I am Broken (TFP) *Rewrite*

Chapter 16

When the next morning came around, Dahlia did not wake up at the usual time. She was still sleeping deeply and it seemed that the day before has caused this exhaustion in the girl's body. After Optimus had been examined, Dahlia insisted on sleeping with him, and he allowed it and the girl slept upon his chassis through the whole night. When he awoke from recharge and realized that Dahlia was not responding to him trying to wake her up, Optimus simply moved her to his hand to cradle her before leaving his room to get a cube and locate Ratchet.

The girl did not stir at all as he walked through the base to the cube storage to grab a cube. Optimus was pleased that she was able to find rest, despite how hard the previous day was. He had thought that she would have nightmares, but it seemed she wouldn't have nightmares right now. And he hoped she wouldn't have any for a while. He did understand that Soundwave was a very intimidating decepticon, so it would make sense if she did have a nightmare about him.

After grabbing a cube, Optimus made his way to the lobby and saw that it was empty. He knew that Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were still off the base, so he was not concerned. He suspected Ratchet was in the med bay, so that was where he began walking to. If Ratchet was still recharging, then Optimus would find something to do quietly. Though it was unlikely that Ratchet would be recharging at this time of day.

When the doors open into the med bay, Optimus found Ratchet at a console by a bench with a microscope and several other tools. The bot was looking at the screen while rubbing his chi as it seemed he was deep in thought he turned his head when he heard the door open and smiled upon seeing Optimus. "Morning, Optimus." His optics glance down at the sleeping girl in Optimus's hand and the medic was mindful of keeping his voice down. "I see that Dahlia is making the most out of her exhaustion from yesterday."

Optimus nodded. "I do not dare to try and wake her, as I know she needs the rest. But I do think that the amount of food she ingested yesterday has also played a big role." The medic nodded in agreement and looked back at the screen. "I see you are back doing some research, old friend. May I inquire as to what you are doing?"

Ratchet intakes heavily as he seemed to hesitate responding to him. Optimus was not sure why, as Ratchet seemed worried for a moment. He glanced at Dahlia for a moment before looking at Optimus. "I hope she won't wake up, but I am currently taking a closer look at her DNA." Optimus widened his optics in surprise. "And no, I did not get the sample directly from her. Dahlia has spilled enough blood that it was easy to get the sample. I wanted to compare it to a normal human DNA, and I am looking at the various DNA samples of different creatures of this world to try and figure out what has been used."

Optimus glanced at the screen and he could see Dahlia's DNA on the monitor. He did not know much about DNA for the creatures of this planet, so it was unfamiliar to him. "I am not sure what you might find, Ratchet. A lot of the DNA used to mutate her own DNA could have also been mutated. Which means that the comparisons might no longer be valid."

"I am aware. I guess I am trying to understand her anatomy some more, in case she gets sick with something that humans generally don't get as an example. But also understand her actions as well. As we have all witnessed, Dahlia's behavior is not human." Optimus did not disagree, but he did not know if this was primarily the reason why Ratchet was taking a closer look at the girl's DNA. "I know it might seem strange, but I feel getting to know her genetics is going to help long term with any potential medical issues. Especially since I noticed something strange about her blood cells, but I cannot explain it since I am not even sure what I am seeing under the microscope."

Optimus was not sure if he liked the sound of that or not, considering it has been many years since Dahlia had managed to escape the clutches of her captors, if something was wrong it would be easy to assume who was responsible. "Is it something we should be concerned about?"