We Didn't Start the Fire: Part 6

Getting back to the ark turned out to be a very slow and almost painful to watch process, one of those things that you know happens in a war, but that you never really get to see. Speaking of war, this turned out to be one of the more violent battles that any of them had seen in a very long time. So the casualties were literally lined up in the hall, triage in all its gory glory.

I really hadn't known that much about how that system worked, but that night I learned it the hard way. Five categories of wounded, five priorities based on survival and seriousness of the injury. I really don't remember where in that classification that Optimus was placed, honestly I don't even know if the triage standards apply to the CO. All I do remember of that night was that it was a horrid mess, and that I got a crash course in how to help repair damaged Autobots. Alyssa and I spent most of the night running errands, holding wires and generally being the gophers for both Wheeljack and Ratchet. It reminded me of some scene from that old show M.A.S.H. This however wasn't some goofy show, this was real.

I think around the time the sun came up, eventually every one had been treated and either released or put in the care of the med bay. I felt dizzy and more than a bit confused by all of this, but I had done what had been asked of me that night with out question. Not to mention that I had been to check on Ironhide so many times that I think Ratchet was about to install a cot for me in there. What can I say, he saved Optimus' life. It could have very well have been Prime that took the header off of that cliff with Megatron, but this old soldier had done what his duty demanded of him. He'd saved the life of his leader, but more importantly to me, he'd saved the life of the man I loved.

I finally got chased out and told that he was going to be fine, and to stop worrying. That was when I headed off to find Optimus. I wondered around the med bay for ten minutes like some kind of fool, before I was finally caught by a certain medic and pointed in the direction of my Man's room. I walked in there and found him awake and sitting on the edge of the repair birth.

"Hey there," I grinned up at him.

He looked down at me and smiled some. The look in his eyes told me that he was still tired from all of this, but was doing the best he could to not show how awful he truly felt.

"I heard about what you did last night Angel," He looked down at me.

I blinked up at him in utter confusion, for some reason I was having the hardest time of my life focusing on any thing that morning.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what…" I trailed off, once again loosing my train of thought.

"I meant how you helped Ratchet and Wheeljack out, and how you keep checking on Ironhide. Thank you for that."

"Oh that," I still had that charming duh look plastered on my face, "He saved your life Op' there wasn't any thing else I could have done."

He shook his head at me, "He wasn't the only one who helped me. That was one heck of a shot you made there."

"What you mean Megatron?" I blinked. "I just did what I had to."

Now he was looking at me in concern. I didn't even realize I was acting funny. I just chalked it all up to being tired. There was something more to it however. I kind of zoned out for a second and then I heard the door open and Ratchet appeared.

"So what's going on?" He demanded.

"I'm sorry?"

The medic jerked his thumb in the direction of Prime and then continued, "He says that your acting funny, and you are. Your way to quiet."

A few seconds later he had me up sitting on the thing next to Optimus and was down looking in to my eyes with one of those flashlight thingies.

"Did you get checked out by the Human medic last night?" He asked.

I nodded, "yeah the government insisted that they look at the two of us before we were allowed to leave. It was quick but they said that we were fine."

"Well you're not fine, in fact if I didn't know personally that you hadn't been hurt. I'd swear up and down that you had a concussion."

"I don't…"I blinked, "do I?"

"You don't," Optimus cut in, "I have something equivalent to one."

Ratchet narrowed his eyes, "OH."

"What does, "oh" mean?" I asked.

"Just what I thought would happen," he sighed, "You still some how linked to this big lug here." He poked Prime, "You're picking up on what's wrong with him."

"I can do that?" I looked at him, still dazed.

"Well you apparently can now," He scooped me off the table and set me down on the floor, then looked over at Prime, "You, lay back down. You," he turned to look at me, "Follow me."

I got unceremoniously kicked out of the med bay and informed that I had better not come back until I had gotten a DECENT breakfast, and gotten some ACUTAL sleep. I was too worn down and tired to argue with the white and red mech like I normally would have. So I just shook my head and made my way off to the commissary. I gathered up something that I think may have been breakfast food and plopped my self down at one of the tables. I was startled when across from me some one gave a slight groan and shifted in their seat. I looked up and found Alyssa there with her head down on her arms and a cup of long cold coffee sitting in front of her. I reached over under the table with my foot and gave her a slight nudge.

"Hey sleeping beauty," I nudged her again, "Wake up."

I was rewarded with another groan and she raised her head to look at me.

"You look like hammered crap," She told me.

"Yes and you're such a prize your self this morning," I told her pointing out her own worry lines and dark circles under her eyes.

"Last night was a bad dream," she muttered, "Please I'm begging you, tell me last night was a bad dream."

"It's too early in the morning to start telling lies," I gazed down in to my own coffee. "Look at it this way hun, now they know we can handle our selves."

"I swear," She put her head back down and told me in a muffled voice, "I hope they don't put Megatron back together, because I have every single intention of dismantling the sliver creep."

"I think they are going to get him to the point where he's not in any danger of dying, and then leave it at that."

A few seconds later a tired looking Wheeljack appeared and spotted us, "hey girls."

I waved limply at him and went back to poking at my food.

"So how's Prime?" He asked me.

"Ratchet says he has to keep him under observation for the next 48 hours, or something like that. In case his concussion or what ever you guys call it has some bad effect on him. But he's going to be okay."

"I'm glad to hear it; I wanted to tell you Miss Angel that Ironhide's going to be fine too. He woke up a few seconds ago and started complaining that he hadn't managed to get rid of Megatron completely. If he was gonna fall of a mountain he could have at least done it right."

I grinned a bit at that and then let loose with a very loud long yawn, making my head throb just a bit. I rubbed it and this prompted Wheeljack to start giving me medical orders too.

"Well I guess it did happen, didn't it?" he told me.

"If you mean the thing between Optimus and Me, yeah it happened." I sighed.

"Well then finish eating and go back to bed, Ratchet had one set up for you in Prime's room."

"Really?" I was going back into dazed and confused mode.

"Yes," he told me, "Really. So finish that and then get some sleep. You two definitely earned your room and board last night."

"We just did what we had to do," I told him for both of us.

In response I got an affirmative grunt from Alyssa who continued to keep her head buried in her arms.

I looked down at my breakfast and sighed. I really didn't feel like eating, my stomach was doing the watusi, break dancing and doing the conga at the same time. Still that's what I'd been told to do and so I managed it. I had just finished it and was about to go back and try and hit the sack. When something happened that pretty much shook all of the weariness from me as the anger it inspired ran through me like molten mercury.

The thing that ticked me off so much to make me forget how bad I was feeling was a new report coming from CNN. Standing there in the remains of the battle ground from yesterday was one of those annoying reporters. One of those vapid blonds, the type who's life revolves around watching other people suffer and then broadcasting that suffering to the whole planet. She waved to the remains of the fight behind her and then turned back to the camera.

I wasn't the only person who noticed this. Someone else who did suddenly turned the volume up and I could hear the bimbo most clearly.

"… and that much devastation is all that remains here after the useless battle by the strange aliens that have come to this planet. Both the Autobots and Decepticons were a part of this and as you can see, there is almost nothing left.

Thought the Autobots claim that they are doing this for our own sake, it is hard to wonder, when we see places like this, do they really mean what they say. Or are they no better than the very beings that they accidentally brought to this world, along with their war."
I wanted to scream at that. I wanted to jump up and rip the television out of its sockets. While I fumed some one changed the channel and again we saw the same things. Hundreds of people complaining because of the fight, none of them realizing just how close to the brink they had actually been.

I would have tossed my glass at the screen at that point thankfully some one changed it before I lost all self control and made a fool of my self. I had to bite my lips to keep from saying something foul as I stormed out. I had been wondering how much worse I could possibly get…I shouldn't have. I had my answer. All I could really do that that point was to hope at some point something would actually come out of all of this.