The Favor

Chapter 11

By Voodoo Queen

Author's Note: Greetings, Dear Readers! I hope you're having a fantastic day! I'd like to take this opportunity, as always, to thank those of you who've taken the time to read and add this story to your likes and faves. I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story thus far. Extra special thanks to those who've left me a review: Dixiechicrules123, rybkakoi, mated-to-a-yautja, LunaWolfSunTigress15, Madama Crimson, and my 'Guest'. I enjoy hearing from you all and it keeps me motivated to keep on writing. Sorry this one is so short! Much love!

Summary: In all the vorns Ratchet had known Wheeljack, he certainly couldn't remember the mech ever mentioning that he had a sister.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, only my own original characters and plot.

XXXXXXXXXX

Wheeljack casually strolled his way through the Autobot compound on his way to the med bay. He hadn't really spoken to Ratchet following the odd encounter in his lab a few cycles ago and, quite frankly, he was a bit worried for the mech. It had never been like Ratchet to wallow in his problems but ever since Frost Fire it seemed the mech had been in a continuous downward spiral. Wheeljack wasn't one to abandon his friends, especially in their time of need. If Ratchet didn't snap out of it soon, Wheeljack was afraid he'd have to take desperate action.

The med bay, Wheeljack noted as he drew closer, was surprisingly quiet. The reception area, especially, seemed oddly subdued. Instead of the normal fracas of bots waiting impatiently for their turn with the doc as he saw the most serious injuries first, there were four mechs and one femme sitting quietly and chatting pleasantly amongst themselves. Jack raised a brow ridge to this but thought no more of it as he made his way toward the double doors that separated the reception area from the med bay proper and Ratchet's office.

"Excuse me!"

Wheeljack had taken no more than three steps before coming to a sudden halt as he found his path blocked by a short, squat femme probably old enough to be one of his and Cali's grand-creators. "Uh...hi?"

The femme demanded in an aged, grating voice, "Just where do you think you're going?"

A trifle confused, he responded, "I was going to talk to Ratchet."

"Uh huh," the femme eyed him up and down. "Is he expecting you? Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh, no," Wheeljack admitted. "But-"

The femme cut him off. "Are you hurt?"

Out of habit, Wheeljack gave himself a quick once over before answering in the negative. "No...?"

"If you're not hurt and you don't have an appointment, I'm going to have to ask you to sign in at the desk and have a seat and wait for an opening in the schedule if you want to see the doctor. He's a very busy mech." The femme gestured back toward the waiting area.

"Oh, he's fine, Ms. Sledge. You can send him on back to my office."

"If you say so, doctor." At the sound of Ratchet's voice echoing from within the other room, the femme immediately stepped out of Jack's way and ushered him on through. "Have a pleasant day."

"Uh, thanks." Jack sidled his way around the femme. "You, too."

"Hey, Jack," Ratchet greeted the other mech with a smile as he stepped into his office. "What can I do for you today?"

Wheeljack hitched his thumb back over his shoulder as the door slid shut behind him. "Who was that?"

"That," Ratchet grinned as he settled himself comfortably into his chair, "Is my new secretary, Ms. Sledge. Isn't she wonderful?"

"Yeah, uh, she's great, I guess." Wheeljack took a seat on the opposite side of the desk.

"You guess?" Ratchet shook his head. "Listen. Do you hear that, Jack?"

Wheeljack strained his audios. "I don't hear anything, Ratch."

"Exactly!" The CMO vented contentedly. "This is the most peaceful the med bay has ever been. All the records have been appropriately filed. Appointments are running on time. It's a beautiful thing. I wish I'd found her sooner. She's done wonders for my sanity in just a couple of cycles. Simply amazing."

"I'm glad she's working out for you." Wheeljack chuckled, "What happened to what's-her-name?"

"Titania?" Ratchet shrugged. "They had an opening in Communications for an admin assistant and I recommended her for the job. I think she's better suited to the comm room than she was here."

"Oh," Wheeljack was slightly taken aback. "That's...surprising."

Ratchet raised a brow, "Is it?"

"Well, yeah." Wheeljack shrugged. "I was under the impression that you two had some sort of a thing going."

"A thing?" Ratchet scoffed. "Hardly. We spent one evening in each other's company that ended quite messily and cost me a significant amount of credits...and pride... to clean up."

Wheeljack snickered, "Do I even want to know the details?"

"Probably not," Ratchet laughed and shuddered at the same time, "I wish I could forget them. Besides," he added with a shrug and an obvious twinkle in his optics. "That is ancient history best left forgotten as far as I'm concerned. I've been fortunate enough to find a much more pleasant way to spend my time."

"Really, now?" Wheeljack was a mixture of concern, intrigue and relief. Curious, he asked, "Anyone I know?"

"I'd love to tell you, Jack." An exultant smile pulled at the mech's lip plates. "It's just..." he sighed. "This is very new for me and I'm honestly surprised myself at how everything has worked out. I guess I just don't want to run the risk of ruining things while it's all still so new."

"Ah," Wheeljack nodded. "I can understand that. Just," Wheeljack shook his head. "Whoever she is...just be careful, alright, Ratch? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's good to see you looking so happy but..."

"I know." Ratchet gazed at his friend thoughtfully, "And I truly do appreciate all of your concern. I know I haven't been the easiest mech to get along with since everything that happened with Frost Fire. This, though...this isn't like that, Jack. I wish I could explain it better but this," the medic breathed. "This is special. I can feel it."

"I'm happy for you, doc." Wheeljack's finials glowed a light blue, "I really am. I hope this femme, whoever she is, realizes how fortunate she is to have you."

"I hope you remember that you said that," Ratchet muttered softly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Ratchet chuckled. "Don't pay me any mind. I think we got a bit off subject. Did you need me for something?"

"Actually," Jack sheepishly admitted, "I haven't talked to you in a few cycles since you came into the lab the other night. I wanted to check in and see how you were doing but it looks like you're doing just fine."

"Well, I'm certainly better than what I expected to be," Ratchet admitted.

"I'm glad," Wheeljack wanted to say more but was interrupted by the sound of the new secretary's voice crackling over the intercom.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Doctor, but your first afternoon appointment just arrived."

"Ah," Ratchet frowned at his friend apologetically before pressing the button to answer. "Thank you, Ms. Sledge. Please let them know I'll be along shortly."

"Yes, Doctor."

"I'm sorry about that," Ratchet again apologized.

"Hey, no worries." Wheeljack's optics crinkled, a sign he was smiling beneath his blast mask, and rose to his feet. "Duty calls. I get it. I'll get out of your way and let you get back to work. I'll talk at ya later."

Ratchet watched the mech turn to leave. "Hey, Jack," he called behind him, prompting the mech to turn around and look at him questioningly. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Ratch." The engineer gave a sloppy salute as the office doors slid shut, obscuring him from view.

Ratchet remained sitting there for a moment in thoughtful silence before chuckling softly and giving his helm a shake. Wheeljack was a good mech, one of the best he knew. He was always looking out for other people and never expecting anything in return. He supposed it must be a familial trait given the fact that Caliper, too, possessed the same undemanding generosity. Speaking of which...

Ratchet keyed on his terminal, accessed his instant communications program, and scrolled through his contacts. His lip plates quirked up into a smile all of their own accord as he came to his most recent entry. His fingers hovered over the keys for a moment, allowing his fluctuating spark a moment to stabilize itself, before quickly tapping out a message.

Caliper,

I was just thinking about you and I hope your day is going well. I was wondering, if you're free later this evening, if you'd like to get together? Perhaps dinner and a trip to the Metroplex?

Ratchet

Ratchet hit send, feeling rather giddy as he did so and hoped for a response before the end of his shift. Turns out, he didn't have long to wait at all as his terminal chimed just a moment later alerting him to an incoming message. As his optics took in the words glowing on the screen, he was certain his grin couldn't have stretched any wider without causing some kind of damage to his facial structure.

Hi Ratchet,

Good thoughts, I hope? Hearing from you certainly brightened my day. I am most definitely free this evening and would be happy to get together. Dinner and the Metroplex sounds perfect. I'll be looking forward to it.

Cali

"Me, too." Ratchet sighed happily as he rose from his desk to go tackle his afternoon appointments, "Me, too."

End of Chapter 11