the crash site," Optimus ordered as he fired up the groundbridge. "Arcee, Bumblebee, Tracks, I want you three to come as well. We might need backup."

"Optimus, are you sure it's safe? What if it's a decepticon?" Reese asked Optimus with concern etched across her face.

"Don't worry Reese. We will be careful," Optimus reassured her before leading the others through the groundbridge.

"I sure hope so. I don't want to have to help Ratchet patch any of your up when you get back." Reese called out to them as she closed the groundbridge behind them.

Reese paced nervously back in forth in front of the ground bridge controls. She desperately wanted to know what was going on and who was inside that escape pod. She feared that it might be a powerful decepticon.

She almost jumped out of her skin when Optimus' voice came in over the intercom.

"Reese, open a groundbridge, please."

"Optimus! Right away!" Reese ran for the controls and reopened the previous coordinates. She and the other watched in anticipation as the team filed back into the base, followed by a new member.

"Everyone, meet Smokescreen. He was the one who was inside the escape pod we found." Optimus explained when he saw the quizzical expressions on everyone's faces.

Reese waved to the new red, white, and blue bot. He was a younger bot, probably about Bumblebee's age.

"Whoa, we haven't had anybody new here since Wheeljack! So Smoke, tell me your story. Where did you come from? How did you get here? How many blasters ya packing?" Miko jumped right in and introduced herself to Smokescreen.

"So, are these the indigenous life forms we are supposed to protect? They are kinda weird. Are they like that one?" Smokescreen asked as he pointed to a very giddy Miko.

"Thankfully no, but I must say that I do share Miko's curiosity as to how you came to earth, in a decepticon escape pod no less," Ratchet replied.

"Yall still don't trust me? Talk about a tough crowd. Well, back during the war for Cybertron, the decepticon forces broke through the barricade protecting Iacon. They began storming the facility, and my battle partner, Electra, and I were the only ones standing between them and Alpha Trion. Let me tell you that I was stoked! I was so ready for whatever action awaited me! This was my chance to finally prove myself! But then, everything went black, and when I came to, I was on a decepticon prisoner transport vessel, and both Electra and the Big A were nowhere to be seen. I managed to break free and snag an escape pod. I guess it was a long distance one, because it knocked me into stasis, and the next think I knew, I was hitting the ground, hard! Crazy right?" Smokescreen told his story. He was a very animated story teller, making lots of hand gestures when talking.

"The decepticon warship must have picked up on the distress signal from the escape pod and sent a team to retrieve it, thinking one of their own was on the inside. That would explain the welcoming committee," Ratchet mused.

"Anyways, that's my life story. Not the grand and glorious life I had planned, until now! Look at me, I'm here with Optimus Prime! I always knew I was destined for great things. I mean, now that you have me to help, how hard can it be to end this war?"

A loud scraping sound coming from one of the corridors distracted Smokescreen, however. It was Bulkhead limping towards the group.

"Take a good look, newbie. This is how hard!" Bulkhead was angry. He was angry at the new guy for being so naïve, and he was angry at the others because he felt they had replaced him.

"Smokescreen, perhaps you should take a bit to acclimate to your new surroundings. You could start with a tour of the base," Optimus sensed the tension and did his best to diffuse it by getting Smokescreen out of Bulkhead's way.

"I on it, Chief," Miko saluted the bot and prepared to give Smokescreen the grand tour, but when she saw Bulkhead's disappointed face, she quickly changed her mind. "Actually, what I meant to say was that Reese would love to give Smokescreen a tour!"

"Wait, What? How did I get roped into this?" Reese looked confused and bewildered but took the job anyways. "Alright Smokescreen, we'll start with the training rooms, I guess."

She led the new bot out of the main room and down one of the corridors to the training bays. She could feel the tension in the room and was glad to get a break from it as well.

"Here is where we usually do most of our training, when we aren't on the field that is. Bumblebee and Agent Fowler have taught me much of what I know." Reese motioned to the large open rooms that was full of large concrete targets. "It's not much, but it works. Here, lets move onto the storage bays."

Reese led Smokescreen down several more hallways until they came to one lined with storage rooms, each room containing an found Iacon relic.

"These are the relics we have been able to find so far. I am sure you already know most of them, though, considering that you worked at Iacon."

"Yea, I've seen 'em. Well, most of 'em, anyways. That one is new. What kind of relic is she?" Smokescreen pointed to the room that had Airachnid's stasis pod.

"She is the kind of relic you don't want to mess with. Actually, she was Arcee's arch enemy, until we captured her. From what I have heard about her, she's a real creep. I hate spiders, and I can rightfully say I hate spider-bots as well."

"I heard about bots like her during the war. Cybertronians were experimented on and fused with organic matter. Torturous, gruesome creatures. She must have been the result of one of those experiments."

"Hey, not all techno-organics are bad! Just because technology is mixed with organic matter, doesn't make a person gruesome or disgusting!" Reese whipped around and glared at Smokescreen.

"Give me one good example of a techno-organic that isn't some freaky science experiment gone wrong," Smokescreen challenged.

"I'll give you a good example! You're looking at one right now!" Reese yelled as she transformed right in front of the newbie bot. "You really should learn to think before you speak! I don't exactly like being called a freaky science experiment gone wrong!"

"Whoa, whoa, I didn't know." Smokescreen held up his hands in surrender and backed away a bit. There was a mixture of disgust and fascination in his optics. "If you don't mind, I am curious to know how exactly you came to be a techno-organic. Were you experimented on as well?"

"In a way, yes, but that is not the reason I am a techno-organic. The CNA was already in my body long before MECH got a hold of me. Tracks, the blue sportscar Cybertronian on the team, well, he's my grandfather. He bonded with a human here on earth and they had my dad. My dad then got married and they had me. The CNA inside me wasn't reawakened, however, until MECH decided to flood my system with energon and augment me with cybernetic implants." Reese grimaced at the memory and transformed back into her human form. "I was lucky I had the CNA in my body, otherwise the energon would have killed me."

"Wow, I thought that those crazy experiments ended with the war on Cybertron. Who would have thought that something like that could be going on here on Earth. I'm sorry Reese. You are right; I should learn to think before I speak."

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's just a bit of a touchy subject for me, but, your new, you had no way of knowing that I was a techno-organic." Reese sighed and continued walking down the hallway. She already needed a break from the new bot.

They made their way back into the main room of the base just in time to see the team preparing to leave for a mission.

"Hey! Now you're talking! Let's go scramble up some con circuits!" Smokescreen pounded his fist into his other server and was ready to jump into action.

Reese just rolled her eyes and turned to go back to her room. She didn't know how to take Smokescreen's brash personality.

"Smokescreen, given your limited field experiment, I think that you should have further training before you go into the field. Furthermore, we live on this planet as robots in disguise. You need to acquire a suitable vehicle mode before you can go out into the field," Optimus instructed the eager young soldier.

"Hey, new wheels? I'm ready!" Smokescreen said excitedly. He didn't even care at this point that he wasn't going on this current mission, he had just been given a new one by his idol, Optimus Prime.

"Reese, why don't you help Smokescreen find an earth-based vehicle mode," Optimus suggested to the quickly retreating girl. Her shoulders slumped but she put on a smile and straightened back up as she turned back to face Optimus.

"Sure Optimus, I'd love to," she said through clenched teeth. The last thing she wanted to do was spend one more minute dealing with Smokescreen, but she would never tell that to Optimus. "C'mon Smokescreen, lets get you a vehicle mode."

Ratchet bridged Reese and Smokescreen to a nearby ridge that overlooked one of the main roads leading into Jasper. They would have to find a vehicle mode there.

They both got down, close to the ground, and peered over the edge of the ridge down at the cars passing by below. There were plenty of cars, but they were all either old rust buckets or construction vehicles.

"Gosh, is this the best your planet has to offer?" Smokescreen scoffed in disgust. He clearly was not impressed with what he was seeing.

"No, Earth happens to have some pretty unique vehicles, but this is Jasper, nothing unique ever comes through here. If you wanted to find a fancy car you would have to go to one of the big cities, but there is too much of a risk of you being seen if we went there. You're gonna have to settle for something here," Reese sighed exasperatedly. Every minute they stayed there watching the cars drive past, the more she resented Optimus for sending her to help Smokescreen find his new vehicle mode.

"Y'know kid, I don't get you. I can clearly tell that you would rather be a thousand miles away from me right now, but you still plaster a fake smile on your face and pretend like your happy as can be," Smokescreen turned and looked at Reese with a serious expression.

"Okay, first of all, I'm not a kid. I am a full-grown adult. Besides, if we converted your Cybertronian years to human years, we would probably be about the same age. Second of all, while I might not be thrilled to be stuck with you, I'm always willing to take one for the team. Optimus wanted me to help you find a vehicle mode, so that's what I'm gonna do."

"Look, I really am sorry for what I said back there in the storage bays. You were right when you said I need to think before I speak. It was rude and insensitive of me," Smokescreen turned to look at the roads again because he couldn't bear to look Reese in the eye. Something about the tiny half-human intimidated him. He never thought that he would be intimidated by a creature so small, but here he was, being told what-for by a human femme.

"Well, I appreciate the apology. It takes guts to apologize, and I respect that," Reese sighed and smiled a genuine smile at the new bot. "Your spark is in the right place, you just need to get your head in the game."

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment, coming from you," Smokescreen grinned.

"Yea well, don't expect it to happen often," Reese chuckled jokingly. As much as Smokescreen had gotten on her nerves earlier, she was glad to have a new member on the team. He would make a valuable member, once he had more training, and gained a bit more tact.

"Hey, take a look at that beauty!" Smokescreen exclaimed as he watched a slick looking race car drive past. "That's the one, that's gonna be my vehicle mode." Beams of light shot out from Smokescreen's optics as he scanned the passing vehicle.

"Smokescreen, that's a nice car, but don't you think it's a little, I don't know, flashy? I mean, y'all are supposed to keep a low profile on this planet, and that isn't exactly low profile, if you know what I mean."

"Hey, it's the best car design I have seen all day, and I like it. I think it suits me just fine," Smokescreen said as he transformed into his new vehicle mode, revving his engine with the anticipation of speeding across the desert scape as soon as he got the chance.

"Sure matches your personality, alright," Reese mumbled under her breath.

"What? Did you say something?"

"No, no, its fine. The vehicle mode is fine." Reese quickly blew off her other comment and climbed into Smokescreen's impatiently waiting vehicle mode. As soon as she was in, he took off as fast as he engine would carry him, back to base.

Smoke and Reese got back to base just in time to hear Optimus informing Ratchet of the unfortunate arrival of Starscream. Apparently, the grounded seeker had decided to show up in the apex armour and fight the autobots over the newly found red energon.

"Starscream? I heard about that stiletto-heeled freak back on Cybertron. Doc, let me go teach that creepo con a lesson!" Smokescreen jumped at the first chance to get into battle.

"Optimus will let us know when he needs backup. Besides, you aren't ready for battle just yet," Ratchet shot down Smokescreen's request.

"C'mon doc! Reese helped me get my vehicle mode and everything! I'm revved up and ready to go!" Smokescreen jumped around, antsy for some fighting.

Reese merely covered her face with her hands and looked away. It took everything in her to keep from laughing at the newbie. His enthusiasm was commendable, but he clearly wasn't ready for any kind of battle, especially not with Starscream. He was so full of himself that it physically hurt Reese to listen to him go on and on.

"H'yup, yup, yup, what part of further training did you not understand?" Ratchet vented exasperatedly. He felt like he was reprimanding a sparkling.

Smokescreen glared at the medic bot for a minute, before turning and walking down the hallway leading to the storage bays.

"Where are you going?" Reese scrutinized Smoke, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"To clear my head," Smokescreen didn't even turn to look at Reese when he spoke. The frustration in his voice was unmistakable, and something about his tone didn't sit well with Reese. He was going to do something brash, she just knew it.

She walked climbed up to the top platform so that she could stand face to face with Ratchet.

"Ratchet, Smokescreen is acting suspicious, maybe you should go check on him."

"Reese, why don't you check on him? Can't you tell I'm very busy? I am trying to keep tabs on the others, especially now that Starscream has decided to rear his ugly head," Ratchet said with a wave of his servo. He clearly didn't have time to play babysitter with the new bot.

"Fine, fine, be a stick-in-the-mud then," Reese muttered as she slid down the railing of the stairs back to ground level, glaring at Ratchet the whole way down. She was just about to go down the hallway that Smokescreen had retreated down when Ratchet lost contact with the rest of the team.

"Optimus? Bee? Arcee? Come in? Do any of you read me?" Ratchet called frantically over the comm link.

"C'mon Ratch, they need me, let me go!" Bulkhead struggled to his feet and walked up beside Ratchet. Ratchet didn't answer, however. "Ratchet, are you hearing me? They need my help!"

"I heard you, and I am choosing to ignore you. You are not battle ready, not in the slightest. You can barely walk!" Ratchet snapped. "Smokescreen, it looks like you will get your wish after all… Smokescreen?" Ratchet looked around quizzically before his optics landed on Reese, who was giving him the "I told you so" kind of look.

"Fine Reese, I will go and check on Smokescreen. You stay here and man the comm links just in case they respond." Ratchet vented exasperatedly and made his way to the storage bays.

He returned a few minutes laterwith Smokescreen, how now had the phase shifter attached to his wrist.

"Just thought I would gear up before heading off into battle," Smoke said with a sheepish grin when he saw Reese's suspicious look.

"Ratch, are you sure you're okay sending him in? I mean, he doesn't have much fighting experience," Reese looked to Ratchet with a look of "are you serious?"

"I don't see any other options right now. Bulkhead hasn't recovered enough to fight, so Smokescreen is going to have to do." Ratchet vented. He didn't want to send Smokescreen in as much as Reese did, but at the moment, he didn't see any other option. "Reese, go ahead and open up the coordinates to Optimus' location."

Reese nodded and entered in the coordinates and opened the groundbridge. Smokescreen transformed and zoomed through the portal before Reese or Ratchet could give him any other instructions. He already had a plan in mind and didn't want them telling him what to do.

"Do you think he will be okay?" Reese looked to Ratchet with a concerned expression. As cocky and brash as Smokescreen was, she didn't want him, or any of the team, to get hurt.

"Honestly, I have no clue. He told me his plan, and it has the potential to be successful, but given that were talking about Smokescreen, nobody can know for certain," Ratchet vented again.

While Reese, Ratchet, and the others were waiting to hear back about the outcome of Smokescreen's plan, Chase came sauntering into the room.

"Hey Reese, Where have you been all day? I haven't seen you since that new bot arrived. I wanted to show you this new game I got, but I couldn't find you anywhere," Chase walked over and held the game up in front of Reese. "I was hoping that we could get a chance to play it, since its a two-player game."

"Sorry, Chase, I got stuck with babysitting duty. Optimus seemed to have the bright idea that I would be the perfect person to help Smokescreen find a new vehicle mode. Gosh, that bot can talk. He seems to talk non-stop. Honestly, I am so glad to finally have a break from him," Reese closed her eyes and sank into the sofa.

"That bad, huh? I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't we play the first chapter of the game to get your mind off it," Chase grinned as he opened the box. "I have been saving up for months to get this game! I'm so freaking excited!"

"I'm sorry, Chase. You know that I love video games as much as you, but I am just so tired. Also, i promised to man the computers and groundbridge while Ratchet did some more repairs on Bulkhead." Reese apologized. She hated to say no, and she really did want to play the game, she just didn't have the physical or emotional energy to play anything at the time..

"Hey, no worries. We can play tomorrow, when you feel better!" Chase didn't even seem that disappointed.

"Y'know, you are a really great friend. It is so nice to have someone else my age around. Jack, Miko, and Raf are great, but its not quite the same as getting to talk to someone my own age. I mean, Bumblebee is about our age Cybertronian years, but he is always busy with missions and stuff."

"Hey, you're a great friend too! I am really glad i got to meet you." Chase ran his hand through his hair awkwardly. He could feel his face flushing slightly, but thankfully his tan complexion hid it pretty well. He looked like he was going to say something else, but he was interrupted by Optimus coming in over the comm link.

"Ratchet, we are ready to return to base."

"Hey Optimus, Ratchet is doing some repairs and strength diagnostics on Bulkhead, but I can open the bridge for you," Reese got up and typed in the previous coordinates. She watched as the team came striding through the bluish-green portal.

"Well? How did it go?" She asked with anticipation. She wanted to know how the plan had worked out.

"Starscream got away and destroyed the red energon….. BUT WE GOT THE APEX ARMOUR!" Smokescreen pretended to be upset for a second before holding up the deactivated armour in front of everybody and doing a little victory dance.

"Oh, for the love of everything good," Reese cringed as she rolled her eyes. Smokescreen was more of a kid than Bumblebee was.

"Ya see? I only needed to borrow the phase shifter for a little while. I mean, look how well my plan worked with it!" Smokescreen continued to shove the deactivated apex armour in everyone's faces. "Ratch thought I was stealing it."

"Well, you didn't exactly tell us what you were doing. You just kind of went of and got it on your own. What were we supposed to think?" Reese pressed her thumb and pointer finger against the bridge of her nose. Smokescreen was giving her a headache.

"I only thought you were stealing it until you explained your plan to me, which I then permitted. It's called protocol, Smokescreen. They are the rules all of us play by," Ratchet defended himself as he came walking into the room from the med bay.

"Ratchet is correct. Proper procedure must be followed by all members of this team. That being said, I believe that you should also be commended. You have proven to be a quick study by choosing to place strategy above bravado," Optimus laid his hand on Smokescreen's shoulder.

"There's gonna be know living with him now," Arcee muttered to Reese and Bumblebee.

"Ain't that the truth," Reese choked back a laugh. She didn't want to attract any unwanted attention to her or Arcee's comments.

"It might not be the same as a proper elite guard ceremony, but I would like to welcome you to team Prime, Smokescreen," Optimus welcomed the young bot with a warm smile.

"I'm honored, sir! I will do everything I can to prove myself and make you proud!" Smokescreen beamed with excitement.

Bulkhead came into the main room just in time to hear Optimus welcome Smokescreen to the team and looked rejected and depressed. "The newbie did alright," he said sadly. He had to give credit where credit was due, even if he hated to admit it. He truly felt like he had been replaced by Smokescreen.

"He's got nothing on you Bulk! As soon as we get you back in shape, nobody will be able to beat you!" Miko encouraged as she ran over to her guardian. She hated seeing her guardian depressed. Bulkhead merely turned away and limped off, however, not wanting to be encouraged.

Miko started to run after Bulkhead, but Reese came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Give him some time, Miko. Perhaps, now isn't the best time to try and talk to him. He will be okay, he just needs some time to think," Reese sighed. She knew all to well the feelings of being depressed and wanting to be left alone. "A time will come when he won't want to be alone anymore, and when that time comes, you will be right there waiting for him."

"Are you sure he will come back around? He has been in that mood since he came out of stasis," Miko looked to Reese with tears in her eyes.

"He will, don't worry. Things happen and everybody deals with them differently. If I know Bulk, he won't be able to stand being alone for very long. He just needs some time to get his thoughts all worked out, and then he will be ready to keep going."

"Thanks, Reese," Miko spontaneously squeezed Reese in a tight hug. Reese stared in shock at the sudden gesture of appreciation. It was something that was so out of the ordinary for Miko, but it was nice to know that her words had touched the young teen. She wrapped her arms around the girl and returned the hug. "You're welcome."

Reese changed into her pjs and eased onto her bed. It had been a long day, and she was tired. It wasn't that late, only 9:00 p.m., but she was still exhausted. It felt so nice to relax on the soft mattress. She placed her arms behind her head and closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet. The quiet was disturbed, however, by a knock on her door.

"One minute!" Reese called out as she grabbed her night robe and wrapped it around herself. She went and opened the door and found Optimus' holoform standing in the doorway. "Oh Optimus! I didn't realize it was you," Reese looked slightly embarrassed. Here she was standing in a night robe in front of the leader of the autobots. Even if he was similar to a dad to her, she still saw him with the same respect as she would in great leader.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you had already gone in for recharge," Optimus scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He felt bad because he thought he had woken Reese up.

"No, no, I wasn't asleep. I was just relaxing. Was there something you needed?"

"Well, if you had a moment, I would like to talk to you about something," Optimus looked down gently at Reese, but she could tell there was apprehension in his eyes.

"Sure, just give me a minute," Reese's mind raced with thoughts of what Optimus might want to talk to her about. It wasn't like him to come knocking on her door at night to talk. She hoped it wasn't anything serious.

She closed the door, leaving Optimus standing awkwardly out in the hallway. She felt a bit bad, but she wanted to at least get fully dressed before letting anyone into her room. She threw on a sweater and a pair of leggings and opened the door again. Optimus still stood there, waiting patiently.

"Sorry, come on in," Reese apologized and motioned for Optimus to come in. He came over and sat down in the chair beside her desk, looking like he didn't really know where to begin.

Reese sat down on the bed and dangled her feet over the side, waiting patiently for Optimus to explain what was so important that he would come to her room to talk to her.

"Well, I suppose this could have waited until morning, but I just made the decision a little while ago, and I figured I would let you know right away. I have decided that I would like to place you in the charge of Smokescreen." Optimus watched Reese, trying to gage her reaction.

Reese stared at Optimus, slightly dumbfounded. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Reese asked, genuinely thinking she had misheard Optimus. Surely, he wouldn't do something like that. Couldn't he tell how frustrated Smokescreen made her?

"I know that you and him don't exactly see optic to optic, but I think it is for the best if I placed him as your guardian. All of the other humans here have guardians, except for you."

"Optimus, all due respect, but I already have you and Ratchet and Bee and Tracks who look out for me! Heck, everybody here at the base looks out for me. I don't think I really need a specific bot to be my guardian. Also, I appreciate the concern, but I don't think that Smokescreen is quite ready to be a guardian. He doesn't know very much about humans to begin with. I don't think he realizes what it means to protect a human and put their safety first." Reese felt bad for arguing with Optimus, but she also thought it was important to voice her concerns. She meant no disrespect and tried to explain her thoughts in a way that wouldn't be rude, but just the thought of having to deal with Smokescreen as a guardian made her cringe.

"Smokescreen is young and doesn't know much about this planet or the humans who live on it. That is why he needs someone to teach him about humans and how important they are. I have decided to put him in charge of protecting you, because I trust you to teach him how. I trust you a lot, Reese, and I think that you would make a great teacher for Smokescreen." Optimus explained.

Reese's shoulders drooped and she closed her eyes in thought. As much as she didn't want to have Smokescreen as her guardian, she didn't want to disappoint Optimus. He put his trust in her to teach Smokescreen how to be a good guardian, and she didn't want to let him down.

"Okay. How can I argue with you when you put it like that?" Reese sighed and looked up at Optimus with a smile. "I would never want to do anything that would break your trust in me. I will teach Smokescreen how to be a good guardian, and a good team member. He is pretty rough around the edges, but you see potential in him, so I will too."

"I am glad to hear that. I will let him know. You know, I really am proud to have you on team Prime."

"Wait, you consider me part of the team?" Reese looked up at Optimus in surprise.

"Of course! You are a valuable member of this team. You do so much to help, how could I not see you as a member?"

"I don't know. I guess, I thought that you guys saw me as a liability. I just get in the way, or get myself into trouble and need your help getting out of it." Reese looked at the floor. She hadn't thought that she would be telling this to Optimus. It was something that she had meant to just keep to herself. She didn't want to worry the others with anymore burdens.

"You are not a liability. You are a valuable member of this team, and that is why I chose you to work with Smokescreen. You have proven yourself to be kind, mature, resourceful, and responsible. I couldn't ask for anything more from a member of team Prime," Optimus said with a smile. He placed a hand on Reese shoulder, causing her to look up and look him in the eye. "Don't tell yourself that you are anything less."

"Thanks Optimus, I needed to hear that," Reese smiled back, though she still wasn't sure how much of it she believed.

"You're welcome. I would never tell you anything that I didn't believe 100% to be true. You are valuable and mean a lot to everyone on this team."

Reese turned away slightly as she tried to stifle a yawn that had been threatening to interrupt since Optimus came in.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," Reese apologized as she covered her mouth, trying to hold back the yawn.

"Oh, I had forgotten that you were so tired, I should let you get back to recharge," Optimus apologized and turned to leave.

"Thank you again, I really appreciate your encouraging words," Reese called out to Optimus as he left.

"You are very welcome, goodnight, Reese," Optimus said as he closed the door behind him, leaving Reese to process everything that she had just been told.

Reese sat back down on her bed and put her head in her hands. She didn't know what to think. As much as Smokescreen got on her nerves, there was no we she could say no after Optimus had put it like that. She wanted to cry out of frustration, but instead, she laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Crying wouldn't help anything. It wouldn't help her get along with Smokescreen any better, and it wouldn't change the fact that he was now her new guardian.

"God, give me the patience not to lose my cool and freaking whack that bot upside the head," Reese prayed out loud. She chuckeled at the thought, but she was serious when she asked for patience. The Lord knew she would need it.

Eyoooo! Another chapter done! WOOT! XD anyways, I had fun writing this chapter. Smokescreen is such a butt and its going to be funny to write interaction between him and Reese in the future. Reese is gonna need a lot of patience with that boy, LOL! I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think of the story and if there is anything you would like to see in the future. I love getting review because they help me to know what people are thinking of the story so far. I hope y'all have an awesome blessed day!