Remember…
Holoforms are like a third form, but not at the same time
They're solid light constructs with nanites
They still have their bot and alternate forms
They can change 100% to holoform if emergent
They can change the clothes through mental commands (like M'gann's telepathy (Martian, DC)) or use actual human clothes
They do not have to stay a certain distance from their vehicle mode—simply use human food.
"Normal Talk"
"Bee's Talk"
"Bee's Talk Holoform"
"Other Side Over the Phone (Comms)"
'Thoughts'
~Bond communication~
~Telepathic communication~
Hospital
Outside, Ratchet's POV
Arcee pulls up to the front door. "Park, then you can head back." I scoop Mariposa up, blanket, teddy bear, and all, and run into the Emergency Room. "You have to help her."
The receptionist looks bored. "Calm down, Sir. What's wrong with her?"
I slip the transfer papers under the window. "She was kidnapped while we were on vacation. I just got her back an hour ago. She's been crying like this since she woke up."
She turns when a nurse steps into the room behind her. "June, could you help Mr.…"
"Anderson."
She steps out and turns to me. "Rick?" Her gaze turns to my arms. "Oh, God. Marianne." She looks back up to me. "Rick, what happened to her?"
"She was kidnapped while we were on vacation. That monster beat her, June. Now she won't stop crying."
"Come on. Let's get her back to a room." She sighs before taking her. "It's okay, Little One."
Third POV
June lays her on the cot before running the transfer paperwork to the doctor on call.
"Looks like she broke her arm." He turns to June. "What happened?"
She sighs. "My friend Rick just adopted her, then they went on a vacation. While they were there, someone kidnapped her, and did this." She waves toward the paperwork and X-rays. "I know Rick personally. He'd never hurt a child, especially not his own daughter. She's a princess."
Private Room, Ratchet's POV
I sit on the recliner in the room while they get several machines set up, then leave the room. Once they're gone, I step over and stroke her head. She's got a cast almost up to her shoulder on her right side now, and an IV on the left with a board taped to her arm. She's in a hospital gown printed with pink elephants, and has elephant slippers on.
"Dada?"
"Go to sleep, Little One. I'm right here."
"Okay."
As she drifts off, I stare down at her. My little Mariposa, my angel, my princess, and I almost lost her because I looked away. This last week has been the worst I've had since I rescued her.
The Next Morning
I look up at a knock on the door. "Rick? Orion said you needed these."
"Agent Fowler." I stand before crossing the room to him. "I did. Thank you."
"How is she?"
"They've got her on pain meds, but with hope, she'll be off them by tomorrow. She's already doing better."
He nods. "Keep me updated."
Once he's gone, I pull one of her steel bottles out of the bag and hand it to her.
She drops it once she's done. "Dada? Op? Bumbee?"
I laugh softly. "They can't come, and you're not healed enough to go home."
The Next Day
I get Mariposa up and change her before dressing her in an orange short sleeved dress with a white polka-dot print, white tights, orange bloomers with a white polka-dot print, and orange Mary Jane shoes before setting her back into the hospital crib. They've got the IV off now, but the needle's still in, so they won't have to stick her if they need to give her anything. With any luck, she'll get to go home sometime today.
Soon after her breakfast, June slips the needle out of Mariposa's arm gently before bandaging it. She then helps her into a small ballet-themed sling before picking her up. "One of my friends in Ortho makes them for her pediatric patients. She gave me that for her."
"Thank you, June. I don't know what I would do without you."
She hands Mariposa to me. "Be careful out there, Little One. I don't want to see you here for at least a year." She turns to me. "I'd much rather see her at my house, or at the park, than here in the hospital."
"I know. I hate seeing her here."
"Take her home, Rick." She sighs. "Motrin for pain, and bring her to Ortho in three weeks."
Base
I pull in and take Mariposa out in holoform, then set her down so I can switch it off and transform before picking her up.
"Dada?"
"It's time for your nap, Little One."
"No."
"Mari, you need to nap or you'll be too tired to play."
"Maybe she's scared."
I sigh before turning to Arcee, who's feeding Electro. "I don't plan on leaving her for a long time, Arcee. She doesn't have to be." I sigh before looking down. "But she's not the only one."
Optimus walks over with Sunset. "She has every right to be afraid, Ratchet." He lays a hand on my shoulder. "As do you."
"Ratch? Is she—"
I sigh softly. I hadn't been able to bring Bumblebee up to see her because I was afraid he'd blow our cover. "She's fine, Bumblebee—battered, but alive."
"Thank Primus."
"Bumbee!"
"Welcome back, Little Sis."
"Op!" She reaches up to him. "Up!"
He sets Sunset on her feet and takes Mariposa from me. "I can get her to recharge, Old Friend. You need to get some energon and recharge."
"Optimus, I've got a lot to do. Her laundry…I need to learn how to cook before she's old enough…"
He lays a hand on my shoulder. "I know you have not been recharging well since she was taken, and you never recharge when she is in the hospital. I can handle the monitors for a few more hours, and your domestic responsibilities can wait."
I sigh heavily. "Fine."
Optimus POV
I start for Ratchet's berth room with the sparkling in my hand. "Op!" She keeps chattering, more than likely trying to tell me something, but I can barely understand her.
"Sweetspark, I do not understand." I push Ratchet's door open before stepping in.
"Sowus."
Now that, I understood. "What about Solus Prime?"
"See."
I look down at her. "You saw Solus Prime?"
She nods. "A'gel."
"She was an angel?" She nods again, causing me to sigh softly. "What happened to you, Little One?" I shift down into my holoform.
She shakes her head, whimpering softly. "No."
"I do not plan to make you tell me, Mariposa. You do not know how to at this time." I sigh before setting her into her crib. "But you do need to recharge. Ratchet will return soon enough."
"S'ay."
"Just until Ratchet returns, Sweetspark." I hand her an energon bottle—one I had prepared when Ratchet commed about bringing her home.
Ratchet's POV
"Optimus?"
He sighs before turning to me. "She did not wish to be left alone."
"Thank you, for staying with her."
"It was no problem." He leans on the crib. "She is so young."
"And she's been through far too much to be good for her." I sigh softly. "But children, like younglings, are resilient."
"She told me she met Solus Prime."
I glance down to my baby girl as Optimus returns to his normal form. "Solus is one with the All Spark. The only way that could have happened is if she had died, but she's—"
He lays a hand on my shoulder. "Yes. She is alive. That does not mean that she does not have Solus Prime as a protector, or guardian. She called her an angel."
11:00 am
She whimpers from her crib before crying. "Dada!"
I sigh, and shift to holoform before picking her up. "What's wrong, Little One?"
"Dada!"
I hold her close. "Daddy's here, Mari. It's all right. Does your arm hurt?"
She nods.
I sigh softly as I hand her a pink rhinestone studded pacifier. I don't want her to be in pain, but I have to change her before I can get her medicine…unless…
I set her back in her crib and return to my normal form, then tap my comm. "Optimus?"
"Yes?"
"I need you to get Mari's pain medication from the medical bay for me. It's in the orange box." I turn back to Mariposa without waiting for him to respond. "Optimus is on his way. I still need to change you while we wait, Mari." I return to my holoform and pick her up before setting her on the changing table. Optimus steps in soon after I get her changed, with the bottle and a syringe.
"Thank you, Optimus." I give her a dose before dressing her in a brown short sleeved pantsuit with orange and blue polka-dots and three owls on the neckline, brown socks, and her white and pink Velcro tennis shoes. I help her into her sling, then carry her into the main room and set her on her feet in her pen. She toddles over to her toys as I turn on the TV for her. I turn when I hear someone walk in, and smile when I see Optimus with Sunset. He sets her on the platform with Mariposa before turning to me. "How are you handling things, Old Friend?"
"It's no harder than usual, Optimus." I sigh heavily. "It's hard to see her in pain, but I can handle it."
"Ma'i p'ay?"
Mari nods, and hands her one of her larger toys. "Dada! P'ay me!"
"I can't right now, Little One. I have to work. Play with Sunset for a little while."
"Sunset, Sweetspark, come here."
"Wha', Ca'ie'?"
Optimus sighs. "Be careful with Mariposa. She is hurt."
"Okay."
"Good girl." He turns to me. "Arcee will bring Electro shortly. She has patrol in an hour."
I don't even turn from my work. "She'll have to put him in the playpen."
"And why would that be, Ratchet?"
I turn to the femme, who's got a hand on her hip while her son rests on the other arm. "Because Mari's in a lot of pain, and he's too young to understand that he needs to be gentle with her."
Arcee nods as she sets him inside. "For a moment I thought you just didn't want a mech around your femme."
"Bumblebee babysits all the time."
Arcee looks around. "Speaking of Bee, where is he?"
"Bulkhead took him to the Darby place for a play date while he was out on patrol." I sigh. "You need to go East, Cliff, you'll go North. Optimus is going West, and Bulkhead went South after he dropped Bumblebee off."
Arcee crosses her arms. "And why did you let him? His voice—"
"I had Agent Fowler get him a smart phone with a text to talk "app"—whatever those are. His cover is that he was in an accident and can't talk."
Optimus glances back to the fence before turning to me. "Are you sure you will be able to handle the sparklings? I am sure Mariposa will require much of your attention."
I scoff. "They'll recharge at the same time, and Mariposa needs the stimulation. Primus knows I can't play with her while I'm running the comms."
3:00 pm
The sparklings have been recharging for two hours now. Mariposa went down easier than she did this morning. I'm hopeful that she hasn't been traumatized too badly, but only time can tell.
I start for my berth room when I hear a cry. As usual, Mariposa's the first one awake. I change her before dressing her in an orange and white polka-dot tank top onesie, army green shorts, a white cap sleeved flowey shirt with orange stitching, and orange sandals, and her sling, then start for the main room. Sunset should recharge for another fifteen minutes, and Electro up to half an hour, based on when I put them down.
"Dada?" I turn to her. "Inky? Baba?"
I sigh heavily. How could I have forgotten her bottle? "Of course, Little One." I pick her up gently. Once we're in my berth room, I set her in her play space, then fill a red capped bottle with milk, and grab her rhinestone pacifier before carrying her back into the main room.
As soon as I set her down, she toddles over to her toys before plopping down in front of the bin. I turn the TV on for background noise—to keep her from waking the others too soon, then return to the comms.
As expected, Sunset was up before Electro. I set the two down beside Mariposa after changing them—contrary to human belief, we are quite similar to them, including the way we care for our young. We simply use different terms for the items used, and we don't require clothing.
Mariposa hands them each a toy the second they're down. I don't know if I should worry about that behavior or not.
Two Hours Later
It's now just me and Mariposa in the main room. Arcee took Sunset and Electro to the park. She'd offered to take Mariposa too, but with her arm, I decided it was better for her to stay here.
I look up when Bulkhead transforms in the entrance, to find the mech's legs and feet coated in mud. "Bulkhead?"
"Bulky!"
He steps over and picks her up gently. "Fell in the stream."
I raise an eyebrow ridge, but decide not to question him. He's done worse than that many times before. "Just be sure to hit the wash racks as soon as you're done with Mari. I'm too busy to be cleaning mud out of your gears again."
He nods, and holds out a small white flower. Mari quickly reaches for it. "I brought you something, Sweetspark."
"Bulkhead!" I reach over to take the flower before Mariposa can put it in her mouth. "You have to be careful what you give a baby!" I scoff before setting the flower on the platform in front of me before turning back to the wrecker with a sigh. "I appreciate that you wanted to bring her something, and I'm sure she likes it, but I can't let her eat it."
"Dada?"
"You're too little yet, Mari. You can't play with flowers, and I can't let you handle them until I'm sure you won't eat them."
Bedtime
I change Mariposa before dressing her in a pink and white striped short sleeved onesie and pink footed pants with monkey faces on the feet. I had decided it would be better to dress her in something that stopped above her cast, so we wouldn't have any trouble with it getting stuck and needing to be cut off. Once she's dressed, I tuck her in with her blanket and pink bear, then cross the room to my own berth, and, after setting an internal alarm to wake me at eleven for her next dose of pain medicine, fall into recharge myself.
11:00 pm
I'm pulled out of recharge to both my alarm and my daughter's cries. I had hoped I'd wake before her, but aparently it was an empty hope.
I activate my holoform as I cross the room, and pick her up before holding her close. "What's wrong, Mari?"
She whimpers, and buries her face into my chest. Only then does she snuggle into me. "Dada. Owie."
I sigh softly before grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her. It gets cold in the desert at night, and therefore in the base as well. For that reason alone, I had Agent Fowler install a heater in my berth room. "Come on, Little One. We'll get your medicine."
Mariposa's POV
I bury my face back in Dada's shoulder as he leaves the room with me. He smells like home—energon, and the cleaners he uses in the medical bay, mixed with my soap. There's a hint of something that makes me feel yucky, but it's not bad enough to bother me.
Optimus smells like nature after patrol, but like this stuffy base when he's stuck here, and Bulky smells like mud. Cee said he went off road today, and fell into a river. He musta gone far! Cee smells like soap. Bumbee usually smells like sunflowers, but tonight he smelled like June's food. She musta let him stay for supper.
Ratchet's POV
I have to pull Mari off me so I can give her the medicine. I can't figure out why she'd be snuggling me like this. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I sigh. She's probably just scared she'll lose me.
She whimpers before starting to cry again. I sigh heavily before walking into my room. I return to my normal form and sit at my computer with her in my hand. I have to find a way to calm her down. Usually, just being close to me, or hearing my spark, will calm her down, and barring that, her pacifier or a bottle, or a Jell-O popsicle. Up till now, she hasn't really had any really serious trouble sleeping, even when she had Croup. She wanted me, of course, but she was quiet so long as I was holding her, and that wasn't too difficult.
"A lullaby. Of course." Another similarity to our kind. Of course, ours are in Cybertronian, but the concept is the same. Only problem is, I don't have a rocking chair, and I know they help to calm the child. When I'd get sick, my Carrier would hold me for hours in the hers. "I have to call Agent Fowler, Little One." I step over to the comm in the main room. "Agent Fowler?"
"Ratchet, it's eleven at night. What do you need?"
"Mari's crying, and I can't calm her down."
"You're the one who told me she was afraid of me."
"I don't need you, I need a rocking chair."
"What?"
"A rocking chair. I don't have one."
"You call me, at eleven at night, for a ROCKING CHAIR!?"
"Hush, Bill! You'll wake Stephanie!"
He sighs. "Try to calm her down for tonight. I can't get you one until tomorrow afternoon. I'll be over as soon as I can."
"Thank you." I sigh and start back for my berth room before returning to my holoform. I start humming the old Cybertronian lullaby as I pace, not wanting to stop for fear she'll start crying again. It still takes half an hour for me to get her to sleep. I tuck her back in before returning to my normal form and set my chronometer for five before slipping into recharge. Morning will come earlier than usual tomorrow.
