With a hole still blasted through the side of the entry hangar, the injured needed a place to rest. Unable to move many of the critically wounded, they were housed in the personal quarters of the Bots. With triage long complete, the rooms were cleaned out and cots put in wherever they could fit.

Having taken first watch to patrol, Optimus, Ironhide, and Mirage now sat in recharge in the entry hangar as the heat and smoke made little bother for them. Bumblebee, Sandstorm, and Hoist traversed the perimeter in their alt modes to ensure safety from a second attack.

The sun was rising in the east but few stirred. Most of the night had been fraught with stress and activity, but eventually most people had a chance to get some sleep. Even with the opportunity, Danielle still found her efforts to rest entirely fruitless. Quietly, she wrapped a blanket around herself and slipped out from one of the bot's repurposed quarters, careful not to step on any cots.

Her arm and shoulder seemed to be filled with fire and it radiated into her torso if she moved wrong in her sling. Apparently this was pain, and her mind had a difficult time managing the new aspect of her world. As monumental as this change was, it paled in comparison to the bond she now had to navigate.

Hoping to find Bee as restless as herself, she crept towards the entry hangar. Heavenly morning sunshine poured golden pink into the room through the destroyed corner of the hangar. Slumped in the shadows were Ironhide, Optimus, and Mirage. The dusty black Bot seemed to be the only of the trio awake. His optics found her as she padded out of the hallway into the expansive room.

As she got closer to him, he whispered "Can't sleep neither, huh?" She shook her head and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. "Well, I ain't the greatest company but feel free to hang out."

Meekly, Danielle asked Ironhide "Is Bee still on patrol?" Studying her, he could tell she was barely standing on her feet. He lowered his hand, palm up, in front of her. "For a few more hours, doll. You should really try to get some rest."

She stared at the cold hand, feeling empty and utterly exhausted. It wouldn't be the same, but it was better than lying on the dirty concrete. Climbing up, she carefully laid down on her back and stared at the broken ceiling. One bright star still shone in defiance of the morning sun.

"'Hide…" she sighed, too tired to care if the questions swimming in her head were too personal. "Have you ever had a spark bond with someone?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he said gruffly before venting heavily. "Obviously my, as you call them, "mother" and "father" bonded with me way back when, but they've long since returned to the well of allsparks. New bonds are rare these days. With all the war and death we go through, I don't really see the point of being so attached to another. Besides, my processor has so much anger, I wouldn't want to send that out to someone else all the time to deal with." He would never vocalize it, but he also was terrified of losing someone allowed to be that close to him.

Time passed with only the sound of Sandstorm's distant helicopter blades thumping in the morning quiet. Watching the last vestiges of the star lose to the brightening sky, Danielle pressed for more information. "What's it like?"

He took his time forming his answer, mulling through eons-old memories of his creators and the innocent time before he even had a weapon. "It's like talking but without all the messy stuff. No lies or misinterpretations. You feel exactly what they feel, and vice versa. If they love you, you'll feel surrounded by it. If you're scared, they'll know it no matter how far away they are. When you really get down deep into a bond, you can even share memories or thoughts. You can't get more exposed than that, but it feels… like home." Lost in his thoughts, he trailed off from the conversation. Danielle laid in his hand, deep in her own considerations, before finally falling into a fitful sleep.

Sunshine streamed in harsh and white through the accidental skylight now, the heat coupled with a throbbing in her arm beginning to wake Danielle from her slumber. A gentle shake eventually brought her back fully as she squinted into the brightness to see Ironhide's face. "Changing of the guard, little lady. Mind if I hand you off to Scout?"

Not waiting for her answer, he carefully lifted her up by the blanket wrapped around her and placed her in Bee's hand. She winced but was grateful to see Bee again. Ironhide transformed and sped off into the shimmering heat to take his rounds.

"How are you?" Bee asked her. She sat up in his palm and studied his face, feeling his concern, but also his anxiety. Placing her own palm against his metal, she shoved aside her own apprehension of the unknown and told him with as much confidence as she could muster "I want to try again."

His optics widened slightly in surprise. "Let's go somewhere more private and we'll talk first."

His hand swayed her side to side as his long legs ate up the distance to the Med Bay, empty except for Arcee still in stasis. He went to an open berth against the wall and set Danielle back against it. He laid down on his side, facing her, like a giant yellow privacy curtain.

He lightly touched the top of her head before speaking. "I'm relieved we had more time to go over this, there are a few things you need to know. It's permanent, there is no undoing or turning it off. Not only will I know your emotions, I can also force my own onto you. If you are filled with rage, I can take it away and replace it with calm. The same is true the other way around, you onto me." He paused, searching her face and reading the tendril of understanding they already had between them. "You still seem hesitant. There's no rush to this, Danielle. We never have to pursue this, it can stay superficial like it is now, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Bee, you know I already trust you with my life and my past." She stared down into her lap, fighting to quell the anxiety in her stomach. "I want to take this step, I truly do, but I'm afraid of what you'll find. I…" she squeezed her eyes and fist shut, trying to keep her words flowing but they flew out in rapid succession instead. "We've never talked about what kind of relationship this is and I don't know if we're on the same page. I'm so scared of the answers, so I've never asked. I don't know if it's all in my head or if you…" She couldn't finish the sentence. Taking a breath, she moved on. "I'm terrified of hurting you no matter what direction I take."

He could sense the storm roiling inside of her and wanted to take it all away if she would let him. "I think I'm prepared for whatever I find. You can't be the one to try to shield me." With delicate precision, he pushed an errant lock of hair from her face. "It's entirely up to you. You can take more time if you want it. You can change your mind as many times as you want, but once the connection is made, there's no going back."

Her thoughts flew back and forth, desperately wanting to discover what something like this could mean in her life, but her fear of the near-future impact was not entirely unquenched. It all came down to trust. Trust that he would understand, trust that he would never use the bond to manipulate or harm her, trust that she could handle it.

He felt her find a calmness that wasn't there before and saw her sit up just that much straighter. Wanting to make sure, he asked "You are sure? And you are ready?"

"I am."

The metal plates on his chest retracted slightly, the white radiance of his spark peeking through. It shone across Danielle and reflected off the wall back onto him.

She felt like the universe reached out and plucked her mind from her body, launching her back into that dark stillness from before. There was no need to search for him this time, he was already with her, the connection between them quivering brightly.

I want you to know you are safe here, that's why I'm going first. Just remember that I've lived much much longer than you, and I've been at war for most of my life. While I do have many treasured memories, I have also seen, and done, some truly terrible things.

Taking one last moment to collect herself, she looked down the bond and nudged into his side of it. Like a door had swung wide open, she felt herself falling into him. She felt that same stillness and felicity from before, and a confidence wafting around her. Stepping in was the same as last time, like a room stacked with thoughts, memories, feelings.

Before she could reach out for anything, his memories presented themselves to her. There were familiar faces along with beings she couldn't comprehend. Joy in finding a new home on Earth. Countless images flitted by of Cybertron before it fell, evoking love and homesickness. It pulled away in sharp contrast to fear, fury, and raw force from eons of war, carnage, destruction and desolation.

Pangs of regret and consternation accompanied graphic memories of slaying enemies, death that didn't always feel justified to him. Even with the loyalty and unyielding respect for his Prime, and a wholesome belief that he was on the right path, there was a spark of disbelief in the war for all the damage it had, and would continue, to cause.

Dread and that familiar feeling of invasion felt like it might suffocate them both when a mental image of Megatron appeared. A confusing reel of memories cascaded by of Bee in his own mind, then forced out of it by the Decepticon warlord. Feelings of his body moving but not being the one controlling it. Seeing and hearing the thoughts of the dark lord's wicked plans, and being utterly incapacitated in the face of the looming threat. There was a notion of him coming back into his own before he let the events fall away, but she could tell he was glossing over more painful points in this story.

Sweeping over the darkness like an ocean-borne breeze, desires began to drift by, a strong pulse of the idea of becoming a warrior, full of honor and ability to protect his allies. Underneath it, a plague of lamentation for never seeing his dream come true of becoming properly classed on his home world. A rebuilt Cybertron, a return to the life he'd had before the war, longing for a possible spark to share.

The ideations drifted before everything cleared away, leaving just that residual calm he seemed to be filled with. Then it felt as if she was holding a music box, a tender package that held something precious within. It opened, immediately apparent that this was how he thought of her. Feelings of protectiveness, hope of a brighter future, and questioning guilt wrapped around each other.

He did not push her away or try to conceal any of it, just let her sit with the understanding for a moment.

I'm not sure what you had expected, but I hope you can understand that I only want you to build beyond your past to a better life ahead. I worry that our presence may have inhibited that, but I am nevertheless grateful for the chance to meet such a strong soul.

Rising around her, he let her feel his attachment to her. No uncouth yearnings or sensations of puppy love, only an intimacy forged of trust in the hearth of battle. It was the kind of love that drove a soldier to fight harder while still knowing that, one day, he would have to let go.

The warm thoughts swelled around her, dwarfing her own feelings of surprise, before slowly dissipating. With a light nudge, she felt herself pushed back to her own mind.

There was that familiar brush against her consciousness, asking to be let in. No thread of anxiety wove into her thoughts like she'd expected. Apprehension at facing the unknown was natural, but she had released the knot of fear of vulnerability when she accepted this.

Focusing on the contact, she withdrew from it to make space for him to come to her down the bond. Then he was simply there with her in her mind. She could feel his expectancy.

I don't know how to show you...

That's alright. I can find my way.

And with that, she felt him touch against memories and thoughts, bringing them up for both to experience.

Snapshots of her father lovingly teaching her mechanical skills, her mother serving her favorite dessert for dinner, spring days playing around the old oak tree as a child, picnics, exciting summer adventures with school friends. Happy satisfaction raced between them examining the new friendships, and the new home, she had found with the Autobots and the ARC team. An honest pride bloomed with the measure of her newly kindled confidence and ability to handle much of her past.

He moved on only to find a disquiet that melded loneliness, lost opportunity, and profound remorse. Raptor, living unknown for years, unrecognized protector and avenger; branching hypothetical timelines where he was known, saved, alive. She missed him, and everything he could have been.

She felt him pressing on further, considerate of the darkness he excavated. It was a well of grief; funeral flowers, her parent's faces in repose, homes and innocence destroyed.

As he touched upon a shard of fear, the face of Jeramie sat like the cover of a book that held only evil. Bee hesitated to open it, hyper aware of the growing tension and dread building around them like a hurricane howling just beyond the horizon.

Danielle? Are you still okay with this?

She tried to steady her mind, like a sailboat bucking at its mooring, bracing against what she knew would be raw for them both. She tried to convince herself she could handle reliving it with no mental buffer.

She focused on the confidence and security that his presence exuded, trying to absorb it.

Yes, I am.

Gently, he cracked open the memory and a wisp of the vile story drifted out. He saw a massive oak tree, a darkening bank of clouds, and a bolt of lightning that filled the sky. An explosion of violent emotions concussed around them before he was thrown from her mind and cast back into his own. The bond deadend none of the ferocity behind the closed door Danielle had slammed shut in reflex. He tried to pull the panic away and replace it with anything else, but he couldn't get through to her.

It was enough to set his own mind aflame with distress, growing as it surged through the bond. They might both be lost down here if he couldn't bring her back around. Fighting the torrent, he worked his way back up the bond and pushed on the barrier around her mind. It was strong for a being that should never have needed to know how to block like this. As he looked for a way past it, he realised it was a block against a memory, not intrusion, scaled up to cover her entire mind. She made up with pure resolve what she lacked in experience, but he was able to find weak points that he would have to exploit to save them both.

Like a loosened brick in a wall, he forced it aside and slipped through the hole in the defense. It was like stepping into a tornado of every darkness imaginable.

Outrage flared around them both as Bee witnessed explicitly the full extent of the savagery as it had happened to her, second by agonizing second. It overrode his circuits and distracted him for too many long moments before he was hit full force with the waves of harrowing pain crashing over him. Attempting to disconnect from the memory that continued to play before them, he surrounded Danielle and, with firm but insistent effort, pried the suffering from her, taking it unto himself, and replacing it with feelings of security and ataraxia.

Her storm raged within him with all the same calamitous power but he fought to quell it rather than release it back onto her. Time stretched painfully on while he continued trying to hold her together. Eventually it subsided and dispersed, leaving them both exhausted and shaken. She felt like she was waking from a nightmare-turned-dream, lucid but disoriented.

Did you… do something?

I did. I am sorry for not warning you but I couldn't let that continue. When I said I could take or force feelings? That's what that was.

They sat together in silence, letting the emotional blanket he'd covered her with fall away in its own time. Slowly, her own notions returned. Between them lay the epicenter of the storm, that cursed memory. He didn't need to see anymore to understand it, and she knew that.

Letting it fall away, he retreated from the dark corners. He knew they must move forward, but she was fragile, not like a flower, but like a bomb. Another tempest like that could snap her. While he took a few moments contemplating how to proceed, he found she had managed to present something to him.

Examining it, he found it was himself. He smiled inwardly and gently pulled it forward to open it. While there was a core feeling of attachment and affection, swaddled in happy memories, there was an underlying shame that mingled with deceitfulness.

She felt his discomfiture.

I can explain…

You don't have to, I already see it all. You were worried I was seeking a human-based bond to you, and that it would hold me back from finding a "better" other. You were afraid to face the issue in case it resulted in my abandoning you.

You deserve better than a comparatively short lifespan and tons of baggage. But that doesn't change the fact that I don't want to let you go, because you're the best thing to happen to me in a long time.

There are very few things on this world, or mine, that could take me from you, Danielle.

This time, it was he who felt the surge of deep platonic love expanding to fill the space around them. It was an unmatched sensation, beyond any kinship and incomparable to a sparkmate. He hoped to never lose it.

After taking one last moment to relish the full scale of the emotions at their source, he finally pulled away and left her to her mind.

Floating in the darkness of the void around them, the two orbs danced gently in the eddies of an invisible current that was rising like a river's tide. The white ribbon between them tesseracted, throwing thin beams of light of every color in all directions. There was a growing tension along it as translucent ether began to flow like smoke over water and envelope the pair. Brightening, there was almost a ringing sensation before a simple snap and everything fell away.

Danielle opened her eyes, squinting against the harsh ambiance of the Med Bay, just in time to see Bee's plate armor return to fully shielding his spark. Even after it had closed, cutting off the warm radiance she had been swathed in, she could still feel his calmness and bubbling joy. If she closed her eyes, she could almost perceive that delicate white ribbon glowing between them.

Looking into those bright aqua optics, she no longer saw a young carefree Bot just trying to carve a space for himself on a new planet. For the first time, she truly saw the battle scarred soldier, and better understood his endless struggle to preserve himself in the face of all the destruction.

As the pair sat awash in their new reality, Arcee had begun to rise from stasis. Onlining, she had noticed a particularly strong sense of a spark. She had watched as Bumblebee and Danielle shared that glow for some time. It almost looked like a spark bonding, but that was unheard of, impossible.

Her processor ached when she tried to sit up. Laying back onto the berth, she resigned herself to her recovery and quietly slipped back into stasis.