Author's Note: This is just going to be a bunch of little fics prompted by the 100 topic fanfic table from livejournal, though I'm bending the rules for that a little bit. Some might be related to others, but most will stand alone. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Transformers is not mine.

Prompt: 06-Hours
Rating: PG/K+
Characters: Ratchet, Prowl, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe
Word Count: 2,038

It took less than sixty seconds for the whole incident to happen. It took close sixty minutes for the battle to end before the medics could get the warrior back to the medbay for proper treatment. It took nearly sixty hours for Ratchet to stabilize the frontliner's spark and major systems enough to tend to the many minor injuries that littered the frame.

Prowl glided into the quiet medbay, pausing to look around briefly. The room was empty, save for the medic. The soft beeps of the monitors seemed almost too loud for his liking. He grimaced when he caught sight of the mangled frame Ratchet was working on.

"How is he?"

"Sunstreaker will be fine now, but will be on full life support for the foreseeable future. I don't want to take him off of it until he wakes up on his own." The medic distractedly reported. "There was a lot of damage to his spark chamber. It was touch and go for a long while. Sideswipe anchored him for me, but several other major system failures didn't make it easy. Fragger offlined on me a couple times. One time nearly took his twin with him." Ratchet stopped his repairs to look at the other. "What exactly happened, Prowl? No one seems to have any details about it. Sideswipe isn't even sure about it."

The black and white mech sighed. "I was separated from my unit and pinned down by Blitzwing. I didn't realize Astrotrain was behind me until Sunstreaker rammed me out of the way. He took the brunt of their attacks for me."

"You put that in your report?"

"Of course. Why?"

"Good. Because those two care for the bots of this unit a lot more than they would ever show. Battle is just a convenient place for them to demonstrate it. They can write it off a lot easier." Ratchet finished reattaching the wiring he had been focused on. "If things like that are in the official report, maybe they'll start to get more respect from others."

Prowl gave a small smile. "You're so attached to them. How many hours do you estimate you've spent fixing them?"

"Total?" Ratchet asked. He glanced around the medbay as he thought about it. "Hmm. Too many hours. Way more than I've spent on any other mech here. I quit counting after a couple thousand."

Prowl's response was interrupted by the entrance of a weary looking Sideswipe, who hesitated in the doorway. "You should be in recharge, Sideswipe," he stated instead.

The ghost of a grin pulled at the frontliner's lip plates. "Can't sleep," he replied, voice pitched to a soft whisper. The paint of his armor was still scratched and chipped. He sported spots of dust here and there, and small dings and dents littered the metal plates. His optics were pale and stayed locked on the still form of Sunstreaker. "Can I stay here, Ratchet?"

"Yeah, kid, you can stay. Here," the older bot went over to a storage unit and pulled out a couple of thermal blankets. He handed them to the red mech as he moved to the berth closest to his twin. Prowl raised an optic ridge, slightly surprised that the medic allowed the red twin into the bay without going through the wash racks first for a more thorough cleaning. Or that he wasn't saying something about the mech's current state of health.

"Thanks," Sideswipe hopped up onto the cool surface, quickly cocooning himself in the blankets and immediately slipping into a light recharge. Ratchet hovered by the younger warrior, hand resting on the black helm.

"You really are soft on them," Prowl whispered.

Ratchet snorted. "I've seen you turn a blind optic to their antics a time or two. Don't deny it."

Prowl shrugged. "They need to have fun sometime. As long as it's harmless."

"You're just as amused at the results as they are. If you didn't have to keep up your image of the stern second in command, you'd let them off every time they pulled a prank." The white and red mech traced small patterns on the recharging bot's head.

"I admit to nothing," Prowl said, though a slight smile tugged at his lips.

After a moment, the medic shook his head and sighed and turned back to his repairs. Prowl reached to the end of the berth and picked up the medical report pad that contained information on Sunstreaker and his condition. He scrolled through the data, occasionally confirming it with the monitors and their displays. Once satisfied, he returned the data pad to its place.

"I still have some reports to finish. I will tell Optimus of Sunstreaker's condition," Prowl said, backing towards the doors. Ratchet nodded, never taking his attentions from his repairs.

Sideswipe stirred at the faint hiss of the doors. "Ratch?"

"I'm here. It was just Prowl leaving."

"Mmm." Pale optics onlined. Sideswipe simply lay where he was, watching the medic work for the next several hours. Slowly, the afternoon slipped into evening. Evening turned into night. Minutes turned into breems, which turned into hours, which turned into joors. Ratchet stopped at random times, grabbing quick moments of recharge for himself before returning to his tasks. Sideswipe drifted in and out of consciousness next to him, always keeping focused on Sunstreaker's face.

When the red mech's lapses into recharge grew closer together and more fitful, the medic finally turned his attention to him. "You really should rest, Sideswipe. Want something to help?" He kept his voice soft, not wanting to stress the fighter any more than he already was. He didn't like seeing the effects of the injuries of one on the other.

"I know, Ratch. No, I just have this fuzzy feeling I'm picking up from Sunny. He's trying to wake up," Sideswipe answered, shifting into a more comfortable position on his side so he could better see the other two. "He just doesn't have the way back yet. I gotta stay up and help him."

Ratchet set his welder down, looking up to check the monitors connected to the yellow twin. Sunstreaker's vital signs had been gaining strength over the last joor. Now as he watched, the improvement was moving faster. For a breem he monitored the mech, scanning his systems to verify the data the screens were showing him and checking with the medical pad from the end of the berth. After a while, he put his scanner down and motioned to the other bot. "Bring him back, Sides."

Sideswipe shuttered his optics and pulled in a deep breath of air through his intakes, letting it out slowly as he turned his focus inwards. He threw open their bond, wrapping his essence around the faint glow that was Sunstreaker. Ratchet watched as the monitors registered the increase of the mech's life force. For a moment, the mech resisted the life support systems, fighting to take control of himself. His intakes hitched, finally evening out into a rhythm that was unsteady and shaky. The affect of the life supports diminished, letting the mech support his own systems. It was a solid hour before either of the twins showed signs of alertness again.

Sunstreaker gave a quiet groan, his dim optics flickering fitfully as he moved towards consciousness. Sideswipe sat up, reaching out and taking a yellow hand in his. "Come on, Sunny, wake up."

"S-s-s-sides…" The breathy moan was barely audible, even in the quiet of the medbay.

"I'm here, Sunny, I'm here."

Ratchet moved to the other side of the yellow mech. "Easy, Sunstreaker. Don't push it. Let yourself adjust."

Slowly, Sunstreaker floated back into awareness. His frame twitched as receptors onlined and his intakes hitched again as his breathing pattern evened out, stabilizing enough that the medic turned off the life support systems. He kept his gaze trained on his brother, letting their bond pull him back from the abyss he had been sinking in. The sound of the medic's voice drew him further into the present. "Sideswipe, Ratchet…"

"That's it, Sunny. We're here," Ratchet let out a sigh of relief. His spark pulsed rapidly, releasing the emotions he had bottled up the past few days. He could relax, now that he knew for certain that Sunstreaker would live.

Finally, the light blue optics completely focused on the surroundings. Sideswipe gave a small, half grin and squeezed the hand he held. "There you are," he cooed.

Sunstreaker squeezed back, hints of a smile on his lips. "'M tired…"

"You should be. I'll tell you right now, I've got a lot yet to fix so you'll be here for a while," Ratchet growled.

The yellow helm rolled to see him. "'M not going anywhere."

"I know. You'll be fine in a few days. You need to rest now though."

"'Kay. Thanks, Ratch…" the yellow mech turned back to his twin. He gave him a rather pitiful look, but Sideswipe only smiled and looked at the medic.

"Ratchet?"

It took less than sixty seconds for Ratchet to nod and for Sideswipe to carefully weave his way through the tangles of wires and lines and clamber up onto the berth with his twin, pulling a thermal blanket up with him, and gently nuzzling the black and yellow helm. It took not even sixty minutes for both to fall into a peaceful and deep recharge under the older medic's guard, the sounds of their soft voices drifting off into silence. It took around sixty hours for Sunstreaker to walk from the medbay, shoulders still slumped in exhaustion and leaning heavily on Sideswipe, but alive and repaired.

It was late into the hours of the night when the medic finally returned to his quarters. The staff meeting about the last battle had gone on for longer than it should have. Prime had wanted detailed reports about Sunstreaker and his part of the battle and the outcomes. He wasn't going to deny his Prime the information about the welfare of his warriors, but Ratchet just didn't care to have to relive the events after witnessing the aftermath firsthand. Once was enough, thank you very much.

For a moment, he let the quiet darkness of his room soothe his tired processor. He had gotten some recharge in over the past few days, but making sure the frontliner was repaired had become his top priority. He could have let Wheeljack or someone take over, but he just didn't have it in him to stop when there was a patient in his bay. Especially if it was the Twins. He chuckled to himself, realizing Prowl was right and he was soft for them. Finally, he turned the lights on, using the dimmest setting. He paused, feeling that something was out of place and quickly scanned his surroundings.

Settled on his berth was a glowing cube of high grade energon. Propped against the wall next to it was a painted canvas. It was a picture of him. He was posed by an empty berth in the medbay, holding a rag and carefully cleaning his favorite set of tools. There was no scowl on his face as usual, but he looked thoughtful instead. He saw Wheeljack sitting at the cluttered desk in the office off to the side, but that part of the scene was shadowed, drawing the optics back to the more brightly lit place he stood at. He recognized the scene from the day before, just after Sunstreaker had been released. Carefully, he lifted the painting, turning it over to look for a hint of who it was from. There was a message printed in flowing script on the backside.

Thanks for all the extra hours you've given us.

It was signed by both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.

Ratchet smiled. He lifted the cube, giving a silent toast before taking a drink. He placed the painting on a shelf and settled back onto his berth, smile still in place. It didn't matter how much of a pain in the aft they could be. It didn't matter what anyone else thought about them. It didn't matter how they had gotten their injuries. What did matter was that he would gladly give them as many extra hours as he could.

Always.

A/N: Thanks for reading!