How To Catch A Bumblebee

Chapter Seven

A/N: I made Ratchet take up Optimus' role as Bumblebee's father figure for the moment because Ratchet is more approachable and more there for Bumblebee at this point in time. Optimus is leading an entire Autobot army, he doesn't exactly have time to stop and chat. Even if he does try to help when he can, he has other things to do, and can often be viewed as distant to some of the Autobots. And Bumblebee doesn't exactly feel like he can talk to a Prime about being a Decepticon/Predacon experiment. That's my take on it, anyway.

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The whole "I-used-to-be-a-Decepticon-and-didn't-tell-you" thing hadn't gone over too well with  the Autobot medic. There was a lot of yelling and threats, but Bumblebee managed to calm Ratchet down enough to let him explain. After that, the red and white bot had just sat there in silence, listening to the young scout stumble, choke, beep and whirr his way through his not-so-great life so far. 

He told Ratchet about the experiments that made him half predacon, the training, the punishments, the attempted escapes, Lightspark- he told Ratchet almost everything. It felt good to finally tell somebot the things he had been bottling up. Even if this somebot could probably get him locked up in a prison cell for the rest of his cycles. 

When Bumblebee was finally finished telling his story, his brand-new vocalizer was aching, and the old medic was sitting motionlessly, staring off into space. 

Fear welled up in Bumblebee's tanks (he's gonna yell at me and tell everyone that I'm a Decepticon spy and put me in prison for the rest of my cycles, oh Primus), and it must have shown on his faceplates, because Ratchet snapped out of his trance.

"I'm not going to throw you in the stockades, Bumblebee." Ratchet turned toward at him, and Bumblebee could tell he wasn't lying. The relief that welled up in his chassis was overwhelming, and Bee was ready to hug the old medic when Ratchet opened his mouth again and immediately put a damper on Bumblebee's mood. 

"But I will not hesitate to do so if I'm certain that you're a spy for the Decepticons, or here to hurt us."

Bumblebee's door wings drooped and his optics dimmed, even though Ratchet's reaction was completely reasonable.

"I promise I will not do any of that, if you swear to me that you will never hurt or betray the Autobots. Swear that you will never defect to the Decepticons. Swear that you are loyal to the Autobots, and only the Autobots. Swear this to me on Lightspark's life." Ratchet said, voice low and dangerous.

Bumblebee wasn't intimidated by Ratchet's tactics, nor the scary look in his eye. He had seen far worse. But he still caved to Ratchet's demands (not that he wouldn't have done the same thing without the intimidation tactics, but still).

:: I promise that I will never hurt or betray the Autobots, or defect to the Decepticons. I promise that I am loyal to the Autobots, and only the Autobots. I promise this on Lightspark's life. :: Bumblebee said, maintaining optic contact with Ratchet the entire time. And for once, he wasn't lying.

Ratchet studied the scout for a moment, trying to deduce whether or not he was telling the truth. The old medic suddenly nodded and leaned back, as if he came to a conclusion. 

"Although I am shocked that you've been keeping all of this from us, I can sort of understand why. I just wish you had told me sooner." Ratchet ex-vented with a puff of air.

"I'm sorry about everything you went through- no bot should have to experience that, least of all a youngling. Losing your caretaker, Lightspark, being experimented on, being forced to torture and- and kill other bots? That's terrible." Ratchet said, optics sad and mournful.

"I know a lot of bots who have broken after experiencing a lot less than you have. You're strong, Bumblebee." Ratchet said with a small smile. Bumblebee tried to smile back, but it came out as more of a wince as he accidently pulled on some of the injuries around his neck cables. 

Ratchet immediately switched to medic mode, checking Bumblebee's injuries and adjusting the scout's position on the berth. Suddenly, he stopped, optics widening as if he just realised something.

"And... you're half predacon. I... have no idea how to treat your biology if a problem arises!" Ratchet moved away from Bumblebee's berth, beginning to pace.

Bee watched him in amusement. He told Ratchet he used to be a Decepticon, and the medic's biggest concern is how to treat Bumblebee because of his genetics?

:: You treated me before you knew I was a predacon, why would that change now? :: Bumblebee asked, his amusement growing as Ratchet began mumbling to himself, before whipping around to face the berth-confined young mech.

"I might have done something wrong! You could be micro-cycles away from a system shutdown, and I wouldn't know. I-I need to do a more thorough study of your systems. I'm not properly qualified to treat you without full knowledge of your biology and anatomy. And-"

:: Ratchet. :: Bumblebee said, stopping the panicking medic in his tracks. :: You did fine. If there was a problem, my systems would have warned me a long time ago. ::

This seemed to calm the medic down, but not completely. He sat back down next to Bumblebee, processor deep in thought. He turned toward the scout again, optics full of both curiosity and worry.

"What are you going to do about the others? They deserve to know, don't they?" Ratchet asked.

This made Bumblebee hunch his shoulder joints and attempt to melt into the berth. He had avoided thinking about that part.

Seemingly realising that Bumblebee wasn't quite ready to address that just yet, Ratchet sighed, getting up from his place next to the berth. "You should get some recharge. Those injuries aren't going to heal instantly, even with predacon CNA." Ratchet pointed at Bumblebee, optics narrowed. "And if you get out of that berth before I say you're ready, you will have a wrench lodged in your helm before you can say 'Autobot'!"

Bumblebee gave him a silly salute. :: Yes, sir! ::

Ratchet smiled and moved across to the other side of the medbay. "And when I say recharge, that means actually close your Primus-damn optics and recharge!" he called, before shutting the door to his office behind him.

Bumblebee offlined his optics with a soft vent, suddenly realising how tired he was. May as well take a short nap, he thought, before falling into deep, peaceful recharge. The most peaceful he'd had in a long time.