I watched the old man's eyes filling with unshed tears and slowly asked, "Why did you call me that?"

"I know you never liked that nickname, but- you're alive, Darlene and I thought you were gone! Where have you been all these months, Camilla? We had the funeral and Reagan Scott started a charity in your honor. Honey, why didn't you call us?" He finished with a quivering voice, then hugged me with such love and sincerity that I didn't protest.

"Excuse me," Hotrod said quietly from his hologram. "How do you know my friend?"

The old man held me a moment longer, sniffling, then stepped away, quickly wiping away a few stray tears. When he was more composed he straightened up and looked at Hotrod a little defensively. "I would ask you the same question. Who are you and how do you know my best friend's daughter?"

I finally understood. He had known one of my parents. My throat tightened at the thought of them, but I drove it away and turned my mind back to Hotrod and the man.

"I am the Autobot Hotrod. I was involved in the rescue of Brav- Camilla Phillips when she was being held by the Decepticons the first time."

The old man looked to me in surprise. "What about that Bucklin man in Texas? They found your things in his house! You've been with the Decepticons all this time?"

I shook my head slowly. His name was Bucklin? "He had a trailer, not a house. A man did kidnap me… He had me for a - a long time. I was trying to get away when Skywarp, the Decepticon in charge now, scared them away and took me with him. Those men would have killed me if Skywarp hadn't been there."

Hotrod cleared his throat uncomfortably, and I shifted to stand a little closer to his mech body, placing a hand on his leg for strength.

"Alright, let me get this straight. You," he said, pointing to the Hotrod hologram, "think you're an Autobot, He," pointing to the actual Hotrod, "is Skywarp, and you, Camilla, didn't think to tell anyone that you were alive?"

"Actually," the mech Hotrod said, speaking from his real body for the first time since we'd met the old man, "I'm Hotrod. That man down there is just a hologram, he's just a visual representation. Skywarp doesn't know where Autobot City is. If he did he would be here fighting to steal Bravu- Camilla back. She didn't tell anyone she was alive because she hit her head trying to escape and has been suffering from amnesia ever since. I'm sure she would have notified you if she'd been able. In fact, she probably has no idea who you are."

I leaned heavily against Hotrod, relieved to have the explanation taken care of for me.

The man looked shaken, eyes on me the whole time, and then took a step forward. "Is it true? You don't know who I am?"

"No… I'm sorry."

"Oh honey, don't be sorry, it's not your fault. I'm Carl Dicer. Your dad and I served together in Desert Storm. We stayed good friends even after he quit the service. My wife and I spent every holiday with your family that we could make it to: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, birthdays, anniversaries. You were good friends with my daughter Susan." He rubbed his eyes again. "Your dad asked me to be your Godfather, back when you were born. I know you're all grown up now, but… I felt responsible when you died- when we all thought you were dead."

I had begun to cry without realizing it. Tears were streaming down my face as I looked at this old man, this stranger, my family. He was crying too, and this time when he held me in his arms I hugged him back.

After a few minutes we parted and we both brushed away tears, laughing foolishly.

"Are you staying here in the City?" Carl asked.

"Yes, Hotrod's more or less my permanent bodyguard," I said smiling up at my friend.

"Good... good. I'm in the middle of something at the moment, I've got things to look into, but I'll track you down soon. Where are you staying? One of the empty Officer's Quarters?"

"No, I have a cot in Hotrod's room."

Carl's eyes hardened just slightly, then he nodded. "I'll come see you later, Cammy. I'm glad you're ok."

I smiled. "See you later."

As he walked away, I leaned against Hotrod again, sliding to the floor unexpectedly. I felt drained, relieved, and shaken, but good.

Hotrod's hologram crouched next to me. "Are you ok Bravura?"

"Yes, I'm just happy, and tired. Do you think I can get that ride to sick bay after all?"

"Of course!" He was giving me a heart-melting smile when he flickered out and the little metal generator started falling to the floor. My arm shot out and I caught it, surprising myself. The adrenaline of the day must have given me a boost.

I stood up and waited for Hotrod to reach down, climbing into one hand and giving him the tiny generator, which he plugged back into his chest.

We reached the sickbay quickly. Hotrod punched in the short code, and I noticed that at a more human height there was a similar keypad. "What's the code, Hotrod?"

"9, 8, 7. It's not a big secret, but it does give Ratchet a little extra security. He does have to protect the injured, after all."

"Right."

The door slid open and we entered. Ratchet was across the room speaking with woman in a white coat, presumably a doctor, who was standing on a platform atop a scaffold that put at her about chest height with the big autobot. They both looked at us, then the doctor began walking down a narrow stairway on the scaffold. Ratchet came to us as the doctor moved over to a computer console.

"Do you have a patient for us Hotrod? Oh, Bravura!" Ratchet looked delighted. "How is your arm?"

I held up my healed arm, and he frowned as much as his metal face would allow. "How did this happen? You should still be wearing that cast. Do you need a replacement? Dr. Peyton will be happy to assist you."

"No, no," I said quickly. "Skywarp used a machine on me that healed it. It was… painful. But it seems to have worked. I was hoping you could take a closer look at it… And also look for a tracking chip Frenzy might've implanted a while back."

"I see. Hotrod, take her to the exam table, would you?" he asked, gesturing to the overlarge table I'd sat on not so long ago, when he'd revealed my real name and a small bit of my history. My heart twisted.

He leaned in close, and several odd looking extensions popped out of his right arm, which he pointed at me. I felt a tickling sensation, especially in a focused area in my right arm, supposedly where I'd had the break. I commented on this to Ratchet, and he made an unhappy humming sound.

"I'm getting some abnormal readings from your arm. No sign of a tracking chip, but in your arm it almost reads like… metal. All along the break line, Cybertronian metal has infused with your bone. Have you been experiencing any pain before today?"

"Not since Skywarp zapped it."

"I see. And you said you experienced pain when he did this?"

"Yes, intense plain. I fainted," I said, trying to avoid the memories my blackout had dredged up.

"There are tiny traces of metal up your arm. Imagine an Earth ant leaving an ant sized trail of bread crumbs all along the nervous system of your arm…" He shifted slightly, getting his arm closer. "all the way to a point between your shoulder blades. It's probably where Frenzy implanted the chip, but… It looks like whatever Skywarp used on you created a reaction. It pulled the chip a few atoms at a time to fuse the break in your arm… Fascinating!"

"Uh, yes…" Whatever he was using to examine me was beginning to cause a dull ache in my arm.

"You know, I believe the metal's moving… Almost as if it were spreading. Are you sure you feel nothing?"

"It's started to hurt, since you began looking."

"Oh my." He pulled his arm away and the pain tapered off immediately to an insistent itch. "And now?"

"Much better." I rubbed it, trying to ease the itch, but of course it didn't help at all.

"I hope one of those crash landings on the other continents was Perceptor like Prowl expects… These findings are alarming."

Hotrod spoke up for the first time during the whole examination. I'd forgotten he was there, so I jumped slightly. "What's wrong with her?"

"Ah… I'd rather not make any conjectures with the limited data. I want you to come back daily, Bravura, so I can monitor this- phenomenon."

I left the sickbay with Hotrod feeling slightly shaken. Cybertronian metal had healed my arm? How was that even possible?

Hotrod took me to our room without even asking. I was glad. I just wanted to curl up next to him and let my mind go blank. He sat up on his recharge pad, still cradling me in his hands, and I curled against his stomach, fighting shivers that were running down my spine. I was overwhelmed. Men in the base. Family out of nowhere. Some strange technology which nobody knew anything about was part of my body now.

I wasn't too tired, so I didn't sleep, but I was lulled by the soft humming of Hotrod's internal workings and the thumb he occasionally rubbed down my back.

I don't know how much time passed when Hotrod shifted. I looked up questioningly at him.

"Optimus sent a message to all the Autobots… Skywarp has been teleporting erratically all over the western United States. He's damaged a few buildings, but doesn't seem to be trying to hurt any humans. A news feed caught him demanding we come out of hiding and return what belongs to him."

"I see."

"The base is on high alert, but as long as we're careful he shouldn't be able to find us. The plus side to whatever happened to your chip is that it's probably too melted to work. So he can't just find you wherever you go anymore."

"Yes… that's good." Never mind whatever else it could do to me.