"Wheeljack!", Kerri screamed and ran towards the Wrecker. Wheeljack broke his stare down with Ultra Magnus and reached down to let Kerri jump into his servo. He lifted her up and she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck.
"You're back!"she cried a muffled sob. "Thank God you're back! I missed you." Her body was shaking, sobs uncontrollable. He let her cry for a few minutes before speaking.
"Hey, c'mon, kid, it's ok. I'm here now." He gently lifted her from his neck. "Look at me, Kerri." The woman lifted her face to his, and Wheeljack used his thumb to wipe away her tears.
"I'm back…for good. Just like I promised, sweetspark. There's nothing out there for me. Everything that matters is right here," he smiled at her. Kerri smiled back at her friend, her hand stroking the familiar scar above his lip.
"Everybody's going to be so happy to have you back."
"Speak for yourself," mumbled Ratchet as he turned back to the monitors. Kerri shot him a dirty look before turning back to Wheeljack.
"You didn't find anybody else? No other Wreckers?"
"Nope. Not a soul." He looked sad.
"I'm sorry, Wheeljack. I know how much they mean to you."
"Yeah, well, at least I still have Bulkhead."
"And Ultra Magnus," she said, turning to smile at the Commander before looking back to Wheeljack. "So why didn't you let us know that you were on your way?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise," he said as he set Kerri down. Standing back up, his gaze went to Ultra Magnus, who was standing in the same spot, face expressionless. "But I guess I'm the one getting surprised."
Magnus walked towards the Wrecker, servo extended. "Welcome back, soldier," he said evenly, catching Wheeljack's servo in an unnecessarily firm grip. Wheeljack felt it but to his credit, didn't react. Instead, he turned the servo around in his own, inspecting the replacement.
"Ol' Doc did a great job."
"The doctor and Kerri," Magnus corrected him.
"I live with the Autobots full time now, and Ratchet made me his assistant," Kerri interjected happily. "He let me help with the surgery and I did almost all of the physical therapy. I learned a ton about Cybertronian tech. Reading about it on a data pad is one thing. Actually working on it is another. The Commander was very patient with me while I fumbled my way through it."
"You do excellent work, Kerri," Magnus smiled down at the woman.
"I'm guessing she's not the only one, sir," Wheeljack smirked at the mech.
Magnus was about to fire off his own smartass remark when Ratchet interrupted. "The day is about to get worse. The others are on their way back with the children." He turned and looked down at Kerri. "Playtime is over, young lady. You have reports to complete, or have you forgotten?"
"I know, Doc," she sighed. "But I'm getting a shower and some food in my stomach first." She turned and placed her hand on Ultra Magnus' ped. The huge Autobot knelt down as she smiled at him.
"Thank you for last night, Magnus. I had a wonderful time. I'm glad we're ok."
"As am I," he smiled.
Just then the groundbridge opened and the Autobots rolled in with there respective charges. Miko barely had time to jump out of Bulkhead before he transformed and lifted Wheeljack up into a bear hug. "Jackie! You made it back!"
"Yip, yip, yip!" shouted Ratchet. "Take the reunion elsewhere. You're going to break something horsing around over here." The whole gang made its way to the common area except Kerri, who headed to her quarters. Ratchet and Ultra Magnus watched her disappear down the dark corridor.
"You two have mended fences," Ratchet said matter-of-factly. "Even though you didn't ask, and you should have, she's immune to energon poisoning now."
"I asked her. She told me."
"Well, you still need to be careful. There are still many ways that you can hurt her."
"Doctor, I assure you, I have no intentions of hurting her. I made that mistake once." He looked at all of the commotion surrounding Wheeljack, and Ratchet could see the concern on his face.
"Worried about Wheeljack?" Ratchet asked gently. "Don't be. She loves him as a friend."
"Perhaps. But what are his feelings towards her? He didn't exactly looked pleased to see us together."
"And since when have you cared what Wheeljack thinks? Look, Magnus, I think it's nuts that she involved herself with any of you. But, if it was going to happen, you're the best choice. A damn sight better than Wheeljack, anyway. She chose you, even after you behaved like an ass. So thank Primus that she forgave you, and make her happy."
Magnus put his servo on Rachet's shoulder and chuckled. "Excellent advice, as always, Doctor."
"Ok, ok, great. Now that we have that settled, you need to do a patrol. Optimus is the only one out there right now. Hopefully this little shindig won't last long," he gestured towards the common area, " and I can throw the rest of them out of here."
"Duly noted, Doctor," Magnus said as he transformed and rolled out of the base.