-1Here's the next bit.
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It wasn't really morning when the two finally awakened, but it might as well have been for all it mattered. Megatron woke up first, awakened by the feeling of Zephyr snuggling up closer. His answering embrace awakened her in return and she spent a moment trembling like a frightened child freshly awakened from a nightmare before latching on to him and trying not to burst into tears. "I was so scared," she whimpered, remembering all the pain and terror she had experienced while locked in ice. Drawing her closer, he let her lay her head against his chest. "It's all right," he murmured soothingly. "It's over now." The bond they shared thrummed with his reassurances that he knew how she felt at that moment. He'd been there before as well, lost and trapped, Sector Seven's captive for decades. She wasn't alone like he had been, with no one to seek comfort from. He was there for her.
Ratchet chose that particular moment to peek in. "Ah, so you're awake now. Good." His arrival drew a cheery hello from Zephyr, which in turn elicited a smile from a greatly relieved Megatron. It was a good sign that she was acting so upbeat so soon after the trauma of being Sector Seven's prisoner. Stepping in, the medic held out a pair of containers, one in each hand, for the two to take. "Drink this before you both pass out." Both Zephyr and Megatron accepted without hesitation. Megatron drank his without a word, but Zephyr spoke up after taking only one sip. "This stuff's alcohol!" Ratchet shook his head. "No, this is ethanol. Evidently humans have been doing better with natural fuels." Zephyr chuckled at the thought. "Heh, ethanol is still alcohol, though. 'Drink this before I pass out,' you say? I may very well pass out anyway!" There was a long pause as she drank some more. "I'd be lying if I said this stuff didn't go down smooth, though. Just like my grandfather… that's the father of my father if you're wondering… said the good stuff is supposed to. Anyway, I'm blaming you if I get horrendously drunk off this stuff, all right?" Ratchet only shrugged at that semi-serious statement. "And I'd be lying if I said 'getting drunk' was something only humans did." Megatron, for his part, merely chuckled to himself at the humorous (to him) exchange between his beloved and the Autobot medic. He was no stranger to intoxicants himself. "Don't worry about it, Zephyr. Ratchet knows his portions well, and has given us both no more than we need. This amount won't affect you adversely or 'get you drunk', if you're wondering." She smiled at him in relief upon hearing that. "Good to hear. I'd rather not lose my inhibitions in this hole, thank you very much. When can we leave?" As soon as that question was spoken, she immediately switched to drinking her portion. The moment of silence that act created allowed Ratchet to answer said question. "We're staying here until you're fully better, no matter how much the two of you may hate it here. It's not like the rest of us like this place much either." A momentary look of unhappiness crossed Zephyr's face, mirrored by an identical expression on Megatron's face. To say that they hated being stuck in the Hoover Dam was a severe understatement. Angry at the prospect as the former Decepticon was, it was his mate that spoke up first. "Great, even more time spent stuck in this loony bin? Oh heck no! I'd rather have my spark torn out through my tailpipe than stay in here an instant longer than I absolutely have to!" Growling at the very prospect, she tried to force herself to her feet, fully intending to immediately walk out of there, only to waver dangerously before practically falling right on her face. She would have done just that had Megatron not been there to catch her. "Zephyr, please, you have to rest…" Undaunted, she tried to pull free and make a second attempt at getting up even as he tried to stop her by pulling her close. "Please, Zephyr…" Looking up at Ratchet, Megatron gave a brief little nod, not speaking a word. That slight nod was all the warning that was given… At least until Zephyr let out a soft gasp upon feeling a needle slide into her arm. "Hey, what the…" She abruptly sagged in Megatron's arms as her strength swiftly drained away with consciousness not too far behind, dimming eyes fixing on where Ratchet now stood over her. "You're getting your rest, Zephyr. Even if I have to sedate you… which I think you can guess is what I just did." Smiling down at her sadly, a bit apologetic for his complacency in all this, Megatron eased her back down, once again cradling her sleeping body in his arms.
Drugged into insensibility or not, the next few hours were filled with nightmares on her part, and understandably so. It had barely been two days since her rescue, after all, and they were still right where her torment had taken place. The link, silenced by the drugs Ratchet had given her, didn't force Megatron to see her nightmares, but he didn't have to see much of anything to know exactly what she was dreaming about. Being in that place was forcing him to remember what had been done to him as well. He still refused to leave her side, even though his own memories were haunting him just as much as the thought of what she had been put through. He longed to go outside, to at least see the sky, but instead he chose to stay where he was, to face his memories and fears, and hers as well.
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This story is nearing its end, and I can't begin the next installment until TF 2 comes out. That's three freaking months! What the heck am I supposed to do between the end of this story and that time?!
Read and review, and give me some ideas on how to fill that time. I'm dying here.