When the morning came, Ratchet was the first out of the two to wake, which was not unusual. Alice normally slept a bit longer than he did, so it came as a surprise when she woke only a few seconds later. Of course, the first thing she did was complain about how her stomach hurt as she rubbed her abdomen, which confused him.

"Uh… your intestines are there, not your stomach," he said, trying to make sense of what she'd said, and Alice laughed.

"Oh, here on Earth, if our abdomens hurt we say that our stomachs hurt," she said, then shrugged. "Not too sure why." Ratchet rolled his eyes but didn't question it any further. Instead he picked Alice up before he sat up, tossing the blanket off of himself. Then he stood and set her on his shoulder before walking out of his room and down the hallway.

When he walked out into the main foyer, he noticed that nobody else was there, so he set Alice down on the medical berth before going over to a nearby monitor and typing away, beginning his daily work. Alice eventually decided to attempt to get his attention, but her plans were foiled when Arcee pulled into the base with Jack in tow. Bulkhead and Bumblebee, as well as Miko and Raf, were not far behind, and Optimus emerged from his room only minutes later.

Each of them shot a glance at Ratchet, who had not paid them any mind. Instead, he'd walked over to his medical berth and was talking to Alice about how he would soon need to take her back to the hospital, in order to get her stitches removed. He was keeping his voice down so that Team Prime would not hear, but Optimus didn't really mind.

"Ratchet, old friend, she will be fine," he said, gaining the doctor's attention… even if it was only a sideways glance. "Come over here; you need to be a part of this discussion." He beckoned the medic over, and Ratchet said one last thing to Alice before turning and walking over to stand next to Bulkhead.

"What's up with you recently, Ratchet?" the former Wrecker suddenly asked the medic, causing him to stiffen. The rest of Team Prime – minus Optimus – all looked up at the medic, who was keeping his face as monotone as ever. They could, however, tell that something was bothering him, and Alice knew exactly what it was. Poor Ratchet had absolutely no idea what to say.

"I… have had a lot on my mind," he finally managed to say through gritted teeth. Bumblebee and Arcee glanced questioningly at each other, whereas Bulkhead just shrugged, apparently satisfied with the answer he'd been given.

Optimus sighed and raised a servo. "That's enough; leave Ratchet be. We have another matter to attend to," he explained. Everyone looked at him as he gestured to one of the monitors. "I have discovered the location of a crashed Decepticon vessel."

Everyone looked at each other, stunned. Then Alice's phone rang, and she immediately pulled it out to notice that it was her parents. She sighed. "Uh, guys?" she piped up, even though her ringtone had already caught everyone's attention, "I have to go home." She held up her phone, although she didn't answer the call. "I mean, as much as I have a bad relationship with my parents… when they call, I go." She turned to Ratchet. "Could you open me a Ground Bridge, please?"

He nodded sadly as he walked over to the control mechanism, then opened it and muttered, "See you…," as she cheerfully waved and disappeared into the bridge. Then he closed it and turned his attention back to Optimus. "Alright," he said, huffing, "So about that Decepticon vessel…"