Part That's Holding On
Ratchet stood at the edge of the Well and he looked down, frowning lightly. Did Optimus really have to do what he did? Could he have done something to help him? The Prime had said that there was nothing that his friend could do, and for a moment Ratchet believed that, but now that it was...done, he was beginning to really regret that he couldn't do anything for his friend...
Everything would be different, he knew. Optimus wouldn't be there to help him, wouldn't be there to give his advice that he always would give his friends... Ratchet felt tears prick in his optics and he closed them tight.
ooo
That night, Ratchet dreamed that Optimus was standing in front of him, smiling and laughing as he used to when they were Ratchet and Orion Pax...but the more Ratchet ran to him, the further Optimus was, and his smile faded and his laughter turned cold.
"Why aren't you helping me, Ratchet?" he would ask, his optics turning black and his mouth slowly freezing in a soundless wail. Ratchet would run himself to death, it seemed, just to wrap his arms around his friend. Tears rolled hot and bitter down his cheeks, but no matter what he did, Optimus remained out of reach.
That was, until Primus touched the medic's spark and sent him relief. Ratchet smacked into Optimus and held onto him as if the Prime would wiggle out of his grasp.
"I'm not letting go..." Ratchet hid his face and he wept. "I'm never forgetting you."
Soft servos rested on his helm and back and the Prime purred lightly. "I know."
Ratchet slept easily for the rest of the night, his dreams remaining light as he dreamed of Optimus. The Prime, in the dream, was never far from reach...