Ratchet was used to being alone while the other Autobots went into battle. He didn't always like being left behind, but he knew that someone had to stay and monitor the Ground Bridge.

Ratchet checked over everyone's life signals to determine if he would need to prepare the med bay for a severely injured Autobot, but they all seemed to be at peak condition. Ratchet pushed a few buttons beside the screens he was in front of, scowling. Even with a few Cybertronian upgrades, Earth technology was incredibly slow.

The medic turned away from the screens when he saw three children run into the room. He held back a growl of disdain and was about to return to monitor duty when he heard Rafael speak. "One... Two... Three... Four... Five..."

Rafael was standing against the wall with his eyes covered. Ratchet paused his work, watching as the child apparently counted things he wasn't even looking at. Miko and Jack quickly ran from their positions. Jack slid under the stairwell while Miko dashed up the steps. Miko looked around before quickly heading towards the couch and crouching behind it.

Ratchet observed the three humans, confused. Rafael spend a few more seconds counting. "Twenty-seven... Twenty-eight... Twenty-nine... Thirty! Ready or not, here I come!"

Rafael removed his hands from his eyes and glanced around. He walked over to the hallway before turning around and looking towards the exit. After a second, Rafael moved swiftly up the stairs and looked around again. Miko ducked lower behind the couch, covering her mouth and staying as silent as she could.

The fact that Miko was so quiet was what Ratchet found surprising. The medic raised an optic ridge. "Miko, what are you doing?"

Miko frantically put a finger to her lips in an effort to silence the Autobot, but it was too late. Rafael ran over to the couch and leaned over the back of it, smiling. "Found you!"

"Augh!" Miko sighed, exasperated. Rafael hopped off of the couch as Miko stood up and put a hand on her hip. "Ratchet, you ruined it!"

The confused expression remained on Ratchet's face. "Ruined what?"

Before Miko could respond, Rafael walked halfway down the stairs, peeking over the railing. His face brightened again. "Found you, Jack!"

Jack chuckled slightly before strolling out from under the stairs, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm surprised you found Miko first. I wasn't in a very good hiding spot."

"Who's 'it' now?" Miko asked as she and Rafael walked to the bottom of the stairs. Miko crossed her arms. "It can't be me. Ratchet cheated."

"Cheated at what?" Ratchet's annoyance was clear in his voice, having asked more than once about what they were doing.

Rafael pushed his glasses up higher as he spoke. "Hide and Seek."

At Ratchet's blank face, Jack attempted to explain. "It's a game. People hide and then someone looks for them."

Ratchet mused that the game sounded similar to one of a scout's trainings, except probably without the use of weaponry. Not really knowing what to say, he turned back to the monitors and pressed a few spots on one of the screens. "Huh."

"'Huh'? That's it? Haven't you played 'Hide and Seek' before?" Miko said, staring up at the Autobot, because not knowing about such a popular children's game like 'Hide and Seek' must have been some sort of crime. "That's, like, the most normal game ever created."

"On Earth, perhaps," Ratchet replied, poking a few more times at the screens, a frown plastered on his face. The children realized after a few seconds that the medic wasn't going to continue, so they ended the conversation there.

Miko leaned against the railing. "So, who's 'it'?"

"You." Rafael smirked before running out of the room, Jack following close behind him.

Miko's eyes widened considerably. "What? That's not fair!"

Ratchet glanced away from the screens as Miko huffed and ran after the two boys. A few minutes later, Rafael peeked back around the corner. "Hey Ratchet, wanna play?"

The rest of the Autobots returned from their mission a little while later, with only scratches as proof that they were even in a fight. The Decepticon drones were dealt with rather swiftly, and the ones who survived promptly retreated once they realized they were outnumbered.

Optimus and Ratchet both stood near the monitors, giving Fowler the details of the Autobots latest battle. The rest of Team Prime joined in on the game of 'Hide and Seek', though it took Miko's begging to convince them to play one game.

On the fourth game of 'Hide and Seek', Bulkhead was 'it'. His optics scanned around the room, trying to find everyone. After a minute of searching, Bulkhead looked towards the medic. "Hey, Ratchet, have you seen the kids?"

Ratchet raised an optic ridge, glancing at the former Wrecker for a moment before returning to what he was doing. "No, not for a while."

Bulkhead blinked, shrugging before turning and heading into another room. Ratchet paused his work again, looking down as Rafael peeked around Ratchet leg. Ratchet raised a finger to his mouth, shushing the child. Rafael smiled before hiding behind the medic again.