Spiritimus Prime: Yay! Updates again! I'm very happy with myself! For once, I don't suffer from any doubts in my ability with this ever growing popular story. I have nothing else to say here, so I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. XD Nothing much happens in this, just a conversation between Red Alert and Hot Shot. I think I may have given a hint what might happen during the course of the story. I don't know. Just a little warning, Hot Shot curses in this chapter, and it will increase as the story progresses. This is just a heads up. It's also another reason why I rated this M in the first place. :)

Chapter 9:

Her Undeniable Feelings

When Hot Shot finally came around, she realised that she was lying on a recharge berth with an Energon feeder lodged in her arm. Judging from the area that surrounded with the clean walls and the gentle beeping of a Spark monitor that gave off its presence, she could guess that she was in the Med-Bay. She rolled her optics and chewed her bottom lip in frustration.

The beeping of the Spark monitor was annoying her and she wanted nothing more than to rip the needle right out of her systems so that she could sleep in peace. But she knew that Red Alert would not be pleased with her attempt, so she didn’t bother to do anything.

She placed a small hand upon her forehead, feeling for anything that may have come out of nowhere such as beads of Energon. But, when she felt nothing, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least she was still online, but the main question was: how on Cybertron did she even get here in this room? Surely Red Alert could answer that simple question without hesitating once.

The doors to the Med-Bay hissed lightly and she turned her head towards the incomer, but she wasn’t surprised when she saw Red Alert. She sighed and returned her gaze back onto the ceiling that she had awakened to, although she was aware that the medic bot was looking at her body language carefully trying to see if there was any sign of her wanting to talk or say anything at all.

“Are you going to look at me all day, or am I going to have to rearrange your optic sensors?” Hot Shot growled in an annoyed tone of voice, catching Red Alert completely off guard by her tone.

He turned his head down a notch as his tone came out calm and quiet, “I apologise, Hot Shot. I just came to see how you were. You gave us quite a fright when I found what had happened to your systems.”

“What happened to me? How long was I out?” Hot Shot asked as she sat up slowly, but Red Alert was already by her side and had pushed her back down until she was lying on her back once more.

“To answer the first question, Hot Shot,” he said, “you exhausted your energy reserves to the point of dangerous levels where you could no longer keep yourself online. From what I had learned from your saviour, you had collapsed outside the base’s entrance in the cave to save the rest of your energy that your body was trying so desperately to gather. Obviously you had been starving yourself.”

Hot Shot’s jaw dropped faintly and she chewed her bottom lip again, which had become a small habit whenever she went into a pondering state. She even failed to notice that her lip was beginning to bleed, causing a small trail of Energon to drip down to her chin without even feeling it.

“I don’t believe it,” she breathed, “I just don’t believe what I almost did to myself.”

“It could’ve been worse, Hot Shot,” said Red Alert soothingly as he gently placed a hand on Hot Shot’s shoulder before he gave it a light squeeze, “You were lucky that Optimus decided to come out and take a breather.”

“Optimus was the one who brought me here?” Hot Shot asked in surprise.

Red Alert nodded faintly and he watched as Hot Shot placed both of her hands on her head, covering up her entire face so that he wouldn’t be able to see her facial expressions, but her body language showed perfectly well on her sadness and annoyance.

“Aren’t you going to answer my other question?”

He smirked when he realised that a few minutes had passed since he’d trailed off to his thoughts. He turned back to Hot Shot and he saw that she was staring at him with an emotionless look in her optics, as if the entire thing on her near starvation had been blamed on him. Nevertheless, he wasn’t stupid to fall for that. He knew that she was trying to her hide her guilt for putting Optimus through so much in over a week.

“Sorry, Hot Shot,” he apologised again. “To answer your second question, you were out for at least about two weeks.”

However, Red Alert never expected to get a reaction that nearly caused him to jump out of his circuits… “What do you mean ‘two weeks’?!” Hot Shot screeched, almost similar to that of a cockatoo’s alarming cries of an approaching predator. “I really don’t believe it now!”

Red Alert watched as Hot Shot tried to readjust her optics in getting them back into their sockets. He shook his head. He had known that Hot Shot would be shocked about the whole ordeal, but her reaction was completely unexpected. He also had been awaiting Hot Shot’s sitting up, but that did not happen.

“Red Alert, what was all that screaming about?”

Both Hot Shot and Red Alert turned their heads and, when they saw the speaker, they felt their jaws slightly tug, determined to drop at the sight of him. But, their respect kicked in and they faintly nodded towards each other as they watched him walk in the Med-Bay and then they diverted their attention back onto him.

“I will not repeat myself again, Red Alert,” Optimus said a little sternly, his golden optics avoiding direct contact with Hot Shot’s baby blue ones.

“Actually,” said Hot Shot, “that was me. I freaked out when Red Alert told me the time period about how long I was out for. I’m sorry if I disturbed you, sir.” She lowered her head in submission, doing her best to show how sorry she was, but it was more likely set towards her behaviour that had started that argument and had led to non-speaking terms.

Optimus’s firm gaze drifted over to Hot Shot as she spoke and he watched as she lowered her head to show her sorrow. The past two weeks had been nothing but trouble for the Autobots. Megatron had been demanding that Optimus hand Hot Shot over to him, or even getting ideal threats from Wheeljack if he didn’t see Hot Shot, he would do more than just hunt her down.

Slowly, his golden optics softened and he bowed his head. “No, Hot Shot,” he said quietly, “I’m the one who should be apologising, not you. You did not deserve such a torment being thrust upon you like that when I was only concerned about your safety instead of your thoughts and feelings on the matter.”

“And I shouldn’t have overreacted,” said Hot Shot sadly, “You were only trying to protect me from Megatron.”

Well I’m glad that’s all sorted out… Red Alert thought to himself.

Optimus smiled faintly and he approached Hot Shot carefully before he embraced her in his large arms. He felt her shudder under the direct contact, but he ignored it, believing that she was slightly surprised by his warm touch to her unusual body. “Let’s try not to get on the arguing side again, shall we?” he asked.

Hot Shot could only manage a simple nod, due to the embrace that Optimus was giving her. She did feel a little bit uncomfortable by being this close to her commander, but she quickly brushed it aside and emitted a deep sigh of exhaustion. She still felt weak and tired from her near starvation, but she did feel better from the gentle hug he was giving her.

When Optimus finally let go of her, Hot Shot nearly fell to the side so her commander quickly grabbed her with his silver hands, holding her steady to prevent her from falling over again. “Steady there, Hot Shot,” he chuckled, “You’re still a little weak, and I cannot have you falling on me like that.”

“Sorry,” Hot Shot apologised tiredly.

“I think she’s had enough excitement for one day, sir,” said Red Alert as he took a step forward, his visored optics flashing his concern as he looked from the exhausted Hot Shot, to the uncertain Optimus Prime. Both he and Jetfire were well aware of their secretive feelings towards each other, but had kept their thoughts to themselves until the two were ready to say what was on their minds, which was probably a long way off anyway.

Optimus took a step back and nodded towards the CMO. He understood that Hot Shot was still in a delicate condition, and it would be wise to let things take their time in healing. He was still feeling a little uneasy about kissing Hot Shot’s lips, and it had in fact scared him to the point of wanting to avoid Hot Shot for as long as possible until he had sorted out his feelings towards her.

“Optimus, you’re spacing out, and that look is starting to scare the living daylights out of me.”

Optimus jumped at the sound of someone disturbing his thoughts and he realised that it was Hot Shot who had spoken. He calmed down instantly and waved her off.

“Forgive me for that, Hot Shot,” he said as a small smile formed beneath his mask. “I must get back to work, I’m sure a Minicon is bound to appear soon enough.” He then tilted his head down a notch in farewell and departed without another word, leaving Red Alert to attend to Hot Shot.

Hot Shot sighed as she watched Optimus leave without a glance over his shoulder. “What’s his problem?” she asked Red Alert, “He seems a bit jumpy at the moment.”

The blue and silver bot chuckled at Hot Shot’s question. “He’s jumpy because he’s been worried about you,” he explained as he approached Hot Shot and checked the needle that was wedged in her arm. “He nearly flipped when he saw you lying on the ground outside the base. He obviously blamed himself for your condition and went into a fit of depression. But Scavenger managed to sort him out by giving him a very interesting lecture.”

“Shit!” Hot Shot swore, “I missed out on the whole thing!”

Red Alert shook his head in amusement. “Now, now,” he teased, “we can’t have you swearing in human language. Obviously you’ve spent more time with the kids, haven’t you?”

“No I haven’t!” Hot Shot snapped, “I’ve been doing research on their language.”

Red Alert blinked in surprise. “That’s not like you to do some research, Hot Shot.”

Hot Shot snickered. “Well, what else could I do while I sat around starving myself?” she asked as she lifted an optic ridge. “While most of you slept, I decided to do something to entertain myself in order to rid the guilt of what I said to Optimus.”

He chewed his bottom lip faintly until he noticed the Energon dripping down her chin. He sighed before he went to go and get a cloth and he wiped the faint trail off gently. “You really didn’t need to do any of that,” he said softly. “You could’ve at least seen me and we would’ve talked about it without having any interruptions. I could’ve helped you overcome that problem.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t feel like talking to anyone,” Hot Shot grumbled, “I needed to sought out my thoughts on Optimus.”

“So you really do like him as more than just a father-figure?” Red Alert set the cloth into a sink so that he could wash it later on and he turned his calm gaze back onto the ex-mech.

Hot Shot gulped nervously and she twitched her fingers out of reflex. She was jumped when Red Alert placed a hand beneath her neck, making it a sheer sign that he wanted her to sit up slowly. So, she obeyed without a second’s hesitation. She felt Red Alert shift his hand to her back until she was sitting up fully, and she felt a slight shiver coming down her cerebral column, but she ignored it to the best of her abilities.

Red Alert gently placed a hand on Hot Shot’s shoulders, his fingers feeling around for any signs of tension when he felt the slight shudder. “Take it easy, Hot Shot,” he said softly, “I just need to check for any signs visual signs that you’re functioning properly.”

“Sorry, your hand is just cold to my frame,” Hot Shot replied as a big grin forced its way to her lips.

“That’s what everyone says every time I do this,” Red Alert chuckled, “Even Optimus would shudder whenever I run a diagnostic on his systems. After all, my fingers a more sensitive than an average Transformer’s touch sensors, so I’m able to detect the slightest problem on the surface of someone’s armour.”

“Wow, can you really do that?”

“Indeed I can.” His thumb then formed a circular motion in the middle of Hot Shot’s left shoulder blade, which caused her to gasp in surprise. “I also learnt this technique from a human website that specialises in massaging a certain part of the body to release tension and stress. Humans sure are quite useful, despite their primitive technology.”

“It feels nice actually.”

“Good, I hope to keep it that way. You are my second test subject on this.”

“Who was your first?” Hot Shot asked as she lifted an optic ridge again in puzzlement.

“Why Optimus was of course,” Red Alert replied as a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “After his incident with Scavenger, the kids suggested that I use a special human ability that will help ease off the tension that he was beginning to develop in his systems.

“From what Alexis had read on us, she realised that we were not much different compared to the human species. She knew that we could touch and feel, as well as smell and hear in a similar way that they could. So, she told me a certain website that teaches a person how to massage the right spot to make it more relaxing. Obviously it worked extremely well for Optimus, and I thought it might work for you. It seems like I’m right anyway.”

Hot Shot was impressed by all of this information. “She really is right, you know?” she said. “Humans really do seem to share similarities compared to us.”

“And that’s something I’m willing to keep on learning.”

After the massage, Red Alert then checked Hot Shot’s Spark monitor and he saw that the pulsing rate had returned to its normal rate. Pleased with his success, he then looked back at her and smiled, “Well, at least your stress levels have died down.”

“Thanks again, Red Alert,” said Hot Shot as a small smile cross her lips. “Do you know when I’ll be able to get out of here? I really would like to see Optimus.”

“I’m afraid you’re still not ready to leave yet, Hot Shot,” he sighed. “You’re still a bit weak, and I think that you’ll have a couple more days until I can be sure that you’re ready without hurting yourself. I don’t trust you on your own after an argument.”

“Oh man!” she hissed. “Can’t I at least walk around a bit? Please, Red?”

Again, Red Alert shook his head. “I’m sorry, but it’s the only way to ensure that you don’t cause more harm to yourself than you already have inflicted. A couple more days of rest would never hurt to have, because I need to be sure that you can look after yourself. Obviously that stunt you just pulled with your life nearly scared the slag out of me, and Optimus.”

Hot Shot crossed her arms across her chest, her bottom lip stuck out in a human way of expressing her annoyance. “I just wish you would hurry up with that machine,” she growled, “Being a femme is causing nothing but bad luck.”

“I wish I could make it happen in an instant, Hot Shot,” he replied. “But as the humans say, I’m no magician. Obviously there have been some setbacks with the delivery of the parts that I need. They’ve been caught up in a Decepticon attack and only half of the required parts were destroyed in the process. Because of that, it will take an extra month to get the parts again and deliver them properly without having any more interruptions.”

“That’s worse than staying like this for an entire solar cycle!” Hot Shot whined.

“Believe me, it could be forever if the Decepticons keep up with those attacks of theirs. This is the third time this month.”

Hot Shot leaned forward a bit and rubbed her temples before she dug her head into her legs as she brought them close to her chest. “I don’t understand what’s happening to me, Red,” she said quietly, “I feel like I’m not acting like myself, and yet, I feel like I am me.”

“Care to elaborate?”

She lifted her head and looked straight at him in the optics. She couldn’t read his facial expression, but she could tell that he was worried about her wellbeing. She had no idea how she could explain what she was feeling, but she could not deny that she was… completely out of control with her own emotions.

“It’s hard to say,” she began, “I just… don’t know how to explain it. You said so yourself that I may be developing feelings for Optimus, but if I return to normal, would I still be able to be with him?”

“So you’re worried about when things get back to normal, if Optimus does return the feelings, you won’t be able to feel the exact same thing as you previously did as a femme?”

“I guess you could put it that way.” She then turned her head away to look at a wall so that she was not making optic contact with her friend. She felt silly that he had instantly guessed of where she was getting to, but she needed to get it off her chest. “Go on and laugh if you want.”

But there was no sound coming from the medical Autobot. Instead, all she heard was nothing but silence. It was a silence that welcomed both of them to an unspeakable world where nothing could be exchanged except for body language. This puzzled Hot Shot to a certain degree. Why wasn’t Red Alert laughing at her like she had expected him to?

Confused, she turned her head to look at him, and, to her surprise, she could see that he was just looking at her and had his head lowered for a brief moment, a sign that he was thinking about something and not letting her see on what it was that was going on in that logical mind of his.

“Aren’t you going to say anything or do something?” she asked, snapping him out of his trance.

He shook his head. “No,” he smiled. “To tell you the truth, Hot Shot, there is no such thing as ‘impossible’ to us at all. You can still love Optimus however way you want to. If you do manage to sort out your feelings with him, then you will both decide on whether or not you wish to stay as a femme…

“Being a femme is nothing to be concerned about. You know just as well as I do that we do not have genders. Mechs can be with mechs, or femmes can be with femmes. Humans may consider this strange, but they also know that there are some thing about us that makes us different compared to them. Need I remind you as to why we’re so different?”

Hot Shot jumped and waved both of her hands in front of herself. “No!” she cried, “I think you don’t need to go into the detail on that! I know all about that stuff. I’m just concerned on how Optimus would want to take that step. Would he appreciate a mech and mech relationship, or a femme and mech relationship?”

“Only one way to find out, Hot Shot,” said Red Alert, “and that’s for you to tell him how you feel about him.”

“I don’t know if the moment is right just yet.”

“Then take it slow. One step at a time and you know that. You do have plenty of time, you know.”

“Yeah,” Hot Shot mumbled, “I guess you’re right on one thing.”

“When have I ever been wrong?”

“A couple of times I think.” She then smirked, hoping that she had cornered her friend.

“Oh? Name one time I did get something wrong?”

Hot Shot winced, realising that Red Alert had not fallen for her bluff. “Damnit, Red Alert!” she hissed, “I so wish you hadn’t backed me into a slaggin’ corner! I am so going to get you for that one day!”

Red Alert chuckled and he rubbed Hot Shot’s head gently. “Nice try, Hot Shot,” he said. “Now, get some sleep or I’ll be forced to sedate you, am I clear on that?”

She mockingly saluted him. “Yes, sir!” she teased.

He lifted an optic ridge, showing a slight hint that he was not impressed by the mock salute. He then shrugged his shoulders, letting those words slide off his back for the time being until he sorted everything out. Red Alert gave one final scan of Hot Shot’s frame with his tooled arm, receiving the same issue that she was only 70% back to full energy.

Satisfied with the results, Red Alert then checked the Energon feeder to ensure that it was completely secure. Once that was done, he checked the time on his internal clock and realised that it was 9:00pm.

At least I’m done for the day, he thought. I just hope that Hot Shot will be able to keep a hold of the peace… If she doesn’t do anything foolish that is worse than the thought of Megatron getting his hands on her.

“Good night, Red,” Hot Shot said, once again snapping Red Alert out of his thoughts.

“See you in the morning, Hot Shot,” he replied as he gently stroked Hot Shot’s goggles, earning another shudder from her. “Oh my, are we a little sensitive in that area?”

“Shut up, Red!” Hot Shot snapped.

An interesting thing that Optimus could use when he convinces his feelings for Hot Shot, Red Alert thought with a smirk. If he ever does come right out and say it before the parts get here.

Chuckling at the thought, Red Alert then approached the door that led outside from the Med-Bay and into the corridors, and he turned to look back at Hot Shot. He was surprised to see her deeply in recharge already. He shrugged once again and shook his head in amusement before he switched off the light and left, the door sliding closed behind him.

The only sounds that could be heard from within the Med-Bay was Hot Shot’s gentle breathing and the slight beeping of the Spark monitor.

Spiritimus Prime: Okay, now that the drama has come to an end, the real action is about to start up. :D I'm not telling you what will happen, but you're about to find out in the next chapter. Until then, please R&R! I love you guys! (huggles and bounces off)