Ratchet just wanted everything to be alright.
That was the only thing he wanted.
Orion was getting better. He was rarely showing the symptoms of his defects, and even then they were fading very quickly. He had grown. He was almost the height that he should have been. Ratchet knew he should have been happy about all of that. He was frustrated with himself for actually being selfish enough to want things to go back to how they were before. Ratchet didn't truly want that. He didn't want Orion to go through any of that ever again. It just would have meant that Ratchet wouldn't be alone again. There was nothing he could do.
Ratchet sat at his desk, looking over the patient files of the mechs and femmes he would be attending to that Orbital Cycle. He really was trying to do his work, but he just couldn't focus. He pinched the bridge between his optics, setting the datapad aside after he finally accepted the fact that he was too distracted to do anything.
Ratchet had received a request to return to the Guilds of Cybertron. There were many situations before where that had ended up badly for him, but the same amount had been good. But during the last transmission, the Guilds had demanded that Ratchet bring Orion with him. Ratchet knew that he shouldn't have been surprised. He had known it was going to happen ever since Orion was placed in his care. At first he had even wanted it to happen, but after everything that they had been through, it became the last thing that he wanted.
His thoughts were interrupted by the laughing of a little sparkling. Ratchet turned his head to see Voltlock carrying Orion over his shoulder and spinning around. Orion squealed with delight, and Ratchet couldn't help but chuckle also. Ratchet had uplinked Voltlock earlier and asked for him to entertain an energetic Orion while he finished working. Voltlock complied without a thought. He hadn't spent time with the sparkling for a long time, choosing to let the caretaker take care of him while he could.
Voltlock dropped Orion onto his berth before collapsing down on it himself, the little sparkling giggling away. Voltlock sat up as he caught his breath, before he received an uplink. He listened for a moment before venting in exasperation.
"Sorry kid, I have to go," Voltlock stood up before looking over to Ratchet. "They need me to help restrain a mech with an unstable processor."
Orion perked up. Unstable processor? Perhaps Voltlock was talking about a mech he met while he was outside. Orion grinned. "Oh! Can you tell him I said hello, please?"
Both Voltlock and Ratchet stared at Orion for almost a Klik. Then, Voltlock replied, though he sounded unsure. "...Okay. I'll see you mechs later."
With that, Voltlock left, leaving the two occupants of the quarters alone again. Ratchet said nothing as he turned back to his work, picking his datapad up again. He did nothing with it for a Klik before venting and returning to what he had given up on.
Orion watched Ratchet curiously, noticing his behavior. Ratchet was slightly slouched over his desk, looking over his datapad with dim optics. Orion frowned lightly. His caretaker looked like he was hurting.
"Ratchet?" Orion said with a tilt of his head, and his caretaker looked up from what he was doing. Ratchet's posture immediately straightened and all traces of any negative emotion disappeared, but Orion knew what he had seen. "Is something wrong?"
Ratchet's mask came right back up and he watched Orion with a soft smile. "Of course not."
Orion didn't seem convinced, but he didn't voice his suspicions. He reached over and picked up his own datapad from Ratchet's desk, deciding to spend some time reading.
They didn't speak. One because they were paying close attention to what they were learning, and the other because he was busy thinking about what he should do. Ratchet's optics were locked on one file in particular. That one file meant a lot to him. He looked at his datapad, but he couldn't make himself truly see what was on it. He knew it was incomplete. He had to finish it a some point, and he knew that, but he kept stopping himself before he reached the end. He was running out of time to finish, but he couldn't bring himself to. He knew that once he reached the end he would never be able to go back.
Ratchet let out a deep breath, then he stood up and moved towards the door. Orion pried his attention away from what he was reading and watched his caretaker curiously. Ratchet turned back to face him, his smile returning, and he spoke. "Let's go outside, Orion."
Orion thought for a reason why Ratchet would want him to go. He hadn't been outside since Ratchet had been taken away. There wasn't really a reason that Ratchet had ever implied. Then, Orion remembered what he would read on his datapad. He had read about defectives, about how they had never been accepted through the caste system, because none of them had survived. Orion had survived.
Orion perked up quickly, watching Ratchet eagerly. "Are we going to the Guilds of Cybertron?"
Ratchet forced a small smile, and nodded. Orion hopped off of the berth with excitement, rushing to walk next to his caretaker. Ratchet stood in front of the door, waiting for it to open, and became annoyed when it remained closed. Ratchet pushed against it, and it opened, albeit with what could have been called hesitation were it alive. Ratchet exited, leading his sparkling where they needed to go.
Ratchet walked a path he knew, but it felt like the very first time he traveled there. Perhaps it was because he wasn't going to enter alone. He traveled around to the back of the Protihex Medical Center, where a familiar entranceway waited for the both of them. Ratchet knew that Orion wouldn't remember coming out of the tunnel when he was a sparkling, so it would seem like the first time he stepped through. The door opened, surprisingly slowly but opening none the less. A dark passage greeted them.
Orion glanced over to Ratchet, suddenly feeling nervous. He instinctively reached out and grabbed his caretaker's hand. Ratchet blinked and looked down at his sparkling, but he did not pull away, only giving a gentle squeeze to try to reassure him.
They made their way through the tunnel, the normal sounds of buzzing and creaking resonating throughout the walls, but much louder than Ratchet remembered. They sounded almost hostile, and that only made Orion hold onto Ratchet even tighter. They soon found the light at the end of the tunnel, but it wasn't very bright.
The guard stood beside the door to the Guilds. The guard noticed Ratchet, and glanced down uncaring at Orion, before entering something into the nearby monitor and opening the door. The light from the chamber filled the passage, and Ratchet led Orion by hand into the presence of the Guilds. They stepped forward until they stood on a platform in the middle of the room.
"Medic Ratchet, sparkling Orion Pax," A Guild member started, voice stern. "Do you know why we have summoned you?"
Ratchet answered without hesitation. "Yes."
Orion glanced to Ratchet curiously, saying nothing, before returning his attention to the Guilds. The Guilds appeared satisfied with the medic's answer. One Guild member stepped towards them, and spoke with an emotionless tone. "Come, Orion Pax."
Orion blinked, then looked up to Ratchet again, unsurely, looking for guidance. Ratchet nodded, and Orion smiled, letting go of his caretaker's hand and walking over to the member of the Guilds. The Guild member began making their way towards a separate passage, and Orion followed behind, taking one last glance at Ratchet before disappearing from sight.
Another member of the Guilds spoke up. "The caste system will determine his physical and mental capabilities, and assign him to a Guild best suited."
Ratchet already knew that. He had gone through that after rising from the Well. Of course, he was best suited for the medical field, though he hadn't been as good as they wanted him to be. He trained, and he learned. From student to assistant to medic. He was not born into his rank. He had earned it.
"You will prepare Orion Pax for relocation by the next Orbital Cycle," The Guild member finished, though Ratchet couldn't find the will to reply. He merely nodded, and another Guild member gestured towards the exit. Ratchet wanted to object, to wait for his sparkling to return, but he couldn't defy the Guilds. Ratchet turned and began his walk back through the passage. It seemed to take more time than before, mostly because Ratchet was walking slower than usual, just incase Orion followed behind soon after.
Ratchet reached the entrance faster than he thought he would. He stepped outside, and the door behind him remained wide open, as if it didn't want to close. Ratchet moved over to the side, making space between himself and the passage, and waited.
It took a few Breems before Ratchet heard the sound of footsteps echoing from inside the tunnel, and less than a Klik later Orion came into view, looking unsettled, though as soon an Orion's optics locked onto Ratchet he visibly relaxed. The calm didn't last for very long. Orion's expression quickly shifted into one of excitement as he ran up to his caretaker.
"They said I'm going to be an archivist!" Orion said with a laugh. "Maybe they'll let me go to the Hall of Records! It's safe there now, so I could read about everything there ever was!"
Orion continued giggling, and Ratchet smiled at his sparkling's happiness. They began their walk back to the Medical Center, the same way they came. They walked down the halls, and Ratchet saw Orion wave to a few of the medics and assistants the sparkling seemed to recognize. Ratchet didn't really pay them any attention.
They soon arrived at their shared quarters, and Ratchet unlocked the door. It opened quickly, and Orion cheerfully hopped onto his berth, legs dangling over the edge. Ratchet walked back over to his desk, picking up his datapad and looking over the file he had been having trouble focusing on before.
Orion looked over to his caretaker, still smiling away. "Ratchet, do you want to go for a walk?"
"Not now, Orion," Ratchet replied, not looking up. "I have to perform an examination very soon."
Orion deflated slightly, but he didn't complain. After a Klik, Ratchet turned around and went to walk out of his quarters, taking his datapad with him. He looked back only once, and saw Orion wave a goodbye to him. Ratchet forced a smile in return. The door closed as he stepped into the hallway, blocking the view of his sparkling. Ratchet's smile disappeared completely and he began to make his way down the halls.
It didn't take long to reach the examination room. He had met this patient in the same one before.
The old mech Ratchet never really knew the name of.
"Hello, Ratchet!" The old mech greeted pleasantly, looking much happier than during the last few visits. Ratchet nodded in return, setting the datapad aside before shifting his arm, beginning his scan along the old mech's frame. The old mech still smiled. "Everything's been going well. I haven't had any problems recently!"
Ratchet didn't reply, finishing the scan and looking over what appeared on the screen. After a moment, he spoke.
"The rust is completely gone," Ratchet said, arm shifting back to normal after he finished reading the results. "As long as you take an oil bath within a reasonable time period, you shouldn't be bothered by it anymore."
The old mech grinned. "Oh, thank you very much!"
Ratchet mumbled a reply, not exactly caring about what was being said to him. He started to add to the mech's medical file.
"I highly doubt you'll see me again, Ratchet, so I won't take up any more of your time," The old mech continued smiling, standing up and walking towards the door. Before he left, he turned to Ratchet and said one last thing. "Please tell your little sparkling that I said goodbye."
Ratchet visibly deflated before he tensed right back up, glaring into the datapad and not giving the old mech a second glance.
It took him a few Kliks before he finished the report, and he just turned to leave when Voltock entered to examination room. He was smiling, looking very pleased with something.
Ratchet grumbled. "What are you so happy about?"
Voltlock ignored his fellow medic's attitude. "You know how Orion's going to be an archivist, right?"
Ratchet frown deepened. "Of course I know."
"Well, because of his age and his state, they've been looking for a mentor for him, and you will never guess what happened," Voltlock explained, excited. "Someone volunteered."
Ratchet stared. "That is unusual, but I do not see why you are so happy about it."
"That's not it. Do you know who volunteered?" Voltlock continued, his voice making him sound unbelieving but the look on his faceplate showing that he really did believe it. "Alpha Trion."
Alpha Trion. Ratchet recognized that name. He was a master archivist located in the Hall of Records, often referred to as the Archivist of Iacon. Not a lot was known about him other than that. It didn't make any sense as to why someone like that would offer to care for a little sparkling.
Alpha Trion was going to take Orion away.
No, that wasn't right.
Ratchet was going to have to let Orion go.
Voltlock smile softened lightly, and his optic ridges arched in confusion. "You're not happy for him?"
"Of course I am," Ratchet replied, though quieter and sounding very submissive. "I just..."
Voltlock waited patiently for Ratchet to figure out which words to use. Ratchet took a slow breath before he spoke.
"I'm concerned that he won't understand."
It took a moment for Ratchet's words to sink in. Voltlock's smile faded completely, left with only a blank stare. "He doesn't know?"
Ratchet said nothing for a long while. Then, he averted his optics and shook his head.
Voltlock's expression quickly switched to a mixture of confusion and disbelief. "Why?"
"I..." Ratchet started, but had to begin again. "I didn't know how to tell him."
Voltlock wanted to object to that. He wanted to say that Ratchet should harden his spark and say what needed to be said, but the look of utter defeat on Ratchet's faceplate showed Voltlock that the whole event was hurting his fellow medic terribly. Voltlock felt very stupid for not realizing it earlier.
"He's going to find out eventually," Voltlock finally said.
Ratchet nodded. "I know."
Voltlock waited for a moment before pressing a little harder. "It'd be best if you were the one who told him."
Ratchet finally looked back at Voltlock, voice even quieter than before. "I know."
Voltlock ended it there, knowing full well that Ratchet understood completely. He didn't say anything else, not even placing a hand on his fellow medic's shoulder to assure him, because at this point he wasn't sure if Ratchet would even want to be touched. Voltlock walked away, letting Ratchet deal with his emotions on his own. Voltlock said all that he needed to say.
Ratchet stood in the hallway for a moment longer, before heading the other way. He had something he needed to do. He needed to do it right then. He would never get another chance. Ratchet walked all the way to his quarters, the door opening without a fuss. He saw his sparkling sitting on the berth, reading his datapad by himself. Ratchet stepped in, placing his own datapad on the desk.
Ratchet watched his sparkling, knowing full well that Orion knew he was there. Orion didn't say anything to him, not because he was ignoring him, but because he appeared to have nothing to say. Ratchet waited for a Klik before he walked over and sat down at the end of Orion's berth. Orion finally glanced up at his caretaker, looking at him with hesitation. Orion seemed as if he did have something to say, but he didn't know how to say it. It took a moment, but Orion soon decided to take a chance.
"Ratchet?" Orion asked tentatively. He looked down at the datapad in his hands, his fingers tapping it lightly as he averted his optics. "Is it alright if we..."
Ratchet saw Orion holding the datapad close, and knew exactly what was being asked of him. His response to the same question before was completely uncalled for, and it was finally a chance to fix that. Ratchet smiled.
"Of course."
Orion looked up to his caretaker, optics glowing with surprise. He hadn't expected Ratchet to agree. Still, he was happy. Ratchet held out his arms, and Orion smiled as he gratefully accepted the invitation. Orion seated himself on his caretaker's lap, handing him the datapad. Orion was surprised when Ratchet instead placed the datapad back onto the desk. Orion didn't object, waiting curiously for Ratchet to do what he was going to do.
Ratchet did nothing. Not at first. He just sat with his arms wrapped around his sparkling, enjoying the moment they were spending together. Just like many others, the moment was not full of action or excitement. A moment that they spent together, no matter what they did, was just as important as any. Every moment meant so much. Every moment would always mean everything to him.
But it was the end.
Their last story.
And Ratchet knew the perfect one to tell.
It was one they both knew, fully or partially, and one they'd both remember until their sparks went out.
"There was once an assistant medic," Ratchet began, figuring out how he should tell. "He had a mentor who taught him everything he knew, but one Orbital Cycle, a disaster took that mentor away."
Orion's happy expression fell almost instantly. He hadn't expected such a saddening tale. He immediately felt sympathy for the medic, going through a loss that must have hurt him.
"The medic was sad, until he found a lost, little spark," Ratchet continued. "The medic gave the spark to the Guilds of Cybertron until the spark became a sparkling, and was returned to him. The medic didn't like the sparkling, and wished that he would get taken away."
Orion's expression softened ever so slightly, processing what he was hearing. It seemed just like...
But it couldn't be.
Could it?
"But then, the sparkling went missing, and the medic was suddenly scared of losing him, so he searched for almost an Orbital Cycle until he found him," The corners of Ratchet's mouth twitched upwards as he spoke. "The medic began to care very much for the sparkling. He watched as the sparkling grew older. Later on, the medic went to check on a patient, leaving the sparkling all alone. After the patient was dealt with, a mech came in carrying the sparkling, who had been hurt."
Orion's optics glowed brighter, as if something was dawning on him. It was. It had to be.
"The medic was told that he was going to lose the sparkling, and he was sad again," Ratchet's smile vanished, replaced with an apologetic frown. "The medic didn't tell the sparkling, trying to keep him from getting hurt even more, but then when the medic went to the refueling station, he was taken."
Orion watched Ratchet, not giving any sign to show if he understood or not. His expression was blank.
"A mech had wanted him to feel guilty for something he wished hadn't happened, but the medic could only think about the sparkling," Ratchet unconsciously began to caress Orion's cheek. "Then, the sparkling found him, and saved him. The sparkling was sick because of that, but he became well again. And the medic vowed that whether his sparkling stayed with him, or lived on another part of the planet, he would never stop caring about him. Not ever."
Ratchet paused, as if trying to figure out how to say what he needed to say. He stopped stroking Orion, his hand returning to his side. Orion waited patiently for Ratchet to collect himself. After a moment, Ratchet took a breath, and spoke.
"The medic is so happy to have found that lost, little spark."
Orion didn't respond at first, and Ratchet began to wonder if all he said had been for nothing. Then, all of a sudden, Orion spun around and hugged his caretaker tightly. His voice was muffled again Ratchet's frame, but he could still be heard. "I bet that little spark is really happy, too."
Ratchet stiffened for a moment, hands hovering hesitantly around Orion before closing in and holding his sparkling close in a returning embrace. Orion nuzzled his helm into Ratchet's chest, and Ratchet himself began to gently stroke Orion's back, the both of them comforting each other for everything, and for something only one of them knew.
Their story was over. With that, Ratchet set Orion down and stood up. Orion decided to lay down and close his optics, content enough to rest. Ratchet watched his sparkling with a soft smile, which soon turned rather sad. Ratchet sat down at his desk. Even though he was exhausted, he still had more work to do. He picked up his datapad, and began to write.
He had to finish his input on Orion's medical file for the final time.