Disclaimer : I don't own it.

Note : It doesn't look right to me, but I googled 'resuscitate' and that's how it was spelled online. Also, I know that the whole 'Two girls from the 'real world' are taken to the Autobot universe' thing is done over and over and over and over... *Headdesk* Well, I hope this isn't too cliche. -.-'

(Bella's POV)

The next day I rose early. The sound of an ambulance siren screeching through the air brought back images of Richard and his Ratchet-mobile. As I climbed out of bed, I straightened my twisted jogging pants, and tugged my tank top into place. Then I struggled to fix up the rats nest that was my morning bed head.

"Ugh, Medusa, eat your heart out." I groaned as I rubbed the heel of my hand against my eyes to help scrape the grit out of them. Coffee... Staggering into my little kitchen, I filled the kettle and scooped the coffee into the brewer before leaning back. I was more or less brain dead until I had my coffee in the morning. As the smell of fresh brewed coffee filled the air, I breathed deeply and hummed appreciatively, before giggling and singing to myself. "The best part of waking up, is folgers in your cup."

Another siren went past and I turned my head to the window, blinking rapidly as I stood there. Wonder what's up today? Usually don't hear more than one ambulance rush past. Shaking my head, I sighed, and poured myself a cup of hot coffee once the pot finished boiling. "Nothing I can do about it." Though technically, that's not true. I could go to med school or take paramedics courses.

But once again that brought me back to my main issue.

To be or not to be. I sighed and leaned on the counter, sipping at the hot, bitter liquid. "That's the question." Leaning up, I stumbled across the bachelor apartment to my main, massive windows, that looked out over the streets below. One upside to living on the third floor was that I could get a bird's eye view of what everyone else was up to. Pushing back the curtain, I looked out, squinting until my eyes adjusted to the bright light.

On the streets below were several cars parked idly. A small part of me wanted to follow in Mikeala's footsteps. You read about so many female mechanics, but in real life there are so few. In fact, I may not have been that old, but in all my life, I'd never heard of a real life female mechanic. Then there was my medical side, wanting to help people and learn the proper way to take care of injuries.

I mean, I'd taken First Aid. I knew how to dress a wound, apply pressure to slow the bleeding and allow clotting. I knew how to set a broken leg in a splint, resuscitate someone if they stop breathing, but if that's all it took to get into paramedics, well... There'd be a hell of a lot more paramedics out there.

Taking another sip of my drink, I looked down and blinked in surprise. I'd been certain one of the sirens I'd heard earlier would be the Hummer, but no. It was out front, and Richard was there, washing it. For a moment, I allowed myself a chance to enjoy the view. After all, it was a sunny day, and even through the glass of the windows I could feel the heat.

That made it perfect car washing weather, as proved by Richard's naked, muscular chest.

All I could do was stare. In his uniform he'd looked like he had one hell of a body, but without his shirt on, I was treated to the sight of a well defined six pack. Not super sharp like you'd see in most wrestlers or anything, but it was definitely there. He had a washboard stomach, flat and ripply, with broad shoulders, and muscular arms, which rippled as he wiped a cloth over the front hood of the Hummer. I felt my hand get cold, which alerted me to the unsteady grip on my coffee cup. Glancing down, I fumbled with the cup, and yelped in pain when some of the hot liquid spilled on my hand.

"Shit. shit, SHIT!!" I dashed back to the kitchen, nothing but sheer willpower keeping my hand on the steaming hot mug, even as the agony shot up my wrist, causing me to want to drop the cup. I managed to sit it down on the counter, though more loudly than I would have liked, and then spent the next ten minutes running my hand under icy water, and nursing the nice red burn I had.

By the time everything had settled down, I had to fight off the urge to return to the window and drool like a baboon in heat over the image that undoubtedly lay below. Instead, I changed into a fresh set of jean cutoffs and a purple blouse. Once I'd finished getting ready, I grabbed my keys and things and headed out, climbing down the stairs, bidding Mrs. Craven, my downstairs neighbor, a hello as I passed.

Once I was out on the stoop, I paused again a moment, the heat catching me off guard. Pulling out my cell, I punched in Rika's number and texted her. My hand was still an angry red, but a little time out in this heat and it soon wouldn't be the only part.

Hot today. Wanna get a drink? - Bella

Then I slowly made my way down the stairs, hesitant to step into the patch of sunlight at the bottom.

"Hey!"

The call caught my attention and I turned my head, my cheeks blazing when I saw Richard waving my way. I returned the wave, before braving the heat and heading over, trying not to act like I was ogling his sweaty chest. "Hey." I kept my hands by my sides, almost half hiding the burn so as to not catch attention.

After all, how did you tell someone you burned yourself on your morning coffee, staring at their naked chest?

He smiled and wiped a hand across his brow. "Hey, pretty hot out today, huh?"

Are we actually talking about the weather? I blinked a moment, before giggling a little and nodding. Hot? You have no idea! And I was not talking about the weather.

"I'll be happy when we get a little rain. On the upside at least it's a good day to do some washing." He punctuated his sentence with a swipe of the rag over the side of the box part of the Hummer.

"Gonna be hard to clean that though." I muttered, looking up at the height of the roof. Then I mentally added in having to remove the ladder and shovel and all those extra features, and grimaced. Nodding again, I turned back to him. "Good luck with that."

With a hint of teeth showing in a smile, Richard wiped the rag over the side some more, wiping the dust and grime off the Hummer. He glanced at me with his dark eyes flashing. It looked like he wanted to say something, but my phone went off then, and I lifted the hand holding it. The not burned hand. He turned back to his wash, the semi smile still on his face.

Yeah, ice caps sound good about now. - Rika

I bit my lip as I raised an eyebrow and typed in my reply quickly, before folding my phone shut. "Well, I gotta go." For the first time in forever, I wished I could invite him along, but he was obviously working, and I felt...oddly enough, like a third wheel. I didn't know if it was just because I thought he was cute, and so far he seemed nice enough, and I was just painfully bashful around him or what, but I took the chance for what it was. "Meeting Rika for ice caps."

He groaned slightly and I shivered, my legs turning to rubber at the sound. Oh my Primus! I immediately got less than decent thoughts of how he'd sound in bed, and blushed deeply. "Oh man, I love ice caps." He then grimaced. "Although they're extremely high in sugar and caffeine, both of which can be bad in high amounts." He seemed to pause a moment before smiling and glancing at me. "I'd offer you a ride, but..." Gesturing sheepishly down at himself, and then at the half clean Hummer in front of him, he shrugged helplessly.

I nodded a little, my eyes filing away the image of his chiseled chest for later reference. Then what he'd said really hit me, and once again my mind was back in that bedroom, making me blush. I'm sure you would. "That's ok." Mind out of the gutter, girl! I shrugged as well, feeling a little awkward as the conversation pulled to a close. Taking a few steps back, I flapped a wave at him before turning. "I'll see you around?"

"Definitely. It was nice seeing you again, Bella."

A small part of my mind did a mental squeal hearing him say my name. Internally, I was chanting 'He remembered my name! He remembered my name! He remembered my name!', and I smiled at him. "You too, Richard." And were my eyes deceiving me, or did his eyes just light up? I had to force my legs to keep moving, taking me further and further from him as I headed to where I was supposed to meet Rika for drinks.

I couldn't help but wonder what about him made me feel like a school girl with her first crush, once again.

It didn't take me long to get to the restaurant where Rika was waiting. I was making mad dashes through every shady spot I could find, just to get out of the heat. Once I was in the air conditioned diner, I shivered, the wind icy against my body. I was covered in a thin layer of sweat, making me grimace as I ordered my drink and sat down.

"So? What's got you all flustered?"

I shot her a look. "About seventy plus degrees. You?" She laughed and I shook my head. "No, honestly?" I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. "I ran into Richard today. He was washing the Hummer."

"Shirtless?" Count on Rika to figure out where my mind went to with a simple statement, and call me on it. When I nodded, she squealed quietly, causing a few people to glance over briefly. "So? He look as good under the uniform as he does over it?"

Shaking my head, I chuckled quietly and sipped on my drink a long moment. I played at thinking over the answer, watching as she grew more and more restless. Finally, I smirked. "Better."

"Hm..." She smirked back. "Did he mention wanting something to drink?"

I glanced down at my drink as that same burst of irrational annoyance ran over me. The instinctual thought of 'back off, he's mine' ran through my mind, making me blush as I pushed it aside.

Then again, this happened a lot. I found a guy a thought was cute, though was never really interested in, and Rika had no trouble talking to them. She flirted and joked around, but I always got jealous of her easy nature with those guys. I always felt tongue tied and awkward, and she made everything seem easy. And what I hated most? I knew she didn't mean it. She was just playing around, being friendly, but it annoyed me that...

Well, it annoyed me that she wasn't me. That I didn't have the same level of comfort and wit around them. Sure, I had my moments, but more often than not it was Awkward City around any guys I felt attracted to.

Stirring my drink, I bit my lip a moment before taking a deep breath. "He mentioned liking ice caps." I abruptly stopped talking, my cheeks heating up once again as I recalled that groan. What I wouldn't have given for a tape recorder. Talk about a bedroom voice. A shiver ran through me. "Actually, he more groaned about liking ice caps, then went into a Ratchet moment."

I was lucky she didn't seem to pick up on the 'groan' comment and ask about it, though she was prone to coming back to points like that later in the conversation, when she did miss them. "Ratchet moment?" Rika was smirking when I glanced up, and seemed oblivious to my hesitation in answering.

I smirked back, relaxing on a familiar topic. "Yep. Went into the high caffeine and sugar content." I laughed a little and shook my head. "Isn't it a little weird? I mean, he drives a perfect clone of the Ratchet-mobile, and he pulls a Ratchet once in a while himself. And if I had to stick a human face to that bot, he'd definitely suit." My eyes cut to my burned hand, and I relaxed seeing that it was still a little red, but nothing that would seriously stand out.

Rika stared at me for a very long moment, almost thoughtfully. Then slowly her eyebrow rose. "What's weird is... I think you have an unhealthy fascination with Ratchet. You do realize he's a fictional character, thus not real. Right? And that even if somehow, some way, he did become real, he's an alien, whom would only be interested in alien femmes. Squishies wouldn't be the least bit appealing to him."

It was my turn to stare. "I know, Ri. Wow, what would give you such an odd idea? I mean, if he were real, and if I was an Autobot, he'd definitely be one to consider, but since they're fictional characters, and it's physically and logically impossible for me to change species, I don't think there's anything to worry about." I frowned. "Besides, you should open your mouth, bitch. You're drooling over Jazz yourself." I rolled my eyes at her. "You'd jump his bones-err struts, or...whatever, after 'What's crackin' lil bitch?'!"

Her cheeks darkened, and she shot me a dirty look, before amusement filled her eyes. "Right. Well... Hey, do you think he'd freak if he knew just how big fans we are of the movies?"

"He owns a Hummer. I sincerely doubt it's nothing he's ever dealed with before."

"Obsessed Trans-fans?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow.

I sat back and mentally pictured it. I could just see us, too. Me sticking a replica of the Autobot medic emblem on the doors, and Rika forcing him into blue contacts and insisting he use Cybertronian language, like 'frag', 'slag', 'Primus', 'pit' and 'glitch'. My lips trembled as I barely suppressed a laugh. "Ok, so maybe we have some issues."

"Gee, ya think?"

"I try not to, it hurts." I stuck my tongue out before we both busted up laughing. I'd finished a good portion of my drink by this point, and a quick glance at a clock told me we'd been talking for almost twenty minutes. "Oh mannnn!" Because of the heat, we'd both headed out later than usual, so it was already time for Rika to head off to work.

"What about a drink for you-know-who?" She raised an eyebrow.

"He's probably finished and long gone by now." But she did have a point. Then, of course, I wanted to smack myself for the thought. I'd just met the guy yesterday, and it was bad enough I was already fawning over him, but to buy him a drink so soon? Then again, whose to say it wasn't just an act of kindness? It wasn't like I was trying to get into his pants, though if he were to offer...

No. Down girl. Bad girl. Leave the nice medic alone.

Shaking my head, I moved to the short line, leaving Rika by the door. If worse comes to worse and he's not there, then all the more for me. I walked up to the cash and placed my order, taking the drink with me as we exited into the humid day.

"Sweet Primus!" Rika groaned, before shooting me a look. "Shut up."

"I didn't say a thing." I muttered with as innocent an expression as I could manage.

"You were thinking it."

I mock gasped. "You read my mind?! Get out of my head!" I swatted at her arm lightly, playfully, with my free hand, and we both busted up laughing. Me, more because I had Chris Griffin from Family Guy stuck in my head, and Rika... Probably the same reason.

We split up at the usual street where she headed off to work, and I made similar mad dashes back home again. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I paused in one shadow as a black GMC Topkick drove by, and I nearly did a double take. My eyes locked on it's rear tail gate, looking for the Autobot insignia, once again on instinct, but there was none, and I shook my head, fumbling with my cell and clumsily typing in a message.

Just saw a black GMC Topkick C4500 drive by! This is so totally my week!- Bella

With a smirk, I closed my phone and finished the dash home to, surprise surprise, see Richard still working on his Hummer. This time, however, the Hummer almost gleamed in the sun, the brightest, most beautiful I'd ever imagined a Hummer to look, and almost as good as Ratchet from the movies. Walking over with a blush, I cleared my throat and watched as he turned towards me, startled, and then smiled.

I held out the drink. "Here. Thought you could use it."

He looked even more startled at the offer, but then a bright smile crossed his features, almost making him look younger than he was. He reached out and took it, nodding his head. "Thanks. I appreciate it." Setting the rag down, he turned and leaned against the shaded side of the Hummer as he took a good pull from the straw. Once again he groaned, and once again I almost hit the ground at the sound.

Sweet mother of God! My phone interrupted us once again then, and I smirked. Wow, and the award for 'Worst Timing' goes to... But then, I had only just texted her. Pulling out my phone, I smirked down at the message.

Really? Sweet! This must be our week! - Rika

Then my phone beeped again, and I very nearly face planted at the next message displayed.

By the way... 'Groaned' about liking ice caps?? - Rika

Written : Jan 19, 2010

Hope you like it.

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Thank you

Tenshi