A Lost Spark (Transformer fanfic)

Chapter 12

The last few days of recovery had gone by much like the first few, leaving Ana nearly dying of boredom.
What had mostly gotten her through the long days were the rare, but becoming more frequent, visits from Ironhide.

Ratchet had nearly blown a fuse the first time he had returned to the med bay to find Ironhide unannounced talking to her. Soon though, with Ratchet realizing he was losing the battle with the stubborn bot, he allowed the visits with the sole requirement of communication beforehand.
Ana had now recovered the rest of her strength, and as a result her sides were healing nicely and on their way to becoming scars. Her arm was slowly healing; the cast was soon replaced by a cloth brace to be worn at all times. Ratchet had explained that injuries to the joints tended to heal at a slower pace, and because the extent of the damage was to her wrist and elbow, it would take some time to heal fully.
Even so, the idea of even more waiting could not overshadow the hope she had been holding onto throughout the seeming the endless days: her parents.

Upon recovering the slip of paper Ana had immediately showed Ratchet, who in turn, had immediately contacted the number.
She remembered how long it took to get through to the hospital. A few weeks after the disaster and the hospitals were still flooded with people, along with the phone lines apparently. Eventually though they managed to locate her parents, and the news of their recovery made her heart soar, so much in fact that she had broken down crying when she had heard the news.
Even though she wasn't able to talk to them, as the phone lines were too busy, knowing her parents were safe and having her parents know she was safe was all she could hope for.

----

Ana walked uncertainly toward the Autobot hangar, it had been close to two weeks since she had seen or much less talked to any of the bots besides Ironhide and Ratchet.
She had just been released from the med bay, and Ironhide had insisted that she went to see the bots. From what he had told her, almost all of them had been worried for her. While truly touched by the statement, Ana couldn't help but feel nervous.
Even before I got...Kidnaped... I hadn't really spent a lot of time with them. Some of them I've never even talked to! She realized.
Her thoughts only made her nervousness worse.
At least Ironhide will be there.
She reasoned,
And I'll get to see Smokescreen again!
Walking a little more confidently she rounded the last corner to the hangar.

The large hangar doors were now in front of her, with an impatient Ironhide waiting beside.
"Took you long enough" he grunted.
Ana just gave him a shrug along with a playful smile.
"You alright?" He questioned, taking a moment to seemingly study her.
"Y-yea" She stuttered before clearing her throat "Just a little nervous."
Ironhide nodded before walking through the large doors. Ana quickly followed, nearly stopping short in surprise from what she saw.
Along with the bots she knew, with the exception of Optimus who was nowhere to be seen, there were five new faces. They all seemed to be discussing something as Ironhide walked up to them.
Ana slightly hid behind Ironhide's leg unconsciously, her nervousness rising again at the thought of meeting the new bots.
Studying the new Autobots she noticed that three of them looked thinner and smaller than the rest; they also had a wheel for a pede similar to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. One was pink, the other purple, and the third one was blue. The other two remaining bots looked identical, Ana guessed they were another set of twins; they were short with heavy builds, with one being orange and the other bright green.

Heavy pede steps sounded behind her, breaking her from her thoughts, as a bot entered the hangar.

"Ana" Optimus called out gently, nearly making her jump from surprise.
She turned around craning her neck to look up at the tall Autobot who was now directly behind Ironhide and her.
"Ana, I am glad you are safe" Optimus said, kneeling down to one knee.
"Ratchet has informed me that you are close to full recovery"
Ana nodded with a shy smile, not knowing what to say.
To her surprise his tone grew sorrowful
"I wish to apologize"
Ana's eyes widen in surprise
"Your very life was put in danger because of our mistake, I am deeply sorry" He said sincerely.
"Optimus I-I don't blame any of you!" Ana said quickly "It was the Decepticons! We weren't prepared, none of us were." Optimus nodded "That is a mistake I will not make again" His tone was serious
"I promise you Ana that what happened will not happen again. The Autobots are here to protect the earth and all its inhabitants." His voice turned gentle "including you, young one."
Ana was taken aback "Thank you"
She said quietly turning her gaze to her shoes, she could feel her face tuning red from all the attention.