NOTE: I had to drive to Anchorage in a truck and pull back a trailer last night. Eight hours round trip. I was crawling in on my hands and knees. Going up and down over mountains, around a big inlet and the like, I was pooped. Now, I am getting my groove on. :D :D :D Here we go...

The Diego Diaries: Down Time (276) edited for boo boos

-0-On the way back from the Prison

"You need to find better conversations, old mech," Ironhide muttered as they walked along the highway that led back to town. He had Prowler on his arm and Ratchet was holding Hero. She was smiling again, her seemingly natural state as they ambled along, the warm sunlight welcome. "Sentinel might just get to expect you coming by."

"That might be good for Prime," Ratchet said as he watched Hero grip one of his digits and chew on it. "Little femme must be hungry. What have you been doing?"

"Going over munitions with Prowler and Hero. Little femme is leaning toward rockets but I don't think I want her to favor them. They're way too big for her frame. As for Prowler, I want him to think about the possibilities before he chooses his favorite. A mech can't be too careful about a munition."

Ratchet grinned. "They call me delusional."

"You are," Ironhide said with a grin. "Let's go get a bite."

"Hero is already there," Ratchet said as they cut across the airfield pointedly avoiding the Ops Center and the always alert, always vigilent Prowl.

-0-Jade

He walked into the classroom and sat placing his datapad and other things in front of him. He sat aware of the attention he was attracting but indifferent in an outwardly way of it. To be stared was part of his lot in life . The novelty had worn off vorns ago. Right now, he was attending his first University class, a lifelong passion, a course on art history. Part of being the friend of privilege was access to beautiful ancient things. He had a connoisseur's optic and wanted to learn more. He could earn a university degree in art he had found out on their page of the Community Bulletin Board so he signed up to see what it was all about.

The class began and he listened growing more and more intrigued. By the time instruction was over for the orn he had decided to pursue his degree with the single-mindedness that he brought to the pursuit of the enemy nearby.

-0-At 'The Pit Stop'

They entered a 'diner' that was newly opened for business serving human style 'diner' cuisine in a fifties-style American cafe decor just down from the Courthouse on Cultural Center Road. The legal community, pilots and artists were favoring it as the local feed bag of choice. The recently graduated culinary school students who had opened it had decided to supply an alternative to the more formal cafes and restaurants in the city. A bonded pair of younglings from a colony near the Benzuli Expansion and their two friends were the owners and together supplied an amazing array of food one could find in any good diner and barbecue joint on Earth.

Taking a seat, they parked the sparklings on the table. A lot of families were also seated, some of them eating lunch already. A cheerful waiter came and took their order ... 'hamburgers and fries' with something called a 'milk shake'. A big cookie for Hero rounded out their order as they sat back to stare around and at each other. "Ironhide, do you remember Apex IV and Roumer II?"

He paused a moment to think. "Yes. I don't want to but I do."

"Who would have thought this could ever have happened after those debacles?" Ratchet asked as Hero reached for him, her smile bright and cheery. "Here we are in a real Cybertronian city with sparklings, genitors and friends all around. We're eating lunch in a restaurant, not rations in a muddy crater."

Ironhide nodded glancing at his son who lay in the crook of his arm in recharge. "I know. I will not ever allow anything to happen to this, Ratchet."

"Me neither," Ratchet said as Hero tried to climb his shoulder to see better. As she did a big mech walked into the room with his bond and their genitors.

Ironhide glanced that way, did a double take and kicked Ratchet under the table. "Ratchet," he hissed. "Stow Hero."

Ratchet blinked, then from eons of obedience to hissed orders and suggestions pulled her down stowing her in his carry hold. She slid to the back and as she looked out, the chamber door slipped shut. She sat in the darkness blinking. Then she stood up and wobbled over to the hatch patting it with her servos.

"Hi, Ironhide," Clarion said with a grin. He reached out and gripped Ironhide's servo. "There's that spectacular baby. What a great sparkling."

The others crowded around looking at Prowler who slept though the adulation. Clarion looked at Ironhide. "Don't you have a daughter? I haven't seen her in school yet? Isn't she old enough?" he asked.

"We have a daughter but she's still pretty small," Ironhide said oblivious to the fact that Hero was asking the door to Ratchet's carry hold to open: "A? Me?"

Ratchet who was aware of it pulsed Hero warmth. She paused and looked around. Then she burst into tears. Ratchet listening with wide optics looked at Ironhide who was bullshitting with another member of the school board, Clarion who had sons in the Intermediate School. They discussed the next school board meeting, the state of the playgrounds for the Day and Sparkling schools, the improvements they would make to have them safer and more fun, the conferences upcoming, the Spring Concert whatever that was and other things. While that was going on, Hero was sitting in her ada's hold holding her face in her tiny servos sending out big weeps to the universe.

Ratchet almost joined her.

-0-Moments later

"You're an aft helm." (smirk)

"Don't be a hater, Ratchet." (grin)

Hero clung to Ratchet's chassis and sniffled slightly. It had taken a moment of groping around inside his carry hold for Ratchet to find the baby but he did. She leaned against Ratchet and looked miserably sad.

Ironhide leaned forward toward and she paused looking at him. "Hero," he said playing their game of peekaboo.

She looked at him, a tiny trace of a smile appearing, then dying under the thunderclouds of her sorrows. He tried again and she smiled, the effort fading slightly as she gathered herself. "A?"

"Hero," Ironhide said softly. She looked at him, then held out her arms.

"Got a spare arm, aft helm?" Ratchet asked as he held her out.

Ironhide took Hero setting her on the table before him. She looked up, the tiniest little whisp of a waif, her delicate petite little femme wings drooping sadly. He leaned in sniffing her, then kissed her little face. Leaning back with a grin, he was relieved to see her smile. "You're my assistant and all around good example for your brother here. You stay with me a while longer. I'll cry when they snag you."

A big figure appeared behind them, a big servo landing on his shoulder. Ironhide looked up, then paused. "I won't tell anyone," Clarion said with a smile. "Enjoy your lunch and your daughter, Ironhide." Then he turned and walked back over to his family who sat grinning their way.

Ratchet smiled and nodded, the family nodding back. Then he looked at Ironhide who looked emotional. "Good mech, that one. As poor as you at being on the school board, but a stand up mech."

Ironhide nodded. "Good mech all around."

Then their 'burgers', 'fries' and 'milkshakes' arrived. They would be pronounced 'that end of the awesome scale, Ratchet' and 'these are really pretty good, Ironhide' by the genitor units. Hero who would develop a life long fondness for 'fries' would have less to say. It would take her all the meal long to down half of the big fry she was given by her old pa. The cookie would be saved for later.

Both of them would share it on the train to the Aerie Hill Munitions Hub.

-0-At the studio

He sat on a platform designed to raise him from the ground. He sat with his tongue lolling out, his magnificence on display and his all around awesomeness evident. Dawg was getting his portrait painted. Sitting all around the big room were bots from all over the place. Smokescreen, Blurr, Hot Rod, Springer, Drift, Lon, Fury, Splice and Sideswipe watched as Sunstreaker sketched out several possible portraits from all directions. The door opened and Kup along with Topspin entered, pausing to take in the view. "There's that dog. What a champion," Kup said with a nod.

"You got that right," Hot Rod said as he leaned forward to study the big magnificent bastard. "I can't put my digit on it but that is one of the wonders of the universe."

The others nodded, their attention riveted on the dog. Sunstreaker smirked slightly. "That dog is the baddest bad aft in this room. You all think you're badder but he's the one. Poseurs."

Snark greeted that as Kup and Topspin sat down on a couch.

Dawg licked his lips and looked at Sunstreaker, his mouth closing even as some of his teeth stayed out. He had baleful brown optics and a demeanor that was hard to quantify for its sheer greatness. The totality of his lack of interest in the proceedings was enough to put him into the Wrecker Hall of Fame. He lolled his tongue out and took his tribute as he watched over his boys, especially the yellow one who loved him with intensity.

-0-In the Aerie Hill Medical Clinic

He sat in front of the incubator and watched the hatchling floating inside. He was a big infant and healthy. Eventually he would be released and they would take him home to the three that were already there. He loved them all but this one was special. He had one of his own. He was an ada.

The babies had seen him oohing and ahhing at the sight of the 'swimming baby'. They would be very little problem when they got the infant home. They slept in the traditional round crib in their own room. This one would sleep in his carry hold for a while until the new berthroom was finished. Then he would have to make do alone. Having gone to The Sparkling Store an orn before, he had gotten a big soft pillow and a big fluffy targ doll. They would take the place of siblings in his crib. He had read that hatchlings do better if they sleep together. After a long afternoon of fretting over the singular nature of this infant, he had gone to look for substitute siblings. He had found his replacement. His son would be happy.

His name would be Swift.

Starscream had considered that, then looked at the defiantly stubborn younger mech. "Swift?"

He nodded firmly. "Swift. It was my grand ada's name. She was a great flier and I want to honor her memory."

Thundercracker and Starscream looked at each other, then nodded. "Then Swift it is," Starscream said with a grin.

He sat and watched the infant. He would grow up here safe and sound. Nothing would harm him. He, Sky Warp would make sure of it. Just as he would make sure that his other three children were safe. He made that vow on the life and memory of his grand ada, Swift.

-0-Ops Center

Prowl sat analyzing the data. They had made several direct hits on Paragon's ships, an altogether wonderful thing. That goon was going to get strafed every time he emerged on the trail. The intel teams of Seekers had left in the earlier morning hopefully to tell them more about the other side. Those Decepticons either were digging in or not. They were probably staying. He would. They would know about the energon situation. That alone would be enough to bring the entire Decepticon army to their doorstep.

Fraggers.

He considered the possibilities. Two more big migrations were coming. What would the fraggers do? Risk a beating? Test their resolve, strength and how far their side would strike them?

All the way to the Pit, fraggers.

He paused, the ghost of a smile on his face. Ratchet was a good bad influence. If his ada knew he swore this much, even in his processor, he would probably frown at him.

He hated it when his ada frowned at him.

It was fragging sad how much he fragging hated it. Frag. That felt good.

With the ghost of a grin, he turned back to his quarry ... Paragon, the unknown Decepticons and Ironhide.

-0-TBC

04-18-13