A/N: A big WELCOME BACK to my beta, TFPKOFANGIRL, who is now back after a hiatus! Thank you for your job on this chapter, as always. :)

...

CHAPTER 5
The Duty of First Aid

"This is insane, I tag him, and three weeks later he wants to take me in?"

Reese Cunningham looked at Dylan with a frown on his face. The man had obviously expected a more thankful reaction, but Dylan wasn't about to get it from him. Ratchet had seemed strange before, but now Dylan really wondered if he was even all there. He wanted him? Living in his house? Eating him out of house and home? Sleeping in his guest room? What did the mech think he was? Insane? There was a catch, there must be a reason, why him?

"Dylan, I don't think you should be asking why." Reese leaned forward in the human chair where their meeting was currently held - namely the guest room. "I think you should be thanking Ratchet. He and First Aid are really good mechs," Dylan looked off to the side a little. "Ratchet is the best medic in the city, and a kind person. And if you haven't noticed, he's a very forgiving one too," He added.

Dylan snorted slightly, amused at the idea. But a part of him did want to believe what his social worker said. After all, what had happened the night before couldn't all be a lie, right? Ratchet had been so soft, so gentle with him. He'd even let him lock the door and never once questioned him. "I guess I don't have much of a say in it anyway. He hasn't done anything to me and he can't be as bad as the Johnson's." He muttered, his eyes locking with Reese's green ones. "But if he thinks I'm just going to lie down and do whatever he asks of me-."

"Dylan," Reese warned him, his voice firm. "You're fourteen, and this is going to be your sixteenth home. And I know why you act out better than anyone," The boy didn't speak at that. "But Dylan, you need a home. You need people to take care of you, and you finally have one that wants to try... Even moreso than any other perspective I've seen," He added honestly. "You need to give him a chance."

Dylan frowned, it was a nice way of saying that he probably didn't have many chances left. He wasn't five anymore, when he could just get by with that small smile. No, he was fourteen, and the fact someone like Ratchet even wanted to have him in his home was something that surprised him. And it also scared him for other reasons that didn't involve his history with men. Say Ratchet really did care about him, say he wanted to take care of or even adopt him. What if that changed? Dylan knew he wasn't the easiest kid to deal with, and he'd been betrayed so many times before.

He wasn't sure what he'd do if the one person who may have been reaching out to help him gave up on him too. All the same, he looked up at Reese with a small frown. "Do you really think he wants me here, or... Does he just feel sorry for me?" He asked him honestly. "I don't want to stay where I'm really not wanted," He added openly.

Reese carefully reached forward, and ran a hand along Dylan's shoulder. He was one of the few people Dylan allowed to touch him this way, mostly because they had known each other a year, and Reese never hurt him. Dylan wasn't sure if he would call it trust as much as he would call it a mutual understanding of each others boundaries, but still. "I think he does, Dyl," He told him honestly. "He told me about his own past. And it sounded to me like he just wants to give the same thing to someone that... Well, that Siren guy gave to him," He added.

Dylan wondered if that much was true, but some of the signs pointed to that anyway. Finally, he nodded his head slowly. He guessed he could give Ratchet a chance to prove that he was really a good person. That maybe, just maybe, he and First Aid were the family he needed, even if he wasn't sure. He stepped off the bed, and allowed Reese to lead him back out into the living room, where Ratchet was seated, carefully signing papers with his holoform.

His real form tilted his head to look at Dylan, who barely moved his eyes up to look at the mech. No doubt, Ratchet knew how scary and strange this was for him, but all the same, he smiled at Dylan. "I know my guest room isn't much, but I'm going to outfit one of my bigger rooms with a human entrance. I'll make it so you can lock both doors on the inside, but this way, you'll have more space," He told the boy calmly. "We can go out any time in the next few days and pick the furniture out if you'd like," He added.

"Bribing me with a big room," Dylan chuckled. "You sure know how to work a kid."

Reese smirked as Ratchet's holoform approached him, carrying the paperwork. Ratchet watched warily as Reese looked over the paperwork, and after a few moments, finally nodded. "Well, it's all here. I'll leave you to settling Dylan in and getting him signed up for a school in your district. Since I doubt you want to drive the hour it takes to get to his school." Dylan didn't feel too sad about what Reese said, like at most of his school's, he didn't really have friends. "Better hurry since tomorrow's Monday."

"Tomorrow I'll drive him to his last day of school over there," Ratchet commented. "While I'll handle enrolling him at the school here right away at work," He added, then stared over at Dylan. "I hope you don't mind, normally my days off are Monday, Friday, and Sunday, but I was called in for an emergency surgery. So today I'll be taking you to work with me," He finished.

Dylan shrugged, what did it matter anyway? He spent a lot of time at the hospital on weekends. One more day couldn't hurt he supposed, and besides, Ratchet was his boss now. "Yeah, sounds fine," Dylan told him with only partial interest. "So, I'll be spending the day in your office?"

"No, First Aid has the day off as well," Ratchet explained. "He'll meet us there, and entertain you while I'm in surgery. I think it will do you some good to get to know him. Since you're part of the family now too," He he told him, with a nod of his head. "Then we can take tonight to talk about whatever concerns you may have."

Dylan swallowed, but took in the hand on his shoulder by Reese yet again, and felt a bit better. He wasn't really sure he was ready to spend time with his new foster uncle. But at the same time, pestering Ratchet would, undoubtedly, cause way too much trouble. So he guessed he would do what the medic asked of him, for now, until the time came when he wasn't sure whether he was putting even this minimal trust in the wrong person.

...

They got many stares walking into the hospital that afternoon. Several whispers were exchanged, but Ratchet was a pro at ignoring such idle chit-chat. After all, it was none of their business that he had taken Dylan in, it was only his. For the moment, Dylan didn't seem to mind either, but he knew that this was still new to the boy. Undoubtedly, however, the boy was trying to keep that fact hidden from him, if only because he didn't want to upset him. Why? Well, Ratchet could only guess that after fifteen homes he didn't want to get kicked out of this one.

He just wished they could have spent their first day working on his trust in him, rather than him having to spend it with First Aid. It wasn't that it was a problem, after all his brother had one of the softest sparks he knew. And for that matter, he knew that the boy most definitely have a better time with him than hanging out at the hospital. That said, he'd have to get used to the latter, since he'd be spending a lot of time there after school with him.

Ratchet smiled to himself at the fact that was the case. Sure, this wasn't how he was expecting to become a parent, even a foster one, but he wasn't about to complain. Fate had given him something he'd thought about for far too long, and he was happy to oblige. Reaching his office, he carefully opened it, and was relieved to see First Aid hadn't arrived yet, giving them a few minutes to talk to Dylan. "I'm sorry that I had to throw this on you and go right away," Ratchet stated honestly. "You'll find that medics like me can go on-call very easily. Especially when you have a history such as mine," He added.

"It's okay," Dylan shrugged. "I'm used to my guardian not really being around. You won't hear a complaint from me."

Ratchet frowned at that, boy was this boy in for a tailspin if that was the case. He shook his head slightly, and put his hands on his hips. "That's not what will be happening here, Dylan," Dylan's eyes shot up in surprise. "I get off in late-afternoon, so we'll have nights together. And what's more you'll be here during the afternoons on school days until we can go home," He added, watching as the boy blinked. "You'll probably see so much of me you'll crave time away."

Confusion was etched in Dylan's features, that was certainly new. Most of his foster parents would love to get him out of their hair, rather than this. But Ratchet was different, he wanted to spend time with him it seemed like, and perhaps to keep an eye on him as well. "You put a lot of thought into this for someone who decided to take me in overnight," Dylan pointed out.

Ratchet chuckled a little at the statement, indeed he had. He'd been up all night, figuring out schedules, and how to best handle Dylan. He'd even woken up First Aid to the news to figure out what to do with him when he got the news at around four o'clock that morning that he'd need to be in emergency surgery. "Well, if you're going to do something, do it right, I say," He told his young ward. "I was up last night figuring all of this out. So you're going to have to work with me, it may be rough at first," He inclined his head as a figure approached the door. "Aid, you're late," He grunted.

First Aid leaned against the frame of the doorway with a look that spelled: "Really, you're going there?". "Well gee, Ratch, I can only wonder why. Someone only decided to wake me up at an ungodly hour of the morning. Telling me I had a new nephew," He jested lightly.

"Foster nephew."

First Aid looked at Dylan as he made the comment, now adding his own frown onto Ratchet's. Ratchet knew one thing was for sure, First Aid wasn't going to put up with the "foster" nonsense. He'd always hated putting labels on top of family, and that was just the way he was. "Don't know, foster nephew and foster uncle don't have a nice ring to it," First Aid clicked lightly. "You're going to have to excuse me if I don't use that in reference to our relationship," He then added. "So what do you say, small fry? Ready to get going and let old Ratchet get to work?"

"Did "old Ratchet" tell you my boundaries?"

First Aid looked over at Ratchet, of course, given they would be alone, Ratchet had. Dylan had asked him to on the way there, and Ratchet had relayed it, given he had Dylan's permission. His brother had found the information sharing fair, given the boy had an all-to-understanding fear of mechs and men. "That he did, and I promise, I'll keep my hands to myself if that's what you want," He told him, holding his hands up for emphasis. "Gonna be a bit of a challenge, though. I'm a hugger..."

"Well I'm not," Dylan replied, starting towards the doorway. "Seeyah, doc."

Ratchet and First Aid watched as the clearly tense child made his way out of Ratchet's office. First Aid looked at Ratchet with a look of great concern, and the medic knew what his younger brother would say before he even did. "You're sure about this one, right?" He asked honestly. "I know he needs a home with people who will give a frag, but-."

"He needs a home with people that will love him," Ratchet interrupted. "We may not be there yet. But if we can't find it in our sparks to feel anything for that boy. What kind of hypocrites are we?"

First Aid couldn't argue with that logic, Ratchet knew as much. They'd both known what it was like to bounce from home to home, unloved, and uncared for in most instances. They may not have known what it was like to be used as pleasure by their own parent, but they knew at least that much. "Yeah, we'd have to be pretty big of ones," The younger mech agreed. "I just hope he won't act this miserable all day. If we're going to get bonding, I'm gonna need more to work with," He added.

Ratchet gave him a look, but First Aid merely winked. "Don't worry bro, either way you know I'll be kind," He told him firmly. "A kid like that should be treated kindly. So long as he doesn't try to cause any trouble, obviously."

And with that, First Aid was off, leaving Ratchet in his office. He found Dylan waiting for him down the hall. If he had heard any of that conversation (and First Aid hoped he hadn't) the boy didn't betray any sign of it in his eyes. "Sorry you had to get stuck with me," Dylan told him, crossing his arms. "If it helps he sprung it on me too. All of it."

"Eh, I wouldn't say I'm stuck with you," The smiling mech shrugged. "It'll be an adventure for both of us, really. I've never been an uncle before. And I take it you've never been a nephew before either," Dylan shook his head in confirmation. "As long as you don't tag me, we'll get along just fine."

"Hey, it isn't my fault he fell into recharge in the right place!" Dylan said defensively. "I don't go around Autobots on a regular basis you know!"

"Dylan," First Aid held out a hand as Dylan began to ramble on. "Dyl, I was kidding. I know you're still on probation about that with my brother. So I really doubt you'd even think about doing anything to me," He told him honestly. "Now come on, I haven't got all day. We're killing daylight," At Dylan's fearful eyes, he mostly winked. "Again, kidding. Come on, buddy."

Dylan watched as First Aid began to walk towards the exit in confusion. Was this mech actually trying to be... Playful with him? What was that about? This mech barely knew him and yet he acted like they'd been friendly for a while now. He shifted on his feet slightly, unsure of whether to follow or to hang back. The decision took him a total of two minutes before he finally made his way towards where the mech was waiting.

He hoped that he wasn't making a mistake.

...

As it turned out, First Aid wasn't actually all that bad. In fact, Dylan thought he was pretty funny when he wasn't trying so hard to break the ice. But well, there was a lot of ice to break at the same time, so there was plenty of awkward time in-between the fun. The mech had first taken him to a park near his new house where a lot of the local kids hung out. Dylan only half paid-attention during that little excursion, as he doubted he'd be with Ratchet long enough to make any real friends to hang out with. But he did get an ice cream out of it from a vendor, and well, he wasn't complaining

He next took him to lunch (ironic given the fact he'd just eaten ice cream) at somewhere that served human food and energon. They'd sat there for a while, and Dylan was surprised to find no one looked at them weird at all. Though he supposed they really shouldn't these days, as mixed families were nothing new. Ever since the Autobots integrated into society, interspecies adoption had become commonplace. Interspecies romance occasionally took place too, but Dylan knew it was less common, and happened sporadically.

Either way however, Dylan did feel a little weird eating his sandwich while First Aid sipped energon. It was different to be eating with someone who wasn't his own species, and probably felt stranger to him than anyone else. "So," Dylan looked up from his food to look at First Aid. "This must be pretty weird for you, huh? The way you're acting I'm guessing you've never lived with a Cybertronian family unit."

Dylan shook his head, his eyes scanning the restaurant. Nope, still no eyes on him, he noticed. And there was another child, this one a small girl, eating with a Cybertronian family too. Maybe he was the weird one. "No, I uh, haven't. I didn't really live in cities with Cybertronian families until I came here," Dylan replied truthfully. "My um, my dad... He kinda had a fear of you guys I guess. So he lived in the city Autobots frequented less. And I moved around places like that," He added.

"How did you end up in Jasper then?"

"A failed adoption with my foster family before the Johnson's," Dylan answered honestly, his voice sounding a little pained. "That placement was actually going great. It was a single mother and a couple of other adopted kids," He then spat slightly. "Would have been perfect too if her dick of a bio kid hadn't shown up. He tried to pick a fight with me, and I flattened him. Imagine that, he picks the fight, but I get in trouble."

First Aid frowned slightly, trouble seemed to follow this boy. Whether he meant it to or not, and that slightly worried him. Had Ratchet bitten off more than he could chew? "Trouble sure seems to follow you around, doesn't it?" He asked, without thinking.

He immediately regretted it as Dylan took up a defensive position, his mouth turning into a grimace. He shook his head and immediately looked ready to slam his fists on the table and stand to his feet. "It's not my fault, okay!? I got a rotten deal in life," He said a little more loudly than First Aid would have wanted him to. "I know what you think, I sabotage things! Make it so people don't want me. Well you're wrong, okay? I just-!"

"Dylan, calm down," First Aid cooed slightly. "I wasn't blaming you at all, kid. I was just making an observation," He tried to calm the boy down, not wishing to upset him or cause a scene. "I'm sorry that was a poor choice of words."

Dylan seemed to heave in a few breaths before slacking in his chair. This was First Aid's next observation about his "foster nephew", he wasn't as tough as he looked. No, he was starting to get the feeling that the boy was, above all else defensive because he was afraid. Afraid of being judged for not having had a family at this point, and probably, afraid that he wasn't worth being cared for in the way other kids were. "I guess I should open my mouth and insert my foot," He chuckled slightly. "I mean, I went through the same thing, and so did Ratchet, I get it. I just... Wasn't thinking."

"Most people don't," Dylan replied. "My file is super thick, and if you read it... You know I'm not even damaged goods. I'm tarnished goods, I'm so gross that I wouldn't care about me either," He replied honestly.

First Aid really wished this subject hadn't come up, because that was the last thing he wanted to hear from anyone. But it was a known fact that many children who were sexually abused thought this way, at least until they got help. "You can say things like that all the time if you want," First Aid told him honestly. "But it's never going to be true. My brother cares about you, so you must be worth something," Dylan's eyes stared up at him, but he didn't say a word. "And besides, what your father did to you is not your fault."

Dylan shook his head. "Everyone says that, but it was," Dylan whispered. "If I hadn't killed my mom in the hospital," His voice became distant at that. "Look, First Aid? I have to use the bathroom, so I'll be right back."

First Aid opened his mouth to say something, but Dylan was quick. Whatever words of comfort, or truths that First Aid would have given him would have fallen on deaf ears anyway. The medic shook his head wearily, they really had their work cut out for them with this kid. But he knew his brother, and he wasn't about to give up on the boy simply because of the effects the trauma had on him.

He contemplated whether or not he should tell Ratchet about this chat. It would probably do him well to know how his charge felt about his abuse. But at the same time, it might have been better to let Dylan come to Ratchet about it when the time came. Either way, he was now convinced not to give up on this boy either, no, he was far too compassionate and caring a mech to not do anything to help this boy out. If this was the child Ratchet had chosen to be his perspective son, then that effectively made him his nephew.

And he would never give up on family.

So as Dylan approached him again quietly, First Aid put on the biggest smile he could muster. "Alright bud," He said chipperly, as if nothing had happened. "What do you say we get this bill paid, and then I'll take you to the big book store down the street. Ratchet said you liked to read, right?" Dylan nodded. "You can pick up a few, my treat."

"You don't have to do that..."

"I know, " First Aid replied honestly. "I want to."

At that, First Aid would swear he had gotten a ghost of a smile out of the boy.

...

A/N: Figured it was time to have a little more time between Dylan and First Aid too. :)