A/N: So I said I might and so I did. Short I know. Starts out angsty and dissolves into fluff. Hope you enjoy ^_^

The ground bridge faded behind me. I stood there. Unwilling to move. Unsure if I could. He knew. He knew and yet he stayed.

I turned to look at the empty space where the bridge had manifested. After a few kliks I activated my private comm line.

"Optimus."

Static.

"Optimus are you there? Did you get clear of the base?"

The static faded to silence.

"Optimus . . ."

Should I go back? A quick check of my internal gps showed I was a thousand human miles from the base. It would take at least a full solar cycle of non stop driving. By that time anything could have happened.

"Scrap!"

Transforming I took the nearest road heading in the general direction of Jasper. It didn't matter how far it was. Sirens blaring, I pushed myself to my top speed and held it as long as the road and traffic would allow.

As I drove memories rose unbidden. The first time I'd seen the red and blue mech. It had been at the council meeting where he'd been given the task of finding the Matrix. He'd been such a gentlebot his words showing a truly noble heart. It had been much later before I'd seen him again. The war was well underway and I had realized I could no longer ensconce myself in Iacon away from the conflict. I was needed. We had become fast friends. I admired his dedication and humble attitude. He may have been a Prime but he was nothing like Sentinel. Sentinel had allowed himself to atrophy just like our society. Orion had seen the harm it had done and would continue to do.

I had rarely been away from his side from then on, only when my expertise was needed elsewhere. I'd been there, at Tyger Pax and seen him nearly at the breaking point. Almost losing Bumblebee had driven both of us to extreme measures.

I passed a semi truck, a pang running through my circuits. I had to believe I would see him again. That I would gaze into those clear blue optics, hear that rich voice, touch that pure spark.

The scenery gradually changed from flat rolling hills to more mountainous. I had to slow. My sirens had given out from over use. My entire chassis ached but I was too close to stop now. I knew I was pushing myself to my limits, but I had to know.

The sun was rising at my back when I reached the outskirts of Jasper. The town was deserted, no doubt evacuated per Agent Fowler's instructions. The fortress rose in the south. I couldn't look at it without my tanks roiling.

My wheels locked up as I tried to stop. I shuddered in horror looking at the devastation. If Optimus had been inside . . . No! No, he had to be alright. He had to.

Transforming I stumbled, fatigue making me clumsy. I clambered over the debris and slid down into what remained of the base. The only evidence it had ever been anything but a pile of rock was the Autobot insignia in the floor. Desolation overwhelmed me. I fell to my knees, head held in my servos.

"It wasn't supposed to end like this. We were supposed to win. To restore Cybertron. Optimus . . . It can't end like this."

How long I sat there, I didn't know. Eventually, I had to get up. I couldn't stay here and mourn what should have been. The others would look to me now. I didn't want that responsibility. I had only ever wanted to follow Optimus.

Every circuit and cable in my chassis was on fire. I wasn't sure I'd be able to leave anytime soon but the thought of staying was abhorrent. I couldn't stay in the place where I'd lost the one bot I'd loved more than anything. Stumbling through the wreckage I nearly tripped over a piece of debris. Looking down it took me a few kliks to realize it was Optimus' arm.

"Optimus!" My yell echoed around us as I frantically began digging him out. "Optimus, you have to wake up. Please, please wake up."

I managed to get his upper body free of the debris. His optics were dark. "No . . ." I hugged him to me then getting a grip on myself ran the scanner over him. The faintest flicker pulsed in his spark.

"Don't leave me Optimus. You promised . . . You promised you wouldn't leave me. We've fought for so long, it can't end like this."

My own spark sent ripples of agony through me. I couldn't bear this. I was the best medic in my generation, there had to be something I could do. Running my servos along the cracked glass I paused for a moment. He needed me now more than ever. Turning on my laser scalpel I carefully opened his chest panels. He'd done it willingly for me often enough that I knew he wouldn't mind. The Matrix pulsed with the soft light of his spark. It was not the clear brilliant blue I was used to. It was dull, muddy each oscillation seeming to take an eternity. He was dying.

Shifting around I opened my own panels. This was not going to be a simple spark merge. If I had to give my life to save his, I would. This world would not survive without Optimus. I closed my optics having to concentrate, my spark always searched eagerly for his. He'd always met me, our energies intertwining, but now there was nothing. I pushed further until I could feel him, the pain nearly shorting me out. I clenched my jaw and pushed further, forcing energy into him, his spark slowly responding. Where a spark merge was normally pleasurable this was pure agony, my entire sensor-net screamed at me to disengage the connection. Not until I was sure he was out of danger. I pulled him closer, our spark chambers nearly touching. His spark siphoned off my energy until I could no longer hold myself up. I fell forward, laying across him. My optics offlined, I didn't have the energy to keep them open. Everything faded until my whole existence was my spark and Optimus.

###

"Ratchet. . . Ratchet, you better not leave me . . . I won't allow you to die in my place."

"As long as you live, I will die happy."

"But what about me? I need you Ratchet. Please, stay with me."

I cracked an optic open. "Is that an order?"

"If it keeps you here then yes, it's an order." Optimus was smiling down at me, optics bright with concern.

"Fine, fine. Just don't ever make me have to do that again. Primus I hurt."

"Well I don't know that I can keep that promise."

"What?" I jerked my head up to see the soft smile grow a bit wider. "Oh . . . You-you . . . Ugh Primus slag it to the Pits how did I think that was a good idea."

"You save my life Ratchet."

I waved a servo in the air. "Of course I did. I wasn't going to let the only 'bot in the universe who I care about more than anything die like that."

He leaned down brushing his faceplate against my helm, the contact sending a thrill of pleasure through my circuits.

"You are my greatest love Ratchet, I could never leave you no matter what."