It wasn't quick, and it wasn't easy, but going through the tunnels was the only option they had at the time to get Thunderhoof to Blades' med-bay in the Bunker without alerting the public to a new Cybertronian who isn't a Rescue Bot. Everyone agreed that they couldn't risk the residents of Griffin Rock knowing about Thunderhoof, not yet, and especially not with the state he's in. He is delirious with fever, writhing in pain, and was running low on Energon long before getting himself stuck and subsequently rescued. His systems are taxed, and he's still responsible for Steeljaw's daughter. At least she seemed to be taking the situation pretty well, falling asleep in Bumblebee's arms as they stuck to Thunderhoof's side.

Bumblebee is happy that the sparkling is alright, but that feeling isn't enough to dumb down his worries. Frowning, he switches focus to Blades and Boulder operating on Thunderhoof. They injected him with antibiotics and placed cooling agents all over his frame. He is strapped to the medical berth, his left leg doubly so, as no one wanted a repeat of what happened back in the cove, however unintentional it was.

Which brings something else to the table for Bumblebee to worry about. Thunderhoof is tough. Even in his weakened state, he can still cause quite a bit of damage, and that may be appealing to certain folk. Based on past experiences, Bumblebee knows that not all humans are good, and some have the means to get their hands on them.

The Rescue Bots have been on the receiving end of such acts, but at least the humans they had to deal with are in prison. The only exceptions to this – that Bumblebee knows of – are Colonel Quarry, who's off the grid and keeping to his promise of leaving them alone, and Dr. Morocco, who lost his memory and time-traveled to the future with an old friend of his.

Then there are the humans that both Autobots and Decepticons had to be wary of back in the day, humans Bumblebee hopes and prays that the Rescue Bots never ever have the misfortune of encountering: MECH. Just thinking of the group sent a shiver down Bumblebee's backplate. As far as anyone was concerned, MECH was destroyed when their leader went insane. However…

"Bumblebee?"

The yellow and black mech jumped, startled back to reality. He readjusted his optics and looked up. Blades was standing in front of him, looking concerned.

"Are you okay? You've been sitting here motionless for hours."

"Y…Yeah, I'm fine," Bumblebee stammered. "Just lost in my thoughts is all. Nothing to worry about."

Blades didn't look convinced, and Bumblebee couldn't blame him. He certainly didn't feel or sound convincing in the least, but he also didn't want to say what was plaguing his thoughts.

How is he supposed to tell the Rescue Bots that he fears the existence of MECH – or Primus forbid, any other groups like them – even though they've, supposedly, been defeated years ago, and that they're all at risk because no way can they handle something that even war-hardened fighters had trouble with?

"I'm concerned for Thunderhoof and the sparkling's safety," Bumblebee admitted. He wasn't lying, but he wasn't exactly telling the truth, either.

"I want to discuss some things further with everyone. Do you know when you'll be done?"

Blades hummed and looked over his shoulder. Boulder had moved out of the way, checking the monitors on the other side of the berth, giving a clear view of its occupant. Thunderhoof was deep in recharge, looking more peaceful than he has all day. His frame stopped twitching, and according to the scans, his core temperature had returned to normal.

The only thing that hadn't changed was his injury.

"We're mostly done, but that hoof has proven difficult," Blades admitted, sounding defeated. He turned back to Bumblebee, servos clenching at his sides.

"We aren't equipped to handle a procedure as delicate as the one I'm seeing. I'm sorry to say that none of us can do anything about it."

"Our servos are a little too big, anyway," Boulder finally spoke, walking over to join the other mechs. "We'd just make things worse."

Bumblebee vents a tired sigh.

"A delicate procedure, huh?"

The Rescue Bots nodded…

And a certain medic came to mind.

"I know someone who can help," Bumblebee said, rising to his pedes and heading straight for Communications. "Please tell everyone to meet up in the Bunker. I'll be back in a bit."

– short timeskip –

An attractive red mech saunters on through the space-bridge.

"You know, when I said that this is an urgent matter that couldn't wait, I expected you to hurry," Bumblebee quipped from his spot by the controls.

"Sorry, but I was held-up," Knockout apologized, though there was an edge to his voice that unsettled Bumblebee.

"What happened? Did you get in trouble with Ratchet again?"

Knockout laughed and crossed his arms behind his helm.

"I'm not the one who's in trouble with Ratchet!"

At that moment, someone else exited the portal. Knockout walked away, smirking, as he listened to Ratchet berating Bumblebee for constantly borrowing his assistant without his permission.

– short timeskip –

"Okay, now that that's settled, we can move on to what I would like to discuss."

After surviving Ratchet, Bumblebee introduced him and Knockout to the Burns' and the Rescue Bots and vice-versa. Blades and Boulder guided them to the med-bay, filling them in on what they've done so far, and what they couldn't. When they saw the results for themselves, Ratchet admitted that Bumblebee made the right call in asking for Knockout, but better to be safe than sorry, wanted to stay and help, too. Nobody had a problem with it.

While Knockout and Ratchet work, everyone else takes their place for the meeting.

"I knew today was going to be a long day," Kade grumbled, taking a swig of coffee.

"If you say something along those lines one more time, I'm going to smack you," Heatwave threatened.

"You know you could kill or seriously injure me by doing that."

"Fair point. How about I ask Dani to do it for me?"

"I wouldn't mind," Dani said, holding her own cup of coffee close to her chest. Kade just took another swig of his.

"What'd you want to talk about, Bumblebee?" Cody asked as he pet and rubbed and scratched and gave all sorts of attention to the white pup in his lap.

Steeljaw's daughter wanted to stay with Thunderhoof, but the medics didn't want her around any equipment, for fear she may accidentally break something. So, she was removed from the room, making the most pitiful, heart/spark-wrenching sounds any of them have ever heard. They all tried to calm her down, and all but one failed. Cody was the only one who could get Steeljaw's daughter to stop crying. She quickly warmed-up to him and started playing with him.

At first, nobody could believe it. Bumblebee and Chase still didn't believe it, not until Heatwave and the others explained how relaxed Thunderhoof was around Cody and how talkative he got when the boy asked questions. Perhaps, Steeljaw's daughter trusted Cody and felt comfortable around him because that's how her guardian was. Thunderhoof was defensive around the Rescue Bots, not the Burns family, specifically their youngest member.

"For starters, it comforts me to know that the sparkling will be fine," Bumblebee said, smiling at the pair of youngsters.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her!" Cody said, breaking out into laughter as Steeljaw's daughter tickled him with her excessive licking.

"I think you're going to be doing most of the work there, Cody," Dani mused, laughing good-naturedly at the sight with the rest of her family.

Bumblebee wished it could stay this light-hearted, but knew it was not to be. He cleared his vocalizer, garnering everyone's attention.

"As nice as this is, and I really do hate to have to make this segway, there's something that is more concerning to me…"

"The 'Con?" Heatwave interrupted.

"Thunderhoof, Heatwave," Bumblebee corrected, adding a little force to his tone. "You're going to have to get used to calling him by his name. I know you don't like it, but for the time being, you're going to have to deal with it."

His statement left a chill in the room. Everyone looked at Heatwave, to see what he would do, which was simply cross his arms and grumble.

"Good. Glad we got that settled. Now…"

Bumblebee released a tired vent as his frame sagged.

"I have expressed my concern for the sparkling for a couple of reasons, and I'm sure you know what those reasons are, so I don't feel the need to go through the whole spiel on her. The same, however, can not be said for Thunderhoof. He's an Ex-Con who's been through tough, and most recently, complicated times. I know he's not the only one, but for the sake of this discussion, we're giving him the benefit of the doubt."

He waited for any complaints to surface before continuing.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is he isn't exactly in the best of places right now. He has a whole new life to adjust to. New territory, new rules, and both new and old relationships. Some good, some bad, and the main ones are complicated, to put it lightly."

"Pardon me, but I am still failing to understand what you are explaining," Chase interrupted, a lot more calmly and politely than Heatwave.

Bumblebee had the answer. He just needed to make sure he worded it correctly.

"He has a past that he can no longer go back to. He was just given a second chance, and now that has suddenly been stripped away from him, and not only does he have himself to worry about, but a sparkling as well. A sparkling I know he never wanted to have anything to do with, and now he is responsible for her. He has no choice but to protect her for the one he owes his life to, and he doesn't even like the guy! Now they're both here, on Earth, far away from home, surrounded by strangers and potential enemies. Thunderhoof is prideful, arrogant, and strong-willed. He doesn't want others to see himself as anything other than powerful. Now, though? He is anything but. Thunderhoof knows that he can't protect himself or the sparkling, and he hates it."

Desperation is leaking into his tone, his thoughts and worries from earlier clouding his voice.

"I'm afraid of what will happen if the wrong people find out about them. The sparkling may not be able to do much more than hide…"

"But Thunderhoof is big, so he can't hide easily, and he's currently unable to fight or flee…" Graham added, coming to the realization along with everyone else.

"Which basically makes him a sitting duck," Kade said.

"An easy target," Dani said.

"Then we'll make sure he isn't a target, at least not an easy one," Chief Burns announced, walking into the center of the circle. He turned to face Bumblebee and stated…

"You can count on us. We'll protect them."

"Thank you," Bumblebee vented in relief. He then chuckled as a thought came to mind.

"Although, I'm pretty sure he'll take over protection detail once he's back to normal."

"That may be a bit of a problem."

Ratchet and Knockout had left the confines of the med-bay and joined the discussion, without actually participating in any of it.

"What? Why?" Bumblebee questioned, his nerves spiking for the hundredth time that day.

"Well, we were partially correct," Ratchet tiredly answered. "Knockout's servos are perfectly shaped for such a procedure. However, it'd be best if we went a few sizes down."

"You mean someone with smaller servos of the same kind?"

Ratchet nodded.

Bumblebee growled.

"So, what, are you going to look for a mini-con to do the job?"

"Not unless you happen to have a shrink ray on hand," Knockout casually mentioned.