It was the day after and Saphira was still in the hospital. She had been kept overnight by the hospital as they thought she might still be in danger. Saphira was happy about that as it meant she wouldn't have to face the autobots for a while. She did find out she had two cracked ribs, which was why it was incredibly sore to touch. The doctors reassured her that the ribs will heal and she would just not be able to lay on that side for a while. She was treated for her lacerations as well, even though they weren't deep. Her sprained ankle was actually worse than she first thought. It had actually been sprained hard enough that her ankle had almost been broken. Thankfully that wasn't the case. But she did have to wear a wrap around her ankle and use crutches for a while to let the ankle heal.

She had a medical certificate written up by the hospital and she had it sent to Arthur's email. But she knew she would need to call him about not coming to work for a couple days so she could have some time to heal. Plus, she didn't want to see Claudia for a few days. She really, really did not want to deal with that woman at the moment. She would be much happier to see that woman fired from her job. But she did not know if that would happen straight away.

She was in a private ward as Saphira's insurance covered all the expenses thankfully, especially since the hospital visit was the result of an assault. She was looking out the window, seeing the morning sun shining through the window. She was going to be discharged this morning which she was not entirely thrilled by it. But she could not stay in the hospital forever. She had to face the world again, and she would need to be okay with it. It would not be easy though.

Because of that, Saphira decided it was best to leave the hospital early and get herself discharged. So she made sure she was dressed before she left the ward and made her way to the lobby of the hospital. She struggled a little as she was not used to crutches just yet, but she would get used to them. She wouldn't need them for too long though, which she was happy about. She did hope that the autobots would be patient with her though. She knew that getting into a freightliner was going to be difficult with crutches, so…that was going to be a challenge if she happens to leave the apartment.

But I don't want them to kill me…even though I don't think Optimus would…I don't even know if that is what he would have done.

When Saphira made her way out of the hospital once she was discharged, she did not know if the autobots were parked in the lot or not, but as she was looking around, she spotted Mirage driving into the driveway and over to the pickup, drop off line. She smiled a little as she was lucky she did not need to drive. She hobbled her way over to the Porsche and managed to open the door with a little effort, though Mirage helped her so she would not have to struggle so much.

She carefully lowered herself into the seat and sighed as she placed the crutches onto the passenger seat before making herself comfortable and closed the door. "Morning, Mirage. I guess you stayed near the hospital all night as Optimus said."

"Yep, we sure did." Mirage sounded completely unhappy about it. He drove away from the parking space to make his way out of the hospital lot. "So…I see you have…uh…what are these things called? The things you are using to help you walk around."

Saphira smiled a little as she glanced at the crutches. "They're crutches. My ankle was sprained enough to the point where it was almost broken from the attack…which was not good…it means my ankle will take a bit longer to heal. So I can't put pressure on it for now."

"I see." Mirage could see that it was going to make it difficult for Saphira to move around. "I don't know what Optimus is thinking…hmm…would you mind if we talk to Optimus before I take you back to your apartment? He needs to see you can't climb into a truck very easily, and you need the apartment to heal."

Saphira shivered at the very thought. "Um…to be honest…Optimus scares me, Mirage…I kind of don't want to push it. I am sure he will see the crutches and make up his own mind…I don't want to force him." Saphira was certain that would backfire if they did try to do that. "Besides, I did a lot of thinking last night when I had the time."

"A lot of thinking? Normally I would say that is a bad thing, but…what were you thinking about? Let me, you were thinking about Optimus, right?" She shrugged a little before she nodded. "Not really sure why you are thinking about him…"

"I am more thinking of what he said. I honestly don't blame him for not trusting humans. Other humans can be the worst. I mean…" She spread her arms slightly and gestured to herself. "I am proof of that. Many humans are quite happy to hurt other people because they don't like them or want to steal something from them. So…I honestly understand. If the government were to find out…" Saphira grimaced as she did not want to think about that. "Optimus wants to protect you. So I actually realized that I sympathize with him."

Mirage was silent for a moment as he was rather surprised Saphira had come back to say that. He really thought she was going to say something else. "I must say…I did not expect you to come back and say that. Normally I would expect a race of intelligent beings to defend their own race, so…and now that you are here telling me that you sympathize and say that you see the evils in your own race…I would still think you are upset about having to leave your apartment."

"Well, I am, don't get me wrong. I want to stay in that apartment, but I was thinking of looking for another apartment soon anyway. And as Dylan knows my address, probably Claudia too, I am worried they will do something. I had good news to tell him last night, and now I worry how they will react when they learn of it." She glanced out the window and rests her elbow on the door as she thought about it. "So…maybe it will be for the best…it is not like people at the apartment will miss me. I am used to it."

"Used to…what?" Mirage seemed a little confused and curious at the same time. "I think that asshole is going to get what he deserves, Saphira. But your words confuse me. I do not know what you mean when you say you are used to people not missing you. Has this got something to do with you running away?" She frowned and folded her arms. "I know, I know! We made a deal. I just happened to notice that was a weird choice of words."

Saphira rolled her eyes a little and shrugged. "I would not worry about it, Mirage. But you at least know that I do understand Optimus's reasoning to not trust humans. I don't even trust other humans. Especially when I leave the apartment at night for things like going out for dinner…I am just lucky that I was not killed."

"You got that right. By the way…" Mirage paused for a moment and let out a low groan. "Oh, the big man is right behind us by the way." Saphira glanced at the sideview mirror and shrugged her shoulders as she did not care. "Anyway, you did speak with the police about the incident, right?" She nodded. "Good, that is really good. I hope those assholes get what they deserve."

"Me too." Saphira grimaced a little and rubbed her side as the pain of the ribs was throbbing lightly. "Our…my ribs are sore…I should mention I have two cracked ribs. They will heal though, just can't lay on it."

"Ouch! That would definitely hurt!" Mirage felt awful for Saphira. He felt it was partly his fault this happened to her, but she likely would have been attacked even if he just dropped her off. And he did not particularly want to admit it. "I still feel it is partly my fault…I know it probably would have happened anyway, but…I think you would have found out about us too…since I would have gone back and waited in the car lot and you wouldn't have come out of the restaurant to find me."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah…I guess it was pretty much fate that brought us together…oh well." Saphira knew there was no going back anymore, and she had to accept it. "But I guess we will get used to each other. I kind of wish there was a way you could…have some kind of human form. That would be nice."

"We kind of do…but…" Mirage paused as he hesitated on it. "We don't look human…it is called the holoform, which is basically a form that we can use. It is kind of like a hologram, but you can actually touch us and it is almost like a separate entity to our actual form. However…it is just literally my normal, full form shrunk down to your size…if that makes sense."

Saphira was trying to picture what he was trying to say. It was certainly an interesting concept to thinking on and she could not help but chuckle. "Sounds interesting…that is also kind of annoying. Which means you can only blend in as vehicles…" Saphira could not help but chuckle a little bit. "Well…I guess you at least can get to my level…kind of."

Mirage laughed lightly as he could not help but agree. "It is unlikely that you will get to see our holoforms for a while, so don't go asking about it. And don't tell Optimus that you know about it either. He will not be happy, and I will certainly get it if he knows I told you something you were not yet ready to know."

"Oh." Saphira had not realized that Mirage had basically told her something that was likely considered a secret. She was a tad amused, but she hoped that she could keep it quiet so Optimus would not get mad at Mirage and her. "I promise I won't say anything. By the way…I do have one question. Do you know if I have a time limit on how long I have to take to leave my apartment? I am thankful that the apartment was furnished, so I only need to take my clothes and stuff…but I would appreciate it if you could maybe find some way to also convince him to get a caravan or something…that way I am not sleeping in a truck every night."

"I had not thought about a caravan…we will need one that Optimus can tow…if he wants to though." That was true. If Optimus did not want to tow a caravan, she will still need some way to shower and use the toilet. And she wasn't going to take no on that one. "I think we should just take a few steps at a time. Optimus has to learn more about you before he can make a sound judgement, and that could take a bit of time."

Saphira didn't really know if she should trust that. She's gone through her life being unwanted, so it would not be new if that is how she would be treated. But the autobots were treating her way better than her own family did. And that was saying a lot about her past. But Optimus only wanted to make sure she did not talk about the autobots to anybody to protect himself and the others, so Saphira understood that was the main motive.

"Yeah, you are right. Well…I will do my best to remain on his good side, Mirage. If what you tell me is true, Optimus isn't angry at me…just at the situation." Saphira looked at the sideview again and smiled a little. "So I will not take it personally, as you say. I just…will just have to live with it for a while, I guess."

"And I am really sorry. I feel it is not right that you have to lose your home because of his fear…even if it is understandable." Mirage did not know how it was going to affect Saphira personally, but she seemed to be taking it well from his view. He did not know if it was just her trying to act tough though. "I will try and make it easier for you."

Saphira smiled as she knew that he would. She guessed she had already found a friend with Mirage at least. He did not dislike her, that was for sure. Though she couldn't really get over the fact he had been flirting with her the day before. She could not help but think it was ridiculous, as she didn't particularly think she was pretty. She has been told she is not pretty by various people in her life, so that did not help her confidence at all either.

Mirage drove to the apartment and entered the parking lot so Saphira could make her way up to her apartment. She was rather happy to be home, as it meant she could just relax for today and try not to think about the horrors she has had to deal with the previous day. Once Mirage parked, she grabbed her crutches and bag before getting out of the car to make her way to elevator. She still struggled a little bit with the crutches, but she managed and she stood in the elevator once she pressed the button for her floor and leaned against the elevator wall as she waited to reach the right floor.

When the elevator doors opened, she made her way to her apartment and sighed in relief as she felt her body relax and she was very happy to be home. She smiled as she looked around her apartment, feeling sad she would have to leave it very soon. She took a deep breath and hobbled to her couch to sit down on before grabbing the phone of the table by the couch to dial the number to Arthur's house. She knew she didn't normally call Arthur on the weekends, but she had to.

She was a little worried as she finished dialling his number and listened to the ringing on the other end. She did not know who was going to pick up, but she waited patiently. When she heard someone pick up, she smiled. "Hello, Nicholas speaking."

"Oh, hi Nicholas, it's just me, Saphira," Saphira responded to the man happily.

"Saphira?! This is a nice surprise." The man was extremely happy to hear the girl's voice. "What can I do for you? Please tell me that you broke up with that boyfriend of yours. I want to hear all about it. Arthur is just outside tending to his rose garden."

"Well…we have broken up…" Saphira swallowed nervously as she knew she was going to have to tell the story. "But…it was not how I thought it would go."

"Aw, no." She heard the sound of Nicholas taking a seat to get comfortable. "Tell me everything. I promise that I won't judge you, as we both told you that you should leave Dylan. He's clearly cheating on you."

"Yeah…I actually ended up…in…h-hospital." The man let out a loud gasp of shock as Saphira admitted to where she was last night. "I just got home with two cracked ribs, bruises and cuts over my body and badly sprained, near broken, ankle."

Nicholas was silent with shock for a few seconds before he responded. "Wait…you're kidding me, right? You weren't actually in the hospital, right?"

"I wish I was joking, Nicholas. I really do…I have already sent the medical certificate to Arthur's email." Saphira sniffled a little as tears fill her eyes as she thought about the previous night. "But…if you want to know the full story…"

"I do, um…hold on for one moment. I am going to go and get Arthur. He needs to hear this too." Saphira just nodded and heard the photo getting put down and the sound of Nicholas scurrying away. It took a moment before she heard him shouting someone, and she knew he was shouting for Arthur. She waited patiently until she heard Nicholas pick the phone up again. "Alright, I am back, Saphira. Arthur is running into the house right now. I have the phone on loudspeaker so you can tell us both what happened last night."

"Thank you, Nicholas. I will wait until he gets there to tell you what happened…I am just glad that I was not killed." She tried to not sound like she was going to cry, but it was hard. "All I can say is…I wish I had realized sooner about Dylan…"

"I am terribly sorry, Saphira. You did not deserve it at all, and I wish we could have been there to protect you." That was nice to hear, but Saphira would hate it if he and Arthur were hurt too. "You might get a few weeks off if Arthur thinks you need it."

"That will be nice, but…"

"I honestly would not worry about your work at this time, Saphira. You just went through something horrible, and I will make sure Arthur does the right thing by you. He's always done that after all. Ever since he met you after you ran away from your parents." And that was something Saphira will always be grateful for. "And if you need somewhere to go for support, you are always welcome to come here. Arthur and I will clean up a room for you to stay in."

"That sounds nice." But Saphira knew that it was not possible. She wouldn't be able to stay with them due to the autobots. "And I appreciate the offer, Nicholas. I will consider it as a safe haven…for now, I am quite content to just stay in my apartment on my own for a while."

"And I completely understand. Ah, and here is my dear Arthur." She smiled a little as she heard the sound of footsteps and someone sitting down. "Arthur, I know what I said was brief, but she sent you a medical certificate."

"I can check my emails a bit later. But now I don't care, because I want hear everything." Arthur took a deep breath as he need to slow his breathing from rushing back into the house. "Can you tell us what happened last night, Saphira? Why did you get sent to the hospital? Did Dylan attack you?"

Saphira was hesitant to respond at first as she was feeling a little scared to tell them, but she knew she had to. "Well…when I arrived at the restaurant at seven as I had been instructed, I went to the front door to find the reserved table. That's what we normally do…there was a group of men outside talking to each other, and I did not think much about it. But as I went to enter the restaurant…Claudia walked out of the door wearing a red dress. I honestly had thought she had been hear to have dinner too…but…she did, but with Dylan."

"So she has been dating your boyfriend?" Arthur sounded extremely disappointed. "That's just…I bet Claudia found him…"

"Actually…there's more to the story, Arthur. Um…" She felt her tears fall from her eyes down her cheeks, and she sniffled a little as she thought about it. "You know that I have been dating Dylan for at least six months. But Claudia and Dylan have been dating for a few years."

"Wait, what?" Nicholas and Arthur both say in unison, shocked at the information she just gave them.

"Are you serious?" Arthur asked in disbelief. "But you met him by accident…and you began to date, if I remember correctly. If that is true, why the hell did he date you? Seems…"

"Intentional? It was." Saphira nodded as she confirmed his suspicions quickly. "Claudia has been…she feels threatened that I have only worked in your company for a couple years, and have climbed the ladder quickly. She believes that I have cheated, and she wanted to do something about it."

"Cheated? Well…that would be impossible since, first of all, I am gay and, second of all, I don't pay much attention to someone's certification from college. To me, a qualification doesn't always make a person a great worker, it just makes them good at study and sometimes you have to look at the score of the qualification they receive to know exactly what they have achieved. I didn't go to college after all." Arthur sounded extremely disappointed to hear that. "I knew that some of the men and women in my company have felt threatened by you, but you have a great work ethic and drive that they don't have. You have topped your game so much, that it is only right for me to promote you and give you bonuses."

She smiled a little as she listened to Arthur's response. "I know. That is what I said to her too…but she still sees me as a threat. I think she's accepted that you and I aren't on any intimate relationship, but I know everyone knows you helped me get out of a horrible situation. And I guess she thinks you treated me special."

"I did kind of treat you special, in a way that I signed off on the apartment for you until you turned eighteen last year, and gave you the low position to start with. But I never did anything more than that. I guess it does look bad when I think of it that way though." Arthur hummed a little before he sighed deeply. "That gives Claudia no right to try and hurt you."

"I know. And to be honest, because I had my suspicions, I wasn't surprised to see them together. That seemed to anger Claudia too…she expected me to cry and be shattered by it. I guess she thought she had would have won in that department. Though…" Saphira paused for a moment before she continued to speak. "She wanted to damage my car too. Thankfully, I left my car here at the apartment as I decided to use the bus. But…she would have damaged it."

"That little bitch!" Nicholas cursed angrily, surprising Saphira with his response. "You know it is true, Arthur. Don't look at me like that. You have told me so many times about how dramatic Claudia is. And this clearly shows that she is willing to go rather far to get what she wants."

"And I wish it was not true…I don't want a bad reputation about my staff…but…" Arthur groaned loudly as he knew this was the case. "Thanks to Claudia, I might get a ruined reputation. I am so sorry, Saphira. You got caught up in something stupid." She appreciated the apology, even though she believed it was unnecessary. "So what else happened?"

"Well…she told me that I am going to teach me lesson. I honestly thought Claudia was the one to beat me…but she dragged me through the restaurant parking lot…I don't know if people saw, or cared…" They probably did not care, so Saphira did not expect many witnesses for the police statements. "Then the men that had been hanging around the front of the restaurant followed, and she gave them money. Claudia and Dylan had paid these men to attack me…they did not want me dead, so…"

"I hope you remembered those men, Saphira."

"I do, Nicholas. I do. I gave my statement to the police last night." Saphira sniffled a little as she wiped some tears from her cheeks. "I hope that something will be done. I am sorry that someone from your company will get arrested, Arthur. But this is not something you should be sad about. You should be happy. It should show you don't tolerate people who try and abuse their positions for their own gain."

"I suppose you are right. I am not distressed over that…I just don't want it to negatively affect our business. It would be bad if all the companies work with found out about it." Arthur hoped it would not reach any of the news channels. He did not need that kind of attention. "If Claudia goes to jail, she'll have done it to herself…"

"You do know that the other companies might understand the situation, and not be upset at you, Arthur. I think that is the least of your concerns." Saphira didn't want the company to fall under the bad light either, but there was nothing to stop what could happen to Dylan and Claudia. "I am thankful that you and Nicholas are there for me. I hope you don't mind if I take time off for a few days."

"Not at all. Take as much time as you like. I will have Anthony hold the fort for now, and I will help as well. So just take it easy, alright? You need it, especially if you went to the hospital and stayed over one night. At least your insurance will cover it for you." That was true. Saphira was glad she had insurance to cover her medical bills. This was the first time she's had to contact her insurance about it too. "And this means you have a case to sue both Dylan and Claudia for assault, harassment and emotional distress. You will probably get a nice settlement from it."

"I plan on it. I will need to contact a lawyer once the police have the evidence." Saphira did not know if the autobots would like that, but she had to take care of herself. The autobots might not want to be discovered, but she had a life to live too. "Maybe you can help me find one."

"That will be no trouble at all. And we will cover the cost." She was surprised that Nicholas offered that. "What? Arthur, come on. Saphira is a good friend to us. I know she's your employee, but she needs help. She might be able to afford a good lawyer, but as Claudia is your employee, I think it falls on you to help her."

Arthur did not respond as he pondered on it. "Alright…I can help cover it. And we definitely know a few good lawyers. They are our friends, and they will destroy Dylan and Claudia in court, even though I certainly believe as you have a medical report, and soon a police report, you will have no problem getting a clean slate in court. But a good lawyer will make sure you get the best possible compensation."

"I know, and thank you, Arthur." Saphira was really grateful that her boss was supportive of her. She saw him like a big brother, and Nicholas was quickly falling into that category too. "And you too, Nicholas. I am not sure what I would do without you helping me. I really feel like I owe you both big time. I hope I can do that when I become your international relation manager."

"And I know you will. Call us if you need anything, Saphira. In fact, Nicholas and I will come to your place to help with simple things. If you are using crutches for your ankle, cleaning will make things harder…"

"No, no, no!" Saphira chuckled a little as Arthur began suggesting they could help. "I am perfectly fine. I can afford to have someone come in and do the basics if I need to. But the apartment is easy to maintain, so it is fine."

"Alright. The offer is there if you need it. And thanks for letting me know, Saphira. I will look over a few things and give you a week off. If you decide to come in early, don't stress over your work. It would probably be better if you kept your distance from Claudia." That was something Saphira could definitely agree with Arthur. She wanted to stay away from Claudia as far as she could. "I will have to think on what to do about her in the meantime as well. I hope the rest of your day will be fine."

"Thank you, Arthur. I will talk to you soon." Nicholas and Arthur say their goodbyes before Saphira hangs up the phone.

She was relieved now that she was able to talk to Arthur and Nicholas. She was happy they both were understanding and supportive. She was just sad that she would not be able to take their recommendation of staying at their house for a little while. It would definitely do her some good. But she really couldn't take the offer. It sucked, but she would try to make the most of it. She just hoped that when it came to the evening, she would get given some mercy as to not needing to sleep in the truck…or at least be given a hand to climb into the truck. She knew she wouldn't be able to climb up and down from a freightliner while her ankle its injured.