Archive of Our Own ^beta

Optimus held onto the rails and carefully took a step forward while cringing behind his mask, Wheeljack following from the side and Ratchet on the other with a portable medical screen connected to him, following the inner workings of the Prime as he moved. They had been at this for about a month and a half and while they all understood his frustrations, he was making progress, understood his fear that he couldn't lead them in battle.

Prowl and Jazz split the work and the Twins had done their best to behave, writing up pranks for the future and instead took patrol and Entrance guard duty. Bumblebee sat at the end of the rails on a crate and smiled, their private comm link filled with encouragement and jokes.

~Five steps more...~

~Feels like a lot more.~

~Less whining, more walking. I told you, kiss the floor and you get no hug from me! It'll be silent treatment for 2 months.~

Optimus glared at him and Bee smirked.

~You are more like your Carrier then you think.~

~Good!! Since she can't be here nagging you to get better, I have to!!~

Ratchet smirked when Optimus rose his head to really glare at Bee. "If a comment about Elita was made, Bee is absolutely right."

"What is with everyone picking her side!?"

"Of the two of you, she's the one with the most common sense." Wheeljack cackled. "You have been around Jazz and Ironhide to much."

"Chromia is just as-"

"She's holding Elita back from reaching your levels of stupid moves." Ratchet added and Bee snickered behind his servo. "Thankfully Bee takes more after Elita then he does you- Well on the common sense department."

Wheeljack frowned behind his own blast mask. "Can't do slag about his selflessness that are about as high as yours."

Bee stuck his glossa out at him then and jerked at the sound of crashing and found Optimus' frame had given out on him. "Yeah he's in stasis, got the color tape Bee?" Bee hopped down to mark how far Optimus had come this time and then watched Ratchet's impressive strength haul Prime onto the gurney to bring him back to his quarters, he was well enough to leave the medbay now and Bee had volunteered to keep an optic on the Prime, hours flying by as they read history pad after history pad.

Bee had never recharged this much in his life but Ratchet did not complain.

Hound dropped by with Energon for them and Sunstreaker's old drawing pad, having acquired a new one from Wheeljack on his and Sideswipe's Emergence Day not to long ago. Bee opened the drawing program and found that it have been more simplified for his use and picked the crayon brush, the pad was big and Hound saved the sight to his memory to show the others.

Bee looked at a crate in the corner of the room once Hound left and then at Optimus' sleeping frame.

He hoped no one was to pissed off at him for destroying the Ferrotaxis.

000

::Hey, are the guys angry at Prime? with the Ferrotaxis being destroyed?::

:: Well they don't show it but Sunny's pretty peeved about it. By the way? What's this I hear about you nicking from our high grade batch? That stuff wasn't even finished!!::

::I'll explain it when Optimus is back on his pedes and can hear it. Try tell the others that? Like- Hey Bee seems to have something to get off his Spark and he needs us all for it.::

::Bee... You know that kinda sounds like Ratchet gave you bad news?::

::I'm not dying if that's what you're referring to.::

::THAT DOESN'T CALM ME BEE!!::

000

Optimus soon recovered enough to be able to walk around and at least give his signature to some of the most important pads Prowl needed signed. He heard about the gathering in the Rec-room but that's as much as Prowl could tell him as they walked over there.

It wasn't often the rec-room was full, but Bee was sitting on a table and even Red Alert had left his monitors to listen and Ratchet looked- almost afraid. "Before either one has a spark seizure- I'm not dying. My latest check up was clean, Recharge was a little up and down but otherwise- Not dying."

Optimus heard vents open to let withheld air out and some shagged in their seats, Ironhide ran his servos over his faceto hide that his servos hand been shaking badly. "Sunstreaker-" The golden twin froze where he stood. "Remember when Meagtron was about to Cyberform New York? The items I asked to have brought in?"

"Um- Y-yeah... Energon, a batch of our high grade that wasn't quite ready-"

"Excuse me!?"

"You're just as tired of Army grade as the rest of us!! Why do you think Ratchet hasn't run out of Medical grade yet?!"

Sunstreaker clapped a servo of his twin's mouth. "And that metal thing Wheeljack made. Something about copying anything that was uploaded to it and a containment orb from Wheeljack's lab."

Bee nodded and then smiled. "With the hologram and actually seeing the item, I memorized the shape of it and then uploaded it to the metal, placed the two energon grades into the orb, shook a bit till it glowed blue and-"

"Bumblebee-" Optimus' optics widen in wonder and pride. "Are you saying I blew up a fake Ferrotaxis?!"

All helms went back and forth between the two, smiles slowly spreading and small huffs of laughter breaking out. Bumblebee made a humming noise like he was thinking, before sticking his servo down into the crate beside him and pulled out-

The Real Ferrotaxis.

"When- What- How?!" Sideswipe screamed as he gripped his helm.

"Me Grimlock- Having meltdown..."

"You and the whole fragging Ark!!!" Cliffjumper shouted as he stared at the relic. "How did you even get it away from Megatron?!"

Bee just grinned as he held it in his lap. "Spec Op's."

"THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER!!" Everyone howled over Jazz and Mirage's I'm-about-to-die-cackles and Bee just shrugs. "Well it's the one you're getting."

"Me Swoop glad Bee is ours."

"....Swoop right... Grimlock agrees..." Grimlock was still holding his helm, like he was trying to keep his processor from melting out.