Normally I don't like to post twice in one day, but I'm just so blown away by how people have been liking this story. Plus I got the chapter done early and was too excited not to share.

I don't own Transformers or their characters.

Bolded words are spoken via internal comlink system

Miko looked away from her video game as Rafael jumped for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Raf.. you aren't afraid of thunder are you?"

"What? No! That'd be silly." His body betrayed him as another muffled clap of thunder echoed through the room.

Miko snorted. "Yeah sure, how can I not see how totally chill you are right now? My bad."

The younger boy ignored her sarcasm, "It must be getting rough out there if we can hear it in here." He turned back to his laptop and began surfing local weather sites.

"I know, think they'll close the school? Or maybe it'll flood and wash the whole building away! Or the whole town!" She laughed maniacally.

They had both changed into their pajamas, more because they could then because they were tired. Miko was wearing an oversized metal band T-shirt as a nightgown and mismatched fuzzy socks. Raf had on simple gray sweatpants and a sweater, but he was barefoot.

"Hey Raf?" Miko purred.

"Mm?" He didn't look up from his research.

"I just came to an awesome decision. Wanna know what?"

"Mhm"

"Look!"

He peeled his eyes from the screen only to be met with Miko's tongue uncomfortably close to his face. He stumbled back, his laptop clattering to the ground. "Eww! Miko!"

She leaned back on her palms and grinned. "I'm gonna get a tongue piercing! Won't that be cool? Think I can get one shaped like brass knuckles?"

BumbleBee drew the kids attention with a wave of his arms and a series of beeps.

"He says we should keep quieter so Arcee doesn't come out to yell at us" Raf translated.

Bulkhead shuttered, "He's got a point. She can be scary."

"Like Jack's mom," Miko snickered.

"I don't know," Raf murmured, "I think Ms. Darby can be scarier."

"Yeah but June doesn't have swords and cannons." Miko spun around and mimicked shooting a cannon from her arm at Bulkhead.

"Aghh!" He cried, clutching at his massive metal chest, "You got me! Spark.. fading..." He collapsed with a dramatic flourish and an echoing bang.

"Well now you've done it," Ratchet sighed, deliberately ignoring the other mechs as Arcee appeared in the doorway. BumbleBee jumped back behind Bulkhead, who was just sitting up.

Arcee stood calmly, eyeing them with narrowed optics. "Are you insane?" They could tell this wasn't a question.

Bulkhead rubbed his helm awkwardly. "Ugh..my bad?"

"It's not a big deal, Bulk and I just got carried away," Miko shrugged, "Besides, Jack probably won't stay asleep anyway."

Arcee put her hands on her hips, "And what makes you think that?"

It was Raf who answered. "He has insomnia, he told us so himself."

"Is that another illness?" Bulkhead asked, nervously keeping back from Arcee as he got to his feet.

"Yes and no, it's not like a cold or the flu or anything. It's just something some people have and deal with. It means you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. Some people even have to take medication so they can sleep. Jack's isn't that bad, though. He just wakes up a lot." Raf shrugged.

Ratchet grew curious and couldn't keep out of the conversation any longer. "I thought humans needed sleep to function."

Miko leapt to her feet and approached the railing of the platform. "We do, that's why it stinks. When I first came here from Japan I had jet lag like crazy. That's when switching time zones messes with your body's sleep clock and makes you all wonky." By way of example she wiggled her fingers in front of her face and made a dazed expression.

"Ah," Ratchet nodded, "like rocket lag."

"Yeah, just like that! I think."

BumbleBee made a series of curious sounds. Raf smiled up at him. "Well yeah, Bee, we tell each other everything at this point."

"Jack never mentioned this to me." Arcee pointed out cooly.

"Weeell," Miko made a show of examining her chipped pink nail polish, "that might be because he thinks you'd flip out."

"I don't 'flip out', Miko. I'm no more concerned for Jack's safety then June is, or Bulkhead is of yours, or BumbleBee of Raf's."

The teen whistled, "I wouldn't use June as an example of not flipping out. Just saying."

Before Arcee could sharpen her glare, Raf attempted damage control. "We'll still keep it down, though. Sorry." Arcee rolled her optics and stalked off without another word.

Miko huffed, "Well someone's especially touchy today."

"Leave her alone, Miko," Raf sighed, gathering up his things, "You know how she gets about Jack."

"What're you doing?"

"Getting ready for bed."

She whined, "What? But it's only 1am!"

Raf ignored her and climbed into BumbleBees waiting hand.

As she started to pout Bulkhead offered his own. "C'mon, recharge time. Didn't ya' want to see my room?"

Her face lit up and she practically flung herself into his palm. From there she scrambled up his arm to stand on his shoulder. She puffed out her chest and pointed dramatically toward the hallway. "Roll out!" Bulkhead did a mock salute and headed from the room, BumbleBee close behind him.

Once things were finally quiet, Ratchet shook his head and muttered to himself. "Fragging teenagers.."

Arcee entered her dark quarters as quietly as she could, pleasantly surprised to see her charge still fast asleep. She couldn't help the smug smile on her face. Won't stay asleep, Miko? So sure about that?

She slipped past him and onto her berth. She dimed the glow of the data pad she was reading, just in case, and settled with her back against the wall.

She hadn't planned to recharge, but hours later she found herself snapped awake by a quiet sound. The lights had come on automatically and her internal clocks told her it was already morning. Slag. Before she could continue to mentally berate herself, movement drew her attention. Her spark went cold with dread.

Jack was turning fitfully, his sleeping face twisted in pain. Sweat glistened on his pale skin even though he shivered. The sound that had woken her was his muffled whimpering. In all their time together, Arcee had never see Jack like this. In an instant she scooped him up, activating her comm as she raced down the hall.

Ratchet, medbay, now.

He must of known it was serious because he didn't protest the younger bot ordering him around.

Affirmative.

Arcee beat him there and started pacing around the room, Jack locked securely in her arms. He had gone quiet and stopped squirming, but she could feel his labored breathing against her chassis. Her systems buzzed with energy, her body looking for a fight that wasn't there. After a painfully long nano-klik the door slid open and she spun to face the medic.

"Arcee what happened? Lay him down."

"I-I don't know," Hesitantly she placed Jack on the exam table. The cybertronian size of it made him look even smaller then he was. Arcee watched as the blue light of Ratchet's scanner engulfed him. "I powered up from recharge to find him like his, except he was moving and seemed to be in pain." The unsteadiness in her own voice surprised her.

Ratchet focused on the task at hand, never tearing his eyes from the computer screen while he addressed the femme. "Was he awake?"

"No, he was just sort of..twisting in his sleep. And he was making quiet sounds like he was hurt."

Ratchet just nodded. "This is bad, his internal temperature has risen." Not waiting for a response he activated the computer's communication program and dialed June Darby. She answered before by the third ring.

"Good morning guys, how's Jack feeling?"

"Not well, I'm afraid, Nurse Darby."

After the briefest of pauses she spoke again, sounding tense and serious. "Tell me everything."

Arcee tuned out their back-and-forth of medical terms. Instead, she stood in silence staring down at Jack. This was a whole new kind of suffering for her. With Tailgate and Cliffjumper, it burned. The desperation that she could have done something, anything. But this was different and unnatural to her, this helpless realization that there just wasn't anything she could do. No amount of fighting or begging could fix Jack. It was like the floor had fallen out from under her.

"What's going on?" Miko's voice brought Arcee back to reality. Raf and their guardians stood in the doorway behind her, the two humans now fully dressed. It was June who answered.

"You need to get Jack to the hospital, I'll meet you there. Hurry."

Nano-klik- A Cybertronian unit of time, aprox. 1 second