I decided to just continue the storyline instead of making sequels. So, here's chapter 5, where Alex and Ratchet build their friendship, and I toss another couple of characters into the mix.

I had written chapter 6 and posted it, but I deleted it because the more I looked at it, the more I completely hated it. For those of you who've already read it, I'm sorry! I didn't like it because it just didn't fit with the rest of the story. Im planning on completely changing what happened in it.

I don't own Transformers, Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Alex's Nintendo Switch game), Nintendo, or any brands referenced in this.


Chapter Five: Settling for More

An unspecified small amount of months after the First Movie (Ratchet's POV)

I watch my young charge running around her living quarters, searching desperately for something. "Where did I put that?"

Sam poked his head in the room.

"It sounds like you let a bull loose in here from downstairs."

"Sorry." Alex said, before continuing her search. "Now, where did I put my Switch?"

She rummaged through her closet.

"It might be easier if you kept this place organized." Sam cocked his head to the side.

"It's organized chaos!" She protested in a muffled voice.

"I only see chaos." I frowned.

"Exactly!" Sam said, before grabbing his sister by her ankles and dragging her out of her closet. Alex let out a yelp of protest.

I couldn't help but chuckle at their playful antics. The Witwicky siblings continued to wrestle on the floor when Sam yanked something off of Alex's desk and Alex tried in vain to get it back from her older brother. I reached in and took the device from Sam. Alex shoved him away and took the device from me.

"Thanks, Ratch'." She grinned. I let the ghost of a smile play out on my faceplates and nodded.

"Gee, thanks, buddy!" Sam huffed.

"Hey, he's on my side!" Alex quipped with a grin.

"Exactly." I commented.

"Besides, you got your thing with Bumblebee."

There was a hysterical shout from downstairs. "SAMUEL JAMES WITWICKY!"

"Coming mom!" Sam shouted.

"NOW!"

"Dude, you got the middle name," Alex snickered. "You better runnn!"

Bee transformed beside me to glance into the room.

"I don't understand why your parents call you by your full name when you are in trouble, but your shortened name when you're not. You'd think it would be the other way around."

"I don't know." Alex shrugged. "Maybe it's cuz mom can shout for longer when she says our full names. I get the middle name twice a week!" She grinned, almost as if she were proud of it.

"She sounds just as bad as the twins." 'Bee laughed over a comm-link.

"Let's hope they never meet." Inwardly, I groaned at the thought of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker coming to Earth. They would make fast friends out of my lively and rather spirited charge and cause me nothing but processor-aches. The little slaggers would probably enjoy it too, and I could only imagine the chaos that would ensue. I glanced at Alex, unaware of our conversation, attempting to tidy her living quarters.

"You'd probably glitch if you knew what trouble Sam told me Alex gotten into. She set the living room rug on fire by accident when she was eight. He said that the Alex's Accident gets brought up at family events to embarrass her."

A crash snapped us out of our conversation.

"Ye-OUCH!" Sam screamed when Alex slammed a drawer shut.

"What in the Primes?" 'Bee exclaimed, "What is going on?" I asked with alarm, the sudden noise surprising us so much that we both switched to our adopted language.

"Sorry!" Alex said apologetically to her older brother. "I didn't see you there."

"I think I'm gonna lose my fingernail." Sam griped as he gingerly flexed the finger Alex slammed in the drawer. A light scan revealed that Sam was correct, but the damage the drawer had done wasn't permanent, and it would heal with time.

"I think you got the trouble-prone one." 'Bee said, and I had the distinct feeling that if his faceplates would've allowed such an expression, he would be grinning at me.

"It's not my fault!" Alex piped up.

"What about the time you broke the coffee pot?" Sam huffed.

"Well, that's not true every time, there's exceptions."

"Or the time you flooded the kitchen? Or when you set the living room rug on fire?!"

"Why does everyone always bring up how I set the rug on fire!" Alex glowered. "I didn't do it on purpose."

"Of course not." I said, a smirk tugging at my faceplates.

"How did you set it on fire, anyway?" 'Bee asked.

"Well, mom had a candle lit, and then our old dog, Jack, ran under the table when I was chasing him. I kinda jostled the table, and the candle kinda landed on the rug and kinda started a little tiny fire."

"The fire wasn't tiny. The fire department had to put it out." Sam deadpanned.

"The fire department also had to come the time you fell off the swing set and got a concussion, you dork." Alex flicked him behind the ear. Mojo scampered into the room at that moment and Sam picked up the energetic canine.

"Kids! Mikeala's here." A shout came from the lower level. Sam set Mojo down ran out of the room the moment he heard that.

"Oh, cool." Alex said, before stopping the chihuahua from chewing on a cord. "Don't chew that, Mojo, you'll electrocute yourself."

"Ironhide would be ok with that." 'Bee commented with amusement.

"Well, Mojo's supposed to be Sam's dog, and I don't think he'd be happy if I let Mojo shock himself senseless." Alex grinned. "Besides, Ironhide is Mr and Mrs Lennox's problem. Annabelle's gonna drive that grump crazy."

Grump seemed like a very fitting word to describe Ironhide, but I couldn't help but think about how Ironhide was faring as the Lennox Family's guardian. He'd commed me this morning to complain, but I hardly paid him much attention.

"Bye guys!" 'Bee said as he transformed. Alex craned her head out the window to see what was going on.

"You guys are leaving?" She asked.

"We'll be back later." Sam told her.

"Not like I wanted to hang out with you or anything." Alex hissed through her teeth.

"See ya guys!"

"Have fun being boring!" Alex shouted in such a matter that reminded me of Arcee. I, admittedly, missed my spark-mate a lot. I longed to have Arcee by my side again, and I sincerely hoped that she would come to Earth from Optimus' message. My thoughts flicked to my charge. I wondered what Arcee would say. But I had a feeling I knew. She'd probably roll those beautiful optics of hers and come to care for my sassy little human friend just as much as I did.

"Hey, Ratch', everything ok?" Alex asked. When I glanced down at her, I was surprised to see her bright blue eyes filled with concern. Fraggit, she looked so earnest. I gave my frame a light shake, and nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Now that Sam and 'Bee are gone, what are we going to do?" She asked.

"I believe you were going to show me something called a 'Switch'."

"Right!" The girl reached for the device that she and her brother had wrestled over on her desk. "This is it." She sat on a cushioned bench in front of the window, back facing me so I could easily look over her shoulder.

"Sam and I like to play it together a lot." She said. "There's tons of different games for it, but this one is my favorite."

She selected one titled 'Starlink: Battle for Atlas'. I filed that away for later in case it was ever brought up.

"I think it's cool because it's set in a different galaxy and you can go to different planets. The coolest part is you fly a ship to get to all the different places, and you get to fight bad guys, and it's got a pretty cool storyline. When me and Sam play it together on the TV, we can use special remotes that let you attach toy versions of the space-ships to the remotes. You can pick which weapons you want to use, and the pilot. It's really cool." She grinned. I glanced at the screen when a knock sounded from the other side of the room. Ron Witwicky glanced at his daughter.

"Alex," Her father scowled. "Do you know how orange peels clogged the kitchen sink? Your mother had to run the garbage disposal more than once to unclog it."

"Uh…" Alex thought for a moment, and I could see her trying to think of what could have possibly happened. "Nope. You should ask Sam; he had an orange for breakfast."

"I'll have to ask him." He nodded, before glancing at me. "Be careful, this one's trouble."

"Dad!" Alex rebutted as he walked away. "I'm not!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at my miffed charge. She set the switch down and turned around to meet my gaze. Her blue eyes had an almost mischievous look to them, and for a moment I was concerned about what she was about to suggest.

"Do you think 'Bee's gonna get Sam pulled over by a cop?" She smirked.

I laughed at that. "If he keeps treating speed limits as a suggestion, he just might."

Her smirk spread to a grin. "He'll get into so much trouble. And everyone says that I'm a troublemaker."

"I reserve judgment."

Alex pouted, but I could see right through her façade.

"You are faking." I smirked.

"Aw, you caught me."

I got a comm from Ironhide.

"Lennox is having a gathering at his house and he told me to extend the invite to you, 'Bee, and the Witwickys. The others will also be here." The mech grumped.

"We will be there."

"Keep the kid from rubbing off on Annabelle, would you?" He growled through the comm-link.

"I cannot promise anything. As I'm sure you know, Alex says and does as she thinks and wants, regardless what anyone else thinks." I glanced at my charge, who was flexing her fingers so she could see the ligaments in her hand better. I was amused by her ability to easily entertain herself by the simplest things. That made me all-too-aware of how my innocent charge was involved in our war unintendedly.

"If she turns Annabelle into a wild child-"

"Annabelle is so young that I doubt she will notice Alex's antics." I chided the overprotective mech. He cut the comm.

I was about to tell Alex when Judy Witwicky walked in the room. "We're going to the Lennox's Lake, your brother is going to meet us there." She said, glancing at both of us, then at Alex. "Bring a bathing suit, a change of clothes and your best behavior."

"I don't know where I put my best behavior." Alex grinned, tilting her head. "I don't think I'll be able to find it before we leave."

"Alex," Her mother shook her head. "Just do what I said."

"Ok." Alex pouted and got up to gather her things. "How much trouble would I be in if I accidently started trouble?"

"Alex, once you have everything you need, you can put it in the bag on kitchen counter." She deflected the question and walked away.

Gathering everything she needed in her arms, Alex walked out the room, calling over her shoulder. "I'll meet you outside."

From inside the home, I could hear Mojo barking, and then Alex's comment.

"Mojo! Stop cussing the neighbors out in dog language!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at her comment. The enthusiastic girl hopped out the door with a grin, careful to not accidently let Mojo free.

I transformed, ready for the drive, when Judy and Ron Witwicky walked out of the house.

The drive there was blissfully uneventful, expect for one conversation which was the result of a bored Alex playing with the lights inside my vehicular form.

"Alex, turn those off, we'll get pulled over." Judy said.

"That's odd," I said with confusion. "I see no law in your city's municipal law code which states that."

"You lied about the lights this whole time?" Alex gasped.

"Yeah," Ron said.

"But why?"

"Because you were five and being annoying." Ron responded.

"Next are you gonna tell me if I roll my eyes they're not gonna get stuck?" Alex asked.

Her parents both chuckled, and had I not been in my alternate mode, I would have smirked.

"We've arrived." I parked at the coordinates Ironhide had sent, wisely interrupting Alex's minor crisis. A black pickup sat a few yards away, the Lennoxes stood outside of it, Annabelle wobbling about, and 'Bee pulled up at the same time. I let out my human passengers.

"Stay out of trouble." Ron Witwicky told Alex.

"But dad, I don't get into trouble." Alex argued futilely.

I transformed, prompting Ironhide to do the same. 'Bee forcefully ejected Sam and Mikeala so he could transform.

Prime and Jazz pulled up, and I narrowed my optics as I watched Jazz transform more slowly and less fluidly than he should, showing signs that he was recovering from the near fatal wounds he'd nearly offlined from. He must have noticed, because he gave me a frown.

"Ratch, I know ya don't like-"

We were interrupted by a splash. Alex had leapt into the water, paddling with her limbs to stay afloat.

"Its not too cold!" She shouted to Sam. Mikeala tried to push him in, but Sam managed to push her into the water. However, she'd grabbed onto his arm and yanked him in too. Sam made a high-pitched squeak of surprise.

"You guys call it a cannonball, right?" 'Bee asked, before sprinting back, and the breaking into a dead run. He leapt into the water and curled up into a ball.

"CANNONBALL!" 'Bee shouted.

The splash and waves were so strong that it washed Sam, Mikeala and Alex back onto shore.

"Woah! 'Bee, you caused a tsunami!" Alex quipped.

"Sorry."

"I think you dented the lake." Sam snickered. 'Bee simply picked him up and dropped him into the water.

When Sam got above the water, he gasped with surprise. Alex scrambled onto the dock and leapt in the lake.

"For Sparta!"

Her splash was nowhere near the tidal wave which Bumblebee's was, but I doubted it was going to stop her from trying.

Ironhide smirked from his spot beside me. "I'm sure they keep you very busy."

I rolled my optics as Lennox turned on the grill. Ironhide turned to ask him a few questions, and I looked over at my charge who seemed to be enjoying herself.

Later that night, when I settled down recharge, I reflected on the day. I realized, although I knew I missed Cybertron, I accepted Earth as home.

The next day, Prime commed me that new autobots were making landfall while 'Bee was showing Alex, Sam and Mikeala around the base. I waited in the loading bay. 'Bee joined me, as did my charge and his charges.

A pink motorcycle pulled up and I recognized that spark signature and who it was even before she transformed. I raced forward and swept my long-lost spark-mate into my arms, sweeping her off her peds. I was overjoyed.

"Arcee?!" I barely could find my voice. She laughed, and I could feel her joy through our spark-bond.

"Ratchet, I missed you." She smiled. I held her close for another moment before letting go.

"Hi, Arcee." 'Bee said.

"Hey 'Bee." She smiled. She glanced at Alex, Sam and Mikeala. "Are these the humans Prime mentioned?"

"Yes," I nodded.

Arcee knelt down and smiled. "Hi there."

"Hey!" Alex chirped with a grin.

Arcee made a smile. "I have a feeling you and I are going to be friends."

"Why?" Alex frowned.

"Because I heard that you're a fiery little thing from Jazz."

Alex grinned. "That would be me."

Arcee laughed and I knew that they would hit it off just fine. "If you were a femme, you'd fit right in."

"No, I'd probably still have a reputation of being a smart-aft." She grinned even wider than she was before.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Arcee tipped her helm to the side a bit, and then turned to me. "Prime wanted to give a debrief, but I told him that it was going to have to wait until I got to see you."

I nuzzled her helm with a smile. "I don't mind. Having you back is enough."

Arcee smiled and nodded. "I never imagined I'd find you here, but I wouldn't change that for anything."

"Neither would I." I said, and watched her leave.

Alex giggled, breaking me from my trance.

"I saw it," She grinned, leaning against my leg, looking at her unevenly trimmed nails. "You love her."

"I-" I stuttered, something I rarely did.

"Something you never told us, Ratch'?" Sam grinned.

My cooling fans kicked in, and I knew they noticed. Sam's grin, and the mischievous twinkle in 'Bee's optics and Alex's eyes told me enough. They noticed, the little glitches.

"They sparkbonded not long before we went after the Allspark." 'Bee smirked.

"What's a sparkbond?" Alex asked.

"We can combine our sparks with our, oh, what do you guys call it, Significant Other, or Sparkmate." 'Bee explained.

"Sparkmate?"

"I guess you could call it Soulmate."

There was something in Alex's eyes that concerned me about what she was going to say.

"So, you're like in love and married?" She asked, and then started laughing. Fraggit, there goes my sanity.

"Alex, stop." I scolded, but I doubt she cared. In her raucous laughter, she patted my leg.

It was going to be a long week around the base. If my charge, 'Bee, and Sam gave me this many smart-aft comments, I knew the soldiers around the base were going to enjoy this.

Turns out, Chromia and Elita-1 also had made landfall with Arcee, so I wasn't the only mech getting relentlessly teased, thank the primes. I walked through the base with Alex, the young girl enthusiastically informing me about how fun this was going to be from her spot on my shoulder. She enjoyed riding on my shoulder.

"Fun isn't exactly the word that comes to my processor every time you tease me." I smirked.

"I stopped because you stopped caring, so the novelty wore off." She grinned and I chuckled.

"In other words, you didn't get the reaction you wanted, so it was no longer enjoyable." I quirked an optic rigid at my young charge.

We walked into the largest room of the base, and I could see Arcee standing not too far away.

"She's got you wrapped around her finger." Arcee said through our private comm with mirth. "You've invested a piece of your spark in your charge,"

"Yes," I admitted. It was the truth, and Arcee has a special ability of sensing when I lie.

"Optimus told me you and 'Bee are protecting them since Sam killing Megatron made all three of them a target." Arcee responded, her next statement turned her tone to disgust. "How the decepticons could go after younglings innocent in all of this is beyond me."

"If I failed to protect her, I'd never never forgive myself." I responded.

"You won't have to worry. She's going to have me looking out for her as well." My sparkmate responded.

"Thank you Arcee."

"Of course. Plus, I think the Witwicky Siblings, and Mikeala have every autobot on Earth watching out for them."

I hoped that would be enough. Sensing my doubts, Arcee responded.

"Besides, if Sam killed Megatron, I think they can handle themselves pretty well."

"You're right."