My family just got the Internet back today, so like I said before, I'm updating all three of my stories! Thanks for the patience!
Units of time as I use them:
Astrosecond= .273 seconds
Klik= 1 minute
Joor= 3 hours
Cycle= 1 day
Breem= 1 week
Groon= 1 month
Stellar cycle= year
Meta cycle= 5 years
Deca cycle= 10 years
Orn= century
Vorn= 5 centuries
:underline:- spark twins talking
:bold:- bonded mechs talking
:italics:- comm link
Don't own Transformers!
Chapter 13
After spending a great deal of time with his friends and learning that they were all more like family than anything, Ratchet had allowed Bluestreak to drag him away from the group. The medic couldn't find it in his spark to deny the gray Praxian much of anything considering all of the grief he had been under. "Where are we going, Bluestreak?"
Bluestreak simply smiled back at his grand-carrier. "You'll see."
Springer, Lightshow, and Hot Rod, the ever curious younglings that they were, were following close behind their carrier. They wanted to see what it was that Bluestreak wanted to show their carrier.
Bluestreak then stopped and turned to look at Ratchet.
Ratchet stared in shock at the crystal gardens that he was seeing. He had to admit that these gardens were far grander and gorgeous than the ones back in Polyhex had been. In fact, they were downright breathtaking.
Bluestreak grinned at the expression on his grand-carrier's faceplates. "Thought you'd like to see this."
Ratchet finally turned to look at Bluestreak. "Have these gardens always been here?"
"Since you were, yeah." Bluestreak's grin turned to an affectionate smile. "When you and Grand-Sire first moved here, you hated the fact that there were no gardens of any type on the premises. You haven't even seen half of the property that belongs to the Prime." Bluestreak turned to look at the gardens. "Grand-Sire had the gardens installed because he knew you wanted them. He surprised you with them. You'd always loved gardens, so he had one set up. It's gotten even bigger and more beautiful since you've been gone."
"And anybot can use them?" Ratchet asked.
"Pretty much. At least those that are allowed in the palace. You couldn't restrict it to no bot being able to come in. You wanted anybot to come in when they wanted." Bluestreak replied.
Ratchet was amazed at just how beautiful these gardens were. They were truly magnificent. He could see himself coming out here to simply sit and read. Or enjoy the view.
"Does this mean that we can come play here?" Hot Rod asked.
Ratchet looked down at his son. "As long as you have an adult with you, I believe so, Hot Rod." He then turned his focus back to Bluestreak. "Thank you for showing me this."
"Come on." Bluestreak led his grand-carrier to the back of the gardens where there were benches set up which held a view of the gardens as well as a playground that wasn't far off.
Ratchet's jaw dropped.
Bluestreak giggled. "Once Grand-Sire knew you were carrying, he had this built. He wanted your creations to have a place to play and so that you could enjoy the gardens like you had a habit of doing."
"Carrier, can we go play?" Springer asked excitedly. He really wanted to go and play on the playground. It looked so fun!
Ratchet smiled, seeing that all three wanted to go play. "Yes. You can go play for a bit."
Immediately, the three took off running to the playground.
Ratchet smiled as he sat down on the bench. "Optimus did all this for me?" His optics went front the beautiful gardens to the playground that had been designed for younglings.
Bluestreak nodded. "Grand-Sire always wanted you to be happy. He did these things because he wanted you to be happy." The gray Praxian giggled. "Sire always said that Grand-Sire could never say no to you."
Ratchet smiled at that statement. He knew that he wouldn't take advantage of something like that. The medic watched as his younglings played on the playground. He was glad to see them having so much fun, and he knew that they would want him to bring them here a lot.
"I just thought that you'd like to see this place." Bluestreak told Ratchet.
"I do like it." Ratchet turned to look at Bluestreak. "Enjoying the sight of a beautiful crystal garden is something that I still enjoy. Creon had quite beautiful crystal gardens, though I am sure that they do not compare to the ones I've heard about here in Iacon, Praxus, or the Crystal City."
Bluestreak grinned. "I've seen all three, and Praxus has to have the most beautiful. You even said that once before. We'll have to take you there and let you see for yourself just how beautiful the Praxian crystal gardens are."
Ratchet chuckled. "I get the feeling that Optimus would have to go with me. I don't see him allowing me to go anywhere without him anytime soon."
"Probably not." Bluestreak agreed. He hesitated a moment before asking something that had been bothering him. "Grand-Carrier, what is going to happen with you and Grand-Sire? I know that you don't remember him at all, so I just wondered where you two were going."
Ratchet looked at his grand-creation a moment. "It would seem that Optimus was right when he told me that you have a bit of nosy streak."
Bluestreak felt his faceplates heat up, and he looked away in embarrassment.
"I would like to know as well."
Both Ratchet and Bluestreak looked to see that Prowl and Smokescreen had walked up behind them.
Prowl glanced at his carrier. "I noticed yesterday that you and Sire were staying rather close to each other. Close enough that I am certain that your EM fields were mixing. You would have thought that you wouldn't want him that close since you don't remember him."
Smokescreen grinned. "Come on, Carrier. Give us the scoop." He walked over and plopped down beside his carrier. "Curious processors want to know."
Ratchet looked at all three Praxians before sighing in defeat. "Just don't go telling everybot about this. Optimus and I will tell them in our own time when we are ready."
All three nodded, eager to know what exactly was going on between Ratchet and Optimus.
"We have discussed the situation, and we came to the agreement that we will be in a relationship again. Primus knows I wouldn't' be able to stand it otherwise nor would he." Ratchet chose not to tell them about the sudden kiss he had initiated with Optimus. That was between the two of them, and no bot else needed to know about it. "We are going to take the time to let me get to know him again. I don't remember him, so I'm going to have to get to know him." Ratchet smiled. "I'll have to get to know all of you, actually."
"That's great!" Bluestreak exclaimed.
Ratchet placed a hand on Bluestreak's shoulder. "Keep it down." He smiled. "Though Optimus seemed very happy as well."
"Carrier, he's got you back. He's got those three." Prowl nodded to where Lightshow, Springer, and Hot Rod were happily playing. "And you've agreed to an actual relationship with him. Sire has plenty of reason to be happy, Carrier."
"I suppose so." Ratchet agreed.
Lightshow, Springer, and Hot Rod and ended up tiring themselves out so much from playing, especially after Wheeljack brought Jetstorm and Jetfire out to play with them, that the three had ended up falling into recharge outside as did Jetfire and Jetstorm.
"These two ain't used to havin' somebot in the palace ta play wit'." Wheeljack stated as he carried Jetfire into the palace.
"They'll get used to it after a while." Ratchet replied, Lightshow in his arms.
"Not likely. There haven't been any younglings around here since they were born. Jetfire and Jetstorm are going to love not having to play with just adults any longer." Skyfire replied, carrying Jetstorm in his arms.
"Yeah. All of them are going to like being able to play together." Smokescreen stated, carrying Springer. "I'm sure that they're going to want to play all the time."
"Probably so. I think that they will get along well." Prowl remarked.
Bluestreak was carrying Hot Rod in. "You know, I could get used to this."
"Bluestreak, I know that you are planning to bond with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. I won't try to stop that, but I will kill them both if you wind up sparked any time soon." Prowl told his son seriously.
"Don't worry, Sire. I'm not ready to have a sparkling of my own right now." Bluestreak grinned. "But that doesn't mean that I can't help take care of these three right now."
"That would be good practice for when they do have their own." Ratchet glanced at Bluestreak. "Though I don't want to be a great-grand-creator anytime soon."
"Not happening. Sire wouldn't have a chance to kill Sideswipe and Sunstreaker because I would do it for him. I'm not ready for ones of my own. In the future, but not now." Bluestreak stated.
"SIDESWIPE! SUNSTREAKER! GET BACK HERE YOU TWO SONS OF GLITCHES!"
The sudden yelling from Ironhide startled the younglings awake, cause them to grip the bot holding them rather tightly.
Ratchet was stunned. "What was that about?"
Prowl groaned. "Primus! I was afraid this would happen!"
"Afraid what would happen, Sire?" Bluestreak asked.
"Those two pains are up to their old tricks again." Prowl glanced at Ratchet. "They used to play pranks all the time. Mostly ones that would annoy you to the point that you would A) shout at them like that and B) throw wrenches at them." He sighed. "After we thought you had been killed, they had stopped them." Prowl then frowned. "I was afraid that they'd go back to pulling pranks once they knew that you were alive."
A moment later, a bright pink Ironhide showed up, looking ready to kill. "Where are they?!"
"We haven't seen them." Skyfire replied.
The entire group was snickering and giggling at the sight of the very pink warrior.
Ironhide growled. "One laugh," the mech cycles on his cannons, "and I start shootin'."
"We really haven't seen them, Ironhide." Ratchet smirked. "Though you certainly look nice with your new choice of color."
The snickers grew louder.
"Just you wait, Ratchet." Ironhide growled, glaring at the mech. "You won't be holdin' one of yer younglings forever, which means I can get ya then." The now pink mech then stormed off in search of the two responsible for his new paintjob.
The group then burst out into a fit of laughter.
"Oh, mech! I can't believe Carrier missed out on that!" Bluestreak giggled.
"Oh, he's already seen in." Prowl smirked. "I just sent a vid of that encounter to Jazz."
Ratchet chuckled. "I don't think pink is his color." He snickered. "He does realize that many of the bots in the palace are going to see him pink with him storming the halls looking for them, right?"
"Give him time, and he'll realize that." Prowl replied.
"Why was Ironhide upset? I thought he looked nice." Lightshow remarked.
Smokescreen chuckled at that. "Well, pink isn't exactly a color that looks good on mechs who are in the military, Lightshow. They tend to get mocked." He smirked. He intended to do a great deal of mocking and teasing with this one."
Ratchet shook his helm. "Come on." He set Lightshow down since she was online as they headed on back onto the palace.
Optimus walked into his quarters chuckling. He had just seen a rather pissed off and pink Ironhide storming through the halls of the palace muttering something about using Sideswipe and Sunstreaker for target practice along with threats to anybot that dared to tease him about it.
Ratchet glanced up from his place on the couch. "What's so funny?"
Lightshow looked up from the picture she was drawing while Springer and Hot Rod stopped playing with the blocks to look at their sire.
"I just saw Ironhide. And he was very-" Optimus started.
"Pink? We know. Saw him just after we heard the yelling." Ratchet laughed. "He was rather upset. The paint hadn't even dried when he started storming after them."
Optimus smiled. "I can see that. I certainly hope that Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are hiding because Ironhide won't go easy on them if he get his hands on them." He walked over and sat down by Ratchet. "What have you been doing?"
"Bluestreak showed us the crystal gardens and the playground you had built." Ratchet smiled. "They had fun."
"Yeah! It's great, Sire!" Springer piped up.
"Thank you for having it built." Lightshow added.
"You're very welcome, Lightshow." Optimus was so glad that his younglings were having the chance to enjoy the playground. He had had it built for them, and he was very glad that they had the chance to play with it.
"So, how did your meeting go?" Ratchet asked.
"It went fine. We were able to convince Grindor that you are alive and that we have not lost our processors." Optimus smiled. "Although Grindor would still like to see you. I think it'll help in the long run."
Ratchet nodded. "When will the rest of the Senate be told?"
Optimus laughed. "Grindor's not going to convene the Senate for a meeting to inform them for two breem. We'll have that time before anybot knows that you're alive."
"Isn't that something they should know right away, though?" Ratchet asked.
"Probably, but the Senate just ended a session, and as the Senate regulations dictate, Grindor can't call the Senate together for another meeting, even an emergency one, for at least two breem. The only time that doesn't apply is during wartime." Optimus smiled. "We're definitely not at war, so we're fine."
"That's good to know." Ratchet was glad that there were going to be two breem for him to try to get to know this mech before the Senate had to know that he was alive. He would like being able to spend time with Optimus and get to know him.
"So, does that mean you're going to be spending a lot of time with us?" Hot Rod asked.
"Yes, Hot Rod. I am going to be spending a great deal of time with you." Optimus had a feeling that they might be sick of spending time with him by the time these two breem were over with.
Bulkhead was nervously pacing the room that he shared with Arcee. He had been a bit uncomfortable staying in the palace of the Prime. He was a construction mech. He used his hands for demolition and construction only, so being in such a lavish place was beyond what Bulkhead was comfortable with, much less being in the palace of the Prime no less. It was nerve-wracking for him.
Besides, Bulkhead was worried about Springer, Lightshow, and Hot Rod. Ratchet, too. He hadn't seen any of them since they met the Prime, so the green mech was concerned. He had already gone through so many scenarios of how they may have gotten hurt he was about to have spark failure.
Arcee glanced up from the show she was watching on the video feed and sighed. "Bulk, will you please sit down? You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that."
Bulkhead turned to his lover. "I'm sorry, 'Cee, but this is driving me crazy! I want to know why the doc hasn't come and see us yet! I thought he would have let me know that everything is all right!"
"Bulkhead, Ratchet's meeting his family for the first time. At least that he remembers." Arcee smiled. "I'm sure that he has just gotten caught up in everything."
"I'm just worried." Bulkhead resumed his pacing. "I don't care if the doc really is Prime's mate. He's still like a creator to me, and those three are my siblings. I'm just worried about them."
Arcee stood up and walked over to Bulkhead, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Bulk, I understand that. I don't think it'll take long before Hot Rod, Springer, and Lightshow start asking about you. You know how they are." Arcee smirked. "They love their big brothers."
Bulkhead looked her in the optics. "I suppose you're right. I guess I'm still nervous. Considering the circumstances that lead up to Ratchet's near death, I guess I'm worried about him being here in Iacon. I mean, the insane daughter of one of the senators tried to kill Ratchet knowing that he was the Prime's mate and knowing that he was carrying the Prime's creations. No telling what else could happen to him while he's here."
Arcee smiled. "One thing I do know, Bulkhead, is that Optimus Prime loves his mate more than anything. He won't let anything happen to him this time." She chuckled. "And I'm rather certain that his family won't either."
Bulkhead sighed. "Guess I'm gone have ta get used to the fact that doc has a lot more bots takin' care of 'im now. Used to be just me and Breakdown keeping such a close optic on him and making sure that he was fine. Goin' to take a bit for me to get it through my processors that doc has a lot more family than just us."
Arcee nodded her helm. "You'll get here."
A sudden knock on the door started both bots.
Arcee went to the door and opened it, surprised to find that Elita-1 was on the other side of the door. "Commander Elita, this is a surprise." The blue and pink femme had so not expected to see her commanding officer here, despite the fact that Arcee knew she lived there.
"I understand that, Arcee." Elita smiled at her subordinate. "May I come in?"
"Yes. Of course." Arcee stepped aside to allow Elita to enter the room before she closed the door again. "May I get you anything?"
"No. I am fine." Elita noticed Bulkhead in the room.
"Commander, this is Bulkhead. He's my mechfriend. Bulkhead, this is Elita-1, commander of the femme unit I am a part of ."
Bulkhead inclined his hand to her. "Nice to meet you, Commander."
Elita smiled. "No need to be so formal, Bulkhead. You are like family to my brother." She then looked back at Arcee. "You are both like family to Ratchet, meaning you don't need to be so formal. At least not in a setting like this."
Arcee understood then why her commander was there. "I suppose so."
Elita then turned to fully face Arcee. "I came here for a reason, Arcee. Optimus and Ratchet told us everything that happened."
Arcee was prepared to have herself lectured and yelled at for keeping Ratchet from them for so long.
"Thank you."
Arcee looked up at her commander in shock. That was so not what Arcee had expected.
"If it hadn't been for you, Arcee, Ratchet would have died that cycle, and Hot Rod and Lightshow would have died with him. You gave those three a chance to live that they wouldn't have had before. And as a result, Springer also gained a loving family that he might not have had otherwise. Thank you for saving him, Arcee. And thank you for being there for him all this time. I'm glad that he didn't feel as if he didn't have anybot." Elita smiled at Arcee. "You have no idea how grateful I am to you for saving him."
"I don't understand. I thought that you would have been angry about all this." Arcee stated.
Bulkhead couldn't help but question Arcee's sanity. Why she was questioning Elita's gracious attitude was something the mech couldn't understand.
Elita smiled. "I understand, Arcee. I do wish that you would have told us right from the start that Ratchet was alive, but considering what limited information you had at the time, I understand why you made the choices that you did. I'm just glad that you brought him back to us once you knew the truth."
"I couldn't keep him away any longer. I would have told Lieutenant Jazz in that interview when he told me a change in orders hadn't been issued, but I knew that no bot would have believed me if I had just come out and said that he's alive. It was necessary to bring Ratchet here and let all of you see with your own optics that he was alive." Arcee told her.
"Regardless, Arcee, I am very grateful to you for saving my brother and for bringing him back to us. If it hadn't been for you, I'm not sure that this family would have ever completely recovere.d" Elita smiled at the blue and pink femme. "You gave us everything back, so I'll never be able to show how grateful I really am to you for bringing Ratchet and the younglings back."
"I did what was right, Commander. Nothing more." Arcee told her.
"Well, Arcee, you did a lot more for us than you can ever know. I just wanted you to know that I am very grateful to you, Arcee." Elita stated. She then turned to Bulkhead. "And I thought that I should meet you. You're like another son to my brother, and you're an important part of my niece and nephews lives."
Bulkhead nodded. "It's also nice to meet you." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "You'll forgive me for asking this, and I apologize if it offends you, but are doc, Hot Rod, Springer, and Lightshow all right?"
Elita smiled. "I'm not offended. You're concerned for your family, and they're fine. I think that they've just gotten caught up in the fact that they're here with family that they didn't know about before."
Bulkhead nodded. "Just knowin' what happened to doc makes me worried. Don't want nothin' happenin' to 'im or those three. They're an important part of my life, and I don't want them getting' hurt."
Elita chuckled. "Bulkhead, there are a lot of bots here that any other bot would have to go through in order to get to them." She smiled. "And I think you're right up there on the list."
"I am. I ain't lettin' nothin' happen to them." Bulkhead stated.
"Bulk." Arcee didn't want him to overstep it, even if her lover was simply concerned about Ratchet's welfare.
"No, Arcee. He has every right to be concerned." Elita frowned. "I am concerned myself. Fortunately, the Senate won't find out for a few breem. So no danger right now."
Bulkhead nodded.
"I'm glad that Ratchet has a mech like you to worry about him like this. It means that he's been well-taken care of." Elita stated.
Bulkhead laughed. "Doc can take care of 'imself with that aim of his. If his aim with a blaster is anything like his aim with a wrench, then he's be a force to be reckoned with if he ever had a blaster in his hands."
"So, that didn't change about him?" Elita shook her helm. "I can't say I'm surprised. That was his trademark. His deadly aim with a wrench."
"Yeah. Breakdown and I sort of helped him re-perfect it." Bulkhead reached up and rubbed his helm. "Got the dents and processor-aches to prove it."
"As do Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, who were the ones he originally perfected that on." Elita stated.
Arcee glanced at Bulkhead. "Well, Bulkhead and Breakdown tended to enjoy testing Ratchet just to see how good he could be." She smirked. "I thought it spoke volumes about how good his aim is when he managed to knock them both unconscious with a single wrench. Hadn't thought that it was actually possible, but Ratchet proved me wrong on that."
"He proved all of us wrong." Elita replied. She looked between the two. "I just wanted you to know that I am grateful for what you've done for Ratchet." She then smiled. "And you don't have to stay holed up in this room. Get out and roam around. You won't get into trouble." With that, the femme commander left.
"That was—unexpected." Bulkhead remarked.
Arcee nodded her helm before sitting down in the couch. "I thought for sure I was in for it." She shook her helm. "No bot seems to be angry at for keeping Ratchet away for so long."
Bulkhead walked over and sat down by Arcee, putting an arm around Arcee's shoulders. "'Cee, right now, I think the relief of knowing that Ratchet is alive and knowing that Hot Rod and Lightshow are alive and well makes up for the time they lost. I guess maybe they figure that having Ratchet back after all this time is better than never getting him back at all."
Arcee nodded her helm. "I suppose you're right." She still wasn't sure that the Prime would be as forgiving. In fact, she had a feeling that he was the one that would be the most angry.
Ratchet nearly choked on his energon. "You didn't?"
Optimus looked more than a bit embarrassed. "In my defense, I was young and was dared to do it by my brothers. Granted, I got my aft chewed out when I got home." The Prime shook his helm. "You wouldn't believe how loud my sire yelled. As if my audios weren't hurting enough." The red and blue mech grimaced. "In hindsight, going through with my brothers' dare to get completely overcharged at a party I had been told not to go to in the first place was a bad idea."
"You think?" Ratchet chuckled. "Well, I suppose I've seen far stupider done in my short time in Creon. That's nothing."
"I know. You always had stories when you'd come home from work, and I had trouble believing most of them." Optimus stated. He sipped at his energon. "I never believed your stories about Wheeljack until I went to see you one day and found Wheeljack in pieces."
"Wheeljack?" Ratchet frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Optimus chuckled. "Well, Wheeljack's an engineer and an inventor, and while his inventions end up working, he blows himself up about fifty times before he gets it right. And that's with every invention."
"That's impossible." Ratchet stated.
Optimus smirked. "Not so."
Ratchet had a feeling that he wasn't going to be thrilled when he started dealing with his brother's injuries. "Did your brothers' dare you to do a lot of foolish things?"
"Yeah. It was the little brother wanting to do whatever his big brothers did. Once I got older, I got smarter and stopped listening to them." Optimus said.
"That's a good thing." Ratchet stated.
"Agreed. I'm sure Megatron and Galvatron will have plenty of stories to tell you about the tricks they played on me." Optimus remarked.
Ratchet smiled. "Well, I'm sure they can't have all bad stories."
"The good ones they wouldn't bother with." Optimus muttered.
"I suppose most brothers wouldn't tell the good ones. They'd want to tell the embarrassing ones." Ratchet stated.
"Well, Wheeljack may have a few about you." Optimus stated.
"Really?" Ratchet's tone sounded dark.
Optimus had a feeling that Wheeljack might regret telling some of those stories, if the inventor decided to.
"So, what else did you have to tell me?" Ratchet asked.
Optimus smiled. "There's a lot that I can tell you, Ratchet. And not all of them will embarrass me." And he certainly wouldn't tell any that would embarrass Ratchet.
"Something I've been wondering if how your creators reacted to me considering how much older I am." Ratchet said.
"Well, when I first told them about you, they were dubious. Until I told them you were Swiftwind's son. My sire and Swiftwind were old friends. And once my creators saw how happy I was with you, they were fine with it." Optimus stated.
"I'm actually surprised by that. I would have thought that they would have been against. I am a lot older than you are, Optimus." Ratchet remarked.
"I know you are, but that age difference has never bothered me. Or you, for that matter. Hadn't affected how we act." Optimus set his cube aside before he reached over and pulled Ratchet into his arms. "Still doesn't bother me."
Ratchet easily snuggled into his arms. "Doesn't really faze me, either."
"I'm glad of that." Optimus wasn't going to get over the feel of having Ratchet in his arms again anytime soon. And he certainly wasn't going to take that time for granted."
"You know, you still need to meet Bulkhead." Ratchet stated.
Optimus realized that his mate was right, and he wanted to meet Bulkhead. The mech was an important part of Ratchet's life now and was also an integral part of his younglings' lives as well. He needed to know this mech, especially since Lightshow, Hot Rod, and Springer talked about Bulkhead, Breakdown, and Knock Out a great deal.
"Well, it's late, so I think that we can let that wait until tomorrow." Ratchet smiled. "Besides, I'm sure that those three would like to see their big brother."
The two had put the three younglings to the berth a while ago, which was why the two had spent the last joor talking.
"Agreed. We should probably get some recharge, too." The Prime had learned in only a few cycles that those three didn't recharge late, which meant they didn't need to stay up late.
"You learn fast." Ratchet stated as he got to his feet.
The two retired to their berth room and curled up together and slipped into recharge.
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