He had to give the cranky mech credit where credit was due. The final battle had been fierce, including both Autobot, Decepticon, and human military personnel. But in the end the side that had suffered the heaviest losses was the Decepticons.
They had successfully whipped all but one Decepticon from Earth, and that was an accomplishment to be proud of. What made things better is that they knew that more than likely, with just him left on Earth, that Barricade would most likely keep to himself.
For now it had been a few days after the end of the Mission City war and again, they had all found themselves at the clearing just outside of Tranquility. Optimus had moved to an out of the way section of the clearing, scanning the skies with hopeful optics, waiting to see some sign that they were not alone.
But Ironhide was currently watching Ratchet with interest. The CMO had been the last to arrive at the clearing and instead of talking with the others, or reminding Bumblebee to be gentle with Sam, he had just gone off towards the cliffs, sitting down with his shoulders slumped.
I picture you in the sun,
Wondering; what went wrong,
And falling down on your knees,
Asking for, sympathy
And being caught in between,
All you wish for and all you've seen
And trying to find anything
You can feel, that you can believe in
Ironhide knew that look. He had seen it only a few times before, but it was distinctive. It was the look Ratchet got when he lost a patient. The CMO had prided himself on the fact that he was able to bring patients from the brink of death, as he had proven with the twins quite a few times.
But every once and a while there was just someone too far gone that even the great Doctor Hatchet couldn't do anything for them.
Always,
May god's love be with you,
Always, Always
May god's love be with you
Those were the patients that really got to him. The medic hated to see a patient and friend pass on while on his table. There was nothing that could bother him more.
Ironhide knew the current reason for the medic's state.
Jazz.
There were few things that Ratchet couldn't repair, and bring ripped in half -right across the spark chamber at that- was one of them.
I know I would apologize
If I could, see your eyes
Cause when you showed me myself
You know, I become someone else
But I was caught in between
All you wish for and all you've seen
I picture you fast asleep
A nightmare comes; but you can't keep awake
Ironhide kept a close eye on the medic, watching his position change a few times. It was obvious that Ratchet had dove into his internal monolog about what he could have done different or better to keep the patient among them. It was a cycle they had all gotten used to.
And while, admittedly, Ratchet didn't need to force himself like he did, it was part of the reason -beside just natural talent- that he was the famous medic he was. But still, the CMO was just too hard on himself sometimes.
Ironhide had lost track of the number of times Optimus had enlisted his help in carrying the CMO from his office to his room because Ratchet had worked himself to exhaustion.
Always
May god's love be with you
Always, Always
May god's love be with you
Always, Always
May god's love be with you
Always, Always
May god's love be with you
Ironhide could still recall the first time First Aid had blatantly told Ratchet to go recharge of else he would get kicked from his own med bay. That had taken some lug nuts.
Everyone knew you didn't order the medic around his med bay unless you had a death wish. But First Aid had stepped up to the plate, and after some ducking and blocking, had finally convinced the medic to go.
Ironhide chuckled to himself before sighing softly, watching the medic now. Jazz's death had appeared to be hardest on Ratchet. While the two weren't the closest mech's that had ever served in the Autobot forces, they were good friends and great drinking buddies.
It wasn't uncommon at all to see Ratchet and Jazz relaxing in the recreation room after their shifts, kicking back with a cube of high grade. There were even times that Jazz would warn Ratchet of an upcoming twins prank aimed at him.
Well I don't know anymore
What it's for, I'm not even sure
If there is anyone, who is the sun
Can you help me to understand
Cause I've been caught in between
All you wish for and all you've seen
Aw, now maybe you're not even sure
What it's for; any more then me
Ironhide slowly made his way over to the medic, taking a seat next to him and just staring out at the setting sun like he was. He knew that they still had a piece of the Allspark left from the battle. But the damage done to Jazz was just too much. Even with that piece, there was no guarantee that what they brought back would be Jazz.
Always,
May god's love be with you,
Always, Always
May god's love be with you
Always, Always
May god's love be with you
And always, always
May god's love be with you
Ironhide glanced over at Ratchet for a moment before shaking his head, pulling the last two cubes of High Grade from his subspace, handing one to Ratchet before putting a metal finger to his own lips. "Don't tell the others. It's my last two." He said, making sure the medic took one.
He offered a grin before looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was paying attention to him before lifting the cube into the air with the words. "To the Lieutenant."
Cause if I find,
If I find my own way, how much will I find
If I find
If I find my own way
How much will I find
If I find
If I find my own way
How much will I find
If I find
If I find my own way
How much will I find
You, oh
I'll find you, oh
I'll find you, oh
For the first time in a while since the battle, Ratchet's smile was sincere.
"Yah, to Jazz."
xxxxxx
A/N: Lyrics aren't spot on, I deleted on bridge just because it repeats itself too much and would have taken way to long to do.
Song Used:
In The Sun by Joseph Arthur