Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers (2007) or Transformers: Generation 1.

I cannot take credit for the socket idea, history, or terminology. The authors who worked on the stories on the Sockets account include: Femme4jack, Aniay (the original co-creator with Femme4jack for the POV verse that helped spawn Dathana de Gray), Gatekat, Chai16, Wilderness, Zomgitsalaura, Fallentaiyoko, Prophetbot, Ace_of_the_arts, Antepathy, Laulun-siivet, sakon76, thepheonixqueen, Flybystardancer, baka_no_neko and Karl Wolfemann.

Cat socket idea wasn't mine. I found it in the Socket story Dathana de Gray...I think...At this point, I have no clue. I'll give the proper credit once I find it.

~0~

"Lillian! Lil. Li. An!"

I groaned as I opened my eyes momentarily. My eyes were too heavy to keep open so I placed one arm over my face as I closed my eyes. "Waya wan'?" I mumbled.

Prowl chuckled. "I want you to get up. We're at the restaurant."

"Ah ain't goin' in an thas that," I mumbled as I tried to go back to sleep.

"You need food, Lillian. And plenty of water."

"Nuh uh."

I could almost feel Prowl raise an eyebrow. "Coffee."

I let my arm drop so that it hanged off the seat. "What 'bout it?" I asked with one eye open. It quickly closed.

"You want it? Go in and get it."

"Ah'm on a hunger strike...Ya get it."

"What am I going to do with human food? I'm Cybertronian, Lillian. Our bodies don't process food the same way."

I placed my arm back over my face and turned so that my face was mostly against the backseat. Most of what I was saying was really me being exhausted, but the hunger strike part was my sense of humor turning on. "Ah don' know. Throw it at Jazz o' somethin."

"I'll throw something at you in a minute," Prowl grumbled before sighing.

Don't smile, don't move, don't laugh, don't breath, don't...Wow. I give myself a lot of limitations, I giggled to myself. Relax. His sensors will pick up that you're waking up and amused. He can feel you smile. Remember that. I pretended like I didn't hear Prowl's comment. "Least then ya can wash it off o' somethin," I mumbled. "Ah dunno."

"Lillian," Prowl began with suspicion in his voice...along with something called...playfulness. "What have you heard?"

"Ah ain't heard nothin'."

"Then why are you covering your face? Are you hiding something?"

This guy is the second in command for a reason, I reminded myself. He's too damn smart. "Nuh uh. Ah'm innocent."

"Now I know your hiding something." He poked me with something. Most likely a cable...I didn't dare swat at it, but I did try to wiggle away from it.

"Go 'way," I mumbled as my stomach constricted instinctively at the sensation. "Ah'm sleepin."

"How can you be sleeping if you're talking to me?" Prowl asked as he poked me again and again.

"Takin' in sleep. Ain't no..." I tried desperately to hold myself still as Prowl lifted my shirt up and started tracing circles on my stomach. "Body 'ome. Go 'ooooome." Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh. This is a game now. Don't laugh no matter what...he does...Oh scrap. I could no longer hide the fact that I was shaking. Choked laughter was muffled in my throat. My forehead and knees were on the seat. I tried so hard to focus on something else. I tried to lower myself so that he couldn't get to my stomach. That failed quickly when he wrapped another cable around my stomach to hold me still. On top of now not being able to squirm, five more cables were added. Two to the back of my knees, one for the back of my neck, and two for my feet. I broke down. No human with the ability to physically feel anything can withstand all that. "Proooohahahahehehahaha-! Prowl!" I choked out.

"What is it, Lillian? Is something the matter? I'm afraid I'm a little busy at the moment...Washing paint off my bonded, thank you very much. I imagine you got that information from Jazz? Is that correct? Lillian...I know you can hear me. Why aren't you responding?"

Why the hell do you think I'm not responding? Your torturing a poor femme!

"Ah imagine it's 'cause she's busy too, Prowler. Try coming back next week."

I shook my head for two reasons. One...I ain't being tickled for an entire week! Nuh uh! Two...Prowl you aft. You called Jazz during my torture you will diiiihahahaha! Of course he also plugged a cable in so that they could both hear my thoughts. Broadcast the torture, why don'tcha?

Broadcast the torture? Whatever ya say, Lil. Hey Prime!

Nonononononononononono! No broadcast! No-! That was the signal that was being broadcast to Prowl as I shook my head rapidly.

Prowl laughed. Hold on, Jazz. She changed her mind.

What? Dang femme, what's wrong with ya? Ya loose yer head o' somethin'?

With the way she is currently laughing Jazz, I would not be surprised.

Evil! I thought as I collasped from my third release through tickling. Prowl released me this time, but kept one cable plugged in to my socket.

Am I really?

No...But your evil twin is.

Prowl poked me again. Excuse me?

I'm sorry! Ack! No! I giggled like crazy. I'll get the food, okay? Stop doing that!

Is that what this is 'bout? Jazz asked after laughing. Ah thought it was jus' for fun.

Prowl woke me up, I thought before giggling again.

She's not a morning person, Prowl explained. She needs fuel and she refused to get up.

So ya tickled 'er?

She won't respond to anything else.

Interesting...

No it ain't, I thought seriously before putting on yet another change of clothes. Lil out.

Hey! Jazz protested.

What? I asked as I was about to get out of the car.

Ah don' get hugs?

Hug, kiss, my looooove, I sang mentally. Prowl poked me. An fo' the kitty toooo, I giggled.

Kitty? Jazz asked in amusement. Prowl, since when are you a cat?

Prowl poked me repeatedly. I've been trying to tell her that I'm not. She won't listen.

Did ya tell 'er 'bout our past feline socket? That could be a reason.

He hasn't, I giggled. He's been purring a lot.

Jazz hummed in content. Good. That means he's content with a situation.

Oh really?

Must you really broadcast everything? Now I have to erase her memory.

What?

He's joking, Lil.

Oh...'Kay. Ah'm gonna get food. Lil out.

See ya, Jazz thought before Prowl disconnected the cable and finally let me out.

~0~

What's wrong? Prowl asked once Lillian was inside the restaurant.

What makes ya think that something is wrong?

Jazz...

Jazz hesitated. Ya can't tell Lil.

Jazz, I just got her to trust me. If I lie to her-

It won't be for long, Prowl. Ah jus' don't want her heart ta be broken so soon. Ah want ta give her one more day of peace before she comes back.

Prime ordered us back? I didn't get a message.

Ratchet just informed meh. It's 'bout Lil's aunt...

~0~

Prowl and I stayed in the restaurant parking lot for another hour or so before heading back to base. It didn't take long for me to figure out that something was wrong. Prowl was acting weird and the other bots at base weren't much better. What really jolted me awake, however, was Sonya. There wasn't anything obviously wrong with her, but she...It was weird. She began apologizing to me the moment she saw me. The second I started responding she turned a corner. She acted annoyed, crossed her arms, and started a debate with me about religion.

"Sonya, do you know why I am aware of many religions and Gods?"

She sighed, deciding to humor me. "No. Why?"

"So that if I have go somewhere where I can't reach a soul and have no hope of surviving whatsoever, I can always look up."

"Lilly, your just deluding yourself if you think like that. You can't just hope for a tomorrow, you have to work hard so that there is a tomorrow."

"I understand your way of thinking," I said seriously. "I know that things just can't come to you if you just sit back. But Sonya...hope keeps me working. Hope keeps me on my feet. My way of thinking keeps me alive. To me, that's the ultimate goal. Staying alive. You know this." I stared right at her. "Your job is to stay alive and fight for what we have unless information is in danger of being compromised. You know the risks, you know the goal, and you still fight. That's honorable in my book. I understand if you don't agree with my opinions. I don't expect you to. It wouldn't be fair of me if I did. But you have your life and I have mine."

"What are you saying? That we stay seperate?"

"Just the opposite," I said gently. "Sonya, your the only human family member that knows about what really goes on here. Unless I missed the meeting where you shared that intel?"

"I would never share something so classified."

I smiled. "Good."

"Good?"

"Prime wouldn't trust you otherwise."

"Who's Prime?"

I gave her a wtm look. "Your kidding me. Which autobots have you met?" She shrugged. "You don't even know their names?" She sighed before naming them on her fingers...sort of. "Silver, black, gold, chess, psych, blurr, the security director, and Hatchet."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well first of all, Hatchet is just a nickname. His real name is Ratchet. The security director is...Nevermind. He'll tell you if he wants to. Blurr hasn't come to earth yet to my knowledge...Unless you mean Bluestreak. Is he the one that talks for a short period of time and then leaves or the one that talks in paragraphs?"

"Paragraphs."

"That's Bluestreak. Blurr doesn't have doorwings. The only psychologist on this team that I know of is Smokescrean. If I were you, I would refrain from calling Prowl 'chess.' I doubt he has even played the game before. Gold is Sunstreaker...Don't give him any nicknames or try to shorten his name if your in a hurry. Bad things happen if you try. Black is Ironhide. Which silver one?"

"The one with Sunstreaker."

"Sideswipe. You'll hear that pair called the Twins a lot." I blinked. "Wait...so you've never met Jazz?"

"No."

"The one that's always with Blaster?"

"Who's Blaster?"

I facepalmed. "Sonya, who the hell cleared you for duty if you don't even know your own guardian? My god. I thought soldiers were supposed to have at least average deductive reasoning skills." Sonya glared at me. I held up my hands in surrender. "Let me put it this way. You need to know who your going into the field with so that if you get in trouble-"

"I never get in trouble."

"If," I repeated. "If that happens, you'll need to know their names. Any autobots go on your past mission with you?"

"Ironhide and two females."

"Colors?"

"Pink and blue."

"Elita one and Chromia...Don't mess with Chromia. She's Ironhides mate."

"Mate?"

I facepalmed again. "Dios mio," I muttered.

"Do you know anything about the autobots?"

"I know they're on our side."

That's a start. "Sonya, how long have you been a member of N.E.S.T?"

"A month."

I raised an eyebrow. "Let's try this again. How long was Mark a member of N.E.S.T?"

"Twenty."

"Was anyone else in our family-?"

"No."

"Right." I stared at her. "Give me a sec." I pulled out my phone. "Yo, box-with-the-locks."

"What's up with the new name?"

"Dude, I know you have the keys with you. I can hear them in the background. Stop fixing that lock and help me for a sec. You know my aunt...?"

"Lil, Ah work with 'er. Of course I know her. What-?"

"Yes the one I live with. Just focus, okay? I-"

"Lil, are ya okay?"

"No I will not let you meet her. Stop reading your lock codes and focus on the conversation for a minute. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Have I...? Dude, I live with her. Of course I've seen her. Have you been smoking again?"

"She's only seen meh once. Lil, where are ya?"

"Wait, please don't tell me your drunk. It's ten, for godssake. Do you want the neighbors calling the cops on you again?"

Jazz sighed. "Ah can drink all the damn drinks Ah wan', girl!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Red Alert yells in the background.

I held the phone away from my ear and flinched. "You done?" I grumbled into the phone.

"Yes," he said to me. "Red, calm down," he whispered. More angry shouts from Red Alert. I have never been so happy to hear Red yell in my entire life. "It's just Lil."

"I know that your mother is fifty five years old. That wasn't what I was asking."

"Red, camera fifty five. Zoom in. Location locked."

I sighed. "I don't know, Jude," I said in boredom. "What do you do with a wrench?"

"Its on yer side, Lil. Same as always."

"Not the wench, the wrench. Why would I be talking about a witch? This isn't the Salem witch trials, man. Focus. You were telling a joke...?"

"The only other human in the video right now is yer aunt, Lil. Is something wrong with 'er? What's with the code?"

"I highly doubt you could throw a wrench that far. Five yards? Sure. But fifty? Last time I checked you weren't the quarterback in highschool. I don't care if you were a jock for a couple years."

"Five years fo' what?"

"Can we get back to the subject please? Thank you. My aunt? Yeah, her. Do you have the keys for the truck?"

"What truck, Lil?"

"No, the company truck that's really expensive and totally amazing," I said sarcastically. "I'm talking about my uncles truck, man. You know, the one that you've had for five years that you've promised to fix?"

"Lilly-" My aunt began.

"Hang on a sec, Jude. Just check the truck record's, okay? I want to know the years on that thing." I looked up at Sonya. "Yeah?"

"I sent his truck to the scrapyard, Lil. Why do you want it?"

I stared at her. "Well, I wanted to see if we could just ride that to go see Blaster, but-"

"What do you mean? Is he not here?"

"Not now. He's on a mission." I held the phone to my ear again. "You got it?"

"She's been in service for ten years, Lil."

I pursed my lips. "Too bad. I thought it had nine more years on it."

"Red, review the tape fo' camera fifty five." Red shouted again in protest. Thank Primus for Red Alert. "Just do it, man."

"No, that's fine. I don't need to hear from your boss to confirm it."

"I'll comm Prime to yer lo-"

"Jude, listen to me and stop playing with your damn keys! Thank you. I don't need to see your boss. I'm not driving all the way to your office...I'm not even sure if you can call it an office, considering that all you do is watch Freak Out on that mini t.v. of yours. Which I paid for. Man, do you have any idea how much I had to save for that thing? Not to mention the run in I had with your boss once I got there."

"Prime's in the office with Red and I."

"Yeah, that's right, I've met your boss. Little hint, Jude, that guy wasn't the kindest dude in the world. So forgive me if I don't want a repeat performance of him going psycho on me 'cause I wouldn't sleep with him."

"Lil, has yer aunt-?"

"You know what? Forget it. Just forget it. Just erase our whole conversation. You can do that, right? I doubt you'll remember anything considering that your completely wasted right now. Thanks for your help." I pressed end. "Honestly."

"You okay?" asked Sonya in amusement.

I huffed before pocketing the phone. "Fine. I forgot how idiotic that guy can be. I'm going to find a place to take a nap. Sorry I couldn't take you to meet Prime."

"It's fine. Maybe next time."

I nodded before leaving the rec room and walking calmly to Red Alert's security room. It opened immediately and I ducked in. "Thank Primus," I said as I collasped to my knees. I looked up at Prime, Jazz, and Red Alert. "Did you delete the footage?"

"Yes," said Prime calmly.

"What was the code 'bout, Lil? What's going on?"

I motioned for Prime to lower himself to my level. He held out a hand and placed me on Red Alert's desk. "Prime, is there any reason that Sonya doesn't know the autobots by name?"

"No. All human soldiers should be introduced to the autobots on base."

"Why would she lie about being in the servive for five years?"

"There's no specific reason to," Jazz said calmly.

"Unless she's a spy!"

I resisted the urge to facepalm. "Or unless she was just bridging the gap between the time my uncle died and the year she became a soldier. But that still doesn't explain why she doesn't know any of you. Jazz, are you sure that Sonya hasn't at least...? Wait a second. I know that she's seen you. When this happened-" I held out my arms. "You were the one who drove me to med bay. Did she ever catch up with you to ask what was going on?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell her your name?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell her what was going on?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell her that Blaster was our guardian?"

"Yes."

I facepalmed. What the hell is going on? "Prime, you sent her on a mission, right? Did she come back with visable damage?"

"She was taken off the field from damage to her cranium."

Brain damage. "Prime, were you with her on the mission?"

"Yes."

"Did you speak with her and tell her your name?"

"Yes."

"Did you speak with her after the damage was healed?"

"Yes."

"Did she recognize you?"

"No."

Scrap. "I need to speak with Ratchet. Where is he?"

"On a mission." Figures.

"Who treated Sonya?"

"Ratchet."

"Red Alert, can you comm me the second Ratchet gets in?"

"Ah can establish radio contact with him," said Jazz.

I sighed as I squeezed the bridge between my noise. "No need. I don't want to distract him. I can wait until he gets back." I looked up at Prime. "Thank you for coming here."

He smiled. "Your welcome. Are you sure there's nothing else we can do?"

I thought about it. "Yes. Make sure that Sonya doesn't leave base. I don't want her harming herself."

"You think she might?"

"Yes. I'll stay here until Ratchet gets back." I looked at Prime. "If that's alright."

He nodded. "I'll have your own quarter's arranged."

"There's no need, Prime," Jazz said with a smile. "Prowl an' Ah don' mind."

I smiled. "It's cool with me."

Prime nodded before leaving. I collaspsed to the desk the second he was out. "Hey, Jazz?"

"Yeah?"

"What's the code for your room? I wasn't kidding when I said I needed a nap."

He chuckled. "453631."

"Thanks," I said as he lowered me to the ground.

I was out cold the moment I curled up on Jazz's berth.