Author's Note: I originally hated Transformers Animated because I grew up with G1. I mean, I was really kinda mad when it came out. I still adore G1 and will always view it as the best TF continuity, but I have to admit that TFA has grown on me and I've come to appreciate it for being its own universe. When I saw the episode "Thrill of the Hunt" I absolutely fell in love with the Ratchet x Arcee pairing, so I just had to start writing this. If you've never seen "Thrill of the Hunt", you might want to youtube it before reading this.

Also, since I'm so hardcore G1, I will be using some of the ideas from that continuity: energon (I haven't seen this yet in TFA, correct me if I'm wrong), spark bonding and sparklings. I'll let you know if I decide to use anything else. And before anyone jumps in and yells at me, I'm intentionally placing the Autobots on the Ark. I just can't bring myself to have them living anywhere else.

Since TFA is an ongoing series, this story may not follow it's storyline exactly.

For those of you currently reading my other story, "Identity", don't worry! I'm still working on it diligently! I just needed to get this one started so it was out of my head and "on paper".

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers!

Attention: I have decided to give in and have the 'bots living in the abandoned factory like in the series. I have rewritten the first paragraph to reflect this, but nothing major in the story has been changed.

Chapter 1 – Ghosts of Yesterday

The storm that raged on outside the Ark sent sheets of water pattering over the outside hull of the massive space cruiser, filling the medbay with the soft and constant prattle of rain. Ratchet let out a heavy sigh. He'd spent the better part of this rainy day organizing various drawers and cabinets of tools, and he was relieved to be almost done with the mundane task. The Autobots were preparing to move their base of operations from the Ark to an abandoned automotive factory within the city and the CMO had refused help in packing up his medical equipment. As a result it had taken him longer than anyone to get ready. A sharp 'whoop!' from down the hall startled him and he glanced up to see Sari sprint past the medbay door followed shortly after by a laughing Bumblebee. The yellow 'bot was carrying a mech-sized squirt gun, obviously fully intent on soaking the young human until she begged for mercy. He shook his head. Only a couple of kids would play inside with a squirt gun on a rainy day. There was the sound of a struggle and then metal on metal as the door to her room slammed shut.

"Hey! No fair! You can't hide in there forever you know!" Bumblebee's voice rang out down the corridor in the shrill tone he only used when he was upset, which was actually pretty often. Ratchet chuckled. He'd never let anyone else know it, but he was fond of those two. Sure they drove him absolutely haywire most of the time, but their youthful playfulness and innocence were refreshing to the battle-scarred medical officer.

He shook his head and turned his attention to the last of the tools that needed to be sorted as the comical antics continued just outside the doorway. There was a whoosh as Sari's door opened and then the sound of playful screaming and…water. A lot of water. Ratchet sighed. Prime would hang the two of them out to dry if he discovered that they'd recreated Lake Erie in one of the main corridors. He rose to his feet, his tired joints creaking loudly in protest.

"You two better clean up that mess before Optimus gets back!" He bellowed as he crossed the medbay. Once he reached the doorway he poked his head out into the hall. "You hear me?"

Bumblebee was standing in the middle of the corridor with an amused expression plastered on his face plates. Sari, who was now wearing a raincoat in an attempt to shield herself from the mech-sized water blasts, was running circles around his feet, squirting him with her human-sized water gun. The tiny streams of water splashed harmlessly against the armor on his lower leg and he laughed.

"Look at this, Ratchet! She thinks this thin vinyl armor will keep her dry!" He bent down and teasingly poked her in the side before letting her have another blast of water. She squealed and fell onto her backside.

"Hey! Ratchet, tell him to quit being so mean to me!" When she didn't get a response she looked up at the medic. "Ratchet?"

He didn't hear her. The moment he had stuck his head out into the hallway he had spotted Sari's raincoat. It was an odd and beautiful shade of fuchsia. Incredible. All these millennia and he had never come across that exact shade again until now. He was paralyzed by the sudden pang of guilt that struck him. His fuel pump sputtered and his breath froze in his intakes. All of his servos felt like they were melting into puddles of energon. He continued to stare straight ahead, feeling the environment around him fade into the ether as his mind threatened to take him back to that day…

He was brought back to his senses by the sensation of a small, warm hand placed softly on the side of his leg. He looked down at Sari's worried expression.

"Are you ok, Ratchet? You're acting funny…even for you."

He grunted, "I'm fine. Which is more than I can say for the two of you if you don't get this water cleaned up pronto." He folded his arms across his chassis and smirked at them. "Means now."

He didn't stick around to hear the grumbling as the pair went to find the mech-sized towels in the supply room. He turned and strode back across the medbay to his pile of tools. He dug to the bottom of the pile and extracted a laser scalpel replacement coil. His hand froze, hovering over the box that was the coil's destination, as his mind wandered back to that fuchsia…

He could still see her face. He could picture it perfectly. The smooth flex-metal that flawlessly covered her delicate features. The deep purple lips that had held him captive each time she spoke, especially when she had said his name. And the optics. Those beautiful, almond-shaped optics whose deep, velvety blue had entranced him from the moment he saw her. Arcee. He'd thought about her every day since they parted ways on Cybertron all those millennia ago. These were not happy memories though. Each time he thought of her, the memory of what he'd done to her, how he'd damaged her, invaded his processors, making him wish it had been his memory core that had been wiped instead of hers. He would never forgive himself.

"Ratchet?" A low, gentle voice interrupted his thoughts, startling him and causing him to jump.

"What is it? I'm busy!" He whirled around to find himself face to face with Optimus Prime. "Oh, it's you. Sorry, Prime."

Optimus was frowning. He placed a heavy hand on the medic's shoulder. "Are you alright? You stood there stock still for a good eighty astroseconds."

Ratchet raised an optic ridge. "You stood there and watched me for eighty astroseconds?" Optimus shrugged. Ratchet sighed and dropped the coil into its designated box. "Yea, I'm fine."

The corridor that led to Ratchet's quarters seemed twice as long as usual. He was in desperate need of recharge and he hoped beyond hope that he'd get a decent night's rest tonight. But he knew that the astrosecond he closed his eyes, the strange dream sequences would begin. For the past few nights he had been haunted by nightmares that woke him out of a deep recharge in a state of terror. This was not uncommon, however, and the medic knew this bout of night terrors would come to end and he'd have a few orns of solace before the next one.

He finally reached his door and raised a weary hand to punch in his access code. The door slid open gently and he trudged into his quarters. He stood still for a moment, his optics sweeping over the interior of the rather large room. Though his recharge berth, visible in the next room through the doorway, beckoned to him invitingly, the whole place seemed so empty. He sighed. He hated night time. It was always so… lonely. It was also the time when old memories were most volatile. He crossed the spacious living area, and entered his recharge room. Slowly, he sank down onto his berth and, a few astroseconds later, offlined his optics.

Suddenly he was lying flat on is back, sprawled out on a hard surface. He groaned and painfully opened his optics. A blurred slender figure stood over him, silhouetted against a bright white light. As he propped himself up on one elbow, the figure bent down. Her face came into focus and Ratchet gasped. She smiled warmly at him and covered his hand with one of her own. She lifted the other to gently touch the side of his face, stroking it lightly with the backs of her fingers. He sat completely still, convinced that if he so much as rotated a gear she would vanish. Suddenly the expression on her faceplates turned to one of sheer terror as the horizontal surface they were sitting on became vertical. They were falling now, suddenly plummeting through a dense cloud of cool mist. He was reaching for her desperately.

"Arcee!" He activated his directed magnetic fields and locked onto her, but it was too late. She had disappeared into the mist. "No!!" The ground was suddenly in front of his optics and he hit with a loud crash.

Ratchet bolted upright and looked around the room wildly. He was sitting on the floor next to his recharge berth, his intakes cycling air at an alarming rate and his spark fluttering in its casing. He groaned and painfully climbed back up onto his berth, rolling onto his back. This had to stop.

I know it's short, but I hope some of you enjoyed the first chapter. Stay tuned for chapter two!