1. Guardians (A TFP Fanfiction Story)

Chapter 13

Miko and Bulkhead had returned a short time later, screeching back into base while chatting excitedly. I waved at the two sheepishly from where I was positioned; at the edge of the monitor's keyboard, close to Ratchet's digits. The medic only turned his helm and nodded to Bulkhead in acknowledgement, his processor clearly more focused on what he was working on, which was currently searching for more information on the Data Cylinder.

The two companions gave each other a side glance, but thankfully didn't say anything. Instead, Miko ran up the stairs and leaned over the rail, beaming at me.

"I got you the best thing ever!" she exclaimed teasingly. "Well, except for the Autobots, duh."

I giggled slightly at her last remark, still in a cheerful mood. "What is it?"

She waved Bulkhead over, who held out a flat box in his servo. "PIZZA!" they said at the same time, both of them shooting me with widest of grins.

I smiled, knowing my stomach and taste buds definitely agreed with Miko. I stood up from where I was, before realizing I couldn't get down. My face flushed a little with embarrassment as I looked up at Ratchet.

"Um..." I started, shifting uncomfortably as his optics fell on me. "Could you.. help me down?"

The doctor raised an optic ridge, clearly unamused. Despite this, he held out his servo to me again, allowing me to crawl onto it. He turned, walking over to the human area without a word. I smiled at him gratefully as he lowered his servo to the couch, letting me slid off onto the soft cushions.

"Try not to strain yourself," he said firmly. "You still are recovering." With this, he turned on one pede and returned to his monitors. I nodded after him, even though he probably didn't see.

Miko sped over and plopped onto the couch next to me. Bulkhead stood behind the human area, positioning himself right behind the couch where we sat. He smiled again as he held out the pizza box, which Miko took and set down next to me.

"So, how did you get over to the monitor?" Miko asked curiously, stealing a glance at Ratchet. 

I beamed brightly, still feeling the buzz from the earlier day's  excitement. "I walked. I walked!"

Bulkhead raised an optic ridge. "Onto the monitor?"

My cheeks flushed a little. "Oh. Um, Ratchet helped me up," I said simply. I felt no need to tell them the whole embarrassing story.

Now they both looked shocked, both of their eyes wide and eyebrows raised. I shrugged a little, my face turning even more red. I decided to keep silent, looking away and quickly grabbing some pizza. They both shrugged as I shoved it into my mouth. I immediately felt better; it had been a little while since I had eaten.

Miko brightened nearly right away, holding up a tape like it was a trophy. "Since we have nothing better to do, how 'bout we watch the monster truck rally me and Bulk saw last week!"

As the tape played, I nearly choked on my pizza as I cringed at the rolling video. It took a lot of guts for me to watch; apparently, I didn't have enough, because I could barely look at the screen after only ten minutes. Ratchet noticed my discomfort and tore his optics away from the screen to see what the ruckus was about.

"Ratch, check it out! Miko took me to this monster truck rally last week," Bulkhead called, noticing that he was watching.

"Yea, come see!" Miko agreed, waving him over.

Ratchet's face turned upwards in disgust. "Innocent vehicles battling for the pleasure of human spectators?" He shuddered. "Blood sport!"

Secretly, I agreed with Ratchet.

"Don't you think you should be helping Optimus?" Ratchet asked skeptically.

"Aw, Optimus doesn't need my help to find some.. ancient... thingamabob," Bulkhead said dismissively, waving his servo.

I smiled as Ratchet started explaining what he had learned about the "thingamabob", which was actually the Data Cylinder. Bulkhead and Miko complained as he turned off the rally, which I was very grateful for, while Ratchet went on about its importance. I smiled at their confused expressions, just before I heard a beep go off at the monitor.

"Ratchet, we require backup!" Optimus shouted over the commlink, shots ringing in the background. "The Data Cylinder is at risk."

Bulkhead smiled at his charge. "Send me in, Ratchet!"

Feeling a bit nervous, I decided to go back to the medical bed and rest. I had just laid and gotten under the covers, and was about to close my eyes, when I heard hurried footsteps. I looked around, but when I saw nothing, I warily laid back down. I tried to shake the worried feeling pitted in my stomach as I drifted off.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on, Doc, there's nothing up there to scan," Bulkhead complained. 

I woke up, startled. I sat up quickly, looking around. The voices came from the medical bay, which was still out of my line of sight. I started to get up, but stopped when I felt the ache in my legs. I sighed, realizing that they were once again out of commission for a while. I tried to listen in to what they were saying, hearing excited tones, but I couldn't make out the words. I waited, trying to catch glimpses. Miko and Bulkhead came out and went across the room, the latter holding what seemed to be a mop, but I couldn't get a word in before they were gone. I sighed again, hugging my knees and continuing to wait.

Eventually, Ratchet turned the corner and went to his monitors. I watched him for a moment, realizing he seemed a bit more... excited. Definitely not something I was used to seeing. I cocked my head slightly, even more curious.

"Ratchet?" I asked, flashing him a small smile when he looked over to me. "Um.. what happened? I couldn't really see what was going on.."

"Oh," the medic said, turning from his console and lumbering over to me. "Well, Miko seemed to think it was a good idea to join Bulkhead for 'backup', and came across the Data Cylinder. When she tried to take it back to base, the information started to eject, but Bulkhead somehow managed to fall in the right place at the right time." The medic shook his helm. "How he was able to do that is beyond me. But he know holds the information in his processor, and is writing out a formula for a Synthetic Energon," Ratchet finished, straightening.

"What's... Synthetic Energon?" I asked. 

"Another kind of Energon, and if we get the completed formula, we will be able to make a limitless supply," Ratchet replied, his dermas turning up ever so slightly.

I smiled, knowing why he was excited about it. From what I had learned, they were in dire need of Energon, and now they had the means of possessing it.

"Can I... see?" I asked tentatively, scooting a little closer to the edge. "My legs hurt, though..." 

Ratchet held out his servo without a complaint. "Get on," he instructed simply, his voice neutral. I smiled again, something that was getting easier and easier to do, and crawled onto his open digits. He lifted me gently, raising me close to his chest chassis, and brought me over to a console close to the medical bay. To my surprise, he didn't put me down; he kept me in his servo while beginning to type quickly with the other. I suppressed the urge to look up at him in surprise, keeping my excited smile to myself. 

So far I was liking this happy mood of his.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's another chappy for ya! I hope you guys like it; it was fun to make, but also a little difficult. Sorry if I got some of the quotes wrong, I couldn't find them anywhere and I wasn't able to look for the episode. I'm in a hotel with my grandparents who are sleeping rn so a sudden crash in the episode will probably wake them. Lol.

Yay, I'm going to the beach!!

*waves*