"I'm making plans to be lonesome
'Cause you're making plans to leave"
»«

Dana frowned at the thermometer. "You've got a temperature of 102.4 degrees Farenheit, Mr. Hastings. They'll want you to stay a little longer to make sure it is nothing serious."

"I vas vondering vhy I vas getting zo hot." He gave her a charming smile. "I just figured it vas because of you, hasenfurz."

That earned him a laugh, despite the younger woman not knowing what the new pet name meant. "Unfortunately, no. It's just a fever." She wrote the update down on his file. "I'll have a doctor get you some medicine to bring that down, and we'll see what happens from there." She smiled.

"Does zat mean I vill be seeing you more often vfor longer?" He asked.

Dana shrugged. "If you're awake tomorrow morning, then yes. But my shift ends in fifteen minutes, so for today? This is the last you will see of me."

He didn't look too disappointed, but it was clear he was looking forward to seeing her around a little while longer. "Ah, zhen I vill make sure to be avake for you." His blue-grey eyes sparkled. "Until zhen, I zuppose I vill try to like my new nurse."

Chuckling, Dana closed the file. "I'm sure you will. Most of the nurses here are very sweet." She gave him a little wave. "See you tomorrow morning, Mr. Hastings."

"I vill see you then, hasenfurz." He smiled, making her once again jealous of his incredibly white teeth, and watched her leave.

Nurse Darby was finishing up with her file as well, her hair a little frazzled and eyes showing signs of red. Something had not gone well.

"Hello, Ms. Darby." Dana smiled, trying to lift her spirits a little. "Do you want to stop by somewhere and grab a bite to eat before we head to our . . . Friend's house?"

June shook her head. "Not today, Dana." She rolled her neck along her shoulders. "I just need to go home today."

"Oh, alright then. Get a good night's sleep m'kay?" It didn't take a genius to figure out that today had not been a good day for the ER nursing staff. Well, ER hardly ever had a good day, but today must have been worse than others. It would be rude to press for details, and making June relive what she witnessed was just cruel.

The woman nodded again, tucking her files away and then heading to the locker rooms to change and leave for home.

Dana organized her own files as well, chatting briefly with a few other nurses before she too headed to the locker room and slipped on some more comfortable clothes, dialing a number on her phone.

"Twice in one day?"

"Happy to hear you too, honey." She said sarcastically. "Hey, I'm heading out now. Going to grab something to eat and then make my way over. Any of the others there?"

Ratchet paused. "No. Just Rafael."

"Does he want anything?" She questioned.

Another pause ensued before the medic answered. "He says he's fine. But if you're going to get fast food, get a happy meal. He wants the toy."

She smiled. "Going to try and build another mini-death machine out of it?"

The faint retort of "it was one time!" Made her giggle. If he wanted a toy, she could get him a toy. Though he didn't quite specify what gender of toy he wanted . . .

"Alright, alright, I can get a Happy Meal for him." She laughed softly. "You want anything, Ratchet?"

"I am an Autonomous Robotic Organism. I do not require human sustenance to live. We've been over this."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just messing with you." Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she pressed the cell phone to her ear with her other shoulder as she rooted through her bag for the car keys. "Do you want a toy?"

"Are you still messing with me?"

"Maybe." She cursed softly when she dropped her keys, swiping them off the ground and continuing to walk to the door. "So, one Happy Meal for Raf, one for you; do I need to get anyone anything else?"

"No. The others are fine." Ratchet replied, a little snippy.

"I'll see you in 30, then." She replied, and hung up the phone.

Now, would Ratchet want Power Rangers, or My Little Pony?

>><<

Pulling into the Autobot base, Dana gathered the three meals and stepped out, smiling up at Rafael and Ratchet.

"Hello. I got food!" She calls, waving the bags in the air. "Ratchet, I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got chicken nuggets and apple slices. The apple slices are really good."

Her guardian rolled his optics, not believing her for a second, but sure enough, she climbed up the stairs and plopped three meals on the table.

"You can pick which one you want, Raf." She smiled, pulling out her own regular meal whilst she pushed the two Happy Meals toward the boy. "And Ratchet can have the other one."

"You really shouldn't have." The Autobot muttered, and she frowned.

"What's up with you today?" She asked. "You're grumpier than usual."

Rafael pulled out his hamburger, munching on it hungrily. "Ratchet is mad that he can't power up the Groundbridge and turn it into a Spacebridge." He supplied helpfully.

Ratchet huffed. "And then Rafael tried to make an analogy to gym class."

"Oh cool! A Power Ranger!" Rafael pulled out the toy as he snacked on his sandwich. "And it's the black one!"

"Looks like Ratchet gets the My Little Pony." Dana teased.

Rafael's eyes lit up. "My Little Pony? Pilar loves them! Especially when she was a kid." He opened up the box, pulling out Pinky Pie. "But it's Ratchet's . . ."

"Don't worry Rafael, you can keep it." Ratchet swiftly assured. "I have no interest in them."

Dana pretended to pour. "Aw, not interested?"

"Not in the slightest." Came the guiltless reply, the medic returning to typing on his computer while the kids ate their fast food. He could practically smell the heart disease that food was going to cause later in life. But he wasn't their doctor, and he was focused on trying to locate Optimus, so he didn't bother saying anything.

Dana ate her sandwich, thinking deeply. "So, you couldn't make a Spacebridge here . . . That means we can stick to Jack's plan, right?"

Ratchet laughed bitterly. "We could, if we had an inkling of where the Spacebridge is located! But without that, we can't even begin to come up with a rescue plan."

He got a shrug in return. "Well, we've narrowed down the location to Earth. It's gotta be here someplace."

"Yes, yes. I know." The medic muttered, typing away some more. "But until then . . ."

"We'll find it." His charge replied with determination. "We've got the best of the best looking for Optimus right now, and a way to get his memories back. All the Decepticons have is an amnesiac Autobot. We have the upper hand here."

"You still remain optimistic." Ratchet muttered.

"I have to be." His charged paused in her eating. "Being at the hospital teaches you that. No matter what, you always have to have hope. It's what makes people better."

Ratchet glanced at her for a moment, then refocused on the computers. That was all it took for her to know he understood.

"Hey, how is working in the hospital?" Rafael asked.

Dana smiled. "It's good. I was assigned a new patient today. Can't say much, because HIPPA, but he did give me a new nickname."

Rafael tilted his head in surprise. "Really? What is it?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, it's German; he says hasenfurz. Seems cute enough, for the German language anyways."

The boy looked thoughtful. "Huh."

Ratchet jerked his head around, a horrified expression on his face.

"He calls you a bunny fart?"