BBPRIMEFAN101 requested this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy!

Transformers G1 belongs to Hasbro. I own nothing.

The Doctor Knows Best

Optimus sighed as he rested in his quarters, trying to get over a bad case of the cyber-flu. He just hoped that no one else would come knocking on the door. He just wanted to rest.

Now, he was grateful that his crew was so worried about him and wished him well, but he just couldn't stand all the concern. It was a bit suffocating.

Bumblebee passed by his leader's door and sent a silent get well wish to him, knowing his leader was probably still resting. Ratchet then came up.

"He's in there?" he asked Bumblebee, who nodded.

"Ratchet, how long will it take him to get better?" he asked.

"If he takes the medicine Perceptor and I made for him, he'll be back on his feet soon," said the medic as he went in. Bumblebee decided to go find Spike.

Meanwhile, Optimus heard Ratchet come in and looked up at him. "Ratchet, what is it?" he asked, thinking there was an emergency.

"Just brought you some medicine," said Ratchet.

With another groan, Optimus turned away. "Ratchet, I just need to rest," he said.

"That too," said the medic. "Now, come on."

With that, the white Autobot lifted the much larger bot into sitting position, surprising Optimus, as he knew he outweighed the medic by quite a bit, but Ratchet was handling him as if the weight didn't bother him. "Ratchet," he said in concern. "You'll injure yourself lifting me up."

Ratchet smiled and chuckled. "I've lifted heavier bots than you," he said. "You don't become a medic and have scrawny arms."

Optimus was still concerned and tried to help the medic out a bit, but the cyber-flu made him pretty weak. Still, Ratchet didn't even utter a grunt as he carefully leaned Optimus to rest his back against the wall. "Alright," said the medic. "Perceptor and I made you some medicine to help you get better."

Optimus groaned a bit at that and Ratchet knew why. The Prime didn't like being sick and taking medicine. "Ratchet, please stop worrying. I'll be fine by tomorrow," he said.

Knowing he was being stubborn, the medic shook his head. "Optimus, sleep is only part of the medicine you need to get better again," he said. "You need medicine too."

He then gave his leader a stern look. "Now, come on," he said. "The doctor knows best."

"Ratchet, I know what's best for me as it's my body," Optimus said.

"I beg to differ in this matter," said Ratchet. He wasn't going to back down from this battle. "You need to take this medicine."

Optimus didn't want to argue anymore and so closed his optics. "I'll do so later," he said, hoping to appease the medic.

Ratchet wasn't buying it and fell into thought. While he might have been able to lift Optimus by himself, he wouldn't be able to hold him down if the larger bot struggled to get away from him. He then remembered Sparkplug saying that when Spike had been younger and not really wanting to take medicine, tickling usually worked to get the boy to take the medicine.

That made the medic smile and began tickling the massive bot's sides.

Due to being sick, Optimus' reaction was a bit slow, but the end result was him laughing and squirming as the white Autobot started tickling his stomach, chuckling the whole time.

Optimus then began coughing harshly and Ratchet stopped the tickle torture and waited until his leader stopped coughing. "Well, do you want to go through that again, or are you going to take the medicine now?" he asked with a smirk.

Optimus glared at him a bit. "That was cruel, Ratchet," he said before he coughed a bit again.

Ratchet smiled. "Well, there's that human saying that laughter is the best medicine," he said. "But that's only one third of the medicine you need, come to think of it."

Seeing the medic wasn't going to leave him alone, he nodded. "Alright," he agreed before closing his optics again.

He then felt Ratchet placed a hand behind his helm and support it as Optimus took the medicine, which surprisingly stopped another coughing attack and he felt sleepy again. "Ratchet, are you sure this isn't a sleeping formula?" he asked.

The medic smiled a bit. "There is some sleeping formula in it, because you were coughing harshly all night last night," he said. "You can't get a decent rest coughing all the time."

"I can't argue that," said the Prime truthfully.

"See, the doctor does know best," said Ratchet smugly before kindly helping Optimus lay back down and making sure the blankets were warm. "Now, rest, old friend."

"Thank you, Ratchet," said the leader of the Autobots before he fell into a restful sleep, one that would hopefully help him get better quickly.

Ratchet quietly left his leader's quarters and walked down the hall, comming Perceptor about making more medicine for Prime to take later and the scientist set out to do so while the medic reassured the rest of the crew that Optimus was doing better and would be back on his feet soon, much to their relief.

But he didn't tell them how he had gotten Optimus to take the medicine. Ratchet had found it funny, but he still cared enough to preserve his leader's reputation.

After all, he knew what was best. Always.

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GoldGuardian2418