A/N- Because I didn't want to leave you guys hanging before I am completely consumed by the holidays.

Disclaimer: Transformers is owned by Hasbro. I only own my OCs.

Enjoy!

There was obvious tension between everyone when they were reunited back at the hidden silo—human and Cybertronian alike. Ellie almost didn't want to get out of Bumblebee's cab when he opened the door for them, but a pained groan from Agent Fowler beside her settled her resolve. Sighing in defeat, she climbed out. A brief, quick glimpse around the room showed Optimus and Ratchet over at the area where the others called the med bay, but she didn't distinguish whether either of them were watching or not before she turned around and focused on helping the government liaison out of the car too.

"Come on, Fowler," she muttered, putting his arm over her shoulders to support him on her left side. "Let's get you fixed up."

It was fortunate that Fowler had stirred just enough to walk with her, albeit sluggishly and wobbly (and she was thankful that he wasn't spouting random sayings anymore), but it was still a bit of a challenge keeping him upright; he was a lot bigger than her after all. When she stopped to adjust her grip on him with a grunt after only a few steps, Jack hurried over to Fowler's other side to help hold him up better.

"Thanks," she said.

Jack merely gave a sharp nod, not looking at her, a tight frown on his face.

Ellie peered over at him in confusion, but said nothing else as they guided Fowler up the stairs onto the lower-level platform, where Bulkhead had found and set up a human-sized gurney and IV bag for him. Miko and Raf followed them up while the rest of the Autobots went to talk to the Autobot leader, explaining what happened. After they had Fowler situated on the bed, Ellie backed away to let Jack work to hook the man up to the IV drip; he seemed to know what he was doing. She turned her attention to Miko and Raf, asking, "You guys okay?" She received a smile and nod from Raf and an "A-Okay" signal and grin from Miko. Then she finally dared to turn and get a good look at Optimus and Ratchet, and her eyebrows rose in astonishment. Like Agent Fowler, they looked worse off than when they last saw each other; slash marks, dents, scuffs, and dark burn marks were littered all over their armor plating. In other words, they looked like they both had taken quite a beating. Apparently, what started off as just reconnaissance turned out to be a full-on fight for survival.

Looks like it's been an all-around rough day for everyone here, Ellie thought dismally as she watched Optimus finish welding what looked like a metal brace onto Ratchet's injured arm.

Then Miko asked them what Ellie—and most likely the rest of them—were wondering, "What happened to you guys, anyway?"

Ratchet approached them, carefully testing the movement of his arm, before answering, "We engaged an army of undead Cybertronian warriors."

Ellie's eyes widened, remembering their conversation after the spider-bot attack earlier that morning, about Megatron wanting to conquer Earth with said army of undead. So the Decepticon leader was already in the makings of accomplishing it, then. If a broken piece of equipment was enough to do some damage when corrupted by dark energon, having to go up against hundreds of zombie robots must've been a legitimate nightmare.

Miko, on the other hand, had a different opinion on the matter, which in the long run, didn't really surprise Ellie. "Zombies?! You fought zombies and I missed it?!" Miko exclaimed, stomping her foot.

Then Ellie stood a little straighter when Optimus finally joined them. He didn't look angry. If anything, he looked grave. After looking over the fatigued-looking kids and an unconscious Agent Fowler—his eyes lingering onto her the longest—he regarded the green Autobot. "Bulkhead, you exercised extremely poor judgement in allowing the humans to accompany you."

The effect of the disappointment in his voice was instantaneous; Ellie felt immensely guilty, for Bulkhead and herself. She wasn't sure if she'd have preferred it if Optimus yelled at them or not. Either way, she felt like she had somehow let him down—again.

It was clear that Bulkhead felt the same amount of guilt too. His eyes moved from the children to Optimus, looking uncomfortable, before he replied solemnly, "It won't happen again, Optimus. I-I promise."

"But it wasn't Bulkhead's fault!" Miko stepped forward, defending her Autobot friend, who stiffened.

"M-Miko, please!" he hissed, but the girl ignored him.

"And check it out!" She whipped out her phone and showed the picture they took of the equation to Optimus. "Recon!"

Optimus bent down to get a better view of the tiny screen, humming as his eyes narrowed. Ellie waited apprehensively as he scrutinized the photograph, until he straightened and turned to the Autobot medic.

"Ratchet, have a look. It could be of importance to Megatron," he proclaimed.

Ellie relaxed her shoulders, feeling some slight relief that them tagging along on the rescue mission didn't turn out to be a complete disaster after all.

Jack stepped forward, looking anxious. "Whoa, wait. Megatron's back? That's really bad news, right?"

Ratchet took Optimus's place to examine the photo, but instead, he looked confused. "I…don't understand."

At first, Ellie didn't know what he was talking about, but then Miko turned her phone around and she saw that there was a different picture on display: the one of the Decepticon trooper.

"Oops. That's the 'Con who tried to blow Raf away and flatten Ellie. At least, that's what he looked like before Bulkhead rearranged his grill!" Miko informed cheerfully, punching out her fists as if to imitate Bulkhead.

Oh, Miko, no. They didn't need to know that, Ellie thought despairingly, catching Optimus's eyes dart to her, his lips downturned into a frown. Her eyes dropped, wanting to just sink into the floor. And it was only made worse when Jack rounded on Miko angrily, fists clenched.

"Miko, Raf and Ellie were almost killed!" Jack exploded. "This isn't a game! When are you gonna get that through your thick skull?!"

Miko scowled at him. "Um, in case you didn't notice, we were all almost killed, Jack! You, me, Raf, Ellie—even them!" She pointed at the Autobots.

Ellie rubbed her temple and sighed; on top feeling completely frazzled from the day's events, a headache was coming on. "Guys…" she started quietly, not wanting the two to get into a shouting match again.

"What, Ellie?!" Jack suddenly snapped, turning his furious glare onto her. She sobered right up, staring at him in surprise. "You're no better! What were you thinking, throwing yourself in danger like that?!"

What? What? After a moment of registering his words, her startled expression gradually melted off, making way for a closed off look. While she wasn't reluctant to admit that, yes, what she had done was stupid, hearing it in such a way from Jack did not sit right with her.

And she knew exactly why.

"Like you did?" she said in an even tone.

"I—that's different!" Jack argued, and didn't Ellie just want to get up in his face, demand why and keep it going until they both yelled themselves hoarse. But that wasn't how she had learned to deal with such things; baiting never did anyone any favors. Instead, she remained blunt and to the point.

"No, it isn't."

He glared at her, and she stared steadily back, giving nothing away. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, failing to come up with a good retort when she didn't falter. Finally, reluctantly, he averted his gaze, though he wasn't any less irritated. "W-Well…if this is just an average day with the Autobots, then I don't want to be a part of it! Not anymore," he fumed, no longer ranting to her, but more to himself.

"Jack," Optimus said, his low, grim voice pulling both their gazes up to him. "Putting you in harm's way was never our intent. However, it is no longer the safety of you four that is at risk, but the safety of all human-kind. We will respect your decision if you wish to leave."

Hardly two seconds after Optimus said that, a ground bridge portal opened. Everyone looked over to see Ratchet over at the control panel.

"No point in long goodbyes. Here's the door," Ratchet said, a little too eagerly.

Ellie had to wonder how he got over there so fast.

Jack started that way, clearly having made up his mind, but not before saying quietly, "Come on, Raf."

The younger boy, however, did not move. He looked at Bumblebee, whose door-wings drooped in sadness at the possibility of his new friend leaving, before returning his gaze to Jack with an apologetic smile. "I'll be okay, Jack. See you at school."

Jack was obviously disappointed, but nodded anyway. Then he turned to Ellie, though more uncertainly. "Ellie?"

Ellie didn't respond right away, not meeting his gaze, but not entirely because she was still upset at him. Despite the fact that he had snapped at her, there was a small part of her that might have, kind of, wanted her to leave. The day she had had was…not ideal, to say the least. If she left, she'd never have to worry about being in danger again, but if she was being honest with herself, that wasn't what she was truly concerned about. It was the fear of being rejected. If she left before the rest of them found out about her prosthetic…but she was doing so well trying to make friends here. At least, she thought she was.

She glanced at Raf and Miko, then at the Autobots, and lastly, up at Optimus. He looked at her with that stoic expression that seemed almost permanent every time she saw him, except there was something different about it this time. She wasn't sure how it was possible, them being made of metal, but it was like the corners around his eyes had softened in an expression that wasn't quite hopeful or anxious, but it certainly lessened the firmness he usually held.

She didn't know what it was about it, but the way he looked at her then settled her decision.

Turning her head slightly toward Jack, but still not looking directly at him, she muttered, "See you at school."

She turned away just as he replied with a sullen, "Sure." She merely listened as Jack and Arcee exchanged a few words among each other—the blue Autobot coming off as dismissive but clearly didn't want him to leave—and he left the base, the ground bridge closing with his departure. She sighed, feeling an abundance of emotions at war with themselves inside of her.

Then a small hand slipped into hers, and for an instant, they stopped. She looked down at Raf, who smiled softly at her. "He'll be alright," he told her. "Maybe he'll even change his mind and come back."

"Yeah…maybe." In reality, she wasn't so sure, but she wasn't about to crush his optimistic spirit.

Raf let go of her hand to walk over to where Miko was plugging her phone into the human sized monitor by the console—most likely in order to transfer the picture they took into the main database. While they did so, Ellie went over to the edge of the platform and carefully sat herself down, her legs hanging over the edge, content to be off her feet and given a moment of peace.

About five seconds of peace, that is.

"Man, I'm beat," Miko groaned before plopping herself down next to Ellie.

After flinching from her sudden appearance, Ellie forced her muscles to slacken again. "Me too," she murmured.

Miko didn't say anything else for several seconds, making Ellie glance at her, puzzled to find that the transfer student had lost some of her default enthusiasm to put on a more sheepish demeanor, her hands fidgeting, until she spoke again.

"Hey, uh…for what it's worth, sorry I got us in trouble."

Ellie hummed pensively for a moment before saying quietly, "Yeah, well, we didn't have to go after you either, but I appreciate that."

Miko's smile was rueful, and Ellie couldn't help but crack a small smile back. But then it dropped as a thought occurred to her. "You'd still do it again, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, yeah. Totally." Zero hesitation whatsoever.

Ellie released a long, very tired sigh, leaning back slightly to rest her weight on her hands. "I figured."

Miko giggled. "Good thing I got my 'Bot and my fellow alien buddy to watch my back, then." She playfully punched Ellie on the shoulder.

Ellie made a face of half-hearted disdain as she mumbled under her breath, "Oh, you're still calling us that."

Ellie took the short silence between them to look over at Raf and Bumblebee by the monitors, the boy telling his Autobot friend all about how they'd found the equation while they were left alone on the ship, and then having to evade the Decepticon shortly after. She elected to ignore the part where he talked about her going up against the 'Con to distract it. Instead, her gaze rose higher up and caught sight of the photo they had gotten from the warship, now displayed on the large monitor for further inspection. Staring at it, she suddenly released a snort, lips contorted into a strained smile.

"What?" Miko asked.

"Nothing. Just, uh…" trying but failing to recompose herself, Ellie turned to Miko and simply said, "Space nachos."

Miko blinked owlishly, but after a quick glance at the photo and recalling their dangerous excursion, she burst out laughing. "Oh, yeah," she said between snickers. "Makes you wonder what they'd taste like."

Ellie feigned a look of deep, philosophical thought. "Cosmically delicious?"

Miko laughed harder, which proved infectious as Ellie joined in, shoulders shaking and covering her mouth. It wasn't really that funny, but when one goes through an intense experience, a little humor goes a long way. And as long as Ellie was laughing, she wasn't anxious.

"I still can't believe you threw fruit at that 'Con," Miko said once they both calmed down.

"I still can't believe you took a picture of that 'Con," Ellie countered.

Miko flashed one of her smiles of the brightest quality. "I told you, I never miss a scrapbook opportunity."

Ellie huffed out a short chuckle. "That you did. But next time, how about taking them at a safer distance?"

"No promises."

"Yes, promise."

"Nope."

"Seriously, Miko."

"Aww, you were that worried?"

Ellie grumbled at Miko's teasing laugh, but it gradually dissolved back into a loose smirk.

Then Miko moved to stand up. "Well, I'll see you later, Ells. Maybe I'll go talk to Jack later, get him to come back. I kinda owe it to him."

For a moment, Ellie didn't answer, taken off guard by the nickname Miko had given her so easily—a nickname that she hasn't heard aloud in years. Then she smiled warmly. "Yeah…see you later."

With a short wave, Miko dashed off, sliding down the railing on the stairs to meet up with Bulkhead.

With Miko gone, and her upbeat attitude along with her, Ellie's smile faded. She stared blankly down at her dangling legs, the twisted feeling of unease in her gut that had laid dormant the last several minutes crawled its way back to the forefront of her mind. She tapped her fingers on her knees out of nervous habit, waiting. And then it came; heavy footsteps making their way towards her. Her fingers curled into her palms. With effort, she lifted her head up to see the Autobot leader standing before her, his face reverted back to its unreadable countenance. He didn't say anything—offered no words of comfort or scolding. All he did was bend down closer and hold his hand out in front of her. She regarded it unsurely, knowing what he was implying, but also knowing that he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Optimus was rather good at sending certain signals without saying a word, she'd noticed.

Gathering up her nerve, she pushed herself forward, slipping off the edge of the platform and into his open palm, where he wordlessly deposited her onto the ground floor before shifting into his vehicle form, the passenger door opening. The feeling in her gut growing heavier by the second, she climbed in, and before she knew it, they had left the base and were off on the road.

It was quiet. Ellie kept her eyes trained on the floor beneath her feet as she waited for him to say something, but for a while, he seemed content to just drive in silence. The suspense only made it worse. She wanted him to say something, even if it was to reprimand her or lecture her. At least then she'd know what he was thinking. She tried to imagine what must be going through Optimus's mind, how he saw things; some humans get involved in a long-lasting war (and they're all children, no less), he assigns himself to look after one of them, he finds out she's missing a real leg, and then he hears that she's gone off into the enemy warship and helped wreak havoc on it, facing many dangers along the way.

Listing all of it together only put more and more guilt on her conscience. She figured that his discovery of her prosthesis would change the way they were getting along, but now, after what she did, it seemed like she only added on more stress to the things he had to deal with.

Finally, she couldn't handle the tension anymore. She raised her head to look at the dashboard. "Optimus?" she said, her voice quiet and solemn, "I—I'm really sorry about today."

For a long time (at least to her it felt like a long time), he was quiet save for the revving of his engine, making her feel on edge. When he answered, his voice was low and collected, "While I remain disappointed that you and the other children were put in danger, I am grateful that you returned unharmed."

Ellie fiddled with the strap of her bag, her emotions at war over whether to feel remorse or relief from that statement. She ended up settling for a bit of both. "It really wasn't Bulkhead's fault. We all chose to follow."

"Nothing more will be said on the matter to Bulkhead—or anyone else—than what was already said back at base."

There was an uneasy silence between them for the next few minutes, though Ellie couldn't help but notice that Optimus was driving a little slower than the current speed limit, prolonging their travel time. Then she noticed that they weren't even heading toward Jasper; he was driving down a long, empty road in the middle of the desert under the early evening sun, with no destination in mind.

That was when she realized that he never said anything about taking her home.

"Ellie…"

She stiffened at the slight change in his tone.

"Is there something else you wish to talk about?"

Ellie looked at the console, knowing exactly what he was implying to her. She took a deep breath.

Well, it can't be avoided forever, can it?

"About…" she began, but her voice came out in a whisper, and she cleared her throat and tried again, "About this morning, with my…my leg…"

"Yes?"

She swallowed, stumbling over her words as she let it all out. "You see, I—I'm an amputee. They—I mean…" she shut her eyes tight before reopening them, composing herself, "…I had to get my real leg removed a while back, so now I wear a prosthetic leg when I need to walk anywhere. Like…like an artificial limb."

When she finished, he merely said, "I see."

Both Optimus and Ellie fell quiet again. Ellie stared down at her lap, feeling a familiar sense of dread washing over her as she replayed the conversation over in her head—particularly the short, blunt response she received. Not waiting for him to say anything else, she wrapped her arms around herself as she sat back in her seat, looking dejected and just plain tired.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you from the start," she said softly. "I completely understand if you don't want me to come back. I won't tell anyone about you, I promise."

At her words, Optimus's speed noticeably slowed down even more. The rearview mirror moved, fixating onto her.

"Ellie," he said with an eerie calmness, "do you believe that after what I have learned today, I think less of you now?"

"No," was her automatic response. However, as if to emphasize how much he didn't believe her, he pulled over to a stop on the side of the road, and his mirror actually zoomed in on her, making her stomach drop. She didn't even know they could do that. It was remarkable how even when he was a truck, he still held an unyielding presence.

Ellie looked away and bit her lip. Finally, she admitted to him in a small voice, "A little."

There was nothing but heavy silence for five whole seconds. Then, without warning, Optimus started driving again, only this time, off road. Ellie's eyes flickered over to the steering wheel in bewilderment, but Optimus told her nothing of his intentions as he now drove over the desert ground, leaving the road, as well as a trail of kicked up dust, behind.

It wasn't until they had scaled a large hill by a cliff a few minutes later, well out of sight of the road or any prying eyes, that Optimus slowed down again. Once he had come to a complete stop, the passenger door popped open, the seatbelt around Ellie unfastening itself—a clear, unspoken request that the girl understood right away. Swallowing hard, she stepped out. She looked out at the clear, barren desert that now surrounded them. Before she had any time to ponder what they were doing out in the middle of nowhere, she heard the now familiar sound of a transformation behind her. She turned back around to see Optimus, now in his bipedal form, kneel down and place his hand before her, his intentions clear. Exhaling steadily, she climbed onto his palm, and he slowly lifted her up. Ellie gulped when she glanced down at the ground that now seemed so far below, despite that he had his fingers curled up slightly around her to prevent her from falling off.

Once he had straightened to his full height, she looked up to meet his piercing blue gaze, face to face. Much like earlier at base, his standard mysterious, unreadable appearance had changed ever so faintly that anyone else wouldn't have noticed, but Ellie was brought close enough to him to see all the details, subtle concern taking place on his features.

"I am not upset that you did not tell me, nor do I want your permanent departure from the base," he told her. "What I want is for you to be able to feel safe with me, and that you can trust me. That is what's important to me; that you feel safe, whether it be from Decepticons…or other matters."

Ellie was so stunned by his words and the earnest, sincere way in which he uttered them, that for some time, she didn't know what to say. Eventually, she found her voice again and said, with some difficulty, "I…it's not that I don't feel safe with you, or that I don't trust you. I guess…I was hoping that it wouldn't matter."

Optimus's metal brows lowered slightly. "It shouldn't, but it must matter to you if you felt the need to hide it, and feared for my reaction."

Ellie lowered her gaze and gingerly rubbed her arm, feeling a weight press against her chest, frustrated with herself and this entire situation.

There was another heavy silence between the two, Ellie still feeling his full gaze on her, until Optimus spoke up once more, his voice gentler, "You are a surprising human, Ellie."

Ellie quickly looked back up at him, perplexed.

"When Jack left the base tonight, you considered leaving as well, but then you decided against it. Will you tell me why?"

Ellie's mouth opened, only for it to close. She didn't think she was being that obvious with her conflicted thoughts at the time.

"I'm honestly not sure," she admitted to him.

There was a brief pause between the human and the Autobot.

"I overheard what you have done for the other children on the Decepticon ship—how you were willing to risk your own life to preserve theirs, despite the odds," Optimus said. He lowered his gaze to somewhere between scrutiny and gentleness. "Perhaps that has something to do with your decision?"

"Well, they're my—my friends," Ellie replied, and she was surprised by how easy it was for her to state that as a fact now. Jack, Miko, and Raf had become her friends. "So of course I wanted to help them in any way I could."

"And what of Agent Fowler?" Optimus inquired. "From what Bulkhead has told me, he was not particularly thrilled when he found out that you were in our care, yet you did not hesitate to assist him when he was in need of care."

That one took a bit longer to consider, but Ellie got there within moments. "Because even though he came about it the wrong way, he was only thinking for the best," she answered. "And even if that wasn't the case, he didn't deserve what happened to him. It's like…"

At this, she hesitated, trying to come up with the words to best formulate her explanation. As she did so, a fleeting but vivid image flashed across her vision; of a boy reaching a hand out to her. She blinked, shaking away the memory and feelings that came with it, and continued to speak, her tone softer and more subdued.

"When you see someone in trouble, and you don't do anything to help them...even if it means getting hurt yourself to keep them from getting hurt…" she glanced down with a the barest hint of a frown before returning her gaze to Optimus, "…could you ever truly forgive yourself?"

Optimus's brows raised a touch at her answer, saying nothing. Although his face more or less remained the same, there was something different about the way he was looking at her—like he could see something in her that he hadn't quite noticed before.

After a short, calm silence between the two, he finally answered, "No, I do not believe I could."

Then, to her utter amazement, the corners of his mouth slowly inched up to form a small but genuine and reassuring smile.

Whoa.

"You see? I was right." His smile widened ever so slightly when the only response she gave him was an inquisitive tilt of her head. "Even though I have known you for a short time, you have proven—in more ways than one—that you are more than what you seem: an open-minded, capable human being in your own right, and one who cares deeply for the well-being of others."

The unexpected praise struck Ellie where she sat, even as his smile vanished as quickly as it came, face hardening back into its stern expression.

"Although, I would much rather you refrain from putting yourself in danger in the future. It is as you said, I would never forgive myself if any harm were to come to you under my watch, especially since I am your guardian now; therefore, you are my responsibility."

Ellie's face softened, half in surprise and half in warmth when he said guardian. So that was what he was to her, then. Her guardian. She found that she quite liked the sound of it. On top of that, she couldn't help but feel touched by his words, realizing that, despite his outward appearance, he truly did care, and was merely concerned for her safety in terms of getting involved with their war. She smiled up at him.

"I'll try my best, but I can't speak for the other kids—especially not Miko."

He let out a deep hum of contemplation. "Yes, she is quite…lively. But I believe that Bulkhead will do better in keeping her out of trouble from now on."

Well, at least one of us does, she thought amusedly. Then, biting down her smile, she glanced briefly out at the vast desert around them before she looked back to him with some hesitance. "So…you're alright with this? With me?" she asked. She just had to be sure.

He regarded her searchingly for a long moment.

"Ellie," he said lowly, almost sounding like a sigh, as he brought her a little closer to ensure that he was fully looking her in the eyes. "Of course I am. Don't you ever doubt that. You have nothing to be ashamed of, especially if it is something you have little control over."

It was all Ellie could do to swallow down the lump that formed in her throat while trying to remain outwardly composed. She needed to hear that. After all that she's felt today, and even on days long before today—all those doubts and fears and insecurities—she really needed to hear that.

She didn't trust herself to say anything without sounding choked up at the moment, so instead she settled for a small smile and a nod to show her appreciation.

He carefully lowered her to the ground, allowing her to slide off of his hand. Then he transformed into his vehicle mode, a sight that never seemed to get old to Ellie. She climbed into his awaiting cab. As soon as she was buckled up, he was driving again, heading back the way they came. Ellie sat back in her seat once again, only this time she was much more relaxed. Somehow, she felt lighter, no longer burdened by the weight of guilt and shame in her, now replaced with relief and, dare she say it, contentedness.

By the time they made it back on the road, heading for Jasper, Optimus spoke first. "If you do not mind my asking, Ellie…how long have you been an amputee?"

After a moment of thinking, internally counting back through time, she replied, "Over four years now."

A part of her was surprised that she, in fact, did not mind him asking. She found that, despite his titanic size and often stoic exterior, talking to him somehow came easy, now that they had cleared the air. And she realized that he was only curious; it was a simple matter of remembering that he was from another planet, and was still new to some of Earth's ways.

And the other part of her that was still reserved about any other questions he'd likely ask? The quiet part that kept her from having a deep, heartfelt conversation with anyone other than Isla for the past several years? Well…they'd cross that bridge when they got to it.

"It was…quite an adjustment period to go through, but I've managed," she said.

"You've adapted."

Ellie smiled crookedly. "Yeah, exactly." Her hand moved to rest where her prosthesis and residual limb connected, the small flairs of pain she'd been feeling since her return to base having dulled away. "There are still some times when it's not so easy, and I have to work a little harder than most...but it's okay, overall. I get around."

"Indeed," he said. "And from what I have seen from you so far, you have succeeded in turning your condition into more of an asset than a hindrance, as well as coping with unforeseen challenges at a fast rate."

A faint blush heated her cheeks at the implication of that morning's incident. "Right, that," she muttered. "I really shouldn't be doing stuff like that. My prosthetic can only take so much damage."

She wasn't even going to mention how expensive they were to fix or replace. It was bad enough she had to switch out the socket size every once in a while because the human body is constantly changing, especially at her age. Her grandmother would flay her alive.

"Then we will endeavor to prevent anymore of Ratchet's equipment from going rampant around the silo in the future."

Ellie squinted. His tone made it sound like he was being serious, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was a smidgen of humor behind that statement. She smirked nonetheless. "Yes, that would be ideal, especially if the chances of it happening again is high."

A gentle gush of air filtered through the vents, followed by a low, deep hum that could've been mistaken for a discreet chuckle if listened to close enough. Then he asked, "So I take it that I am the only one you have told outright about being an amputee?"

Ellie's loose smile slowly diminished. "Yeah. You and Ratchet are the only ones who actually know." She looked away from the console before adding as more of an afterthought, "I haven't even told Jack, Miko, or Raf."

"They are your friends, Ellie; you said so yourself. If they feel the same way about you—and I have no doubts that they do—then they will accept you for who you are, regardless of your circumstance."

"I know. I just can't help but be cautious when it comes to people's reactions." She gazed out at the passing scenery, feeling a sliver of shame run back through her. "I know I shouldn't care, but I do."

Optimus was quiet for a moment before he said in a softer tone, "I assume you have endured your share of people who did not take very kindly to you."

Ellie's lips curved downward into a hurt frown as she continued to stare out the window. "We live in a progressive world these days," she said monotonously, her hands curling into fists in her lap. "But while most people are more accepting of things that aren't usually considered normal, every once in a while, you get a negative reaction or two…and they just happen to be the ones who scream louder than all the rest."

At least, that's what it seems like to me, she thought bitterly, remembering her most recent bad encounter with Vince from school. It was just a couple of fleeting, insignificant moments in a single day between them, and yet they still stuck out over most everything else, along with some of the times long before, when others made passing remarks at her (whether they had good intentions or ill), or even just sent long, open stares her way over the years that led to her beginning to hide it all the time. Even though she knew that they were few and far in between in the long run, and she shouldn't let ignorant people get to her, she still thought back to them occasionally.

Then she froze, pulled out of her musings when she felt a slight movement around her. Not moving a muscle, her eyes darted down to her seatbelt, which drew tighter ever so faintly until it was snug around her. At the same time, the air of the interior grew a little warmer.

What?

It took another couple seconds of confusion until it finally clicked: he was trying to comfort her in the best way that he could in his current form—which, admittedly, was effective, despite the peculiarity of it. Gradually, she relaxed again, hands unclenching.

Almost out of instinct, Ellie waited for him to say something to her, but he remained quiet. No, "I'm sorry," or, "You're not the only one," or even, "I can only imagine what that's like." There was none of that—none of those many sayings that she had been conditioned into hearing for years, so much so that they didn't leave much of an impact anymore. He didn't even ask her anymore questions regarding her condition, almost like he knew. He just…listened.

She cleared her throat, sitting up straighter, before she broke the silent gap between them by asking, "So…you and Ratchet really fought zombies today?"

"If you are referring to the undead, then yes, we did," he answered, seemingly fine with the change of subject.

Ellie listened intently as he began to tell her all about what he and Ratchet have been up to that day; how they went to a remote area that had once served as a battlefield in the war eons ago. When Ellie expressed confusion by this, Optimus explained to her how both factions took to hiding energon spoils on different planets, including Earth, to preserve their cause off Cybertron, which led to the energon deposits often found in the present day. As intrigued as she was that Cybertronians have been on Earth long before, she left that matter closed for another time and continued to listen to his story about coming across the site of the many fallen Cybertronian soldiers. Then he told her that, not long after they rediscovered the ancient battleground, Megatron appeared, and turned the deceased warriors into an undead army by using a fractured piece of dark energon.

"It turned out to be exactly as I feared…Megatron has mastered dark energon, using its power to reanimate the dead and even control them through symbiosis."

"That's horrible," Ellie said, revolted. "The fact that he had no problem desecrating the final resting place of his own kind."

She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised, given what Optimus told her about how the war Megatron had started ravaged their home, but it was still a disturbing thought—that Megatron was still doing such despicable things on other worlds.

"He lost all empathy for anyone other than himself long ago," Optimus said in a low growl, and Ellie blinked at the amount of emotion layered in his voice. There was anger, obviously, but he also sounded sad and tired—as if all of the weight he carried on his shoulders seemed to convey into his words, so subtle she might've missed it if she wasn't paying enough attention. She had to wonder then just how long it's been like this between the Autobot and Decepticon leaders to make even someone like Optimus feel worn down; someone so strong, firm, outwardly unapproachable…but also kind, gentle, and understanding.

She frowned, internally making a solemn vow in that moment. She didn't fully understand the history behind Optimus and Megatron's rivalry—not yet, anyway—but she did understand one thing: if she were ever to encounter Megatron at some point, she was going to deck him in the face. Somehow, someway, she would make it happen.

"We were able to defeat every last one of the undead warriors, but I fear that our encounter today was not the final phase in his plan," Optimus finished. By then, they had reached Jasper and were heading for the suburban part of town.

"To conquer Earth?" Ellie asked quietly, remembering him saying earlier that morning about Megatron's reason for getting dark energon in the first place.

He tilted his rearview mirror toward her once more. "We will do everything in our power to prevent him from accomplishing that goal. I promise you that," he told her with conviction. "And with the information you have provided to us from their ship, we are one step closer to stopping him."

She nodded politely, not saying anything in response, but secretly thinking, I hope so. I really hope so.

A few minutes later, he pulled over at the same place as the night before, a little ways from her house, where Ellie could see that the lights were all off, her grandmother's car absent from the driveway. That told her that Isla was either stuck doing extra paperwork at the vet, or was out running errands before returning home. Either way, Ellie was thankful that she'd have some time to herself until then.

"I must return to base for now to further discuss the dark energon matter with Ratchet, but I will be back for you in the morning," Optimus said once he slowed to a complete stop.

"Okay." She removed her seat belt and made to open the door, but she stopped. Then she looked back at the dashboard.

"Optimus?" she said hesitantly. "Um…thank you."

"You're welcome. And Ellie?"

"Yes?"

At first, Optimus was quiet, as if carefully constructing the right words to say, making Ellie furrow her eyebrows anxiously as she waited, before he finally spoke, "I don't know what's in store for us in regards of our conflict against Megatron, but this I do know: if there is ever a time when you are willing to talk, about anything…I am willing to listen."

For a long moment, Ellie simply sat and stared at the console, the tension in her face lessening as she processed his words.

"Good night, Optimus," she said gently.

After he bid her the same farewell, she exited his cab and walked toward her home, head down. She unlocked the front door with her spare key and stepped inside of the empty house. A few seconds after shutting the door quietly behind her, she heard the rumbling of Optimus's engine as he took off on the road once more until it gradually faded away.

Once it got quiet, Ellie leaned her body against the door behind her, letting the back of her head hit against it. She stayed that way for some time, wiping at her eyes as she breathed heavily. Finally, she removed her shaking hands from her face, revealing a weary, but ultimately relieved smile. The day had been both physically and emotionally taxing, and there were still some things that needed to be worked out. But overall, for the moment, with Optimus's kind, reassuring words echoing in her now calmed mind…

"Not a bad day," she whispered.

A/N- It took me a long time to get this part right to the point where I didn't entirely hate it, especially the ending. I guess you could say that Optimus basically told Ellie that she was more than meets the-*gets shot*

My rationality in physical form, holding a gun: "We made an agreement never to go that corny here."

Me, only slightly phased: "Ah, yes. My mistake."

Once again, thank you so much for reading, and to everyone who have faved, followed and left a review! I immensely appreciate it. I'm also grateful (and pleasantly surprised) that a lot of you seem to share my opinion on Optimus; how as amazing as he is, he was often too stern and distant in TFP compared to his other counterparts, and wasn't shown being that close with the kids. I've grown wary of the idea most TF shows/movies use nowadays that a Prime must remain detached and not show any emotion because "that's just the way Primes are built" or whatever. Frankly, I find that as much malarkey as the Jedi's "all attachments are forbidden" spiel from Star Wars.

And Optimus Prime is certainly an interesting character to write so far. I personally think he is the way he is not because of some old glowy relic that molded him that way, but because he's been at war for such a long time. A war against someone he once considered a very close friend, at that. That much weight on your shoulders, that much trauma—it can get to even the strongest of us. I almost don't blame the writers for making him serious all the time, but at the same time, I refuse to believe that he's completely lost sight of his own emotions and attachments. In other words: our boy is bonkers tired—and probably even depressed? And I think he just needs someone who he doesn't have to be so serious around; someone who doesn't see him as a commanding officer or even a legendary being, but as a regular person who happens to be a giant robot.

Ellie, on the other hand, has kind of the opposite problem: She can be quite expressive, and because she's gone a while without anyone else to talk to, she just barely manages to rein it in when she's with others. But it's still pretty obvious, especially to Optimus, that she's got a lot going on emotionally and not just physically.

So yes. These two tired, lonely souls have their work cut out for each other on the road ahead.