Ratchet immediately drove through the Autobot hanger and down the hallway strait towards the med bay, with Smokescreen following closely behind. Ana noticed that Jazz was no longer in front of them
He must have stopped at the hangar
she guessed, looking around at the soldier filled hallway.
Ratchet pulled off to the side and drove through the med bay doors, opening the passenger side door for her to get out.
Carefully she stepped out of the medic's alt-mode and took a step back as he transformed. Her stomach growled making her cringe "Do you have anything to eat?" Ana asked tentatively, as she cradled her arm to her chest.
Ratchet nodded and kneeled down looking her in the eye
"When was the last time you have had anything to eat or drink?" "Earlier today." She answered looking down "It was only a couple of blackberries though."
"Have you had anything else since you were captured?" he pressed. She nodded
"I had them yesterday too." Ratchet stood back up and walked to the other side of the med bay "Stay right there." He told her
"I have some food in a storage compartment I can get you."
Ana nodded and shifted her weight uncertainly.
The sound of large pede steps sounded behind her and she turned around to see Smokescreen. "So this is the base you were talking about." He said more as a statement. "Yea" She said looking up at him "This is the med bay." He let out a small laugh
"Already figured that one out Ana." He said with a smirk, gently nudging her with his large pede. Ana gave him a sheepish smile "Sorry, I guess that would be a little obvious."
He shrugged "So what's this place for?"
"It's an alliance" Ratchet stated, walking up to them "Between Autobots and Humans." Smokescreen nodded "What's it called?"
"We call it the Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty, or NEST for short." Ratchet explained.
So that's what it stands for, Ana realized, as Ratchet kneeled down and handed her two granola bars and a water bottle.
"Don't eat it too quickly." He warned, before standing back up and turning to Smokescreen.
"I need to look at that shoulder of yours." He stated "You can wait on the berth; I need to take care of Ana first."
Smokescreen nodded and turned, walking towards one of the large metal berths, while Ratchet activated his holoform and guided Ana to a medical cot.
Tearing open one of the plain granola bars, Ana reluctantly forced herself to eat slowly, taking small sips of water in between each bite. Ratchet had her lay down on one of the cots and attached a heart monitor and IV tube to her. "I'll take those." He said taking the, now, empty wrappers from her. Turning around he threw the wrappers away and began to collect various medical supplies. Ana watched curiously and at the same time feeling nervous.
"I need to properly replace your cast" Ratchet said still turned away from her "In order for you to not feel as much pain, I'll have to sedate you." He said turning around with a needle in his hand. Ana nodded nervously, mentally cringing at the painful memory of getting the old cast taken off back by the woods.
Ratchet gently took her arm, and she looked away as he injected the medicine in. Almost immediately she began to feel drowsy. The world blurred and her eyelids got heavier and heavier as she felt herself get laid back onto the cot, and in seconds her world went dark.
**Time Skip**
Ana woke up groggily; she opened her eyes and tiredly glanced around. The med bay was extremely quiet and there wasn't even the usual faint sound of soldiers through the large door. Most the lights were off and a few dim, giving Ana just enough light to see the shadowy outline of the large room.
Glancing around once more, she noticed that Ratchet and Smokescreen were nowhere to be seen.
Ratchet's probably in his berth room she thought to herself, spotting another set of large doors in the corner of the room I wonder where Smokescreen is though she looked around, puzzled.
Ana forced herself to not worry about it, knowing full well that Smokescreen had nothing to fear from the Autobots, and was probably perfectly safe right now. She squinted, trying to make out the hands of the clock on the far wall, but it was too dim to clearly see.
It's either really early or really late she eventually determined from the silence that hung around the room, broken only by the beeping of her heart monitor.
Laying back down she decided to try and go back to sleep, only to realize why she woke up in the first place. She was thirsty, swallowing thickly; she winced at how sore her throat felt.
Sitting up Ana looked around once again, her heart falling when she spotted her empty water bottle on the small trey-like table next to the bed. There has to be more right? She reasoned Maybe I can get up and find one so I won't have to wake up Ratchet, I think I remember where he went last time to get one.
Ana sat up before remembering that she still had an IV tube, she looked around to find where the tube was attached, and to her relief it was on wheels. Wheeling the small rack around the cot, Ana grabbed on to it for support and attempted to stand. As soon as she got off the cot, her legs buckled underneath her and she fell to the floor, realizing too late that she was still attached to the heart monitor.
She froze in shock as she felt the little censors pop off from the sudden force, making the monitor immediately flat line.
There was a sudden noise from one of the large doors near the corner of the room. The door whizzed open, and a shocked looking Ratchet rushed out, his shocked look soon turning to one of annoyance as soon as he spotted Ana.
Ana struggled to get to her feet, but to no avail, and only now noticing that she had a new cast on her arm.
"What in primus name are you doing?" Ratchet scolded.
Ana looked down at the floor from where she was splayed on her hand and knees, and she felt her cheeks turn red from embarrassment. A large metal hand gently picked her up by her sides and placed her back onto the cot.
"Well?" Ratchet inquired, crossing his arms.
"I was thirsty, and I-I thought I could get it myself." She admitted reluctantly.
"You should not be moving at all in your condition!" He said incredulously.
Ana shrunk back, her cheeks getting even redder.
He vented "I can get you your water, and I'll put another one out so this does not happen again."
He said, walking across the med bay to get her the water.
Ana just hung her head feeling guilty and foolish.
Ratchet walked back with two water bottles, handing one to Ana and setting the other on the small table, before activating his holoform and quickly replacing the heart sensors. "I'm sorry." She apologized quietly just as he was finished replacing them.
He huffed "What's done is done." He said simply before the holoform disappeared and the real Ratchet walked towards what appeared to be his berth room.
Just as he reached the door he turned around to face her
"Get some rest, and I suggest you do not try and do that again, or I'll be forced to add restraints."
He threatened as the door slid shut. Ana gulped as she opened the water bottle in her hands, the medic was already grumpy during the day, but accidentally waking him up in the middle of the night, was frightening.
Ana gulped down the water and sighed as her sore throat was soothed. Setting the bottle on the table next to the other one, Ana laid back down on the cot, being extra careful not to mess with any of the heart sensors; she definitely didn't want to wake Ratchet a second time.
**Time Skip**
It had been at least half an hour since had Ana awoken the second time, and although she still couldn't properly read the hands of the clock, the noise outside the large med bay door was steadily increasing.
Ana was lying on the cot, staring at the high ceiling, when Ratchet's door opened. Ratchet walked out, going straight to the large computer, and typed for a few minutes before glancing over at her. He then turned back and messed with something near the wall, and suddenly all the lights in the med bay turned on.
Ana squinted in surprise and looked around the room, noticing that the large med bay door had opened as well, and soldiers could be seen walking down the hallway.
"I'll be requesting for someone to bring you something to eat from the mess hall." Ratchet told her as he continued typing.
"And before you ask, no, you cannot go down there yourself."
He said, earning a groan from Ana.
"First things first though" Ratchet continued "You need to get that dirt cleaned off you."
Ana sat up as he transformed and activated his holoform. "There is a shower you can use in here." He said as he walked over and disconnected the heart monitor and took out her IV.
Just as he was finishing up, Ana finally decided to ask the question that had been bugging her "Where did Smokescreen go?"
Ratchet moved the IV stand out of the way before answering "I was able to fix his shoulder as well as the other damage from the 'cons yesterday, so he was allowed to stay in the Autobot hangar in order to meet the others."
Ana nodded, thankful he was safe. She moved her legs to the side of the cot to try and stand again, only to find that her legs felt just as weak as they did when she had tried to stand earlier. Ratchet gently wrapped his arm under her arms to support her
"Why is it so hard to stand?" She asked, feeling alarmed by how weak she felt.
"It seems that in the past five days you extremely exhausted yourself, it might take a few days to get your strength back." He said as he helped her walk towards one of the human sized doors along the wall.
"I was gone five days!" She asked. He nodded "Six if you count the day you were taken."
He then stopped walking and looked her in the eye
"Ana" he began "Did the Decepticons do anything to you while you were their captive?"
He asked seriously.
The amount of concern in his voice surprised her, and she realized just how much the Autobots must have been worried for her.
"N-no" She said quickly shaking her head. Ratchet studied her for a moment before nodding and continuing to help her towards the door.
Inside was a small bedroom with a bed, a dresser against the far wall and a small nightstand next to the bed, there was another door next to the dresser that was open, revealing a bathroom.
"What's this for?" Ana asked Ratchet. "For patients who are staying long term" He said simply as he guided her to the bathroom.
"Everything is already in here, including a new set of clothes for you to wear. When you're finished or if you need any help, just push the button on the wall, and don't forget to wrap your cast up." He said as he helped her to one of the many handles on the walls, so she could grab on and support herself. He then walked back to the door, turning around once to glance around the room before promptly closing the door.
Ana carefully made her way to the shower, purposely avoiding the mirror, and began the task of finally getting clean.