A/N: You, my wonderful readers, are amazing. Thank you so much for the kind words, encouragement, favorites and follows. I'm thrilled that so many of you are enjoying this story and yes I too am liking that June is getting a chance to shine and not be the '(s)mother' of the group. At first I wasn't sure if she would be up to it, then I realized, she's a nurse and single mom. There's not anything she can't do. ^_~

The sun had risen as they drove east. Wheeljack kept one mirror trained on the wrecker behind him as he drove. They'd finally reached the Interstate and while traffic was light for the moment he was worried about June. Every so often the truck would drift toward the shoulder, hitting the rumble bars etched into the surface and jerk back onto the road.

Spotting a sign for a truck stop, Wheeljack put on his blinker. It was time to get some rest. Finding a spot where they were mostly hidden by other eighteen wheelers, Wheeljack parked. The wrecker stuttered to a stop next to him. The window rolled down.

"Are you getting tired?"

"No, but you are. I'll take the first watch."

A grateful smile crossed June's face. "Thank you. I'm just going to run in and use the restroom, then I'll be right back."

After she'd left, he did a careful scan of the area. Once he was sure the coast was clear he transformed and when to check on Optimus. He frowned noticing that the faint pulse of his spark was more a fluttering now. "Not good."

Getting out the emergency energon he pulled back the tarp. "I did not go to all that trouble saving your aft to let you die now."

Once the container was empty he waited. The fluttering evened out into soft pulses once again and he hung his head, one hand resting on Optimus' arm. "Hang in there Optimus. I know I'm not much of a team player anymore, but I'll be scrapped before I let Megatron win like this."

After a moment he touched his helm activating a private comm to Ratchet. "Ratchet are you there?"

There was static for a long moment and his spark seemed to dim. He jerked as there was a burst of feedback. "Wheeljack?! Did you make it out alright? Where are you? I can't seem to contact anyone else. Have you heard from Optimus?"

Wheeljack shook his head. Of course the medic wouldn't think to jam his own signal to avoid detection, which is probably what the others where doing. Especially since they were most likely guarding the children as well.

"You need to jam your signal, doc. If I could find you so can the Decepticons."

There was silence on the other end. "Don't call me 'doc'. I'm not worried about that right now. I'm not exactly high priority for them."

"Don't sell yourself short Ratchet."

"Whatever." A huff. "Have you heard from Optimus?"

"Actually . . . About that . . . Where are you?"

"Why? Do you need me? He's hurt isn't he."

"He's stable now, thanks to June."

"Nurse Darby? What could she possibly-"

"She saved his life Ratchet!" Wheeljack surprised himself by snapping at the medic. "Now, where are you?"

"I-I'm not sure. I'm still on the northern continent but I don't know the name of the state . . ."

Wheeljack shook his head. "You didn't even think to download a map?"

Ratchet sputtered on the other end of the line. "I-I rarely was out of the base! Why would I need a map when I had the computer?"

"Well ya' need one now dontcha?"

"You don't have to take that tone with me."

Wheeljack frowned hearing the hurt in Ratchet's voice. "I'm sorry. It's just been a rather stressful day."

"Don't I know it." Came the soft mutter.

"Listen, I'm sorry. You've got access to the World Wide Web right? Download a map and pinpoint your location. While you are at it set yourself a designation and get an email address. That would be a safer way to communicate than leaving our comm lines open for detection by the Decepticons."

"Alright."

He gave Ratchet his email address along with further instructions to stay in touch before signing off. He knew the medic was upset but he didn't have time to coddle him. Not right now. Sitting down next to Optimus he leaned back against the truck tire.

"Ya' know, I don't think we've ever been in this tight a pinch in the whole war. Yeah, there've been some pretty tight spots but . . . But nothing like this. You were always there, even if us Wreckers didn't acknowledge you formally, we respected you. Bulkhead is proof enough of that. Who woulda thought the war would end on a little dirt ball like this?"

"It's not over yet, Wheeljack."

He turned to look at June a smile crossing his faceplate. "Not as long as even one Autobot or Wrecker is alive."

She returned his smile and walking over placed a hand on his knee. "As soon as I wake up, I'm going to take care of your leg."

"Sounds like a plan."

She patted his knee and after a quick check on Optimus climbed up into the cab of the truck. Once his scanners showed she'd fallen into recharge he transformed back into his alt mode keeping his sensors alert for any movement around them. Periodically he would check his email address to see if Ratchet had figured out his location yet. Two hours later he finally got one.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" He growled. "Who the scrap decided to send you to Minnesota? That's way out of our way. I guess you'll have to come meet us."

Sending a return email he gave Ratchet the rundown on their plan to hide Optimus along with a map of how to get to a meeting point. "Huh, going from the state Nevada to the town Nevada, at least its not much bigger than Jasper."

###

June woke to the sound of voices. Two men were arguing just outside her door. Sitting up she kept her head down.

"I'm telling you that's not a street legal car."

"Look, I just looked it up on my phone. See its a Lancia."

"What the hell? What's a concept car doing out here anyway?"

"Probably some high roller from Vegas or something."

"Yeah, hey take my pic will ya. I gotta show my kid this."

June's eyes widened. If that picture got onto the internet . . . Would anyone recognize Wheeljack? She couldn't risk it. Grabbing the shotgun from under the seat she rolled down her window and laid on the horn. Both men jumped, the phone clattering to the ground.

"Holy shit!"

"You guys get away from my car."

"Whoa, take it easy lady." Both men held up their hands seeing the double barrel pointed out the window at them. "We're leaving. No harm done."

She didn't put the gun away until there was no sign of the men.

"We better leave." She jumped at the sound of Wheeljack's voice. "They might call the authorities."

"Right." She glanced down at the clock. She'd slept for nearly five hours. It wasn't near enough, but it would have to do for now. At least she didn't feel like she was going to pass out at any moment. "You really need a less conspicuous look."

"Whoa, don't knock my looks lady. I may not be as flashy as the rookie or Knockout but I got my pride."

"Oh brother . . . Seriously? Who is Knockout?"

"Not a bot you wanna meet. He's Megatron's medic, of sorts."

"Of sorts?"

"You'd have to meet him to understand."

"Lets not."

"Yeah. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Is Optimus alright?"

"He's not moved, but he seems stable for now."

June started the truck. "Well then lets not waste time."

They made it back to the interstate without incident. It was after dark when she followed Wheeljack into a rest stop. It was nearly deserted, only about five big rigs idling in their spaces. Pulling all the way to the end of the parking lot she shut off the truck and got out. Wheeljack pulled as close as he could get to the truck.

"Wake me in two hours."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure. I slept a lot longer than that-"

"I don't require sleep like you, I just need a short recharge."

"Right." June couldn't quite keep the skepticism out of her voice. "Alright I'll be in the truck if you need me."

There was no response. She smiled to herself and after checking on Optimus got back in the cab. After setting the alarm on her phone she pulled a blanket over herself and tried to nap. The nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right would't leave and she finally tossed the blanket off. Getting down out of the truck she walked around it checking all the tie downs and pulling the tarp tight. A puddle of glowing blue energon greeted her as she walked around Wheeljack.

"Oh my god!" He was bleeding-leaking and hadn't said a word about it. "Wheeljack, wake up this instant!" She slapped his trunk and staggered back as he instantly transformed, weapons drawn before she could even blink. She held perfectly still as he turned a slow circle, optics bright with pain and wariness. As soothing as possible she called out to him.

"Wheeljack, calm down. I'm sorry I woke you like that, but you are leaking energon everywhere."

He blinked a couple of times as if he couldn't quite focus and then sat down rather heavily, shaking the ground under her feet.

"Scrap."

"You could say that again. Dammit Wheeljack! Why didn't you say something? I didn't mean to neglect your injury."

He seemed to look right through her. "It's not important."

"Like hell! And don't give me any of that crap about being a wrecker and taking care of yourself. I cannot afford to have my only back up on this trip wind up as scrap because he was too prideful to take care of himself. Now shut up and let me see that leg."

Wheeljack stared at her for a moment longer before slowly shifting around so that the gash was visible. Seeing the damage June shook her head.

"If you were human I'd smack you, boy."

"B-boy! I'm millenia older than you human!"

"Then start acting it!"

Wheeljack glared for a moment then looked away. June hid a smile, ducking down to get a better look inside the twisted metal. Shining her flashlight into the wound she frowned. "Well it looks like a couple of lines are pinched and the leak should be easy to fix. Let me get my stuff and we'll have you patched up in no time."

He was silent the entire time she worked on him. The tubing she'd brought seemed to handle the energon fine, though she wanted to keep a close eye on it. Lugging the welder over she looked up at him. He was staring off into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. If he was human she would have said he looked depressed, eyes vacant, shoulders slumped.

"I'm going to close the wound now." After careful study of the manual she pulled on the helmet and gloves. Once she got the hang of the mixture, sealing the punctured metal went fairly quickly. Turning off the tanks she stood back admiring her handiwork. "Alright, I want you to let me know if there is any continued pain or if something feels wrong. For now, rest."

He turned to look at her then down at his leg. "That was fast. Feels fine now."

"It might but I had to use some plastic tubing and I'm not sure if your body will reject it or not, so take it easy."

He shrugged, a half hearted lift of his shoulders. "It'll be fine. I'm going to recharge a bit longer then we can get going."

"Sure. I'll let you rest then."

By the time she was back in the truck he was already in his car mode. Sighing she turned on the radio but didn't really pay it much attention. The last thing she needed on this trip was a moody guard. For aliens with such long life spans they certainly seemed to take a long time to grow up. Then it struck her. She wasn't dealing with just any person. Wheeljack was a soldier and from what she'd heard, a good one. This situation must really grate on him. He was used to calling his own shots and only looking out for himself. To suddenly be responsible not only for their comatose leader, but her as well must seem like a tremendous burden. Finally shutting the radio off she got out of the truck, grabbing a blanket to take with her. His passenger side door was unlocked and she gently opened it, slipping inside as quietly as possible.

"Huh . . . Wazzat-"

"Shhh, go back to sleep. I'm taking this watch." She patted his dash and smiled as the lights brightened for a moment then dimmed to a soft blue. They'd make it through this. Somehow.