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JatA- Like Chalk And Cheese

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Part 2 of a TF: Prime fanfiction based after the events of episode 17 "Crisscross"


"So…" June Darby began, sheepishly twisting and untwisting the hem of her blouse between slender fingers. She caught herself hesitating, and promptly dropped both arms to her sides as she stared up at the amber and white titan that stood before her. "You're a doctor…?"

"A medic, actually," Ratchet grumbled reluctantly. His metal hands were on his hips, or what June assumed to be hips on his relatively human-shaped body, one eyebrow raised so high that it was in danger of disappearing behind the orange crest on his forehead. He dwarfed her with ease – even more so than the decidedly feminine robot that her son's motorcycle had turned into had. At least Arcee had been polite enough to crouch down and cast her a friendly smile during formal introductions, rather than make her feel utterly out of place and insignificant.

Feeling awkward, June pried her eyes away from Ratchet to stare around the command centre. Aside from the two of them, the base was empty of life; the one named Optimus Prime had not long stepped out for a drive, and the other Autobots were out entertaining their respective human partners. June had wanted to join them – mostly to keep an eye on her son and make sure that his 'motorcycle' didn't get him into any trouble – but Ratchet had flat-out refused to leave the confines of the base. His denial to go outside had been so firm and ultimately final that she had chosen not to pursue the subject further for fear of irritating him – not that getting on his nerves was a particularly difficult feat in the first place, she had been quick to learn.

Though her attempt to make small talk with her grumpy robotic 'guardian' had left the cavernous room filled with an uncomfortable silence, June refused to give in to his obstinacy. She had worked with many a stubborn soul before, mostly reluctant patients in the emergency room, so why should this one be any different?

As Ratchet returned to tapping away at the keyboard beneath three high-tech computer monitors nearby, the human stepped a little closer to try and work out what he was doing. Craning her neck; she saw some kind of complex chemical formula displayed on the central screen. Reams of complicated equations quickly streamed across the two on either side, but she could make little sense of them despite her years of medical training. After several moments of staring intently at the screens, June realised that Ratchet was looking down at her with a questioning expression on his faceplates.

"Can I… help you with that?" she offered, in hope that he might warm to her after being offered assistance.

"I doubt it," the medic replied curtly. He made to return to his work, but apparently had second thoughts and gestured a jaded hand. "Some time ago; Optimus contracted a disease that was engineered by the Decepticons, as part of their biological warfare programme during the Great War. I'm analysing the formula of the cure that we managed to retrieve from Megatron."

"A disease?" June repeated, shocked. "But…you're machines. How can you catch diseases?"

Ratchet gave a heavy sigh. "I highly doubt that the subject of bio-mechanics is one that can be easily grasped by humans, Miss Darby," he said evasively. "Regardless; Rafael informs me that even the most basic of Earth computers can become infected with a virus once the right conditions are met. With that in mind, you needn't be so surprised."

"I suppose…" she mumbled. Despite the medic's assurance, however, she couldn't imagine the Autobot commander falling ill. He'd come across as so strong during their introduction – all of the Autobots had. It fascinated her that these mechanical beings could get sick just like humans could. They had also showed the capacity to feel emotion and pain as well; perhaps the two species were more alike than she'd initially thought? The prospect was…intriguing, to say the least.

As she wondered what other similarities might be shared by both human and Cybertronian, Ratchet rolled his optics and turned back to face the monitors. "Shouldn't you be at the hospital?" he asked, clearly losing grasp of whatever interest her queries had sparked.

"I finished my shift for today," smiled June. The cheeriness was swift to leave her expression, however, and she folded her arms. "I was hoping to spend some time with my son… it seems like I keep missing him lately, even though I try so hard to be in the same place as him."

"Perhaps he's avoiding you," the medic suggested, as though wishing he could do the same.

June disregarded his comment, already brewing her next question. "Do you have a son?" she asked, wondering if he was speaking from experience. "Or any family, really – do Autobots have families?"

Ratchet let out a groan, beginning to suspect that getting any sort of work done was impossible with this persistent creature around. "By the AllSpark… don't you ever give up?" he hissed, towering over her again with both hands on his hips. "You know, I am attempting to decipher complex code here – something which requires undivided attention."

The human faltered, but somehow managed not to recoil away from him. "My mistake," she replied, dropping her gaze to the panelled floor.

The medic glowered at her for a moment longer, before making to resume his former task. As he watched the strings of equations and formulas scroll across the screens, he half expected June to launch another intrusive question at him – but she was perfectly silent. The lack of noise was almost unnerving; he glanced quickly down at her, as though to check that she was still standing there. She looked sullen – not pouty as Miko appeared whenever he told her to be quiet – but troubled nonetheless. It was a look that didn't suit her, one that made him remember that this human was a different sort to ones that he had grown used to dealing with. This one was an adult; one who had the potential to be reasoned with logically.

Now that he thought about it, Ratchet suspected that there were a lot of ways in which June differed from the children. Perhaps he might even be able to have a somewhat intelligent conversation with her. The prospect was no more grim than it was appealing, he realised.

"Autobots don't have families," he said abruptly, not shifting his gaze from the screens. June raised her stare, taken slightly by surprise. "At least, not in the sense you're probably thinking of."

"So…where do you come from?" she probed cautiously. "Who built you?"

Ratchet flinched, recalling how Rafael had asked a similar question on the children's first visit to the base. Unlike back then, however, he considered the enquiry for a moment, before abandoning the computers completely and rotating on the spot to face June. "Our homeworld is Cybertron, a planet located many light-years away from here," he began to explain. "On Cybertron exists – existed… a fount named the Well of All Sparks, from which all Autobots and Decepticons alike were born."

"Born?" repeated June.

"Created," the medic corrected himself with a wave of the hand, as though the wording was unimportant. "The AllSpark – an object of great power – carried out the will of our original creator by producing Cybertronian life deep within the Well. As such; we all derive from the same source, so to speak – but do not necessarily view each other as brethren, and so do not classify ourselves into a set 'family' hierarchy like that employed by humans. Do you understand?"

June gave a confident nod of the head, prompting Ratchet to study her with something close to mild appraisal on his faceplates. She shifted her weight onto one leg in preparation for a long discussion, wondering what else she could ask her guardian about.
Happy early birthday, ~SteelBlastAreya!

Word count = 1309

Uninspired chapter is uninspired and only spell-checked once, taking place between episodes 17 and 18. Though I researched into the whole 'born or built' thing, I probably botched a few of the details so please forgive any inconsistencies :XD:

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Feyqueen91's avatar
Did you forget that June was in "Metal Attraction"?