A/N- To set another mood chapter 'As I am'- Goo Goo Dolls! I think it's time to add some color to Kayla and Ratchet's new relationship. Enjoy the fluffiness!

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, as much as I wish it were true. Amy and Kayla are MINE! :)

On with the show!

Ratchet had stayed silent during the drive, causing Kayla to wonder what he was up to. They had left the base 30 minutes ago and she was hungry! Ratchet was driving off road, sliding through the sandy dunes to an unmarked scene in the distance.

When the ocean finally came into view, Kayla noticed something laid out on the beach side. A large towel? It stood out against the reds and yellows of the sky as the sun burned a dull orange on it's last bit of life before extinguishing into the ocean.

Ratchet pulled to a stop behind the towel and popped her door as he moved to the back of his alt form. Kayla slid out of the seat and kicked off her boots and socks as she let her feet wiggle around in the sand. She set her boots next to Ratchet's front tire and walked around the blanket, studying it's red color.

Ratchet came out the back of his alt form with a basket in hand and Kayla blushed lightly. He couldn't be planning what she thought he was, was he?

Ratchet set the basket in the middle of the blanket and set himself on one side "Ready for dinner?"

Kayla's heart skipped a beat and and she slowly nodded, sitting herself catty corner to Ratchet and the basket. "Um.. sure..."

Ratchet's gaze locked onto hers and he tilted his head, taking in her nervousness "Are you okay? Your blood pressure seems to be rising alarmingly."

Kayla's shoulders dropped and she laughed nervously "I am okay, but are you?"

"All systems functional and my energon levels are near 98 percent." He said as he brought out two wine glasses and flashed the red wine bottle.

Kayla rubbed her neck "Um, that's not exactly what I meant."

He gazed back at her curiously "Ah, I assume you referring to my change in behavior then?"

Kayla could only nod. Ratchet hummed as he poured a bit of wine into both glasses "I have read that this is the way to gain a human femme's attention. Am I correct?"

Kayla blushed"Y-yes, this is one way."

He handed her one of the glasses with an arched eyebrow and smiled one of his straight, perfect smiles "Is it working?"

At this, Kayla took a large gulp of her wine, then looked to the sky shyly. She felt like she was back in high school, the butterflies racing around in her belly at ever look he gave her. She savored the taste of the wine a moment longer, willing to make this dream come true last just a bit longer. If it wasn't real, she didn't want to wake up anytime soon.

She glanced back at Ratchet, who was staring at her intently. She couldn't fool him, she knew, he could sense the slightest change in heart rate, blood pressure, he could smell arousal. Who was she fooling if she lied? Neither of them, that's who.

She leaned back and held her body up with an arm "Yeah, it's working. Has been since we met."

His eyes glew a bit brighter and he smiled gently "Good."

He pulled out a fork and some spaghetti for one, laying it before Kayla. He had heard that spaghetti was a wonder food for human courting, but he couldn't figure as to why. When he had looked up the reasoning behind it, he had found pictures of Italy and animated dogs... humans are strange..

"I knew you'd be hungry after work, I had Ironhide warm it up for me again when I realized we'd be held up by the disaster twins."

Kayla allowed herself a giggle "How sweet of you guys!"

Ratchet hummed and smiled inwardly, she didn't need to know how he accomplished that feat. Being the only medic around here was definitely a bonus, oh yes.

Kayla ate the spaghetti quickly, thinking of how much this reminded her of 'Lady and the Tramp'. Too bad he couldn't eat human food, it would have topped off the cuteness. Kayla set the empty container down an sipped on her glass a bit more as Ratchet stared out at the sunset. He sat there relaxed on an arm as his other hand swirled the contents of his glass in lazy circles.

The colors of the sunset had all but faded, leaving the sky a vibrant purple and blue. It contrasted perfectly with his eyes and she inwardly sighed, she hoped this was real and not all in her twisted head.

She set her glass onto the towel and went to dig out the rest of the wine, but Ratchet beat her to it. He silently poured her the rest and she smiled "Want to go for a walk?"

He looked a bit confused for a moment, then his eyes regained their normal luster and he nodded "Sure."

Kayla stood up and snagged her wine glass in her right hand. She held out the other for Ratchet as he closed the distance between them easily. Kayla walked barefoot in the sand, letting the water hit her ankles. She laced her fingers with Ratchet's and smiled at him, her heart pounding a mile a minute.

Could the evening get any more perfect?

Morning. The time that we all despise as we seek refuge in our warm blankets.

I shivered and curled up as the chilly morning air woke me from my pleasant dreams. I felt the light tingle of Jazz's mind mingling with mine, his ghostly presence making my back tingle with goosebumps.

'Get up, sweetspark.'

"Ugh..." I groaned and turned over onto my stomach "I dun wanna..."

Another gentle prod 'Ya need to get up an see Kayla.'

The mention of her name had my mind wrapping around last nights events. I remembered my bath, warm and soothing. Jazz's hands as they massaged me into pure relaxation. His ghostly lips upon mine and... Jazz's growl resounded through my thoughts and I froze. Oh yeah, yeah that's what happened... anyways...

Kayla, right, yes. Last night Ratchet had given her his arm and let her into his passenger seat. They drove out of the base about 8 last night, if I remembered correctly.

Grumbling, I rolled out of the bed and wrapped myself in my own blue house robe and made my way into the kitchen. Kayla was just opening the front door and sneaking in as she tried to be silent. What caught my attention though, was she was still in the same clothes she had left with yesterday.

My grin grew as I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter knowingly.

As soon as Kayla turned around from locking the door she froze, her eyes locked onto mine. "Oh hi, Amy... It's um... not what you think?"

I rolled my eyes to her "That's what they always say."

Kayla shrugged as nonchalantly as she possibly could and went to walk past me. I held up a doughnut and waved it around before her, effectively making her stop and look to it in hunger.

"Alright chick, spill. Don't leave anything out!"

Kayla sighed and with a last glowering look at the doughnut, she snatched it form my hand and went to lean on the opposite counter. She rubbed her arm and took a small bite of her doughnut. "Well, he took me for a sunset picnic on the beach."

My eyes bugged "No way!"

She blushed lightly "Yes, way. He even had brought me spaghetti, like, 'Lady and the Tramp' style!"

I giggled "Wow, I didn't know he even knew about that!"

"I didn't either! Apparently he had been thinking about this the past few days."

"Ok, what else...?"

"We went for a walk down the beach.. hand in hand..and wine in hand."

"Did you...?"

"No! Frag, is that even possible?"

I bit my lip as I examined her new use for Cybertronian curse words. They were rather appealing. "Apparently so..?"

"You didn't?!" Kayla gasped at me.

I sighed and bent my head "Apparently, ghosts are very persuasive, and pleasing."

I felt Jazz's rumble of approval 'Am Ah now?'

Kayla snorted in laughter "I don't need to know, girlie."

I rolled my eyes and smirked "Anyways, where did you sleep last night?"

Kayla blushed again "Um.. I may have kinda sorta fell asleep with him on the beach. I woke up to him cussing and he took us back to base quickly."

At this, my heart gave a slight jump as Jazz listened intently "Why?" I asked, voicing his question.

Kayla frowned and looked at her doughnut "I'm not sure, Ratchet said Optimus needed him. He left with Ironhide and Sideswipe about an hour ago." She hummed and took another bite of her breakfast "They all seemed to be in quite a rush. I hope everything's okay."

I shrugged "Hey, it's Optimus we're talking about."

She smiled a bit "Yeah, you're right."

The day flew by quickly as we relaxed on the couch and recalled past memories. Kayla was hesitant to push her new relationship with Ratchet, but I was adamant. She needed a new man er-mech in her life. In the background, we had Fast and the Furious playing on low sound.

She sighed and looked to me lazily "I'm not the young sprout I was before, Amy. I'm not sure if I even remember how to date, what were the rules even?"

I smiled "Second date, first kiss. from beyond that, it's all a matter of how fast you want to-"

Kayla growled "No, no. That's the problem, Amy."

"Huh?"

"I want to go fast, hell, if he'd asked me to warm his bed last night I probably would have. I've been waiting for him to return my feelings for so long that I feel like I'm going to spontaneously combust at any moment!"

I snickered "Then do what you feel like Kayla, we aren't breaking any rules... that I know of. One sec... " I sent the question to Jazz and he hummed 'Nah sweetspark, no rules unless yer bonded wit another.'

I nodded and looked to Kayla again "Jazz says you're fine. There's nothing that goes against their... erm.. programming, I guess?"

Kayla waved her hand to me "Yeah, yeah, I get it."

I was about to respond when shouts interrupted me, they were gradually getting louder. It sounded like Ratchet.

Kayla jumped from her spot on the couch and rushed outside with me hot on her heels, Jazz had a feeling of urgency that I couldn't ignore.

Outside, the Autobots were returning to the hangars, but they looked somewhat... off.

Ironhide stomped past us without even looking down. His body was tense, like the others, and his jaw was set in barely controlled anger. Ratchet was following him looking equally pissed as he kicked at the sand and muttered to himself.

Once Kayla got close enough to him, she called out to the older mech "Ratch?"

He instantly stopped his muttering and looked to her with sad optics. He knelt down before us and vented loudly, it was like he was ashamed. Kayla reached up and stroked his hand gently "What happened?"

Sideswipe walked past us then, his usual grin wiped off his face "Optimus risked his life for that Samuel boy."

Ratchet groaned lightly and hung his head a bit lower "And he lost it."

I felt like crying, why? Because Jazz's emotions hit me so hard I was almost left breathless. Searing rage blew over my mind like a warm gust of wind, followed by agony and sadness. But, just as it appeared, it was gone. Jazz had blocked himself and his emotions from me as he rode out his roller coaster alone. I grabbed onto Kayla's arm for support as his familiar presence left my mind.

Sideswipe looked to Ratchet and set a hand on his shoulder "It wasn't your fault, he was long gone before we got there."

Ratchet shook his head "I should have been able to do something. I'm the fragging medical officer, not the helpless sparkling that was out there today."

Sideswipe growled back, but Ironhide cut him off "Enough! Frag it, there's nothing any of us could have done!" He growled and spat at the ground in hatred. "We were all taken off guard by Megatron's appearance."

Ratchet's face turned harsh and he glared at the ground, his inner demons eating away at his processor.

"H-how...?" My voice betrayed my outward calm, If he was alive, that meant we were all in danger... again. Now, I was wishing we had figured out that he wanted with me.

Sideswipe shrugged and looked to me "They were missing a Con, I'd assume they offlined him and used him to rebuild Megatron."

"That sick bastard.." Ironhide growled out. I could see his arms twitching, as if he was trying to keep his guns under control.

Kayla rubbed soothing circles on Ratchet's hand and smiled sadly at him, she had seen this before, she had been in his very position.

A large truck, similar to a CTX International but much larger, pulled up behind the Autobots and drove slowly into the hangar. In it's back end, was Optimus. His body was ruined, his spark chamber bare for the world to see. It pained me to see the strong leader in such a fashion and my heart gave an agonizing clench as they parked the truck in Optimus' normal spot.

I sighed and smiled to Ratchet lightly "If there's nothing you could have done Ratchet, then there's nothing anyone could have done. Don't beat yourself up." A sudden anger spread through me as I remembered Megatron "If HE can be revived, I know Optimus has the same chance."

That night, after Elita1 had moved from her spark mate's side, Ratchet had begun to work. He patched the spots he could, taking out dents while Kayla repaired Optimus' energon lines.

They had left his spark chamber untouched, fixing only the casing and his protective chest armor. The sun was just beginning to rise when they finished. Kayla staggered as she rose to her feet sleepily and awaited Ratchet's hand to help her down.

The medic stared at her for a moment, he knew she wouldn't make it very far past the door of her room if he left her. Instead, he scooped her up and held her gently in his hand as he made his way to the other side of the medical bay.

He cautiously transformed around her, ignoring her protests as she claimed she could make it to her room. As soon as his transformation had finished, he flickered on his holoform and stood inside the cab.

"Come here, Kayla." He murmured, taking her arm gently and helping her from the passenger seat.

She went with little resistance, her resolve crumbling with every step he took towards the large, soft stretcher in his back end.

He helped Kayla lay down, and she took him down with her, holding him like her life depended on it. Ratchet relaxed and laid beside her as she started to sob lightly. He stroked her long hair and placed a kiss to her forehead as she allowed a tear to escape.

She mourned for Elita1, who's spark would slowly wither without her spark mate. She mourned for the Earth, who now had to face Megatron once again. She cried for Ratchet, who still blamed himself for Optimus' death.

"It's... not your fault.. Ratch." She murmured with a small hitch in her voice. Ratchet sighed and held her close, rocking back and forth gently. Her words made him feel better, as only she could do. He was pleased that she was comfortable enough with him to show her feelings in such a way. His own spark ached for the young blue triplet who slept in a cold berth tonight.

Kayla's breathing became even and her chest stopped convulsing as she finally calmed down some time later. She was so tired that she couldn't sleep. Ratchet stayed awake, his eyes on the ceiling and his hand still stroking her hair in a loving manner.

Kayla couldn't help but smile "I'm sorry Ratchet, I didn't mean to have that outburst."

He looked to her and shook his head, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb. "No, it's alright. You care deeply for others, that's what makes you a great medic."

Kayla pressed her face into the hand and sighed through her nose. His words rang true and that in and of itself was enough to make her feel a bit better. His gentle touch chased away the rest of her cares and for the moment, it was enough to make her feel content.

She gazed into his blue eyes and smiled weakly. She didn't want to push his limits, but she needed the reassurance tonight.

She brought her face to his and gently kiss his lips. They were soft, warm, tasting of mint and metal.

Ratchet's body went stiff and she could hear his sirens whirr momentarily in alarm. She had completely taken him off guard, and it showed. When she pulled away, she could see the flashing red of his lights as they bounced off the walls of the med bay in bright red and blue.

She was slightly disappointed when he didn't kiss her back, thinking she had pushed too far too soon for the older medic. His eyes darkened as he stared at her with his lips still slightly parted.

Kayla's flips turned into a frown with shame as she started to pull from his grasp. She didn't need to be told when she had pushed her boundaries.

Just as she was about to set her feet over the edge, his arm snaked around her middle and pulled her back to his chest. She looked to his face in alarm, his eyes were a bright blue, glowing in the darkness. She noticed his lights had turned off, leaving them once again in almost complete darkness.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked gently.

Kayla held her breath "I um.."

Ratchet sighed at her unease and stroked her face once more as his eyes dulled back to their normal sky blue "I am sorry, you just took me by surprise. I am not yet familiar with human customs, I didn't know if kissing was the same in your culture."

Kayla breathed out a sigh of relief at his apology "Was it different?"

He nodded slightly "A bit. Kissing isn't something we do lightly, it is reserved for bond mates."

Kayla scratched at her head "Erm... Sorry then. I didn't know it was so special or I wouldn't have forced you to-"

His own light lips cut her off mid sentence, firm and yet so gentle. He held the back of her head with one hand and pushed her body closer to his with the other. Kayla felt like she was on fire, her entire body going hot with passion. This is what she'd been waiting for, for him to love her back.

When he pulled his lips from hers she sucked in a glorious breath of minty air and laid her head against his arm as he spoke "Like I said, it's reserved for bond mates."

She gazed at him curiously "But we aren't bonded in any way."

He smiled cockily "Not yet, we aren't. I knew you were mine after that night we spent under the stars."

Her breath hitched as he kissed her neck gently, trailing his cheek along her neck lovingly. She found her voice after a long moment, her heart beating rapidly "How?"

A possessive growl from his engine startled her and his eyes bore into hers "I can sense everything about you Kayla. I can feel your emotions as if they were mine own, I can smell and taste your arousal," He placed a finger over her heart lightly "I can hear your spark calling to me with every beat."

Kayla's head spun with the information. He had known all along how she felt? Every time she admired him from a distance as he had taught her about the Cybertronian anatomy? She remembered gazing upon his glorious backside as he moved to get the supplies for her next lesson almost every morning.

Her voice sounded loud, even to her ears as she half whispered "Then what took you so long, damnit?"

As soon as he smiled it was gone. "I was afraid of loosing you to this war. I was too stubborn to get close." He traced her cheek again and sighed "It took the news of Jazz's rebirth for me to realize my mistake. I am suppose to be fighting for you, not against you." His gaze drifted across her face and locked eyes with her.

Kayla watched him for a long moment before moving her hands to his lightly bearded chin, grabbing the hair and pulling him towards her once more. Their lips connected once more and he hummed his approval as the walls vibrated lightly. He traced her cheek with the tips of his fingers and she hugged him closer, tracing her thumb back and forth on his spine. Once again she admired his thin and nicely built his holoform was. Just as good as his true self.

Finally, they pulled away and Ratchet's glowing eyes pierced hers and narrowed a bit in concern. "Sleep now, Kayla."

Kayla groaned and dug her face into his neck "Then stop making me want to stay awake."

Ratchet shook his head then went back to stroking her long hair. Kayla kissed him at the base of his neck lightly and snuggled closer "Night Ratch."

He kissed the top of her head for a long moment "Goodnight, Kayla."

I relaxed on the couch, eating a pint of chocolate ice cream and watching a sappy romance movie. My tears of the day had long since dried and I had cleaned back up. Jazz had yet to open back up to me, but I felt like he needed the time to think and grieve. Optimus had been his leader, his friend, since before the Earth had even started developing life. I could only imagine his spark ache.

The TV flashed with lightning and the lovers kissed passionately in the rain, I took another mouthful of ice cream and sucked it from the spoon pleasantly. Once the movie had ended, and my ice cream was empty, I began putting the dirty dishes in the sink and drinking a few sips of water. I had been secretly hoping Jazz would pop back in while I was eating the chocolate goodness. Of course that didn't happen. Oh well, I'll just have to eat another bowl before he gets revived.

Kayla was still out helping Ratchet repair Optimus, it was starting to get pretty late. I shrugged and left the kitchen light on for her before heading to my room and ducking under the cool covers. I snuggled into the bed and sighed as sleep started to cradle me in it's sweet embrace.

A familiar presence literally knocked on my mind and I reached out for it easily, letting it back in. Jazz's sorrow was much less now, and was aimed at himself.

'Sorry sweetspark, Ah was just-'

"No Love, there's no need to apologize. I understand." I felt his sorrow lessen and his love reach out to me in a gentle caress.

His ghostly body pressed against my back and he growled lightly 'How did Ah end up wit such a perfect sparkmate..'

I snorted into the covers "Who've you been seeing then? I'm pretty sure I'm not perfect."

He kissed the back of my head gently 'Yer perfect for meh, tha's all that matters.'

I smiled as my eyes drifted shut on their own accord, I was exhausted.

'Sleep sweetspark, Ah'll be here when ya wake.'