Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, Acura, Jeep, or anything else with a logo.
Pairings: HoundXOC, SamXMikaela, and… I forget.
Characters: The whole gang.
Rating: PG-13 for mild swearing. :)
BTW, Hound turns into a dark green 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.
EDIT: Dividers and such. Nothing much else. :O
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Sam and Mikaela stared up at Optimus, shock clearly evident on their tiny faces.
"You want us to do what?"
"It's simple. You two are the only ones that are allowed to interact with humans on our behalf," Optimus said, a twinge of sarcasm at the end of his sentence.
"Oh…okay…well, how much are we going to need? How many people are invited?"
"Take my credit card-"
"You have a credit card?!" Sam was bug eyed. Since when did this happen? He could just imagine it: Optimus, in a bathrobe and slippers, at his mailbox, flipping through credit card applications…
Dear Mr. Prime – take advantage of our credit card deal! 8.5 percent APR-
"Yes, we do. Go buy food for approximately 25 humans for the party. Also buy enough food for about fifteen humans for a month. You and your families will be spending the weekend, am I correct? I will send Hound with you to pick up supplies. Keep it quiet."
"Sure thing, Optimus." Sam looked at the card that had mysteriously appeared in Optimus's palm. It was a bright blue card…with red flames. Sam thus proceeded to make a gesture that humans called a "facepalm".
Sam and Mikaela clambered into Mikaela's non-Autobot vehicle and buckled in. Sam sat in the passenger seat, staring at the card in his hands. Optimus had a credit card. A giant alien robot with a Visa. What on Earth was he doing with one?! This was added to Sam's Long List of Random Questions to Ask.
"Hey, Mikkie?"
"Yeah, Sam?" Mikaela asked, glancing into the rearview mirror to make sure she didn't hit the post behind her.
"I wonder what Optimus uses this credit card for.
"I…don't know…I don't think I want to know," Mikaela said, turning her bright blue eyes to Sam. She could just imagine Prime sitting at his computer, tapping away on his keyboard…jumping from his seat when he wins a bid on Ebay…
"I wonder if he uses it to shop online."
The conversation progressed and evolved until they arrived at the local bulk store. Once they had unbuckled themselves, got out of the car, locked the doors, and waited for Hound to arrive, the conversation had progressed to something like this:
"I wonder what his Ebay username is..."
"How about Boss-Man2007?"
"FlamingTruck?."
"I like the Boss-Man one. Seriously. We should ask Hound."
A hologram fizzled to life in Hound's interior. Sam and Mikaela were too busy pondering Optimus's Ebay name to notice. The Jeep's door swung open and the man stepped out, a confused look perfectly displayed on his aged, weather beaten face.
"Ask me what?"
"Does Optimus have an Ebay page?"
"Of course. Where do you think we got your human furniture?"
Both humans started giggling.
"What else does he buy?"
"Uhm…he buys medical supplies for Ratchet, diesel and gasoline in bulk…why?"
"Ha, I told you he bought normal things!"
Hound just nodded and pretended he understood.
"Go buy the supplies. Optimus said he was going to buy a massive grill for Epps and Lennox to grill to their hearts content," Hound said, confusion in his deep voice, "What is it with human males and roasting the meat of various animals?"
"It's a guy thing," Mikaela said, smiling up at the scarred and strangely handsome man. A long scar ran from his hair line to the bottom of his strong and salt-and-pepper stubble-covered jaw. Bright blue eyes, framed with thick eyelashes and crow's feet, peeked out from beneath black eyebrows. There was a second small scar on his face that ran across his cheek. As he turned to look at the store, Mikaela noticed more scars underneath the black shirt the man wore. Several hieroglyphs were tattooed across his bulging biceps. His jeans hung loosely on his narrow hips and gave the barest outline of his muscular bottom. Mikaela followed the powerful lines of his legs to the bottoms of his jeans, where brown ostrich leather boots peeked out from underneath. A black Stetson was clutched in the palm of one calloused hand, the fingers of the other hand in his back pocket.
Mikaela tore her eyes away from Hound, only to meet Sam's thunderous doe-brown eyes. She shrugged sheepishly and tucked her thumbs into the belt loops of her denim miniskirt. Sam pouted. Even he could admit that Hound's hologram was hot, and he was a guy! It wasn't fair…
Mikaela rolled her eyes at Sam's obvious display of jealousy. Then she grasped his hand with hers and they started off to the store. Hound's hologram followed at a slow pace.
"Hey, Hound?" Sam tossed the question over his shoulder.
"Yes, Sam?"
"How long does your hologram last?"
"As long as I'm within one quarter mile of myself at all times, I can maintain this for up to three hours. Any further, and it decreases substantially," Hound answered, his eyes flickering over a nearby blonde woman. The woman dropped the cell phone in her hand and nearly swooned when Hound tipped his hat in her direction.
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Lisa stared at the clock over the exit. Two more hours until her shift was over…Just two more hours, and she could go home, curl up with a cup of cocoa, and write. She popped the gum in her mouth noisily, leaning against the cash register. She pulled a nail file from her pocket and started filing away. If she it hadn't been for those poor orphans she was raising money for, she'd be at home right now, doing absolutely nothing…damn.
"Lisa, look," Maria hissed at her.
"Whaddya want?" Lisa said, putting her nail file away. Maria jerked her head to her left. Lisa looked…and almost spit her gum out at the man approaching her cash register. He isn't a man…he's Adonis! Oh… Lisa felt her stomach flip-flop at the disarming smile he sent her way. Her cheeks started flaming red as he started piling food on the conveyer belt, his muscles bulging as he picked up a particularly heavy package. Her breathing became heavy as he came up to the cash register and waited.
"Having a party," she asked, trying to make her voice sound seductive. To Hound's audio receptors, she sounded like she had a sore throat.
"Yes'm," he said, imitating the Texan drawl perfectly. He could sense an increase in temperature and pulse in the female. Her pupils had dilated by almost two millimeters. It was intriguing! The female was starting to emit high levels of pheromones, indicating that she would have liked to mate with his hologram. Intrigued, he wondered what it would be like to mate with a human female.
"That sounds like fun," she said, giving up on the seductive voice. As Lisa alternated scanning and bagging, the handsome stranger would put his stuff on a pallet and make small talk. All in all, Lisa was in heaven.
"So, where are you from," she asked, peeking up at him from underneath her eyelashes. He smiled at her and her knees almost gave out from underneath her. She giggled when he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling up.
"I'm from Texas," he said, placing a hand on the Texas-shaped silver buckle on his belt.
Lisa frowned slightly. She hadn't noticed that before…and she had given him a good looking over as he had approached…Oh well, she probably missed it on her first go-over.
"Oh, really? Do you have a ranch out there," she crooned. Her scanning had slowed substantially.
"Yes, actually. I have almost five thousand head of cattle, 30 odd horses, and a few thousand sheep," he elaborated, winging it as he researched ranches online.
"Oh my, it sounds like a lot of work," Lisa said, batting her eye lashes at him a little.
"It is a lot of work, but it pays the bills for a simple country boy like me," he said, his voice slipping a bit lower. Lisa blushed and giggled. She blushed even redder as she realized that she was trying to scan a bunch of bananas.
"Whoops," she said sweetly, typing in the product code quickly. The conversation progressed a little as Sam and Mikaela brought a second pallet of food.
"I think we're done, Uncle Hound," Mikaela said, taking in the blushing cashier and the smug grin on Hound's face.
"Do you have kids?" Lisa asked, hope in her voice.
"No, ma'am. I'm not married, either," he said, hinting just a little bit. He was enjoying flirting with the woman…no wonder humans liked doing it!
Mikaela frowned as her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Go retrieve more food. It was a text from Hound. She rolled her eyes and tugged Sam along with her, saying something about forgetting to buy steak.
"How old are you," Lisa blurted out, pausing to pick up a box of plastic cutlery.
"I'm 46," Hound said, resting his hands on the edge of the conveyer belt.
"How old are you?" He added.
Lisa blushed and said, "35. I'm finishing up my Ph. D research right now. I'm doing community service to raise money for the Northwest Orphanage." She gestured at her brightly colored shirt and her friends at the registers, who were all wearing the same shirt. The females alternated between swooning, blushing, or waving, or a combination of all three as he tipped his head in their general direction.
"Are you going to be a doctor?"
"Yes, a veterinarian and researcher," she said, smiling up at him.
"That's great. We need more people like you out in the world," he almost purred. Mikaela and Sam came back, with a third pallet laden with steak, cereal, Oreo's, ice cream, and other random, non-barbecue related items.
Lisa stared at the pallet and then at Hound. Mikaela shrugged and Sam smirked.
She began scanning the items on the third pallet. So far she had scanned 30 pounds of steak, 75 hamburger patties, enough vegetables to make a vegan sick, fruit, and twelve varieties of chips and chip flavors. That didn't include the refrigerator that they were sticking in their truck, or the fifteen plus crates of soda and 5 kegs of liquid encouragement. This was going to be one hell of a party.
As she scanned the last item, Hound gently placed a pack of gum on the belt, smirking cheekily at Lisa. She stared blankly at the pack of gum, then back at Hound. She scanned it.
"Your total is eight hundred and forty three dollars, and eighty seven cents. Cash or credit?"
"Cash," Hound responded, pulling a wallet from his pocket.
"Prime said to use-"
"Screw what Prime says. I've got money I can use," Hound said, peeling apart a few one hundred dollar bills. Lisa gaped as he counted out the bills. His wallet was fairly over flowing with the bills.
"Five…six…seven…eight…and forty…and here's four dollars. Keep the change," he said, winking. Lisa smiled up at him and recounted the money quickly, and almost squealed when she found a small sheet of paper. It had ten digits on it…and underneath it, in an untidy scrawl, was written: "Call me. The name's Hound."
Maria came rushing over to Lisa's side.
"He gave you his number?" Lisa could barely register the thick Northern-Spain accent coming from Lisa's mouth.
"Yes, he's a hunk, and he's smart, and…he has a ranch! Out in Texas!"
"Sweet, girlie. Ya gonna call him after shift?"
"Uh, yeah!"
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Out by Ironhide (who was sent as backup), Hound helped the employees from the appliance area load the refrigerator into the back of "the truck". He lifted one end of the appliance easily while the two men on the other side struggled on their side. Sam snorted as the men shot jealous looks over at Hound, and then over at him. He was holding Mikaela's hand, watching the trio load the fridge up. Then, Mikaela and Sam helped Hound load the groceries into the Jeep and Mikaela's small blue Acura.
Fifteen minutes later found them at the base, unloading the supplies into a side room. Hound transformed and plucked the refrigerator box from Ironhide's bed. Holding it in one hand, he pushed the hangar door aside with the other.
Sam and Mikaela jogged to keep up with Hound, who was taking long lumbering strides to the human area, the large box cradled safely in his hands. Jazz and Ironhide followed them, the both of them carrying the bags.
Mikaela quietly slipped off to her room, locking the door behind her.
She sat down and lay down on her stomach, pulling her laptop out of her bag. She flipped it open and immediately started typing.
Mikaela paused for a moment, as in thought.
Then she started typing again.
Once she arrived at the appropriate website, she began an inquiry of custom made products. Just how much of this crap does Nightshade need? And what for?
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Jazz handed the plans to the Construction patrol. Grumble and Neutro looked over the scratchy plans and nodded. Takedown began to approximate how much lumber they would need for the project. Jazz began talking to Mirage, who had been in charge of decorations.
Optimus backed his trailer up to the hangar doors. Jazz dropped his digi-pad and ran up to the back. Humans were struggling to unload the giant 44 gallon drums that Optimus had in his trailer. Jazz's jaw almost hit the floor when he got closer. Optimus's trailer was full of high grade. Very high quality. Jazz, behind his blue visor, shuttered his optics and sent a quick thank you up toward the sky.
He hurried over to the humans, shooing them away. Bumblebee joined him in stacking the barrels in a corner. "This is going to be one pit of a party," Bumblebee said, grinning at the saboteur. Mirage stacked the last few barrels and locked the door securely. If Sideswipe and Sunstreaker got into the room…there wouldn't be any left for the party.
Three days went by. It was the day before the party. The previous few days had been hectic – the Construction patrol had finished their project with plenty of time to spare, but wiring it had been hell on Wheeljack and Ratchet…and they had enlisted the help of Moon Racer.
Nightshade had managed to talk to Leo a few times, nothing too serious. Now she was walking down the hallway, humming softly. She heard two voices and she turned the corner. Ratchet was standing with Moon Racer…and they disappeared into his quarters. Nightshade turned and walked away, pain nibbling on the edges of her spark.
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Mirage opened his door just in time to receive an armful of upset Nightshade. Shocked, he stood still for just a second before he pulled her back and onto his couch.
"Darling, what's wrong?" he asked in hushed tones, rubbing the femme's back. He was surprised when she smiled through her tears, an incredulous quality in her voice.
"Nothing," she said, looking down at her folded hands.
"Uhh…obviously, there's something wrong, sweetheart," Mirage said, embracing her once more.
"I…guess I deserved it," she said gloomily, tucking her head underneath Mirage's chin.
"Deserved what?" he asked quietly.
"…I…developed feelings for someone without thinking it through," she said, her lower lip trembling.
"Ratchet?"
"Yeah," she grunted softly, trying to clear the images of Ratchet and Moon Racer disappearing into his quarters...
"What happened?"
"I…saw something I wasn't supposed to," she said, shuttering her optics. She felt Mirage's arms tighten around her a little. She wondered what they were doing right now…were they drinking? Or had Moon Racer taken her spot on the couch? Or perhaps, Moon Racer was reading a holo-cube. Or maybe he'd already taken her to his berth-here she pushed the unwanted images away and shook her head.
"Like…what?"
"Them two disappearing into his quarters, that's what."
"Oh, Primus…Nightshade…I'm so sorry," Mirage said.
"Can I stay here tonight? I don't want to be alone," she whispered quietly, peering up at her 'older brother' of sorts.
"Of course, Nightshade. You don't even have to ask. What is the saying…mi casa es tu casa."
"Thanks, Mirage," she said quietly, unable to contain the sleepy rev her engine had let out.
"You can take my berth if you'd like. I have to…go run an errand," Mirage said, pulling away slightly. She nodded and curled up on the couch, tucking her arm under her head. Mirage tapped the light switch and watched as Nightshade dropped into recharge. He shut the door firmly behind him, a thunderous look taking the place of the normally haughty look on the aristocratic autobot.
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Ratchet sighed softly as he exited his medical bay, giving everything another go over before shutting the lights off. Moon Racer stood just outside of the doors, her arms crossed over her chest plate. She had a look on her face that meant trouble of the painful kind.
"Alright, you useless lump. What's wrong with you?" She snapped, glaring up at the medic.
"What do you mean, Moon Racer?" Ratchet groaned mentally. He couldn't deal with this right now…
"You aren't acting like yourself. There is something wrong with you and I want to know why," she said, a dangerous note in her voice.
"There isn't a thing wrong, Moon Racer. Leave me alone," Ratchet snapped back at her, anger starting to creep into his voice.
"Obviously, there is."
"There's nothing you need to know."
"We used to be best friends, Ratchet. What happened? Have I done something to offend you?" Her voice grew soft and hurt.
"Nothing happened, Moon Racer. I'm not upset with you…I just can't talk about it right now."
"You're lying to me. You used to tell me everything. You were like a brother to me," the light green femme said, hurt in her optics.
"I'm sorry, Moon…I just…"
"Do you want to talk somewhere more private?"
The big red and white mech nodded quietly, letting his head hang as he led her back to his quarters.
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Moon Racer settled herself daintily on one of Ratchet's couches and waited. Ratchet sat down heavily in the seat opposite her, ignoring the groan of protest from the metal frame. He sighed heavily and propped his chin in his hand.
"When did this all start," Moon Racer prodded, urging him to confide in her.
"It started all a few days ago…actually when we got news of the shuttle. Right afterwards."
"Who else is involved? Is it one of your friends? What's his name?"
"It's…a she, actually."
"Ooh. Girl trouble? Why didn't you say so?" Moon Racer perked up. This was something that she could help the medic with. Either way, Ratchet had never been good with femmes…he was loud, rude, and callous, and had one hell of a pitching arm. Horror stories about the Hatchet preceded him into other galaxies. Most sane mechs feared him. Femmes? There were a few of them that could march into his office without batting an optic, but the rest of them wouldn't dare go near the medic.
"…it's a bit sensitive."
"Well, keep going. What's her name?"
"Nightshade."
"Nightshade is a she?! Since when?!"
Ratchet explained what had happened to Moon Racer, who in turn, nodded to show her vague understanding. Once he had finished, Moon Racer waved for him to continue his story.
"So, what exactly happened?"
"We were in the command center, talking to Elita, and then right after, she ditched me." The medic sighed and leaned over sideways until his head was leaning on the armrest.
"What did you do before then?"
"Well, I talked to Elita, then to you, and then that's it. I didn't do anything," the medic said desperately, throwing his hands into the air.
"I hate to break it to you, Ratch-batch, but femmes are like that. They won't tell you what's wrong unless you specifically ask," Moon Racer said, drawing her legs up underneath herself. She ignored the caustic glare he had sent in her direction after the use of his childhood nickname.
"It's starting to bother me. We used to be close and now she won't even talk to me," Ratchet said sadly.
"How did you two become so close?"
"It happened a while ago…Red Alert was going on an away mission and he needed to be replaced with a rookie…and he brought me Nightshade. She was too quiet…"
"So...what else did you two do together?"
"Well…we did some research, worked together on some projects…and we skipped work…"
"No way, Ratchet. That's…totally not like you. What inspired you?"
"High grade," the medic snorted. It seemed that high grade was the source of all of his woes…
"Ah, I see. What happened after you two got over-energized?" Moon Racer's CPU processes were whirring away. If he touched her, Mirage was gonna kick his aft! Then again, Mirage would kick anyone's aft if they so much as looked at Nightshade. Lucky gal has someone looking out for her…
"We came back to my quarters-"
"You didn't sleep with her, did you?" There was a look of horror on Moon Racer's face. GAH! I don't need any kind of mental image of him actually doing it!! And with Nightshade!
"No, not exactly. We didn't…do anything. We sat and photoshopped a picture of Ironhide. She almost went into recharge on the floor, so I told her she could take my berth…she refused and took the couch…but sometime in the middle of the night the environmental controls went out and it got cold in here. I woke up with her in the berth beside me. We didn't do anything," Ratchet explained, leaving out the part where Nightshade had slept on top of him.
"I see…what happened after that?" She let out an inaudible sigh of relief – maybe her friend wasn't as sex-starved as she thought…
"We stayed here and read away."
"You mean you let her read your holocubes?"
"Yes, I did," Ratchet said, rubbing his forehead plate.
"I don't even get to go into your library, much less read your holo-cubes. What makes her so special-oh. OH."
"Oh, what?"
"You like like her, don't you?"
Here Ratchet paused. Now that he actually thought about it…
"I am attracted to her," he finally admitted.
"And that's why you're upset. She's ignoring you and you're finally admitting that you're cranial unit over heels for her," Moon Racer summed up, a victorious sparkle in her optics. Bah, Ratchet's got a girl on the CPU, who cares if she isn't even half his age!!
"Basically," Ratchet said, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his chest. He had actually admitted it to himself, and now to his friend…things were going better.
"What happened just before she ditched you?"
"Like I said, I talked to you and Elita."
"You don't think…that…maybe she got the wrong impression of me?" Moon Racer thought. This did sound very much like a case of jealousy…and Nightshade was used to being the only femme around Ratchet…
"What do you mean?" Ratchet was genuinely puzzled. Moon Racer clapped her hand to her face, and after a long second, she pulled it away.
"I think she's jealous."
"Of who? You? That's absurd," Ratchet scoffed.
"Not really, if you think about it. She is used to being the only femme around you. Does she like you?"
"I haven't the faintest idea."
"Why haven't you asked, you moron?!"
"No need for name calling-"
"Yes, actually, there is! Here's a chance for you to be happy, and you're just letting it walk away from you? You are abso-bloody-lutely stupid! Go after her and tell her how you feel!"
"It isn't that easy," Ratchet said.
"Yes, it is. You corner her, pour your spark out to her, then kiss her, and then bring her back here and shag her senseless-what's with the look on your face, you loon?"
"You haven't forgotten the oath I swore, have you?"
"What oath? The medic's oath? 'I will do no harm' and all that?"
"Yes, there's more to it... I will not fall in love with my patient," Ratchet recited, his voice quieting at the end.
"Ratch…you've been denying yourself happiness because of that? If that's the case, you're not the smart mech I thought you were."
"Moon, you're really not helping-"
"Ratchet, you have a chance at happiness. Primus knows you need, no wait-DESERVE this. Don't deny yourself happiness and love."
There was a loud knocking at the door.
"Who's visiting at this hour?" Ratchet asked, puzzled. Moon Racer shrugged and watched as he stood and opened his door.
"Oh, hello Mirage, how can I help you-"
CLANG.
Ratchet staggered back and fell on his bottom after Mirage's punch landed. He stared up at the blue mech, who was currently glaring back down at him.
"What the slag was that for, you sonofa-"
"That was for hurting Nightshade, you slagger, and don't you think that I'm through with you," Mirage snarled, rubbing his aching fist.
"What the frag do you mean?! I didn't do anything!"
"I'm sorry you had to see this, Moon Racer. Good night," he said, inclining his head toward the femme. The disappearance of the mech had her darting over to Ratchet's side to assess the damage done.
"Damn, he knows how to throw a good punch," the medic moaned softly, rubbing his aching jaw.
Moon Racer's response was a solid thwap as her hand met the back of his head. Ratchet gave her a pained look of the whiny kind as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Go fix this, now," she snapped.
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I hope I did okay with Moon Racer. She seemed like a feisty one to me. : )
Not much edited here. :P