I don't own Transformers, only my OC's

I'm ALIVE! Wow, bet you'd never have guessed that one :P I was really, really, really busy over the last 3 weeks working Sunday-Friday from 7am to midnight. So come Saturday I was only in the mood to laze around and not think :P But I'm back and my job is finished, so I should be getting back to the 1 - 2 week schedule here :)

To all my reviewers: THANK YOU!

Again, sorry for the long wait.

Enjoy!

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It's crazy how polar opposite days could be. Ironide had made Sunday afternoon very enjoyable, even if half of it consisted of school work. Monday however couldn't have been any worse if it had tried. Every single one of my teacher tormented me in one way or another for having missed two weeks of classes. Some simply stared long and hard at me throughout the entire class, effectively making the lesson awkward, while other actually threatened to fail me if I had another absence.

Apparently no one gave a damn about my doctor's note. Ratchet had written one claiming my absence to be due to mental strain. Vague, but true.

I hadn't been in the mood to do anything all day and the issues with my teachers only furthered it. I didn't even want to work on my tech project, which I had finally finished designing before going to bed Sunday night.

My headache didn't help either, especially since it was centered behind my eyes. I had awoken with it, but at that point it had been a dull pain. Nothing worthy of painkillers. Now I regretted not packing them.

Sighing I lay my head down upon the work station in tech class. I knew the first day back would be rough, but this was ridiculous. Part of my brain hissed at the other, telling it to shut up. Things could be worse. Decepticon worse.

It took the fun out of complaining.

"You feeling alright?" Lucas asked from beside me. He was working on a project assigned to the class last week.

"Fine," I lied.

"You sure?"

"Positive." I felt bad giving short answers, but I didn't want him worrying about things beyond his control. School would be over soon anyway. I could go home, down a few painkillers, maybe take a nap if my body allowed it and then jump back on school work. Maybe the Decepticons would do me a favor and demolish the school during the night so I wouldn't have to return.

Like that'll ever happen. My chin hit my arms and I stared down at the project plans.

To anyone else it would have looked like a bunch of scribbled lines with immaculate hand writing next to them, but to me it was a building plan... alright it wasn't that bad, but I really couldn't draw to save my life. The only straight lines were the ones I had made with a ruler. My father was the artist, not me.

All the squiggles showed how to build a transforming toy. It wasn't based off anyone in particular. I couldn't bring myself to do that. Instead she was something I made up on my own. The futuristic vehicle form had three wheels and the capability to seat two. She was silver and teal in color and her robotic form had golden eyes.

I had never asked but it seemed common for the Autobots to have blue eyes and Starscream had red, so I assumed all Decepticons did. I wanted my little transformer, who I dubbed Avian, to be a different. Plus the gold was a nice contrast against her body color.

Ron had watched me struggle with the design last night. It was simple to make when there were only a few pieces, but I wanted it to have many – all the jointed areas for both forms, which included wrists, doors and all that nonsense. I was glad he hadn't helped me with anything but a sideward comment about breaking larger pieces down. I wanted to do this on my own.

Overall I was very happy with how it was coming along. I just had no desire to work on it right now.

My heart jumped when the bell rang. I had been waiting for it all day and it had taken me by surprise. It was kind of sad.

Grabbing up my things I bade Lucas goodbye and darted for my locker. The sharp movements and blaring neon colors of some student's clothing didn't help my head, but I wanted to get as far from this place as quickly as possible.

I messed up the combination of my locker the first time, but got it right on the second. Throwing in what I didn't need I grabbed my coat, physics and math textbooks and slammed it shut before heading for the bus.

I had barely stepped out the front door when my butt began to vibrate. "Perfect timing," I grumbled. Whoever was calling me couldn't have done so two minutes ago when my hands were empty. Too bad for them, I thought. It was probably Jessy. She could wait until I sat down.

Unsurprisingly the bus was virtually full by the time I stepped on. My phone vibrated again. Not Jessy, I decided. She wasn't that impatient.

The name 'Sideswipe' flashing on the screen when I got it out. "Hello?" I asked in confusion.

"Please remove yourself from that hormonally challenged vehicle before it leaves." A smooth voice filtered into my ear.

"Um…?"

"I know we haven't interacted much, but Will wanted me to pick you up. Ratchet's call."

Damn it. There went my plans for the afternoon. Why couldn't the doc-bot come to me instead? "Where are you?"

"Where I'm supposed to be."

Should have figured. "Be there in a minute."

Sure enough a gorgeous car sat by the side of the road. The engine revved when the driver saw me.

"You should answer your phone sooner," Sideswipe comment as I stepped in. "Chromia gave it to you for a reason."

"I'm pretty sure she said it was for emergencies."

He rolled his eyes. If he wanted to get technical I could respond just the same. "Not happy about this job are you?"

He shrugged. "I was with Sunny when I was asked to get you."

Okay I could give him that one. They had been together for about a week but there was no telling how long they had been separated beforehand. "He didn't want to come with you?"

"He broke an axle while training this afternoon."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

They must have been going at it pretty hard for something like that to break... then again I had no idea what an axle amounted to when in their full form. I knew it was important to a vehicle but that was about it.

Sideswipe pulled out of his spot and headed towards the highway. "He'll be fine." My face must have given me away. "The injury isn't life threatening and Ratchet is the best at what he does. Sunny will be back on his feet before the day is out."

I wasn't sure who the words were more intended to reassure anymore. "I'm sure he will," I smiled. Had I been his place I know I would be worrying. Even if the injury was like breaking a bone it's enough to make your heart jump until you know everything is settled.

"What about you?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"You don't seem yourself."

I blinked.

"I realize we don't know much about each other, but you don't look as lively as I remember you bring in Texas."

Damn. Was I really that obvious? "I'm alright, just not feeling a hundred percent is all."

"Need an energy boost?"

I withheld a laugh. It was funny how the phrase held the same basic logic for both our races and yet was completely different at the same time. "Not it's fine. Nothing a little sleep couldn't fix… if my body would allow it."

"I'm sure Ratchet has a solution for that."

"Oh I know he does." The last time he had sedated me I slept all day.

Sideswipe quirked a brow, but did not comment. Instead he turned his gaze back on the road. He stayed true to his design and flew a good fifty miles over the speed limit. Had I not been used to Ironhide's driving I might have freaked. It was still weird to feel like the other cars, all driving near the speed limit, were moving at a snail's pace.

What was with these guys and speeding everywhere?

Tearing my eyes away from the street I took a moment to study Sideswipe's human form. I had to bite my lip. He was incredibly handsome. Swoon worthy even, which was saying something considering I thought swooning only apt for old fashioned women bound in lung crushing corsets. His olive complexion was complimented by his wavy black locks and bright sapphire eyes… but the more I looked at him the more something seemed off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something just wasn't right.

"What are you?" It came out before I could stop it.

Sideswipe laughed. I didn't even have a chance to jump before his hand wnet through my shoulder.

I stared dumbly at the appendage. Either I was dreaming or -

"It's a hologram," he said smoothly.

"Oh." It was the only word I could form as the 'hand' was recoiled.

"I refuse to take on a human form." He left it at that but his tone told of disgust. I didn't question it. I was sure he had his reasons.

The base appeared quickly before us. Sideswipe slowed just enough for security to confirm who he was before speeding up again. We didn't stop until the hanger was at our side.

"You can head in. I'm going to check in on Sunny."

I nodded and climbed out. "Tell him I hope he feels better."

"Will do," he smiled before the door shut and he drove off.

Given the chance I wouldn't mind getting to know him better. Sideswipe seemed like a cool guy. And he was gorgeous… in holo form…

I shook my head.

"Melry," Uncle waving from atop a risen platform within the building.

The first words out of my mouth upon climbing the stairs were, "have any painkillers?"

His brows furrowed for a long moment, then rose. "Got'cha." He turned and headed for a bag sitting on a desk.

"Why can everyone see right through me?" I asked the ceiling.

"Because you're female and paler than normal."

I glanced over the railing and found Ironhide watching me. He was surrounded by gizmos and gadgets and held an oversized wrench in one hand. Beneath his other was a large, odd structure with wires sticking out in every which direction.

"Stick to your day job Ironhide." I took the bottle of medicine from Uncle.

Baffled, the brute looked down at his work then back to me. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What does me being female have to do with pain…" Realization dawned. "I hate you guys."

Uncle was amused but Ironhide was mildly alarmed, unsure of whether to take the statement in jest or not.

"I have a headache and you lot just made it worse." The sad part was I wasn't lying.

"PMS," Epps said from where he sat a few feet away. "It's a warning sign."

I groaned.

"Have a seat," Uncle shook his head with a smile. "Ratchet'll be here in a while."

Sighing I plopped down at the end of the platform closer to Ironhide.

"I was only making an observation," the Autobot said uneasily.

"And I was only stating an emotion." Two pills vanished down my throat.

"I'm s-"

"No!" I held out my hand. "No apologies."

His mouth snapped shut.

"It's called sarcasm. If I actually hated you I wouldn't have come over here to sit."

He nodded silently.

"What do you have there," I pointed at the mess of metal and wires.

"The start of a new cannon."

I blinked. "Seriously?"

He gave me a frustrated look.

"What? It looks like a crazy abstract sculpture." I left out the fact the artist would have probably been on drugs. It would have been too mean considering he had taken my previous statement the wrong way.

"You really are PMSing aren't you?"

I rolled my eyes at Epps's cackle. "Next time you're a jerk I'll ask the same question."

"My kind doesn't suffer such imbalances since we lack hormones."

"Then I'll ask if your glitching."

"Don't compare me to Slag."

My brows knitted together, "what?" Wasn't that a swear word in their language?

"A crazed Dinobot."

I looked around the hanger quickly before speaking, "worse than Grimlock?"

"I'd rather spend a stellar cycle with Grimlock than a nano click with Slag."

Enough said. Grimlock was too much for me as it were, I couldn't imagine someone worse. All I could do was hope the beast never fell to Earth.

"Your head feeling any better?" Ironhide asked when things became too quite between us.

"No." It wasn't so much my head as it was my eyes, but the ache did extend to the back of my skull oddly enough. Maybe that's where the optical part of the brain was… I never did care much for biology.

Ironhide frowned. "Ratchet will have to look into that."

"What is he going to do? Open my skull and tell my brain to behave?" I rolled my eyes. "Humans get headaches. It's natural. Obnoxious, but completely natural."

The answer didn't satisfy him.

I ignored his expression and turned to my uncle, who was busy typing something on one of the laptops stationed up here. "Uncle Will, do you guys still have my stuff from when Starscream obliterated the playground?"

"You mean the rocket truck?" He asked without looking up.

"No. I know you have that. I want my hundred dollar graphic calculator back. I can't be expected to memorize Ron's hundred step formulas for my midterm."

There was a grunt from a certain someone I wasn't going to acknowledge at the moment. "I think we do," Uncle said thoughtfully. "I'll have a look later. If not we'll just get you another one."

I sighed. Chances were I would buy it for myself. I couldn't see him getting to the store before me. Just as well anyway.

My head was forced forward by Ironhides forefinger. "You're acting strangely today."

I pushed at the limb, not that it did anything. "I've been a rotten day."

"Your head that bad?"

"It's part of the equation."

His frown deepened.

"Get your homework done Melry," Uncle said, agitation biting at his words.

"I can't. I'm not caught up with the rest of my crap, so I don't know what's going on in tonight's stuff."

He sighed and pinched his nose. "When Ratchet is done I'll send you home."

I shrugged. There was no need to tell him I was enjoying the procrastination.

For the next hour I idly watched Ironhide work on his not-a-sculpture cannon. I phased out more than once, snapping back to reality only when there was a loud noise or someone calling my name. My head wasn't getting any better, even after I had taken an additional pill. Fortunately it wasn't getting any worse either.

Ratchet stepped in shortly after Sideswipe and Sunstreaker raced by the hanger in full form. He greeted me with a warm smile, "good to see you."

I was about to give a mock salute when I had a mini heart attack.

Ratchet's human form burst from his chest like something out of a horror film.

Startled and frightened I lunged backwards. BANG! The base of my skull cracked the banister. Bright blue stars ricocheted through my vision. Pain flared like a dragon.

Ratchet's arms were around me in a flash, bracing my head to keep it from hitting anything else.

I officially had a migraine.

"Nice going Ratchet," Ironhide's angry voice assaulted my ears.

"Sorry Melry," Ratchet murmured into my ear.

Someone squeezed my hand. It was a battle to open my eyes. Beyond the blue starry haze was the inside of a white jacket and two face. When the hell had Ron appeared? Uncle stood behind him, face filled with concern.

"I've given you a sizable lump," the dratted doctor pressed the afflicted area. I'm sure he meant to be gentle but my skin was extremely sensitivity right now.

Ratchet carefully lay me down. His lab coat trailed away from my eyes and suddenly I was staring at the stark ceiling. "Follow please," he said as a finger appeared before my eyes.

Painfully I did as told, eyes half drooped. I lost count of how many back and forth motions were made before he nodded silently to himself. He proceeded to go through a series of basic physical tests, forcing my eyes wide when he looked at them. I fussed and whined the entire time.

My head was killing me.

Epps appeared as he finished and handed Ratchet a white bag. My back arched as it touched my injury. It was freezing!

"Aside from the blow she's fine," he said.

Uncle sighed. "And she's already taken painkillers for a headache."

"I am sorry. I hadn't meant to startle her like that."

"Should have thought of that before throwing your human form at her," Ironhide sneered.

"Yes, well obviously I had not."

I wanted everyone to stop talking.

"Take her someplace quiet to rest," Ratchet instructed. Uncle moved to take me, but was stopped. "Ironhide is better suited for this."

"Wh-"

"If there are signs of trouble he is more likely to notice."

"Face it Will," Epps began, "she would be more comfortable with 'Hide than you."

Could people just shut up already!

Uncle sighed and backed off. Ron watched him carefully before moving in to pick me up. One hand braced my shoulders and neck, trapping the cold pack against my skin, the other swept up my legs. I curled into him, grabbing his shirt loosely in my fist. My eyes closed and I tried to focus on breathing evenly.

"Where do you want her?" Ron asked, presumably to Uncle.

There was a moment of blissful silence. "I don't know. Use your better judgment."

There was no reply, only the sound of footsteps upon metal and the light sway of movement.

Flames nipped against the cold at the base of by skull. My body tingled. Eyes burned. I was slipping. Falling.

An ocean of blue was pulling me down.

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Nice going Ratchet. Nice going...

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"Ow," I moaned. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep, but the back of my skull still throbbed. I wasn't even sure where I was. I was laying on my side on something soft, but other than that I was lost. It was too dark to see.

"You're awake," Ron's voice filtered through the darkness and was closely followed by a hand brushing over my hair.

I groaned. "Don't touch me in the dark."

He snorted. "Open your eyes."

"Ha. Ha." I rolled onto my back. My head and neck didn't appreciate the move. "Turn on a light."

A long, still moment passed between us. The dolt wasn't even making an attempt to move.

"Ratchet!"