Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers *insert hysterical wail* but I do own Jaime and Orion :D *insert cry of triumph* I will have the rest soon. Mwahahaha!

Also, thanks to my beta reader Khalthar, especially for your help in brainstorming. You rock!

Jaime's fingers wiggled as she tried to stretch even further. There was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Jaime?" It was Will. "Do you—uh—need some help in there?"

"No," her voice came out muffled.

"I can go get Maggie to help you," he offered.

"No, I've got it. I'm fine," she assured him as she finally grasped the edge of her shirt and yanked it down. "I'm good." The girl opened the door, nearly clipping Will's nose. She paused and raised an eyebrow.

"Right," he quickly recovered. "Get your shoes on and we'll go see Ratchet." She strode over to where her shoes sat.

"He just saw me this morning. What does he want now?" she asked, scooping up her shoes. Really, she'd only had the cast on for a few hours. Surely the medic had enough scans of her arm?

"I think he's trying to get an idea of your healing rate," Will shrugged. Jaime glanced at him questioningly. "From what I understand, you heal faster than the average person."

Jaime didn't answer him. She'd slipped the shoes on. Now she was just trying to tie the laces. Jaime scowled as the laces refused to cooperate for her. The cast was impeding usual shoe-tying method. She could see—out of the corner of her eye—that Will wanted to offer his help. But he refrained; he probably thought she would snap at him. The girl exhaled sharply. This was going to take forever.

"Um…" she couldn't look him in the eye. Asking for help with something this simple and everyday was just too humiliating. "Could you…"

"Sure," he gave her an easy smile. He bent down and quickly tied her shoes. It was a severe blow to her pride that she needed someone to tie her shoes for her. But it was somewhat bearable since Will didn't make a big deal about it.

"Alright," he straightened, "let's go before Ratchet blows a gasket." Jaime couldn't help but giggle at the image.

"Hmm," said Ratchet.

"Well?" Jaime asked.

"Well what?" the medic quirked an optic ridge at her.

"How long until I'm rid of this thing?" she demanded, shaking her arm-covered cast.

"If your healing rate remains at the level it's at now… I'd say… two weeks." Ratchet glanced down, when she didn't immediately respond.

"Two weeks?" she nearly shrieked.

"It's rather remarkable really," Ratchet commented. "With a break like that, it should take twice as long—if not longer—"

"I can't go two weeks with this!" Jaime interrupted angrily.

"Jaime—" Will attempted to calm her, but she ignored him.

"Isn't there some kind of—I don't know—alien medicine that you can give me?!" she asked desperately.

"Not for this," Ratchet shook his helm. "Your body is perfectly capable of healing the break on its own. I don't want to interfere with that."

"But… but…"

"You'll just have to wait for the bones in your arm to heal," he crossed his arms.

"It's not that bad, Jaime," Will placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. Fed up, she whirled to face him.

"I couldn't even tie my dumb shoes!" she exploded. "I won't be able to do anything for two whole weeks! The dumb cast's in the way!"

"Technically, you aren't supposed to be using your arm at all," Ratchet frowned down at her disapprovingly. "It needs to heal."

"What else am I supposed to use?" Jaime stomped her foot. "My other arm? News flash Ratchet, I don't have one!"

Ratchet didn't say anything. Whatever he said seemed to set her off and now she appeared to be seconds away from breaking down into tears.

"Don't you have anything for me?" she implored the medic.

The CMO tilted his helm in thought. After a few seconds, he seemed to come to a decision. "I do have one thing that may help your situation," he began.

"What is it?" Jaime eagerly demanded.

"It's a project I have been working on," he turned away and strode to the backroom where he kept all his equipment, "for a couple years now." He disappeared from view. "I meant to inform you earlier, but—well—there never seemed to be an appropriate time." Jaime and Will watched, from the metal berth they were on, as the medic returned with something hidden in his servo. "Here it is," he said, presenting it with a small flourish. Jaime stared at it.

"…Is that…is that an arm?" Will was the first to break the silence.

"It's more than just an arm, I assure you," an indignant Ratchet was quick to correct. "It's much more advanced than anything you could hope to find on Earth. I made it from the same type of metal we are comprised of, which wasn't easy let me tell you. It's stronger and more durable than any terrestrial metal. The best part is its programming advances, which means it'll function smoothly and with little effort. This isn't a mere prosthetic that you would attach with some straps. This… would be a permanent extension of you." Jaime continued to wordlessly stare at the arm. Will glanced back and forth between the arm and his daughter.

"…Jaime?" he asked hesitantly. "What do you think?" She tilted here head in thought.

"How would you attach it?" she asked, staring at a multitude loose wires at the end.

"When I said it was a permanent extension, I meant it," Ratchet provided a closer view of the wires on the end of the arm. "These here are meant to attach to your body's nervous system. It relies on the natural electrical impulses of your body to cause movement. Jolt was most helpful in that area."

"You mean an operation," Will frowned. "She just got out of an operation."

"Which is why I did not bring it up," the medic explained. "However, her healing rate is quite strong. Neither the arm nor the operation should interfere with her healing. In fact, it just may help."

"Why would it help?" Lennox asked.

"Because she is incredibly stubborn and independent," Ratchet tilted his helm towards Will. "Don't tell me you believe she'll actually give her arm the rest it needs? That she'll go an entire two weeks without using her arm?

"How soon can you do it?" Jaime whispered.

"No sooner than tomorrow," Ratchet emphasizes with a pointed digit. "Despite the incredible durability your body has shown, I'd still like to provide at least twenty four hours before adding a new component for your body to incorporate." Jaime silently nodded in acknowledgement. Will sighed but didn't say anything.

Will's POV

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Will let out a sigh as he waited in the hallway. He made a conscious effort to stop tapping his foot. It was a lost cause, his body couldn't stay still. It felt like it should be doing something. Jaime was under, again. This time for her prosthetic arm operation. While she was on the table unconscious, he was standing out here doing nothing. He wasn't used to this. This feeling of helplessness. Usually he was on the other side, the one taking charge, doing something.

He'd faced terrorists during his service in the Middle East. And when he came home, he'd faced countless Decepticons, giant metal robots from space! And yet...despite all his training in high intensity situations—all his preparation for handling stressful events that could break others—he was afraid. He was afraid for his daughter. His mind came up with numerous worst case scenarios of what could happen to her. He nearly lost her in Egypt, he nearly lost it when that happened. He knew his outward appearance had remained remarkably calm and laser focused. But on the inside he'd been raging and screaming. What if she didn't come back this time? Oh God, pull yourself together Will. She made it through one operation, she'll make it through this one too.

They'd called Sarah last night about the operation. She shared his anxiety at the idea of Jaime having another operation so soon but agreed that if Ratchet believed it safe and their daughter wanted it, they wouldn't stand in the way. And the CMO did have a point about her likely relieving some stress off her broken arm with the use of a prosthetic. No way would Jaime go two weeks without using hear arm while it healed. She couldn't even go a day. He loved her dearly, but she had an independent streak a mile wide. Ratchet had made the procedure seem straightforward. But what if there was some kind of complication? There had been a lot of wires to connect and Jolt was offworld. Maybe they should have waited until the mech got back. If something happened because...Lennox massaged his temples.

"Knock it off!" he reprimanded himself.

"Major Lennox?" Will sharply spun around to see a giant red and blue pede. He followed it up to the flame painted chassis and the blue optics of the Autobot leader. "Is there...any way I can be of assistance?"

"Uh, no Optimus. But thanks," he gave a half tired half embarrassed smile. The red and blue mech peered at the closed entrance to the med bay.

"Ratchet is still operating on her then?" he mused.

"...Yea," Lennox sighed. The man's attention was on the closed door, so he didn't notice the Prime's thoughtful look.

"She is in very capable servos."

"Yea, I know...Just can't help but worry," the Major shrugged.

"She is doing well," Optimus nodded.

"Huh?" Will glanced up at his friend.

"My scans," the mech explained. "I can read most of her vitals from hear. She is well." Will let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The Autobot leader didn't say anymore on the matter, but he remained where he was. The time seemed to pass by both faster and easier. The Autobot leader's presence always seemed to have a calming effect.

Will jumped to his feet when the med bay door finally opened. Before Ratchet could even open his mouth, Lennox had blown past him. The medic gave Optimus a nonplussed look.

"Have some patience Ratchet," he gently chided. "He may be a soldier, but he is also a father."

Having missed the encounter completely, Will was stopped by the sight that awaited him. He had expected to see Jaime unconscious. But no, she was awake, and staring at something. Oh, the arm. Lennox stared at the prosthetic. It was...amazing. It looked both alien and natural. The design was alien, but...there was just something about it that made you think it belonged there.

Jaime didn't say anything. She was too busy studying her new appendage. Ratchet finally returned with Optimus.

"Now, give your body some time to calibrate things, and become accustomed to an extremity that hasn't been there for a long time," Ratchet warned. The girl's brow furrowed even more. Her concentration was unwavering.

"…Jaime?" Will spoke when she still hadn't said anything.

"It… it feels…"

"It feels what?" Ratchet prodded when she trailed off.

"…odd," she mused. Both Ratchet and Will exchanged a glance. Optimus merely tilted his helm.

"Like, a good odd?" Will asked. "or…" The pointer digit twitched. Jaime's breath caught. Will froze and watched in silent anticipation. Seconds passed. The finger twitched again, farther this time. Jaime's head snapped towards Will.

"Did you see? Did you see that?" she exclaimed excitedly with a wide grin of disbelief on her face.

"I did!" a wide grin spread across his face. A warm feeling engulfed him as he watched his daughter radiate pure joy as she experimented with her new arm. Buoyed by her success, Jaime swung her legs off the bed and stood.

"Careful, Jaime," the CMO warned when she swayed slightly. Will took a step forward to steady her, but his intervention was not needed. Her cybernetic arm snapped out and grasped the bed rail. All the occupants of the room stared at the arm in shock. Jaime stepped away from the bed, but she was jerked back when her hand failed to release its grip. She frowned and gave a tug. It remained. She tried twisting and, after some creative thinking, finally broke her grasp on the rail. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, slowly, she raised her right arm. With some hesitation, the cybernetic arm followed suit. She spun in a lazy circle, laughing giddily. Will's eyes softened at the sight. It was good to see her laugh again. There were very few times that Lennox had seen the girl so carefree. A few feet away, Ratchet and Optimus mirrored Will's softened expression.

"I can't wait till Jazz gets back!" Jaime exclaimed. "He's gonna be so surprised!"

A couple days later, Jaime walked into the Medbay… and stopped.

"What the heck happened to you?" she gaped. Two sets of optics turned to her, making her realize that she had said that aloud. Sunstreaker was hunched over on a medical berth, and Ratchet was standing next to him. Sunstreaker looked… he looked like hell, like something had bulldozed over him several times before tossing him off a very high cliff. She'd never seen the golden warrior look so…damaged. The volatile twin scowled and Jaime automatically drew back, hastening to salvage the situation.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, Sunstreaker. I just…uh…" Jaime stumbled over the words, caught between not knowing what to say and wishing to avoid further irritating the mech. Ratchet, upon noticing the golden mech's glowering expression, smacked him with a wrench.

"None of that, you," he growled. "Don't apologize, Jaime. If you ask me, the beating he got wasn't far off from what he deserved."

"Beating?!" Jaime exclaimed.

Ratchet immediately snapped his mouth plates shut and went back to making repairs.

The bewildered girl looked to Sunstreaker for clarification, but he would not meet her gaze. "Who did it?" she finally asked. Neither answered her. "Ratchet," she growled.

The CMO seemed to debate whether it was better to answer her questions versus letting her go around interrogating the other Autobots. "Ironhide," he grunted. Jaime blinked. "He got a bit…enthusiastic."

"Enthus…Why would he do that?!" Jaime exploded indignantly. "You're all comrades! You're supposed to watch each other's back so you don't get beat up!"

Ratchet frowned but didn't reply. Jaime glanced at Sunstreaker, feeling his attention focused on her. She followed his gaze to her green cast. She stiffened. The girl took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Why do you want to know?" the wary medic glanced her way. She sounded much too calm, clearly she was up to something.

"So I can tell him off for being such a moronic jerk! What do you think?" she bit out.

"Jaime-" Ratchet began, but he was interrupted.

"What?" Jaime blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Sunstreaker to actually address her. He usually did his utmost to avoid her. She shifted her weight uneasily.

"Well…accidents happen. And I know you didn't mean it," she shrugged.

"You seem pretty confident about that." Sunstreaker sneered. She held his gaze and lifted her chin in a challenging manner.

"Why, did you purposely spook Orion so I'd get injured?" she demanded. Sunstreaker's optics burned with intensity but he didn't say anything aloud. Jaime nodded to herself.

"That's what I thought," she murmured, before turning on her heel and marching out of Ratchet's territory. His reaction had been answer enough. She'd felt his indignation at her question, the anger. But most of all, when she sifted through the layers of brimming emotions, she had felt the raging guilt, the same guilt she felt as she fell. When she was curled on the ground and her arm throbbing, she had felt his burning regret. He hadn't said any of it out loud. But he hadn't needed to. He'd told the one person who needed to hear it the most, even if it had been unintentional.

Sunstreaker's POV

When Ratchet had finally finished most of his repairs, he made his escape from the med bay. The golden twin made sure to take the less common routes through the base, less someone see him in his less than pristine condition. He passed by a hangar, stopped, and retraced his steps. He could hear raised voices. One of them was Jaime's. Sunstreaker shook his helm. No, he didn't care what the human got up to. He was going to keep on moving. Ignore her.

…

Sunstreaker scowled as he silently crept closer to the hangar. The second voice was deeper, more metallic. It was Ironhide.

"—don't know why you're taking his side," Ironhide growled. "That punk—"

"—isn't to blame," Jaime cut in. "Stop blaming him. Accidents happen."

"He's supposed to protect you, not endanger you!"

"He just got here Ironhide! You can't expect him to know everything! Orion got spooked okay? It's what horses do! A stupid grasshopper could have spooked him!" Sunstreaker had reached the hangar at this point. He carefully peered through the doorway. The two were having at each other. Ironhide's black armor was flared, and Jaime's arms were crossed. The frontliner's optics took a second to focus on her new cybertronic arm. She was learning to control it. Ratchet had been giving her lessons. "And then you had to go beat him up!"

"That glitch head got what he deserved—"

"Stop it! Stop saying that!" Jaime yelled. "You're not…" she took a deep breath. "You're supposed to help each other. You're on the same team."

"Pfft. The fragger isn't even sorry," Ironhide grumbled. Silence. The weapons specialist glanced down at the girl when she failed to answer him. "Wait…don't tell me…did he actually apolo—"

"It was an accident. Sunstreaker isn't psychic. He didn't know what was going to happen. I'm sure he's learned from it and it won't happen again," Jaime ignored Ironhide's sputtering question. "Sunstreaker can't stand me as it is. I'd like to someday be able to walk past him in the hall without him looking at me like I'm a disgusting bug. You beating him up has pretty much made that impossible. So thanks for that."

"Look, Jaime," Ironhide shifted guiltily. "I know you want to be friends with everyone. But Sunstreaker…you don't know him like I do. He's…he's a complex mech with a dark history."

"No. You don't know him like I do," Jaime lifted her chin. "I'm connected remember? To every one of you. You can hide emotions, but you can't fake them."

"He still hurt you," Ironhide insisted, "regardless of whether he meant to or not. He hurt you."

"...Optimus hurt me too," Jaime answered, voice dropping to a whisper. That pulled the black mech up short.

"What?"

"When he…died," Jaime continued with some difficulty. "The backlash, I nearly drowned in it." Sunstreaker recalled the event. The then faceless entity had called out for help. And he had answered.

"But you didn't," Ironhide noted.

"No…" Jaime gave him a sad smile. "I had help." Sunstreaker watched her, analyzed her expression. His readings led him to one startling conclusion. She missed him, their connection they used to have. After the way he had treated her, she still wanted it back. Friendship, that was the word he was looking for. The mech exhaled slowly. There weren't many that he considered friends. He tilted his helm thoughtfully.

"I'm not sorry for teaching him a lesson," Ironhide groused. Jaime opened her mouth to protest. "But…I am sorry if it hurt your chances of being friends with the slagger."

"Are insults really that hard for you to give up?" a startled laugh escaped the girl.

"That's the best you're gonna get," the black mech crossed his arms. "Just…promise you'll be more careful?"

"You and Will would have me rolled up in bubble wrap and never let me leave the house if you had your way," Jaime rolled her eyes.

"For good reason," he grunted. "You have a talent for getting into trouble."

"Why thank you!" she grinned.

"Spoken like a true member!" Sideswipe piped up. All attention focused on the grinning red twin. "Don't be making promises you can't keep Jaime."

"What are you getting at Sideswipe?" Ironhide frowned.

"You're talking to a founder member of the Bubble Wrap Gang," Sideswipe smirked. "Speaking of which, we've got a reputation to uphold. It's too quiet and peaceful around here." Jaime raised a questioning eyebrow. "Current events excluded," the prankster amended.

"I don't want any part of your schemes," Ironhide growled. He glanced at Jaime. "And if you've got any sense left in that little head of yours, neither will you."

"Looks like what little sense I had is gone then," Jaime snarked back. Ironhide's engine revved and he spun around.

"If you involve me in any way Sideswipe, I promise your brother's pounding will be pleasant compared to yours," he threw over his shoulder before striding out of the hangar. Jaime grimaced.

"Don't worry about him," Sideswipe waved his servo lazily. "He's just a moody old rust bucket."

"Don't let him hear you calling him that," Jaime snorted. "So…our reputation, huh?"

"Got any ideas?" the red frontliner grinned.

"What, you can't come up with anything yourself?" Jaime demanded, hands on her hips.

"Hey, you're the master planner," was his retort. "And if you haven't noticed, we're one member short."

"Hmmm, maybe we should recruit someone?"

"If we did, our options of severely limited." The two deliberated silently for a couple minutes.

"So, possible targets," Jaime spoke, breaking the silence.

"I vote not Ironhide," said Sideswipe.

"What, the moody old rust bucket?" Jaime asked, a little too innocently.

"He's the weapons specialist for a reason," the prankster slanted her a look.

"Fine. Ratchet's out," she ticked him off. "We don't want to poke the sleeping giant again too soon."

"Bumblebee is still off base and staying with the Witwicky boy…" Sideswipe continued. "Mirage, then?" Jaime winced.

"Ah, let's wait for him to get settled in," she suggested. Sideswipe raised on optic ridge. Jaime crossed her arms. "I'd rather keep my list of prickly mechs to one, thank you very much. Somehow, I don't think he'll appreciate our welcoming style." The prankster guffawed.

"I say we leave Mr-Stick-Up-His-Aft...for now." It took Jaime a couple seconds to comprehend what he was saying.

"...you mean Prowl?"

"Yea."

"...Since when—"

"Since he left me down in the brig with no internet!" Sideswipe interrupted. "I nearly offlined of boredom." Jaime rolled her eyes. "You don't think he's still ticked off do you?"

"Sides," Jaime gave her friend a look. "You super-glued every single one of his data pads together."

"So?" was the mech's response.

"Fine whatever," Jaime sighed. "That just leaves us with two options." Sunstreaker's optics narrowed. That left him and Optimus. And no way would they pick the Autobot leader. It took a great deal of control to keep his engine from revving. Those imbeciles had better not be planning what he thought they were planning.

"Well, I think the choice is obvious," said Jaime.

"Agreed," Sideswipe grinned.

"Sunstreaker."

"Optimus."

They stared at each other.

"What? You want to prank—"

"No way! We are not pranking your—"

"—Optimus? My commanding officer? Do you know how much brig time that'll cost me?—"

"—Twin! He hates my guts as it is! I am not suicidal thank you very much!—"

"—Oh c'mon! He won't actually kill you—"

"—Oh c'mon! You practically live in the brig already—"

"—Doesn't mean I want to spend my entire life down there—"

"—You can't promise me that!—"

"—Besides, Prowl added dampeners so I can't surf the internet anymore."

"—Well I'm not pranking your twin. End of story."

They paused at the same time.

Sunstreaker's optic was twitching. They were glitched, both of them.

"Fine. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sideswipe tilted his helm.

"I thought you didn't want to target a commanding officer?" Jaime teased.

"Aw, pit. Hasn't stopped me before," he shrugged carelessly.

"Interesting," Jaime mused. "But that's going to be a lot of bubble wrap. If we're going to pull this off, we'll need some help."

"Jaime, I know just the mech," Sideswipe smirked.

Sunstreaker rolled his optics, reading his brother's intent. Primus help him.

Author's Note: Ehehehe...Sorry about the delay. Life just kind of...exploded? I was out of town, then working, then sick, then out of town again. ANYWAY, I'm back now. Thank you so much for all the reviews you wonderful people left! It kept bringing me back/reminding me to get a chapter out. So, kudos! :D Let me know what you think! I'm really excited to be working on this again! ^_^

~Hubero