3. Family (A TFP Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

I only winced slightly when the syringe poked into my skin, feeling the nerves in my arm tingle. Flashes of the torture I had gone through on the Nemesis entered my brain for a brief moment, but once I glanced up at my guardian, those horrible images were washed away. His vibrant topaz optics were nothing like that of the cold one of Shockwave. Here, with him, I was being treated, not tortured. My lips turned up into a happy and relieved smile when Ratchet pulled the needle out of my arm, feeling the Energon rush replenish me quickly, my spark aflutter for a moment.

"Do you feel any kind of pain?" the medic asked immediately, his digits falling to my upper arm, where the compartment for my spark was. His index digit brushed it slowly, and at his touch, it opened quickly, startling him. "Ah. My apologies," he said quickly, turning his helm back to me.

I beamed brighter and shook my head. "It's okay!" I told him. "It didn't hurt. The only thing I felt was the prick, and the Energon rush, but that's normal, right?"

He nodded once, straightening slightly, though he still was bent over to remain close. "Correct." He hummed slightly to himself, examining the spark deeply. "It seems that your spark is fully functional, and the side effects have calmed," he noted, bringing his servo to his lower faceplate in thought.

"It's your spark shard, too," I said gently, turning to look at it as well. It was pulsing brightly, even brighter than the dead shard had when I had first acquired it. A gentle but strong beat was heavy through the air around us now that it was exposed, but the open air didn't seem to bother it at all. Seeing Ratchet look over it carefully made me blush slightly, my spark swelling a bit. The medic no doubt felt it as well, his shoulder plates deflating slightly as he looked at me with calm optics. I heated up more and glanced away, embarrassed and nervous.

He shuffled a little before giving me a gentle smile, picking me up in his servos gently as he stood up slowly. He said nothing of the swell we had both felt as the spark chamber closed, which was both relieving and disappointing. I wanted him to know how I felt.. but I was too afraid to tell him.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was scared that if he learned of my affections, he would reject them. Or worse, reject me. Perhaps he wouldn't even want me as his charge anymore. Even if he kept me, however, I knew that things would never be the same again. I was scared of losing what I had, especially now. Right now, fear could easily consume me, and I needed someone to turn to. Ratchet was one of the few, and the one I wanted most.

So I hid.

Like always.

The medic's attention was turned elsewhere when a GroundBridge opened, a sky blue and red truck driving through. I smiled a little when Ultra Magnus transformed. Though I still was afraid and wary around most of the Autobots, Ultra Magnus was different. Despite the fact he was a rather distant bot, he had saved me, and I was grateful for it, even though I had earlier learned that Ratchet had basically forced him. My guardian walked over to the commander, along with a few of the others, wishing to learn what he had found.

"We didn't find much else in the rubble of the former base," he told them simply.

I flinched a little, missing our former home. My attention turned back to the GroundBridge as the Wrecker walked in, holding a giant ball. Wheeljack had recently become an all-time member, mostly because his ship was damaged. While I was happy to have the new addition, I tended to avoid him a little more than the others. The white and grey bot was a bit reckless, which made me nervous around him. Not that I was allowed near him much anyway, considering Ratchet was my guardian.

"You call this 'not much else'?" the Wrecker teased, throwing the ball up and down in the air for a moment before yeeting it at Bulkhead.

I yelped quietly as the orb traveled in the air, fear clutching me once again. Bulkhead was completely not ready, his face surprised and worried just before it harshly bounced off his metal chest chassis. Though I was nowhere near it, I curled up a little instinctively, my hands over my head. My eyes widened when it neared Miko, Jack barely pulling her away in time before it slammed into the wall where she would have been. A moment of stunned silence befell the room, everyone registering what had just happened. Finally, my guardian stirred, looking over to Wheeljack angrily and stalking towards him a little.