Ok I wrote this as another vending story. I just want to get my feelings on paper. Holiday times are not pretty when your parents are divorced. I added a few more things because I wanted to add to the story and make it a little fun towards the end. I will say there is a little bit of language in this one, but only for a little bit. These kind of stories help me release my frustration. I'm not trying to offend anyone but just letting things out. I do not own Transformers Prime as the show is owned by Hasbro.
Jolly
Nevada didn't get snow, but I already knew what snow looked like. I had lived in New York for my whole life and I was used to it. Christmas was coming and I only had a few more weeks of collage left before winter break. Bee picked me up from school today so Ratchet was probably working on something.
"Hi Bee." I said as I got in the passenger seat.
"Beeep bop." He answered and waved the steering wheel at me before driving off to the base. Sure enough Ratchet was working on something on the monitors and we drove in. I got to the railing in front of the monitor so I could talk to Ratchet.
"Hi Ratchet." I said with a wave.
"Oh, hi Khristen. You're here early." Ratchet said confused.
"It's Thursday Ratchet I get out of class at four." I teased him.
"Oh yes." He mumbled before getting back to work. I laughed before going to the couch and started reading some texts for my class tomorrow. I let out a deep sigh when I was reading as I started thinking about the holidays. My parents were divorced and because I was older I had to make a choice as to who I was going to be with for which holiday. This year mom was for Thanksgiving and dad was for Christmas. Last year hadn't been pretty when I chose my mom for both holidays because I hadn't seen her a long time.
Like over a year long time.
I knew I couldn't do the same thing over again because I would be met with just as much retaliation from my dad's family as I did last year. They all kept saying it was just because of when I told them about my choice that they had a problem with, but I know what it was. They all hated my mother and they couldn't fool me either way.
"Khristen." Ratchet said interrupting my thoughts.
"Yeah?" I said a little too quickly because he spooked me a little.
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
"Yeah sure why?" I asked.
"You seem quiet."
"I'm reading stuff for class." I answered waving the papers in front of him.
"You're never this quiet while reading." Ratchet insisted.
"You're working too Ratchet." I insisted. He thought for a moment but was interrupted by the arrival of a familiar Peterbilt semi. Optimus then transformed and walked over to us both.
"How are you Khristen?" He asked politely in his trademark deep voice.
"I'm doing alright Opitimus. Nice to see you." I said politely. Optimus only nodded and walked over to the monitors, probably to look at Ratchet's work.
"Spit it out." Ratchet commanded once Optimus was done.
"What!?" I nearly snapped at him. Ratchet continued to glare at me until I finally let out a sigh and leaned up to him on the railing. "I'm just thinking about the holidays." I answered.
"What holidays?" Ratchet asked.
"Christmas."
"What's Christmas?" Ratchet asked confused.
"It's a holiday on December 25th. It's a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. He is the son of God and is a big religious icon to many other people in the world." I explained.
"I see, so how is this celebration a bad thing?" Ratchet asked.
"It isn't. It brings families together and we all open presents and have the time of our lives." I mumbled.
"So why are you upset?" Ratchet insisted.
"I don't know. It's nothing for you to worry about." I said quietly.
"Khristen you know you can talk to me." Ratchet insisted.
"It's nothing really Ratchet. It's just some stuff that happened before I met you." I answered back, trying to get him to leave me alone. Ratchet let out a frustrated sigh before I started to walk away.
"You know what I said holding in your emotions Khristen." Ratchet added quietly.
"I know Ratchet." I answered before I returned to reading. This time I turned on my music and continued to read. I failed to see Optimus glance over at me with puzzlement on her face.
"Perhaps she needs time Ratchet." He said quietly. She was starting to get better after the loss of Dakota, but the other children said that she sometimes made comments to herself about how she didn't really want to admit that he was gone.
"You heard her. It's not Dakota she's thinking of. I don't understand how a celebration could be thought of so miserably." Ratchet said.
"I too have been puzzled by her reactions sometimes. I notice that she often doesn't like to speak about her problems for fear of causing distress to us." Optimus pointed out.
"I know Optimus. I know. She doesn't like to cause problems. She never has." Ratchet said looking over at her. A familiar honk sounded with the arrival of Bulkhead, Arcee and Bee. They all hurried over to Khristen who took off her headphones and smiled weakly at them, which didn't go unnoticed by Ratchet.
"Dude what's up!" Miko shouted in excitement.
"The sky." Khristen answered making everyone laugh.
"So Khristen getting ready for the holidays?" Jack asked.
"Oh yeah. School's almost done."
"Awww man. You get a winter break too!" Miko whined.
"Yup we're pretty much off for the month of January." I said with a little smirk, silly high school students, except Raf he was nice and still in middle school.
"Where will you go?" Raf asked on cue.
"I'm flying into Detroit to see my dad's family." I answered and both Ratchet and Optimus started to pay more attention.
"Detroit Michigan?" Jack asked.
"Yup."
"Do they get lots of snow there?" Raf asked.
"Oh yeah, but not as much as we get in New York." I smirked and all their eyes went wide with excitement.
"How much snow do you get?" Raf asked excitedly.
"Sometimes a couple feet in one day." I exclaimed with my arms wide.
"I wish we could go there." Raf mumbled.
"Maybe if you're good then I'll see if maybe Ratchet could bridge you guys over." I winked.
"Really!?" Raf asked excitedly.
'Sure my dad works a lot so I defiantly have some free time that we could meet, but you have to check with your parents alright." I answered.
"Awesome. I'm in!" Miko jumped up excitedly.
"Hey Khristen are you going to see your mom too?" Jack asked.
"Yeah of course, but after we get back from Detroit." I mumbled a little sad. "At least I get to spend New year's with her." I added. The kids were quiet for a moment realizing that it was a little bit of an awkward moment.
"Hey Khristen what are you reading?" Raf finally said.
"Oh it's articles for one of my classes." I answered. Things started moving again and soon Jack and Miko were racing while Raf was doing stuff on his computer. The other bots didn't do much and went out scouting for energon a short time later. When I finished my reading for the night I was happy to see that Ratchet wasn't looking at me. I figured it was best he didn't know about something's. I hated causing arguments. Finally everyone went off for dinner and I assured Raf I would talk about Ratchet with the little snow trip, but sure enough when the silence started Ratchet spoke up.
"You're parents are separated." He stated as he walked over to me. This time I stayed on the couch and looked over at him.
"Divorced." I stated angrily.
"What does that mean?"
"It means they're not married anymore. They don't live together and go off to see new people." I answered.
"Is that what's bothering you? The stress of going to both places." Ratchet asked.
"You're getting close but no and no I won't tell you." I answered and turned away from him.
"Khristen I just want to talk to you!" He insisted.
"You're not my therapist!" I finally snapped at him. I didn't see him blink in surprise at the harsh words. Without looking at him, I packed up my school stuff and walked down to the open bridge. "Send me back to school please." I tried to say as calmly as I could.
"I could drive you back." Ratchet said quietly.
"I don't want you to drive me back. I want to be alone!" I nearly shouted at him. He looked at me with sadness in his optics for a few moments before opening the groundbridge for me. I saw Optimus out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't look at either bot as I went home. Once I got to my dorm room and I fell into bed and cried into the pillow. I did it again. I hurt someone's feelings. Damn it! Nobody seemed to get how frustrating this was!
Xxxxxx
I got a little nervous when I saw Ratchet pull up after school the next day. I muttered a small hello as I sat inside. I didn't want to talk to him, so I put my headphones on and just looked at my Ipod. I didn't notice that he wasn't driving to the base and we finally stopped at someplace quiet.
"Where are we?" I asked confused.
"Somewhere we can talk." Ratchet said strongly. The door opened and I saw a man in his late forties with slightly grey hair with bright blue eyes staring at me.
"Ratchet?" I said in slight confusion and shock. He only nodded at me and held out his hand to let me out. I took it and he felt real to me. Naturally he was taller than me, but thankfully he wasn't towering over me. I bet Prime's human form might do that since he is the biggest bot.
"It's our holoform. Yes we all have one." Ratchet explained.
"What do you want?! You know if you had just left me alone you wouldn't have gotten upset!" I said in frustration.
"Khristen you're a nervous wreck! Now tell me what's wrong. I'm not doing this because I'm a medic. I'm doing this as your friend." Ratchet insisted.
"I just feel really bad about the holidays that's all." I mumbled.
"Why? You should be happy to spend time with your family." Ratchet said kindly.
"Last year I started talking to my mom after we haven't spoken in a year. My parents went through a nasty divorce and I went through some problems when she broke up with her other partner. I went to go live my dad after that and we stopped talking. We finally started talking to her and I decided to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with her and my dad's family had a fit." I explained carefully.
"How so?"
"They kept telling me that they were disappointed my decision after everything my dad's done for me." I exaggerated. "Another family member sent me a nasty letter about how I let everyone down and how I let him down and how I let my dad down and how I ruined everyone's Christmas." I answered. Oh shit here I go crying again. I did my best to hide my tears, but Ratchet held onto me so I couldn't turn away.
"You don't want to go to Detroit do you?" Ratchet stated.
"No I wished I could spend it with my mom, but I gave into them so they wouldn't do the same thing this year." I cried and damn it! I started to cry into Ratchet's chest as he rubbed my back in comfort. I was surprised at how warm he felt considering his true body was metal.
"I'm sorry Khristen." Ratchet whispered.
"Why it's not your fault." I sniffed.
"I know." He said and wiped one of my tears away. I took a step back from him and took a deep breath, but I started ranting again. "I keep talking to my dad about sometimes and all he says is that everyone was upset that I told them so late in December, but I know that's bullshit. They all hate her!" I shouted into the air. "All because of what she did to dad and me, but I keep telling him that was then this is now." I continued as I paced back and forth. Ratchet just watched me. "I'm working out my problems with her."
"Why can't they just LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" I shouted into the air. Horrified that I said that in front of Ratchet no less, I covered my mouth and looked at him shock. His eyes were a little wide too and it took forever for him to speak.
"Wow Khristen. I didn't know you could swear like that." He said a little shocked.
"Sorry." I whimpered out.
"See? What did I tell you about holding your feelings in." Ratchet added.
"Ratchet it's my problem not yours." I groaned, wishing he would drop it.
"I know that, but that doesn't mean I can't help." He insisted. "Maybe you can talk to them about it." He suggested.
"I've already tried and it just seems like they don't take it seriously." I grumbled.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"If they start talking shit about my mom I'm going to tell to shut the fuck up." I said angrily. "I don't tell them that their mom is crazy. I don't tell my relative's kids and she's divorced too that they should spend equal time with their father. I leave her alone because it's none of her business what I do with my dad." I snapped into the air.
"Well why do they do it?"
"Because they have nothing better to do that's why. Dad keeps telling me, "Oh, it's because we're family" yeah right. Your family doesn't make you cry." I answered and took another deep breath.
"You're right they don't." He stated. I sat down against his vehicle form and took another deep breath to steady myself. He did the same and sat next to me. "Will you be alright?" He asked concerned with his hand on my arm in comfort.
"I guess so. I promise I'll call if anything comes up." I answered looking at the ground. He took my hand into his and squeezed it. "You know I thought you would always hate me when we first met." I said to him with a chuckle.
"I could tolerate you and I was quiet surprised with your behavior. You were so quiet and still are at times, but you watch the children at times and make sure they're alright." Ratchet added.
"Thanks, that's what I get for being the oldest." I shrugged. I finally looked up at him and I saw the strong resemblance from his normal form more clearly now. "Would it be possible to send the kids over for a day maybe?" I asked.
"I don't see why not." Ratchet shrugged.
"Maybe I could bring you back a present or two." I winked at him.
"That sounds really nice Khristen, but I don't think I could use it." Ratchet answered.
"Ok."
"You're still going to try anyway aren't you?"
"Oh yeah."
Xxxxxx
Dad let me have the car for the day and I finally found a good spot so that no one would see the groundbridge.
"Ratchet you there?" I said into my phone.
"Yes Khristen. Everyone's here." He answered.
"Ok lock onto my phone signal and send them over." I smiled. I heard the familiar sound of the groundbridge and Optimus pulled up a few feet from my car. There wasn't anybody around because it was starting to snow out and everyone wanted to stay inside. Jack and Miko came our first and Raf quickly hopped out. Everyone of them had wonder in their eyes as they saw snow for the first time. "This is snow people. Take a good look." I said with my arms wide. Raf held his hand out and smiled when snowflakes came down and melted into his hand. "Stick your tongue out. It's more fun that way." I demonstrated it for effect and they instantly copied me. I walked over to Optimus and gave his grill a gentle pat. "Hello Optimus." I said cheerfully.
"Hello Khristen. It's nice to see you in good spirits." He said.
"Thanks. How long do we have?" I asked.
"Unless Ratchet contacts me, I believe we have all day." He replied. If he could have I knew he was smiling.
"You know you can come out too Optimus. Ratchet showed me his holoform." I made sure I was quiet for the last part.
"I'll be alright Khristen, but thank you for the concern." Optimus said. I gave him a small pat before gathering up some snow and throwing it right at Jack.
"Hey what was that for?" He shouted in protest.
"It's called a snowball Jack. Here's what you do. Gather up some snow like this and make it into a ball and throw like so." I finished and threw this one a Miko.
"Hey that's really cold!" She shouted. I jumped when a snowball hit me and I laughed at Raf who had the cutest grin on his face. Everyone started digging for the snow and we all had a blast with the snow ball fight. We finally fell to the ground and did our best to catch our breath.
"Hey guys watch me for a second." I finally spoke and moved my arms and legs up and down to make a snow angel. When I was done they repeated the same action and got up and looked at their work. "You guys made a snow angel." I smiled and we all took a picture. I showed them how to make a snowman and we took more pictures. Finally it was starting to get dark out and everyone grumbled at the thought of leaving. We said our goodbyes and they went through the groundbridge when night came.
After some serious thought I finally thought of something I could give Ratchet and Optimus. After some reluctance from the dear medic they both came through the groundbridge and Ratchet was huffing and puffing when he came out.
"Why the big rush?" He demanded.
"Optimus can I come inside please?" I said as I was holding three cups of hot chocolate for them.
"Of course." He said as he opened the trailer door. I hopped inside and Ratchet quickly followed.
"Here." I said to Ratchet as I handed him his own cup. "Optimus I got your one too." I added and sure enough his holoform quickly appeared. He looked really handsome for a human. He had nice black hair, well-toned figure, bright blue eyes, and a cute smile.
"What is it?" Ratchet asked confused.
"Hot chocolate. Drink up and Merry Christmas." I smiled before taking a sip myself. Both men started to drink it and they both loved it.
"Thank you Khristen." Optimus spoke first and Ratchet shook his head in agreement.
"Told you I would get you something." I joked to Ratchet and stuck my tongue out at him and he only rolled his eyes. I saw Optimus smile a little.
"I'm glad you're doing better Khristen." Optimus said to me.
"Thanks I can finally relax with the holidays done with." I said.
"Thank the All spark you didn't call." Ratchet added. I gave him a mean glare and he smirked at me. "But in all serious I am glad everything went well for you." Ratchet said sincerely. "Not to mention that this is very good." He said pointing to his cup.
"Yes it is thank you." Optimus added. We all talked for a little bit and finally everyone was done at the two boys had to get going. Optimus being the gentleman, of course, got out first and helped out of the truck. Sure enough he towered over me at well over six feet tall, but I couldn't have felt any bigger with bright blue eyes on me.
"Thank you Khristen. You be safe and enjoy your vacation." He said to me. I gave him a hug before he could finish and I mentally cheered for myself. I snatched up some snow and shoved it at Ratchet when he got out.
"Khristen!" He protested making me laugh and I heard Optimus chuckle, which I would never admit out loud I heard. The human Optimus disappeared and the truck Optimus started up. I gave Ratchet a peace hug before he left. I was surprised that he held me tighter than normal. "Be safe Khristen." He whispered into my ear and I looked up in surprise when he lightly kissed my forehead. He gave a nice smile before he left too.
I waved to both of them as they drove through the groundbridge.
ok now that I've gotten that out of the way I can start to write other stories now. I would like to say though that I am writing another story called The God That Knew Me and it's a crossover between The Avengers and James Bond. I haven't gotten any reviews yet so if anyone could help me out and leave a review for me I will be so ever grateful! You can find the story on my profile page. So read and review if you wish. Got another J story coming soon!...since school is almost over yahooo!