Optimus sat in his alt mode, watching the daily routines of the occupants around the DC base. Soldiers filed pass, engineers and mechanics milled about their work, but everything seemed different.

It was quiet…calm. So different to the months prior.

And this is what he found himself doing lately, with his less hectic schedule—he was simply watching. Watching the normalcy and calm demeanors of the base's inhabitants without fear or high levels of stress coming up on his scanners.

This is what the Prime wanted, after all this time of fighting.

Peace.

The weight of past battles on Earth melted from his frame. He slipped in and out of recharge through his break, basking in the abnormal normalcy.

Nothing compared to the overwhelming guilt his kind subjected to this race and this unsuspecting planet. He was a Prime, it was his duty to protect his people…but also to defend the innocent. He had seen so many fall. He faced the burden of knowing that the families of his fallen comrades would never know how bravely they fought for their secret cause.

'But not so secret anymore,' he surmised. Word had spread and media around the globe roused the people's concern for this 'alien invasion.' How pitiful the situation grew.

Optimus was ripped from his dark musings as his sensors picked up a human veering closer to him than per usual. Most seemed to keep their distance from the Autobots while in their alternate modes, except for Lennox and the usual "higher ups" as his human friends put them. The girl seemed unaware of her surroundings as she walked with her nose in the stack of papers that apparently demanded her undivided attention.

Unsure on what to do, and thinking she would correct her course, his sensors kept a critical eye on her movements.

Right up until she crashed into the left side of his alt mode.

Papers flew in all different directions as the human woman landed on her back with a groan. Her freckled hands gingerly rubbed her head as she looked up to what she had smashed into.

Optimus wanted to assuage the horror in her eyes at the sight of his alt mode. He quickly transformed to his original height.

The girl quickly scrambled to her feet and craned her neck to get a better view of the Autobot leader. He leaned down onto one knee, but before he could ask if she damaged, she quickly beat him to it.

"I am s-so so sorry," she managed to force out. "I wasn't looking wear I was going, sorry, I didn't mean to." Her eyes made contact to his surreal blue optics as he put a hand up to stop her rambling.

"I apologize, I should have alerted you of your impending trajectory. Are you alright?" He questioned while noting her frazzled demeanor. Her face turned an alarming shade of red, one that he feared would cause system damage, but she appeared functional, he reasoned.

She straightened up her white coat, brushing off invisible dirt from her surprise fall. "Yeah, no prob," she responded in kind. "I'm used to things jumping out at me." Impossibly green eyes met his optics with a wink. He chuckled. The action was not lost on him, with so many years around his fellow human comrades.

The girl—no woman (barely) straightened out her papers and adjusted the paper clips, shaking her head at something she thought. "I am really sorry, sir, for running into you like that. My mom always told me I had a knack for finding solid objects to crash into."

"Please, it is quite alright, I was worried you damaged yourself."

She seemed to brush off the Cybertronian lingo for 'injured' as she peered up to his crouched form. Thrusting her hand out, she quickly brushed off his concern. "No harm done. And by the way, my name is Lani, and its a pleasure to meet you Optimus Prime." Amused, the Prime placed his finger into her palm as she shook it. "And I wanted to thank you for all you've done."

Optimus balked at her statement. Most humans shied away from too much alien attention.

"The pleasure is mine, Lani…and you're very welcome."

She retracted her hand and then gave a slight jump, reaching for her phone.

"Crap, sorry, I'm late. Ok, sorry again, sir!" She quickly smiled and bustled around the large autobot, correcting her earlier course. Lani sent a quick wave when the Autobot leader half-heartedly warned to be careful.

She laughed off his mild concern…and nearly toppled into a moving vehicle in route to weapons testing. The Prime shook his head, wondering idly how she had survived this long on a military base. Backing up a few steps, she straightened out her stack, and briskly stalked down the far corridor towards the human's medical wing.

Optimus let out a perturbed 'hmmm', making his way to his quarters to finally complete that blasted paper work. Things were quiet lately, not that he was complaining, but he could not shrug the impending sense of unease that followed him. Bases were rarely quiet for long during a war.

They could only be biding their time.

Despite all these morbid processor cycles, he could not deny the uplifting happiness he felt to see these sentient beings mill around, uncaring of the death and destruction his own people have felt. He just prayed to Primus that they would never know such pain.

Now he just had to worry about this unmerciful paperwork Galloway insistently pestered him for.

Lani enjoyed her work. Even more than her lazy saturday mornings on the couch. It brought a sense of accomplishment and happiness that she was in the midst of heroes, that she played a role for them.

She may not be a hero, but damn it, she was definitely on the side of heroes.

In the midst of her routine check ups, Lani couldn't shake the fact that she actually got to speak to the famous Optimus Prime yesterday. The only other Autobot she ever got to speak to was Ratchet. Oh, how she loved the mech and his uncanny attention to detail whenever she taught him human medicine.

She wasn't a head doctor, no, she was an on-the-field doctor/medic. Practicing the profession in a regular hospital proved incredibly mundane. The idea of helping those who risked their lives for her own brought a higher level of accomplishment.

Her reports needed to make their way toward Ratchet each check-up cycle, where he kept them all catalogued and organized; an area she consequently failed.

"Alright, Epps, you are good to go." Lani stripped off her latex gloves, tossing them in the bin. A few more scribbles in his file finished her work for the day.

She looked up from her black swivel chair, unable to stop sliding it around due to recent boredom, and playfully saluted on of her closest friends.

Sargent Robert Epps chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Thanks, 'Ni." He stretched his arms above his head before jumping from the paper-covered bed. The room was bland except for the surfing and Hawaiian posters that made up for the sterile feel. Lani never appreciated the cold, clean upkeep of medical rooms, especially those cursed examination rooms that she tried her damn hardest to keep comfortable. But, kept those stupid motivational posters out. Injuries were infinitely easier to deal with without those unnecessary pieces of garbage.

But she loved her job and loved working with these individualized soldiers. There was definitely enough character to go around base.

She scratched absently at her messy bun, pulling back unruly curls that refused to be tamed, futilely tucked them again. Epps laughed at her fussing.

"Oh shut up and walk me to Ratchet's office," she chastised him.

To his credit, he lifted his hands in the air in surrender, obeying her order. They walked in companionable silence, both enjoying the peaceful trek to the med bay even with the busy bustle of soldiers and NEST personnel making their way around the large hangar.

Epps rammed his shoulder into the human sized door, muttering about the base's inability to fix anything, and held it open for Lina. She mockingly bowed as a thank you and continued on to the next room. Cybertronian-sized beds and monitors lined their path to Rachet's cluttered working desk in the back.

Lani always felt like an ant lately.

She spotted the green H2 Hummer at his desk, fussing over his collection of piling data pads, no doubt going through the files she brought in earlier, before she unceremoniously ran into the leader of this alien race. Lani felt heat crawling up the back of her neck. How embarrassing. Her first meeting and she blew it.

She brushed it off, first impressions are hardly go to her favor. There might be a second time, she reasoned, one that she'll hopefully be aware of her surroundings.

"Good afternoon, Ratchet. Fancy some up-to-date check ups?" She sent him a cheeky smile, swinging a few folders in her arms.

The medic peered down at her, his mouth plates barely quirking at the sides in an amused smile. "Of course, of course." She plopped them into his waiting servo.

"Hey, Ratch, how's it going?" Epps called from a little farther away from Lani.

The mech sighed. "As well as to be expected. Events are slow; I have little to occupy my time, except for Wheeljack's slagging experiments."

Ratchet narrowed his optics at the giggling below him. Lani quickly ducked her head and shuffled her feet toward Epps, who wore one of the biggest shit eating grins she'd ever seen. It wasn't often the Sargent was able to witness this playful side of the Autobot CMO. The young woman still kept that smile when she looked up to the mech.

"Later, Ratch. I have to go clean up before I'm officially done for the day. See ya tomorrow!"

Lani started skipping backwards and failed to notice the new mech walking in. With a clanging thunk, she expected to feel the cold unmoving ground but instead a large hand broke her fall.

Looking up, heat slowly made its way over her cheeks.

"Are you alright, Lani?" Optimus Prime questioned.

She internally groaned. Not again, she pleaded. She pushed off his hand and stepped back a few steps.

"Sorry, again, Mr. Prime," she mumbled pressing her hands against her face in embarrassment. She could hear Epps guffawing behind her.

"Primus, Lani. For someone of your intelligence, you could at least have the sense to watch where you're going," Ratchet tsked at her. The nerve!

"Hold up, it's not my fault he's a ninja! I couldn't hear a thing!"

"I am very sorry for sneaking up on you." His attempt of humor sent a new wave of embarrassment creeping up her neck.

"Don't apologize, Prime!" Ratchet pointed at the blushing young woman. "She needs to be more aware of her surroundings! This is the fifth time I have seen this happen."

She crossed her arms. "The walls jump out at me. I'm hardly at fault."

"Nah, girl. You've got the klutz thing bad," Epps so encouragingly provided. He placed a hand on her shoulder and ruffled her curls again. Of course, she swatted his hand away like a pestering fly.

Optimus then noticed her hair for the first time, his first encounter too brief. Or even her appearance.

And how different she looked!

She did not share the tan skin the rest of the base had, instead paler skin, still sun kissed, but substantially whiter. And she was covered in those dots—'freckles' the internet told him. And her hair: deep red curls. Not very common in the genome on this planet.

Her face was reaching the same red shade as the day prior. He filed that information away to ask Ratchet later.

He first needed his own information.

"Ratchet, I request the new data pads you've rebooted." The regal leader made his way over to his old friend.

He turned then, remembering the strange haired woman and Sargent Epps. "I apologize again for my too silent movements," he said a bit cheekily.

Her face flamed again. "Yeah, no worries. I hope my head doesn't distract me too much next time." Lani's face brightened in an instant. "Maybe next time I'll actually catch myself before I ram into you." She giggled to herself and started making her way out of the med bay, pulling Epps along with her.

"Later guys! I've got a bed with my name written all over it!"

Ratchet responded with a grunt and Optimus merely stared.

"I swear, that girl will be the death of me." Ratchet broke the silence once the doors shut. He scanned his desk. "Ah hah! Here you go, Optimus." The mech handed over a new data pad.

"You are well acquainted with Lani?"

The CMO looked up. "Doctor Marks? Oh yeah, she's been stumbling through my office for over a year now. I wouldn't be surprised if she tripped into you."

Optimus found it baffling that a person could have such insufficient equilibrium. How unfortunate a place to work. But not unlike Bluestreak, he reasoned. That youngling couldn't keep his mouth plates shut for ten minutes before he too found himself bumping into something.

The similarities between cybertronians and humans continued to astound him. So different…but not.

Ratchet unceremoniously dumped the newly booted data pads into his arms, ushering him out with a grunt.

There was one thing certain, no matter the similarities between the species, there would always be one Ratchet. The red and blue mech silently laughed to himself, deciding he liked this peaceful time and wishing, a bit optimistically, that it would last.