"So Teletraan-I is with the good guys again?" Chip asked, looking at Bumblebee curiously. He had never realized that the Autobots had been in such a tight spot just several days ago.

"Yup, looks like it," Bumblebee said. "Red Alert still insists on touching the door panels with a pole as long as his arm, but he'll come round. Eventually."

"I can't say that I blame him. It must have been a pretty traumatic experience," the human said, shaking his head. "What about Prowl and Ironhide?"

"They are fine," the yellow minibot answered. "Prowl was discharged yesterday and he's back to his duties once more."

"Supervising the damages that were done in Portland?"

"Pretty much. There are a few touch ups that need to be done here and there, but it looks like everything is back to normal. More importantly, Ratchet and Wheeljack have upgraded Teletraan-I's firewalls so that the Decepticons don't try anything like that again."

Chip smiled. "That should discourage them for a little while."

"Yeah… Although for a little while is really the keyword here," Bumblebee replied.

Chip had to admit that the yellow minibot had a point. Even so, they didn't let it dampen their spirits as they continued down the corridors of the Ark, their conversation drifting to other, more pleasant matters.

Optimus stood outside the Ark, looking at the sun as it slowly set, when his sensors picked up Faera's energy not too far away from him. He turned around and, sure enough, Faera was there, stepping out of the Ark with her hands behind her back in a casual manner.

"Am I bothering?" she asked, cocking her head just a bit.

Optimus shook his head. "I just like to sit here right about this time of day. Earth seems at its best then."

Faera nodded her understanding and she stood next to him. "How are the shoulder joints?"

"Functional once more," the Autobot leader said. As silence followed, he regarded the Sadjen closely. "How are you?"

She grinned. "I've mastered the skill of compiling a report."

"That's not what I meant," Optimus pointed out gently. If there was something that he never wanted any of his subordinates to do was put on a smile and pretend that it never hurt.

Faera got the message and the grin vanished with a sigh. "Megatron made him an offer that he couldn't say no to."

"I think I can guess," Optimus said. Why else didn't they try to kill her when they had the chance, after all?

"And I think you wouldn't be off from the mark," she replied.

Optimus didn't doubt it. In the next moment, he placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"We won't let anything happen to you."

Faera's lips tugged to a sad smile. "I thought the idea was to protect you from Ebon, not have you rushing to my aid."

"And that's where you have it wrong."

The Sadjen raised an eyebrow, the words certainly surprising her. Optimus, however, smiled underneath his battlemask.

"The idea was that you're a fellow Autobot and a friend. And when there is a problem, we always help out in any way we can." His optics locked on Faera's eyes. "Don't be afraid to reach out."

Faera blinked for several moments, then lowered her gaze as she contemplated what Optimus told her. Finally, she looked back at him her lips, a more genuine smile flickering on her lips.

"I won't. Thank you… Prime."

Prime. Not the formal Optimus Prime. Just Prime. The same way that the other Autobots addressed him. And the Autobot leader caught himself smiling once more.

It was a good start.

THE END

A/n: Guys, thank you very much for taking the time to read and review, it means a lot to me. And hopefully, now that school term is over, my updates will be a lot more frequent. :)