This is a story I wrote a while ago out of boredom. And because I was actually outside during the middle of a rainstorm (under the cover a porch, didn't want to get wet or struck by lightning) and this idea struck me immediately. I started writing outside, using a lantern and an occasional lightning strike to see. When I was finally called back inside, I finished writing it then. I have had this story for a while since then, debating to post it, and I finally decided I would. So here it is.
BTW: I do not own Ratchet. He is owned by Hasbro, unfortunately, and I am just borrowing him.
Ratchet grumbled softly as he drove through the groundbridge and arrived in the pouring rain. Grumbling some more about the weather, he activated his windshield wipers as he drove up the dirt road that was slowly turning to mud. Optimus had sent him here to check up on his charge. He understood why, to make sure the Decepticons weren't targeting her, but it was nearly eight-thirty at night eastern time. She should be in bed by now, or be close to going to rest.
The rain started falling harder as he turned down the driveway, where the amount of rain that had fallen seemed to have turned the gravel driveway into a small, shallow river. As he turned into the section of driveway that curved to the back of the house, he saw a flash of lightning out of the corner of his optic. If his charge was awake, and smart, she would be inside the house. As he came to a stop, a figure in a blue poncho and rainboots walked up to him. Of course.
"Hi Ratchet." Megan said.
"What are you doing outside?" Ratchet snapped.
"Watching the rain fall, watching the lightning flash, listening to thunder.. Basically being a weirdo." She replied.
"Get back inside!" Ratchet snapped. He watched as Megan turned and walked back to the front door of the apartment, but stopped under the metal overhang over the short concrete walkway. "What are you doing?!"
"I still want to watch the rain…" SHe says.
"Get. Inside. Now!" Ratchet snapped. Finally she went into the house.
I huffed as I walked into the house, taking off my rainboots and poncho, shoving my feet into my sneakers like they were slip-ons.
"You're back in, finally." My dad says. "Hang that up in the laundry room." He adds as I start to hang up my poncho on the coat rack.
"Alright…" I sighed. I walked through the house, unlocking the door to the laundry room. As I hung it up on the indoor clothesline, I looked out the door that led to the outside from the laundry room. Lightning flashed, illuminating the form of the ambulance still sitting in the driveway. I couldn't see the sky, though, the large deck of our landlord's blocking it. I grinned slightly, realizing the ground beneath it was dry. I quickly raced out to the living room.
"Dad, where's the chair I got for the horse show?" I asked.
"Right where you put it." He answered.
"Oh, duh." I say, then grab the chair and bring it through the laundry room and setting it up beneath the deck. I went back inside when I heard Dad call me and he handed me a fudge pop.
"Thanks." I say before grabbing a water bottle and going back outside. Ratchet's holoform, a man in maybe his sixties wearing a white doctor's coat and a stethoscope around his neck, was standing by my chair.
"What are you doing?" He asked me.
"I'm not going to walk around in the storm anymore." I say, sitting in the chair. Ratchet frowned, leaning against a red Toro tractor that was parked beneath the deck.
"You're still out in the storm." He points out
I shrug, watching as the sky lit up slightly and counted silently. I counted six seconds before I heard a small rumble of thunder.
"Are you listening to me?" Ratchet snapped, startling me.
"Huh? Sorry, I was trying to see how far away the storm is." I said, looking up at him.
"How could you do that?" He asked.
"After you see a flash of lightning, you count how long it takes to hear thunder. I counted six seconds, so the storm is about six miles away." I explain.
Ratchet looked at me like I was crazy. I shrugged and began to eat my fudge pop. We hung out there, watching as the rain lightened up a little before growing harder again and flashes of lightning became more frequent, lighting up more of the sky.
"Amazing, isn't it?" I asked Ratchet.
"What do you mean?" Ratchet asked.
"The storm." I clarified. "It's just...The weather can surprise you. One moment ty could be bright and sunny, the next it can be… Well, like this." I explained. Ratchet blinked as he stared at me and I sighed, looking out as there was another flash of lightning. Almost immediately, there was thunder after it. The thunder seemed to started in one section of the sky before seeming to spread across the entire sky.
"Wow…" I murmured. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Ratchet nod slightly.
I blinked when I saw something flying over the were fireflies…. Flying around in the pouring rain? "Ratchet look, fireflies." I pointed out to the lawn.
Ratchet looked over. "What?"
"Fireflies. Every time they breathe, their backend lights up. I think that's a result of some kind of chemical reaction, though, but the way they are blinking is weird." I explained. Their blinking truly was weird, at least, to me. They blinked three times in a row before going out for their short break.
I glanced at Ratchet and saw him studying the fireflies in the distance. I smiled, then looked at the door to the laundry room when I heard something. I stared at my watch in the darkness until lightning flashed again. I blinked.
"Wow, it's ten-o'clock." I said, startled.
Ratchet looked at me. "You need to get inside. Now." He stated.
"I know." I stood, gathering the empty bottle and fudge pop wrapper before folding the chair up. "Have a good night, Ratchet." I tell him. He nodded and I went back into the house.
Ratchet watched his charge go back into the house and turned to watch the slowly-lightening storm. His holoform disappeared and he started up his alt. He backed up, managing to turn in the driveway and drove up. He pondered what Megan had done, and about the storm. Yes, his alt was now soaking wet, but this had been somewhat, well…. Enjoyable. When he came to a deserted part of the road, he called for a groundbridge. It opened in front of him and he drove through, transforming when he arrived at the Autobot base.
"You were out for some time." Optimus observed, closing the groundbridge. Ratchet only nodded.
"I'm going to the washracks." he says, walking down the hall and nearly running into Smokescreen.
"Hey, Docbot! Why are you all wet?" Smokescreen asked. Ratchet ignored him, walking past the younger mech. Smokescreen watched him pass, blinking.
-00000-
Ratchet stood by the computer later that night. The computer didn't detect anything, making it a slow night. The medic sighed softly before his thoughts drifted to when he had checked on Megan. After a moment, he opened a small window on one of the screens, opening to the site humans called 'Google'. After looking at the welcome screen for a little bit, typing a little in the search bar… 'Fireflies'.
And there we go. I know, kind of a suckish ending, but it was around 12 AM when I finished the story, so... Yeah. Anyway, I thought this showed an interesting, almost caring side of the grumpy medic.