Hope's Return

Second Chances

Hope stalked through base, still fuming about Sunstreaker's remark regarding Ratchet.  Chasing him out of her quarters hadn't helped any to cool her temper either. How dare he insinuate that there was something between her and Ratchet. She was simply making sure that he was taking care of himself...wasn't she?

Without realizing it, she found herself next to the tree they had spent the night under. Flopping down on her back, she spread her wings and stared up at the sky. The clouds floated by as she laid there. For a while she tried to make a game of picturing various items but even that failed to settle her mind.

Finally she groaned and sat up, covering her optics with her arms as she laid her helm against her knees. Her spark pounding, her mind went back to those last moments with Optimus before he sacrificed himself. How could she possibly allow herself to have feelings for Ratchet when she still felt the pain of Optimus's death so keenly?

Across the base floor, both Sunstreaker and Blurr staggered as the force of her pain shot through the bond. All around them, the base shook and personnel ran for cover. In medical bay, Ratchet looked up from his work as the wrenches on the wall fell to the ground with a clatter.

Outside shouts were heard and Ratchet stuck his helm out in time to see Ironhide passing by.

"What's going on? Are we under attack?"

"Somethings wrong with Hope!"

Racing outside, he joined Ironhide in time to see Hope stand, aglow with power, her helm in her servos. Sunstreaker staggered up to them with Blurr in tow.

"Can you reach her?"

"No, we've both tried but she's blocked us off. Our best bet is to physically reach her."

"Are you insane? She could destroy you both before you got within 5ft of her."

"Do you have a better idea?"

Ironhide groaned in exasperation but nodded for the brothers to give it a try. Together they cautiously approached Hope, sparks flaring as theirs responded to hers. She looked up at them, optics ablaze with light but allowed them to come closer.

Tears flowed from her optics and the image of Optimus resounded through the bond. Sunstreaker felt remorse, knowing that he was the cause of her emotional overload. He should have never teased her about her feelings towards Ratchet.

Reaching her, he laid a servo on her shoulder, ignoring the pain as the power rolled over his frame and burned the metal. Pulling her towards him, he felt her frame shudder as she clung to him. Gradually the heat lessened as Hope calmed down.

Slowly he sank to the ground and pulled her into his lap. Hope gently ran her servo over the burnt metal, pulling back when he winced.

"You're hurt. I'm so sorry. I lost control..."

"It's partly my fault.  I shouldn't have teased you about Ratchet. I just thought you might have feelings for him since you've been so worried about him lately. I guess I let my big brother complex get in the way again."

"You really need to stop doing that."

"What? Being a big brother or teasing you about certain mechs?"

"Sigh...both. Come on, let's get you healed up."

Helping him to his peds, they started back towards the three mechs watching them.

Blurr raced out to meet them, taking some of Sunstreaker's weight off of Hope.

"What was that all about?"

"Remember what I told you earlier about not getting in the way?"

At Blurr's nod, he continued.

"I got in the way again."

He gave a weak chuckle at Blurr's expression as Hope shook her helm at the two of them. Together they headed to medical bay under Ratchet's watchful optics.

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

After a brief healing from Hope to repair the worst of the damage, Sunstreaker was left alone with Ratchet to finish up. Hope had been shoved off to her berth to rest as the events of the day caught up with her. As usual she protested but gave in when her knees buckled under her. Blurr had scooped her up and carried her away still muttering that she was fine.

"She's quite the stubborn femme isn't she?"

"I'd say she's almost as bad as you Doc."

"Watch it or your frame will have a few more dents."

The medical bay was quiet as Ratchet worked on finishing up the rest of Sunstreaker's injuries, each mech lost in their own thoughts. Finally Ratchet sighed and put down the welder.

"Do you want to tell me what that was all about?"

Cringing a little, Sunstreaker muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said that I may or may not have been teasing her about her feelings towards you and caused her to have an emotional break down due to her reliving the guilt she still feels about Optimus's passing."

A large wrench hit him across the helm and he looked up to see Ratchet red faced in anger. It slowly faded to white then a blue flush appeared as he processed the rest of Sunstreaker's words.

His servo's  shaking, he gripped the edge of the berth to steady himself. A mixture of emotions ran over his plate, surprise,  uncertainty,  disbelief and finally wistful. Sunstreaker watched as he vented harshly and met his optics.

"Who am I to compare to Optimus? Even if she does return my feelings, I can't compete with a ghost."

"Well now you're speaking nonsense. Optimus is gone and you are just as much of a mech as he was. Sure, you're a stubborn aft but you've  been part of her life just as much as Optimus was. If you'd manage to pull your helm out of your aft long enough to think about it, you'd see that she needs you as much as you need her!"

Tapping his spark chamber, he continued in a quieter voice.

"I can sense how she feels about you even if she doesn't realize it yet. You're more than just a friend or colleague to her but seeing how stubborn she is, you'll need to take the first step. Just...be careful with her. I can't go through losing her again."

There was a silence between them after Sunstreaker's confession.  Ratchet cleared his throat box and gestured towards the door.

"You're clear to go, try to avoid the high grade for a while..."

Sunstreaker had his servo on the door panel when Ratchet called his name. Turning to him, a question in his optics, the doctor gave a small smile.

"Thank you..."

Sunstreaker answered with a cocky grin and  salute before racing out the door. A long drive was in order. Ratchet watched him go, once again lost in his own thoughts. Slowly a grin slid across his own face plate as he began to plan. If there was truly a chance that she felt the same, then he had work to do.