Kerri laid curled into a ball on the sofa. Nighttime was hard for her. Her brain refused to shut down, instead analyzing every second of the day. This was the norm for her. Always had been. Especially in the ten months that had turned her life upside down. Ten months. That's all that it had been. She had gone from a soldier and medic to...what? She had no idea who she was anymore. "This is going to be a very long night", she muttered to herself. But then something else struck her. Tonight seemed...different. It wasn't the silence. She had that at her apartment. It was something else. She opened her eyes and looked at Ultra Magnus. He was lying still, staring at the ceiling above him. One glance told her that he was doing the same thing. Thinking, analyzing, pondering how he gotten to this point. That was it, she decided. She had been so caught up in making sure he was ok physically that she hadn't stop to think about how he was mentally. She had taken quite an interest in the Commander since his arrival seven months ago. He was quiet, like Optimus, and difficult to read. His expression, always stoic, his voice, always even. Even during his intense exchanges with Wheeljack, he never lost his cool. He was always strong, confident, commanding. And now he was laying here, lost. He had already felt like an outsider and that was something she could understand. No other human had been through what she had and lived. The Autobots did everything they could to help, but at the end of the day, she felt alone. She pushed the feelings down and soldiered on, because that's what soldiers do. Ultra Magnus understood that. And she sort of understood him. He was a proud soldier, and he took his responsibilities seriously. He was taking the loss of his servo very hard. And he was wondering what was he to do now. We've both lost a lot sir, she thought to herself. We're peas in a pod. It brought her a weird peace, and it wasn't long before she actually did drift off to sleep.
Magnus looked towards the human. Her breathing had slowed. She had drifted into recharge. He felt a twinge of jealously at the ease in which she did so. As he watched her sleep, he thought over the last few days and realized just how much he had seen of the woman since he and Wheeljack's run in with the predacon. She and the doctor worked like a well-oiled machine. When Optimus brought he and Wheeljack into medbay, Ratchet and the woman sprang into action, the doctor barking orders and her performing them quickly and silently. She scurried about, taking care of his other injuries while Ratchet focused on the destroyed servo. Only when the doctor announced that Magnus was stabilized did she collapse upon the work table, exhausted. For the next several cycles he had drifted in and out of consciousness and every time he had awakened she was there, either alone or at Ratchet's side. She never said much, beyond asking how the Commander was feeling, before going about her duties of monitoring his vitals and writing reports. She was pleasant, reserved, professional, and she kept her human emotions in check. Not bad qualities in Magnus's eyes. The woman was obviously intelligent and observant, he realized. He had noticed how she took in everything around her in relative silence, but with great interest. She didn't speak often, but when she did she received everyone's full attention and respect, even Optimus. The children jumped to attention when she spoke, and she only had to tell them to do something once. Even Miko knew not to challenge her. Magnus had gleaned from her few conversations with the team that at one time she had been a soldier imprisoned aboard the Nemesis, and was rescued by Wheeljack during his escape from the Decepticon warship. She apparently didn't have a guardian like the children, although she seemed close to Wheeljack, and would often go on patrol with him. He had saved her life and their closeness was understood by the team. She was relaxed and apparently happy with the Wrecker (a concept he couldn't wrap his head around), and subsequently became more reserved and withdrawn when Wheeljack took off on his jaunts. During those times , she rarely left the base, instead spending most of her days with Ratchet.
Magnus shook himself from his reverie and realized that he had been staring at the woman for several minutes. Perhaps it was the meds talking, or the desire for recharge, but he and the woman seemed a lot alike. That thought brought him some unexpected peace as he offlined his optics and drifted into recharge