2. Charge (A TFP Fanfiction)

Chapter 14

I laid their atop of my guardian's chest chassis for a while, sobbing only for a short time before I quieted my cries. I felt almost entirely helpless; despite my abilities, I had no idea how to get us both out of there without dire consequences. And why hadn't I seen Silas yet? He had been so eager to capture me before. The only one I had seen in command before was that young woman.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes with my good wrist. My other one was still throbbing harshly, but I figured it wasn't broken. It was definitely swelling, and it hurt to move at all. I tried to relieve the pain by rubbing it every now and then. Sighing, I looked over to Ratchet's faceplate. He was still and silent, which made me grow more and more worried by the minute.

"How are we going to get out of here..?" I whispered, closing my eyes and trying to think.

"Ugh.."

My eyes flew back open as I felt him stir from under me. His optics flickered open weakly, tiredly looking around until they rested on me. They widened slightly and his chassis stiffened.

"Taylor.." he muttered.

A relieved gasp flew from my mouth and I quickly scooted farther up his chest chassis, stopping just at the edge of it. I leaned down, getting on my stomach to balance myself, and rested my palm on his metal chin, stroking it gently. Tears fell from my eyes again, but I forced myself to put on a smile. For some reason, I felt a stronger pull to him than usual. I didn't understand it, but I didn't want to question it right now.

"I'm so glad you're awake," I said quietly. "How do you feel?"

He blinked at me, a small blush rising to his faceplate as he looked where I had positioned myself. The feeling grew stronger, and evidentially, he felt something as well. Finally, he sighed shortly, his servo lifting up and cupping my body in a protective gesture.

"Starscream did a number on me," he groaned. "And MECH was sure to open me up and poke around my hood."

I gasped, bringing my injured hand to my mouth in shock. I felt horrible; because of me, MECH had experimented and hurt him, too.

His optics widened again when he saw my arm. "Your wrist! What happened to it?"

I lifted it from my mouth, looking at it with a slight frown. "I probably pulled a muscle or something when I escaped."

He sighed in exasperation. "Why is it you always seem to get injured?" His digits gently stroked my back in comfort. "How did you escape?"

I told him everything, at least all the things I knew. It was apparent that I didn't know much, and had been unconscious for some time. When I asked him how long, he shifted uncomfortably.

"If I had to guess how long it has been since our capture," he said, "I would say at least over 48 hours."

"Two days?" I cried. The others ought to have been worried sick about us!

He saw the panic rising from my facial expression and his digits lifted to stroke my head. "It's alright. We'll find a way out of here."

I sniffed, ready to cry again. "How? This place is bound to be crawling with MECH soldiers, and you're injured."

He scoffed. "I'll live. I have been through worse, you know."

I laughed a little despite myself. "Yeah," I choked, rubbing my eyes again.

He groaned, closing his optics as he began to sit up. I held back another gasp as I began to slide down the metal chestplates, but his servo held me up. He sighed when he straightened, holding me out in front of his faceplate and gazing at me.