Silence (TFP)

chapter 9

Chapter 9

I wiped my face clean of all my tears and looked up at the person who had been holding me this whole time. It was Ratchet, the person who I probably hurt the most when I was going off earlier.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded. "I-I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have...snapped like that. Especially not on you. I should probably go home...You probably don't want me around anyway."

"I don't recall every saying or thinking that. But let's just talk before you actually make a decision, alright?"

It sounded fair. It was the least I could do after what I did to him. "Alright." I sniffed and wiped my nose.

"We don't really know each other as well as we should. I'd love it if you'd be willing to change that with me," he said softly. It dawned on me that I didn't know anything about him except that he was a medic named Ratchet.

"Mhmm. I wanna hear about you first."

He sat on his berth and leaned against the wall, settling in for a long story. "I worked in a hospital back on Cybertron. The war brought in a lot of patients, so we were always busy. We could barely get a solar cycle of rest. Soon, even the hospital fell to a Decepticon attack. We were all forced to evacuate and scatter. A few days passed until I came upon a group of Autobot soldiers. They took me in. At the head of that group of soldiers was the Autobot leader himself, Optimus Prime. I fought alongside him as a field medic. I saw my fair share of Autobot deaths, I wasn't able to save most of them. The Decepticons brought them instant death. I killed quite a few Decepticons, too. My anger and sorrow was what fueled me to carry on. Soon, Optimus discovered that the planet was shutting down. He ordered the evacuation of all Autobot cities. The Autobots scattered and we ended up here on Earth. Most of the bots that came with us were, of course, killed by Decepticons since they followed us here. Time passed and here we are now."

His story made me so sad. The biggest thing it did was make me realize that what I had seen was so insignificant compared to what he had been through. He probably had images etched into his mind from the war that he would never be able to forget. Lots of them. I had nothing to be upset about. It was amazing that he was emotionally stable. "What about your family? What happened to them?"

"My parental units abandoned me as soon as I could walk and talk. Left me in an alley. I assume they died early in the war if they even lasted that long," he stared off into the distance, as if remembering. He suddenly came back to the present and looked down at me. "I never bonded and therefore never had sparklings."

"Ratchet, I'm so sorry. I had no idea-"

He, surprisingly, smiled. "Don't be sorry. It's molded me into the person I am today. If it hadn't have happened, I wouldn't have met you. Now it's your turn. Tell me about yourself."

"Let's see...My life since I first started school was always focused on my grades. I tried to get the highest and do the best I could so that my mother would be proud of me. I used to play softball. I stopped when my team started losing every game. That went on for a few seasons. Then my coach one year thought nothing of me in the field. He barely played me, so I had to sit out every other inning. Now my batting, everyone loved. I was always the cleanup batter. I'd hit a grand slam every now and then. A couple home runs here and there. Then I got into band and focused on making music. Songs are just so emotional and easy for me to connect to. Especially when the whole band plays it. Now, I pride myself on my skills in biology. I've been trying to pick between being a lawyer and being a doctor. And I really think I'm going to try to be a doctor. I love helping people."

Ratchet was smiling widely. "I fully support your choice. It doesn't have anything to do with me, does it?"

"Maybe just a little bit," I laughed and held my index finger and thumb close together. "As for my family, my father killed my little brother before turning the gun on himself. I was at a friend's house at the time. Rafael's to be exact."

He gasped. "He killed a child?! What kind of monster does that?! No wonder you're afraid...Jessica, I want you to forget all of that and focus on the present. I'm going to try my hardest to be the best sire there ever was." He held me up to his face and nuzzled his cheek against me softly. I smiled at the gesture, knowing that he actually cared. A few minutes passed. He held away so he could look at me. "What do you say we go tell the others that you're alright?"

"I'd like that."

He got up and walked into the main room, still carrying me. Everyone was still there.

"Jessica, on behalf of all of the Autobots, I'd like to thank you for risking your life to save ours. I am hereby making you an honorary Autobot." The baritone-voiced leader slipped a necklace around me. Hanging from it was a blue Autobot insignia. I was entranced by the blue glow it gave off as I touched it. Soon, the glow became faint and I was once again aware of my surroundings. What was that? "It was memorizing your aura and life energy," Optimus explained, as if reading my thoughts. "It acts as a tracker for us and will glow brightly again when a Decepticon is near, alerting you to their presence.

I was touched that the Autobots would do something like this for me. I would have cried again if I had the tears left to do it. "O-Optimus, I don't know what to say. Thank you. Thank you all."

"Jessica, we want you to know that we love you and cherish your presence. You have come to be family to us," Optimus said. The other Autobots voiced their agreement.

I looked up at my guardian. "Ratchet?"

"Yes, Jessica?"

"I want to stay...Dad," I grinned widely, finally feeling loved for what seemed like the first time in my life.

He smiled lovingly, "You don't know how happy that makes me."

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I'd like to thank @sapphirewolf97 for the idea for this chapter. Please continue to comment and message me ideas, guys! I can do chapters faster that way. Stay jazzy! :p