Training Days

Chapter 7: I ain't leaving

His manifold couldn't keep up with his breath. His head dipped low and a hand clutched his chest. "Primus." He groaned pushing to get up off the rocky surface. He pushed away the alerts that were running through his processor. "I know slaggit" he swore to his own systems shoving away their blaring warnings.

"Ratchet!" Skids slid down next to Ironhide. Both mechs ducked as a munitions round from Starscream barreled past. Ironhide had rolled over ontop the smaller green mech to shield him from the blast.

"Go to optimus…we are losing this battle defend your prime." Ironhide ordered as Ratchet appeared. "I'm alright." Skids could only nod and pat Ironhide's shoulder and turned making a run for Optimus. Ironhide turned back to the green medic with a grunt.

"Like slag you are." Ratchet pulled Ironhide arm over his own shoulder helping him off the ground. Ratchet's hand coupled with Ironhides and small medical scanners hooked into Ironhide's main systems. "I can shut off the alarms your system is popping up but then I have to get to the others…you're not as bad off as you look."

"Who else?" Ironhide asked pitching his head around the XO was trying to get his bearings.

"Arcee has considerable damage." He nodded slowly helping the black mech off the battle field. "Jolt has her away from the fighting he's on his way back to help."

"The other girls?" Ironhide's voice was calm as the system alarms shut down and faded from his heads up display.

"Not a scratch on them." He lay the weaponries officer down on the gravel and plugged a scanner between the plates and jacked into Ironhide's main system. Ironhide could see the images flash in his heads up display he saw exactly what systems were damaged and felt a few reroute. "There we go…you should be mobile at least and I already stopped the system wide alarms….I have your primary cannon online….rerouting main neural lines….complete…." Ratchet pat his shoulder "You're good to go."

"Thanks Ratch." Ironhide shifted up as the medic withdrew his hand. Ratchet gave him a visual once over. "I'll look at your torso plate as soon as I can." Ironhide nodded and looked up in a panic grabbing ratchet's arm with his servo. He looked around almost pain stricken.

"Prime…"

"What about him?" Ratchet put his hand against Ironhide's grill to keep him down.

"Prime…he's hurt." Ironhide stood up against the protests of his body and the yelling CMO. The black mech stepped forward slowly looking around "OPTIMUS!" he called out racing back onto the battle field. He darted his optics darted he could see nothing. Closing his optics he felt out the larger mech. Optimus lay on his side facing away, while Skids and his brother, Mudflapp, tried to battle Starscream on their own. Ironhide fumed opening his eyes he turned to Ratchet. "We have to get to him…move now!"

"And how do you know where he ….slaggit you two…" Ratchet's question cut off abruptly. He wouldn't need to ask again.

It was a 100 yard dash to their leader who lay prone on his front, face down in the sand.. His optics were online, but for how long there would be no telling. Ironhide slid to his knees beside optimus his hand's moving to the larger mech's arms to try to hold back the spray from the leaking lines. "Ratchet seal off these lines…he's gonna bleed ta death!"

"I know I'm working on it." Ratchet moved down over prime to start working. "We need to roll him over on his backstrut."

"Sideswipe you and jolt get over here now and help the twins with Starscream!" Ironhide bellowed over his communications relay. "Alright ratch" Ratchet grabbed prime across his body and Ironhide pushed from his side rolling the larger mech onto his back so that Ratchet could work.

"Yes sir." Sideswipe responded to Ironhide's commands and soon the silver and blue mechs were making their way towards the fray. Sideswipe firing on Starscream, and jolt laughing like a maniac as he let his electro whips out and they danced on the ground.

Starscream's troops were retreating and he was finding himself becoming outnumbered. At the last moment he reached into his subspace and pulled out two plasma bombs. The F22 transformed taking off from a hover. As the Second in command of the decepticons made to make his escape, he let loose of the bombs; launching them down in his exhaust wake.

"Slag" Ironhide grabbed Ratchet and pulled him down over prime to cover their faces and keep Prime covered. The twins were thrown Mudflap into Sideswipe. The two fell back into a small heap as jolt ran to their aid. Skids was tossed to the other side of the battlefield. His helm dented in he remained online only a few moments to see Bumblebee rushing toward him. Then skid's world went black.

The medical bay was quiet. All of Diego Garcia was quiet. Everyone waited. However, no one waited like Mudflapp and Ironhide. No one. The two had been waiting together and no one disturbed them, no a soul or spark dared.

"Doc says he doesn't know." Mudfalp sniffled through his intakes. His nervous servo ran across his neck.

"He's gonna pull through." Ironhide sat back on the little make shift couch across from the two berths. One holding Optimus, the other holding skids. Mudflap leaned against Ironhide quietly. "They're both going to be just fine." Ironhide put his arm around the smaller mech and motioned him. "Lemme see your phase cannon." Mudflapp moved slowly and lifted his arm transforming it into the small cannon. Gathering his tools from a compartment in his arm, Ironhide smiled at him "I owe you an apology." It was soft and quiet and something Ironhide never did.

The smaller mech shook his head back and forth. "No ya don't…" Mudflapp turned his arm over as Ironhide started to poke at the arm mounted cannon's internal systems.

Ironhide mused a moment casting his scanner over the port side of the cannon. "I do." He said quietly his optics looking toward Mudflapp's own. "I stole your brother away from you and I'm sorry for that." He said quietly. "I care for you both, not one more than the other." Ironhide said "I care for all of us here."

"Sometimes with your temper…" Ironhide gave him a glare. Mudflapp sunk down "It's hard ta tell." He admitted, and he was right Ironhide knew that.

"Again…" Ironhide relented "I'm sorry."

"So what's with you and Prime?" The young bot blinked slowly "We all see it….we just want you to tell us what it is."

"Prime…" Ironhide shook his head "Optimus.." he corrected "And I …" the words were hard to find. He felt like he needed to say it, but he felt he could not say it.

"Ya love him." Mudflapp broached quietly almost a question but more a statement.

At a loss for words Ironhide put a hand on Mudflapp's helm. "You're still young…you don't understand.."

Mudflapp pulled his arm away. "Doesn't mean I don't know what love is or isn't…." His optics looked stricken.

Ironhide watched the little orange mech quietly. Despite his age there was thought behind what he said, an innocent wisdom. He nodded slowly "of course not." He nodded slowly "Optimus and I have always been close."

"Brothers in arms?" Mudflap asked and lowered his arm back into Ironhide's Servos.

"Yes…and more…" Ironhide was trying to be honest he just didn't know what else to say.

"You two uh…frag?"

Ironhide was taken aback by the statement from the youngling. He had to commend his bravery on such a topic. "a few times." Ironhide said softly but honestly with a curt nod, but he didn't go into detail.

"You're not so bad…I can see why my brother likes ya so much."

Ironhide smiled and continued to work on the smaller mech's cannon. "I can see why he likes you as well." Soon, a comfortable silence fell over the two and they continued to wait. Just sitting beside one another as Ironhide worked on Mudflapp's cannon calibrations.

Optimus felt the world spin beneath him as he came online. His optics opened slowly, the lids moving slowly as the optics behind looked back and forth. "Ratchet?" he Groaned and started to read all the alerts popping up on his heads up display his hand moved slowly to dismiss a few but he just lay there mostly in a daze.

Optimus heard the shifting and then the footfalls of another in the room."Not here right now." Ironhide's familiar voice broke the silence. Optimus raised his hand, but another hand came to rest on it pushing it back down against his chassis. "Oh no you don't back to recharge."

"Hide…" Optimus let the sound of the other mech's name roll off his vocalizer. Ironhide felt his concern and worry flood over him.

Ironhide looked down and met his leader's gaze :: I'm fine:: the internal communication was short. They had never used it, a bonded pair scared of their own bond, keeping both sides as sealed as possible from one another. "Ya need the rest prime." He continued out loud.

"As do you soldier." The two looked at each other a moment before Optimus looked away.

Ironhide made to turn "I ain't leaving ya." Pulling up a stool he claimed a spot next to the berth. "Deal with it."Optimus' gaze turned to his other side, he looked at skids then down to the recharging mudflapp. "They are fine Prime…Recharge…before I force ratch ta make ya."

Optimus would have liked to argue with the black mech but his systems were already overriding him, he was slipping into reacharge and could not stop it.

More later when I am not so sleepy

Felina