The Hunt (TFP Book 2)

Chapter 28

The computer beeped. Rachet read it and his face slowly lit up. He had figured out how to turn them back to Cybertronians. The solution was complete.

"Ah Ha!!" Rachet cheered suddenly. "I did it!" He hugged the nurse tightly and her eyes widened as he picked her up. She squealed in surprise and hugged his neck. He laughed happily and set her down. She looked into his eyes and smiled as they glowed with excitement. He grabbed her shoulders and smiled again.

"I did it!" He said again. "June I......." he trailed off and his face fell. He looked at the ground for a moment.

"What?" She asked still smiling. "I thought this was a good thing." She lifted his chin up and he smiled sadly.

"You're right.... I should go....tell the others." He muttered as he grabbed his cane. June smiled again and watched him go. Once he was out of sight her face fell and she looked at the floor.

"I'll miss you....." she mumbled.

~~~~

The Autobot leader had decided to conduct the experiment at the Harbinger where they would have better equipment. It hadn't taken long to relocate the fallen ship and they prepared to go. They gathered what they needed and stood by the bridge. The kids and June stood a little ways away as they watched.

Rachet sighed as he tightened his grip on the lever. He looked up for a moment at June and they locked eyes. The doctor felt a pain in his heart and he bit his lower lip. He looked back down and pulled the lever, he turned to watch the bridge open up. The rest of the team just stared at the swirling vortex.

Optimus took a few steps forward and looked into the bridge. A few minutes passed and he turned to look back at the others. His team looked torn between going and remaining. He knew they had grown accustomed to their new forms but they needed to go back.

"Though this may seem like good bye, rest assured that we will return shortly. After we return to our true forms." The Prime said. The others just stared at him for awhile.

"Well I'm not waiting around for the grass to grow." Wheeljack said as he stepped forward. The others quietly followed and Rachet slowly limped over. Optimus waited until they were only a few feet away before turning to go through.

"WAIT!!" They turned around eyes wide. Bulkhead stumbled back a few steps as Miko buried her head into his shirt and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm going to miss actually being able to hug you." The wrecker mumbled into her hair. She squeezed him a little tighter as a tear fell.

"Bee!!" The scout looked up as Raf ran and hugged him as well. The boy looked up as the scout knelt down to his level. The boy hugged him tightly around the neck and buried his face into his shoulder. Bumblebee hugged him tightly and closed his eyes.

Jack walked up to Arcee and held out a hand to shake it. She smirked and shook it briefly. Smokescreen walked over and hugged him tightly, the boy groaned in protest. The speedster set him down and smacked his shoulder.

June quietly walked over to Rachet and stopped a few feet away. She looked at her shoes and rubbed her arm nervously. He looked at her curiously and after a moment she looked up into his eyes. They were quiet for a few more minutes as they looked at each other.

"I'm not sure what to say..." June whispered as she touched the side of his face, and rubbed his cheek with her thumb. He smiled slightly as he looked at her. The doctor grabbed her hand and kissed it gently without taking his eyes off hers.

"This isn't good bye." Rachet said simply. She smiled sadly and a tear ran down her cheek. He gently brushed it away and she threw her arms around his neck. The nurse hugged him tightly and buried her face into his neck as she let a few tears silently fall. The doctor wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on to hers.

"Autobots.... We must proceed on our journey." Optimus said simply, not wanting to break any of them apart.

Miko let go of Bulkhead and briefly hugged Wheeljack. Bulkhead hugged both of them and they laughed lightly. Raf let go of his guardian and smiled up at him. Bumblebee ruffled the boys hair which made him laugh a little. The scout stood back up and joined the others.

June looked back up into the doctors eyes and smiled. Rachet kissed her gently and they held on for a moment. She didn't want to let him go, she knew things would change when she did. They broke apart and she held onto his hand as he limped to the others.

Optimus smiled slightly and walked through the portal. The others followed close behind. June smiled sadly as she let go of Rachets hand and watched him go through the portal. He looked back one more time and smiled at her before completely disappearing.

After a few minutes, June walked over to the controls and closed the bridge. Jack had watched the whole encounter between the doctor and his mother. He smiled to himself when the bridge closed, at least now things would finally be normal again.

~~

Three days later...

The children were anxiously waiting for the Autobots to come back. June sat with them to make sure they didn't get into trouble. The computer beeped and a transmission came through.

"Rachet to base, we need a ground bridge." The medic said simply.

The children jumped from the couch and Raf ran over to type in the coordinates. They heard the bridge power up and they looked at it as they waited in anticipation. They saw a giant figure step through the portal and stop a few feet away from them. Bumblebee smiled at Raf.

"Beee whirrrl vooo." He chirped happily as he held out his servo.

The boy laughed and hugged one of his digits. Bulkhead walked through and smiled as Miko ran down and hugged his ped. The wrecker picked her up and set her on his shoulder plate. Arcee walked over to Jack and smiled. Wheeljack and Smokescreen walked through as the wrecker slapped the other bot in the back. They laughed and walked to the others. Optimus came through and smiled slightly at his team.

Everyone was talking excitedly to their guardians and didn't notice the medic come through. June was the only one that paid attention to him. He wasn't limping anymore and she smiled to herself. She walked over and looked up at the titain as he closed the bridge. She touched his ped and he looked down slightly startled.

When the doctor saw her, he crouched down and smiled slightly. June smiled back, she was going to miss that about him. Rachet held out a digit, June hugged it as she looked up into his optics. There was a silent conversation between them and they smiled at each other for one final time.

June was going to miss the human version of Rachet....

The End.....