So, i decided to continue it. Hopefully this will help me get back on track with my other stories. :)

Week 1

The first week was already just about finished and coming to a close. In that time, Ratchet had completed many different lessons with Francesca, but the main problem was he would give her something to do and then either sit at his desk and work, or leave the med bay. She had spent hours on end studying both human anatomy and cybertronian anatomy and had taken hundreds of notes comparing the two alone.

Ratchet could admit that he was impressed with her progress. She did not talk back to him, made sure to ask questions if she didn't understand something, took notes even when she wasn't told to.. and most importantly; she got her work done.

She had even insisted on helping him with some of his paperwork, which nearly stacked to the ceiling. Of course at first he said no, but then after she kept insisting, he finally gave in and taught her how to organize certain files and write different papers. He had to admit, she was a lot of help.

He found that he could take breaks more often than usual and chat with a lot of the mechs and soldiers he usually didn't have time for. He even got a chance to head to the shooting range with Ironhide for once.

"You've really got her wrapped around your finger if she's doin' all this work for you," Ironhide commented just after firing his cannon at a target. It disappeared in smoke.

Ratchet gave him a dirty look before shooting his own weapon once. "I do not. She's being a good help, is all. Besides," He paused after examining his shooting. "I've been able to get out and actually do things."

"Maybe she can help change your attitude," Ironhide joked. Of course, Ratchet was hardly ever in the mood for jokes these days. He was mid-aim when Ironhide said that, and suddenly, he turned his cannon to face the weapons master. Ironhide flinched back, not even going to question of the medic would shoot or not. "I'm jus' kiddin'."

Ratchet lowered the cannon with a loud cycle of his vents and his arm flung to his side. "In all honesty, I'm trying to avoid her."

Ironhide rolled his optics with a groan. "You kiddin' me? I thought you said she was a good one this time." He fired another shot, but something happened and the target still remained. Suddenly not in the mood for the shooting range anymore, he shut his cannon down.

Ratchet shrugged, transforming his cannon back to his hand. "She is, but.." He stopped. "Oh, never mind." He turned away, folding his arms while examining the sunset.

Ironhide frowned deeply, knowing exactly what was wrong. it didn't take a scientist to see that Ratchet was still mourning a loss. "You need to stop thinking about Xaviera."

Ratchet spun around at that single name. His glare could've burned through metal. Luckily Ironhide knew how to stand his ground. "Don't say that name."

Ironhide turned his back to the medic, examining the other side of the horizon. He shook his head with a chuckle. "I knew you'd see it eventually. They are a lot alike."

Ratchet's face softened but it did not last long. "Thanks for practicing with me," He said before turning around and walking back to the med bay. During the walk there, Ironhide's words had repeated over and over in his head like a broken record. There was no denying what Ironhide said was true, but maybe Ratchet just didn't want to believe it. He always believed Xaviera to be one of a kind and yet, here's Francesca.. and they could be twins.

Xaviera was always hard working, always listened to him, never barked back. She was his dream femme and after she had passed on, there was no moving on for the CMO. The only thing he could do, for her, was to continue his duty and help save lives.

And now, it seemed, he was training a reincarnation, as ridiculous as that sounded. He should have never agreed to train her. He should've told Optimus he was not ready. Then perhaps he would be thinking of other things.

And yet, he was still finding himself thinking of her. The both of them. And yet, he still found himself walking to the med bay when he clearly wanted to be anywhere but there.

As he approached the med bay, he had to stop and ponder why the doors were already open. He wasn't used to it. And then he remembered that he left them open for her. Being a cybertronian meant that he could cool himself off when needed. Being a human meant one would need the use of a fan or other cooling device to stay comfortable.

So he had left the doors open for her so she would not be locked up in a room with no ventilation and so that a breeze, though they did not come often, would be able to make its way inside.

She greeted him with a smile he would die for, but would not ever admit. "Hey," She waved, flashing white teeth. She had just set her pen on the desk as she put her full attention on him. He wished she didn't.

Still, he knew his manners and smiled back. "How is your work coming along?" He made his way to his desk, trying not to make eye contact. When he sat down, he felt relief. It was then he did look at her.

She shrugged. "It's going well. Are you okay?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows as she examined him. Though he had felt relief when sitting down, he was still depressed. And was no doubt showing it.

He mentally cursed to himself. Reminding himself to never train newcomers ever again over and over again. But, being nice, he nodded. "I'm fine."

She did not look too convinced. Being one to never pry into another's personal business, she asked nothing more of it. Instead, she stood up and grabbed her notebook. Now curious, Ratchet followed her with his eyes as she made her way towards him. "I wrote some things in Cybertronian. I was practicing a little. Just some basic phrases." She reached the notebook up to him. "Can you tell me if it's correct?"

At first he paused, examining her entire frame. She was so fragile looking. With a sigh, he stood up from his desk and she slowly lowered the notebook. She watched as he transformed into his alternate mode and she was about to ask him again what was wrong, but she stopped when she saw his holoform appear.

She jumped slightly, not expecting it. She did know of the holoforms, but nothing could prepare her for the fact that a human-looking being was going to just appear in front of her like magic. He reached his hand out. "Yes, I can." She gave him the notebook and he examined it thoroughly. "Hm," He began. "It's clear and perfectly readable. Just be cautious about the curves and angles. Sometimes they get confusing and just a simple mistake can make one symbol look like another."

She nodded as she took the notebook from him. Now that he was on her level, he could see her much better and closer. Her skin was lightly tanned from the hot sun and her face lightly freckled. Her eyes were a light blue, which definitely stood out with her dark hair. He could tell it was dyed. "Thank you," she said, her smile beginning to show. "It's a lot harder than I thought. Way harder than Arabic, in my opinion."

He chuckled and that was about it. "It's a piece of cake if you came from Cybertron."

She looked down, and Ratchet wondered why she was acting so shy all of a sudden. When she looked back up, she scratched her head. "I was wondering.. if you could tell me something about your planet."

Ratchet frowned. He had never hoped to talk about the planet. It was nothing but a pile of rubble floating in the middle of space. He shook his head. "It's not very interesting, trust me."

She looked disappointed. And then she sighed. "I guess you'd have a point. I mean, if an alien asked me about Earth, I'd probably say the same."

Ratchet shook his head again. "No," He began to think about Cybertron and how beautiful it used to be. How you could walk around and not hear cannon fire in the distance. How he was only treating illnesses and mechanical problems and not battle wounds. With a shudder, he added. "Earth, compared to Cybertron, is a work of art. Back before our war, Cybertron could have been the most beautiful planet ever created. Now," He sighed and looked away. "Now it's just a pile of scrap floating in the dark abyss of space." The words came out harsher than intended.

Francesca looked hurt. "I'm sorry I brought it up, Ratchet. I didn't know-"

"It's alright," He told her, though it wasn't entirely the truth. It was bad enough he had made her feel bad with his comment. He watched as she said no more, and slowly turned around and walked back to her desk. Sitting down, she began to write some more. Ratchet had never felt this bad in years. He was beginning to feel sorry for the way he said things. Knowing he would regret this later, he sighed and looked over at her. "You're doing a wonderful job, Cesca."

Turning her head, Ratchet could also admit.. of the many things he had admitted to himself today, that he was happy to see her bright face as she smiled back at him.

Yeah.. I couldn't resist. xD Read and review if you'd like. Ideas are appreciated. I'd like to thank FlowerCrazy for giving me the push I needed to do this. :P And for her ideas, which she has given me a lot of!