Short title, I know. I couldn't come up with a better one, but this one seems to fit. This is another scene from the Optimus guardian fanfic, although it features Ratchet and Arcee instead. I've run out of things to say about it, so enjoy!

[Ratchet's POV]

    Ratchet looked up from his work as a sudden realization hit him. Turning around, he scanned the main area of the base, where the humans and bots spent most of their time. Ultra Magnus was going over reports with Optimus. Bulkhead and Wheeljack were keeping Smokescreen, Bumblebee, and the humans entertained with stories of old battles while Arcee stood off to the side listening. One human, in particular, was nowhere to be found.

"Has anyone seen Sapphire?"

The group paused what they were doing to scan the area and shrug.

"Don't know. She came in with us," Arcee said.

"I have not seen her since her arrival," Optimus supplied.

Smokescreen finally piped up. "I noticed her heading towards the main storage room earlier. Don't know if she's still there though."

Ratchet sighed and set down his tool. "I'll go see if she's alright." He traversed the floor in the direction of the storage room.

"He's like a mother hen with that kid," Arcee commented.

Wheeljack backed her up. "Better watch for feathers."

"I heard that!"

The group chuckled and went back to their activities. Optimus' gaze lingered on Ratchet's disappearing figure, his faceplate creasing with concern before turning his attention back to the datapad. Bumblebee also watched Ratchet go before Jack nudged him. He turned his attention back to the storytellers, casting frequent glances towards the storage room.

Ratchet's pedes thudded lightly on the metal floor of the base as he made his way to the storage room. He poked his head through the doorway and looked around, spying a small figure curled up against the wall in the corner among stacks of energon cubes. Her head of soft brown hair rested on her knees, arms covered in a grey hoodie curled around them. Her head stayed down as he came in.

"Smokescreen said I might find you in here." Ratchet walked to her side and maneuvered himself to the floor carefully, trying not to bump any cubes.

"Smokescreen should have kept his mouth shut," came a weary, thick voice from underneath the arms. She shifted over so Ratchet wouldn't squish her.

"Hmph. While I would normally concur with that sentiment, I'm afraid I must differ on this matter."

Sapphire sighed. "I didn't want anyone to fuss over me. I prefer to deal with stuff on my own."

"And how is that working out for you?"

She lifted her head and leveled a stare at him. Her hazel-green eyes were red-rimmed, underlined with dark circles and puffy eyelids. Her hair was a mess; short, scraggly strands stuck out in every direction. Ratchet drew back a little, startled by her appearance. Sapphire closed her eyes and turned her head away. She let out a groan and dropped her head back on her arms. Ratchet reached out hesitantly, laying a massive servo gently on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

She was silent for a moment before replying, "No."

"Would you like to...talk about it?"

Her head came up again, jaw clenched. She waved a hand uselessly in the air. "Everything is...overwhelming. I can't...I don't..." Her words were cut off as a flow of tears poured down her face, her breath coming in gasps. Ratchet scooped her up and held her close to his helm.

"There there. Let it all out now."

A tremulous laugh escaped as she snuggled close, burying her face in her jacket again. She cried for several minutes until her head hurt and her throat was dry; until her sobs were reduced to sniffles and loud breaths. She felt completely wrung out, like a piece of washing on laundry day.

"Do you feel better now?" Ratchet inquired.

"Your servo's comfy. I could fall 'sleep here," She mumbled into her jacket.

Ratchet chuckled. "I think your own bed is adequate."

 Heavy footsteps coming towards the storage room interrupted them. Ratchet turned to see Optimus in the doorway, looking troubled. "You were gone for some time, Ratchet. Did you locate -"

"'M here, Optimus." Sapphire lifted her head and sat up, squinting at the bright lights. Optimus' optical ridges lowered in deeper concern when he saw her state. She offered a small wave and a tired smile. "I'm okay. Just dealing with some stuff."

His gaze shifted to Ratchet, who was still holding her. "It seems you are in good hands."

She smirked. "Well, I'm in one, at least."

Ratchet laughed again. Optimus' mouth quirked. When the laughter subsided he asked, "Will you be joining the rest of us?"

Ratchet looked to Sapphire. She thought for a moment. "In a few minutes, Optimus. I'd like to collect myself a bit before I go."

"Would you prefer I stay or leave?"

"You can go. I'll be alright. Thanks, Optimus."

The Autobot leader nodded and withdrew from the area, his pedesteps growing gradually softer.

Sapphire sniffed and wrinkled her nose. "Ugh. I can't breathe. I hate crying."

Ratchet chuckled, reaching up a digit to tap his com unit. "Arcee, can you bring a box of tissues and a bag to the storage room?"

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Great. Now Arcee gets to see me like this."

"I doubt she'll think much of it."

Silence reigned for several moments before Ratchet ventured, "Do you..still want to talk?"

"Right, sorry." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Sometimes...I feel like I'm...drowning in responsibilities. I start stressing about getting everything done in time, then wonder how I'm going to make it in the real world if I can't even handle this. Then I go off and cry somewhere, go outside and do some stuff, and I'm good for the next couple of weeks. Months, if I'm lucky." She puffed out a breath.

Ratchet's optical ridges furrowed. "You're saying this is a common occurrence?"

"Well, sort of. Being that I'm a teenager and have unresolved issues, it's kind of a given."

He shook his helm. "I don't believe I'll ever completely understand you humans."

She snorted softly. "Honestly, we don't understand us either."

  More pedesteps interrupted them as Arcee poked her helm through the doorway, her servo carefully clutching something. "Got your stuff." She came over to them, eyeing Sapphire. "You okay there, kiddo?"

"Fine, fine. Just my annual 'go-cry-in-a-dark-corner-somewhere-for-no-perceived-reason'."

Arcee raised an optical ridge. "You humans always joke about stuff like that?"

"Sometimes. I know my generation makes a habit of it." Sapphire shrugged. "I guess it's kinda how we deal with it."

"Huh." Her commlink beeped; she reached up and tapped it. "What's up?" She listened for a moment and smiled. "Yeah, we found her. She's doing okay. You'll have to ask her what's wrong though." She ended the link. "Bee was asking about you."

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Great. More people worrying about me."

"And why shouldn't we?" Ratchet admonished. "You are a part of the team, after all."

"I know, but..."

"You hate to make them feel bad."

Ratchet and Sapphire turned to Arcee in surprise. The femme crossed her arms.

"If there's one thing I learned about being on this team, it's to let others in. It's not fair to anyone if you're allowed to care about them, but they're not allowed to care about you."

Sapphire bit her lip, trying to stem the tears. "Here I thought I had gotten over crying," she joked, quickly wiping them away. Arcee smiled, her faceplate looking less rigid than usual.
She and Ratchet waited until the teen collected herself again.

"Are you ready to go back out there?" Ratchet queried.

Sapphire made a face. "I want to go home and sleep. I don't really feel like explaining why I was crying in a storage room."

"You don't have to tell them everything," Arcee said. "Just let them know you're alright."

Sapphire nodded. "That I can do. As long as they don't all crowd around."

Ratchet handed the teen to Arcee and stood up carefully, grumbling about his pistons not being what they used to. The trio headed back to the main area with Sapphire perched on Arcee's narrow shoulder. Bulkhead looked up as they entered the room.

"Hey there, kid! You missed out on some great stories."

Bumblebee let out a string of worried-sounding beeps, his optics wide. Raf adjusted his glasses.

"We were starting to worry about you.
Are you alright?"

All optics and eyes were trained on Sapphire as Arcee set her down. She smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just needed some alone time."

"It's good to have you back with us," Ultra Magnus spoke up. One or two of the bots cast surprised glances at him, which he either missed or ignored.

"Thank you sir." She smiled again, turning her attention to the group on the floor. "Am I in time for the next story, or did I interrupt?"

"Right on time, sister! Wheeljack was just gonna tell us about Sandacon!"

"Sandokan," Wheeljack corrected Miko. "Sit down, kid. It's quite the tale."

Sapphire went over and sat by Miko and Smokescreen while Ratchet and Arcee returned to their previous posts. Optimus caught her eye; she nodded in response to his silent question and turned her attention to the epic tale Wheeljack and Bulkhead were regaling the group with. Optimus watched them for a moment, a faint smile on his faceplate, before going back to his reports.

Well, this turned out longer than expected. I promise all of my scenes will not be from the same story (I actually didn't have a name for my OC here until I realized I was basically writing Sapphire). I may just continue doing little scenes like this rather than a full-blown story. Break it up into a bunch of short stories. Come to think of it, maybe I should just do short stories instead of novels...