They explored one or two more shops before Ratchet deemed it too late to continue and they proceeded to head back to Bobbi's parent's place for the 'present ceremony'. The CMO figured it had something to do with those funnily wrapped boxes stuck under the large tree in the living room. There was much he didn't understand about it all, but one question stuck out above all the others and had him pondering over it for some several long moments.

If the humans were going to just tear open the 'wrapping paper', then what was the point of going through the trouble of buying it, wrapping the 'presents' in it, and sticking them under a fake piece of foliage? Surely it would be more efficient to keep them all in simple bags that could be reused every year, while still keeping up the appearance of 'mystery' that humans seemed to like so much. When Ratchet voiced his query to Bobbi, however, she laughed silently. Confused, the Autobot frowned at her sideways as he drove them back to her parent's house. While he experienced a burst of joy from being able to make her laugh; he was still fairly bewildered by the medic's reaction.

After a moment, she regained control of herself and shot him a bemused and fond grin, 'It's not just about efficiency, Ratchet. Christmas is a time of enjoyment and fun. Just wait and see; tearing open wrapping paper is both fun and amusing.' Ratchet continued to look perplexed, even after her signed out explanation, but chose to take her word for it. If it made her happy, he wouldn't question it anymore.

So Ratchet just nodded and pulled his vehicle form up into her parent's driveway.

Only to scowl when he noted that there were more vehicles here than when he left. A little white Honda that looked like it was going to fall apart at any moment- held together with duct tape along the sides and zip ties in the front fender; it made Ratchet cringe- and a faded, dirt caked red Jeep. Turning his engine off, the CMO took a moment to simply stare at the Frankenstein looking car and pity it.

Bobbi, on the other hand, looked delighted. With a grin, she tapped his shoulder and launched into a barrage of signing. 'Vlad, Gabe and Evan are here!' In the next moment, she'd leaped out of his vehicle form, shut the door behind her, and headed for the front door at a brisk walk. Ratchet missed her warmth almost immediately; despite not being bothered by the cold in the least bit. Sighing and steeling himself, the rather anti-social doctor followed after her.

Curious, he took time to scan the little car as he passed by. Nothing invasive, just a passive scan to overview everything. The results had Ratchet's eyebrows raising up into his hairline. While the cosmetics of the vehicle left much to be desired, the insides were in peak running condition, from what he could tell.

A little less horrified now, Ratchet quickened his pace in order to catch up with Bobbi, who was currently throwing the door of her childhood home open and practically rushing inside. She was clearly eager to see those she considered extended family, and he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face at the sight.

Bobbi, for her part, had only taken two steps into the living room of her home when she was scooped up into an overenthusiastic bear hug. "Leetle medic!" A Russian voice boomed gleefully, and swung her around with surprisingly gentle force. The field medic grinned widely and held onto the bear like man as tightly as she could, laughing silently at his endless amounts of energy that seemed to come from nowhere.

"Vladimir dear, please don't kill my daughter before she can hand out her presents." Mrs. Bellmark joked with a smile, watching the reunited teammates fondly. Vlad carefully put Bobbi down in response, though he continued to hover close to her with a grin.

Gabriel smirked up at her from where he reclined on the couch with Evan curled into his side with a book. "Well, well, look what the cat finally dragged in." He sassed dryly, and the computer geek next to him chuckled in amusement before offering his own greeting in the form of a simple nod. Bobbi returned their greetings by way of a returned nod to Evan and a middle finger aimed in Gabe's direction. The sniper just laughed and shook his head.

Ratchet moved over to her left, quietly observing everything in that intense, scowling way of his.

"So how was the drive?" Mr. Bellmark raised an eyebrow at his daughter, clearly amused,

'Busy, as per usual.' Bobbi signed back, pulling a grin out of the older man,

"Yup. That's Christmas for ya."

"Any holiday, really." His wife butted in with a sigh. Clearly she didn't enjoy the holiday rushes. A feeling that Ratchet could now both understand, and relate to.

Finally turning to face her mother, Bobbi raised an eyebrow questioningly. A small, dirty blonde haired woman was standing next to Mrs. Bellmark. Obviously the youngest person in the group and clearly feeling out of place, the woman was hovering just behind the older female, as though trying to be subtle and inconspicuous.

It took Bobbi a good moment of wracking her brain to recognize her as the technician that she had briefly come in contact in before the mission with her old teammates. Her name, however, was lost to the field medic. They had never been introduced. Luckily, it seemed that Mrs. Bellmark- ever the motherly type- noted her daughter's inquisitive confusion and the young woman's uncertainty, and decided to step in.

"Bobbi, this is Maggie, Vladimir's girl. She's spending Christmas with us." The older woman smiled and stepped to the side, pulling Maggie further into view.

"Its nice to meet you." Bobbi nodded in response, unable to help a look of surprise. Vlad had never mentioned having a girl. Then again, Vlad didn't really talk about himself, and what's more, no one tended to ask him about his life and assumed he just wasn't interested. He didn't tend to show much interest in others in that way. The giant, for his part, looked like he'd just won an olympic gold medal.

The adorable dork.

"Alright! I know some of you want to have Christmas with your folks or alone tomorrow, so we'll celebrate tonight, like usual." Bobbi's father hauled himself to his feet, "Now, as always, food and family time first, presents last. Is the food ready, dear?"

"Of course. The turkey just finished. We're waiting on you all." His wife threw him a mock scolding look, "So line up, grab a plate, and load up on some grub!"

"Bossy, bossy." The older man chuckled,

"If I wasn't, you really think anything would get done around here?"

At the mention of food, two identical heads popped out around the corner that led to a hallway that connected to the bedrooms and one bathroom. "Food?" Two equally identically voices piped in.

Ratchet already thought of them as thing 1 and thing 2 from that silly children's book he'd been roped into reading to Annabelle one time. A fact that made him hate them just a little more; and he knew with certainty that they were going to make his life a living hell.

"Yes, food! Now everyone get your butts in here!" A moment later and everyone was nothing short of manhandled into the kitchen. A feat Ratchet hadn't thought the little woman capable of- until she was practically carrying him into the other room, insisting that he eat something because he was clearly 'too thin'.

Normally, she would not have been able to scoot him an inch from where he stood had Ratchet not wanted her to- his holoform's strength easily outmatching her's. But, amused, he merely let himself be guided into the kitchen by the mother hen; a silently laughing Bobbi right behind them.

The meal itself reminded him of the cafeteria on base; only much more warm and affectionate. Everyone lined up, grabbed silverware and a plate or bowl, and ladled out the food they wanted from where it was laid out on the counters. Unlike on base, it wasn't nearly as deafening with conversation and arguments, but rather filled with warm jokes and soft, enjoyable laughter. It was a curious thing that had Ratchet quietly remembering the golden age back on Cybertron.

It had his chest filling with warmth and twisting in bitter agony at the same time.

Bobbi frowned up at him from the corner of her eye, but didn't call attention to his very sudden change in mood. Though, much to Ratchet's silent appreciation, she made sure to stick closer to him throughout the entirety of the event, as though trying to lift his spirits with her own brand of quiet support. He wasn't sure if it helped or not; but either way, the CMO managed to fall back into easy- though grumped- conversation with Bobbi's family and forget the feelings plaguing him for the moment.

The food was delicious, seemingly more so than the previous meal he'd had, if that was possible. What was more, the company was wonderful and the medic found himself bursting into chuckles every once in awhile with the rest of the group. Humor came in abundance and before long people were bursting at the seams from eating. A fact that had Ratchet silently scolding them for overeating as they had.

He settled for silently staring in disapproval.

"Oh that was delicious." Mr. Bellmark chuckled, "Thank you dear." leaning over, he kissed his wife's blushing cheek. Without warning, Ratchet's spark twisted sharply in his chassis in remembrance. No one but Bobbi noted the slight tension that slowly filled his shoulders and back, enticing her to reach over and take the holoform's hand into her own, under the table. Almost immediately, Ratchet squeezed her hand, and gave a tiny smile.

She thought it looked rather… sad.

Mrs. Bellmark waved her husband off with an amused grin, "Just make sure to clean up leftovers later." she almost seemed to scold, "Now, it's time for presents, come on now!"

Once more, the little old woman proved to be rather impressive with her ability to manhandle everyone back into the living room- though really it was only Ratchet. And she clucked her tongue at him the entire time, due to his thinness.

He shook his head in amusement before catching sight of Bobbi's brothers. Surprisingly, they had been rather civil during the dinner; but now they whispered to one another mischievously, and it had him narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Why the hell did they remind him of the Terror Twins so much?

Bobbi grinned up at him, distracting him in the most wonderful of ways before practically dragging him over to the couch and plopping down, leaving him to settle in beside her. 'My favorite part.' Her hand left his for a mere moment to sign, before taking up his fingered appendage once more. Ratchet gave a small smirk, before turning his attention in fascination to the human event taking place. He'd heard of Christmas traditions, but had yet to see them up close like he was getting to tonight. Though, really, it wasn't much different from some of the traditions that Cybertron had had before the war.

The woman at his side curled up further onto the couch and leaned against him, completely at ease while shooting furtive, curious, concerned glances his way. Ratchet didn't return them, instead choosing to watch as Mrs. Bellmark began handing out all the wrapped gifts first- they would open them after they were all passed out- though he did release her hand in favor of wrapping an arm around her upper shoulders in silent reassurance. Bobbi relaxed to a certain degree, but refused to fully let her concern go.

Something was bothering the hell out of the CMO; that much was certain. There was an old, scarred up like pain in his holoform's eyes. As though a lingering war wound continued to ache within him; and she could feel it like it was her own. Oh, she'd let it go for now, it was Christmas after all- a time for joy and family bonding- and she didn't want to interrupt her family by dragging him off for an interrogation.

But that didn't mean Bobbi wouldn't lie in wait in order to question him later- and hopefully- offer him some semblance of support and emotional reassurance.

(AN: I apologize for the long wait everyone. D: Please bare with me, everything's being a lil' shit right now.

Including life. Fuck you life. :I

Have some Ratchet/Bobbi. Also; COUPLE HURTLES COMING UP! :D I so excited. They gonna grow as people together yo'!

Also; reviews are love. o3o)