After putting in a long shift and calibrating the flexion nodes on the underside of Bumblebee's new faceplate, Ratchet had wearily departed medical bay and left Bumblebee on his own. Bumblebee rested quietly on the table and tried making faces. The new settings felt rigid and tight. The little minibot was just starting to feel sorry for himself, and a little bit lonely, when he heard familiar footsteps approach the entranceway.
"Optimus!" he sat up quickly and tried to smile.
And there stood Optimus Prime, his hands resting confidently on his hip plates as he looked down at the yellow minibot.
"How are you, Bumblebee?" inquired Prime cordially.
"Oh, I'm okay," said Bumblebee, stretching his mouth as he spoke. Talking was very uncomfortable and he fought the urge to rub his faceplate with his hands.
"Ratchet said you were doing well," said Prime. "I'm glad to see he was able to fabricate a new faceplate for you so quickly."
"I guess he couldn't fix the old one," replied Bumblebee, "but this new one is awfully tight. Not that I'm complaining, it just takes some getting used to."
"You'll do just fine," Prime assured him. "To me, you look as good as ever."
"Gee, thanks, Optimus."
"Do you think you'll be well enough to help with the repairs?" Prime asked.
Bumblebee smiled again. "I'd like to, but isn't that up to Ratchet?"
"He did tell me you could handle light duty, starting tomorrow."
"How is it going, Optimus? I mean, with filling in the Insecticon holes and all?"
"Brawn and Huffer have finished filling most of the holes. The other Autobots are fixing the damage to the ship's hull," Prime explained. He paused and tilted his head to one side in thought. "It's strange, but there is a silver lining to all of this."
"Really? What?"
"It turns out that one of the holes is deep enough that we can use it to build a second shaft to power another generator for extracting more energon," Prime explained.
"So you're not going to fill that one in," Bumblebee summarized Prime's thought.
The Autobot commander nodded. "Affirmative. Thanks to the Insecticons, we'll soon have another power source for our base."
Bumblebee laughed. "I bet Megatron would have a fit if he found out!"
"Well, I for one won't be telling him anything," Prime chuckled.
"Me neither," laughed Bumblebee.