Sitting by the edge of the cliff was Lucy, staring out into the distance as the sun began to set over the horizon. A gust of wind greets her by causing her hair to sway sporadically. This is exactly what she needed after her argument with the commander who knows-it-all earlier. Nothing could infuriate her more than that arrogant mech, who had the audacity to insult her which no one could even read his thoughts like she did.

She lets out a sigh before leaning back with her hands behind her for support as she took in the warm rays into her metal skin. Closing her eyes, allowing herself to wash away any anger that still lingered in her system by listening to the sounds that emanated throughout the desert. She drowned out any and every noise for a solid moment until she felt the ground beneath her shake slightly. There were heavy footsteps slowly approaching her which made her open her eyes and then she glances over her shoulder-pads to see Optimus.

"Hey Optimus." She greeted him and then turned to look forward, remaining in the same position.

"Mind if I sit beside you?"

She then pats the vacant spot beside her, politely inviting him to sit beside her. "Go ahead." Through the corner of her optic and sees Optimus sitting beside her with his legs now dangling off the edge of the cliff.

Neither of them said a word, instead they stared off into the distance silently admiring the horizon. The sun is already halfway down the desolate plains of Nevada, its skies adorning a breathtaking scarlet and orange hue.

"I'm sorry."

Optimus turns to stare down at her in bewilderment, obviously not expecting to hear an apology.

"I'm sorry for taking my anger out on you. I understand that blueberry is now your second-in-command and to be respected but— ugh! I genuinely can't stand his attitude." Lucy angrily crossed her arms and was glaring down the cliff with a pout on her features.

Optimus quirked a brow-ridge at her choice of words, particularly the new nickname she has for Ultra Magnus. "Your frustration is noted, however, Ultra Magnus needs time to adjust. I already made this clear with him and the same will apply to you: get along with each other."

Her frown deepened and had pursed her lips in response to those dreadful words, yet she didn't argue. It's not that she didn't want to get along with him, but the one trait that she couldn't stand about him was how controlling he is. Perhaps she should at least try…

Ultimately she sighed in defeat. "Fine. But if he says anything remotely rude to anyone- not just me. I won't hesitate to put him in his place."

"It would be wise to keep your personal conflicts within the confines of the base. I expect you and Ultra Magnus to set aside your problems while on missions, understood?" He advised with a stern tone, and watched as Lucy turned to face him and silently nodded.

Optimus gave her a curt nod before moving on with the next conversation he had in mind. "I've been made aware by Ratchet of your lack of rest."

She averted her optics and a sheepish smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Oh… uh, Ratchet told you, huh?"

"Indeed. Which means that you will remain at the base until Ratchet deems that you are ready, however there is one exception." He then raised his servo and pointed his index digit towards her. "You will accompany me on missions- not all of them, but those that will accommodate your well-being."

"Optimus, I'm not dying. It's just sleep deprivation." She lightly reminded him.

"There is still a probability of you getting injured in the process."

"All right, fair play."

They then began to initiate a deep conversation and at one point they discussed music, in fact, Lucy learned that Optimus was into country music which unironically suits him well. She too shared her music preferences and offered him to make a chance to hear it one day which were; classical music and jazz.

As soon as the sun had disappeared into the horizon and the stars now adorning the chilly night skies, Optimus and Lucy were on their way back to the hangar. Upon their arrival almost everyone was absent, and the only one that greeted them at the entrance was Ratchet. Optimus then bid them a goodnight and left the hangar to recharge in the building next store.

Lucy's optics darted across the room and purposely avoided Ratchet's gaze out of shame. However, she was caught by complete surprise when she felt his servo resting on her shoulder-pad. When she locked eyes with him and he gave her a reassuring smile and she timidly reciprocated the action.

The hours had gone by, the moon had already disappeared and the first sign of the sun slowly began to peak from the horizon. The only one awake at this ungodly hour was Ratchet. He stood in front of the singular monitor he was currently utilizing. There were soft clicks every so often, his digits gliding smoothly across the advanced piece of technology with ease before he stopped and then moved his focus away from the screen. The table beside him and on top was Lucy sleeping on her side where she faced him.

This was the first time he'd seen her properly sleep since her return. No one else was aware of this except for him and Optimus. Seeing her eventually giving in to his advice after constantly pressuring her to get some much needed sleep had left him at ease. He had every right to do so, after all he is the medic.

Ratchet took a small side step towards her and extended his servo to brush away a loose strand of hair from her face-plates, tucking it behind her audio-receptors. His servo lingered on the side of her helm before he resumed his task. He spent the majority of the morning in the same exact spot, not once taking a break or moving whatsoever. It wasn't long until there were heavy footsteps approaching behind him, which he didn't seem to notice since he was absorbed in his work until the voice spoke.

"Synthetic Energon?" Optimus spoke from behind, being mindful as to not raise his voice too much while Lucy slept on the table beside them.

"Indeed." Ratchet turns to face him and proceeds to express his concerns. "I am concerned that without access to any Energon reserves since our base was destroyed, our ability to deal with impending crises will be severely hampered."

"A wise decision, old friend."

"Just, please… manage your expectations. I am working with even more rudimentary hardware than before." Ratchet stated as he gestures towards the various human-sized computer monitors scattered across the second table beside the monitor.

"Prime!" Agent Fowler's voice boomed from across the hanger which caught the attention of all the Autobots that were present in the room.

Although, he failed to notice the still sleeping femme just below him as he began to inform them of the two Decepticon situations. The wide-eyed expressions across Optimus and Ratchet's features were prominent but not enough to draw suspicions to Fowler. They internally feared that she would wake up from Fowler's loud voice but luckily didn't, she was far too deep in her sleep.

"Satellite surveillance has picked up two signs of Decepticon activity: one near an oil field outside of El Paso, and the other near the Hebrides bluffs in Scotland. So don't forget to pack your kilts."

….

She fluttered her optics open and a groan slips out before slowly sitting upright. Her joints creaked and then she pressed her metal palm up against her forehead from how exhausted she felt. Even when she got some proper sleep in days, her body felt heavier and her movements were sluggish.

Her awakening caught the attention of Ratchet who was still standing by the monitor that had the Synthetic Energon formula on the screen. He turns to see Lucy sitting upright and seeing her hunched forward quickly made him take a step forward, reacting out of concern. However, she raised her servo which seemingly works in stopping him in his tracks.

"I'm fine," She reassured him before meeting his overly concerned gaze and smiled. Watching him visibly relax, his tensed shoulder-caps slacked and his extended servo went back to his side.

"It's good to see that you have properly rested." He commented which earned a light hum from her.

"Then how come I feel even more drained than before? Maybe if I drink an entire bottle of sleeping pills I can finally rest easily." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice, although apparently Ratchet didn't seem to catch on to this. He reacted quite strongly to her solution through sheer horror.

"And get yourself killed of an overdose?! Are you out of your mind?"

She stared blankly at him and in a deadpanned tone she said. "No. I was being sarcastic. But I'm genuinely glad that you care for me, Ratchet. That's very sweet of you."

Ratchet blinked and stuttered out a bunch of gibberish from the sheer amount of embarrassment coursing through his systems. His cooling fans kicked in and then looked away to avoid her gaze. As he did this he could've sworn he heard Lucy chuckling quietly to herself, which made him want to wallow in a corner.

Suddenly the sounds of the Ground Bridge sputtering open filled the air where Wheeljack in his alternate mode pulled up inside the base before transforming. Ratchet turns his helm to see Wheeljack who was chatting with Arcee briefly.

"Did you secure the Predacon bone?" Ratchet asks.

Wheeljack looks off to the side. "The— uh— beast hunt kind of imploded, doc."

Agent Fowler's voice then chimes in where everyone turns to see him approaching the railing. "Well, I just got wind of another 'Con hotspot. Right outside of Taos, New Mexico. Since Prime's unit isn't back from the oil country…"

"Raf , set a Ground Bridge for Fowler's coordinates." Arcee then turns to Wheeljack and gestures her digit to him then back towards herself. "You, roll with me."

"Not today, all right?" Wheeljack quickly declines Arcee's request.

"If you're alright sending out there alone." Arcee glances over to him as she walks past him and heads straight towards the Ground Bridge.

Wheeljack's gaze followed the smaller femme, optics narrowing and lips curling down. "Alone's how I prefer to roll."

Ratchet's left optic twitched as he called out to the non-compliant wrecker whilst gesturing towards the monitor screen beside him. "Wheeljack, you do not want to make me abandon a complex equation to venture outside my comfort zone."

He scoffs, motioning with his servo towards Lucy. "What about her? Can't she go instead?"

"Wheeljack," She turns her helm where her half-lidded gaze examined his obvious disfavor written across his features. "I'm not in the best condition right now, and seeing that I haven't rested in days. My performance out in the field would be all too sluggish and could get hurt—possibly killed. I should also add that Optimus had specifically ordered for me to remain at the base."

Eventually he groans in defeat and with a roll of his optics he turns to follow Arcee out the vortex. "Fine."

His voice can be heard saying something to Arcee before disappearing through the Ground Bridge as it closed right behind them.

In her fatigued state, she moved which allowed her legs to dangle on the side of the table. She hoists herself out of the table and heads straight towards the entrance to the base. Before she could walk out, Ratchet suddenly chimes in which stops her.

"And where do you think you're going?"

She looks over her shoulder-cap at Ratchet. "Out for a stroll. If I'm going to sleep normally again I might as well get rid of this insomnia by wandering around until I can no longer feel my legs."

With that she left Hangar E to go on her extremely long stroll. Even when the sun had disappeared from the sky she still hasn't returned to base and with good reasons. Secretly, she's been training out in the desert plain with her newfound weapon, free from any distractions and most importantly from Ultra Magnus. Utilizing her short sword, a miniature version of the Star Saber, by slicing up rocks and using different techniques that could be used more effectively during scouting missions and on the battlefield.

Once she had finished her training session and began to walk all the way back to base. As she was walking down the rocky path of the bleak land, a gust of wind pelts on her metallic skin causing her to involuntarily shiver. She stops mid walk and then looks off into the distance and notices a dark cloud from afar. Lightning flashed through the distance and she could faintly hear the crack of thunder rumbling throughout the desert.

"Looks like a storm is coming." She said aloud and was staring off into the distance in deep thought… then it hits her.

"The data pad!"

(A/n)

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile hasn't it? I genuinely hope you guys are doing alright from this pandemic. Not gonna lie, it's been pretty difficult over here. The paranoia of keeping items and yourself clean after going out to run some errands can be quite overwhelming.

I do apologize for the sudden hiatus, but this semester I decided to set my writing aside and focus on my studies (which were all online because of this pandemic... it wasn't fun.) I'm happy to say that I've successfully passed all my classes! Which means that I can happily dive back into writing without the stress of having to do homework.

Thank you for those who had been waiting for this chapter, all of your comments didn't go unnoticed and it makes me happy that you guys enjoy reading this story. Until next time, and have a Happy New Years to all you lovely readers!