"Yes." Jack said sternly as he looked at him and furrowed his brow. "She's my daughter." He pressed and they looked at each other. "I have to go and get her out of this before something awful happens to her." He said seriously. Raf understood and looked at his daughter for a moment. He'd do the same for her. He'd do anything for her. He loved her and wanted to keep her safe as well.
Ratchet sighed heavily and nodded. "Alright. We can go first thing in the morning." He said as he began walking away and to his room to see June, holding her tea carefully.
Wheeljack watched him go before looking at Jack. "I want to go with you." He spoke firmly, frowning. "I want to help you guys. She's too young for dangerous missions..."
"I want to go as well." Bulkhead said seriously as he looked at them. "I want to make sure we get her back." He growled.
"We can't all go." Miko said as she looked at the others. "We'd never get past the door." She muttered and rubbed her face tiredly. She was upset as well.
Riley fiddled her hands a bit. "Not if we don't tell Agent Fowler. He can get you in, right?" She spoke up quietly. "I can go talk to him. I need to go to the lab soon anyway." She offered.
"Does Fowler have clearance for that stuff?" Wheeljack asked with a deep frown, not sure. The question only earned him a shrug in reply. The man had gotten many things done for the Autobots before.
"We shouldn't overwhelm him with everyone going." Miko said quietly and looked at her family as tears filled her eyes. "I think maybe three or four of us... but the rest should stay and..." she trailed off and stared at her hands. Jack gently set a hand on her back and nodded slowly.
"It's settled then. Ratchet, Wheeljack, Bulkhead and I will go and try to talk to these men." Jack said seriously as he watched the others.
"Then we can pound some sense into them." Bulkhead growled lowly as he narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist.
"Can you stay calm enough the whole time?" Sari asked with a deep frown. "I know you want to go rush inside but... these soldiers don't take kindly to any aggression." Sari spoke quietly, her eyes flickering to Bumblebee, thinking of when Jack was taken to the hospital. She was informed of it and it disgusted her.
"Yes we can." Bulkhead said as he narrowed his eyes. Miko gave him a look and sighed as she got up.
"Jack is great at making points. They'll listen I'm sure." Rafael told her gently, rubbing Quinns back gently as he peered down at her drawings, watching her color with a faint relaxed smile.
"We can't do anything right now... unless you want to skip going in the morning and go now." She said seriously. Jack thought about it then looked at Ratchet, who had stopped to listen. It may be the better option.
Ratchet held an uncertain look, frowning. "We should go together in the morning. We all need rest and to go in with clear heads." He then gave looks to Bulkhead and Wheeljack knowing they definitely would not let themselves think clearly right now. He grunted and looked down the hall where his wife was resting then back to the group. "I mean it. You all need rest. I suggest showers then sleep until its actual morning. It's past dinner time now." Ratchet told them seriously and began walking to his room to return to sleep and to give his wife her tea, again.
The woman looked at him as he came in and smiled a little. "Hello love..." she whispered quietly as she blinked tiredly. "How are things?" She asked quietly. The others sat down to eat since Sari and Raf had finished making the dinner. They had to go to bed soon and some weren't exactly sure what to do. They had to save Skye and had to keep her from getting harmed. They were afraid for her and her life.
The doctor walked over to her and gave the warm mug to her, helping her hold it for when she would need help to drink it. "Everything's fine." He smiled a bit, kissing her temple gently. "Don't you worry." He murmured softly, hearing the others getting settled and some putting dishes away. Riley eventually got up and grabbed her things, leaving to go to the lab and saying goodnight, the old medic hearing the door open and close as well as he sat down next to her.
She smiled tiredly as she took the mug and sipped on it. She relaxed against the pillows and sighed forcefully as she closed her eyes. "I'm worried about them... all of them..." she whispered quietly. "I fear something terrible will happen to Skye..." she said and looked at him as tears fell down her face.
Ratchet frowned deeply and took her hand in his. "I know... I'm worried too. But she's a very smart young lady. She's careful. I trust she will be alright." He said quietly. He didn't trust the people she worked with. The old doctor placed his hand on her cheek and rubbed away the tears gently.
She nodded slowly as she looked at him as tears fell down her face. "I... I'm so sorry... I feel as though I've made a mess... I should have left when I could..." she sobbed as she looked at him. She let her tears fall into her cup then shakily drank it as her vision blurred.
"Oh sweetspark," Ratchets expression softened, saddened. He scooted closer to her and took her face gently in his hands, wiping away tears. "You made no mess." He said as he then took her tea and set it next to her on the bedside table, wiping her cheeks again. "We are all together, it's what matters." He reassured her.
She nodded slowly as she hugged him and buried her face in his chest. She sobbed quietly as she felt awful for what happened. She was just exhausted. She continued to cry and held on to him weakly.
The doctor hugged her and rubbed her back in circles soothingly. He shushed her gently, frowning worriedly as he listened to her cry. "It's alright sweetspark... everything is alright..." he whispered against her old hair, setting his chin on her head. She clung to him and sobbed silently, her cries slowly stopped as she fell asleep. She loosened her grip and her breathing slowed as she rested against him. She was at peace in his arms.
Ratchet soon began smiling at her sleeping, hearing the soft sound of peaceful breathing. He held her for a while before he laid her against the pillow, tucking her in before walking to his side and climbing in. He put the cover over him and kissed her forehead then reached over and turned out the light. "Goodnight." He murmured softly before he began trying to comfy.
She sighed shakily as she slept and nuzzled against him. She loved him so much and was grateful for him. She rested her head against his shoulder. She sighed as she held onto him and moved closer to him.
After a moment, he yawned softly and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to his chest, protective but mostly comforting to her. He kissed her head again, reassuring her, making her feel safe. He could only imagine how frightened she might have been to let her slip into unknown dreams that were to come.
~
Riley got to the lab where she saw people talking and getting irritated with the data. They were going through a few things and information she gathered. She frowned and hurried over, furrowing her eyebrows. "H-hey! Those are my things!" She said seriously, confused and angry about them touching her work as she began snatching papers out of hands.
"I'm sorry Miss... Percy gave us access to everyone's research. We're trying to... do another project." The soldier that was kind to her said. His name on his shirt said McClellan.
"What kind of other project?" Riley frowned, unaware this was happening. "You can't just...take things.. '' she whispered as she walked to her fathers lab, grabbing what she could of his work. "Where is Percy now?"
"It's alright... um... we don't know much about it but... the man in charge of sending people to the surface, gave the others an idea and... they're going for it. Percy said he has a way to bring the plan to the surface. They're studying the alien car right now." He said.
Riley froze, immediately thinking of Skye. "What?! What kind of-." She cut herself off and began searching the halls for Percy, holding her and her fathers work in a tight grip. "Percy!" She called rushing around soldiers. She spotted the man way ahead by the coffee makers and ran to him. "Percy!"
The soldier followed her and tried to help her calm down. He stopped suddenly when she did, and looked to the said man as he talked excitedly with some other scientists. They were talking about a few things and information was shared.
She frowned deeply at the scientist and soon slowed down. "Percy." She said firmly, giving him a hard stare. "What is all this? You're just giving up all of our private research?"
"No no no... I'm including people into my project. My project that will save everyone, we just needed a few of the notes you took while you studied the alien car." He said seriously and smiled then looked to the others. "Let's go to the lab and start working." He said and motioned for the others to come.
Her eyebrows rose and she watched scientists chuckle with excitement and set down or throw away coffee cups. Riley watched them for a moment before walking after Percy. "N-no... you didn't ask my permission, Percy. Yo-Yo-You can't just do that." She tried to tell him seriously but was a stuttering nervous mess to confront him about it.
Percy stopped and sighed as he looked at her then glared. He motioned for the others to leave while the soldier stayed by her side. "Listen to me." He said seriously as he narrowed his eyes. "This isn't your project anymore." He said seriously. "It's been given to me by our superiors. We just needed to get your notes, that's it." He snapped. "We didn't look at anything else, now get over it." He mumbled and walked off.
Riley stopped and looked at him quietly, shifting a little. She watched him walk away and bit her lip. "What was that supposed to mean?" She muttered and looked around. She shifted thinking before going to her lab, grabbing a box and putting all her most vital things inside, stuffing papers into the satchel she carried. She didn't trust working here with soldiers here left and right. She didn't trust this type of notes with them. Riley hesitated before calling Ethan to help her bring all the notes to the storage space they were using at the end of the road. Only a few things sat in there and collected dust.
McClellan stayed with her to keep her safe and glanced around at the others as they worked. He noticed she went and gathered her father's things, which made him frown a little but he didn't say anything. He followed her around until she said she was okay. He stopped and watched her go towards the storage area. He then left and went to help the others.
She lifted the storage door up, watching the soldier leave curiously. She found it strange for him to find the need to be following her. Riley put the boxes inside on an old wooden dusty desk. She then hummed with thought, wondering if she should start working in here instead. She put everything inside neatly and sighed, shutting the door and locking it. Riley looked around nervously, anxious at how quiet and dark it was before stuffing her hands in her lab coat pockets, making her way down the street.
She knew she had to go back and talk to agent Fowler, or go home and come back in the morning. She wasn't even sure if she was still on the project with Bumblebees alternate mode. Had Percy been put in charge of that as well? Did that mean they would do whatever they wanted to him now?
The possibilities running in her mind made her nervous so she began picking up the pace toward the building Fowler stayed in. When she got inside and asked to see him, she was informed he was in the medical bay getting rest. He had a heart attack not long ago.
She was surprised by this and wondered why she wasn't informed then asked that question. The woman looked at her and furrowed her brow. "You aren't his family. He doesn't have family so we didn't know who to contact." She said seriously then told her where to go.
Riley thanked her before following her instructions, going to the room quickly. She slowly opened the door to see the man resting on a pure white bed, many wires and things attached to the overweight man. She slowly walked over, worry creases filling her head as she saw the man in this state, her eyebrows furrowing.
None of them knew what happened and they all cared about him in a way. When did this happen? Fowler heard someone enter the room and slowly opened his eyes. He stared at her for a moment and smiled weakly. "Riley... to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked gently as he wheezed quietly. The oxygen tube under his nose helped him breathe better.