Long time, no update! I am SO glad to finally be able to get another chapter up! The speech for the public speaking class went well, and all the other tests and quizzes have gone well, too. I've missed getting to write a whole lot though. Missed it heaps!
Thanks for all the reviews and alerts, folks, I appreciate and enjoy them VERY much! And welcome to the new readers! :) Glad you folks found and like this story!
Chapter 49
Prowl, Belle, Sam, Prowl
Prowl didn't come around the next day, and Ratchet noticed that Auri seemed to pay a little more attention to whoever came in the door as the day grew later.
'Prowl, Prowl, Prowl. You are a hard-hearted and hard-headed bot.' Ratchet scolded in his head at the un-present Prowl. He sighed though. He knew he was wrong to be impatient with Prowl. He knew that Prowl was hard-hearted in order to protect himself from being broken-hearted.
Still. It did provoke the old medic. He felt quite protective over little Auri, and he didn't like to see her missing her friend.
He considered ordering Prowl in to visit. But, knowing Prowl, he knew that the Commander would argue and not come in if he was told to come visit.
There was more than one way to de-armor a cybercat, though. It was only three-thirty; he had time.
Ratchet turned his full attention to a report that he had been procrastinating on, and he semi-successfully blocked out all sounds of cartoons and laughter in order to write. If his plan worked, he could lure Prowl into Med-Bay. He had done it before. He hadn't done it often, though. He knew that Prowl was plenty sharp enough to recognize a trap if he got caught in it more than a few times.
The report writing went fairly well, and Ratchet was proof reading it when a disturbance louder than the cartoons caught his attention.
"I shot you; you are supposed to go OFFLINE!" Auri protested angrily.
"I'm a Decepticon! They don't go offline that easily!" Sides retorted.
"It was a DEAD-ON HIT!"
"Here, have a grenade!"
"No! You aren't playing nicely."
"Tick, tick, boom. Now you're offline, so there."
"Sideswipe." Prowl's voice reprimanded.
"AH!" Sides yelped in shock. Sunny laughed. "Bumblebee!" Sides scolded, "Don't go using recordings of Prowl's voice on us. It's not nice. You'll give us a spark-surge."
"'I'd do anything….'" Bee told them.
"Humph!" Sides huffed. "Well don't. We'll tell him that you're using recordings of him, and he won't like that."
"Prowl wouldn't not like it." Auri defended Bee.
"HEH! Well, he SUPER won't like your little double negatives there."
"I didn't mean- That wasn't my-"
"Okay." Ratchet said, entering into the main room. "You bot-lings have been squabbling enough. You will all quiet down and settle your differences nicely."
There was a quiet chorus of 'yes, sir's, and Ratchet gave them a kinder look. "I know you bots get tired of being cooped up in here," he told them understandingly, "But you've been pretty good so far, and I know you can behave. Try to keep up the good work, okay?"
"Okay," came the answers.
"Alright." Ratchet said, "There are my good little bots." His words made them smile. "I have to finish proof-reading my report for Prowl now." He told them, heading back to his office.
He finished in peace that was only broken by the occasional giggle from the younglings as they played charades.
::Ratchet to Prowl,:: Ratchet sent over the comm. to Prowl.
::Prowl here.:: Prowl seemed a little suspicious of Ratchet. Ratchet ginned; Prowl had good reason. He was a wise bot to be on edge.
::I have finished that report that you were harassing me about yesterday.:: Ratchet replied. ::I'm a little too busy playing sparkling-watcher to leave and bring it, though, so you will have to wait about five hours for it.::
That would make it about 9:00 PM.
::I can come pick it up.:: Prowl said, wanting the report sooner rather than later. He was still quite unaware that Ratchet had played his cards to put the Commander right where he wanted him.
::Alright. Ratchet out.::
Ratchet beamed triumphantly after closing the comm. line. He had successfully snared Prowl.
And he didn't have to wait long for the quarry to show up. Ratchet heard the door open about ten minutes after he'd ended the communication. He remained in his office to keep Prowl's suspicion down, though.
"Hello, Commander!" Auri greeted with delight.
"Good afternoon." Prowl replied.
"I thought you weren't coming until you finished your work at the office." Auri said to Prowl as Ratchet entered.
Surprise struck Ratchet. Prowl HAD been planning on coming!
"I had thought the same thing." Prowl was saying to Auri, "But Ratchet-" He broke off. Rrrrrrratchet. He was on to Ratchet now. Auri saw his optics narrow a little bit.
"Ratchet…?" Auri prompted questioningly.
"Ratchet finally has the report that I needed." Prowl finished levelly. He turned and looked at the medic. "You do have the report?" He asked, implying that Ratchet didn't.
"Don't get your fenders in a wad." Ratchet said amiably. "Of course I do."
With effort Auri managed to not laugh at Ratchet's words. If Prowl hadn't been there, she would have laughed. But she knew the Commander would not like it.
"Here." Ratchet said, holding out the data-pad.
Prowl took it from him. "Thank-you." He said coolly. "Good day, Aurion. I will see you later."
"See you later." Auri said pleasantly as he headed for the door. "Oh! Prowl?"
"Yes?" he turned back.
"Annabelle Lennox said that she was going to come visit me today, but she hasn't yet…" It really wasn't part of Prowl's role, but she knew he could do something about it.
"That is probably Major Lennox's fault." Prowl said. "I will mention it to him."
"Thank-you." Auri said, smiling.
He nodded then headed out the door.
::Ratchet!:: Prowl snapped on the intercom.
::Ratchet here.:: Ratchet smiled as he replied and went into his office. He knew Prowl was going to try to chew him out.
::Stay out of it.:: Prowl ordered.
::Come on, Prowl…::
::She was waiting for Annabelle, not me. So there. Take it, and leave me alone.::
::Alright, alright, Prowl.:: Ratchet decided he would appease the Commander. After all, the patrol-bot did have some agreement with Auri that he would come see her after work. That was a good step forward.
::You will not interfere anymore?:: Prowl asked.
::Not for now away.::
There was a pause on Prowl's end of the line as he considered whether or not to demand more. ::Very well.:: Prowl replied. ::Thank-you. Prowl out.::
Ratchet sighed at himself, feeling a little guilty. He knew he should just let Prowl be and let nature take its course. The poor bot would move when he was ready to move, Ratchet knew that. And he knew he'd just have to be patient. That was one of the hardest parts of being a medic, the being patient part. And he was impatient by nature.
OoOOoOoOOoO
"AURIEEEEEEEEE!" Annabelle squealed as she ran to Auri's berth.
"You're a brat making me wait all day. I'm of a mind to not let you up here." Auri's attempt at mock sternness failed. She was too pleased to see the young human. She grinned as she put a hand down to help the girl up.
Annabelle was up on Auri's berth in a moment.
"What did you do all day, anyway?" Auri asked as she cuddled the smaller being gently.
"I spent loads of time with Daddy since I don't get to see him often while he's on duty." Annabelle said, easily tolerating being handled like a baby. Bots always held her like she was a baby. "Even though we Skype all the time and talk on the phone a bit, we still had lots of catching up to do."
Auri nodded, thinking of how it would be if she didn't get to see Ironhide all the time.
"Hound took us mudding." Belle said, going on, "And Beachcomber took us for a ride on the ocean. Springer gave me some more piloting lessons, and Tracks took me for some 'refined' driving lessons. We had lunch, Daddy and me, that is, not Tracks and me, and we had ice cream afterwards."
"Ice cream… It's still a strange concept to me."
"My favorite flavor is Mint Chocolate Chip! And my second favorite flavor is Cherry, and third is strawberry, fourth is Moose Tracks, fifth is chocolate, and blackberry is really, really good, too."
"How many different flavors are there?" Auri asked, rather amazed.
Annabelle's eyes widened. "How many flavors of Energon are there?" she asked sagely.
Auri cocked her head then grinned. "Probably about as many flavors as there are of ice cream." She decided.
"Yup!"
"'SAM!'" Bee cried with delight.
Auri looked over at Bee in confusion, but Annabelle looked to the door.
"Hello, Sam!" She called, waving to the young man.
"Hello, yourself!" he called back in a cheerful tone.
"Sam!" Auri said with surprise. She had heard much of this person.
Sam grinned, touched by her reception of him. "Auri," he said, "Right?"
"Right as rain." Annabelle said when Auri was too surprised to speak at the fact that Sam knew of her.
Bee hopped off his berth and hugged the young man.
"I know you missed me." Sam said. "But you didn't have to get all beaten up to get me to come out here, Bee. You could have just e-mailed."
Bee shrugged nonchalantly for the fun of teasing Sam back.
"Bee needed some excitement." Annabelle said. "He was bored without having you to keep after all the time." She explained with a mischievous look.
Auri slipped off her berth, helping Belle down, and they went over closer to Sam and Bee.
Annabelle hugged Sam.
"Can't believe you're ten already." He commented, measuring how tall she was against his chest.
"'Practically a teenager,'" Bee played a playback of Ironhide from yesterday.
"Poor Ironhide." Sam chuckled, "He's gonna have a fit when you show up with a boyfriend." He said to Belle.
Belle giggled. "He and Daddy both will. They're both a little crazy."
"Crazy with love you." Auri said seriously.
"I know." Belle said, smiling happily, "But sometimes it is a bit much."
They all sat on the floor to chat and catch up, climbing back onto their berths would separate them, besides being a great exertion of energy. They were still on the floor when twins came out of recharge.
"HEY!" Sunny yelled, jumping off his berth as fast as he could, which wasn't overly fast. "Annabelle Lennox, how dare you come in and let me stay in recharge while you have all the fun!"
"Yeah, no fair! Brat!" Sides added, limping over.
Annabelle hugged first Sunny then Sides. "Hi, twins. You know I couldn't wake you two up if I tried. You sleep like bulldozers."
Auri whooped with laughter at that. Bee chortled softly, and Sam chuckled.
"All we ever get from girls is insults…" Sunny pretended to be much affronted.
"Bulldozers…" Auri liked it.
"Ah, the vices that you pick up from your peer group." Sides grumbled, smacking Auri lightly on the wing. The twins weren't hurt or bothered by the treatment they were receiving; they knew Annabelle and Auri loved them and were teasing because they did.
"Who wants to sit on a big berth instead of on the floor?" Sunny asked. Getting down on the floor wasn't very appealing; he was still a bit sore from the attack.
Everybody liked the idea. Sides helped Bee up, and Sunny gave Auri a hand, and the humans got up, and they went over to one of the bigger berths, one that was sized for a bot Ironhide's or Prime's size.
Bee scrambled onto the berth with a leg up from Sunny while Sides lifted the humans up. Then the twins gave Auri a boost before hopping up themselves.
It was crowded. Annabelle was on Bee's shoulder, and Sam was perched on Bee's knee; Bee had one leg pulled up, and this was the one Sam was sitting on; the other was somewhat trapped under Sunny's legs. Sides' legs were on top of Sunny's, and Auri was half-way on Sunny's lap, trying to figure out where she could put her feet.
The bots squirmed around a little, and then they were completely comfortable. A data-pad wouldn't have fit between any of them, and to look at them, an outsider would have thought they would've been dreadfully uncomfortable, these metal beings all piled up like napping kittens.
They were cozy and relaxed, though.
Sam looked them over and felt a deep sense of contentment. They were his friends, closer friends than most of his human friends. It was good to get to see them again.
There was some good-natured arguing and some joking around. The humans laughed until they couldn't breathe, and the Cybertronians laughed until their vocal processors overheated. They all had to stop then. The vocal processors cooled quickly thanks to their superb construction, and the humans caught their breath with several sighs.
"Ah… that was great." Sunny commented when they had all calmed down.
"Uh-huh!" Annabelle agreed. The others smiled.
"Do you remember when we took you driving when you were six?" Sunny asked.
Belle grinned. "Do I ever!"
"Ironhide still remembers, too." Sides said ruefully.
"Hahaha!" Bee liked that.
"Do you remember when I smudged my black tennis shoes on your fenders?" Sam asked Sunny.
"How could I forget such a horrible thing? I was scarred for life after that experience."
"Yeah," Sides said, "He suffers from tenni-shooah-phobia."
They all had different memories that they reminded each other of.
"Hey, Sides, do you remember when you saw snow for the first time?"
"It was traumatic."
"Do you remember when you had to explain to Optimus what TP-ing was, Sam?"
"That was terribly embarrassing." Sam ducked his head as his face turned red. It had just been a college thing. And Optimus had come the next morning to find toilet paper all over the place. It had taken about an hour before the Autobot leader understood. And then it had been about three hours before the white stuff was all cleaned up.
"Oh, Belle! Do you remember the time you were eating an ice-cream cone while riding with Prowl and you dropped it on his floor boards?"
"Eeeeeek! I did that?" Annabelle squeaked, "I don't remember!"
"Ah, you about four years old." Sunny said. "It went splat, and he twitched and froze up and said in a very stiff tone, 'What just happened?'"
"And," Said Sides, "You said, 'I drwopped my ice crweam.' And he asked, 'Is that bad?'"
The younglings cracked up and Sam laughed with them while Annabelle giggled at her preschool self.
"'Is that bad?'" Sunny repeated. "And then you said, 'Uh-huh. Cuz it's all dirty now. So, I need a new one.'"
"Did she get another one?" Auri asked once the second round of laughter had faded away.
"Nope. Lennox intervened, and she had cookies instead."
Sides snickered. "So then Prowl had melted ice cream AND cookie crumbs on his floor-boards."
"He actually does put up with a whole lot." Auri murmured reflectively.
"Yeah…" The twins considered this more soberly. Yeah, Prowl did put up with a whole lot.
A quiet time followed the lively reminiscing. They were all a little tired. The twins lapsed into a thoughtful silence, and Auri drifted into recharge. Her head ended up on Sides' ankle, and her door-wings were against Sunny's chest, with her uppermost wing almost in his face.
Sam gazed at the bots. They looked like some child's playthings all jumbled together, like some oversized plushies squeezed onto a little kid's daybed.
"I love how you bots have no sense of personal space." He commented quietly after a little bit.
"Me, too." Sunny said. "You humans are a bit strange about that sort of thing." It wasn't slighting. It was just an observation, and Sunny had said it respectfully.
"Yeah," Sam nodded, "I know; f I had somebody's wing sticking in my face like that, I would really have to move."
Sides chuckled. "Uhm, Sam, people don't have wings. If somebody had their wing in your face like that, there would be a serious problem."
"Okay, okay, you know what I mean. Sunny doesn't mind having someone in his face that. I do. Most of the bots don't, though."
"Mm, Prowl does." Sides said, thoughtfully cocking his head.
"Prowl's not exactly like most bots, and I did say most bots." Sam replied. He slid down Bee's leg and put his feet against Bee's midriff, keeping his back against Bee's leg. This was more comfortable than sitting up. He looked up at Annabelle and saw that she was sitting with a foot on either side of Bee's shoulder and her back against Bee's head. She was comfy, too.
"Why isn't he?" Annabelle asked softly. "I've known or noticed for a long time that he seemed a little different, but there never has seemed a right time that I could ask."
The three young mechs met each other's' optics, nonverbally consulting each other about this.
"I guess you're enough and mature enough…" Sunny said slowly.
"Is it bad?" Belle asked.
Bee nodded sadly.
"Will you be alright, Sunny?" Sides asked his brother softly.
Sunny nodded. "Yeah. Just don't go into detail."
The humans exchanged anxious looks.
"There was an alpha unit of bots one time," Sides said, his voice quieter and more subdued than usual, "Prowl was among them… The Magnificent Six, they were called."
"What happened wasn't magnificent..." Sunny murmured.
Sides tightened his arm around his brother to comfort him. "They were a cocky, young bunch, and pretty good at what they did. At one point they were sent into Con territory to give the Cons some trouble." Sides paused, considering what to tell and what to keep secret. Then he went on quietly. "They were betrayed by some neutrals, and the Cons captured them…" he trailed off at the look of pain he saw in his brother's optic. He could feel the pain through their sibling-bond as well.
"Their leader put us through physical torture as well as psychological torture." Sunny whispered, shuddering. "One of the six was killed. Prowl barely survived."
"'Us'…?" Sam asked softly.
"Sunny was one of them. I was somewhere else at the time." Sides answered. "They were all in sad shape when they returned, but Prowl lost it."
"He'd seemed alright through most of the trip back," Sunny said, "But once he got back to the base…" he shook his head. "Ratchet was afraid that he'd go offline. It was a long time… but we finally got Prowl back. Or, a semblance of him."
"That's sad…" Annabelle murmured, finding part of her sleeve to dry her eyes on.
"Don't tell anybody about it." Sunny whispered, looking down at the sleeping femme-ling on his lap.
"I won't tell anybody in the whole universe." Belle promised. Sam nodded.
Bee reached out to rub Sunny's arm, to comfort his friend.
"Hey, we're fine now." Sunny said, pulling a smile. "Prowl's adjusted. I mean, he is Second-in-Command. And I'm me." He smirked self-deprecatingly to make his companions laugh.
They laughed, easing the tension that had built up. Then Bee sighed as he touched the armoring over the scars around his vocalizer. Things would be so much better once the Cons were gone.
The bots found more pleasant things to talk about. They forgot to be quiet, but it never disturbed Auri from recharge. They enjoyed themselves, and time passed pleasantly.
The little group was chuckling at something that Bee had replayed for them when Prowl came in.
"Hi, Prowler!" Sunny greeted.
"Good evening." Prowl greeted him in return.
"You're timing is bad again." Sides told him, "See?" he pointed to Auri, "She's in deep recharge."
Prowl came over and to observe for himself that she was in recharge. She was.
"Actually," Sides said uncomfortably, "She's pinching a circuit in my ankle." He wriggled his foot a little to reinforce this statement.
"It should be wake up time anyway," Sunny said, "I mean, if she naps all evening, she's not gonna be interesting in recharging tonight. And Ratchet will just luhhhhhve that."
Sunny shook the little sleeper; he didn't shake her very hard, though, for he didn't want to hurt or upset her. "C'mon. Hey, Auri! Wake-up, wake-up." He shook her a little more. "Hm." So none of that worked. "Suggestions?" he asked.
"Tickle her?" Bee asked.
"Whoa, stop, halt. I am not tickling any femme. Totally not." Sunny was adamant. "And I'm not gonna pinch her, either. Are you, Bee?"
"'Whoa, stop, halt. I am not tickling any femme. Totally not.'" Bee replayed Sunny's words. "'And I'm not gonna pinch her, either.'" Bee did reach over and try shaking Auri's foot a little, though. But that didn't bother her.
"Now who's recharging like a bulldozer." Sides said, smirking a little.
"Sideswipe." Prowl rebuked.
"What? She was laughing at us for being heavy rechargers and getting called bulldozers by Annabelle. Now it's her turn." Sides reasoned, but Prowl shook his head at him.
"Come on, Aurilaze." Sunny coaxed. He pulled and pushed her upright, but even that didn't wake her. "Aw, really?" Sunny asked he let her slip back down onto his lap.
"At least I got to move my foot." Sides said drily. "But, honestly, we have to get her awake so she'll recharge tonight."
"Commander?" Sunny was desperate enough to ask for Prowl's help.
Prowl came all the way over to the berth. He wasn't tall enough to reach Auri, though.
"Need a hand up?" Sides asked, grinning ruthlessly.
"No." Prowl said. He got up without help and perched precariously on the edge of the berth with one leg tucked under himself and one hanging over the edge. He reached over Sunny's feet and grasped Auri's upper arm and gave her a gentle shake. "Aurion, wake up," he told her and pinched her shoulder a little.
"Hey, lookie there." Sunny said as Auri squirmed a little.
Prowl gave her another gentle shake. Then she reacted, and Sunny got caught in the midriff by her sharp little elbow.
"Ow!" he jumped, and he inadvertently kicked Prowl. Prowl's automatic response was to throw his weight away from the edge of the berth. And to grab Sideswipe's proffered hand. And Sunny grabbed Prowl's arm. So the Commander managed to not fall flat on his back on the floor.
Nope. He was not on the floor. He was on the berth with the four other younglings and the two humans.
"You know," Sides said. "I'd not thought we could fit five bots on this berth."
"Hm." Prowl gave the world a dark look.
"There's room." Sunny said. "I can't feel my feet anymore, but there's room."
"Release my arm." Prowl told Sunny. "I am not falling anymore."
Sunny complied. "Okay."
Prowl shifted himself a little so that he wasn't in quite so much danger of getting overbalanced or getting kicked off the edge. Then he leaned forward to give Auri another shake.
"Ah! Watch the door-wings." Sides protested as he nearly got caught in the face. He made the mistake of pushing the door-wing away.
Prowl snapped his wings up and back, a sure sign of danger for bots in his vicinity. "Hands off!" he fairly snarled.
"Y-yes, sir. I-I'm sorry." Sides said, "I didn't mean to; it was just a reflex."
Prowl lowered head. Then he nodded in acknowledgement of Sides' apology. "It is alright, Sideswipe. I apologize for snapping at you. It, too, was a reflex."
"No problem, Commander." Sides said, his easy-going nature restored. "We know you don't like to be touched."
"Yeah, no touchy Prowlie." Sunny added.
Prowl gave him a stern look. That nickname was off-limits to the twins.
"No nickname Prowl, either." Prowl warned them.
"No fun Prowl." Sides said.
"He's not even ticklish." Bee said.
"Bumblebee!" Prowl objected.
"Not ticklish at all?" Sides was astonished.
"Wrong." Sunny said. "He is. And I know where."
Prowl shifted his door-wings uncertainly. The twins were in a wicked mood, but he did need to stay and wake Auri up.
"I need to wake Aurion." Prowl stated. "Let me be." He reached over to give Auri a gentle shake. And Sunny pointed to the lower inside part of Prowl's door-wing. 'There.' He telegraphed to his twin.
Sides reached forward. Here was the opportunity of a life time.
Suddenly, though, as his hand neared the ticklish wing, he realized something.
He realized that he didn't have enough gall or nerve to intentionally aggravate Prowl by seriously infringing on his personal space. While he did like to act up and annoy the Commander, he had too much respect to go too far.
Prowl did put up with a lot. Prowl did deserve to be treated with respect.
Sides pulled his hand back and looked at his brother to see what his twin thought. Sunny gave him a shy smile. He thought Sides had made the right choice.
"Well…" Prowl said, sounding slightly thwarted. "I think she would have awoken had there not been such a delay between shakes."
"Yeah, my bad." Sunny said heavily, "I meant to kick you off the berth."
"I was not blaming you, Sunstreaker." Prowl replied, almost sounding a little reproachful.
"It's alright." Sunny said, forgiving the Commander and giving him a smile.
Prowl sighed and sat up from leaning forward. "Are you certain she needs to wake up?"
"Pretty certain." Sides said. "Ratchet always has her up around this time."
"Where is Ratchet?"
"Out, house-call, I believe." Sunny supplied.
Prowl shifted, trying to get less uncomfortable.
"I'm afraid we've desensitized her to loud noises." Sunny said apologetically.
"What would happen if you tickled her wings?" Annabelle asked, having seen Sunny motion that Prowl's wings were ticklish. She knew Bee's were ticklish; perhaps Auri's were.
"Haven't you been taking notes, kiddo?" Sides asked. "None of are going to tickle her. And it wouldn't be safe for you to try."
"'Ironhide to the rescue!'" Bee cheered.
Ironhide, just entering Med-Bay, paused. "I need to do some rescuing?" he asked. That was always s dangerous in Med-Bay. "What do I –PROWL?"
"Good evening, Specialist." Prowl said formally. He was now acutely aware of how awkward his position was. "We are experiencing some difficultly in waking Aurion. Perhaps you could be of assistance?"
Ironhide chuckled as he came over. "Ratchet sent me over to get her up." He said, his optics hardly leaving Prowl. He liked seeing Prowl with the other bots. "The trick is," he said, "Is being her guardian and being able to tickle her."
"'I told you so.'" Bee said.
"We weren't about to tickle her." Sunny said staunchly.
"Good bots." Ironhide told them. Then he tickled Auri's little side. She squirmed and giggled a little. "Wake up, wake up!" Ironhide coaxed, tickling her more. She kicked Bee. "Oooh," Ironhide reached over and picked her up. "Let's not kick Bee." Holding her close, he bounced her a little while continuing to tickle her. Then he went for her wings.
"Eeeeee!" she squealed. Her wings were dreadfully ticklish. "Eeee! Stop, Ironhide!" she squeaked, squirming hard.
"Are you awake?"
"I'm awake! I'm awaeeeeekiey! St-top it!"
Bee chuckled at how much fun Ironhide was having tickling the little femme-ling.
Ironhide stopped and looked at Bee. "I think Bee needs a tickle, too." He said. He set Auri back on Sunny's lap and moved Annabelle and Sam to the adjacent berth. Bee started to slip off the berth to scamper away, but Ironhide blocked him and gave the little scout a hearty tickling. Then he tickled Sunny.
"He was the most ticklish sparkling ever." Sides said.
"You were the second most!" Sunny gasped.
Ironhide tickled Bee's wing to give Sunny a break. "Sides is next,"
Prowl decided that, since everybody was going to get tickled, he had better get away a fast and as soon as possible.
Sideswipe was quite in his way, however. Prowl frowned. He might trip over Sides if he tried to climb over him. And then he might fall flat on his face on the Med-Bay floor.
Prowl glanced over at Bee, who was chuckling helplessly under the fingers of his guardian. Ironhide's back was mostly to Prowl.
Prowl decided that he would rather fall flat on his face on the Med-Bay floor than get tickled.
He started to climb over Sides' legs.
"Whoa, where're you going?" Sides asked. "You'll slip and fall."
"I will not." Prowl replied. Then he slipped.
He was going to fall.
Then strong hands grabbed him. Ironhide had him. Ironhide wouldn't let him fall. Ironhide never let him fall.
"Easy there, Prowl." Ironhide said, lowering him so that his feet touched the floor.
He met Ironhide's optics. Ironhide held his gaze, looking back steadily and kindly. Ironhide almost seemed to be a little reproachful of Prowl for trying to run away, though.
Prowl's optics shifted away.
"Prowl." The Weapons' Specialist said.
Prowl brought his optics back.
"Prowl," Ironhide said sincerely, "I know that I give you a rough time now and then and harass you occasionally, but I would never intentionally do anything that would humiliate or seriously discomfit you."
Prowl knew Ironhide meant it. He felt bad about misjudging and doubting Ironhide. "Understood." He said.
"Alright." Ironhide said with a final nod.
Prowl was going to hug his former guardian later when nobody was around.
"Do you want back up?" Ironhide asked.
"No, thank-you." Prowl replied, "I was merely up there for the purpose of trying to wake Aurion up. And you have accomplished that."
"Hoity-toity!" Sides ejaculated with a disdainful air.
"You leave him be." Auri ordered, leaning over to punch the twin in the arm.
Ironhide smacked her hand lightly as he narrowed his optics. His little ward had been acting a little too high-and-mighty as of late. He was fairly certain that constant exposure to the twins, as well as Ratchet's coddling and spoiling, had been the main agent that stimulated this negative behavior pattern.
Auri gave him a reproachful look that would have melted Ratchet into a puddle. Ironhide didn't even soften at all, though. He gave her a firm look. "You are being too reactive and quarrelsome, MyAuri." He told her gently but firmly.
"He asked for it." She argued jutting out her chin at her guardian.
Bee's optics widened. Sunny and Sides' mouths formed O's of shocked horror. Prowl stiffened.
Ironhide regarded Auri sternly. Now she'd really crossed the line. "Just because somebody 'asks' for something does not mean that you give it to them." He told her.
She looked mulish.
Bee squirmed uncomfortably and then slipped off the berth to get away from the area of tension. Prowl had already edged away.
"You'd better listen to him." Sunny said soberly to the little femme on his lap. Sides was wishing he'd kept his big mouth shut.
Auri glared at Sunny, but she argued with herself silently about it. She was quiet and thought the mechs' words over. Auri knew Ironhide was right. Somehow, it seemed like he always was. Well…
Ironhide watched the subtle movements in her optics and saw when she lowered her head. There, that was a good sign.
She picked her head up and looked over at Sides. He gave her an uncomfortable smile. She gave him a full smile. Scooting off Sunny's lap, she moved over the Sides and gave him a hug.
Sides rubbed her back. He knew it was no fun to get called down, but he was glad that Ironhide had made her straighten up. He wouldn't want his only sister to be a brat.
"Okay, okay, ten second rule." Ironhide said, his protectiveness kicking in at the long embrace.
Sides let Auri go.
"You're just jealous," Auri said fondly though a little shyly. She didn't want to tease him too much at this point.
"Awww, you bet I am." Ironhide lifted her away from the twins and wrapped her in a bear hug. He planted a kiss on her little head. "I love you."
"Mmm, love you, too." She told him. She missed having him and Chromia wake her up in the morning. "Ironhide?" she asked, leaning back to talk face to face.
"Yes?"
"When will I get released from Med-Bay?"
Ironhide was caught off guard. He had no idea of when she would be released. "That I don't know." He replied. "That's a question for Ratchet."
"Guesses?" she coaxed.
"Nope, no guesses." He could have guessed, but he didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them dashed.
She would have pouted for Ratchet, but she knew better for Ironhide. "Okay." She said agreeably.
Ironhide smiled at her. She did know how to behave. Then he glanced over to see what Prowl was up to. The monochromatic bot was looking semi-morosely at a data-pad.
"You'd better take Prowl's visit before Ratchet sends all guests away for the night." Ironhide suggested.
"I'd better." She replied emphatically. Even if Ratchet let everything else slip, he wouldn't let visitors or bedtimes get out of schedule.
Ironhide put her down, and she went over to Prowl, noting happily that she hardly limped at all anymore.
"I'm done making a scene." She said to Prowl.
"Good." Prowl's tone had no praise whatsoever, but he did turn towards her and meet her optics.
She knew that her remark had been out of line in the Second-in-Command's presence and kept quiet, knowing that there was nothing she could or should say. She stood waiting for him to direct the interaction. This gained the Commander's approval, and he motioned towards a couple waiting chairs.
Auri nodded, and they went over.
'Nonverbal communication,' Ironhide thought, watching them. 'They've got it down good.'
Prowl touched a chair, designating it as Auri's, then took one for himself and brought out a data-pad. The two bots sat close and quietly discussed the work-related material on the pad. There were some new regulations that would need some translation editing. And a small problem regarding the road-work budget has arisen. A new liaison would be coming in a several weeks, and arrangements would need to be made for her.
"I think," Prowl said cautiously, "That I may let you be the bot she interacts with the most." He let that sink in.
Auri's optics widened. Prowl thought she could handle a liaison? She was delighted! Then she thought rationally about it. It would be a huge responsibility. She would have to be extremely serious about it. She was still delighted, but in a more mature way.
"I… I would be honored, Commander." She said formally.
"We will begin special training tomorrow then." Prowl said.
"Is that cleared with Ratchet?" She asked, keeping a respectful tone.
"No. But it will be." Prowl replied.
Auri nodded seriously in acknowledgement. Secretly, however, she was bouncing with excitement. It was going to be a huge new experience. And perhaps somewhat of an adventure. Anticipation was a delightful thing.
Yay! I got this chapter out here for you folks! I really, really missed getting to post the last two Mondays. *pout*
Anyways, so this liaison is a sociologist, and she will have a number of questions about the Bots and their culture. …Questions about how they interact, and why they do what they do, development, and roles, and stages, and any other such things. I'm bringing this up a few chapters early because I want to offer people a chance to send in questions or suggestions for questions about the Bots. I may not answer all the questions, but I will at least consider them. So, ask away. :)
The "Magnificent Six" group and mission story came from TF Wikipedia; I didn't make it up. I did make up the aftereffects of it, though.
And review. ;) I love all your reviews. :)
