Seymour
Summary: That one day out in the garden forged a connection that would never be broken, but what will happen when the higher-ups won't allow it? Just a little one-shot in my WDTCCTR story-verse.
Just something that was originally going to be a little one-shot, ended up being 13 pages long. Oh well. Please excuse any grammatical mistakes, i proof-read it myself at about 3am and we know how that turns out. Haha
I hope the separation lines show up or there will be some very confusing jumps in the story.
As always enjoy, and don't be afraid to read and review. I get better with constructive criticism.
-Becks
Ayla closed her eyes and let the warm spring sun shine on her face. "I love it here." She said out loud to nobody in particular. She opened her eyes and gazed around the gorgeous garden. It was fairly new, having only been around a few months.
From the outside, the Autobot headquarters on the mainland USA looked like any other military base, complete with huge hangars large enough to fit a few houses in comfortably, and concrete covering almost every square foot of the complex, all surrounded by a beautiful, barbed-wire fence. Behind the complex was a heavily wooded area, rumored to be filled with the most sophisticated perimeter alarms and tracking devices unknown to the general public, but the conspiracy theorists knew all about. Ayla knew the only thing in those woods were an occasional dinosaur, or alien robot, nothing to get upset about.
The Zen garden was tucked in the middle of the woods, hidden to the world unless you were looking straight through the trees. Ratchet was tired of having to deal with humans having mental meltdowns. Over the past year he had seen everything from curling up in a ball and weeping, to shutting themselves away in the dark and refusing to eat, to screaming at anyone and everyone; one even stripped down naked and went running outside during an ice storm, it took the Autobots an good hour to corner him and capture him. While researching ways for humans to alleviate stress he came across a website preaching the glories of Zen gardens, and how just a few hours in a proper garden could bring anyone into a relaxed state, even a wild animal (Ratchet had his doubts about that claim). He researched the gardens some more, and even asked some of the soldiers their opinions. Most of the females suggested they would rather have a free spa, but for the most part everyone liked the idea of a Zen garden.
So planning started mid-February, both humans and Autobots offered suggestions, Ironhide suggested the garden included a sparring area large enough for the Autobots to use and Mikaela had to explain the concept of "Zen" to him. He still did not fully grasp the idea of how just sitting someplace surrounded by plants would make the humans feel better, none of the Autobots really did, but they went with it anyway because they had enough of their meltdowns as well. Ayla summed it up as "A place to escape from reality for a little while and go someplace simple, natural, peaceful, and beautiful."
After a few weeks of work from both parties, the Zen garden was complete. Both Autobots and humans were pleased with the garden and even though it was originally meant for the humans, the plans had left enough space for the Autobots to move about easily. A few trees had to be cleared out but Wheeljack had developed a "Chameleon Canopy" that covered the garden to mimic the leaf patterns and colors of the trees surrounding it while hiding what was underneath the canopy so the garden.
Ayla gazed around the tranquil garden. Wildflowers were starting to bloom and birds flitted through the remaining underbrush, filling the clearing with their sweet song. Ayla walked over to her favorite part of the garden, a babbling brook that conveniently ran through the middle of the clearing spanned by an ornamental bridge. The brook pooled up a few yards from the bridge and the pool had been deepened and converted into a koi pond before it trickled off deeper into the woods.
Ayla loved to sit on the bench and watch the fish swim around lazily, oblivious to the world around them and stuck in their own fishy paradise. She stiffly walked over the bridge; her leg was still giving her some trouble and sat on a bench in the sun, relishing in the warmth.
Ayla was surprised with how quiet the woods were. She knew Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were off doing who know what, probably planning their next prank, and the Dinobots had taken up permanent residence in the woods and were usually crashing around. Ayla guessed Hound was probably out in the woods too, he was one of the few Autobots that liked being out in "the nature", but the woods were still and mech free which rarely happened. Everyone loved the Zen garden, even Ironhide had gone out there a few times, thought he claimed he was watching Annabelle.
Ayla closed her eyes for a few minutes enjoying the songs of the birds and the gentle rustling of the soft breeze through the new leaves. She opened her eyes again and glanced to the pond. She was a little surprised to see someone else was sitting by the pond.
"Oh, hi." she said softly being careful not to startle the newcomer "I've never seen you around here before."
The newcomer turned to look at Ayla; he stared at her silently for a few moments before opening his mouth to speak. "Meow" was his raspy reply before he turned back to drinking from the pond.
Ayla watched the cat quietly for a few moments, letting him drink in peace. He was an orange and white tabby with a creamy white belly, neck, and muzzle, light green eyes and the cutest little pink nose. Of course, Ayla had a huge soft spot for kitty cats.
The cat, having drunk his fill, moved into a spot of sun, sniffed the ground for a second before flopping over and rolling back and forth on the ground, stretching his back. As suddenly as he started he stopped, sat up and started washing himself.
It took every ounce of her self control for Ayla to stay seated quietly on her bench when all she wanted to do was run over, scoop up the adorable cat, and snuggle him forever. But he would probably run away if she did that, and he had claws; Ayla wasn't going to want to explain the scratches to Ratchet, he was not a big fan of small, furry creatures.
The cat had settled down again and was facing slightly away from Ayla, almost as if he was baiting her to call him over just so he could ignore her. Ayla took her chances; she patted her thigh softly and made soft kissing noises hoping to draw the cat's attention to her. The cat ignored her. She tried again and he turned his head to look at her. She lowered her hand to his level and continued making noises. The cat slowly stood up and took his time stretching out his legs before he moved closer to Ayla's outstretched hand. He stopped inches away from Ayla's hand and stiffed her curiously. He stretched his head out farther and gently rubbed his cheek against her knuckle. Ayla carefully scratched the cat behind his ears and smiled like an idiot when she heard a low rumbling coming from his throat. After a minute of petting Ayla slowly reached out her other arm and reached under the cat's belly; gently she pulled the still purring feline into her lap. The can purred louder as he began to happily knead Ayla's legs with his paws. He settled on Ayla's lap and closed his eyes in bliss. Ayla loved the cat's unusually soft fur; he looked like he had been out doors and was kind of scrawny, but his fur felt like a house cat's it was so soft and silky.
The two sat together for a while, the cat dozed in Ayla's lap a few times and Ayla happily petted him, loving the way his purrs reverberated through his entire body. Unfortunately, it did not last long. Two sets of heavy footsteps shook the woods, startling the cat awake. The cat shot off of Ayla's lap with his claws out and hit tail bushed out like a bristle-brush. Ayla barely had time to register the pain in her arm before the cat was gone unto the woods. She hissed and clamped her hand over the fresh scratches as she glared at the two intruding Autobots.
"You've got an appointment with Ratchet in five minutes and if you're late he will blame me." Sunstreaker said gesturing over his shoulder in the general direction of the base.
"Awww, you scared him away." Ayla said sadly, staring at the bushed where the cat had disappeared.
"Scared who away?" Sideswipe asked.
"The cat," Ayla replied simply, standing up to shake off the cloud of fur the cat had left on her when he split.
The twins looked at each other, neither one of them had seen the cat. They glanced back to Ayla, expecting for her to wait for a ride, but she was already over the footbridge.
"Come on! I'd hate for you to make me late for my appointment." She called over her shoulder.
"What do you have all over you shirt?" Ratchet said as soon as Ayla walked into med bay.
Ayla glanced down "Cat hair" she attempted to brush the light furs off.
The medic grunted in distaste, his love of small animals was a legend throughout the base. Ayla smirked as she was lifted up to the berth where Ratchet could see her easier. Without a word she started going through the mobility tests she had been doing for the past six months.
"How much longer do I have to do this?" she asked pulling her leg behind her.
"Until you regain complete mobility in your leg. You ask that every time." The medic replied watching Ayla.
"I know. I just keep hoping you'll say "never again" one of these days." The human grinned, "This is cutting a huge hole into my schedule. I'm a very busy individual." She said sarcastically.
Ratchet just grunted again.
"Awww someone's grumpy today," Ayla said, noting the mech's reluctance to find anything humorous. "Did you get your wrenches taken away again?" she teased.
"No." The grouch replied flatly.
"Yes." Ayla grinned again, she started her next mobility test, "You know what you need? A pet."
"I have to spend all day ensuring mechs and humans don't fall apart, and if they do I have to put them back together. How would a pet make my life any easier? Besides, don't you humans count as pets?"
Ayla laughed "Don't let the government hear you talking like that or they'll target you as a Cybertronian terrorist, like the Decepticons."
The medic almost laughed, Ayla saw the tiniest smile form in his mouth plates. "What happened to your arm?" he demanded, returning to his serious, grumpy self.
Ayla looked to her arm, which was captured in Ratchet's firm grip; four angry red lines had caught his attention. "The cat scratched me when he got startled." She said with a shrug, "It doesn't hurt. I'll wash it with soap and water later." She tried to pull her arm away but Ratchet refused to let her go. He gave her a serious look.
"You do realize that all kinds of microorganisms that are harmful to humans can be carried around a cat's claws. Especially a stray, you don't know that it's been walking through." Ratchet said sternly.
Ayla rolled her eyes. "That's what soap and water are for. Not to mention my immune system. I've been exposed to worse and I didn't get sick. I've been scratched a thousand times by cats and I've never gotten sick or even an infection. You're making a big deal over nothing." She managed to free her arm from the medic's fingers. The last thing she wanted was for him to clean out her scratches, it would sting more than actually getting the scratches did. "Am I done?" she asked, planning on escaping before Ratchet grabbed the antiseptic. She started sliding away to the lift at the end of the berth.
"Just a sec," Ratchet reached out and grabbed Ayla's arm without even looking at her. Ayla sighed in defeat and braced herself to the sting. A few excruciating seconds later Ratchet released Ayla's arm, she scurried over to the lift and off of the berth.
"I don't want you to play with that stray cat if you see it around again, it could be carrying any number of diseases, or fleas." Ratchet told Ayla's retreating back.
"Got it." She replied unconvincingly. Her whole arm tingled painfully and the thought of disobeying Ratchet sounded like a good idea. Plus, no way would she be able to ignore that sweet cat if he came around again.
(Some unspecified amount of time later)
"Seymour!" Ayla called out. She walked over to her usual spot and sat down on the bench waiting for Seymour to show up.
"Meow!" a happy raspy voice replied as the cat pranced out of the bushes. He walked up to Ayla and looked to her expectantly with his bright green eyes.
"Hey buddy!" Ayla scratched his head behind his ears, right where he liked it "You hungry?" she reached into her bag and pulled out a small container of cat food. She popped the lid off and set it down then she pulled out a small plastic bowl and poured water into it from a water bottle.
She watched the cat eat silently before the peace of the garden was broken by a high pitched squeal.
"Kitty!" Annabelle Lennox stared at Seymour and jumped up and down excitedly. She had just been escorted to the garden with Bumblebee.
"Don't shout, Annabelle" Ayla said "You'll scare him. Come and sit with me quietly and you can pet him when he's done eating." She patted the bench next to her. Annabelle did her best to contain her excitement and she walked over the bridge and sat on the bench next to Ayla.
"What's his name?" Annabelle asked as the cat started to wash his paws.
"Seymour."
"How long has he been here?"
"A few weeks."
"How come you won't take him inside?"
"Because he likes the outside, and Grimlock likes his fuzzy buddy."
"What if it rains?"
"Well it hasn't rained yet, but when it does we'll see what happens."
Seymour had finished his post-meal cleaning and jumped up on Ayla's lap. "Hold out your hand and let him sniff you." Ayla instructed Annabelle "If you rush on him he could run away, or he might even bite you."
"Is that why you have scabs on your hand?" Annabelle asked, she giggled when Seymour's whiskers tickled her hand.
Ayla glanced at her hand, "Oh, no. I was play fighting with him and he likes to play rough." She felt Seymour shift his weight to get closer to Annabelle after deciding she was not a threat.
Annabelle was delighted; she had never spent time around a cat before. "What's that rumbling sound?"
"He's purring; you've made him really happy by petting him nicely like that."
"He's so soft, and nice. He reminds me of the bunny we have at school. Our teacher, she calls him Bugs because he's gray and likes carrots. But he doesn't talk like the bunny on TV." Annabelle said matter-of-factly.
Heavy treads announced presence of the mechs in the garden. Seymour looked up and jumped off of Ayla's lap. Annabelle made a disappointed noise and thought Seymour was running into the woods. But the ginger tabby made a beeline for the mechs, meowing happily, his tail sticking straight up.
"Hey, Seymour." Bumblebee said, stooping over and holding out a finger for the feline to rub against. Seymour rubbed against the yellow mech for a moment before turning his attention to a much larger mech behind him.
Grimlock, the self proclaimed leader of the Dinobots, towered over every mech on base, all of the Dinobots did. He usually walked around in his dinosaur themed alt-mode, preferring to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex instilling fear into the heart and spark of every man and mech (or so he thought) but he would always transform when he was going to be with Seymour. "Hello Seymour." He said, placing his hand down for the cat. Seymour jumped into the open hand and waited expectantly, staring at Grimlock's face. The Dinobot brought the cat up close to his face and put out one giant finger. Seymour happily rubbed against the finger which was easily twice as thick as him purring even louder.
Ayla watched their interaction, she was still amazed that a mech as large as Grimlock would be so gentle, especially since what he lacked in brains he made up for in brawn, ten-fold.
"Me, Grimlock, love you Seymour kitty." The mech crooned. Ayla still had to stifle her laughs; it still made her laugh to see a fierce, killer Dinobot get all mushy over a small cat. Bumblebee had joked that he hoped the Decepticons never thought to attack and animal shelter or they would lose one of their strongest fighters to the kitties.
"Aww," Annabelle sighed "That's so cute."
"Bad news." The smaller, yellow mech said, sitting on the ground next to the bench "There are some huge storms rolling in. I was brought out here to get you and the Dinobots. What are you going to do about Seymour?"
Ayla bit her lip. Aside from the Dinobots, the only mechs that knew about Seymour were Bee, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe, and the twins chose to ignore the cat's existence. "I'm not sure." she said after going over all of the possibilities in her mind. "We could take him inside. They won't say no to a defenseless kitty."
"If Ratchet and Ironhide have anything to say about it, they will." Bee replied glumly.
"You can't leave him out here in the rain!" Annabelle cried "He'll get all cold and wet, and sick."
Ayla gave the little girl a one armed hug, "Don't worry, he won't be left out in the rain if I have anything to say about it." A distant rumble of thunder reached her ears "C'mon we've gotta get going, don't want to get caught in the rain." She stood up and shook the cat food crumbs out of Seymour's bowl and dumped the water. "Grimlock! Time to let Seymour down. We've got to get inside before the storms get here."
The Dinobot reluctantly lowered the cat to the ground, but Seymour refused to jump out of his hands. Ayla smiled and walked over to the Mech and his cat "Come on buddy," she lifted Seymour out of Grimlock's hand and cradled him close to her "We're going inside so you don't get left in the rain."She glanced over her shoulder and saw Bee was carrying Annabelle, she was happy he had not transformed. No matter how much time Seymour spent around the yellow mech in his bi-pedal mode, once Bee transformed into his alt-mode he refused to get within ten feet of the mech. He had something against cars.
"Grimlock, you need to go and get the other Dinobots and being them inside before the storm comes." Bumblebee ordered.
"No, me Grimlock want to stay with Seymour." The mech pouted crossing his arms like a child.
"Grimlock." Bee said sternly "If you don't tell the others Optimus Prime will be very disappointed and he won't let you have any energon goodies tonight."
"Me Grimlock no care about energon goodies."
"Grimlock, do I need to call Optimus and have him tell you personally?" Bee said using a different tactic; he had learned a lot from helping Mikaela babysit Annabelle when she was younger.
Grimlock lowered his arms and transformed "Me Grimlock no need telling what to do." He said before he stalked off into the woods.
Another rumble of thunder reached Ayla's ears between Grimlock's stomps "We better get going." She walked off towards the base.
"Daddy!" Annabelle ran to give her father a hug "Daddydaddydaddydaddydaddy! Can Seymour come home with us?"
Will Lennox picked his daughter up "There you are, I was looking for you, we've got to get home."
"Can we take Seymour home?" Annabelle asked persistently.
"Seymour?" Will was confused, "Simmons? Hey, why are you covered in fur?"
"No, Seymour the cat Ayla found him in –" Annabelle was cut off from a violent sneeze from her father.
"Sorry." He said as he set his daughter down before his body shook with violent fit of sneezing.
Annabelle and Bumblebee watched Will concerned. Ayla gasped "Oh, no. Major you're not allergic to cats are you?"
Will nodded, "Very." He sniffed "Can't even be in the same room with one for too long or I stop breathing."
"Annabelle, you're covered in Seymour's fur. Come on. Let's go change your shirt real quick." Ayla grabbed Annabelle's hand with her free one; the other was holding Seymour as far away from Will as possible.
"Nah, I'll be fine. Annabelle just needs to brush all of the fur off of her shirt. It's the actual cat that's getting me. I'll move back five feet and be fine."
Ayla helped Annabelle brush as much of Seymour's fur off as possible "Next time, we'll grab a roll of tape to help get all of the fuzz off." She laughed.
They had most of the fur off when a louder rumble of thunder rolled through the base. Annabelle looked up to the sky nervously; she still wasn't so sure about thunderstorms. Seymour was starting to squirm in Ayla's arms, hoping to run for shelter before the storms rolled in.
"That's good. Come on, Annabelle." Will said holding his hand out for his daughter "Sorry about your cat Ayla, but we can't help you. If all else fails, there has to be someone on base who would take him home."
"Thanks, Major, and sorry about your allergies. I hope the drive home won't be too bad." Ayla said meekly.
Will sniffed "I'll be fine." He took Annabelle's hand and started walking away "We'll see you later." He waved over his shoulder, Ayla and Bee waved back.
"Bye Seymour!" Annabelle called, walking backward slowly. Ayla lifted up Seymour's paw and made him wave to the little girl. Annabelle laughed and waved back but a closer, and louder rumble of thunder startled her and she ran to catch up to her father.
Ayla winced as she detached Seymour's claws from her arm, that last rumble had scared him almost as much as Annabelle.
"We better get inside." Bee said glancing up to the darkening sky, "It's going to start raining."
As if on cue, Ayla felt a cold drop on her cheek. She quickly walked through the huge doors into the massive hangar that was the Autobot-Human common area. It was almost completely empty. Optimus Prime and Prowl had taken most of the Autobots to Diego Garcia for training, and most of the NEST soldiers were on leave or in their own rooms. Those remaining were Ratchet, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Kup, Wheeljack, and the Dinobots.
Epps was glued to the giant TV as it broadcasted four hockey games, Kup was relaxing on a mech sized couch watching the games curiously however he wasn't nearly as engrossed as Epps. He glanced to Ayla and Bee as they walked past, "Hey Ayla, Bee. What do you have there?" He eyed Seymour curiously.
"Seymour. Where's Ratchet?" Ayla said hastily, casting glances around expecting the yellow-green mech to step around the corner.
"In a meeting with the base medical team," Kup said dully "They've been in there all day. I don't know how they have that much to talk about." He glanced at Epps, who was oblivious to the newcomers "Though, humans seem to be able to focus on the strangest things. Epps here has been watching …. hockey, I think, all day; some tournament for a cup."
"The Stanley Cup Playoffs!" Ayla said excitedly. She rushed over and sat on the couch to watch the games, "Who's looking good this season?" She asked Epps.
"The 'Wings' are kicking major ass against the 'Pens'" Epps said happily, "I bet they'll win the cup this season."
"I hope so. It's been too long since they won the cup." Ayla said wistfully, becoming engrossed in the games. Kup and Bee shared a look and resigned themselves to trying to understand the human's fascination with the violent sport.
"You know, this reminds me of a game I saw some natives play on –" Kup began.
"Shhh!" Ayla and Epps hissed, not turning away from the huge screen. Hockey was the only force in the universe that would make Ayla pass up one of Kup's stories, the older green mech was surprised to say the least.
Seymour had managed to wriggle out of Ayla's slackened grip and was sniffing Epps curiously. He decided the new person was a friend, no surprise there, and butted his head against the man's large hand. Epps jumped and drew his hand away; he wasn't expecting something hard and furry to attack his hand. He stared at Seymour for a minute, studying the mysterious feline. "Cat." He said for lack of anything else to say.
"Huh?" Ayla broke away from the games, "Oh yeah, that's Seymour."
"Seymour?"
"Uh-huh, found him out in the woods a few weeks ago, brought him inside because of the storms." Thunder shook the base, emphasizing her point.
Epps stared at Seymour, the cat was giving him this 'why aren't you petting me' look. "Eh." Epps shrugged and started to scratch Seymour behind the ears, his attention drawn back to the TV as a fight broke out in one of the games, "Ooooooo that's mean." He laughed gleefully watching the players pummel each other while the ref tried to break up the brawl.
"What is that?"
Ayla winced, "Oh shit." She turned away from the TV "Hey Ratchet, nice day isn't it?" She smiled a huge, fake smile.
The medic did not reply, he continued to stare at Seymour, who was purring happily in Epps' lap.
"He followed me home. Can I keep him?" Ayla tried again.
Ratchet crossed his arms and gave Ayla an 'I am not pleased' look, "Is that the cat who scratched you a few weeks ago?"
"Possibly…" Ayla said sheepishly.
"What did I tell you about that cat?"
"I think it was something along the lines of 'Don't touch the cat or you'll get the plague and die.'"Ayla said lowering her voice to try and mimic Ratchet. She hoped Ratchet was in a good mood.
Ratchet glared at her. He wasn't in a good mood. "You've been feeding it haven't you?"
"Hey, his name is Seymour, and he's a boy." Ayla said defensively.
"You named him? Uggh no wonder you're so attached to him." Ratchet pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation, "I want you to take him outside, now."
"What?" Ayla said, shocked.
"No!" A chorus of voiced echoed back.
Ratchet glanced around surprised, everyone in the room had shouted back.
"Come on, Ratchet," Ayla pleaded "Have a heart, it's storming outside and I wasn't going to leave him out in that." She gestured to the walls where rain beat against steadily. More thunder shook the base.
"That cat has been living outside; he could be carrying any number of parasites and microbes on him. I don't want him getting the base infested with fleas."
Ayla rolled her eyes and picked up Seymour. She moved the fur around his neck and pointed to a white band. "Flea collar; got it for him weeks ago. He's clean, and it's not like he's been eating carrion. I've been feeding him Meow Mix. Besides, cats are naturally clean animals." Ayla held up Seymour towards Ratchet, "Besides how can you say no to this sweet kitty?"
Seymour looked at Ratchet and hissed.
Ratchet growled at the feline and looked at him wish disdain, "Some personnel on base have a severe allergy to cats, letting Seymour stay here could cause them severe health problems."
"So what? We vacuum the furniture, besides he's going to be staying outside unless it's raining and if it is he'll be in my room. He –"
"SEEEEEEYMOUUUUUR!"
"Oh Primus, you did not introduce Seymour to Grimlock."
Ayla shrugged, "It was inevitable."
"SEYMOUR!" Grimlock cried out as he burst through the door, "Where Seymour?"
"Here, Grimlock." Ayla said, setting the cat down. Seymour ran straight for Grimlock. The Dinobot barely had time to bend down before the cat leapt into his hands.
"Me Grimlock, love fuzzy buddy, Seymour." He said bring the cat closer to his face. Seymour turned and looked at Ratchet, Grimlock and hissed. "Why Seymour hiss at Ratchet?" Grimlock said, confused.
"Grimlock, please put Seymour down." Ratchet said, barely containing his aggravation.
"No! Seymour like me Grimlock." The Dinobot said turning away from Ratchet. He started stroking Seymour gently with his finger.
"Grimlock, put Seymour down." Ratchet ordered.
"NO! Seymour stay with me Grimlock!" he roared.
Heavy footsteps pounded down the corridor, Ironhide burst into the room prepared for battle "What the slag is going on in here? All I hear is Grimlock yelling from half way across the base and … cat."
"Yes. Cat. Ayla thought she would befriend a stray and now Grimlock is attached to him too." Ratchet said pointing to the Dinobot and the cat.
"Eugh. I hate small animals, they get all over everything, make messed, and leak lubricants on you!" Ironhide eyed Seymour with disdain. Seymour hissed at Ironhide.
Grimlock growled at the two mechs and stalked over to the other side of the room, "Me Grimlock no let you smoosh tiny Seymour." He cradles the cat to him protectively.
"Grimlock, we aren't going to squish him, we just want him to go outside." Ratchet said slowly, hoping to reason with the protective Dinobot.
"NO! Seymour no go out in the rain!" Grimlock roared again. Seymour jumped startled by the explosion of noise from his perch.
Ayla walked over to Grimlock and tapped his leg, "Grimlock, can I hold Seymour please. If you keep shouting like that while you hold him you will scare him." She held her arms out. Grimlock reluctantly lowered Seymour to Ayla's waiting arms. Ayla took the slightly shaken cat and started whispering soothing words in his ears and petting him calmingly.
"Now about the cat…" Ironhide never finished his thought because he was interrupted by many pairs of feet running towards the rec room.
"What in the name of Primus and sweet Cybertron is going on in here?" Wheeljack said, bursting through the door followed closely by the rest of the Dinobots "…. cat." He said noticing the small feline in Ayla's arms, who was looking considerably more shaken by the sudden arrival of so many new strangers.
"Seymour, Ayla found him in the woods and decided to adopt him, even though it is against base protocol to have pets." Ratchet said, tiring of having to repeat himself.
"Aww, he's so small and cute." Wheeljack said missing the incredulous looks he received from Ironhide and Ratchet.
"Me Grimlock no want Seymour to go out in rain!" he said stomping his massive foot angrily.
"What?" this time it was Wheeljack's turn to give Ratchet an incredulous look, "You're going to make him stay outside in a storm like this? That's downright cruel."
"He was a stray. He's been out in the rain before, one storm won't kill him." Ratchet stated coldly.
"Actually, I'm not sure he was a stray. His fur was too soft for him to have been alone for more than a few weeks. And he acts too much like a house cat to be a stray." Ayla said.
The other Dinobots had joined Grimlock on his side of the room. "Swoop like Seymour." The smallest of the Dinobots said defensively, his brothers nodded in agreement.
Wheeljack walked over and joined the Dinobots "I have to side with them, it would be cruel to throw the cat out in the storm."
"I am the one in charge here while Optimus Prime is away! Disobeying my orders is like disobeying Prime." Ratchet said realizing he was fighting a losing battle.
Ayla took a defensive stance in front of the group holding Seymour. "Good thing I'm not a soldier then." she said defiantly.
Epps tore himself away from his hockey games and stood next to Ayla, "It's just not right to throw the cat out in a storm, man."
"What's the harm in having Seymour here for one night?" Bumblebee asked as he took his place next to Wheeljack.
Ratchet and Ironhide looked to Kup. The older warrior took his time thinking, slowly he moved next to Grimlock and patted the Dinobot fondly, "You know as well as I do that Prime would allow Seymour to stay here one night." He said wisely.
Ratchet glared at the group; he was planning a way to get revenge on each and every one of them, possibly by abusing his power as CMO.
"This is mutiny!" Ironhide seethed.
Ayla lay in the dark staring at her ceiling; the pounding rain was keeping her awake. She couldn't help but imagine Seymour out in the storm; all alone, soaked to the bone, cold, and terrified. The guilt made it impossible for her to settle her mind and sleep.
"How could Ratchet have been so cruel?" she whispered to the darkness. She rolled over and placed her hand on the pillow next to her. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come to her.
With a sigh she reached her hand farther down until she touched a warm ball of fuzz. Ayla smiled and pet Seymour.
"I'm glad we convinced Ratchet to change his mind."
Seymour sighed contently in his sleep, he was glad too.
AN: Grimlock + Kitties = Epic idea for a picture! leave a review if you agree haha!
AN2: GO RED WINGS! (cough cough wings are the best cough cough)