Time passed quickly after Orion first learned to talk.
It was surprisingly easy for the sparkling to grasp onto words. It didn't take very long for Orion to learn how to speak full sentences and have actual conversations with others. Though, Ratchet soon realized that he needed to teach Orion boundaries.
One incident ended up with a medic refusing to speak to Ratchet ever again, because a young sparkling didn't know that he wasn't supposed to repeat what was said behind closed doors. Ratchet quickly explained to Orion that if someone didn't want him to tell anything to anyone, then he shouldn't, unless it was absolutely necessary.
At one point, Orion had babbled on about a friend he had made, though he didn't know the name, and a double shaded mech, but Ratchet paid the ramblings no mind, as he believed that it was just the sparkling's imagination. Orion slowly stopped speaking about them, eventually not talking about them at all, seemingly having forgotten them. The stories had been spoken while he rested in Ratchet's arms, but the stories gradually stopped being told, as the sparkling was hardly ever held.
Orion no longer needed to be in Ratchet's arms to fall into recharge, being able to doze off on his own berth. That was a burden off of Ratchet's shoulders. He had lost many Orbital Cycles of recharge because of the sparkling's restlessness. Orion stopped asking for Ratchet to carry him anywhere, which gave the medic an extra arm to use.
Ratchet let Orion keep the datapad, seeing as the sparkling loved to use it so much. Orion didn't care about the fact that it was scratched or dented, as it was still almost completely functional, besides the occasional glitch. It was the use of the datapad that revealed to Ratchet how much Orion wanted to learn.
"Ratchet, there's so much information on here!" Orion said, voice rising in excitement as his optics scanned over the datapad. "Did you know that there are tiny creatures who travel around the universe in a little blue box?"
Ratchet mumbled a response under his breath, not really paying attention to what Orion was saying. The sparkling could go on for Astro Cycles about something he had read, so Ratchet was used to drowning him out and focusing in his work while Orion retold what he had learned.
"And there's this other planet with a bunch of small organics living on it!" Orion continued, a large smile on his faceplate. "And some of them can shoot lightning out of tools!"
"Yes, yes, that's very nice..." Ratchet muttered absentmindedly, using his own datapad to finish up on some reports he needed to write and file. While doing his work took double the time it did before Orion was placed in his care, Ratchet didn't know how he could end up going back to the way things were. He didn't really remember what his life was like before Orion came into it.
Ratchet set his datapad down, letting out a breath of exasperation. He was almost completely finished, but he decided that the rest of his work could wait a few Kliks. Ratchet looked over to Orion, who was still rattling off about what he was reading. Orion enjoyed learning new things, which is why he tried to do so as often as he possibly could. Ratchet always made sure that Orion was being watched when he was attending to a patient, so the sparkling never got into too much trouble. While waiting for his caretaker to return, Orion would search through his datapad, or manage to convince whoever was watching him to tell him a story.
Orion hummed softly as he read, then he stopped. He blinked, going completely silent as he read over something that had popped up on the screen.
Ratchet immediately noticed the lack of noise coming from the sparkling, and he looked over at his charge. Orion gazed over something on his datapad with a confused expression on his faceplate. Ratchet raised an optic ridge. "What's wrong?"
Orion glanced up at Ratchet, then looked back down at the datapad. "It's nothing. A file just opened up on it's own. Something about a mine collapse. I think the datapad is glitching again."
Ratchet watched Orion for a moment longer, then he shook his head. He thought he recognized the event Orion was talking about, but dismissed the feeling. He had dealt with many injuries that were caused by mine collapses, so he just shrugged and let it go.
Ratchet's optics focused on his datapad. He sat thoughtfully for a moment, then he reached out and pressed a few places on the screen. The datapad buzzed lightly, then powered down.
Ratchet stood up, walking towards the exit of his shared quarters, Orion watching him curiously.
"Orion," Ratchet said, opening the door. He turned back to the sparkling, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "Would you like to go for a walk?"
Orion's faceplate brightened. "Outside?"
Ratchet's smile faded for a moment, but quickly returned, though not as large as before. "I'm afraid not."
Orion blinked, averting his optics. His expression fell, though he tried to hide it because he didn't want to seem selfish. That was the response he always received. He wasn't allowed to leave the Medical Center. Orion wanted to explore the rest of Cybertron, but whenever he wanted to, he was told that he couldn't. He didn't understand.
Ratchet watched Orion for a moment, then spoke again. "Not yet."
Orion looked back up at Ratchet, a wide smile reappearing on his faceplate. Orion hopped off of his berth, setting his datapad on the desk and he hurried next to his caretaker.
Ratchet didn't really have anywhere to go. He left the door unlocked, as he didn't plan on staying out for too long. He still had to perform a check up on Orion's systems. But that could wait.
Orion liked to go for walks through the halls, because he was able to look out of the windows and see outside. Orion occasionally felt envious of the Cybertronians who could walk around where they pleased, and wondered why they didn't cherish the fact that they could. He wondered why they didn't stop and look up at the sky, just to enjoy the view. Orion believed that they lived life freely.
Orion suddenly remembered something, and looked up at Ratchet with a grin. "You know what Voltlock said, Ratchet?"
"No," Ratchet answered, smiling back. "What did he say?"
"He said that an Orbital Cycle ago he had to reattach an engineer's arm, because the engineer accidentally blew something up and it got knocked off," Orion said, giggling. "He said the engineer's audio receptors lit up when he talked."
Ratchet raised an optic ridge. "Oh, really?"
Orion nodded, pausing to glance out of a nearby window before catching up to his caretaker. Walking with Ratchet made Orion feel happy. Spending time with him was something that he really liked to do. While he and Ratchet saw each other almost all the time, it was moments like that when Orion felt like he really meant something to his caretaker, that he would take the time to spend even one Klik with him.
Ratchet felt someone trying to uplink him. He accepted, expecting that it would be Voltlock on the other line, but it was a medical assistant. Not Ratchet's, as he didn't have one, but an assistant none the less. They said something rapidly over the uplink, and Ratchet stopped walking. One of his patients in Sector A, room 16, was flatlining.
Ratchet was about to rush to his patient's room, when he remembered who was with him. He had never brought Orion with him for something this severe. Orion had witnessed a follow up or a check up, but never an attempted revival. If Ratchet failed, the patient would offline. He didn't want Orion to see that.
"Orion?" Ratchet said softly, kneeling down to the sparkling's level. "I need you to go back to our quarters right now. I have to go see a patient."
Orion's optics widened in concern. "Are they hurt?"
"Well..." Ratchet tried to find a way to say it in a way that wouldn't frighten his charge. "His spark is really sick right now, and I have to go give it a cure."
Orion nodded, looking very determined. "Okay. Hurry, Ratchet!"
Ratchet nodded, standing from his position and quickly making his way around the corner. The operating room wasn't far. He had to stabilize the patient as soon as possible, and explaining that to the sparkling had only wasted time, whether Ratchet wanted to admit it or not.
Orion was certain that his caretaker would be able to cure the patient's spark so they wouldn't be sick anymore. With a smile, Orion turned around to head back to his and Ratchet's room. Orion had been shown the layout of that floor, so he knew where everything there was, as long as he didn't go up or down a flight of stairs. Orion began walking back, knowing exactly were he was going.
While he was walking, he heard some metal shift. Orion paused, then looked down the hallway to his left. He didn't see anything unusual. He shrugged, and was about to continued walking when he heard footsteps coming from farther down the left hallway. Orion stood there for a moment, then he began walking to where he had heard the noises.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No one was in that hallway. Orion was about to head back and return to his shared quarters, when he saw something that he had never seen before.
There was a passage in the wall. Orion stared at the doorway. He knew it hadn't been there before. Orion had walked the halls with Ratchet more times than he could count. The doorway shouldn't have been there.
Orion stood there, wondering what he was supposed to do. Ratchet had told him to go back to their room, but the passage was practically taunting him, tempting him to come inside. Orion looked around the halls. He didn't see anyone there, so he couldn't ask anyone why there was a passage way in the middle of the hall. The doorway wasn't listed in the Medical Centers most recent schematics. Orion wanted to know why.
He stepped inside.
It was dark. Orion's optics quickly adjusted, and he saw that he had entered a tunnel. Orion blinked, squinting slightly to get a better look at the walls. The metal was faded, and covered in dust. Orion looked down, and saw that the floor was faded as well, but the only difference was that there were footprints in the dust. Someone had been there recently. They may have been the one who opened the door. Orion hesitated, wondering if he should go back. After a moment, Orion decided, and went forward.
There was a loud bang, the lights going out completely. Orion looked behind him, and saw that the door had closed. It was too late to change his mind. Orion watched the door for a moment longer, then he continued down the passage.
Orion had walked for almost a Breem. The tunnel was still going, and he kept descending lower and lower into Cybertron. He thought about going back and trying to get out, but then he saw a light. The tunnel didn't go on forever. With that in mind, Orion made his way towards the light.
It took a few Kliks before Orion finally reached the entrance of a room. The lighting was a dim red, but it was much easier to see than in complete darkness. Orion looked around. Multiple pieces of metal and poles were scattered everywhere, some small and circular, some large and boxy. Orion had never seen anything like it. It was almost like primitive beams that were used to keep a building standing.
Orion heard a sound coming from the other end of the room. He tilted his head, then advanced towards where the noise came from. He heard it again, and again. Orion walked around each of the beams, ending up in almost the middle of the room. He heard the noise again, coming from in front of him. Orion looked around, then he saw something move in the corner of his optic.
Orion hid behind one of the beams, peeking around it to see who was there. At first, he saw nothing, and he was beginning to think it was his imagination, when he heard the sound again, much louder than before. Orion's optics locked onto a figure moving around a large machine. The figure was hunched over, pressing buttons and connecting wires on the machine's console. Orion watched the figure curiously, wondering what they were doing.
The machine started beeping, some of it's buttons starting to glow. The figure continued pressing more buttons, and the sound began to come from all around the room, getting louder and louder. Orion blinked, then he stepped out from his hiding place and into the open.
"Hello?" Orion called, watching as the figure froze at his voice. "Who are you?"
The figure didn't appear to reply, but if they did, they couldn't be heard over the loud screeches and clangs that resounded throughout the room. After a moment, the figure spun around, running away from the sparkling who had been following them. Orion made a move to go after him, but decided against it. If they had a secret, he wasn't going to force them into telling him. They didn't have to tell anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. That's what Ratchet had taught him.
Orion shrugged, and turned around to leave, but was met with a large lever that hadn't been there a moment ago. Orion stood still, unsure of what to do. Hesitantly, he reached out to touch it, but it moved out of the floor, shaking the ground as it moved with a loud creak of protest.
The room hissed, steam rising from multiple poles and beams stationed around him. Ever so slowly, they began to shift, revealing to Orion that they were not what he thought they were.
He was in an underground power station.
It had clearly been abandoned a long time before, as some of the machines were missing pieces and the gears slowly started to turn, having been forgotten. Perhaps the Medical Center wasn't always there, built on top of the uninhabited power station. Or maybe it was part of a back up system installed into the Medical Centers hardware. Orion didn't know. The gears continued turning. Machines hummed with power. A large masher was positioned directly above Orion, and began to rapidly descend.
With a gasp, Orion ran out of the way, the masher crushing onto the floor. It sent vibrations along the ground, which gave more power to the machines. The gears were turning faster. A loud horn resounded from a speaker somewhere in the room, and Orion had to cover his audio receptors from the sound. He took a step back, and felt something starching at his arm. Orion jerked away, and saw that he had come into contact with a machine that glowed with electricity. It zapped at him, and he gave a yelp as he moved out of the way.
The masher hit the floor again, and Orion almost lost his balance. He stabled himself, and tried find a way out of the room. He evaded another machine, that was buzzing angrily. The room began filling up with steam, which made it hard for Orion to see. He coughed, the heat beginning to aggravate his systems. His internal fans tried to activate, but they only managed to spin around jerkily for a moment before they locked into position and remained still.
It was becoming harder to breath. His vents couldn't handle that much heat. The fact that he was running around only made it harder for him to function. Orion stumbled, and he fell right into one of the spinning gears.
Orion held back a yell as the gears crushed down on his leg, cutting into the metal of his frame. With a burst of strength, Orion yanked his leg free, limping away from the machine and up to a nearby wall. He leaned against it, looking over his leg. Energon was beginning to leak from an incision the gear had made. With a wince, Orion heaved off of the wall, trying to avoid the machines that started to move faster and faster. They were only just powering up.
Orion limped through the room, trying to find a doorway, something that he could use to escape. He tried to dodge all of the machines, but he was losing energy fast. His breathing became labored, and he struggled to stand upright. He stumbled, tripping directly into the path of a masher. The heat kept him trapped on the ground, unable to move.
Something grabbed him, heaving him out of harms way. Orion couldn't see who had picked him up, as they buried him into their chest to protect him from the heat. They were running, and Orion assumed that they were trying to dodge the machines, but he couldn't check to confirm it. Orion didn't have the strength to struggle, so he allowed himself to be carried through the room.
It went dark. The noises were getting farther and farther away. Orion was still being held carefully, and whoever was holding him was still moving very fast. He heard metal shift and screech, as if something was opening.
Suddenly, there was a large amount of light. The rapid change in temperature almost choked Orion, throwing him into a coughing fit. He struggled to breath, and he found that a hand was gently caressing his back. Orion's optics were shut tightly and he let out a quiet whine. "Ratchet..."
Someone shushed him gently, still rubbing his back. "It's okay, little one."
Orion's optics snapped open. That wasn't Ratchet's voice. He tilted his head back to looked up at whoever was carrying him to see who had spoken. A tall, black and white mech held him carefully, making sure he didn't harm him in any way. The mech was dirty, and covered in scratches and scars.
Orion wanted to speak, but he had lost too much energy. He slowly relaxed in the mech's arms, optics closing, letting himself be carried away. He did not fall into recharge. He felt to tired to even try, if that were possible. He felt each step the mech took, as if they were trying not to wake him. He didn't make a move to tell the mech that he was not recharging.
The mech looked around, walking down the halls with the sparkling limp in his arms. He eyed each of the rooms, searching for someone in particular. The mech had something to say.
"Well, that was fun."
Voltlock's voice was dripping with sarcasm. He and Ratchet were standing in an operating room, which looked like it was hit by an Energon explosion. They had been treating a retired mech, who had to be restrained. He had been trying to murder another medic because they, according to the mech, 'looked at him funny'.
Voltlock leaned casually against a wall, watching as Ratchet stood in the middle of the room, recording the event into the patient's medical file. When Voltlock didn't receive a reply to his comment, he rolled his optics.
"Seriously, though, the look you gave that mech when he tried to punch you?" Voltlock laughed, his voice sounding like a hiss. "Priceless."
Still no response from Ratchet. Voltlock waited for a Klik, then walked over to Ratchet and swiped the datapad out of his fellow medic's grasp. Ratchet blinked, staring at his hands for a moment before turning to glare at Voltlock. Voltlock only chuckled.
"Just to make conversation, where's the kid?" Voltlock asked, twirling the datapad carelessly on his finger.
"Well, if you must know," Ratchet said forcefully, snatching the datapad back and jotting down another sentence of his report. "He's waiting in our quarters."
Voltlock hummed in acknowledgement, looking over the mess made in the room. "Well, I doubt this can get any worse."
Ratchet didn't respond, only finishing the last few words of the report. Then, he paused. He heard footsteps approaching.
Ratchet looked up from the datapad in his hands, and almost dropped it when he saw the state the sparkling was in. His optics were closed, and he was bleeding from cuts on his leg and arm. His breathing was shallow, which concerned Ratchet dearly. Ratchet tossed the datapad aside, optics widened as he hurried over to his charge. "Orion!"
Orion opened his optics at the sound of his caretaker's voice, feeling himself get taken out of the mech's arms and into the medic's. Orion let out a shaky breath. He tried to speak, but no words came out. Ratchet quickly placed Orion on the nearby operating table, performing a scan of Orion's internals.
His leg had been squeezed tightly. He was leaking Energon. Ratchet wasted no time. "Voltlock, bring me a leg brace!"
Voltlock immediately complied, rushing to the other side of the room. He opened up a large compartment, optics quickly looking over everything in there until he found a brace that was close to Orion's size. He handed it to Ratchet, who had just finished sealing up Orion's Energon lines. Ratchet took the brace, attaching it to his charge's leg. Once that was finished, Ratchet scanned Orion once again, letting out a relieved breath when he saw that Orion hadn't lost too much Energon.
Ratchet took a step back to give his charge some space. "Orion, are you alright?"
"I'm okay," Orion said quietly. He looked over to the mech standing in the corner of the room. "Are you hurt?"
The mech seemed surprised by the question, but shook his head. The two medics in the room turned to the mech, exchanging a glance before Voltlock stepped towards him. "May I ask who you are?"
The mech hesitated. Then, he walked towards the sparkling, stopping next to the berth. He looked over to Voltlock, and replied. "My name is Tanker."
"You saved him," Voltlock said, shaking Tanker's hand with a relieved grin. "Thank you very much."
"It was no trouble, doctor," Tanker said shyly, seemingly embarrassed. After a moment, his expression became puzzled. "Though, may I inquire as to why he was down in the back up power station by himself?"
Voltlock's optics widened. He frowned, and he looked over at Ratchet for an explanation. Ratchet stared at seemingly nothing, then looked down at the floor. "I..."
Orion let out a cough, which gave Ratchet a Klik to sort his thoughts. Ratchet walked over to Orion, checking his temperature before he spoke.
"... We were walking in the halls," Ratchet started, finished his check up on Orion and looking back at his fellow medic. "I was called down to see a patient, and I told Orion to go back to our quarters. I didn't..."
"'You didn't' what?" Voltlock asked, voice laced with suppressed anger. "Know he would run off on his own? If he did it before, why wouldn't he do it again? Don't you remember what happened last time!?-"
Voltlock quickly cut himself off, not wanting to start a fight in front of the injured sparkling. He lowered his voice, trying not to let Orion hear.
"Ratchet, he is a defective," Voltlock said, just above a whisper. "Whether he acts like it or not, he is ill. You know this better than I do. What were you thinking, leaving him alone like that?"
"I..." Ratchet said quietly, optics glancing towards Orion once again. His voice lowered. "... I wasn't."
Voltlock's expression softened at his fellow medic's tone, but he still let out an exasperated breath, clearly frustrated. He had never felt so angry with Ratchet before. But, Voltlock cared more about the sparkling's life than his friendship with Ratchet, and Voltlock would do whatever it took to ensure that Orion would be safe.
Tanker appeared to feel rather awkward, standing in the middle of an argument. Voltlock noticed the mech's discomfort, and he relaxed slightly. Voltlock pinched the bridge between his optics.
"Alright, alright..." Voltlock whispered under his breath, gesturing towards Orion. "Bring him back to your room."
Ratchet nodded, gently taking Orion into his arms. He glanced over at Tanker, then walked out of the room. Voltlock motioned for Tanker to follow as he walked behind his fellow medic, and the surprised mech did as he was instructed.
It didn't take long for them to reach Ratchet's quarters, as they were just down the hall from it. The door opened automatically, and Ratchet walked in, the two other mechs entering behind him. Ratchet gently laid Orion on the berth, careful not to aggravate the sparkling's wounds.
Tanker stepped to the side so he wouldn't walk into the desk, bumping into Orion's spark monitor and sending it crashing to the floor. Everyone jumped from the sudden noise, and Tanker quickly picked the monitor up again, checking over it with wide optics. He mumbled an apology as he opened a back panel, tinkering with the wireless communicator. "Everything's fine, I just knocked something loose. Sorry about that."
"No problem," Voltlock said absentmindedly, watching Orion with a thoughtful expression on his faceplate.
Ratchet glanced at Tanker, skeptically. "You're a mechanic?"
"...Yes, of course," Tanker replied, raising an optic ridge as he placed the spark monitor back in it's original position. "It's why I was in the power station, after all. I was checking over the main power grid."
Ratchet frowned. "And you activated it?"
"No, no..." Tanker shook his head. "I only looked over the wires and adjusted the maximum voltage. Your sparkling must have set it off somehow."
Ratchet stared at Tanker, mouth agape at the fact that the 'mechanic' was blaming a sparkling. His expression shifted to a glare, and he was about to object when Voltlock noticed what was about to happen and stepped in. "Thank you for getting Orion out of there alive."
The way that sentence was said was clearly a jab at Ratchet, who deflated at Voltlock's words. Tanker looked away sheepishly, smiling, muttering under his breath about how it was no trouble at all.
Voltlock looked to Ratchet, and was almost shaking with fury. He forced himself to keep his voice down, and he turned to looked at Tanker. "Will you come outside with me for a moment?"
Tanker hesitated, then nodded and followed Voltlock out of the room. The door closed behind them.
Ratchet stood in the middle of the room for a moment, then he walked over to Orion's spark monitor. He activated it, and Orion vitals appeared on the screen, gently beeping at an even pace.
Orion looked up at his caretaker with a whimper. "Ratchet."
Ratchet knelt by Orion's side, gently shushing him while caressing his cheek. "It's alright, I'm here..."
Orion weakly reached out and placed a hand on Ratchet's. The medic paused, then he grasped the sparkling's hand in return.
Orion sat up, not wanting to fall into recharge just then. Ratchet was about to tell Orion to lay down and rest, when he heard the door open behind him. He turned around, and saw Voltlock standing in the doorway, comepletely completely. "Ratchet, may I speak with you?"
Ratchet blinked, looking back to Orion for a moment, then back at his fellow medic. Ratchet nodded, then followed Voltlock out of the room. Ratchet looked around the halls. Tanker was no where to be seen. Voltlock made sure to close the door behind him.
As soon as the door was shut, Voltlock exploded. "Ratchet, what is wrong with you!?"
The suddenness of Voltlock's rage had shocked Ratchet, enough to leave him unable to reply.
"You know what can happen if Orion is left alone!" Voltlock yelled, arms swinging around to express his anger. "He is sick! He could die! Does that not register with you!?"
"Voltlock, I did not-"
"What? You 'did not' what!?" Voltlock asked condescendingly, teethplates grinding together. "There is no excuse for this, Ratchet!"
Ratchet tried once again to get a word in, to reassure his fellow medic. "Orion is alright, he's safe-"
"No!" Voltock interrupted. "No, he is not safe!"
Ratchet stared at the medic before him, unsure of how to respond. He had never seen Voltlock so upset. It was rather unnerving, but Ratchet didn't think too much about it. Voltlock was concerned about Orion's health, as was Ratchet.
Voltlock took a deep breath, then rubbed a hand over his faceplate. His cheeks were a hint of blue from the Energon boiling inside of him. He tried to calm down, because he knew that yelling wouldn't solve the problem. Voltlock closed his optics, tone dangerously low. "We'll talk about this later."
With that Voltlock spun around and strode down the hallway, leaving Ratchet standing there alone.
Ratchet frowned, starting to feel rather angry as well. The only difference was that he was angry at himself. He felt guilty. He remembered what had happened the last time Orion had walked down the halls alone. While his immune system was stronger than before, he was still at risk of deadly viruses. Ratchet never wanted anything to happen to Orion.
Ratchet turned back to his quarters, unlocking the door and walking inside. He paused midstep, anger vanishing when he saw the little sparkling sitting on his berth. Orion didn't acknowledge him, looking down at the floor, datapad in hand. Ratchet watched him with concern.
"Orion?" Ratchet stepped towards the sparkling, who was refusing to look at him. "Orion, what's wrong?"
At first, he received no reply. Then, Orion quietly spoke. "I heard."
Ratchet blinked. "Heard what?"
Orion shrugged, still avoiding optic contact. "I heard you yell."
Ratchet frowned, but didn't say anything.
"You were yelling about me," Orion continued, fiddling with his datapad, but not searching anything on it. "Voltlock keeps saying I'm really sick. I already know that, and so do you, but why does he keep saying it?"
Ratchet remained silent. Orion waited for a response. After a long moment, Ratchet spoke. "He doesn't want you to get hurt."
"Neither do you," Orion countered, then went silent once again. After a long moment, he finally looked up at his caretaker. "You care about me, right?"
Ratchet didn't even have to think about that. He was shocked that Orion even asked. "Of course I do."
Orion glanced away again, then quickly looked back to his caretaker, optics wide.
"Ratchet?" Orion said, trying to sound calm, but fear could clearly be heard in his voice. "What's going to happen to me?"
"Nothing," Ratchet said softly, taking a seat at the foot of the sparkling's berth. "You're going to be just fine."
Orion looked down for a moment, staying very silent. Before Ratchet could say anything, Orion looked back up at Ratchet, sadly. "I'm sorry."
Ratchet raised an optic ridge. "Why?"
"They're mad at you now," Orion said, emotion taking over. He brought his legs into his chest and buried his head into his arms. "It's all my fault. I'm so sorry, Ratchet!"
Ratchet seemed taken aback by what Orion said. He hesitated, then reached over and picked the sparkling up, just like he used to do. Ratchet cradled him in his arms while whispering that it wasn't his fault, it was alright. Orion was shaking, but Ratchet couldn't tell if it was because he was cold, or if he was trying not to cry. It was likely the former, as Orion had never cried before.
Ratchet stood up, Orion still held close. He walked over to his own berth, sitting down while caressing Orion's back, trying to calm the sparkling down.
They stayed like that for a while, until Orion's shivering slowly stopped. Ratchet placed Orion next to him, and they sat in silence. After a few Kliks, Orion looked up to Ratchet, optics still dimmed with guilt. "Voltlock isn't going to be mad at you forever, is he?"
Ratchet snorted. "Voltlock? No, he'll forget about it by the next Orbital Cycle."
That seemed to make Orion feel better, as he let a smile form on his faceplate. "Yeah, like he forgot about how you and him went for a drink, because he got overcharged."
Ratchet smirked, but feigned innocence and raised an optic ridge. "Really? Now, where did you hear about that?"
"You told me, Ratchet!" Orion said, giggling. Ratchet chuckled as well.
Orion's laugh soon turned into a coughing fit. It was much harsher than ever before, and Ratchet placed a hand on Orion's back in concern. They lasted a while, and when they seemed to be gone, they just came back. Ratchet quietly ran a scan over Orion, and saw that his temperature was getting very low.
When Orion finally stopped coughing, he was almost gasping for a breath. He began shaking again, not from the cold, but from fatigue. He leaned against Ratchet's arm, burying his head into his caretaker's side. "What's wrong with me?"
Ratchet didn't know how to respond. He never told Orion about his condition, a least, not when Orion's processor developed the ability to completely retain information. He expected that Orion would one day ask why. Why couldn't he go outside, why was he always watched over, why was he always sick. Ratchet just didn't expect him to ask so soon.
Ratchet shook his head. "There is nothing wrong with you. There will never be anything wrong with you."
Orion was obviously not convinced. Ratchet paused momentarily, then he reached down and lifted Orion up again, much to the sparkling's surprise. Ratchet laid down on his berth, Orion laying on his chest. Orion blinked. He and his caretaker hadn't been that close in a long time. A smile crept onto his faceplate, and he snuggled into Ratchet's chest. He said nothing, just letting out a deep breath of content. Ratchet smiled softly.
Orion's breathing slowed, as did Ratchet's own. The medic placed a hand on Orion's back to hold him close.
Ratchet finally allowed himself to relax.
Ratchet onlined his optics, the dark of the room leaving him unable to see.
It took a moment for his optics to adjust to the lack of light. When they did, he looked around, and noticed that Orion wasn't in his berth. Ratchet almost bolted into an upright position, but froze when he felt a small weight on his chest. He gazed down, and saw Orion exactly where he had seen him last. Orion was cuddled against Ratchet's chest, recharging softly.
Ratchet just laid there for a few Kliks, then a sad smile formed on his faceplate. He raised a hand and caressed his charge's cheek, watching as the sparkling stirred from the touch, but didn't wake. Ratchet slowly sat up, holding Orion to his chest so he wouldn't fall. He stood, walking over to Orion's berth, and placing him gently upon in. Orion hummed lightly, shifting his position so he was almost curled up into a ball.
Ratchet frowned, placing a hand on the sparkling's forehead. Orion temperature was lower than it had ever been. Ratchet stayed by his charge's side for a moment longer, then moved to make the nearby spark monitor display Orion's vitals. It glowed dimly, with multiple lines traveling across the screen. They were normal for a sparkling younger than Orion, which was concerning. But, as Voltlock had reminded Ratchet earlier, Orion was a defective. Some things just wouldn't be what they should.
His frown deepened, and Ratchet walked back over to his own berth. He sat down, watching his charge rest for a moment before he laid down on the berth.
Ratchet closed his optics, listening to the sound of Orion breathing.
If he was breathing, he was still with him.