"Lift your arm."

Mikaela lifted her arm without question. The gesture was strange to her, alien. Her arm felt much lighter, yet much, much more durable. It was strange. She would have thought that a metal arm would weigh a ton.

Still, she hated it no matter how much crap they spewed about how she was going to be alright and how she was a living miracle. She wouldn't believe she was alright until she was back in her mutilated original body.

"I don't see how this is helping," Mikaela snapped. "I'm not cripple anymore."

"Just hush and at least try to understand," Ratchet said with a heavy sigh. He was the only bot Mikaela had seen since she had woken up, and he was already starting to become her favorite. He at least had some sympathy for her, instead of his usual grumpy demeanor.

Hm. She wondered how long that would last.

"Do you feel low on energon?"

"How am I supposed to know? Do I feel like I'm hungry? Do I feel like I need a drink or something?"

"You aren't human anymore, Mikaela."

"Thanks for reminding me," she spat back. Then, she faltered and looked at the ground. "Sorry."

"I don't blame you."

Mikaela sighed. "You probably don't want to hear me whine all day."

Ratchet didn't answer, but his expression told Mikaela everything she needed to know. His glowing optics were full of pity and a hidden contempt that had Mikaela shifting nervously in her seat. She watched as he sullenly shook his head in disappointment and turned his back to her. Fine. He could be that way. It didn't really matter to Mikaela.

"Can I at least have a mirror?" she said, reaching up to run her fingers across her metal cheek. Well, not her cheek. It had to be someone else's. She was inside someone else, really, a trespasser in another body.

"Sadly, Autobot sized mirrors haven't been invented yet," Ratchet said. Then, he frowned, optics staring up at the ceiling, deep in thought. "I'll have to get to Wheeljack on that."

"Sure."

"You sound tired."

Mikaela's head shot up, causing Ratchet to reel back in alarm. "Don't even go there with sleep."

"Recharging is quite simple -"

"I don't want a tutorial," she snapped. Then, her gaze softened as she looked down. "I just want….just want…"

"Things to go back to the way they were before?"

Mikaela could barely read Ratchets expression. It looked like a mix between pity and sadness and so much more. She had to remind herself that he had suffered even more than she had.

"I know what you're going to say."

"Then please don't bring it up again," Ratchet said. "You're an extremely lucky femme, Mikaela. Be grateful that you aren't…."

"Dead?" Mikaela scoff. "I bet death is a whole lot better than being stuck in a different body."

"A better body," Ratchet mumbled.

"Whatever. You think Sam will think I'm 'improved'?" Mikaela watched as Ratchet poured her a cup of energon. The liquid was blue, a glowing, bright blue that had Mikaela's….if you could call it a stomach….lurching. No. She wasn't going to drink that. It hardly looked drinkable.

"'Improved'? No. Different? Yes."

"Different. Just what I want to be right now," Mikaela snatched the energon from Ratchet, surprised at how firm her grip was. So strong that if she squeezed hard enough, she could dent the metal of the cup. So strong that if she so much as tried to hug Sam, hug her boyfriend, she would turn him into goo.

Not a pleasant thought.

"Where's Optimus?" Mikaela suddenly asked, momentarily forgetting the cup of energon and looking up to stare into Ratchet's optics.

"Meeting. The battle of Egypt caused quite a stir among your nations government."

Mikaela made a noise of disgust as looked down at the glowing blue liquid, grimacing. A silence hung over the room, the only sound being the soft clunk of Ratchets tools as he worked away in the corner. Mikaela sat, trying to think of something to say.

"I feel bad for him'," she said at last. "Spending an hour ever day being hounded by a bunch of nitwit government officials is not a walk through the park."

"Agreed."

And Ratchet didn't speak anymore after that.

The next few days were a routine for Mikaela. Ratchet was the one who eventually taught her how to recharge. He was also the one who taught her basic Cybertronian anomaly, right down to every detail. Needless to say, that was one lesson that Mikaela would never choose to repeat.

Walking had been a challenge. She had fallen over her first time, fallen her second time, and fallen on top of Ratchet her third time. The fact that she had been able to and leap to her feet without falling was a clear sign that she was improving, in Ratchet's eyes.

It was like therapy. Get up. Refuel. Head over to the med bay and listen to Ratchet talk to her about this and that and so on. Mikaela wasn't too eager, really, and she knew that Ratchet knew that all too well.

She went an actually had to lift weights. Except for these weights were the size of tree trunks and literally weighted a ton. Like a human would. She had to learn muscle control, and the woman who supervised her was a spunky dark haired woman named Trina who would have been a whole lot prettier if she didn't wear so much makeup.

"C'mon, Mikaela, you have to cooperate to be able to do this! Use your muscles!"

Mikaela was about to point out that Cybertronians didn't really have muscles, but something else entirely, but decided to keep her mouth shut because she had forgotten what they were called. Ratchet had probably briefed her about it, but she hadn't been paying attention.

Just like she hadn't been paying attention when Ironhide had snuck up behind her during her morning weight lifting and had begun to yell at her like some demented drill sergeant.

And that had pretty much been the highlight of her day. That, and when Ratchet had told her that they would be shipping in some new vehicles for her to choose as an alt mode.

As she settled down into recharge, she thought about Sam. What would he think? She hadn't been at the top of her game when he had seen her last. She had been zoned out, disoriented, and pissed off.

She swung her legs over the side of the berth, laying on her back, the metal feeling weird….but strangely right under her.

She held her hand in front of her face. Her fingers were dexterous and long, made of metal. A warriors fingers. She had the fingers and the body of a warrior who had probably killed countless Autobots.

She had asked Ratchet about it on her second day, right after she had taken her first fall.

"Damn legs…." She had muttered. "This Decepticon was definitely built for speed, not power."

"Roadrunner was always built for speed," Ratchet had said, casually looking down at his data pad. "But you didn't hear that from me."

Mikaela had just straightened up and not questioned him any further.

She rolled over, trying to get in a comfortable position. The med bay was dark. Ratchet had retired to his own quarters, telling Mikaela to holler if she needed anything. Then he had specifically told her not to need anything.

Her optics brightened as the door creaked open, light spilling into the room.

"Mikaela?"

Optimus. Standing there, looking as regal as ever.

"Yeah?"

"Ratchet informed me that you were having a hard time recharging," then, as if thinking for a moment, he said kindly, "you were rolling around so much that he could hear you from his own quarters."

A human habit. Shifting uncomfortably in their sleep was not something Cybertronians did, apparently. Mikaela sighed and sat up,

"Would you like to choose your alt mode than then go for a short walk?" He asked softly. "Sleeping in your protoform can prove to be quite uncomfortable."

That, and she was practically nude without any armor. She shoved that thought down. Ratchet had said that her spark was safely concealed behind her spark chamber.

Mikaela didn't answer for moment. Optimus seemed to get the message and hung his head, turning to leave the room.

"I see. My apologies for disturbing you."

"Hey!" Mikaela said before she could stop herself. Her voice faltered for a moment, and she looked down, almost embarrassed. "S-Sure. A walk would be nice."

In the dim light, she saw him give her a small smile. Her gestured for her to follow.

She swung her legs around, hopping off the berth, stumbling as soon as her feet touched the ground, refusing Optimus' hand.

"Remarkable."

"I know, right," Mikaela replied as she followed him out of the room. "C'mon. Let's go get me an alt mode."