Hope's Return

Old Friends and New Beginnings

The sunlight danced across Hope's metal plating and warmed her scales. Shifting, she drowsily onlined her optics and smiled down at the sleeping mech next to her. In recharge, his expression was peaceful. She idly wondered if he would still be angry with her for forcing him to rest.

After a moment she disregarded that thought as unimportant.  Knowing Ratchet, he would want to return to work once more and refuse to leave until she once again forced him too. Damn mech was to stubborn for his own good.

Checking her inner chronometer, she discovered it was a little past noon. Surprised that no one had sought them out, she sent a pulse through the bond. The answer was short and blurred by the effect of to much high grade. It took another few tries before she received a coherent response.

Shaking her helm in disbelief at her brothers' antics, she sent a healing burst to help them sober up. She could only imagine what had possessed them to get slag-faced so early in the morning but maybe the helm ache would insure it wouldn't happen again.

Turning to the sleeping mech beside her, Hope was tempted to go back to recharge  but that thought was shattered as he started to stir. Groaning a little, she gave into the inevitable. Sitting up, she waited for Ratchet to fully wake.

When Ratchet onlined his optics, he found himself leaning against a warm wall. Turning his helm, he met Hope's optics and realized that she was the wall he had been recharging against.  Blushing blue, he scrambled to his peds and stammered an apology. 

Hope merely nudged him gently before transforming and stretching.  Ratchet tried not to stare and quickly glanced towards base.

"I trust you recharged well?"

The casual question caught him off guard and he turned back to see Hope waiting for an answer.

"Uh...yes. Thank you."

Satisfied that he was finally awake, Hope slipped her arm through his and tugged him towards base.

"I think we should go and check out the energon stores before Blurr and Sunstreaker decide to do a repeat performance."

Ratchet's circuits were still whirling by the fact Hope had spent the night outside with him that he almost missed that last part.

"Wait...repeat performance?"

"Those two dumb afts decided to over do it on high grade this morning and refused to tell me why. I figure we just let them suffer a bit longer and get fuel for ourselves. Perhaps then they'll think twice about drinking to much again."

By now they had arrived at the base door. Ratchet hunched his shoulders at the prospect of base gossip but Hope continued pulling him along and ignoring the curious stares.

In a dark corner of the base, Miko and Bulkhead turned to look at the brothers. Sunstreaker had a cold pack to his helm and Blurr had passed out on the floor behind him. The glee in Miko's voice was evident.

"So...Hope and Doc Bot huh?"

Sunstreaker just groaned and slumped to the floor.

"Shut up Miko..."

*************************

Hope was in her quarters going over a data pad when a knock sounded on her door. Still reading over the days accounts, she opened it. When she looked up, she was greeted by Sunstreaker who still had a pained expression on his face plate.

Her love for him overcame the irritation she felt regarding his behavior this morning and she moved aside to let him enter. Closing the door, she watched him sink into the chair she had vacated. Dimming the lights to lessen his helmache, she placed a servo on his helm and sent a healing pulse to ease the pain.

"Are you ready to talk about why you and Blurr went through the base's entire stock of high grade this morning?"

At the mention of high grade, Sunstreaker had to resist the urge to purge again. Hope took pity on him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. For a moment they stayed there as his systems stabilized and he finally met her optics with a sheepish grin.

Not wanting her to know the real reason, he went with his second but more painful one.

"I miss Sides that's all. Don't get wrong, Blurr's a nice mech and all but I wish it had been Sides with you. I don't even know where the fragger is and he's probably causing trouble as we speak."

"Bee's keeping him out of trouble."

The chair clunked against the desk as he stared up at her.

"What do you mean Bee's keeping him out of trouble!? No one knows where Bumblebee even is! Last we heard, he commandeered a space bridge with his trainee and a troublemake..."

His optics narrowed and with a growl he stood and started pacing around her room. She let him go for a few minutes before holding up her servo.

"I ran into Bumblebee and team before I was pulled here to you. They're rounding up rouge Decepticons on Earth."

"He's here on Earth? The blasted fragger didn't even try to contact me."

Hope decided not to point out the obvious, that Sunstreaker had blocked her through the bond when he thought she was Sideswipe.  Instead she tried a softer approach.

"He said that you both had a major fight and went your separate ways. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even know where you were to begin to look."

"But you do know where he is..."

"Yes, but are you ready to go make amends?"

At his mutinous expression she sighed.

"No, I didn't think so. When you're ready to face him, I'll take you to him. Until then, don't be going and getting Blurr slag faced. Miko says that he's still passed out."

"Blasted mech can't hold his high grade."

"Sunstreaker!"

Raising his servo's in defeat, Sunstreaker wrapped his arms around her and grinned. Happy to see his spirits had lifted, Hope smiled back at him.

"Now about what's going on between you and Ratchet the Hatchet..."

"What!?"