Twin Twist hit the floor with a heavy crash that rocketed through the entire base. He groaned.

"THREE steps, Twist? That's all you can manage?"

Wheeljack looked on bemusedly as Twin Twist lifted his optics to the little human in front of him. "Sorry, Miko," he mumbled to her. "My legs still hurt." As if realizing his excuse was as pitiful as it sounded, Twin Twist's body popped and whined as he forced himself to stand again, and he made several disgruntled sounds as his knees and ankles wobbled beneath him, equilibrium loudly whirring as it tried to set him straight.

When he finally situated himself, Miko asked strictly, "What did I tell you?"

Twin Twist gave a defeated sigh. "No excuses."

"Exactly," Miko said with a satisfied nod of her head. "Try again. TEN steps this time!"

Twin Twist groaned, but obediently began to take staggering steps around the base again, pressing on his lower back as he gritted his way through it. "Wheeljack, I hate you."

Wheeljack, standing to the side next to Topspin, snorted and crossed his arms. "Me? What did I ever do to you?"

"You—gave me—this—DRILL SERGEANT!"

Twin Twist puffed the words out with each unsteady step, knees hobbling as he moved slowly around the silo, Miko trotting along like a faithful little puppy. Wheeljack just chuckled at his misery, saying, "Aw, don't give me that scrap. You know you like getting bossed around!"

He growled shortly, weeble-wobbling to the side as he shot back, "Well, at least SOMEONE is giving me some support instead of laughing at my—FRAGGING SCRAP—!"

Another thunderous crash and he groaned on the ground, face down. "Not good enough!" Miko hollered, having only counted nine. Twin Twist gave a half-growl half-groan at her obstinacy. "You have to come back stronger than before!"

Twin Twist stubbornly stayed face flat, groaning at the thought of having to go another round. Thankfully, he was saved by Ratchet.

"Time for a break, Twin Twist."

Wheeljack's frivolous attention suddenly came to as Miko exploded, "A BREAK? You think the 'Cons are going to give Twist a BREAK in the middle of a firefight!"

"If you push a patient too far too fast, you risk exacerbating their injuries."

"But—!"

"Twin Twist needs to rest," Ratchet cut her off strictly, effectively ending the conversation.

Wheeljack arched a brow at Miko as she gave a frustrated growl and began to stomp away angrily, fists knotted at her sides. Bumblebee came flying in from a scouting mission, Raf dropped off at home for homework, and he when he transformed, Miko swatted his leg aside as she stalked by.

"Out of the way!"

Wheeljack blinked at her as she stalked her angry little butt all the way to the lift that would take her to the top of the base. He followed, crossing the room in three strides. She whirled before she got on the lift, glaring at him.

"Go away."

He studied her a moment. After determining how she was feeling, he shook his head.

"Nah. I think I'll tag along with ya, Babe."

She narrowed her eyes. "I want to be alone."

Wheeljack snorted and stepped over her into the lift. He arched a brow. "You coming with?"

Miko growled at him before stepping into the lift with him, and they rode in silence to the top. Wheeljack smirked as Miko all but bolted from the lift and walked out over the top of the silo, trying her best to leave him as far behind as she could. She stopped and sat down at the very edge of the plateau, and following without much worry, Wheeljack planted himself on her right, kicking his legs off the edge and leaning back on his hands.

"So—"

"Shut up."

Only mildly affronted, Wheeljack cast a bemused glance down at her sulky little pout. "What—"

"If you weren't going to let me be alone, then the least you can do is just shut up."

Wheeljack zipped his lips, exaggerating the movement as he tossed the key away. Miko didn't even glance at him, but instead turned her face away. Wheeljack's spark pained a little when he heard her soft crying, but he knew she just needed to let out some steam. Sometimes, he thought she was taking Twin Twist's slow recovery worse than Topspin was. Maybe she was menstruating?

He shook off that uncomfortable thought and instead just touched a finger to her back, rubbing up and down her spin soothingly as she cried. He kept his vow of silence, even when he heard footsteps coming up behind them.

"Miko?"

The little human jumped, scrubbing her eyes quickly and conspicuously as she burst, "Oh! Arcee. I was just . . ."

Miko trailed off uncertainly, and she kinda glanced up to Wheeljack for help, but he just gave a shrug and kicked his feet. She narrowed her eyes at him as Arcee said conversationally, "Aren't we a little close to the edge?"

She gave a little shrug. "Heights don't scare me."

Wheeljack bobbed his head, miming all his movements with huge exaggeration. Miko poked her tongue angrily out at him because he left her to hang with Arcee. Arcee just looked at him funny before fixing her gaze on Miko again.

"Twin Twist is coming along just fine," Arcee reassured her. "Thanks mostly to your efforts. But he needs a friend right now. Not a drill sergeant."

"No offense, but I came up here for some privacy?" She turned away rudely, and Wheeljack arched a brow. His optics silently berated her rudeness, but he also gave a shrug, pointing to himself as if to mock her further. Her nose scrunched angrily.

Arcee took the jibe in stride, saying gently, "I understand what you're going through. And if you ever want someone to talk to—"

"I'm fine!" she snapped. "Okay? I'm not the one Hardshell tried to scrap!" When Wheeljack nudged her back, a silent warning against her tone, she mistook his gesture and muttered, "Besides, Wheeljack's all the mother hen I need."

Before he could stop it, a snort slipped out. Arcee looked at him funny again, used to him running his mouth, and he gestured to Miko. Miko glanced at him. Arcee glanced at Miko.

"Is there a reason he won't talk?"

Miko just shrugged and looked at the ground again. "I told him to shut up."

Arcee looked at him again, and he shrugged too. She rolled her optics before giving a soft vent and looking back down at Miko. "Miko, it's rough when someone you care about gets hurt. Closing yourself off from feeling won't help anyone."

"Well," Miko said angrily, "you would know, wouldn't you?"

Wheeljack winced when she said that. Arcee's optics merely flickered before she finally sat up straighter, managing, "Yes." She turned to look behind them. "I would."

Wheeljack glanced back with Miko to see the grave marker she alluded to. Miko turned back with a guilty expression. "Arcee, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's okay," she said with a surprising amount of ease. "He's . . . been on my mind lately. After I lost my first partner, Tailgate, I pushed everyone away. Until Cliffjumper came along."

Miko looked up curiously. "What was he like?"

Wheeljack watched her carefully as she stared into the distance. "Cliff was . . ." and then, her lips twitched up. "Quite the conversationalist."

Wheeljack unzipped his mouth and nudged Miko. "Can I talk now?"

She rolled her eyes in exasperated irritation. "YES! God, sometimes you are SO annoying!"

Wheeljack grinned, quite pleased with himself that he could get under her skin. "So, I'm guessing he talked a lot and drove you up the wall as much as I do?"

Arcee narrowed her optics. "You're worse."

"Ouch! Glad I'm not the sensitive type."

Her cheek twitched. "Sometimes you say the same fragging things he did."

Wheeljack shrugged. "Yeah. But I bet I don't talk half as much as he did."

Arcee snorted, looking away from him. "I don't think anyone could talk as much as Cliffjumper." She shook her head. "The first thing he said to me when we were thrown in the brig was that he was amazed that I actually cared." She scowled. "As if . . ."

Wheeljack smirked. "You still deny it to this day, don't you?"

She bypassed his comment. "Starscream and his lackeys somehow caught Cliffjumper and I when we both were on the same recon mission to find out why the Decepticons were transporting so much energon to Cybertron. He set to trying to torture the information out of us . . ." She paused. She shook her head. "But he was child's play for me after Airachnid. Cliffjumper was just too stupid to really care. He got bored with it."

Wheeljack chuckled, and Arcee just rolled her optics to the heavens in exasperation. Miko turned to her, asking, "But you guys obviously got free, right?"

Arcee canted her helm slightly. "Well, sure, but not yet. Starscream grew frustrated that he couldn't make us give him the code to hack into an encrypted Autobot code. So we were transported to Kaon, taken deep inside. He brought us to . . . Shockwave."

Wheeljack started visibly. He blinked in shock at her, but she didn't meet his gaze. She had never mentioned she had been Shockwave's experiment. His . . . torture victim. Wheeljack felt his joints freezing up at just the THOUGHT of what that one-eyed Pit-spawn had done to him.

Arcee just gave a shrug. "Yeah. He used a cortical psychic patch on me. Ripped the code right from my head. Then yanked the connection free and nearly fried my processor."

Wheeljack winced, and Miko cringed. A faint shudder trailed up his back struts, and his winglets perked. "Yeah? How'd you manage to survive that?"

Miko shifted uncomfortably. "C'mon, you were just playing the whimp, right?"

Arcee gave a small laugh. "Actually, yes, I was. It didn't fry my processor, but . . . it did affect some of my memories." The fleeting smile faded. "A few of them with Tailgate are corrupt. My beginnings with joining up with my femme unit are hazy. I don't remember my first time meeting Optimus anymore." She paused and shook her head. "I can't remember Elita-One. She was my commander, but I can't remember her personality, what she was like. It was like that cortical psychic patch ripped the code away and ripped away half the memories that made me who I was."

Supportively, Wheeljack reached over and touched her shoulder. Her lips twitched a moment before falling flat. "Anyway," she continued, "both Shockwave and Starscream both left me for scrap, and I broke free of my bonds while Cliffjumper talked up a storm, hitting all Starscream's right buttons and buying me some time. Shockwave left, and I easily disabled Starscream, strapping him to my berth." She gave a shrug and a smirk. "He's such a pathetic glitch. We didn't even have to touch him before he spilled the truth. Knocked him out, and, though I was loath to have him along, Cliffjumper and I headed to find the space bridge Shockwave was building."

Miko's eyes widened. "A space bridge?"

Arcee nodded. "Yeah. It was . . . on the way there that Cliffjumper's words hit me pretty hard. I had set my mind to stay on Cybertron, working freelance now that my unit was all gone, but Cliffjumper was trying to persuade me to join up with Optimus with him. I told him he could go on his own, and that after this we would split ways, but . . . He said, 'Whatever you say, partner.'"

Arcee stopped for a moment, and Wheeljack watched with pinched brows as she gathered up her emotions. "No one had called me partner before unless it was Tailgate." She shook her head, taking in a steady in cycle. "I lashed out at him. I snapped that I wasn't his partner, and he . . ." She looked over Miko's head to Wheeljack. "He said exactly what you said a couple months back. 'I know it's rough. I really do.'"

Wheeljack blinked, trying to think back to the moment he had said that. Ah, on the top of the silo. He had been sharpening his katanas. He had nearly forgotten all about that. Arcee looked away again. "I told him he didn't know what he was talking about, but . . . he said Tailgate's name." She scoffed quietly to herself, shaking her helm. "I froze. I knew he had me. He knew it too. And . . . that's what he said to me."

Miko nodded, realizing it even before the femme could bring herself to say it. "Closing yourself off from feeling won't help anyone." She glanced up to Arcee. "Sounds familiar."

"Good advice is good advice."

True to his little Wrecking girl's nature, Miko turned towards Arcee. "So, I gotta know! What happened next?"

Wheeljack leaned back, a warm smile tipping his lips as he watched these two females he cared about so much actually BONDING for the first time. It was quite the miracle to watch.

Arcee laughed quietly. "Well, you wouldn't believe how we handled it. We found Shockwave's space bridge, and we knew he was planning to use it to ambush Optimus and the team before any Autobot reinforcements could get there. We didn't have the ordinance to blow the bridge, so we would have to sabotage the controls. But we couldn't just walk up and ask permission for access."

Miko's brows lifted. "So what did you do?"

Arcee smirked. "So Cliffjumper walked up and asked for permission."

Miko snorted she tried to hard not to laugh, and Wheeljack grinned, shaking his head in amazement. Miko sputtered, "So . . . he just waltzed up and asked for the controls?"

Arcee gave a laugh. "Basically. He kept talking on and on, distracting the Vehicons and giving me the time I needed to sabotage the bridge controls."

Wheeljack arched a brow. "So? How'd you do it?"

She smirked. "Overrode the energon containment protocols."

Wheeljack smirked back. "Clever."

Arcee gave a non-committal sound as she continued, "Well, he bought me just enough time to do some damage before Shockwave showed up. Threw me across the room and he and Cliffjumper began to spar. But, there's only so much damage a mini-bot can do against a bot Shockwave's size. Saved Cliffjumper's aft by blowing the wall above them, burying Shockwave for just long enough to Cliffjumper to scramble away."

Miko's eyes were alight at the prospect of the final climaxing battle. She grinned as she leaned forward. "So? How did you guys escape? How did you get to Earth! Did you kill Shockwave? Did the space bridge blow? Did you steal a 'Con warship?"

Arcee gave a laugh, shaking her head. "No no. You see, that's when Starscream decided to show up again, bringing with him some Vehicons to block our exit. We took cover behind from some of the fallen debris when they open fired, and really, our only way out—as Cliffjumper so tactfully pointed out-was the space bridge that was going to break down in just a few clicks.

"So we ran. We ran right in there, but Shockwave followed us. He stopped us in the middle of the jump, and the space bridge was practically collapsing around us. That first shot Shockwave took as us was a warning. The sound of that seismic cannon ripped through the vortex, whizzing past our audio receptors so close I could feel that chilling shot burn past my audio receptor. He and Cliffjumper traded blows for a minute, but another well-placed shot knocked Cliffjumper out briefly and left me to stand alone against Shockwave."

Miko's jaw was gaping. "Really? What did you do? What happened!"

Arcee smirked, crossing her arms and hiking her brow. "It was one of my finest moments, if I do say so myself." She hiked a challenging brow at Wheeljack who simply cocked his head and waited for the rest of the story. "We squared off, like those cowboys in the westerns. Shockwave shot first, the charge of his gun and then the blast sounding like a gong in my audio receptors. And, at the last second, I dodged, leaning away and lifting my own weapon, and I blasted him right in that one big ugly optic of his." Miko whooped while a rueful smirk crossed her features. "If I wasn't going to go deaf from the sound of Shockwave's gun, I sure did from the hooting Cliffjumper did! You know what his wise-guy comment was?"

Miko grinned. "What?"

Arcee gave a muffled laugh. "Bulls-eye."

Miko snorted with laughter at the bad pun as Wheeljack rolled his optics, but indeed had to admit-that was a shot that would have made any Wrecker proud.

Arcee shook her head, looking out into the distance again, a sort of sad look stealing over her optics now that she had come to the end of her story. "We made it through right before the space bridge collapsed. We landed, right out there, flat on our backs and just breathing after all the excitement. I . . . accepted him as my partner then. And then, he proceeded to talk away my audio receptors while we walked, searching for Optimus."

A heavy silence settled over them as they all looked out at the sun setting in the distance. Finally, Arcee gave a weak laugh. "Funny. At first I thought I would never get used to Cliff's constant chatter. Now . . ." She vented softly, shaking her head. "There's nothing louder to me than the silence."

Wheeljack looked over, gaining a greater insight to the femme he cared about so much. Corrupt memories from suffering a cortical psychic patch, and the real reason she always wanted him to talk. After a moment, Miko reached over and put her hand on Arcee's finger. The femme started, a little surprised at the soft touch, and she smiled at her. After a moment, Arcee's optics softened and her lips quirked at Miko.

Wheeljack smiled too, adding his hand to the mix and looking out over the brittle grounds to the horizon that glowed a stunning orange, burnt and incandescent as the large sun dipped below the horizon. They sat like that for a moment, all of their hands and fingers lacing and locking, intertwining, Miko moving hers so it wouldn't get crushed, and Wheeljack took spark this moment. Just him. Just his girls. Just together.

After a moment, Wheeljack finally asked softly, "So, Arcee . . . If I asked you how you joined up with your femme unit, you wouldn't be able to tell me?"

Arcee's brows puckered. "Not exactly. It's . . . not clear anymore. I think I had always planned on going and training. My home city is Kalis. When the Decepticons invaded, I saw how the Autobots fought to protect us, and I was so impressed that I had to join up on the Autobot side."

Wheeljack cocked his head. "What was your function before the war?"

"A secretary."

Wheeljack smirked. "Now that I can barely believe."

Arcee smiled slightly and shook her head. "Yeah. Believe it. I didn't have an ounce of fighting skill when I entered the Autobot ranks, but I was determined to fight. I didn't want to be behind the scenes, I didn't want to be a medic—I wanted to fight. I wanted to fight for what I believed in and fight for those who had fallen. And . . . somehow I ended up in Elita-One's group of femmes, but I'm not sure how I got there."

Wheeljack frowned. "Do you think you first met Optimus through Elita-One? After all, it was pretty well known that they were spark mates."

"Spark mates?" Miko piped up. She craned her head up, looking up at Wheeljack. "What do you mean?"

Wheeljack puzzled a moment before saying, "It's like they were married."

Miko's jaw dropped. Literally. "You mean . . . Big bad, completely stiff and commander, nearly no emotion Optimus Prime had a wife?"

Wheeljack chuckled at Miko's stunned response. "Sure did. Had a brother too."

If her brown eyes could get any bigger he was sure they were going to fall out of her face. "SERIOUSLY?"

Wheeljack laughed warmly, chucking her chin affectionately. "Sure did. You'd be surprised."

"Seriously!" she exploded again. She laughed. "You can't be kidding me! Where are they now?"

The smiles faltered. "Well, ah . . . As far as we know, Ultra Magnus, his brother, is dead. And as for Elita-One—no one knows."

He looked up to Arcee for confirmation as Miko's happy little bubble popped, and the blue femme looked away. "I feel like I should know," she whispered softly. Wheeljack felt her fingers clenched on his. "I feel like . . . she told me . . . or I should know somehow, like it's something that's just beyond my reach . . . But I can't remember. I could swear it's one of the corrupt files in my processor, but I just . . ."

Wheeljack stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. Miko's hand squeezed her finger. "Can't Ratchet do some brain surgery on you?" Miko asked. "Can't he just fix your memories?"

Arcee shook her head. "No."

Miko's brows puckered and her face dropped. "So . . . Why are you keeping the files if they're too corrupt to fix? Shouldn't you run like a . . . defrag process or something to clean it all out?"

A weak laugh, closer to a soft sob than anything slipped Arcee's lips. "I don't want to. Corrupt or not, they're my memories, and I . . . can't let go of them."

Wheeljack reached over, nudging her face towards him so he could give her an affectionate kiss to her lips. She pressed her helm to his, and amazingly, he didn't hear any sounds of complaint from Miko. "So how many memories were damaged?"

She cycled out a slow breath. "I'm not sure. A good amount, but not detrimental to my well-being. I feel like I'm missing a lot about Tailgate. There are sporadic gaps where I just CAN'T remember, not matter how hard I try, no matter how many times I scrub the memories and repair. They're just . . . corrupt. Gone. My joining with Elita-One's group is messed up. I can't even remember what the commander was like . . . I couldn't remember meeting Optimus, though you're probably right, I most likely met him through Elita-One. Some missions are fuzzy. I can't remember exactly what happened. I don't remember when some of my friends died. And I don't remember who I worked for when I was just a secretary. But for the most part, that was it."

There was a moment of silence in which none of them said anything, and Wheeljack's processor scrambled madly for something to say. She didn't like the silence. He had to say something, right? But he didn't know what to say. He had nothing to say to that. Here he was, wishing he could just rip his memories out, and there she was, wishing more than all the world that she could keep them.

It also occurred to him a second later that he didn't have to speak. He wasn't replacing Cliffjumper.

"That's okay." Both mech and femme looked down on Miko. The small human smiled. "We'll make you more memories! After all, you're not going to forget today."

A weak sound fell from Arcee's lips. She shook her head, a small smile turning up her lips. "No. I'm not."

Wheeljack's spark pulsed with affection. Thank Miko for being able to fill that silence when he couldn't. He pressed his helm to Arcee's again, other hand cupping around Miko as the sun began to dip below the horizon and the darkness of night began to creep around them.

My girls.

After several minutes, Miko suddenly hopped up. She looked up to Wheeljack. "I'm going to go inside. I . . . want to talk to Twin Twist and Topspin."

Wheeljack gave a light shrug, nudging her. "No need to ask my permission."

Miko smiled, and she jogged off towards the lift. However, halfway there, she turned back to Wheeljack and gave him a thumbs up and a wink. He smirked back as she disappeared inside.

"Arcee, I do believe you finally got clearance to me."

She snorted lightly, rolling her optics. "That's good to know."

Wheeljack grinned and nuzzled his helm to her again. They sat like that, fingers intertwined in the quiet until Arcee spoke.

"Wheeljack . . . I know . . . bad things have happened in the past, but . . . Don't ever forget them. It's . . ." Her breath hitched for a moment. She leaned closer, hands tightening on his. "It's better than not . . . having anything . . ."

His grip tightened. He shook his head. "Arcee . . . You don't know. You don't understand. I've been dragged through hell and back. The things I carry with me . . . If I had the choice, I'd rip them out in a spark beat."

"And I'm telling you you don't want to do that." She wrapped an arm around his neck, taking a sharp breath. "It . . . might be painful, but it reminds you what you're fighting for."

Their interlocked fingers tightened. Wheeljack reached up his free hand to cup her cheek, and he passed his lips over her forehead. She shivered.

"Just . . . never forget, Wheeljack." She tilted her face slightly as he trailed his lips down her cheek. "Remember . . . everything. Memories are precious, and once they're gone, you can't get them back . . . Having someone tampering with your processor is sick . . ."

He pressed a slow kiss to her mouth, soft and warm. Her elbow hooked around his neck, pulling him closer. Their lips parted, leaving her panting for breath. "Wheeljack . . ."

"I'm not gonna forget." He pressed his mouth to hers, falling into the taste of her lips. "I won't forget," he breathed. "I promise."

He kissed her again, nipping her bottom lip and thumb stroking her cheek. Her other arm stole up, locking around his neck, and his other hand cupped her cheek so he held her from both sides. After a moment, the kiss lingered before he parted from her again.

"Hey, Arcee?"

After a moment, she opened her luminous optics to his. "Yeah?"

A mischievous grin split open his faceplates as he tripped the switch to the function long dormant. "Disco ball earrings."

His audio receptors blinked as he spoke, and the soft moment was interrupted by the ridiculous blinking. Arcee stared for an uncomprehending moment, and then, she began to laugh softly, sputtering.

"I . . . can't . . . believe you . . ."

He grinned. "You asked why I was called Blinky, so now you have it!"

As he spoke, his audio receptors blinked in tandem, and she began laughing at the sight, trying so hard not to laugh that tears sparked in her optics. Wheeljack jutted his chin up. "What?" he said mockingly, lights blinking happily. "Looks out of place on a rough warrior like myself? Can you see me walking around like this?"

That tripped her up. She began laughing so hard she wheezed, collapsing into his arms as he grinned down at her, quite content to see her laughing. It looked much better on her, a smile did.

She shook her head, laughter dying down to system hiccups. "Wheeljack . . . I am . . . SO going to kill you! Can't enjoy one fragging moment with you, can I?"

Wheeljack shrugged. "Had to break it somehow. I've gotta get Miko home." He stood, reaching down a hand to help her up. She took the gentlemanly gesture, and he grinned wickedly at her. "Besides," he crooned suggestively. He waggled his brows. "You don't know the OTHER colors they can turn."

She blinked wide. "Uh . . . What?"

Then, he turned the function back off, saying gruffly, "Well, another day then. Babe needs a ride home, so I'll see ya, Doll."

He strode off before she could get a word in edgewise, and it wasn't until the lift began to take him down and close the top that he heard her stammer, "Wait, Wheeljack—WHAT?"

He left her up there, humming quite jauntily to himself as he came towards Twin Twist and Topspin and Miko. He quieted seeing that Twin Twist was powered down, and Topspin smiled and held up Miko.

"Guess you're taking this one home?"

Wheeljack didn't ask what they had talked about. He didn't need to know. Besides, anything Miko could have said to cheer up Topspin that much was good in his book. "Yup. Gotta get her home before curfew or Mrs. Davis will have my head."

"You might need that."

Wheeljack rolled his optics. "Don't remind me."

He transformed down, letting Miko plop in his front seat as he pulled out of the silo, whipping so close to Ratchet that he knocked his heel and earned a few choice words as they split. Miko giggled at the expense of the medic's indignation.

"Hey, Jackie?"

"Yeah, Babe?"

She smiled, leaning tiredly into his seat. "This was a good day."

Wheeljack hummed to himself, really . . . feeling the same way. "It was, wasn't it? Twin Twist is finally getting himself back into shape, Topspin's not being so gloomy, had fun picking on the pick-on-uponable Ratchet, and got to spend some time with my girls."

His engine purred and his seatbelt tightened on Miko.

"Yeah. It was a good day."