Chapter 13: Is that normal?

Prime P.O.V

Wonderfully strange and curiously upsetting.

That would have been my description of the evening I had spent with Orianna. Wonderful, in how we were laughing and talking at times tonight just as we did about a year ago. Strange, in how Orianna had reacted to certain situations like visiting Turtle Cove and at times when we had been sitting in my cabin after I activated my holoform. Curiously upsetting, as to how I felt in those moments when Orianna became upset or angry over something I had supposedly said or done.

I rolled to a stop outside the Med Bay, initiating my transformation sequence. I had asked Rachet to meet me here as I had some things, I needed to discuss with him that I could not wait until morning to do so.

''Okay Prime!'' Rachet had been leaning on the wall by the door to the Med Bay, a scowl on his features and his arms folded across the black bull bar on his chartreuse chest. He pushed off the wall angrily as he stepped up to me. ''What is it that is so slagging important you had to rouse me from recharge to come and meet you here of all places?'' the cranky medic gestured to the building he knew I detested. ''This better be important.''

I nodded my helm in greeting to my friend and physician. ''Rachet I am sorry to have disturbed you old friend, truly I am, but I do indeed have some things I need to discuss with you that happened tonight.''

Rachet snorted as he roughly punched the code into the panel by the door and shoved the doors open. ''And that would be?'' he barked over his shoulder as we walked inside. He cast a questioning glance at me as he turned about to shut the door behind us. ''I thought you were in your quarters doing routine paperwork and revising rosters and what not?''

''Well, I was Rachet - initially,'' I offered the medic cryptically.

He tilted his helm at me as he shut the door. ''What happened Prime?'' His tone held mild exasperation borne from a bot who had spent millions of years hearing all manner of explanations ranging from the absurd to the downright unimaginable. /And that was just from Sunstreaker and Sideswipe!/.

''Well for one thing, I activated my holoform tonight in front of Orianna,'' my voice was flat and devoid of emotion.

Rachet froze on the spot and turned slowly, raising an optical ridge at me. ''Well. That is a significant event.'' He had turned the lights on and indicated for me to sit on one of the Transformer sized benches near his desk, which I did dutifully. ''You said ''for one thing''. What else happened Prime?''

I smiled at my friend. ''Well observed Rachet.'' I sighed out loud. ''I had us both thrown out of the movie theatre and accosted with popcorn.'' Rachet's optical ridges nearly left his helm and a small snigger erupted from his dermas.

''What on Cybertron were you doing at the movie theatre Prime? I thought you had a mountain of work to get through?'' Rachet was shaking his helm.

I curved my dermas in a small smile. ''I did. However, I took Orianna's advice she offered me over a year ago and decided to try and have more of a ''work-life'' balance and take some time out to do something I enjoyed as opposed to working all the ti…'' I didn't get to finish.

''YOU WHAT?'' Rachet had lurched forward in his chair, a look of utter disbelief etched on his features. ''You. Optimus Prime. WILLINGLY took time out from work to do something fun?''

''I did Rachet.'' My smile faded slightly. ''And for the most part, the evening was fun and enjoyable.'' I sighed.

Rachet sat back in his chair and eyed me carefully. ''Most part? What happened?'' He smiled softly. ''After you were thrown out of the theater that is. Clearly that was a low point.''

I nodded my helm. ''It was indeed Rachet. Orianna was quite embarrassed and upset with me. Though her reaction to that was not what has been causing me concern.''

''Did she react negatively to your holoform? I can imagine that would have been difficult for her to adjust to.'' Rachet's look of sympathy faded slightly. ''By the way, you did not discuss protocol and procedures with me prior to revealing the holoform to humans outside security clearance.'' His tone held none too subtle irritation.

I felt somewhat chastened, though I knew I had activated the holoform for very valid reasons. ''Once again, I am sorry Rachet, but that is part of what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, we went for a drive after the movie debacle and ended up on a special beach we had visited over a year and half ago. Turtle Cove.'' I paused to see if Rachet was keeping up. He nodded his understanding. ''I thought Orianna might have enjoyed returning to that spot together that held, what I had assumed was a special memory, for us both.''

''The humans have a saying about making assumptions Optimus,'' Rachet teased.

I narrowed my optics at him. ''I am very much aware of that saying Rachet and I certainly embodied it tonight.''

Rachet leaned forward and ex-vented softly, a sympathetic look on his face. ''What happened Prime? What did you say or do to Orianna to upset her?''

I shook my helm and rose to my pedes pacing. ''That's just it Rachet! I don't know! As soon as she realised where we were, it was like she changed. She went from talking animatedly and being happy to almost shutting down and becoming withdrawn.'' I stopped pacing and faced my friend. ''Rachet, she started to cry. She was so upset and sad and could not explain why she felt the way she did. She ended up laying her head on my steering wheel saying, ''it was the closest thing to a hug she could get, and she would take it as she needed it.''

Rachet snorted. ''Which is why you..''

''Which is why I made the decision to activate my holoform.'' I shook my helm as I recalled in vivid detail the way she looked and sounded. I closed my optics. ''Rachet, if you could have seen and heard her.'' I turned determined optics towards him. ''I could not stand to see my friend, our friend, in such pain when I knew, thanks to your genius, there was something I could possibly do to help her.''

Rachet seemed to wave away my compliment as he smiled knowingly at me. ''I know Prime. I understand.'' He ex-vented deeply as he leaned back and folded his arms again. ''How did she react?''

I grunted as I recalled the moment she noticed my human-like holoform sitting in the cabin with her. ''As you would expect! Though surprisingly well actually Rachet. She only took a short time to realise that the figure before her was indeed me. She worked out it was me before I told her.'' A small smile spread on my dermas. ''When I offered her the hug, she took it gratefully.'' I could almost feel the ghost of her arms around me.

''Were there any glitches? Did the image hold? Could you feel and be felt?'' Rachet's optics seemed to light up.

I held my servo up to indicate he should slow down in his barrage of questions. ''No there were no glitches. Yes, the image held up remarkably well and,'' I chuckled softly, ''I could indeed feel and be felt. Very much so.'' I blinked my optics and looked away for a moment suddenly feeling my systems heating a little. ''That is actually one of the issues I needed to raise with you Rachet and discuss.''

''Oh? How so Prime?'' Rachet leaned forward eager to discuss his pet project.

''Well, for one thing, during the later part of the evening, just prior to things taking a turn for the worse again, I discovered that the holoform could sustain injuries.''

Rachet shot to his pedes, a large scowl descending on his features. ''How? What happened? Was anything damaged?''

''Apart from my pride, the only damage sustained was a minor abrasion to my right cheek. Orianna hit me with a beer bottle. The wound seemed to heal almost immediately as is the case with our regular systems when treating minor injuries.''

''She what? Hit you with a beer bottle?'' Rachet's voice was incredulous. ''How on..''

''She had purchased some drinks at the theatre, said she really needed them,'' I offered as explanation for the bottle's appearance in the evening's events.

''Why had she really needed alcoholic beverages?'' Rachet seemed perplexed.

I shook my helm. ''I do not know Rachet. She had seemed somewhat flustered by a conversation we had had just prior to arriving,'' I was trying to recall the details.

''And that conversation was about?''

''Essentially, I had commented positively on Orianna's appearance, and she had said I would earn brownie points had I been on date. I simply asked her to explain what a date was and if what we were doing constituted a date.'' Thinking back, her reaction had been an example of a wonderfully strange part of the evening.

Rachet furrowed his brow. ''A logical line of questioning Prime. How did that lead to her needing a drink?''

I shrugged my shoulders. ''Two drinks to be precise. I do not know Rachet, though she did seem tense and slightly anxious when giving her explanation. She did emphatically state that it was not a romantic date we were just friends hanging out casually.''

Rachet snorted. ''Well of course it wouldn't be a date! You are a sentient robot from Cybertron and she is a human female. The notion of a romantic attachment between you both is highly illogical.''

''Agreed.'' I furrowed my own optical ridge and shuffled on my pedes awkwardly as I prepared to brooch what had concerned me during the moments Orianna had been close to me. ''However, there is something else I need to mention in terms of the holoform and its… well…. functions.''

''Yes? Go on Prime. What feedback do you have so I can make adjustments as required?'' Rachet stared matter of factly at me.

My optics darted away for a moment before I turned to face him, my chest rising and falling as I cycled air through my intakes. ''Well, Rachet. I wanted to clarify with you what could be determined as normal functioning for the holoform and if there may be something wrong with it.''

A look of confusion descended on Rachet's features. ''What could be wrong with it Prime? I don't understand.''

''Well, there were times tonight when Orianna touched me that I seemed,'' I quickly corrected myself, ''the holoform seemed to react to that touch in a way I was not expecting, and I found both unsettling and… pleasant.''

Rachet nodded his helm in understanding. ''The holoform was meant to be a means by which we could interact with humans on their level, in their way, in their form. You were essentially assuming the form and function of a human male so naturally, there is bound to be some physiological responses you might find unusual or different given your Cybertronian origins.''

''I figured as much Rachet,'' I felt some relief wash over me.

''What were some of the concerns you had Prime?'' Rachet prompted.

I made a small coughing noise I had noticed Lennox do on occasion when he was flustered during meetings. ''Well, Rachet, I noticed that when Orianna was near me and touched me, I felt a warm sensation inside me. For instance, when she ran her hand down my chest to my abdominal region, I felt as though my skin tingled, I had difficulty cycling air, and I had trouble focusing for a moment. I ended up removing her hand due to the sensations I was experiencing. It was both pleasant and unsettling in a way.'' I raised an optical ridge at our medic. ''Is that a normal reaction for the holoform?''

Rachet looked thoughtful for a moment before a small smile broke out on his dermas. ''Absolutely Prime. From what I know of the human body and its various systems, your ''body'' was just having a physiological response to the stimulation it was receiving.''

''Stimulation?'' I cast a confused look at Rachet.

''Orianna's hand moving down your body. Did she touch you much Prime?'' Rachet asked the blunt question.

I started for a moment, then nodded my helm as I recalled our interactions. ''Well, yes. We did.''

''We?'' Rachet looked at me closely. ''Did you also touch her?''

I nodded my helm. ''I did Rachet. I ran my fingers through her hair as I had always been fascinated by that human feature, I hugged her as mentioned and I touched her face and lips.''

''You kissed her!?'' Rachet seemed genuinely shocked.

I raised my servos up and took a step back from him, shaking my helm furiously. ''Negative! I did no such thing Rachet. I simply touched her lips to see what they felt like as they are so very different to metallic dermas. I was curious.''

''Hhhmph,'' Rachet seemed to relax somewhat. ''Good. I guess.''

''I also ended up saving her from falling out of my cabin,'' I added to the list of physical interactions.

Rachet almost groaned as he placed a servo over his face. ''And why would there have been a need to do that Prime? What did you say or do to Orianna that would make her feel the need to leave in such haste?''

''That's just it Rachet. I do NOT KNOW!'' I resumed pacing about the room as a means to dissipate some of the minor agitation building in me. Though it did not happen very often, I did not like being out of control of a situation. ''I had simply been offering her comfort and reassurance after she thought she had badly injured me with the bottle, when I touched her lips and told her they were surprisingly warm and soft compared to ours.'' A feeling of sadness swept over me at the recalled chain of events. ''All of a sudden, she shoved herself away from me and tried so desperately to get out of the cabin, that her foot got caught up and she started to fall. Had I not reached out and grabbed her around her waist and threw her back on the seat…'' I paused. I did not want to think how it may have ended.

Rachet shook his helm. ''Well Prime, I have no idea what sparked such a reaction in our friend. Perhaps you should have asked permission to touch her lips? Humans, especially females, can be sensitive about what parts of their body can be touched.'' He sighed. ''Without taking any readings or scans during such a moment, there is no real way to ascertain why Orianna reacted in such a manner.''

''Understood Rachet.'' I felt my shoulders slump in begrudging resignation. I had hoped if anyone could provide answers as to why Orianna reacted and acted he way she did, it would have been Rachet. ''I was hoping you may have been able to assist me in determining what I may have done wrong this evening with Orianna so I can avoid doing it in the future.''

Rachet stepped towards me and placed a reassuring servo on my shoulder giving me a quick pat in a rare show of affection. ''Sorry Prime. I have no answers this time, save to say that what you experienced in the hologrammatic form was normal and nothing to be concerned or worried about.'' He released his servo and smiled at me. ''If you find it unsettling, then I would advise you to minimise physical contact between you both.''

I sent him a small smile of appreciation. ''Understood Rachet. Thank you for your time and I apologise again for disturbing you.''

Rachet gestured to the exit of the Med Bay. ''Of course, Prime. Thank you for the feedback on the holoform. It is gratifying to know it is working well.'' We both started walking towards the doors. ''And don't take whatever happened tonight with Orianna to spark. I am sure it is all just a misunderstanding. Humans are indeed an interesting and confusing race,'' his voice dropped to a low mutter, ''especially the femmes, and I too am still trying to understand them.'' He must have sensed my despondent mood as he added, ''they are also very resilient, despite their fleshiness.'' He chuckled, ''Especially the femmes. I am sure Orianna will be back to her old self soon enough.''

I slowly nodded my helm. ''I hope so Rachet.'' I half turned towards my friend. ''Would you mind offering to give her an examination tomorrow or at least encourage her to see a doctor, as she mentioned at the end of the evening she did not feel well, and she may be coming down with something?''

Rachet sighed as we stepped through the door out into the early morning air. ''I will indeed try and have a word with her Prime. Now go and get some recharge yourself and stop thinking about what happened tonight. I can tell you are tired.'' He raised an accusing digit in my direction. ''Your energon levels are low too.''

I chuckled softly. ''Yes Rachet.'' As we walked towards the Autobot quarters, try as I might I could not get the image of Orianna's face, the feel of her lips under my thumb, out of my helm. The way she had tried so desperately to get away from me, that she almost injured herself, haunted me.

As I settled into a light recharge back in my quarters, I hoped that twelve miles away on northern side of the island, Orianna had managed to find sleep and was not concerning herself about the events of this evening. ''I am sure Orianna will be back to her old self soon enough.'' As Rachet's words echoed in my processor, I allowed recharge to claim me.