Second is this piece written for Tirya upon her graduation from Naval Language School. Sky, Trace, Nocturne, Bug, Jade and Orion are my characters. Heatwave, Pathfinder (Path), Nightstrike, Moonstone (Moon), Copper and Celeste belong to Tirya. Sirius and Echo belong to Shades.

GRADUATION

Sky took a program from the usher and made her way down the aisle to the row of seats the family had reserved. Her little brother, Heatwave, clutched her hand tightly pulling impatiently at her while she waited for Nightstrike to make his way down the row to their seats. Pathfinder laid a hand on her shoulder, Searchlight right behind. Hound and Trace had gotten back late from their training mission and were coming separately with Echo and Moon. She smiled over her shoulder at Path and marveled at how nice everyone cleaned up. Nightstrike looked handsome in his dress uniform and Heatwave was adorable in his little suit and tie. Path fidgeted in his suit but Search looked elegant in her own dress uniform, her hair up in a neat French twist.

Sky, not that comfortable in her own dress, sat and put Wave in her lap. He squirmed to get off and she let him stand in front of her. Peering over the seat in front, he studied the empty chairs on the stage.

"Where's Papa?"

"Probably backstage, Wave. They're waiting for everybody to get here.*

He turned and looked back at the auditorium and the people arriving. "So they won't start until Da and Trace get here?"

"Nope. Isn't that nice of them?"

The little blond nodded. "Yup." He turned and faced the stage again. "I'm glad Papa is finally gra… grat… grajuating, I miss him."

"We all are, Wave. He's worked so hard for this. But he'll be busy for a long time, you know. He has to do his internship and then be a resident. I think Grampy Ratchet can help him with that so he can stay at the Ark."

Heatwave made a pouty face. "I thought he was all done."

Path leaned over and ruffled his hair. "Pretty soon, kiddo. But one thing you'll learn about Papa is that he's never happy unless he has something to do."

"Unless who has something to do?" Trace, his once shaggy blond hair was neatly trimmed and combed, sat down next to Search. Moon and Echo sat down next to him. Both men were also in their dress uniforms, Trace's pale hair and skin standing out against the space black of his jacket. Echo grinned and adjusted his jacket. He was dark to Trace's pale. Moon glowed like her namesake in her shimmery dress. At the end of the aisle a beaming Hound took his seat. His hair was newly trimmed and pulled back in a neat pony tail. His suit was brand new.

"Papa," Heatwave told him. "Everybody is here now. When will they start?"

Path chuckled and tickled his little brother. "They'll start when they're ready. You'll know because the lights will go out."

Night leaned over and straightened Wave's tie. "Patience, little brother. It won't happen any faster if you fuss about it."

Heatwave giggled and looked up at the lights and nodded. "Okay. Sorry, big brother, I'll be patient. Can I go sit with Da?"

Sky smiled. "Of course."

"Yay!" With a wave, he squeezed his way down to Hound and clambered into his lap.

Hound grinned at him and helped him into his lap. "Well, hello. You're looking very handsome."

Wave puffed with pride. "Yup, all dressed up. Only can't breathe very well. Tie too tight."

Hound frowned. "That's not good." He loosened the tie a tiny bit and then cuddled him and settled him comfortably. "Almost time, little."

Before Wave could respond the lights dimmed and the empty chairs on the stage were bathed in a spotlight. Wave gasped and then leaned forward to see better. A few seconds later a line of men and women, dressed in caps and gowns, filed out and took their seats. First Aid was first in line and took his seat at the end of the row closest to the end of the stage.

"There's Papa!" Wave announced loudly to the audience and graduates. A wave of laughter rippled through the auditorium and First Aid smiled in the direction of Wave's voice. He waved and Wave waved back enthusiastically. Hound chuckled and stood the boy on his lap so he could see more clearly. Wave leaned back against his chest, wrapping an arm around Hound's neck.

A woman in a black cap and gown came to the microphone and the ceremony began. She made a brief speech about future physicians and to everyone's surprise introduced First Aid as Valedictorian.

Aid stood, adjusting his cap carefully and moved to the microphone. Wave perked up, holding tightly onto Hound's ponytail. Hound sat up straighter as did the rest of the row. Nobody had known.

"Welcome," Aid began, his voice gentle and a bit too soft for the size of the room even with a microphone. He cleared his throat and started again, a bit more firm. "Welcome to the class of 2012 graduation ceremony. Usually these speeches are about the future of our class and how hard we worked to get here and how much we learned. Since we all know that…" Amused smile. "I thought I'd skip that and say something more personal to me. Some of you know who I am, many don't. This…" he indicated his body with a small gesture. "is not my usual form but that doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that we have come together to celebrate an achievement. I, and my class, have completed the first step in a long process that will end with us helping other people. I was built with that purpose in mind and I am thrilled to have come another step closer.

"This amazing step, though, has required many sacrifices. We all have families and they have all given up many things to see us to this goal. My children and my grandchildren have barely seen me in the last couple of years and I know they have missed me because I have missed them terribly." He smiled sadly and made eye contact with all of them. "And I thank them for their incredible patience and I ask them to continue to be patient with me.

"It was a difficult decision to return to school, especially with my youngest still being a baby. I thought long and hard and realized that it would, in the future, be the best decision all around. I've learned more than I ever thought possible both about human medicine and about humans." He smiled again as if sharing a wonderful secret. "Humans and Cybertronians are more alike than I ever thought possible. We love and hate and strive to do the best we can and it is my pleasure to move between the two. It is my pleasure to be able to help everyone no matter what their bodies are made of.

"So… thank you, Sky and Pathfinder, Trace, little Heatwave and most of all my loving mate, Hound, and my grandchildren, too numerous to name them all here, for letting me do this with minimal complaints. I promise to make it up to you. And thank you too the University of Salem School of Medicine for accepting my rather unorthodox application and letting me study in this wonderful school." He paused and blinked away what looked like tears before he nodded to the faculty and the graduates and returned to his seat.

Somewhere in the back someone started clapping and a familiar voice shouted, "Way to go, little bro." Aid peered into the shadows and made out the shapes of his brothers and teammates standing in the back and clapping hard. Sky looked back and then stood and started clapping. Path jumped to his feet followed by Trace and then the whole row was standing and clapping and cheering.

Aid blushed and wiped at his eyes but smiled with pleasure. Finally the crowd settled and the ceremony went on. When all the speakers had finished and the diplomas passed out, the graduates joined the audience. Heatwave launched himself into Aid's arms and hugged him tightly, kissing him soundly on the cheek. Aid laughed and hugged him back. Hound took Aid's cap off and put it on Wave's head.

"I'm a grajuate," he crowed.

"Indeed you are, little one." Aid said, tickling him gently.

Pretty soon the entire family was surrounding him, hugging and kissing and congratulating him.

"Why didn't you tell us you were speaking?" Sky demanded.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well, it worked, love." Hound grinned and hugged Aid and Wave.

Streetwise pounded Aid on the back. "Best speech I ever heard. You thanked all the right people and kept it short."

Aid staggered and caught his balance against Hound who grabbed his shoulders. "That was the plan, Streets. Didn't want to bore you."

Aid looked around, smiling at his beautiful family, all dressed up for his benefit. One person was missing. "Blades couldn't bear to change?"

Groove shook his head but his huge grin didn't falter. "Little Bro, do we have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Aid looked doubtful considering who was talking about a surprise. "Oookay…"

Hotspot gave an amused laugh. "Relax, Aid, it's not bad. C'mon, everyone, the surprise isn't going to wait too long."

The rest of the Protectobots led the way. Sky glanced at Night, puzzled and he shrugged back. Trace and Path exchanged amused but clueless looks and followed with their mates.

Hotspot lead the group to a remote parking lot and sitting there was Blades in helicopter mode. Aid grinned, thrilled to see him but a little sad that he hadn't wanted to watch the ceremony but he understood.

As they appeared, Blades opened his hatch and out poured the grandchildren. Noc and Bug helped the little ones down the ramp and carried the still toddling twins, Jade and Copper. Orion held Celeste's hand and Sirius carried a big, beautifully wrapped present.

Before Aid could react, he was thoroughly glomped by the flock. "Grampy!"

Aid beamed and hugged the girls. Then he found his arms full of Jade and Copper, who hugged him tightly. Bug and Noc waited for the flock to finish and stepped in for their hugs.

"Congratulation, Grampy," Bug said.

Noc kissed him on the cheek. "You did good, Grampy. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, children. You don't know how happy that makes me to hear you say that."

Sirius, Orion and Celeste hung back nervously while their cousins greeted Aid. Finally they approached him.

Aid bent down and set the twins on the floor and kneeled in front of the three. "Hello, littles."

"Hi, Grampy," Orion answered softly. Sirius bounced up and down impatiently. "Grampy! We got you a present."

"You did? You didn't have to do that."

"We wanted to. We saved our money." Celeste reached for his hand and he took it gently.

"Open it!" Sirius shoved it at him.

Aid took the present and admired it. "I'm not sure I want to. It's so beautiful."

"Grampy!" Sirius protested. Orion huffed impatiently.

"Okay, okay." He smiled and removed the paper carefully, folding it neatly so he could save it. He opened the box and gazed at the items inside. "Oh, littles… You must've saved for a long time." He lifted out the stethoscope and held it up. There was an Autobot symbol on the bell. He placed it around his neck and lifted out the crisp white lab coat. His name was embroidered over the pocket and an Autobot patch was sewn on the upper sleeve. He slipped it on.

"It fits perfectly. Thank you so much." He gathered the three into his arms and hugged them. "I love it."

Orion, Sirius and Celeste hugged him back, all three grinning happily.

First Aid stood and looked over his family. "Thank you all for this. For your patience and your support. I couldn't have done it without that, without you. I love you all."

Hound put his arms around him and hugged him tightly. "it's only what you deserve, love."

The rest of the family surrounded him, taking turns hugging him. He sighed happily, ready for the next step in his education.