The Diego Diaries: Shadow Box 5 (dd3 169)

-0-The next morning, Autobot City, Mars

"IRONHIDE!"

"WHAT!?"

"GET YOUR AFT OUT OF THE BERTH AND HELP ME HERE!"

Ironhide opened an optic and glanced around. He was splayed on the berth face down. No youngling was in sight. The chaos outside in the rest of the apartment, however was noticeable. He rolled over and rose slowly, his joints creaking for a moment. Peeking out, he sat infants forted up under the table, one sitting on a chair grinning while Hero sat on the bouncy chair on the table grinning at Ratchet.

Ratchet was standing before the table servos on hip assemblies as he glared down at the two botlets under the table. "Come here, you little slaggers and let me … hug you."

"ADA! ADA MAD! ORION HIDE! COME GET ME!"Orion screeched with barely contained screechiness.

"If you think speaking in good sentences will allow you to keep your body parts intact ..." Ratchet said moving forward.

"He sure can talk," Ironhide said as he walked out and paused.

Ratchet fixed him with a gimlet optic. "HE SURE CAN! HOWABOUT HELPING ME HERE!?"

Ironhide grinned. "You mean to tell me that two little toe biters are getting the best of you?"

Ratchet looked at Ironhide a moment, then reached under and grabbed at whatever he could reach. Pulling Praxus out, the tiny bot hanging upside down by his ped in his fuming Ada's servo, Praxus grinned. "ATAR!" he said with a giant smile.

Taking that little bot, Ironhide hugged him, kissing his little cheek. "I suppose bathing is in order."

"It would help," Ratchet said looking at Ironhide with a pointed expression.

Ironhide walked into the berth room heading for the wash rack. Putting Praxus on a stand, he began to scrub the baby. "Atar."

"Praxus."

Praxus smiled. "Atar." He smiled in expectation.

"Praxus," Ironhide replied with a grin of his own.

Praxus crossed his arms across his tummy in hilarity, laughing loudly. Then the hose hit him and he sputtered. Looking at Ironhide, he laughed loudly. "ATAR! YOU FUNNY!"

Ironhide considered that with surprise as he stared at the tiny grinner looking up at him. "Where did you get those words?"

"From the hoodlum," Ratchet said standing in the doorway. He stood with his servos on his hips and Orion hanging by one ped as he did. That little bot was cackling and laughing, singing weirdly as he enjoyed the view.

Upside down.

"What are you mad about, old mech?" Ironhide said as he grinned at his oldest smallest son.

"Your boy here," Ratchet said holding a dangling Orion up for his atar to see, "has learned how to open his trap door if you get what I mean."

Ironhide looked at Orion. "He has? That takes two numbers to release at his age."

"You don't think he wasn't watching all this time?" Ratchet asked as he crossed his arms in aggravation over his chest, Orion still dangling happily upside down like a very cute ragamuffin dollie.

"No. He's really smart," Ironhide said as he soaped Praxus up again. "What are you mad about?"

"He did it on the kitchen floor."

Ironhide flinched, then continued. "Oh."

Ratchet grinned as he moved closer. "You're a slacker for recharging past me and avoiding the crap details."

"I wash them every orn. I help feed and water them. I'm even known to park them in the chairs of doom when necessary," Ironhide said smirking at Ratchet. "What more do you need from a steady servos-on atar than what I put on the table?"

Ratchet smirked as he watched Praxus being rinsed. Wrapping the baby in a towel, Ironhide handed him over. Taking Orion and spinning him upright, he grinned. "You and me have to talk, spud."

Ratchet walked out and sat on a chair at the table that stood on their newly cleaned floor.

Sunspot who was eating 'ham and eggs' looked at him with a grin. "That was funny."

"I'm glad you think so, Sunny Bunny. Someone has to laugh I suppose," Ratchet said with a smirk. He rubbed Praxus dry and put him on his chair. A sippie cup took care of his contentment. "Dumping four days of spent fuel on the floor is an awful way to begin the orn."

"You got it really clean, Ada," Sunspot said peeking under the table.

"I couldn't have done it without you," Ratchet said with a grin as he listened to 'the hellion v the hard aft' going at it in the washroom.

"Orion really likes showers," Sunspot said. "He just likes to play with Atar."

"I know," Ratchet said with a grin. "He's bad to the bone, our Orion."

"He is," Sunspot said. He smiled. "I love him."

"He loves you. He follows you around. If he gets to be a problem let us know. A bot your age needs their alone time, too." Ratchet began to make breakfast for the two who'd come to some sort of accord due to the suddenly prevailing silence.

Ironhide walked out with a grinning bot swaddled in a white towel cocoon. Tossing him literally to Ratchet who caught him with one servo like a demented baseball, Ironhide leaned down and engulfed Sunspot in his big arms. Sunspot hugged him back.

Sitting and grinning at Ratchet, he slapped the table with his servo. "Food, old mech! STAT!"

A slap on the helm and a plate plopped without ceremony met that demand as Ratchet 'complied'. Sitting, he grinned at Ironhide. "So far this morning gives me the willies for the afternoon."

"We have a meeting with Prime this morning, then whatever 'happens' happens this afternoon. We don't have to replace much ammo. Mostly the armories will be taking it all back in. Then I'm going to have to help move the sparkling school. I'll be part of that for the next two orns."

"Will the bots be in school anyway?" Ratchet asked as he was unwrapping Orion. That bot sat with a giant smile on his face as he entertained Praxus while he was being unspooled.

"They'll be in their classrooms until they get moved one at a time. When they have the classroom relatively set up at the new school, they'll transfer the sparklings on the subway. The teachers moved almost all of their stuff and supplies already. The stuff that's left is heavy and big. We're going to be doing it as organized as possible."

"Do they need me?" Ratchet asked as he 'buttered' his 'toast'.

"Come on by," Ironhide said. "Sunny, Blue and Sideswipe will be helping and Prowl will come later in the afternoon if things don't come up. All of the genitors are being asked to help."

"I can imagine we got a few thousand more babies and younglings with this new group." Ratchet set Orion in his chair and handed him his sippie. He instantly tipped back to swig it and landed on the floor. They all looked down at him and he looked up at them from flat on his back.

"Sparkling fell off. Silly sparkling," Ratchet said turning back to check on Praxus.

Ironhide and Sunspot looked down at Orion who was still trying to figure out if it was worth it to cry.

Sunspot climbed down and took the sippie cup placing it on the table. Then he began to try to lift Orion's dead weight off the floor. They watched him groan under the load, then he looked at both of them. "I can't. He's too heavy."

Orion who was lying on his back with a big smile pointed at Sunspot. "POT! POT HELP ME! I LOVE POT!"

Sunspot grinned and bent down trying again. This time he had help. Ratchet grabbed a tiny black ped and helped Sunny lift him off the ground. Sunspot held him with his servos under Orion's arms. Ratchet had his ped. Sunspot's grip slipped and Orion hung upside down by one ped.

Again.

He looked up at Sunspot. "Pot. Ada bad me. I need help."

Ratchet and Ironhide blinked with surprise, then Ratchet raised his servo until the little bot was optic to optic with him. Orion grinned massively and leaned forward kissing Ratchet on the cheek.

Ratchet grinned and moved his servo toward Ironhide who took the baby and righted him. They stared at each other, then Orion kissed Ironhide. Looking at Sunspot, he leaned forward to kiss him and ended up hanging upside down.

Again.

"You know, Ironhide, I'm starting to worry about that sparkling."

"So am I," Ironhide said with a grin. He pulled Orion upward again and they set him on the table with his sippie cup. He grinned and began to glug it down.

Sunspot sat down and began to eat again. In no time, they were finished and on their way to school.

-0-At the Ops Center in the Fortress

Mirage sat whispering with Jazz as they discussed something saboteur-ish most likely. Elita and Jetta were sitting with a younger version of Jetta, talking happily about this and that. Starscream walked in with Thundercracker, Cloud Burst and Red Wing to take their usual places.

Arcee, Magnus, Payload, Nitro and Bulkhead sat along the wall talking quietly together as Optimus walked in to whisper with Barron a moment. Then he walked back out intent on doing this or that thing.

Leader-1 sat with Blackstone and Nova as they kept a space available for Herling. He was still at the City Hall, Office of Refugees getting the final numbers. He would just make the start of the meeting.

Others walked in and sat including, finally, Ratchet and Ironhide. They leaned back, their own data pad before them as they waited for others to come.

Ironhide grinned at Jetta and nodded, that good sparked mech's happiness nearly radiant. :Jetta has his brother back:

:I know. Handsome runs in that family: Ratchet said.

:Sort of like mine: Ironhide said with a smug grin as he preened in his chair.

:Feeling your oats today are you?: Ratchet asked leaning closer to the big mech.

:Sure. Got grub, got the younglings to school, got fragged last night … what more can a mech ask for?: he asserted with another smug grin.

:How about getting up from the berth without me using a crowbar?: Ratchet asked with a grin of his own.

:Mech, what would you do in the morning without the routine we have?:

:I might get here on time: Ratchet said as Prime and Prowl walked inside. They sat and the data pad got slid to everyone. Ratchet counted down the list to where his report was and set an attentive expression on his face plates.

On the screen looking at the crowd, Flint, Alor and Blackjack watched. The Ops Center there looked on its game as well.

Prime looked at the three. "Good morning, Fort Apache. How is the situation there?"

"We're good to go, Optimus," Blackjack said. "Wheeljack and Perceptor are here showing and directing the first stage of the sensor grid redesign. They'll report from here. Right now, they're looking at the dishes."

Prime nodded. "Good." He looked at the crowded room then grinned. "I think Jetta has some news for us first off."

That handsome winger grinned and rose, staring down at his doppelganger. "This is my brother, Mack," he said simply.

Claps and whistles rounded the room as Mack stood and nodded in the formal manner. "Thank you. I wish I could tell you how much I love being here."

"You don't have to," Jazz said with a grin. "Just come over and wash my apartment windows."

Hilarity ensued.

-0-TBC 2013 (1) edited 8-20-15 edited 5-4-19

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