The Favor

Chapter 9

By Voodoo Queen

Author's Note: Hello, Dear Readers! It's lovely to be back among you once again. I hope you're all having a wonderful day. As for myself, any day that I'm able to post a new chapter is a great day in my book. I'm on a roll with this fic and that makes me excited! I'd like to thank all the wonderful people who've taken the time to read and add this fic to their alerts and faves. I'd like to especially thank those who've taken the time to leave me a review. I truly value your feedback. So, thank you, thank you, thank you to rybkakoi, gc, and Lackwit!

Summary: In all the vorns Ratchet had known Wheeljack, he certainly couldn't remember the mech ever mentioning that he had a sister.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, only my own original characters and plot.

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The distant sun broke over the city's horizon, casting an orange glow over the buildings that jutted from the planet's surface and warming the living metal pleasantly. Caliper had always loved this time of day, when the world was just starting to wake up and go about its business. It had taken her systems a couple cycles to sync up with her new schedule but being able to leisurely stroll home at the end of her shift in the rays of the morning sun were worth it in her book. Not to mention that it had the added benefit of putting her overprotective brother more or less at ease for the time being.

It wasn't that the tram station had been far away from Wheeljack's apartment. In reality, it was only about three and a half city blocks. Not that far in the big scheme of things. She wasn't stupid, though. She watched the news and had understood his worries and she loved him all the more for it. Asking Sprocket to switch her to overnights seemed like the easiest way to placate Jackie and, she begrudgingly admitted, it ensured he wouldn't need to solicit his friends, a certain doctor in particular, to watch after her like she was some sort of naive, helpless sparkling.

A frown tugged at her lips. The Autobot CMO was something she wished she could push from her processor but for some reason her thoughts kept looping back around to him eventually in some way or another. It was completely ludicrous, really. Sometimes the thoughts would come completely unbidden at the strangest of times. For example, she could be hard at work on a propulsion reactor core and suddenly notice how the blue radioactive glow of the actinium used to stabilize the fuel cells was nearly the exact same color blue as the medic's optics. It was downright embarrassing.

She could almost hear Sprocket's teasing voice, "Daydreaming again, sparklet?"

"Ugh," she cringed. If Sprocket only knew he'd never let her live it down. She wasn't even sure why the mech occupied her processor. If her brother's commentary on the state of Ratchet's personal life hadn't been enough, running into him in the middle of the Neon District certainly should have clued her in. Again, she reminded herself, she wasn't stupid. Inexperienced? Maybe. But certainly not stupid.

He's seemed so sincere and, for a moment, she'd almost been convinced that he'd held some interest in her beyond her being Wheeljack's little sister. He'd been intently focused on her and seemed genuinely happy to have bumped into her. Wheeljack had told her that he'd gone out with a femme from work but as far as she could see it had only been the two of them present. A small bloom of relief had blossomed in her spark that perhaps Wheeljack had been mistaken. They'd talked, well, Ratchet had done most of the talking. She found his need to seemingly explain away his presence in the District to her a bit odd but she had listened. She could sense that it was important to him for some reason and so she'd let him continue without interruption.

Drinks with his secretary, he'd said. She could understand that. She occasionally went out for a post-shift meet up with the mechs she worked with. It wasn't a big deal. Just friends being friends. He had apologized to her, not for kissing her, no, but for the possibility that he may have made her uncomfortable with his forwardness. She could appreciate that. When she apologized in turn and admitted to him, and herself, that she'd actually enjoyed the action he'd seemed delighted and a bit emboldened. To what end, she wasn't sure, but then he's taken her hands in his own. His warm digits wrapped gently around her's, surprising her at first, but the sincere expression on his faceplates put her at ease somewhat. He'd seemed to be on the verge of asking her something quite profound, at least in his optics, if his body language was anything to go by.

Then, she'd seen her. Or, rather, she'd seen them.

The moment, like a bubble, seemed to burst and Cali wasn't sure if she was sad or mad or jealous or what. But she certainly felt as though she'd been duped and hated herself a bit for getting caught up in the moment. The femme didn't look like any secretary she'd ever laid optics on and definitely didn't seem like she was interested in only organizing the CMO's filing cabinets. She'd noted the femme's flashy, barely there armor that did little to shield her internals and left much of her underlying protoform on proud display. It covered only enough to ensure the femme wouldn't be cited for public indecency by the security patrols when she was out and about.

She had to admit, though, the femme was beautiful.

Cali, herself, had felt suddenly and uncomfortably self-conscious in her presence. She'd never really fretted too much over her appearance. Don't get her wrong, after all, she was a femme and liked to look nice but her armor was, for the most part, functional rather than fashionable. The clean, white plating comfortably encased most of her frame and protected her vital components from the daily occupational hazards that went along with being an engineer and a propulsion scientist. Fancy armor was nice and all but wouldn't do you much good if nuclear radiation and extreme heat was turning your insides into a viscous soup.

Ratchet had seemed horrified at the femme's appearance. She wasn't sure if it was because the femme had caught the two of them together or vice versa. Regardless, she felt her continued presence was highly inappropriate given the obvious circumstances. Ratchet seemed to disagree, however, and had beseeched her to stay. It wasn't until his 'secretary' had began purging her tank in the fountain that she was finally able to make her escape, heedless to the mech calling her name behind her.

Cleansing fluid had burned in her optics but she'd managed to blink most of it away by the time she'd gone back to find that her brother had nearly made it to the front of the line she'd left him in. She'd plastered a smile on her faceplates for his benefit and made up a lie about the 'dinner rush' when he'd asked what had taken her so long. Though oil slushes were the last thing on her mind, she'd paid for the both of them and they'd made their way back toward home with slushes in hand. She'd never been more thankful for Jackie's comforting presence or his endless, enthusiastic tech babble as she had been at that moment.

Caliper was shaken from her thoughts upon the realization that she's made it home. She sucked a cleansing gulp of air deep down into her intakes and blew it out slowly, feeling marginally better. Chin up and soldier on-the world will only get you down if you let it, as their mech creator always used to say. Cali was determined that it wouldn't get her down. At least if she could help it. She marched up the steps to the building just as another couple of bots were on their way out. She recognized them immediately as Jackie's neighbors.

The mech smiled upon seeing her, "Good morning, Caliper."

"Morning," she replied cheerfully before addressing the femme that had followed him out, as well. "It's going to be a beautiful day, I think."

"I hope so," the femme sighed, her optics drifting to the clicking, chirping bundle in her arms. She smiled, "He could definitely use some time at the park."

"Aww," Cali giggled and focused her attention on the wriggling sparkling the femme held. "I think you get cuter every time I see you." She wiggled a finger under the tiny mech's chin which seemed to delight him. Caliper laughed again. "It was good seeing you this morning. Have fun at the park."

"We definitely will." The femme waved as the family unit continued on their way. "Have a good one!"

Caliper smiled wistfully after them. She envied them to a degree, she supposed. How wonderful it must feel to have met someone you love enough to want to join sparks and create sparklings with. Her and Wheeljack's creators had been the perfect example of what she believed spark mates should be and she'd always hoped that she'd find that same kind of relationship some day.

Ah, the romantic musings of a young spark.

Cali laughed at herself. Shaking her helm, she made her way on into the building and up to Jackie's apartment.

Keying in the door code, she shouldered her way in and immediately went to her room to drop off her work supplies. Wheeljack's apartment was pretty large for a bachelor mech. It consisted of two fairly large berth rooms each with their own wash racks, a fuel room, and a large, open main living area. Her brother had found the apartment when he'd first come to the city after deciding he wanted to take up the Autobot cause. He'd chosen this apartment specifically in hopes that he would be able to convince her to eventually come along with him.

Though Cali had appreciated her brother's commitment to keeping them together, and found herself mostly agreeing with the political leanings of the Autobot's illustrious leader, she couldn't bring herself to leave the post she'd worked so hard to earn. Wheeljack had understood, of course. Being chosen to be a part of the Triumvirate's Research and Development Unit was nothing to scoff at and said much of her intelligence and dedication to her chosen field. He always made a point to remind her, though, that she had a room at his place if she wanted it. A room, she admitted, she was happy to make good use of now.

Moving back out into the main living area, Caliper couldn't decide what to do with herself. Now that she and Jackie were basically on opposite schedules she had a lot of alone time to contend with. She couldn't complain, though. Working four cycles on followed by three off was a pretty sweet arrangement if she did say so herself. Sprocket had never failed to look after her, that was for sure. But, back to the matter at hand.

What to do?

She wasn't in the least bit tired despite working all night so she scratched recharge off her list. She was all caught up on the latest scientific and engineering publications so reading was out. She could watch the vid screen but at this time of morning the only things playing were mostly garbage so that wasn't an option she cared for. She supposed she could tidy up the apartment a bit.

She would never say her brother was dirty. That couldn't be further from the truth. He was, however, a tad bit messy. Organized chaos, is what he liked to call it. She chalked it up to his brilliant, some might argue dangerous, processor being pulled in so many different directions by so many different ideas that he simply forgot to pick up after one before he moved on to the next. She could forgive him that. She had to give him credit, though, he always seemed to know just where everything was.

Making her way to the supply closet that stood off the main living area, she rummaged around for cleaning supplies. Finding some satisfactorily clean cloths, metal polish, and other vital cleaning accoutrements she set about the task of cleaning and organizing Wheeljack's apartment.

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Caliper had really gotten into her task. A very organized femme by nature, she had made quick work of retuning everything back into its proper place and had then proceeded to tackle the job of making everything clean and shiny. She started in the fuel room by wiping down all the surfaces, organizing the cabinets, and scrubbing away at the floor. She'd even completely disassembled the energon dispenser, cleaning each part and changing out the filters before putting it all back together again. She'd cleaned her berth room and attached wash racks, ensuring everything was neat and squared away before cleaning and organizing all her personal items. She'd left Jackie's room untouched. He could deal with that on his own. A mech needed his privacy, after all.

She was now in the main area diligently polishing all of the metal work until it positively gleamed in the light. She was rather enjoying herself, too. She hummed a happy little toon, practically dancing from spot to spot, as she shined away with her can of metal polish and cloth in hand. Some may have found the work tedious, but she would have disagreed. The motions were soothing and she'd developed quite a comfortable rhythm.

Dab, dab, dab. Scrub, scrub, scrub. Wipe, wipe, wipe. Shine. Repeat.

She was so into her work that when the door buzzer sounded, her concentration broke and she fumbled the can of polish sending it falling to the floor with a clatter. She quickly retrieved it and wiped up a bit of polish that had gotten on the floor she'd already cleaned. She checked her internal chronometer. It was still fairly early morning and much, much to early for her brother to be home. Besides, it was his apartment and he had the key code so no reason to buzz. She wasn't expecting anyone and she was certain if Jackie had been he would have let her know so as not to be surprised.

With a sigh, she screwed the lid back onto the can of polish and deposited both it and the cloth she'd been using on a table she passed on her way to the door. She had to stretch a quite a bit to look through the small view port built into the door and wondered, not for the first time, why they always seemed to install the slagging things so high up. It was a design flaw, certainly. Surely the bots who manufactured these things had to realize not everyone was built like a Prime? That wasn't her most immediate concern, however.

Caliper's optics widened and she rocked back on her heels, a look of consternation shadowing her features. She briefly considered the idea of simply ignoring the door but then the buzzer sounded again. Plus, she simply didn't have it in her to be so rude. She drew air deep into her intakes, giving herself a once over just to make sure she wasn't too out of sorts and, before she could talk herself out of it, opened the door just wide enough to address the bot on the other side.

"Hello, Ratchet," she greeted doing her best to sound professional.

"Caliper," the mech breathed her designation and his frame seemed to sag in relief when she came into view. "I wasn't entirely sure you'd be home."

"Well," she shrugged. "I am, lucky enough. I wasn't expecting you, though. Jackie isn't here if you were looking for him."

"I know, I know." Ratchet waived off the mention of the Autobot Engineer. "I just left headquarters and that glitch was locked up in his lab doing Primus only knows what."

Cali had to grin at that. "Sounds about right. Are you sure it's in the best interest of your colleagues for you not to be there. You know, just in case?"

Ratchet couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the femme's allusion to her brother's propensity to make things blow up. "I've left my intern in charge. We've treated enough of your brother's blast injuries that I'm confident in First Aid's skills to care for any should they present themselves."

Caliper snickered, "If you say so..."

"I do." Her amusement made him smile. "And," he continued, "I thought it worth the risk to come see you."

"Oh?" Cali raised a brow ridge in surprise.

"Yes," he cleared his vocal processor. "That is, if you aren't too busy?"

"Uh..." Caliper glanced back over her shoulder, her optics landing on the discarded can of metal polish with some longing. After the spectacle the other night she was tempted to tell the mech she was busy. So busy, in fact, that she needed to get right back to what she'd been doing immediately. She considered doing just that, albeit briefly, but the hopeful, expectant look on his face stopped her. "No," she finally said, shaking her head. "I'm not busy. Would you...like to come in?"

"Yes, thank you," Ratchet gave a sigh of relief. "I'd very much like to."

End of Chapter 9

I hope this chapter didn't turn out too stalkerish. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? Let's hope this meeting goes better than their last. Till next time!