A/N: Again thank you so much for taking the time to review, favorite or follow this stoy. As I stated last chapter if you log in to review I promise to try and respond personally. This is going to be a multi-chapter fic so if things seem a little slow paced please bear with me, there is a lot that is going to happen. I know several of you have asked but it will be a bit before Optimus wakes up. My poor boy is so hurt T_T Oh and if you are interested in June's list let me know ^_~

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners (Hasbro et. al.). The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Wheeljack watched, his spark heavy as the human stumbled and slid over the rubble as she returned from making her phone calls. He knew the signs of exhaustion. Reaching out he steadied her as she staggered. She caught herself on his out stretched hand.

"Sorry Wheeljack. It's been a long day." A smile barely flickered across her face as she looked up at him. "Will you be alright till morning?"

She gestured to the deep gash on his leg. He glanced down then back over at her. "I've had worse. I'll be fine. Do you have somewhere you can recharge in safety?"

"I'm staying here."

"No. I will stay. You go and rest. I can protect him, but I will need you tomorrow."

June nodded. "I understand. I will get what supplies I can and return first thing in the morning. I may have an idea about how to move him but I have to check on things first."

"I understand. Would you like my personal comm code?"

She did smile then. "Yes please and thank you. Agent Fowler was detained. Apparently the military is mobilizing. This is going to be a hot zone very soon and he's the only official liaison the government has. I do not envy him at all right now. I didn't tell him that Optimus is alive. I'm not sure how many people need to know that right now. I couldn't reach Jack."

Wheeljack flexed his fingers slowly inward, cradling her. "I think that was a really good choice. Especially if he's the human who has to confront Megatron at some point. Jack is probably out of range at the moment. Or Arcee is jamming the signal to keep them hidden."

Getting to his feet he climbed over the rubble. Once they were free of the worst of the damage he set her down. "Are you sure you'll be alright? I can give you a lift home."

"And leave Optimus here alone? No, I'll make it." She patted his leg. "Thank you though. I will try to be back by dawn."

He watched her bike away until she was lost in the darkness. Turning back to the broken shell of the base he vented slowly. Rechecking the jamming signal he settled in to stand watch for the night.

June nearly fell off the bike as she came to a stop outside her house. He legs shook, knees threatening to buckle as she walked down the driveway. Once inside she collapsed on the couch. The complete silence was unnerving. Even in a quiet town like Jasper there were still the noises of life, of civilization. Now there was nothing. Looking down at her arms she realized there were ugly raised blisters forming were the energon had touched her skin. It was reacting like a chemical burn. Then there were the abrasions. Sighing she pushed herself up off the couch wincing as overused muscles threatened to rebel at the movement. Shuffling to the bathroom she ran a lukewarm tub. Too much heat would aggravate the burns, but she needed to relax and clean up. Who knew when she'd next get a chance to take a bath? A tremor shot through her as she lay there, the water up to her chin. How was this even possible? She'd never imagined that anything like this might happen. Sure finding out about the aliens had been a massive shock, but she'd quickly learned that aside from their size and obviously alien make-up they were very human.

Finished with her bath she treated the burns and cuts and changed into dark clothing. She'd watched enough movies to know that's what you always did when on the run. Dark clothes and layers. Going to the kitchen she got out the phone book. Looking down through the listings of tow companies she highlighted three of them and wrote down their addresses.

"This is crazy! I can't believe I'm getting ready to go steal a tow truck to help an injured alien." Her laugh was pained. "Well at least I know I won't get caught."

Looking out the window she pressed her lips together. "No time like the present June Darby. Optimus may not have all night."

After making herself a strong pot of coffee she gathered up the things she'd packed earlier that day. Had it really been just a few hours? Too much had happened and now that she was at home, none of it seemed real. Working at the hospital she was used to long stress filled days, but this was pushing it. Going to her pantry she pulled out all the non perishable food items she could easily carry. Stuffing it all into Jack's spare backpack. Standing at her front door she looked back at the house. Something told her that once she stepped out that door her life was never going to be the same.

"Goodbye." She whispered.

Walking into town she passed the KO Burger and the other deserted businesses. She made a note of which ones she needed to visit on her way out of town. The hardware store, the electronics store, a car parts store and the army surplus. She would have to figure out how to get food as they went. Coming to the first mechanics shop she frowned seeing the small tow truck parked to the side of the bay. That was no where near big enough to haul a 30 some odd foot injured alien. She didn't want to damage him any more than he already was. She really needed to find one of the flatbed trucks with a winch.

The sound of engines reached her. Ducking down behind a dumpster to the side of the building she held her breath. Two matching silver sports cars shot down the main road. "Decepticons . . . They must be patrolling. Damn."

This was going to make things harder. It also made her certain that there was little time to waste. Leaving her bags behind the dumpster she took off toward the next address. It took her a good thirty minutes to get across town, having to hide every so often to avoid the patrols. Reaching the wrecking company's address she groaned in frustration seeing the high fence topped with razor wire. Walking around the perimeter she was surprised to find the front gate closed, but not locked.

"Must have left in quite a hurry." The office was unlocked as well and she took down several sets of keys hanging by the door. "Lets go see what you guys have to offer."

Much to her surprise and delight there was a large diesel truck with a flatbed loader sitting behind the shop. "Well, I guess this will have to work. I just hope you are a standard and not a stick."

She shook her head, laughing at herself. "Now I'm even talking to the non alien machinery."

Climbing up into the cab she looked at the keys, picking out the set labeled Ford. Taking a deep breath she started the engine, cringing at the loud rumble of the diesel. Looking down at the gear shift she shook her head. "Well, I guess I'll learn as I go."

It took a lot of stops, starts and killing of the engine before she got the hang of the stick shift. By the time she was pulling out of the lot she was certain she'd be facing down a squad of Decepticons come to investigate the noise. Thankfully, that was not the case. The streets were once again completely deserted. Stopping at the first mechanic's shop she got her supplies from behind the dumpster. After that she made stops at each of the shops she'd noted on the way in. The crowbar from under the seat made short work of the plate glass windows.

"Well I just stole a truck so I guess breaking and entering is next." Gathering up everything she thought might come in handy, she soon had the cab and rear seat of the truck full. She just hoped the portable welding torch was compatible with Optimus' physiology. The same with the tubing and fiber optic cabling she'd found at the electronics store. It looked similar but she had no way of knowing if the materials were similar at all. The last thing she needed was a pair of large tarps from the hardware store. Parking the truck at the delivery entrance she looked around the empty parking lot before getting down. She knew she was running on her last reserves at this point. She'd been up for over twenty four hours now and she was definitely starting to feel it. The blurring vision and difficulty concentrating were two large hints that if she didn't sleep soon, her body would shut down forcing her to rest.

"I just need to get back to Optimus. Then I can rest."

It took her a while to find the tarps. Wandering through the large warehouse like store with only a flashlight set her nerves on edge. She found herself jumping at the slightest thing. Once she found the tarps she grabbed as many as she could throwing them into the cart. Four should be enough. She hoped. Walking back through the store a sudden thought struck her and she made a detour to get tie downs. If Optimus didn't wake up anytime soon she didn't want him falling off the back of the truck. Going over the list of stuff in her head she tried to think of anything else they might possibly need. Nothing came to mind. If she had to she'd buy what they needed. Or beg it off William. If she could get a hold of him.

Once everything was finally loaded she sat in the cab, her head resting on the steering wheel. It was nearing three in the morning. "At least I don't have to bike all the way back out there."

Though she was worried about being spotted by any patrols as she headed for the destroyed base. Any vehicles in the area would immediately be suspicious. Looking down at the shotgun and boxes of shells on the seat next to her, she cringed. "Well it might at least shock them. Daddy would never believe this. Those weekends shooting skeet might just come in handy."

The truck rumbled to life and she stopped herself from turning on the headlights. There was no other traffic and though the electricity was out city wide, the moon was still bright as it hung low on the horizon.

"Well it's now or never."

###

Wheeljack sprang to his feet as his sensors picked up an earth vehicle. A few minutes later the low rumble of a diesel engine cut through the chill night air. Tensing he drew his dual blades and crouched in the shadow of the ruined mesa. The truck crested a low rise, the dark shadow of the cab silhouetted against the night sky. It wasn't any vehicle he recognised. Switching his scanner he let out a slow vent as June's bio-signature glowed on the display.

"About time lady. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be on my own."

The truck stuttered to a halt, gears grinding hard enough to make Wheeljack wince in sympathy. The door swung open and June stepped out.

"You planning on waking the entire Decepticon army?"

"Hush, I'm not used to driving a manual and this thing is hard to drive."

Wheeljack walked around the large vehicle, noting the design. "Interesting choice."

"Its a wrecker."

"Huh?" Wheeljack jerked around to see June grinning at him. "A wrecker you say? Not my kind of wrecker."

"Not quite. So, shall we get him loaded up? I don't want to wait until daylight. There were Decepticon patrols in the city."

Sheathing his swords, Wheeljack had to reassess his opinion of the diminutive native. Sure he knew she was courageous and skilled but going alone on a snatch and grab in Decepticon territory . . . That was a whole 'nother level for a human.

"If I'd known that-"

"You what? Would have went yourself? And got this back how? By dragging it behind you. No, I had to be the one to go. Besides, I got us a bunch of supplies." She gestured to the cab of the truck. "I tried calling Agent Fowler again, but it just goes straight to his voicemail. Unfortunately, I think we are on our own."

"Well in that case, we better get moving. We are behind enemy lines after all. I'll go get the big bot. You stay here and alert me if you see any movement."

With a nod June got back in the cab. "I'll honk."

Wheeljack shrugged, whatever that meant. Climbing the blasted rock he was careful not to create any rock slides. It was hard enough getting around the rubble. He took a few minutes to clear a path so that he could safely walk and carry the large bot. Optimus was quite a bit taller and maneuvering through the debris field was going to be tricky. For his size Wheeljack knew he was surefooted, but carrying several tons of bot while trying to climb out of the smoking hole was going to be difficult at best and impossible at worst. Then there was his leg injury. He'd just have to tough it out. He'd seen bots go through battles missing limbs. He could deal with a scratch.

Reaching Optimus he stood over the downed bot for a moment, trying to determine the best way to move him. No one way was going to work the best, it was just going to have to be trial and error at this point. Reaching down he grabbed Optimus' right arm and pulled him up into a sitting position. Crouching down, he pulled the massive bot onto his shoulder. Surging upward he shuffled for a moment trying to find the center of his balance with the extra weight. He just hoped he wasn't hurting Optimus further. Turning slowly he traversed the path he'd created. Coming to the hill of rubble he paused and filled his intakes. Now for the really hard part. The rubble shifted under his feet forcing him to test each step before committing to it. He was nearly at the top when a piece of concrete disintegrated under his foot. All his weight came down on his injured leg and he struggled to keep from toppling over backward. Throwing himself forward he fell on top of Optimus.

"Scrap!" Something had torn, the circuits of his left leg were on fire.

"Wheeljack! Are you okay?"

"Fine, just stay put." He could see the top of the rock pile. Getting back to his feet he winced. Fresh energon was seeping from the gash. There was no way he was going to be able to pick up Optimus again. Moving up the hill, behind Optimus' head he grabbed his back struts and pulled. Metal grated over stone as he managed step by step to pull Optimus out of the hole. Once his feet hit the soft loose sand of the desert floor he let Optimus down and took a moment to let his fans cool him down. Venting hard, he gestured to June to pull the truck closer. He wasn't sure he could drag Optimus any further and he still had to get him up on the bed of the truck. He narrowed his eyes as she backed the truck up but left several feet of distance between the bot and the truck. She got down out of the cab and went to a section of levers on the side of the truck. What was she doing? He grunted in surprise as the bed of the truck started tilting up and then sliding back.

"Alright help me get this winch attached to him, then we'll pull him up on the bed. He's going to be too big, but we'll have to make it work somehow."

Wheeljack nodded and took the cable she offered him. Looping it under Optimus' arms and around his chest he clipped the carabiner to the cable. Nodding to June he stepped back, ready to assist if things should start to go wrong. She turned on the engine and starting winching Optimus onto the bed. Thankfully it went smoothly and he was soon helping her by tying the dangling arms over his chest. His legs were hanging off the end of the bed, his rear tires nearly touching the ground. Next he threw the tarps June had brought to cover Optimus. He waited until the rest of him was secure before pulling the plastic over his head.

"That should do it."

"I hope so."

"So where are we headed?"

"I honestly have no idea." For a moment June looked lost, then the determination resurfaced. "I have a map but I don't know where the rest of the Autobots are."

"Well I think what we talked about earlier would be best for now. We need to hunker down and see if we can contact Ratchet."

June thought for a moment and then pulled a map out of her pocket. Laying it out on the ground it showed the entirety of the United States. She pointed to the middle of the map. "Kansas and Missouri are our best bet."

"Why is that?"

"They have the highest concentration of decommissioned missile silos. That would be the safest place to hide him, wouldn't it? That and I think there are several military bases so that should help keep the Decepticon's off our back somewhat."

Wheeljack peered down at the map, quickly scanning and memorizing it. "At this vehicle's safest speed and taking less used back roads it will take us nearly three days to reach Kansas."

"I guess we better get going then." She paused, her eyes narrowing. "Are you okay to drive?"

"I was just going to ask you that."

"I have coffee and if I need to sleep I'll pull over at a rest stop. But you are injured and leaking. Maybe I should see to that before we go-"

"I don't think we have time." He pointed to the south were lights strobed across the surface of the fortress. "They are mobilizing."

"Scrap. Alright, lets get a move on. You lead Wheeljack."