Chapter Summary: Ravage goes to Barricade one day in November to see if he can help with the leg that got damaged when she first landed on Earth. Barricade finds out just how she and Miles met and laments how stupid their favorite human is, but he does his best to help her. He fails, but he does think of a mech they can contact that should be able to fix her up with no problem and that won't mind humans.

One day in November, Ravage went out into Miles' backyard and spent a few minutes watching Barricade with the puppies. As there were three of them, Miles had suggested that each of them should get to name one. He had chosen Buffy for his, Barricade had chosen Bella, and Ravage had chosen to name the only male Mittens. Though Mittens was her favorite, she didn't see the appeal in the creatures like Miles and Barricade so obviously did. They were cute, but more annoying than not. Much like Barricade himself.

Miles had set up something he called a playpen in the backyard so that the puppies could amble about in the grass without any risks. Barricade was currently sat next to it in his bipedal mode, one servo reaching into the playpen so that the puppies could climb across his digits and claws.

Their human was away at work and would be for a few hours still, which was exactly why Ravage was now taking the chance to talk to Barricade about something that had been bothering her. She had mentioned it before, but it had apparently not been important enough to be remembered by the idiot.

:Barricade.:

Ravage got to enjoy watching Barricade startle from her spot behind him, his whole body giving a small jerk. It sent one of the puppies sprawling into the grass, Bella most likely from the tiny white spot she could see on the chest, but Bella quickly recovered and started bouncing around with a wagging tail. She had obviously enjoyed the ride.

Barricade shot an irritated look over his shoulder, :What?:

She was almost impressed by his gall. He never would have dared to give her such a look when he had first arrived.

:I would like your help,: Ravage admitted.

That had his full attention immediately, and the idiot stood up like the top of his shoulders and helm couldn't clearly be seen over Miles' roof.

:Crouch down!: Ravage snapped, :Do you want the neighbors to see you?:

:We should just buy them out,: Barricade grumbled.

Now that was a thought worth revisiting, and Ravage created a reminder to examine the possibilities more later as Barricade hunched his shoulders and bent his spinal strut so he was no longer visible from anyone who might be passing by Miles' house.

:You worked with Ground Hog for a while, correct?: Ravage didn't bother to actually let Barricade respond, :Did you learn anything useful from him?:

:Basic repairs,: Barricade's optics grew wide. :Why? What's wrong with you? Is it… do I need to… I know Soundwave…:

Ravage rolled her optics, :Do not sound so horrified, mechling. I'm not out of energy yet. I had you get items from Walmart just for this purpose.:

:Your leg, then?:

:Excellent deduction,: Ravage snarked. Then she remembered herself, because she was trying to ask Barricade for a favor and should probably play nice, :I realize there are no necessary parts to replace the portion of it I lost, however when it was welded one of the wires got partially melted into the metal and it's pinching something awful.:

:Why was Miles messing with your leg, anyway?:

:It's how we met,: Ravage reminded him, trying her hardest not to snap again.

:I wouldn't know,: Barricade drawled slowly, :Since neither of you ever bothered to explain how you met.:

Oh. Oops. Ravage had never once thought about explaining to Barricade how she had come to stay with Miles, or how Miles had tried to help her. She hadn't wanted Barricade to stay at all, and though she was growing used to his presence it wasn't like they had spark to sparks. She was sure that Miles would have explained if he had ever given it any thought or been asked.

:I've picked up a little bit, but that little bit is Miles just saying you showed up and stayed and you saying he did that bad patch job.:

:An intoxicated human struck me with their vehicle not long after I landed,: Ravage took a moment to collect a few memory files from that night and selected the bits that would be most relevant before sending it to Barricade.

She watched as his optics darkened and knew he was viewing the files on his HUD. The drunk human had hit her not long after her escape pod had landed, when she had still been disoriented and desperately trying to process as much information as she possibly could to figure out how to blend in. And then, under the impression that she was an actual cat due to all the alcohol he had imbibed, he had taken her to Miles so Miles could fix her.

:'Wanna come home with me?': Barricade groaned, obviously having come to the part of the file where Miles had offered to try and help her after sending the drunk human away. :He meets an advanced robot the likes of which I can easily assume he's never seen before and just… invites it back to his place?! He has no self preservation! How did he survive so long on his own? He's lucky we came along.:

Ravage could point out that Miles' life had been very different from theirs before they had crossed paths. While Miles had obviously had his own hardships, they had shaped him differently than Ravage's and Barricade's had shaped them. There was a reason she had decided to stay with Miles and a lot of it had to do with his ridiculous kindness—but it was also the same reason that she agreed with Barricade. Kindness like that attracted all sorts, but Ravage was more than willing to protect what she had claimed as her own.

:Miles did his best, but he had no idea what he was doing and I know very little about repairs.: Ravage had no shame in admitting it—even if she had known how to repair herself, she wouldn't have been capable of doing it herself. Her form limited her in certain ways that other mechs didn't have to worry about. :The discomfort is minor, however because of the wire being trapped the way it is I am unable to transform. It's pulled taut right now no matter how I move it, which means it could tear at any point if it becomes too frayed from the damage and if it rips higher up it could affect an energon line.:

They didn't have to transform, but most Cybertronians felt something they could only describe as an 'itch' if they stayed in one form too long. While she'd been able to tolerate not shifting for far longer than this before, she was also starting to experience what humans referred to as 'cabin fever'. Unlike Barricade, she was incapable of creating a holoform and having it travel where she liked in place of her actual body, and being stuck as something larger than any actual earth feline meant she had felt safer sticking around Miles' house. She hadn't wanted to attract any unwanted attention.

:I did wonder why you hadn't bothered to shift into something Miles could bring around with him easier,: Barricade sounded amused by the idea of Miles carrying her around. :Well, I can try my best, but I make no promises. Especially not since we only have human tools.:

Two hours later, Ravage had reached the end of her patience and Barricade had wisely put his saw away before she did more than bare her fangs at him. She may not have even been half his size, but he knew well enough that she could do a lot of damage no matter a mech's size.

The pair of them sat in silence for a long moment and did nothing more than stare at each other.

:Well…: Barricade hesitated for just a second before continuing with what he wanted to say, :We could look into contacting a medic.:

:Oh, of course.: Ravage snorted, :Let me just comm Ratchet.:

:I do not mean an Autobot!: Barricade growled, :I mean one of our own.:

:Like that's any better!: Ravage sat up and gave him a dark look. :Not when we have Miles. Most of the 'cons probably want to kill all the humans just because one managed to take advantage of an opening made by Prime to kill Mega–:

Barricade cut her off, :Flatline is on Earth.:

Ravage tilted her helm, considering the idea. Most of the Decepticons that claimed the title of medic were terrible shams, but Flatline had been taught by Ratchet for a short time in Polyhex. The only issue she'd ever had with Flatline was that he was too nice—he would help any mech that was injured, even if they were Autobot. She had no idea if he liked humans at all, but given what she knew of his temperament she was fairly certain he wouldn't go out of his way to kill one that didn't do anything to him personally, which put him far and above a medic like Hook or Bonecrusher.

Flatline would be willing to help her, of that she had no doubt. All she needed to do was get him to keep his mouth shut about her presence on Earth, as she had no wish to be bothered by any other mechs. And as an added bonus, since Ratchet had made sure Flatline was equipped with decent upgrades, he could also double as a doctor for Miles since he'd actually have the ability to read Miles' pheromones and vitals, something which neither she or Barricade could do with a scan.

The idea was becoming more and more appealing.