(Please see previous disclaimers)
Meanwhile, as Aquaformer was in the med bay talking with Ratchet, Optimus was in the planning room with some of the other bots, only a couple of whom had noticed the Prime acting off since the new femme had arrived at the base. One of those bots was Ironhide. The planning meeting didn't last long and soon, it was just Optimus and Ironhide alone in the room.
"What's eating ya, Prime?" Ironhide asked, knowing that the Prime was acting a bit off from his usual status.
"Nothing" Optimus responded though it came out a bit terser than he would have liked, but blast it all, he did not want to discuss it.
"Oh, come off it. You and I are old friends and the last time I saw you act like this was with…" Ironhide started.
"Don't mention her name" Optimus stated firmly. Losing Elita was a bit of a sore spot for the leader and he didn't like discussing it at all.
Ironhide knew he would get that kind of reaction bringing this up, but Ironhide wasn't about to let the leader get off this that easy. Ironhide was going to come right out and say it. "You know there are more femmes out there besides Elita One. Just because you've been hurt once doesn't mean you will be hurt like that again" Hide offered up.
Optimus sighed and sighed heavily. He had asked Hide not to mention that name, but Hide did it anyways. Optimus knew Hide was trying to be a good friend, but Optimus wasn't ready just yet for any of this. "And how would you know that, Hide? What's to say that this femme is no different from what Elita did?" Optimus asked sternly. He wasn't sure he should try to get to know this femme.
Hide didn't really have a good answer to that question, but he did have one answer. "Well, there is one way she is different – she is Aquaformer and not Elita One" Hide answered. It was a simple answer but yet not as simple as it sounded.
Optimus sighed. HE just wanted this whole thing dropped. His goal was to end the war. Little did Optimus realize that his inner protocols were starting to act up now that the femme was around. He didn't like this whole thing and he didn't trust the femme just yet. What if she burned him just like Elita had? He couldn't take that pain and rejection yet again, hence his reaction to this whole thing.
Meanwhile, in the med bay, Aquaformer was waiting for the drip to finish. She knew she could have unhooked it herself, but she had chosen not to. She felt at least a little safe in the med bay. Well, at least safe from Sunny and sides who always tried to flirt with her. They drove her nuts. She wished that they would just plan leave her alone. Part of the reason she stayed in the makeshift med bay was that Sunny and Sides preferred to stay away from Ratchet and his flying wrenches. It really gave her a chance to think.
Ratchet had given her a lot to think about regarding Optimus. He seemed like a good mech and Aquaformer wondered if he would ever like a femme like her. Aquaformer had learned that at one point, Optimus and Elita had been a couple but had had a bitter breakup, mostly from her leaving him. Aquaformer wondered if that meant she would have a harder time trying to get to know the Prime and get close to him. She figured he would be wary of femmes. It would provide her a challenge that she hoped she could meet.