You should never be alone!
Chapter 8
She wasn't sure where she was but she was surely irritated by the continuous beeping that sounded right beside her. Bella tried to open her eyes but it seemed too hard, they were heavy and obviously wanted to rest more. But she couldn't; she remembered clearly now. Starscream and a decepticon in the alley blocking not just her path by the teens she was with as well. Isabella hadn't meant to get into trouble she was only trying to go back to the abandoned house and somehow got caught up with the decepticons that knew her locations and the teens. She most definitely remembered the pain she felt as she was struck by Starscream even the throbbing pain that travelled through her body even when she was unconscious.
Now that she was awake the pain was still there but it wasn't as excruciating as it was before. Her head hurt as she groan and shifted on the soft bed that she lay upon. "Bells?" the voice was soft and she recognised it immediately. It made her emerald eyes open quickly as they found his, her breath hitched when she saw his holoform sat right beside her. It was then that she realised that his hand of his holoform was wrapped around hers at her side; his thumb stroking over her skin. The feeling made her moan in content at his presence by her side.
"Smoke…" he didn't let her carry on with whatever she was going to say knowing that she needed to rest but that didn't stop him acting as he pushing himself off of the chair to lean over her, his lips crashing into her hers. He couldn't help himself as he had had the urge to this for so long and after seeing her so hurt and in danger it tipped him off the edge that now she was awake and safe he had to kiss her. As Smokescreen did he felt her kiss him back, leaning into his warm touch. It happened so fast that Smokescreen knew that it was wrong; she only just woken up and was still recovering and he had just kissed her unexpectedly. He pulled away with his face full of guilt though he was still quite close to her. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me"
His blue eyes looked upon her, though he could tell she was still hurting she gave him one of her soft smiles that made his spark rumble loudly which made him glad that he was using his holoform. "I do" was her reply as she lifted her hand up and grasped onto the white and blue striped shirt he was wearing, with the autobots insignia on the shoulders, as hard as she could and using the strength she had regained from her time unconscious she pulled him down again. This time she kiss him first which caught him off guard but seeing that she wanted it he gave in returning it and lifting his hand to brush against her cheek. The whole thing made them both moan out in pleasure. Bella not wanting it to end brushed her fingertips through his light blonde hair with red highlights, she took in a deep breath as she felt his lips against hers. The softness of his touch and warmth that radiated off of his body that made her want to snuggle into him.
"Miss Isabella" the entrance of another voice made the two retract from their actions as they saw a nurse stood at the foot of the bed that look a little sorry that she interrupted them and a little uncomfortable which meant that she must have been there for a little bit and they both hadn't noticed, their attention solely focused on each other. Bella nodded to confirm to the nurse that she was listening. "It's good to see that you are finally awake; are you in any pain?"
"I've got a headache and my chest and arm hurts quite a bit" she looked to her other arm that was put into a cast and secured tight so she didn't need to be told that it was broken. The nurse moved immediately administering some pain relief for her to make her feel better.
"You suffered a broken bones on your right arm that penetrated through your skin that caused a severely loss of blood and you have a lot of bruising on your chest and around your abdomen but you will recover over time. Is there anything else I can get you?"
Bella shook her head and the nurse took her leave, leaving the two alone again. They both remained silent for some time Bella feeling the pain relief kicking in, making her feel more relaxed.
Turning her head so that both Smokescreen and Bella were looking into each others eyes again the red head spoke up "So what really happened?"
"Starscream took you and the kids and offered you four in exchange for the Omega Keys. He was able to use the Omega Lock and targeted Earth but Optimus destroyed the Lock and we retreated back to the base only for the decepticons to attack and destroy the base" as he told her everything she shifted on the bed suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "I'm sorry Bells, I wanted to take care of you and I failed. I couldn't protect you while I was on Cybertron and when you needed me here I couldn't help but go back and leave you" he looked into her emerald eyes and could see tears forming though she refused to let them spill "Optimus was going to stay behind and destroy the ground bridge so the cons couldn't follow us but by the time I got you to safety and went back the base was already destroyed and Optimus was…" Bella could tell that Smokescreen was a little emotion so she reached her left hand out and took his hand clinging to it like her life depended on it.
The rookie didn't really understand thinking she would be upset with him even angry but instead she understood him and was trying to comfort him "Is he…"
He shook his head "I managed to get him out from under the rubble and it took a while but I got him some place nearby but he is severely damaged and I'm not sure how long he's got left without Ratchet around to fix him"
"How long was I out?" she focussed on him saying that it took him some time to get back to her but she was still glad that he returned to her all the same.
"10 days" she nodded in understanding and that was when her tears leaked out and ran down her cheeks. Isabella pushed herself up so that she was sat up on the bed. Seeing her cry Smokescreen brought the chair closer sitting back on it while he tightened his grip on her hand and brought his other hand up to her face wiping the tears away. "It's okay Bells. You're safe now and I'm not going to let anything touch you again"
She removed her hand for him and reached out for him that he reacted to without hesitation leaning in and wrapping his arms around her being careful of her broken arm and mindful of the bruising that the nurse spoke of. As he embraced her he felt his knees weak now that he had been wanting to kiss and keep her close to him for so long and now he could. He felt her stress slip away from their embrace and then she began to shift away from him which made a little confused until she pulled him towards her again. Smokescreen could see what she wanted and happily gave her what she wanted. Lying on the bed beside her Bella let her head rest on his chest and his arms held her close. She took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly showing how relaxed she was settled in his touch. "I love you, Smoke" she whispered to him that made his face light up like a Christmas tree. He looked down to her and quickly caught her lips brushing his tongue along her lips before breaking off and replying to her "I love you, Isabella" her name rang off of his lips that it made her heart beat faster. She closed her eyes as she pushed her lips against his again not wanting to stop just incase it was all a dream.
Something her head concocted to tease her; but it wasn't. It was very much real.
He couldn't believe how much he had wanted her before and how much just being around her made him feel strong and confident and now that she had told him that she returned his feelings and kissed him he felt even more powerful like he could take Megatron on himself. Though that was just his over-confidence spilling out and reality soon sunk back in knowing that the warlord had constructed his fortress in the Jasper and was well protected. If he get to the gladiator there would be no way he could take him on by himself.
Smokescreen could feel Bella's breath on him as she slept in his arms. Her body couldn't be any closer though he was trying to make sure to hurt her as his arms were holding her tightly. He'd failed once to protect her he wasn't going to make that mistake again but he knew that soon he would have to leave. It tired him to split his time between being with Bella and watching over Optimus that he had hid in a nearby cave. Though it was obvious that he couldn't keep doing this; he had to find a way to help Optimus so that they could take down Megatron. He hadn't heard a thing from the other autobots which he didn't know if that was a good thing because the cons wouldn't be able to track them or a bad thing because he wouldn't know if they were in trouble. His worries then were lifted away as he was drawn out of his thoughts when Bella shifted to bury her head further into his chest, it made him smile seeing how much she wanted to be near him even when she was sleeping.
He hadn't left Bella in so long that it made him worry about his leader. He hadn't had time to recharge himself as he spend half his time watching over Optimus while he spent the other half of his time with Isabella; mostly because his spark craved her. But he hadn't checked on the barely online Optimus in some time and he worried. He didn't know where Ratchet and he had no resources available which meant that fixing him was out of the question. Optimus's repair protocols could only do so much and the damage that the decepticons inflicted is so severe that if no one did anything soon then Optimus would go offline and Smokescreen couldn't let that happen. Not when he could do something that could prevent it and save the Prime.
Smokescreen noticed that the young woman in his arms was in a deep sleep to carefully rolled her onto her back and pushed himself off of the bed, pulling the bed covers over Bella's form to keep her warm. His hand reached out to her cheek as he stroked her soft skin and felt her warmth. She leaned into his touch that made him smile but it soon disappeared. He had to leave her for some time but he would return. Bella needed to rest so he very much thought that he would return before she awoke again. Deactivating his holoform his consciousness was pushed back into his true form that was sat patiently in vehicular form outside the hospital. His engine roared to life as his reversed out and sped out onto the highway.
He kept driving having taken the precautions to keep Optimus somewhere hidden a good distance away from Isabella so that should anything happen both of them wouldn't be found by the decepticons. Optimus's hiding place he made sure was secure as the only way he could get in was to use the phase shifter that he had used again; knowing that the mineral content of the planet would interfere with anyone's ability to pick up their signals even if it was autobots but he couldn't risk the cons finding them. Arriving at the place his scanners didn't pick up any unidentified signals so he quickly transformed and used the phase shifter attached onto his servo to phase through the rock right to where he saw the form of his damaged leader lying against loose rocks to keep him up right. He saw that Optimus was resting, as he should, so moved next to the bot and sat on another rock. His mood had gone from uplifted to seeing his beautiful girl getting better to seeing his wise leader getting worse. At least with Bella he knew that all she needed from him to be by his side but Optimus needed more, the rookie watching over him wasn't doing anything for him. He bowed his head as he was helpless to do anything. Smokescreen wasn't a medic, he didn't know where to begin with helping Optimus. A pained groan sounded from Optimus that made him react immediately, standing up and moving to knell next Optimus.
"Its okay, Optimus. You're with me Smokescreen" he tried to make his voice sound calming and reassuring.
Optimus's optics looked to the rookie. He gasped out, the pain having been unbearable "How did…I get here?" surely it was a good sign that Optimus was well aware of his surroundings and able to to stay awake.
Smokescreen quickly went into his description of what had happened. How he raced to the hospital that he had commanded that he take Bella to and then doing what he thought was right he explained how he couldn't leave Optimus behind and went back before the ground bridge closed only to find he was too late. The base was destroyed and Optimus had been in the middle of it all. But smokescreen was able to find his commander and take him to safety, being careful to not get seen as he took Optimus away from Jasper Nevada and brought him closer to where Smokescreen could take responsibility for both Optimus and Isabella. "Bella is fine. She is recovering well in the hospital" he informed Optimus last making sure the Optimus was aware that he was protecting her as her guardian as well. That fact hadn't changed. Smokescreen would never abandon her like he had the first night they met when he was called away – the night that he regretted and would have to live with as he had left her all alone and vulnerable. "I'm so sorry I defied your orders. We're safe here but we're down so deep no one can pick up our signals. I'll have to scout around if we're going to have any hope of finding Ratchet" the rookie knew that he seemed like a useless idea but he had to try. That was when he stood up to do as he said but Optimus stopped him.
"No…No hope" is sounded as though Optimus was giving up which surprised the rookie.
His optics widened as he returned to his commanders side "What do you mean? The Docs the only one that can get you patched up" there was no reply. It looked as Optimus had fallen into stasis again, his injuries taking a toll on him quite a bit. "Optimus?" again no reply other than another pained groan.
Even Smokescreen was pained to see his commander like this and it wasn't just him. It was being away from the whole team, having to go from Optimus to Bella and then push himself even more to scout above ground for anything that could help. The rookie was tired but that didn't mean that he could stop; he had to keep going. Seeing as Optimus was resting again Smokescreen thought it best to use the time wisely. He used the relic secured on his left servo to phase through the rock back to the surface where he immediately transformed and joined the long road and headed back to Jasper. If he was going to have any luck there maybe something that survived the decepticon attack on the base, something that could help them or better help Optimus Prime back onto his feet.
This time Smokescreen didn't pay attention to speed limits like he had the first time he went out when he arrived on the planet, back when he was careless and didn't have anything so important to him like he did now; Isabella. He wanted to get to Jasper and get out quickly without any cons noticing him but even that was a stretch. The war had turned brutal with Megatron using every asset he had to kill them now, even monitoring ever comm link frequency so that if they bots were talking he could track them in seconds but the autobots were smart to that trick but it did take a toll on morale. Smokescreen could see that even she hadn't been involved in the war for long it was already taking a toll on Bella. To talk about decepticons made her skin shiver and ever since they had associated her with the autobots he had noticed that she had been more aware of vehicles and afraid but it was calmed when he was with her. He could see that his voice made her relax but that him worry more; if that was what she was like when he was around then what was she like when he wasn't. Now that the cons had attacked and taken her when she went out by herself surely that would scare her even more. Perhaps to the point where she would refuse to do anything on her own unless Smokescreen was with her. Would she have more panic attacks? With everything that was going on around her now he knew that her attacks were becoming more dangerous, to the point where it could send her in to a coma, she could remain in a panic for a very long time and he wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. It made him realise how much of a failure of a guardian he really was.
Arriving in Jasper he put his full attention on been discreet, using stealth to find his way into the wreckage of scrap that was once their old base. The place that Optimus assigned him to Isabella's guardian. Hard to think even now that not hours ago they were all gather in the same spot discussing their next move. Ready to revive Cybertron – and then it was all gone in a second. It made him angry. Megatron was completely evil, a tyrant that needed to be put down before he could do anymore damage. No. Before he would do anymore damage.
Quietly Smokescreen searched the place going through scorched pieces of metal that were piled up on top of each other. The cons had clearly swept through the entire area looking for their lifeless bodies or for anything of value, which was most likely taken. That only meant that chances of finding anything of value to him at the current moment were dwindling. Smokescreen moved over to where he knew Ratchet had kept his medical supplies and began hunting through the trashed base but couldn't find a thing. Not even a salvageable piece of scrap. It was all gone, the cons had left nothing. His anger was growing with every second that passed and it was building so fast that the rookie couldn't contain some of it. In his rage his fist clenched and he punched a piece of trashed metal, it falling over from the impact and letting out a loud clang. He gasped as he realised that he was giving away his position, immediately he jumped over piles of scrap and transformed driving as fast as he could away from the wreckage and back to Optimus hoping that he had awoken again. His gears hurt from how hard he had been pushing himself now but he ignored it. It was the only thing he could do. Because if he didn't then who else would. He debated returning to Bella, wondering if she had woken. He wanted to feel her heart beat, to stroke her lush red hair in his fingers and be in her company because when he was he felt strong and calm. She seemed to protect him from himself and made everything seem like it was fine and that it was just another problem that they could overcome, even now. His spark called to her knowing where she was and that she was waiting for him. He wanted to hear her sing again, hear the way her voice echoed off of every surface and wriggled its way into his audio receptors where he would immediately become entranced by the sound. The tone of her voice and the words to the lyrics.
He knew better though. It was unfair on Optimus as he had spent a little more time with the woman so he retracted from his desire and went straight back to where Optimus was hidden. "I'm back" he moved over to his leader knelling down after he phased through, his own voice sounded like he had given up and was in despair. Optimus's optics flickering as he mumbled something acknowledging that Smokescreen was with him again "I combed through every square microt of our old base, I couldn't find Ratchet's medical kit not even a bandage"
Optimus's optics looked left and right as if he didn't know where he was as he spoke back to the rookie "The Forge…of Solus Prime" Optimus could hardly get the words out, they were so faint.
Smokescreen shook his helm "It's gone too, the cons picked the place clean" his processor worked as he realised that only a Prime could use the Forge and it could do anything "Wait, if you had the Forge you could fix yourself up. Power of the Primes. Optimus hang on just a little bit longer" he stood himself up knowing exactly what he had to do and the danger it entailed but it was worth the risk "that hammer has got to be in Megatrons fortress" the rookie didn't waste time as he phased through the rock and climbed to the surface. He had just returned from being near the dark and gloomy place that Megatron was calling home and now he had to return it. But he had to make a little stop first that was in the complete opposite direction.
Of course it seemed a little silly and if the others were around they would have criticised him for wasting time but he wasn't. He was going to go into the lion's den which meant that there was a probability that he wouldn't make it out alive. If anything he was going to get caught especially with the decepticons on high alert all the time. But he had to make this quick stop if only for a few seconds because it pained him even more to be away from her.
Smokescreen could see the hospital but knew it wasn't necessary for him to be directly outside the building to be able to use the holoform so as soon as he was in proximity he pulled over and activated it. His human form fizzling to life beside her where she lay awake twiddling with her thumbs. At his sudden presence her arm reached forward and grabbed on to him. He didn't have time to register that she was awake after his consciousness was focussed on the holoform as he was pulled down and his lips crashed into hers. It gave him great relief to feel her against him again and if it wasn't the fact that he was a solider in an very old and brutal war then he would have quickly jumped onto the hospital bed beside her and not leave her side but the he was being called, summoned to go to Dark Mount and retrieve the Forge of Solus Prime. For Optimus.
Smokescreens mouth turned upwards into a smile as his lips encased hers and she held him down by his white shirt and she wasn't letting go anytime soon. Both of them broke off, Bella letting herself breathe through it all as their foreheads leaned on each other and they stared into each other's eyes, neither breaking the contact. "I thought you weren't coming back" there was fear in her voice. True fear that she didn't want to lose him not now that they had just realised how much they wanted and needed each other.
"I will always return to you, Bells" he whispered to her even though there was no one else in the separate room she was in. She relaxed to his voice and to the touch of his feel of his fingers intertwined in her hair that hung over her shoulders. "But I have to go again" she gasped and adjusted her grip from his front to his back as she pushed him down into her to hug her which he saw coming and melted into. "The Forge of Solus Prime; a relic that only the power of the Primes can use and it's the only thing right now that can help Optimus before he offlines but Megatrons got it and I have to retrieve it" he pushed himself back to look in to her fearful eyes, tears were beginning to form in them blocking his view into the luscious emerald view. "If I don't do this then Megatron's won and we can't give up, not now. It's our only chance" she nodded in understanding. It was then that Smokescreen noticed how well she looked, the pink returned fully to her skin and any bruises she had were fading the only think that lingered was her broken right arm but that just needed more time. He would have to return soon knowing that the hospital wouldn't keep her forever and she would soon be discharged.
His thumb swept away any tears that leaked out and rolled down her cheeks before he pushed his lips against hers again. Lust took him then as he brushed his tongue over her lips and she granted him access. He deepened the kiss even more but he had to stop himself knowing he had been there too long and Optimus needed him more. He pulled himself away stepping back so that he was out of her reach to stop him, a smirk on his lips as his spark was pushing him towards her again but he held it back and used that feeling to look forward to seeing her again. "I'm coming back to yah, Bells. I'm always coming for you. I'm never leaving you alone" he spoke softly. The holoform dissolving away as all that was left in the building was the memory that he was once there. More tears ran down Bella's cheeks as she sat back against her pillow hugging herself to try and keep calm. She could feel an attack coming over him leaving her again, over his safety as he was going to put himself in danger. But she tried to push it aside. Quickly she reached out to a pad and pencil that she had requested and placed the pad down on her lap as she let her arm guide her hand with the pencil in over the paper. Her sketch coming to life with every line that she drew. Bella focussed her thoughts on him as she drew and to keep herself calm, on the pad three forms taking shape of herself, Smokescreen's holoform and his true form. A smile forming on her face as she began to draw the basic shapes of herself kissing his holoform while lying back on the bonnet of his vehicular mode, the sun setting in the background.
A/N: Thank you for everyone's patience, it hasn't been easy balancing everything out. Thank you to all my reviewers and those that chose to fav and follow this fic, I hope I continue to please. R&R.