When the next morning came around, Saphira ended up waking earlier than she normally would. Mostly because she had a lot on her mind, and it made her sleep quite unsettled. Whether it was by his intention or not, Sentinel Prime had said things the previous night that gave Saphira a lot to think about. And she really needed to get to the bottom of it. She was lucky to be given autobot protection, which meant she could choose any of the autobots to tag along with her. She knew which autobot to pick. She did think about asking if she could also have Wheelie and Brains tag along too, but she guessed that it might not be something that Mearing would allow

Saphira ended up packing up before any of the autobots finished recharging. She didn't bother eating as she was feeling nauseous again, and she wanted to get back to her apartment for a shower anyway. With the tent and sleeping bag packed away, Saphira put the sleeping bag over her shoulder, grabbed the tent and her other bag before making her way to the parking space. She didn't take long to make it back to the autobots. She smiled slightly as she saw them, even though she felt very uncertain by the future.

Barricade's door opened and she saw his holoform step out, looking at her with a surprised expression. "Saphira? You are up rather early. I would have expected you to still be sleeping."

"Yeah, but…" Saphira shrugged a little as she approached him. "I wanted to get things packed early. I kind of want to get back to the apartment to wash up. And…" Saphira side glances at Sentinel for a moment. "There are things that I feel like I should do. And since Mearing's given me the chance to have autobot protection, I would not mind it if you and, or Bee tag along with me."

Barricade noticed Saphira's subtle glance in Sentinel's direction. He realized she has noticed something, and that made him happy she realized. "Of course. I will definitely come with you, Saphira." He grabbed both bags from her hands and turned to walk back to the trunk, opening it before he reached it. "Optimus told us that he and Sentinel will be spending a bit of time together, so we can definitely have a bit of time together. Especially if it is about some research."

"He told me the same." Saphira walked over to the back of the challenger to place her sleeping bag into it. "But…" She looked over to the peterbilt curiously as she noticed Optimus had not noticed her yet. But she could sense he was sleeping. "I need to wake up my sparkmate before we go. I don't want to leave without him greeting me this morning, and giving me his attention."

Barricade just grinned as he fully understood her desire. "You might as well climb into the cab. He might appreciate the way to wake up."

"Good idea." Saphira walked over to the truck with a smile and opened the door before climbing inside. She was immediately welcomed into a naturally warm cab, and she could not help but relax in the seat as she got herself comfortable after closing the door. She thought about how she was going to wake Optimus up from his recharge before she decided to crawl into the backseat to lay down. The feeling of her nausea faded slightly too, which she appreciated. Once she was laying on the seat, Saphira arched her back for a moment and rubbed the seats gently. "Optimus…" No response. "Optimus, it is morning. You can't be that tired. I didn't know you would be a heavy recharger."

There was no response, so Saphira decided a different tactic. Using her bond. She thought about it before sending deep love through the bond. She felt a ripple in response to her love and she smiled as she felt a sense of love returning to her, along with something else that made her blush a little. She waited while she kept sending love and she gently tapped her foot on the seat in case he did wake up and not realize she was there right away.

"Optimus, wake up." She did not mind repeating as she was finding this amusing as well. "I am sitting here, waiting for you to wake up." Still nothing, but she was certain he was starting to stir at this point. "Optimus."

She giggled as this was super amusing to her. She has not done this before, but she did not mind at all. She could smell his very unique scent around her, and she loved it. She turned her head slightly to nuzzle into the seats with her eyes closed. She realized she would have preferred to sleep within the cab instead of the tent. Especially as she would be with Optimus the whole time, and she loved being so close to him.

She opened her eyes when she felt a familiar warmth of his holoform against her and smiled as she saw him leaning down to kiss her lips. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders with a light moan. "Good morning, little gem," Optimus purred gently against her lips. "This is a rather nice way to wake up from recharge."

Saphira kissed him passionately, opening her mouth slightly to allow their tongues to clash. Optimus growled gently, making her shiver in delight. "I packed up the tent and everything early. You just happened to still be recharging, so I thought I would surprise you, Optimus. It made me realize I could have cheated the experience and slept here."

"We may not have had any sleep if you did that." She widened her smile at Optimus's comment. She honestly would not be complaining if that were to happen, and she knew that Optimus would not complain either. "But I am glad to know if we did go camping again, I will happily house you."

She giggled softly and kissed him again. "Good to know." She hugged him tightly before she relinquished. "I guess you and Sentinel will go off to do something together today, right?"

"That is the plan for today," Optimus said affirmatively. "There is a few places I intend of picking from to speak with Sentinel. I believe it is something that I must do. There is much for us to discuss." Saphira kind of hoped that Optimus would press Sentinel for information, even though she was not sure how to convey to him that something was off about Sentinel. "I guess you have picked one of the others to keep you company."

She nodded. "Barricade and Bumblebee."

"Good." Optimus sat up and gently helped her to sit up, though they both rested against the seat. They both wanted to remain where they were right now. "At least you will have a couple autobots around you. The last thing we need is another Laserbeak incident." She nodded in agreement. "It will give you time to spend with them anyway. I know you missed them terribly because of your leaders deciding you didn't need their protection from the decepticons."

"I am looking forward to it." She leaned forward and kissed him again. "Which means we can't be sitting here all morning." Optimus nodded in agreement, though they both were reluctant. "I would totally take the opportunity of our alone time right now, but Barricade is waiting for me. He happened to be awake when I got to the car park."

Optimus kissed her cheek and rubbed her back gently as he gazed into her green eyes. "I love you, Saphira. I know it pains us both that we are apart from each other, but I love you. I love you so much." He hugged her again, and Saphira felt her blush deepen as she heard him tell her how much he loved her. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Saphira." She felt happy tears in her eyes, but she tried to keep herself from crying. "I trust the rest of your day will go pleasantly."

"I am sure it will." They kiss again before Saphira moved over to the passenger seat and opened the door to climb out. "Might as well head back to the city." She climbed down to the ground and turned, almost jumping in fright when she saw Sentinel standing by the door. "Sentinel! Oh my gosh! You scared the life out of me."

"I apologize." Sentinel smiled at her kindly as she took deep breaths. "I was just curious to know why you wanted to leave so soon. This place is so peaceful, I would have assumed you would have wanted to stay a bit longer. Even if it was just with Barricade, Bumblebee and someone else."

She shrugged a little as she knew she did not want to give away her true intentions to him. "Well…I really want a shower…" She ran her hand through her hair. "My hair really needs a wash, for example. And I could use a nice meal for breakfast. I don't have anything left. Plus…I did puke up my dinner last night."

Sentinel listened to the girl as he processed her response. "I suppose that is a reasonable thing to do. I do not fully understand myself. Although…" He glanced at her hair curiously as he rubbed his chin. "I guess I will admit, you hair does look different today than it did a few days ago. I suppose that is the reason why you say your hair needs a wash." She nodded affirmatively. "I am lucky we autobots do not concern ourselves with such things."

She grinned in amusement at him. "I wish I could be like that. It would be extremely nice to not have to worry about food and sleep as often as we do. And then making sure we look presentable…if that was not a necessity, it would make life a whole lot easier." She sighed deeply as she thought about it. "Oh well." She smiled at him before she walked around him. "I hope you and Optimus enjoy the time you have together as well, Sentinel. He was really happy to learn you were discovered on the Moon."

Sentinel's smile softened slightly and her nodded. "I am sure we will, Saphira." He turned his head, looking at Optimus. "Well, since the young girl is ready to head out, maybe you and I should do the same, old friend."

Optimus nodded and his holoform faded as the engine started. "I have already informed Mearing of this venture, and she has approved of this." That was good, at least Mearing won't make jabs at the two autobots over that. "We might be out for the whole day, or two. I shall see you very soon, Saphira."

"At least you aren't going to be away for weeks and months at a time." Saphira smiled as she heard Bumblebee chuckling and she looked at the camaro. "Alright Bee. You, Barricade and I are going to be hanging out today."

"That sounds like a great idea, little sister!" Bumblebee responded quickly through the radio. "I look forward to it. Are we heading back to your apartment?" She nodded as she walked over to Barricade. "Alright! I cannot wait!"

Saphira giggled before she got into the passenger seat as Barricade's holoform was in the driver seat. He had a worried expression on his face, and Saphira knew he was worried about Sentinel. Saphira doubted that Sentinel would attack Optimus on their day together, because that seemed rather unlikely to happen to her. He seemed to be relaxed now that she had got into the car, likely because he worried Sentinel would do something to her too.

"Alright." The engine roared to life, and Saphira heard Bee's engine as well. The other autobots had begun to leave at this point too. Barricade looked at Saphira with a smile. "I suspect that something was said that made you realize I was right to not trust Sentinel Prime. I am glad that he ended up revealing himself."

"Well…we still don't know the full story." Saphira hummed softly and Barricade began to back out of the parking space. "And now the decepticons are targeting humans…their operatives. I think we need to sit down and figure out more. You might be right that Megatron wants something from Sentinel, but could you be mistaken that Sentinel made a deal? It could easily have been a fake deal for Megatron's gain."

"Hmm…I had not thought about that." Barricade did not seem convinced about that though. "Nah…I think Sentinel knows exactly what he is doing. I may not know the full details, but I know for a fact is has something to do with those pillars. I never knew about the pillars until a few days ago, so I thought it was strange. But it is a space time vortex…which means…well, I am not sure."

Saphira did not know if Barricade truly did not know or not, but Barricade was troubled by the technology that Sentinel possesses. "Well I do think we have the pieces for the puzzle, but we need to put it together. Once I have a shower, I think I will call in some help."

"Help?" Barricade frowned a little as he did not know what she meant by that. "What kind of help?"

"Simmons." The bot stared at her in surprise before he rolled his eyes at her in amusement. "I know, I know…to be honest, I was not going to contact him. But Simmons is not with the government anymore, and now he is a wealthy person, and I know he would want to get involved." Barricade was still amused by this. "Plus, Simmons would likely be able to help us find leads. With him not tied to the government, he does not have to follow their rules of scrutiny."

Barricade pondered on the idea before he seemed to relent a bit. "Alright…I guess you are right. He's just weird." She nodded in agreement. "At least we didn't have to deal with him over last year."

"Yep, that is true."

"Okay then. Once we get back to your apartment, I guess you'll make a phone call to Simmons and see if he wants to help." She nodded affirmatively. "But…what happens if he decides that he does not want to help?"

Saphira thought on the question as she had not really thought of that yet. "Well…I am not sure. I guess we will just have to work on it ourselves. But I have every confidence that Seymour will not be able to resist. I know for a fact he became rich because of you transformers, and he will likely want more to write about. That is why I am confident in my decision."

Barricade chuckled softly and shook his head. "You are…you are brave, Saphira." She gave Barricade a surprised expression. "I am not kidding. Ever since I met you, I couldn't help but notice how brave you are. You weren't even afraid of me, as a cop pulling you over…" She giggled as she remembered that very night. "And then…well…as things progressed, I kind of watched from the side lines after Bumblebee thrashed me."

"Yeah. I guess I am brave. But…truthfully, a lot of the time I am afraid." Saphira looked out the window with a smile. "Still…I don't think I was more terrified than…that day…" Barricade was curious about what day she meant. He suspected it was either the day Optimus had been killed by Megatron, or the day she revived him. "But I guess being able to push past that fear makes one brave."

Barricade nodded. "I believe that as well."

"But thanks for reminding me that I am brave, Barricade." Saphira smiled at him and placed her hand on his shoulder gently. "Sometimes I don't believe that I am…I am just doing what needs to be done. And if that is seen as brave, then I am happy that you believe that."

Barricade was happy to give Saphira some confidence in herself. He wanted her to not feel like she could not be brave. But he was telling the truth. He knew that the soldiers in the military were brave as well, but Saphira was not a soldier. She just happened to find herself in a unique circumstance. And, he was not sure, but there was already connections in her family's past with the transformers. Everett Dawn clearly set the path for Saphira, and that was something that he was curious about. She never talks about the job he left for her either. She keeps that close to herself.

Saphira and Barricade talk about a few other things that didn't revolve around Sentinel, and Barricade admitted to being a rival to Bumblebee for many years. She had absolutely no idea, but she was amused when he told her. That made sense as to why the two ended up fighting the way they did. Bumblebee followed Barricade into Washington all the way to the apartment building. Barricade had decided to park in the outside parking lot instead of the garage, since Saphira did need to buy a new car to replace the one Laserbeak had destroyed.

As she got out of the car, Saphira stretched her arms up with a smile and Barricade's holoform was about to step out of the car when Saphira noticed Dylan Gould approaching. She was a little surprised to see him and frowned. "Oh…great…" She grumbled in irritation. "I was hoping to not see him again."

"Good morning, Saphira," The man spoke in a very polite tone as he approached her. "I see you have a nice taste in some of the newer cars, as well as many of the classics that will be held at the car show soon." He glanced at the car for a moment before looking back at Saphira. "I am kind of happy that I spotted you getting out of the car, because I actually wanted to reach out to you to see if you want to head to a nearby café."

Saphira did not really know what Dylan was planning, but she did not like it. "If this is about another job proposition…"

The man shook his head and interrupts her. "No, actually, it not. I was actually thinking that I was being a little too forward." She nodded in agreement and rolled her eyes at him in irritation. "But I am not here to talk about a job. But the reason I want to take you to a nearby café is to simply talk."

"Talk about what?" Barricade's holoform stepped out of the car, and Dylan glanced at him, and he seemed to be intimidated. "Go on, tell me. I am sure the government would love to hear whatever you got to say."

Dylan seemed annoyed, but he took a deep breath and smiled. "It is honestly only about cars." Saphira raised an eyebrow as she did not believe him. "I am hosting a private car show later this afternoon, and I was thinking of just having a normal chat, and invite her down."

"You could have just said that." Saphira walked around to the trunk and opened it to get out the bags from the car. "And no. I am not interested in going to a café with you. I am also rather busy today, so I cannot go to your spontaneous car show today." She forced a fake smile at him as Barricade remained close to Dylan, making the man back away nervously. "I thank you for the offer, but I really need to get started with my day."

Dylan wanted to say something else, but Barricade stepped closer to him, making the man take a backstep. "I think you should respect the lady. You have already caused enough irritation for her, so you should just leave. Plus, this is not your place of residence, and it you try anything…" Barricade lifts his fists to crack them to intimidate the man. "I have every right to protect her. So you might want to save yourself a broken nose."

The man swallowed nervously and composed himself. "Alright, well…since that is what you want to do, I will see you at the official car show, Saphira." He smiled politely and turned to walk away quickly. "Sorry for the interruption."

Saphira was smiling and Barricade turned to take the heavier bags from her. She was highly amused that Dylan had been afraid of him. Bumblebee's holoform stepped out of the camaro to follow them into the building. "I have to say, you didn't have to do too much to scare Dylan Gould. He's a billionaire baby, but he clearly does not have the guts to stand up for himself."

Barricade chuckled lightly in amusement. "I am more bothered by the fact he is actively coming to talk to you. Plus…you are a sparkmate, which honestly…it insults us when someone tries to flirt with a sparkmate. So…and the fact you believe he might have connections with this whole thing. I am starting to think it true. I swear I could smell Soundwave's scent."

Saphira widened her eyes slightly and she shuddered a little. "Um…Laserbeak is Soundwave's pet, right?" Barricade and Bumblebee nod affirmatively. "Okay…keep an eye out for any decepticon signal. I would rather not have to deal with another flying rodent incident."

"I think Laserbeak would not be that foolish," Bumblebee said as they enter the lobby of the apartment building and make their way to the elevator. "But we will keep an eye out regardless." He let out a light chuckle, making Barricade glance at him. "Sorry, I almost broke down laughing with how you scared that man."

"He's probably gone to change is underwear now too," Saphira responded sarcastically with a giggle, and Bumblebee nodded in agreement as he also laughed.

Barricade seemed confused. He tilts his head slightly. "Um…I don't understand…what has me scaring him got to do with this underwear?" Saphira and Bee glance at each other as they both were shocked, plus a few people nearby overheard Barricade and they were staring. Saphira bit her lower lip at she tried hard to not laugh. "What? Why is it funny?!"

Saphira and Bumblebee both kept themselves from laughing, and Saphira had tears in her eyes as she had to force herself to stop laughing. "I think we should get to the elevator…" Saphira managed to say as she kept her laughter held in as much as possible.

Barricade still confused, and he had a frown on his face right now. Once they reach the elevator, they stepped inside and hit the button, and once the doors closed, both Saphira and Bumblebee burst into fits of hysterical laughter. Barricade's frown deepened in irritation as he had no idea why they were laughing. He did not know if it was something he said or did, but Saphira and Bumblebee did not tell him. They just kept laughing.

They managed to calm down when they reached Saphira's floor and made their way to the apartment. Saphira and Bumblebee both knew that they had to explain what they had meant to Barricade eventually, but they both found it hilarious that Barricade had no idea what it meant, and the way he asked was what made them laugh. Barricade said nothing to them as he thought they were being silly.

Once they got back to the apartment, Saphira and Bumblebee were able to calm down, and it allowed the bots to help Saphira put her stuff away. She took care of putting her clothes into the washing machine before taking a shower to wash her hair and get herself refreshed. She needed that time to think about the next move. With Sentinel with Optimus, she did hope that there was a change of heart for Sentinel. If he still intended on going through with whatever plan he had, which it seemed that way with the way he spoke to her the previous night, she hoped it would get changed.

Once she finished with her shower, Saphira decided it was time to ring Simmons. She saw Bee watching her TV, and there was a segment on the news with Simmons being interviewed by the journalist. She signed as that meant she had to wait, so she made some toast for herself to have something for the day. Barricade was watching the report too, though he was not interested in it, it was just something to do.

"How long will this last?" Barricade asked bluntly, irritated that the interview seemed to be taking a little too long. Bumblebee just shrugged as he could not answer that. "Humans…when we need to talk to someone, it almost always seemed like the other person is busy."

"That is just how it is," Saphira said as she listened to them from the kitchen while she buttered her two pieces of toast. "Besides, once the interview is over, I will give Simmons a ring. Calling now would simply end in me waiting."

Barricade and Bumblebee did not argue with her. Barricade looked at Bee with a curious expression. "You do know why she wants to call Simmons, right?"

Bumblebee nodded. "Yeah…it is about Sentinel. He has acted a little weird over the last couple days. I had thought that it was just because I didn't know him well, but he was looking at me weirdly a few times. As though he was suspicious. So…if your story about him being on Megatron's side is true…that seems that it is more than likely happening."

Barricade smiled slightly as he was glad someone else noticed. "At least I know Saphira and I aren't the only ones to notice. I am pleased. Hopefully things won't turn sour…but…I kind of feel like it might."

"Probably. I honestly can't think of any time from the past where a bad feeling turns good. It almost always turns out the way we think it will. And I am not too fond of the idea." Bee shook his head for a moment. "Maybe we should start our own research before thinking about…" Bumblebee stopped as he saw Saphira running out of the kitchen suddenly at the corner of his eye. "Saphira?"

Barricade stood up with a frown as he was confused, and they both soon hear the sound of her heaving again. He walked away from the couch, noticing she had only taken a single bite of one of the pieces of toast. "Saphira? Are you alright?" She did not respond, but they could hear her heaving and coughing. "Saphira?"

Bumblebee followed Barricade to the toilet where they found Saphira. She closed the lid of the toilet and she groaned deeply. They both walk over to her and place their hands on her back gently. "Saphira, you have been getting sick like this regularly. And we are worried." Bumblebee looked at her eyes kindly and she just smiled back at him slightly. "I know enough about humans to know what this could mean."

Barricade looked at Bumblebee curiously. "You do? Does she need to see a doctor?"

"Nope, just a test." Saphira frowned and looked at Bumblebee. "Saphira, I am not stupid. If this is something that is starting to happen more regularly, and since you don't normally get sick, it is making me think you could be pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Barricade widened his eyes as the thought never crossed his mind. "Really? Are you?"

Saphira shook her head quickly. "No, of course not!" But Saphira was starting to question whether she should buy a test just to make sure. "I was feeling nauseous this morning anyway, and the toast kind of made me go over the edge. I don't think it has anything to do with my hormones."

Bumblebee seemed unconvinced as the two helped Saphira to her feet. "Well…would it hurt to test anyway? You and Optimus did interface several weeks ago, and it seems to be in the correct timeline."

Saphira took a deep breath and hit the toilet button to flush it before looking at Bumblebee. "I guess not. But…I don't think so, Bee. We have tried for a year, and I don't think so." She smiled at him as he was still unconvinced. "I hope that people stop asking me if I am pregnant, because Mearing already has."

"She did?" Bumblebee asked and Saphira nodded, turning to walk out of the room back to the living room. "I guess she would know since she is a human. Just get one test, and if it comes back as negative…"

"Then I need to go to the doctor, I know." Saphira rolled her eyes as she walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a glass to fill with water to drink. She no longer felt like drinking and she saw that the interview when the news and Simmons has finished. "Finally." She grabbed out her phone to dial Seymour's number.

She waited patiently until she heard someone pick up. "Hello, Dutch speaking. Who am I speaking to? I do not recognize your phone number."

Saphira was a little surprised as she did not know that Simmons had hired someone to take his calls. "Hi, Dutch. My name is Saphira Dawn, I am a friend of Simmons. May I please speak to him?"

"One moment." She waited patiently as Dutch went to inform Simmons. She did not know if Simmons was still busy of not. "Sorry to interrupt, sir, I have this, um…Miss Dawn on the phone…"

"Saphira Dawn?" She heard Simmons's surprised voice after he heard who was one on the phone. "What does she want?" She smiled as she waited for him to speak to her directly. "Hi, Saphira. It has been sometime. I am surprised that you still have my number."

"Nice to hear from you too, Seymour," Saphira responded with a light chuckle. "That was a impressive interview."

"Eh, I would rather not talk about," Simmons responded with a light groan. "So…what is with the phone call, Saphira? This had better be important."

"It is. The decepticons are back." She heard Simmons gasp in surprise as she informed him of what she needed him for. "And I want to know why, so I need your help."

"They're back? Well…I suppose they never left…but they are back for something else." His tone of his voice made it seem like he was also happy about it. "Well, that's good for business. I hope that your ex-decepticon you are friends with might know."

"He knows a little bit, but not enough to have a conviction. But what if I told you I know a fifty-year-old alien secret that nobody ever told you?" Barricade and Bumblebee both smirk as they could tell Saphira was using fancy words to get Simmons to agree.

"Do not tempt my addiction!" Simmons responded sarcastically with a light laugh. "I have gone through withdrawal, girl." He paused for a moment as Saphira chuckled again. "Dutch, is this line secure?"

Saphira frowned a little, and she heard Dutch respond to to Simmons, informing him that it was not. And she heard some sounds on the other end which confused her. But it did not cut off her line, there was just a little bit of static that annoyed her a little bit, but it didn't cut off her line and she simply waited patiently. She just hoped it didn't take too long, as she assumed that Simmons was making the line secure so they could speak.

"Don't take the risk. I'm rich, why should I?" She could hear Simmons say to himself. Saphira rolled her eyes as she knew she herself was rich, but she was pulled back into it as well. "Don't relapse. I won't. Do not let the demons win!" At least his weird personality did not disappoint. But he was still interested in what she had to say. "What kind of…secret?"

Saphira smiled as she knew that he could not resist at all. "Apollo, Moon. Aliens. Cover-up. Future tech, assassinations. That kind of stuff…I mean, I almost was assassinated myself the other day. But you know, things from the past that make sense in a different context."

"Oh, Apollo!"