The first thing that he became aware of, was the throbbing ache that seemed to spread from his back, neck, and front paw to the rest of his body. His mind seemed groggy, like trying to make sense of your surroundings in a fog. The next thing he noticed was the absence of the rest of his pack. He cracked open an eye and instantly regretted doing so, for the intense lighting stung painfully. He fought to keep his eyes open against the pain. He could hear voices, human ones, as a human tried to calm him by petting the top of his head. But he had trouble waking up, and that frightened him nearly as much as the fact that the other wolves were no where in sight.

"Easy... you're alright," a voice called through the haze. He tried to move but human hands pinned him gently. "Easy boy. You can't move around yet." It took a moment, but the words clicked and he allowed his body to relax. The pain flared and he couldn't stop the whine it caused. "Epps..." The rest of the words were lost as something entered his spine and he yelped.

"Done," a new voice called. He was so confused, lost in a world he didn't know. He felt himself being lifted and placed somewhere else. More words were exchanged, but he didn't notice, even as things became clearer.

What felt like forever passed until he felt a soft nuzzling on his shoulders; he tried to open his eyes again, succeeding, and they were greeted with the sight of his two good friends by his side.

"Ratchet... Ironhide..." Optimus wheezed, trying to get to his paws. Ironhide and a shooting pain down his back sent him collapsing down again, Ratchet easing his leader's worry.

"Try not to move around so much Optimus," Ratchet said, "you sustained some painful injuries during your battle with Megatron." Optimus nodded slowly, wincing in pain as there was another sharp thing jabbed into his back.

As soon as the pain eased, he felt a soft stroking behind his ears. A human hand. A girl's hand. Optimus couldn't help but whine; he cracked his eyes back open and saw that Ratchet and Ironhide had moved away, a new face had replaced his most trusted friends.

"You're okay, my father was just giving you a sedative to numb the pain from your wounds," a soft voice said. The wolf vaguely recognized the voice as a girl's. A human girl's. He whined and tried to get to his paws, his legs nearly giving out beneath him again.

"Why... why are you... helping me?" Optimus wheezed, tensing when the girl grabbed him to stop him from collapsing again.

"Because I can't stand to watch any creature get hurt... by anything." The human girl said gently, rubbing the wolf's head to calm him.

"Thank... thank you..." The red and blue wolf wheezed again, nearly collapsing into the human's grip, "What is... your name... child?" Optimus asked, his voice slowly regaining its strength.

"Annabelle, yours?" Annabelle replied.

"Optimus... Prime..." The wolf answered. Annabelle smiled and eased the wolf back down.

"You still need to rest if you want to heal," she told him. Optimus seemed to nod before laying back down onto one of the blankets, his great body rising and falling as he slept. Slowly the pups made their way over to where Annabelle and Optimus were. The adults quickly joined them, though their attention was mainly on Optimus, unlike the puppies who looked to Annabelle first. A green pup, who had been quiet and shy when Optimus had been in human custody, spoke up, his voice soft and gentle.

"Is Prime gonna be ok?" Annabelle nearly jumped at the new voice. The other wolves parted to allow Annabelle to see the pup.

"It's gonna be a long recovery, but I believe he will be fine." Annabelle reassured not only the little green pup, but herself as well.

"Worst he's ever been injured. Or any of us have been, I should say," Wheeljack said. He watched Ratchet take his place by Optimus.

"You're the one to talk. You get hurt the most," Ironhide pointed out. He waited for Ratchet to settle before laying down beside Ratchet. The two wolves then proceeded to launch into an argument, which Ratchet full out ignored while Optimus merely slept through it.

"Are they always like this?" Annabelle asked aloud. The puppies nodded.

"They are. In fact, at times they can be worse than Sideswipe and Sunstreaker," Prowl responded. Both pups, which Annabelle had deducted were twins, glared daggers at Prowl and raised their hackles. Then they proceeded into a full on argument against the older pup, eventually getting Prowl's younger brothers involved. The other pups, Bumblebee, Jazz and the green pup cuddled around Annabelle almost for protection from the numerous fights erupting around them. Incredibly, Optimus just slept through it all! Then Annabelle remembered that she didn't quite know what all of the pups' names were.

"I'm sorry but what was your name again?" The green pup said, resting his front paws on Annabelle's knees.

"Annabelle. Yours?"

"That's a pretty name..." the pup said shyly, "... my name's Hound."

"That too is a pretty name then Hound!" Annabelle laughed gently, stroking Hound's darker-green-tipped ears. Bumblebee nuzzled into the girl's legs, begging for the same attention. Annabelle happily gave in to what Bumblebee wanted. Her eyes darted over to the three adults laying together when she heard a yelp from Ironhide. It was at that point that Optimus awoke, and a single bark from him ended every argument. Those who had been involved dropped their heads to show they were sorry.

"Settle down, all of you," Optimus ordered quietly. He weakly moved closer to Ratchet before settling down once more, his strength fading from his body. The yellow wolf shot his leader a look of concern which was ignored by the red and blue one. Optimus nuzzled Ratchet before pressing their noses together. He then settled down and tried to go back to sleep. His attempts were unrewarded, and he whined in discomfort. The gash in his back had required stitches and Optimus wasn't used to the feeling.

Annabelle moved closer to the adults and slowly went to pet Optimus, more unsure of Optimus than any other. She knew which wolves were open and content with her presence and which were more reluctant. Optimus, however, was a whole different story. Besides the brief show of trust where he had settled with his head in her lap, which was mostly a result of his exhaustion, Annabelle had never interacted with Optimus. Her father had even been bitten by Optimus for trying to help. That fact startled her a fair bit, causing her to be cautious.

"No need to be afraid of him. He certainly won't hurt you," Wheeljack suddenly said, causing Annabelle to jump. She looked up from Optimus' vibrant fur to find all of the wolves watching her, and she flushed in embarrassment. Carefully she reached down, her eyes on the others, and ran her hand through the soft fur.

"You hurt my father..." Annabelle pointed out softly to Optimus.

"I was protecting my pack. He was an unknown threat. Humans hunt us. I couldn't tell if his intentions were innocent, and I wasn't willing to find out," Optimus replied. He was relaxed beneath Annabelle's hand, and she could feel his even breathing. "I apologize for harming him. We had just been taken from a fight in which I almost lost what was most precious to me. My mate. I couldn't let any more harm come to my pack." Annabelle nodded and watched Optimus slip away again, burying his mind in sleep. She looked around at the wolves and backed away, freeing Optimus' side up once more. Wheeljack filled the space almost instantly.

"So what now?" Annabelle asked Hound quietly, careful to not disturb the sleeping Prime. The shy pup looked up at Annabelle, curiosity and amazement in his glowing eyes.

"Are we going to stay here?" he questioned, ignoring her question by accident.

"Umm... I'm not sure..." Annabelle said uncertainly, gently stroking Hound's tufted ears.

"No," Ironhide snapped from where he was. He approached and pulled Hound away, still unhappy with her presence. He bared his teeth in frustration as he moved a 'safe' distance away with Hound. He returned to pull the other pups away as well. Annabelle winced before standing, instantly regretting ever speaking.

"Sorry..." She muttered before straightening out her shirt and turning on her heel, "I guess I'll leave you guys alone then..." With her hand on the handle, Annabelle went to exit the room.

"Wait, Annabelle!" Ratchet called. He didn't move from where he was. "Ignore him... He's just acting like the Alpha even though that isn't his place." He growled at Ironhide. Annabelle stopped, her hand still resting on the handle.

"I can't help you guys... But why do you want me to stay?"

"Because..." Ratchet trailed off, looking away. He climbed to his paws and approached, nosing her free hand. "I don't want to seem like a fool to the others. But you can help us. I need you to." Annabelle kneeled down again so she was at a decent talking level to Ratchet, a frown working its way onto her face.

"Why? What's so important about me?"

The wolf still seemed nervous.

"You can understand us... You... never mind," he trailed off again and his head lowered. Annabelle's frown deepened.

"No... Tell me, I'll try to understand..."

"It's... It's nothing. I'm just being an old fool," Ratchet responded. He moved away and looked up at her, his eyes pained and frustrated.

"No you aren't," Annabelle responded, "and I'm more than willing to answer anything you want to say..."

"You may be, but others aren't."

"Well, I'm also stubborn... So you may as well tell me."

"Just... Just let it go," Ratchet said. He retook his spot beside Optimus and watched Annabelle through mostly closed eyes. It hurt to be so rude to her, but trying to explain would be difficult. Annabelle sighed softly before standing and sitting against the wall, keeping her patience with the wolves on a level. While it hurt for someone to not bother with her, it was also understandable.

She was surprised when Ironhide approached Ratchet. They spoke briefly before Ratchet growled and lunged forward, knocking the black wolf over. Ratchet kept him pinned, growling in a threatening manner, his teeth hovering just above Ironhide's throat. The pups yelped and backed away. Annabelle started towards the two wolves before remembering that they were, after all, wild wolves that would share no hesitation in ripping her apart.

"Ratchet, stop!" Wheeljack cried in panic. He got up but blinked in surprise when Ratchet barked at him. The yellow wolf didn't move, keeping Ironhide pinned even when he began to fight. A throbbing instantly began in Annabelle's head as the voices of the pups and a few adults started up in her head, driving her own thoughts down lower. An inhuman command left her throat like a growl and all fell silent instantly. Ratchet's eyes widened and he let Ironhide up.

"I told you," he said suddenly. He moved away from the others and sat in the corner of the room.

Ironhide winced as he got up. He stretched his sore muscles and only looked at Annabelle. He said nothing. The girl's head cleared as the whispering of voices died away, slowly lowering her hands and looked shakily up at the wolves who were all staring at her.

"Told him... what?" Annabelle managed, scared at what she had just done. Ratchet shook his head.

"Are you alright?" Wheeljack asked her gently. "Maybe you should rest..." Annabelle was shaking slightly, a cold sweat on her forehead and neck as she slowly replied.

"I... think so..."

The other wolves settled down, feeling that staying out of it was best. The only ones that didn't were Ratchet and Wheeljack. The yellow wolf stayed away, while Wheeljack went to Annabelle's side.

"We'll be alright if you want to rest... Nothing else will happen," he said. Annabelle gave a slight nod, but she didn't want to rest at all. Her mind was racing and her heart, even more so. Was that even real? Was any of this even real? She had no idea anymore. She heard her mother call for her elsewhere in their house.

"C... Coming..." She replied numbly, slowly getting to her feet and leaving the room and being very careful to close the door behind her.

Several hours later the wolves had settled and Ratchet had been re-included into the pack. Darkness had fallen and the humans were each asleep. Unlike most types of wolves, the Autobots were most active during the day, rather than the night. So for Ratchet to be awake was strange. He moved out from under the Twins who had draped themselves across his back earlier, and stood, trying to place exactly why he had been woken up. It didn't take long for him to realize.

He nosed Ironhide's side, a soft whine leaving his throat. Optimus was asleep still but moving in reaction to whatever nightmare he was suffering through. Not to mention the fact that he was bleeding again from the movement.

"Ironhide, get up," Ratchet said. He put a paw on Ironhide's shoulder and shook him gently, trying not to disrupt the others. The black furball stirred slightly before his abnormally sky-blue eyes flickered open, a soft yawn mixed with a growl leaving his throat.

"Nn... What?"

"Primus... We need to get Annabelle," Ratchet stated. He moved away from Ironhide and motioned to Optimus with his head. Ironhide nodded and forced himself to stand, gently nosing Bumblebee to sleep against Wheeljack instead as he did so.

"Agreed..."

Ratchet walked to the door and stood on his hind legs, managing to grab the handle with his front paws. He turned it and was dumped forward, nearly throwing him to the ground. He yelped. Ironhide was quick to catch the wolf, steadying Ratchet so he could stand and walk again.

"Careful... We can't risk making too much noise..." Ironhide said lowly.

"I know," Ratchet snapped quietly, he shook his head and led Ironhide through the house silently. Not even the click of their nails on the floorboards could be heard.

"So what we gonna do now?" Ironhide said softly, avoiding a small child's toy on the floor carefully.

"Search the rooms. Annabelle's has to be here somewhere," the other wolf replied. "I'll open the doors, you look inside. Deal?"

Ironhide nodded, his obsidian-black fur standing on end at the thought of rooting through the human's house.

Ratchet didn't notice. He merely continued through the house, aware of the danger they were in. While Annabelle's father may have been kind enough to help Optimus, he wouldn't be as kind if he found two wolves searching his home. Ratchet fought back a shudder at the thought. They would both be killed.

He opened the first door they came across, holding it open a crack, just enough for Ironhide to peek inside. He couldn't hold it like that for long. Ironhide shook his tail, seeing as his head was around the corner of the door, and backed out.

"Not the girl's." He said, ears twitching. Ratchet moved back, pulling the door with, and dropped down once the door was firmly shut again. He glared at it briefly before moving on and opening the next for Ironhide. He could tell that the other wolf was nervous. He couldn't blame him. As much as Optimus mattered to the pack, this was bordering on crazy. And it would be Ratchet's fault if anything happened to Ironhide. It made the yellow wolf wince.

Ironhide's tail thumped the floor almost excitedly. This was the one. And there was Annabelle, her hand half draped across a plushy toy left on the floor. The door swung open the rest of the way, dragging Ratchet with. It hit the wall, shaking the wolf from the slippery handle, and Ratchet slumped against it. With a flick of his head he asked Ironhide to get her. The black wolf nodded and slowly padded over to the human girl, gently nuzzling her hand with his wet-ish nose.

"Mm... No..." she mumbled in her sleep. She rolled over away from the edge and settled again. Ironhide gave a soft growl before licking Annabelle's fingers, nibbling on them ever so slightly, begging for her attention.

Once again she pulled away, but this time her eyes opened. She caught sight of Ironhide and for a moment forgot about the wolves her father and his friend had rescued. She opened her mouth to scream. Ironhide was forced to pounce up onto the girl and practically lay himself across her face, growling.

"Shhh! It's just us!" He almost snarled, begging for her to stay quiet. Her expression faded into one of relief and she nodded as much as she could with a wolf across her face. She saw Ratchet pick himself up and approach. She reached up and gently stroked Ironhide's head. Ironhide almost stayed where he was if it weren't for the fact that his leader was in danger. Quickly, the black wolf picked himself up and shook himself down, jumping off of Annabelle and onto the bed. "You not gonna scream again, are you girly?" He asked, eyes narrowed. She shook her head and sat up, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she did so.

"What is it?" she asked. She glanced at the clock. 2:03 a.m. "It's too early..." Ironhide's ears twitched as he jumped off the bed.

"Prime's in trouble. He's bleedin' again..." Ironhide growled, losing his patience quickly.

"Oh..." Annabelle got up and started to walk back to where the other wolves were. Ironhide and Ratchet followed, both of the elder wolves impatient and nervous. "You should've stayed there," the girl mumbled. "Mom or Dad'll see you two..." She opened the door for them and held it. Once they entered she went inside and headed to a cabinet which was on the wall near the wolves. She grabbed a roll of bandages.

"We couldn't risk it... Besides, you are the only one we know of who speaks our language and understands us..." Ratchet spoke up for once, "And the advantage of that is that you know what we'll need, your parents won't..."

"Right..." Annabelle said. She kneeled in front of Optimus and gently stroked his head, trying to wake him. She didn't feel like being attacked because he woke up while she was helping him. Ratchet lay beside Optimus, gently nosing his head in an effort to wake him up.

Optimus slowly woke, his eyes landing on Ratchet first. He flinched away from Annabelle's hand, still shaken from the horrors his mind created for him. He began to tremble, in pain and so very frightened. He could still see the cutting blood red eyes and flashing white fangs of his brother as the larger wolf went to attack Ratchet. That had been one of the worst things he had ever gone through. It sent a bolt of fresh pain through him and he whined in misery. Ratchet gently nuzzled Optimus again, speaking calmly to him as Annabelle dealt with his leader's wounds.

"R-Ratchet..." Optimus said softly, weakly, "Please... don't try to face Megatron again..."

"I won't... I promise..." Ratchet said just as softly, gently licking Prime's ear, "I couldn't make you do that again..."

Optimus slowly started to relax.

"I was so scared I'd lose you..."

"You won't lose me, Optimus, trust me... You're too protective to let that happen..." Ratchet said, staying close to his mate.

"Finished," Annabelle told the two softly. She watched them, wanting to learn more about them. Especially since Optimus and Ratchet were mates, and yet they were the same gender. There were no female wolves in the pack, but there were several pups, which made her want to know. She smiled slightly and stroked their fur.

Ratchet slowly began relaxing against his mate as he gently pushes his head under Optimus', taking comfort in the fact Optimus would soon recover from his injuries but also feeling guilty somewhat at getting himself cornered by Megatron. After all, it had been his fault that Optimus had been hurt. If he hadn't gotten cornered, than the other Autobots would have been able to defend their land without worrying able the safety of one member of their pack. But because he'd gotten cornered, Optimus had been forced to fight Megatron alone, while being careful to watch where Ratchet was to protect his mate. It was all Ratchet's fault...

"Ratchet..." Optimus said gently, nipping his mate's tufted ear as if he had heard Ratchet's dark thoughts.

"I'm sorry..." Ratchet whispered. "I truly am..."

"It's alright, Ratchet... You're safe and that is all that matters to me..." Optimus said just as quietly, nuzzling Ratchet's head as he spoke.