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Chapter 9
Optimus had headed to the command room to start his duties. He was supposed to have a talk with Prowl and Jazz about a new human invention that could lead to a potentially abundant source of energy for humans, which would draw the attention of the Decepticons without a doubt.
Optimus entered the command room to find that Jazz and Prowl along with Ironhide were all standing near Teletraan 1. Although they looked as if they were busy, Optimus could easily tell that the weapon's specialist, his second-in-command, and the tactician were merely talking. Probably about something unrelated to their duties or the human invention, Optimus mused. He had no problem with Autobots merely talking while on duty as long as they did not shirk their duties to do that.
Ironhide was the first one of them to notice Optimus entering the room. "Morning, Prime."
"Morning, Ironhide. Were there any disturbances during the night?" Optimus asked.
"Just silence." Ironhide had always been a soldier in some form, and he wasn't a mech who could stand simply monitoring everything. He liked battle, so not having to fight in the last few days was starting to wear on the Autobots nerves.
Optimus nodded before turning to Prowl. He had intended to ask Prowl what all he had learned about the human device, but never had the chance to ask his question.
"So, Prime. Is the rumor true?" Jazz asked.
"What rumor?" Having been so concerned about Ratchet for so long and being so apprehensive for Ratchet the night before, Optimus had not been hearing the normal Autobot gossip as he was apt to hear. He wasn't even sure what the major news was around the base.
"That Ratchet woke up last night." Jazz replied.
"Oh. Yes. He's awake now. Wheeljack examined him last night and said he could go back to his quarters." Optimus answered.
"Well, couldn't keep him in the infirmary unless they wanted him to get back to work right away. We all know Ratchet. He'd already be back working if he was in there." Ironhide stated.
Optimus chose not to mention the fact that Ratchet himself had stated that he didn't feel like getting back to work already. After all, far be it for him to be the one to ruin Ratchet's reputation as being a complete workaholic who never recharged because of his work.
"Glad to hear it. How does he seem?" Jazz asked.
Optimus knew what they were referring. "No, Jazz. He hasn't launched into one of his fits of temper."
"Knew that one, Prime. When Ratchet has a shouting fit, everyone on the base can hear it." Prowl pointed out.
Ratchet had no shame when it came to his fits of temper, that's for sure. Anyone in the base was bound to hear Ratchet when he started his shouting lectures to a mech whom he was treating.
"I will say that he still has his sarcasm, though." Optimus remarked.
"If he was being sarcastic after just waking up, then he's fine." Jazz stated.
Optimus nodded. "Now, back to what we needed to talk about in the first place."
"Oh. Right." Jazz agreed.
"Well, I'm off duty now, so I'll be heading to get some recharge. I certainly don't want to be Ratchet's first victim after he just woke up." Ironhide then headed out of the room.
"I do feel sorry for the first patient who has to see Ratchet when he gets back to work. Talk about a victim." Jazz shook his head. "That mech might want to make sure that he's unconscious when Ratchet gets to him."
"Give Ratchet time to look over all our medical charts. Once he sees the injuries we got since he was gone, we're all going to be on the receiving end of one of his lectures. Who knows? He might decide to do a group lecture." Prowl remarked.
All three mechs cringed at that thought.
"All right. On to the human invention." Optimus stated.
"Right. I gathered more intel. It appears that it's still in the planning stages, so no way to know if this invention will actually work. Once it's built, we'll be able to see if there is a legitimate concern." Prowl reported.
"Still, if Megatron knows that it's a potential source of energy, he's going to go after it. Even if it's just a theory. He might go after the plans for it to build it for himself. Or even improve upon it." Optimus replied.
"Think we should warn the inventors?" Jazz asked.
"It couldn't hurt." Optimus answered.
Ratchet and Wheeljack had been playing their game for quite some time while Wheeljack caught Ratchet up on some of the things that had been happening on the base while he was gone.
"So, Sideswipe thought it would be a good idea to reformat Ironhide's weapons into water blasters while he was in recharge?" Ratchet asked.
Wheeljack nodded. "When Ironhide found out, there was explosion of anger. Rivaled you, actually. I swear that the walls have a few cracks from how loud he was shouting."
"Did he find out it was Sideswipe?" Ratchet asked.
Wheeljack snickered. "Oh yeah. Ironhide made him pay. Had Sideswipe go through a straight week of three-hour training sessions, one on one, with him every day. Needless to say, Sideswipe came in for repairs every day." He shook his head. "Ironhide let him know not to ever mess with his weapons again."
"Sideswipe will do it again without a second thought." Ratchet remarked.
"True enough." Wheeljack agreed.
"Were you able to get Ironhide's weapons fixed?" Ratchet asked.
"Between me and Skyfire we were able to. Not an easy task, I'll tell you." Wheeljack replied.
Ratchet shook his head. "Anything else I should know?"
"Not really. Unless you want to hear about some more of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's pranks." Wheeljack answered.
"You can spare me. What I've imagined is bad enough." Ratchet replied.
Wheeljack chose not to mention anything that had to do with how all of the mechs dealt with thinking that Ratchet was gone. He didn't think Ratchet would be thrilled with knowing that every mech had wanted to hunt down every last Decepticon and get revenge for what they had done. He'd let Optimus handle telling him that.
There was a sudden clank in the room.
It wasn't the first time that Wheeljack had heard the sparkling do that, but it still amazed him.
Ratchet vented air. He always felt a bit of relief when he felt the sparkling moving because it always reassured him that nothing had happened to the sparkling. It always made him remember that the sparkling was fine and that they were both fine.
"Can you actually feel the sparkling when it moves?" Wheeljack asked.
"Of course I can. It's inside of my body, Wheeljack." Ratchet retorted.
"I guess it just amazes me that you can feel that. I mean, we're made to be sturdy, so the fact that you can feel it-" Wheeljack trailed off.
Ratchet scoffed. "'Jack, I can feel the sparkling just fine. It's not an unusual phenomenon to have a sparkling moving inside of you. More mechs than I can count have gone through something similar to this."
"I know, but I've never had the chance to observe anything like this." Wheeljack replied.
"Well, you're going to get a firsthand look at how a sparkling is born because as Optimus pointed out to me last night, you are my doctor for the foreseeable future, meaning you're also the one who is going to be delivering the sparkling when it's time." Ratchet told him.
Wheeljack started. "Oh, scrap! I hadn't even thought of that."
Ratchet blinked. "What did you think was going to happen?"
"I don't know. I don't have the first clue what to do." Wheeljack was starting to panic.
Ratchet raised an optic ridge. "'Jack, you do remember that I gave you that material on how a sparkling was born. I did that just in case a mech on the base had a sparkling, and I needed help. You're going to have to do it now."
"Ratch, I know how this goes in theory, but I don't have the first clue about how to actually do it! I mean, I've never seen a sparkling born, much less helped one! I'm a scientist!"
Ratchet couldn't stop the smirk. "From what I've heard, you have become a medic, and you don't have a choice in this. I'm certainly not trusting myself to someone like Ironhide or the Twins when it comes time for the sparkling to come."
Wheeljack was close to a full-blown panic. He was going to have to deliver a sparkling in about three weeks, and he didn't have a clue as to how to do it. He might have known how a sparkling was conceived and how it was born, but knowing how it goes and actually doing it were two completely different things. He was so screwed.
Ratchet sighed. "Can I assume that Skyfire is going to be the one assisting you?"
Wheeljack nodded. Since Skyfire had been helping him since they first got Ratchet back to the base, and since Skyfire was the other mech that Ratchet had been training, it only made sense for Skyfire to help with this, too.
"In that case, I believe I am going to have to tell you two everything that I know about this so that you will know when the time comes." Ratchet stated.
"Can't you just walk us through it then?" Wheeljack asked.
"'Jack, I have delivered sparklings before, and if I know anything it is this, the mech having the sparkling is usually in immense pain at the time. I won't be in a medical mindset at the time. In fact, I am probably going to be shouting a number of curses to Optimus's name as well as nearly breaking his hand off from the pain. I won't be able to do much more than that. You're just going to have to know what to do beforehand."
Wheeljack slammed his head down into the table they were sitting at.
Ratchet looked at him amused. He had simply assumed that Wheeljack understand that he was the one who would have to deliver the sparkling. He realized that his friend hadn't thought of the subject of the sparkling's birth in great detail. He had certainly seen the pain those mechs giving birth were in, and he knew that he most certainly would be useless when it came time for the sparkling to come. He would really have to work with the two mechs who would be delivering the sparkling. After all, he certainly wanted things to go as smoothly as possible, especially if two scientists inexperienced in the ways of birthing were the ones helping him.
Throughout the day, Optimus had dealt with numerous details that were usual throughout his day. He had been asked several times about Ratchet, and he had simply told them that Ratchet was fine.
Since now all of the Autobots knew that Ratchet was not only awake, but back in his quarters, there was a light atmosphere in the base. Everyone knew that the medic was going to be all right with time, which meant that things were a lot easier for them all now.
Optimus was in his office, reading over some reports that he had been given. He was planning to simply read them until his shift ended before he headed back to his quarters. He was ready to see Ratchet again after what seemed like an endless shift, even if the shift was no longer than normal.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Optimus didn't even look up from the report he was readying.
Ironhide opened the door and walked in. "Prime."
Optimus glanced up. He checked his internal chronometer and found that his shift had not ended, which meant that it wasn't time for the weapon's specialist to start his. "What is it, Ironhide?"
"Well, there was something that I wanted to ask you." Ironhide replied.
Optimus set the reports aside before he gestured to the chair. "What is it?" He asked as Ironhide sat down.
"Well, I was wondering if you had talked to Ratchet at all." Ironhide answered.
Optimus frowned, even though Ironhide couldn't see it behind his combat mask. "Of course I've talked to him."
Ironhide shook his head. "No. I mean have you talked to him about the sparkling. It's a big deal, all things considered."
Optimus then realized that no one else on the base knew that Wheeljack and Skyfire's initial conclusions had been wrong. He figured that now was as good a time as any to make sure that the truth got around. "Actually, we have, but not in the way you think. As it turns out, everything involving the sparkling wasn't what we originally thought."
Ironhide looked a little confused.
"Ironhide, Wheeljack and Skyfire were wrong. Ratchet wasn't forced into an interface with one of the Decepticons. The sparkling is mine." Optimus told him.
Ironhide looked surprised. "Hold on. He was carrying before he was captured?"
Optimus nodded.
"Then why the frag was he out fighting that day! That was nuts!" Ironhide had never thought that Ratchet would do something as crazy as fighting when he was carrying a sparkling.
"I actually haven't spoken to him on that detail, but Wheeljack and Skyfire concluded that Ratchet most likely did not know that he was carrying at the time. I know that had Ratchet even suspected it, he would have told Wheeljack and Bumblebee and not gone out. They would have understand. Ratchet never would have endangered himself when he was carrying." Optimus replied.
Ironhide then leaned. "Well, that changes things."
"Yes, it does, but for the better." Optimus replied.
Ironhide nodded.
"And if you want to start spreading that around the base, go ahead. Everyone is going to need to know that much. I'd rather no one pissed Ratchet off by making a remark about the sparkling being a Decepticon's." Optimus stated.
Ironhide shuttered. That was scary just thinking about the reaction that Ratchet would have if someone was stupid enough to say it around Ratchet.
"Indeed." Optimus was referring to Ironhide's physical cringe at the thought. "I don't think even I would be able to hold him back from tearing that Autobot to shreds, even in his weakened state." Optimus thought about that a moment. "In fact, I'm not certain that I would risk my circuitry trying to hold Ratchet back."
"Don't blame you there. That would be quite the blow up." Ironhide agreed.
"Just make sure that gets around the base." Optimus told him.
"All I'd have to do is tell the Twins or Jazz. I'm sure that it wouldn't take long for the entire base to know that bit of news." Ironhide replied.
"Indeed." Optimus agreed.
"So, when do you think he'll be getting back to work?" Ironhide asked.
"I suspect that in a few days, Ratchet is going to be arguing with Wheeljack about getting back to work. Once Ratchet recovers his strength, I doesn't see him being willing to stay out of the infirmary." Optimus stated.
"How do you plan on managing it?" Ironhide asked.
"I have no idea. That is one thing I have not figured out yet." Optimus replied.
"Good luck with that. I'm sure the doc is going to want to be back to repairs soon. That'll be a trip." Ironhide stated.
"Don't I know it." Optimus knew that Ratchet was one of the best medics on all of Cybertron. It was why he was glad that Ratchet had joined them. Granted, there was little worry that Ratchet wouldn't join them considering he was bonded to Optimus and Optimus had been named the leader of the Autobots. However, Ratchet had a tendency to let his devotion to healing take precedence over his own health, which had been a constant worry for the Autobot leader.
When Optimus returned to his quarters, he found that Ratchet and Wheeljack were sitting at the table that was in the room with a pile of datapads sitting on the table. Ratchet was pointing something out to Wheeljack and Wheeljack was nodding.
Optimus was curious as to what the two were doing. When Wheeljack had offered to keep an eye on Ratchet that day, he had half expected to come back to find Wheeljack working on one of his inventions, not looking over datapads with Ratchet.
Ratchet had noticed Optimus, but decided not to say anything at first. He knew that what he was talking about with Wheeljack was going to become very important in the very near future, and he wanted Wheeljack to be ready. Last thing he needed was for the scientist to be unsure of what he was doing.
Optimus finally made a noise like he was clearing his throat in order to get Wheeljack's attention. He had no doubt that Ratchet already knew that he was there.
Wheeljack finally looked up and noticed Prime standing there. "Oh. Sorry, Optimus. I guess I got too involved in this."
"That's all right. " Optimus was curious as to what the two were talking about.
"I would suggest you take these and study them closely, 'Jack. Skyfire needs to study them, too. I can tell you two things to expect as well." Ratchet told them.
Wheeljack nodded. "I've never done this before, but it should be an interesting experience. Educational."
Ratchet rolled his optics. "And it'll be a very painful experience for me."
Wheeljack snickered. "The pedes on the other foot now."
"Yes. I know."
Optimus was beyond confused. He had no idea what the two were going on about, and it worried him about what Ratchet said.
Wheeljack gathered the datapads. "I'll talk to you more about this tomorrow, Ratch." He nodded to Optimus before he left the room.
Optimus turned to look at Ratchet. "And just what was all that about?"
"'Jack didn't consider the fact that since I'm the only actual medic on the team, he's going to have to be the one to deliver the sparkling when the time comes." Ratchet answered.
Optimus was surprised. "He didn't know that?"
"It hadn't crossed his processors yet. In any case, the only mech on this base who has ever delivered a sparkling is me, and I won't be much help at the time. I've delivered enough sparklings to know that it is a painful process. I won't be much help then. So between now and when the sparkling comes, I am going to have to teach Wheeljack and Skyfire everything I know about this so that they will be prepared to help me." Ratchet explained.
"That makes a bit more sense." Optimus walked over to sit by Ratchet. "I just hope that they know what they are doing."
"I'll make sure they so." Ratchet shook his head. "Only Wheeljack would consider this educational. Granted, he's right. I'm on the other side of the berth in this one."
"You know what to expect, though." Optimus pointed.
"I know what to expect, yes. That doesn't mean that it makes it any easier." Ratchet replied.
Optimus was fairly certain that he knew what Ratchet meant. He may have never witnessed a sparkling being born, but he had heard enough back on Cybertron to get the gist of it. He knew that the mech in labor was in a great deal of pain throughout the entire process. He had heard horror stories of the things that mechs said or did when they were in labor. With Ratchet, he had a feeling that the colorful swearing Ratchet had a tendency to do when he was angry would be a great deal more colorful, and Optimus had a feeling that he was going to be on the receiving end of some of those curses as well as have a number of threats thrown at him. All of which he would be expecting.
"So, how was your day?" Ratchet asked.
"It was fine. No major damage done. Mostly we have a new human invention we're keeping an eye one because if it works, it could become a major source of energy." Optimus explained.
"And the-Decepticons- will come after it." Ratchet couldn't stop the hitch in his voice at mentioning the Decepticons. He tried to hide it, but couldn't. Memories of what had happened while he was there were starting to surface, tormenting him.
Optimus had noticed Ratchet's uneasiness in saying the words. He didn't expect it to be easy for Ratchet to admit to, but he knew that his bonded was having a difficult time dealing with what had happened. He had hoped to wait a bit before getting Ratchet to tell him about what had happened, but he knew that Ratchet needed to talk about it. "Ratchet."
Ratchet looked up at him.
"What happened while you were there?" Optimus asked.
Optimus didn't have to clarify it for Ratchet to know exactly what he meant. It wasn't a conversation that Ratchet particularly wanted to have.
"Could we please not have this conversation now?" Ratchet had hoped to wait a while before they had that conversation.
Optimus frowned before he took Ratchet by the hand and forced him to stand up. "Ratchet, I know that something like this won't be easy for you to talk about. I've been there myself." He had. He'd been a Decepticon prisoner before he had been named Prime, and it had not been easy for him to deal with. The amount of torture was almost unbearable. But he had gotten through it thanks to the support, comfort, and love of the mech in front of him. Now it was his turn to help Ratchet. "Talking about it helps, Ratchet."
Ratchet did know that. He just didn't like the thought of seeming weak in front of anyone, even his lover.
Optimus vented air before he pulled Ratchet to him, holding him tightly against his larger frame.
While any other mech would have gotten a flinch out of Ratchet, that was not the case with Optimus. He was probably the only mech that could do this without getting a flinch. Or a fist to the face for it. Ratchet relaxed into the embrace. He felt safe, a feeling he hadn't felt in a while.
"I do understand." Optimus murmured.
The deep words were spoken right beside Ratchet's audio receivers, causing a shiver to run down Ratchet because of that deep voice. Optimus's voice had always had that effect on him, and this time was no different.
"It's not easy to talk about something of this magnitude. I know that, Ratchet. When you are ready to talk about this, you know that I'm willing to listen." Optimus told him.
Ratchet did know that. Better than anyone. He knew that Optimus was always ready to listen to any problem that any mech on the base had, regardless of how trivial the problem seemed. Optimus was always even more willing to listen when it came to Ratchet. He had listened to more than one of Ratchet's rants about how stupid some mechs could be after Ratchet had spent a long day in the infirmary. Optimus would listen, and he would offer the comfort that Ratchet knew he desperately needed.
But he wasn't ready to talk about it. He wasn't ready to face those memories. He had faced some horrific torture, some that Optimus himself had been through since Ratchet recognized the injuries. Ratchet wasn't able to face that fear that he felt, the pain he had went through, emotional and physical. He just didn't have the willpower or the courage to face it now.
"I will talk about it when I'm ready, Orion. I promise you that." Ratchet told him. And he meant it.
"All right." Optimus murmured. He would have preferred that Ratchet talk about it now, but he knew from experience how hard it could be to talk about. He wouldn't force it out of Ratchet. Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "What did you and Wheeljack do today?"
"We played a few games, and he caught me up on a few of the antics of the Twins." Ratchet replied.
Optimus released his grip on Ratchet as the two went to sit down on the berth. "Yes. Those two caused quite a bit of a ruckus." He shook his head. "You'd think that they would run out of ideas."
"Or courage. Not many would have the courage to reformat Ironhide's weapons. I might have threatened to do it in the past, but unless he truly pissed me off, I wouldn't do that to him." Ratchet remarked.
Optimus smiled. "Neither would I. You never mess with Ironhide's weapons."
Wheeljack had gone back to his workshop to work on one of his projects, but he found his thoughts wandering back to Ratchet. He knew Ratchet was in bad shape emotionally. He just didn't think that there was a mech on the base who would be able to help him other than Optimus, and Optimus might be the only mech Ratchet would let past those barriers of his and help him deal with it.
"Wheeljack?"
Wheeljack looked up to see Skyfire in the room. "Oh, hey."
"You asked me to come." Skyfire stated.
"Yeah. Something Ratchet told me today reminded me of something we might not have thought of."
"What?" Skyfire was confused and slightly worried.
"Since Ratchet's the only medic we have here, you and I are going to have to be the ones to deliver the sparkling when it's time." Wheeljack explained.
"Oh, yes. I knew that. I know we're going to have to talk to Ratchet and find out all that we need to do." Skyfire agreed.
Wheeljack pushed the datapads he had read through toward him. "Start reading. We've only got three weeks to become able to do this."
Skyfire walked over and picked them up. "All right, but we're going to need more than reading materials."
"We will. Ratch has said that we're going to be hearing everything he knows on the subject, so we're going to be spending a lot of time with Ratchet." Wheeljack told him.
Skyfire nodded. "Better that we know what exactly we are doing." Skyfire agreed.
Wheeljack nodded in agreement.
Skyfire frowned before he sat down across from Wheeljack. "Are you all right?"
"No. I'm worried about Ratchet. While physically he's on his way to making a full recovery, emotionally, he's bad off." Wheeljack explained.
"I imagine. He can't have had it easy." Skyfire said.
"We both know that. The problem is that when Ratchet is hurting, he tends to bottle it up and deal with it on his own. In other things, I wouldn't care, but he can't deal with this alone. Something of this magnitude will destroy him if he doesn't talk about it." Wheeljack said.
"I see." Skyfire was silent a moment. "Would he not talk to Optimus about this?"
"Optimus is the only one he might open up to, and it will take work on Optimus's part to get him to talk about it. I have no fear that Optimus will manage it, but in the meantime, Ratchet's not going to deal well." Wheeljack explained.
Skyfire nodded as he thought about it. "Well, we can keep an eye on him, but not more than that."
"I know." Wheeljack leaned back in his chair. "Given the state he was in, we know that it was bad. He admitted there was no forced interface, so that is good, but the amount of torture he underwent had to be horrific. Add in the fear for the sparkling-" Wheeljack shook his head. That was not something he wanted to imagine at all.
"Not a very good image." Skyfire remarked.
"No. It's not. Ratchet can put on a good show to make everyone think he is fine, but I'll be able to tell the difference. Jazz and Ironhide will, too."
"As will Optimus." Skyfire put in.
"That one is a given." Wheeljack replied.
Skyfire reached across the table and placed a comforting hand on Wheeljack's hand. "We can only do so much. Ratchet knows that we are here for him, and he knows we are willing to listen. In some ways, that's enough. In time, Ratchet will speak to Optimus of this. All we can do is be there and support him through all this."
"I know." Wheeljack sighed. "It's the pain, the memories, and the stress that it will put on Ratchet in the meantime that worries me."
All Wheeljack really wanted was to have his friend back. He wanted the old Ratchet who yelled at injured mechs, who threw tools at them to try to knock some sense into them, who lectured to show that he cared. He would know that Ratchet was back when he started to act like that again. For now, he would need to simply be there and let Ratchet know that he was willing to listen.
Let me know what you think.
