A/N: And here's the chapter most of you have been waiting for.

Thanks, as usual to my beta, sidekicks-anonymous, for her work on my chapter!

...

CHAPTER 26
Uninvited Visitor

"So, somebody's fifteenth birthday is next week."

Dylan looked at Ratchet as they made their way down the hall of the hospital. It was one of the days that he was spending time with him at work, and of course, he would bring this up now. Dylan knew what his next question was going to be: what did he want to do? And Dylan wasn't sure exactly how to answer it. It would be his first real birthday, his first birthday in a permanent home with a family to call his own.

He'd never grown up having a birthday cake, presents, or any kind of party either. So he really had nothing to go on other than the few times his foster siblings had been given parties. "Dad, I don't..."

Ratchet put a hand up as he spoke up. "Dylan, I know you've never had a birthday. Just like you never had a Christmas before our first one together. Optimus is already coming in for it, as are Ironhide, Chromia, and the rest of Team Prime. You're going to have the birthday party you never had the chance to have."

"I almost forgot Prime was coming. But the whole team? Really?"

"They want to help you celebrate!"

"We already had a big party for my adoption, though."

Ratchet's look gave him the impression that he was being silly about this. But all the same, he looked away He didn't want Ratchet to continually do things like this for him, as he knew his father had his own budget.

"You've never had a birthday party, and that is not right. None of us think so." Ratchet carefully hoisted his son onto his shoulder. "I want to make sure that it's something you never forget."

"You sure know how to sell a guy." Dylan laughed.

But he was still a little nervous, not entirely sure how he felt. Maybe he was being silly, which was usually the case. Ratchet simply smirked, and crossed his arms. "Well, you do trust your old mech don't you?" Dylan shrugged, though only in a playful way. "On second thought, don't answer that."

"Of course I do." Dylan replied. "I just don't know... Another party, another time I'm the center of attention. Probably the only one."

Ratchet shook his head. "I thought you were getting better about that."

"I am, but not that much better."

For a moment, the medic considered this. Perhaps Dylan was right, maybe a smaller party was better. But even then, he told himself, it was going to be a party. "I haven't invited anyone but Ironhide, Chromia, Scarlet, Shawn, your uncle, and Team Prime. Can I make the list smaller to make you feel comfortable about this?"

Dylan thought about it, but shook his head. "No, that seems fair. But can we leave the rest of your friends out? I just... I haven't met a lot of them yet anyway. Or I did at the adoption party, or get-together but that's it." He explained. "I just want my family there mostly."

Ratchet smiled at the fact he didn't leave Team Prime out of his "family". He knew that though Dylan was still learning about them, he accepted that they were as good as family.

"OH! And Sides and Sunny." Dylan added. "I want them there too."

Ratchet groaned. "I thought I may have tricked you into leaving them out."

"You know Sunny would kill you if he wasn't invited." Dylan stuck his tongue out.

"Very true." Ratchet sighed. "Of course the terrors are invited. As much as I hate to admit it, they have been good to you. And I am very much thankful for that."

Dylan leaned against the crook of Ratchet's neck, feeling a bit better now. He knew that, at least with only that group with him, he'd feel comfortable. They'd make his "special" day fun, and make sure that he had a great time. "I guess it will be better than my other birthdays at least. One year, Gene..." Dylan paused, realizing he shouldn't say anything.

His father, for his part, gave him a look. "No need to think back that far." He told the teen gently. "Gene is nothing more than a bad memory at this point. And definitely not one you need to dwell on, given everything he's put you through."

Dylan sighed happily, as he usually did when Ratchet called Gene a "distant memory." It made him feel good to know that, for all intents and purposes, he truly was safe now. "Yeah... I know. Sometimes I can't help it though." He explained.

Ratchet kept his optics on him, opening his mouth. He closed it quickly however, knowing that he couldn't lie and tell him he had no reason to be scared. Not with the fact that Gene had been asking around about him. At least for the moment, it was best they pushed all talk away from him. "At least he's far away for now." He explained, smiling reassuringly before hearing a ping. "Welp, I'd say Bulkhead's here to take you and Shawn to the movies. He just pinged my personal comm."

"Sweet!" Dylan replied as Ratchet set him on the ground, and they changed directions towards the entrance of the hospital. "Remember, I'm gonna be home a little late. Shawn's got an awesome video game at his house I want to try."

"As long as you remember to be on your best behavior."

"Sir yes sir." Dylan chuckled.

They had no idea how lucky it was that Dylan wouldn't be home until late.

...

Eugene Logan was on the steps of Ratchet's house.

A million thoughts ran through Ratchet's mind, and had he been a mech of instinct, he might have listened to the first one and crushed the man like a bug. Yet the other part of him knew that he was in a neighborhood, and he could get arrested. He settled for giving the man the darkest glare he could muster. "You have five seconds to leave this property. If you do not, I will call the authorities."

"I guess I don't have to introduce myself then-" Gene began.

"I know who you are. I did all the research I could on my son before I adopted him. And I'll say it again, get lost before I forcibly remove you and call the authorities." Ratchet's voice was dangerously low. "I do not know how you found my home. But you can be sure they will be hearing about this. If you even think about showing yourself to Dylan..."

Gene held up a hand as if trying to stop him. "You can relax, medic. I'm not here to hurt Dylan. I just want to see him..."

Ratchet gave the loudest laugh he could muster. "You must be kidding! You have a lot of nerve thinking I'd let you anywhere near my son."

"He's my son too." Gene replied.

"Don't you DARE. Dylan is no son of yours! You raped and tortured him when he was barely out of sparklinghood. You're nothing, a parasite at best!" Ratchet snapped, his voice growing more angry now. "And even if I had a lapse of judgement, there is a restraining order out for you. One you're lucky not to be in violation of now."

Ratchet had already begun to try to get Prowl on the comm link at this point. He wanted this man gone, far, far away. And if someone didn't come now, he knew he'd lose his calm and cool attitude within a few more minutes.

"You know, you're the one with a lot of nerve." Gene said cooly. "You've only known Dylan, what? A year?"

"Almost, and you can bet I've done a much better job raising him in that time."

"You're not even the same species." Gene sneered. "You could never do as good a job as someone like me."

Ratchet felt floored by the attitude, but tried again to keep his cool. "And you did SUCH a bang-up job. That's why sick pieces of slag like you are often killed in prison." Gene grimaced."How many times were you in the news for a fellow prisoner trying again? Seven times? Eight?"

That one seemed to get Gene to be at a loss for words. The man growled, and started to make his way closer to Ratchet. "You don't even know me. How do you know any of it was true?" He asked rather cooly.

Ratchet crossed his arms. "Dylan has told me all I needed to know. Both from actual conversation between the two of us, or from the nightmares he suffers due to you." He told him without missing a beat. As he heard Prowl answer his comm, he spoke. "Prowl, I need a patrol over here as soon as possible. And another where Dylan is. I'm sending you his co-ordinates."

"Why? What's going on?"

"I have a scumbag he thought he was rid of at my house." The brief pause told Ratchet that Prowl was as shocked and disturbed by this as he was.

"Sending patrols to Dylan's location. I'm coming to your place myself. If he tries anything, just don't confront him violently."

"It's tempting - but I'll try."

Ratchet didn't care when Gene noticed he was acting weird. No, rather he waited for the man to try and run. Hopefully far, far away from his home, and from Dylan. "You actually called the cops on me, didn't you?" Gene asked in a tense manner. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Yet." Ratchet made clear. "You locked him in a fragging attic, and raped him daily until he was five. If you think I believe for a second that you've changed—well, don't make me LAUGH."

"It wasn't daily."

"It was more than close enough." Ratchet replied. "Now rather than argue until my police officer friend gets here, I'd suggest moving along."

Gene grimaced. He wanted to say something in return. But what could a man like him say to a giant robot that wouldn't get him killed? He was already pushing it enough, and even he knew when it was time to take a long step back. "Fine, if that's really how you think this should go. At least tell Dylan I stopped by, maybe he wants to see me." Gene smirked.

"He will not hear a fragging word." Ratchet pointed at him aggressively. "Nor does he ever want to see the likes of you again."

Gene growled, but all the same walked away, leaving Ratchet glaring at the back of his head. The man, however, quietly spoke just as soon as he was out of hearing distance. "Oh don't worry, he'll be seeing me really soon whether he wants to or not."

And even though Ratchet couldn't hear him, he had a bad feeling this was not the last time he'd see the man.

...

Ratchet was sure to act normal that night.

That said, he'd also made sure that Dylan never left his sight. He acted as if the slightest movement away from him was inviting Gene to come find him. He knew it was a fear that was somewhat implausible, but he also knew he had to keep Dylan safe. After all, Prowl had yet to find the man, and he was worried that he may still be in the area.

It had been hardest to let Dylan go to bed.

Even knowing there were undercover human cop cars in the area, that was scary. And he'd quietly, and carefully checked his windows when Dylan was sleeping. Wanting to be sure that they were locked, because at least if he broke the window, the shattering glass and the alarm would alert him. All the same, he still made it a point to walk to his room every so often, just to be safe.

The third time he came in, on his way out, Dylan turned over. "Dad?" Ratchet jumped, but turned to look at him. "What's wrong? I keep hearing you come in, and I don't usually hear you at all. Is everything OK?"

Ratchet shook his head. He needed to keep this to himself, after all. Dylan didn't need to lose sleep over this after all. "Everything's fine, Dylan. I just can't recharge. Watching you brings me comfort." He explained, keeping his voice calm.

"Did things get stressful at work or something?"

Ratchet ran a finger through his son's hair, and nodded. "You could say that. Now go back to sleep, son. I promise, if there's something you need to worry about, I'll tell you."

And he knew that part was true. For the moment, Gene had only shown up once. With any luck that would be the one and only time he showed up. Dylan shrugged a bit, and sighed. "Alright, dad." He replied pretty skeptically. "Try and get some sleep though."

"I will." Ratchet sighed a bit. "Goodnight, son. Love you."

He tried to hide the fact that his comm was beeping again. And thus, he only heard the faint reply of Dylan. "Prowl, please tell me there's good news. I'm not sure I can keep my cool in front of Dylan much longer." He admitted rather quietly.

"It's not looking good. We've been able to confirm that he's still in town. Holed up at a Motel. We came to him to warn him, but I hate to say that he didn't pose a threat to anyone. The man has a silver tongue according to my men. And we cannot arrest him for anything..."

Ratchet growled quietly, though he had known that last part. Whether he liked it or not, Gene wasn't within any distance worth noting of Dylan. "Fragging... For Primus sake, Prowl. This man is a pedophile who raped Dylan for years. At the very least a very close eye needs to be on him."

"And there will be. We'll keep eyes on him, and we'll keep patrols near your house. But until this man tries something, I can do nothing. You must understand how much that kills me. I care about Dylan too." Prowl made that very, very clear. "If this man puts a foot out of line, you have my word. I'm bringing him in."

"Unfortunately, you're talking a big if. This man was smart enough to hide his actions for five years. Who knows what..."

"I wasn't in charge of the police then. Trust me on this, Ratchet. You need to go to recharge. Try and wake up in the morning less panicked. This panic is not healthy."

Ratchet tried to keep himself calm. He knew Prowl was right, and this was hardly healthy. But at the same time, how could he feel anything but fear at the prospect of Dylan being in danger. "Very well, I'm going to recharge. But I'm doing it outside of my son's bedroom." Ratchet told him. "Unhealthy or not, if that man tries a fragging thing, I want to be ready."

He turned off his comm before Prowl could even argue with him further. As he started towards the front door, he let himself vent out angrily. He was going to protect Dylan, he told himself. And God help that man if he so much as tried to touch the boy.

...

A/N: Well they finally met, I hope it was to your liking!