The Day We Hailed The Heavens

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The Host

"Is she going to be alright, Ratch'?"

Ratchet glanced up at his charge tiredly, meeting her concerned eyes and offering her a small, strained smile. "It appears so, Mikaela," he murmured, casting his gaze on where the insentient Alexis was lying in her bed at the Pentagon, guarded over closely by the medic, Mikaela, and the holograms of Ironhide and Starscream. "Her heart rate and other bio-signs seem stable, although I admit that her temperature is above what I feel entirely comfortable with... she is developing a fever."

He wished to Primus that Ironhide and Starscream would get a grip on themselves. They both had their arms folded and were glaring at each other from either side of Alexis's bed, leaning over her unconscious form and positively burning each others eyes out with silent rivalry. He had enough to deal with without Ironhide's paternal feelings for Alexis coming through and making Starscream feel threatened.

/Ironhide... please, stop./

Ironhide's blue-black eyes flicked to his for a moment and a dark scowl twisted the old warrior's scarred visage. /Stop what?/ he demanded gruffly, but Ratchet merely shook his head in response. He knew very well what.

He understood that Alexis's own father was dead and that Ironhide had always aspired to fill that role for her, but right now it was just creating tension and competition amongst the ranks that they didn't need as they stood at the edge of oblivion. Although... he could hardly talk, as was evident from his annoyance towards Barricade for his insistence upon being Rose's guardian.

Which Optimus had agreed to, the fraghead.

Mikaela, frowning slightly, extended a hand to Alexis's forehead and her lips parted a little when she felt the other girl's skin. "God... you're right," she said worriedly, turning her hand around as if the temperature would differ on the other side. "Can't we bring it down somehow?"

"This is the All Spark's doing," Ratchet explained gently, putting a hand on her free one in what he hoped was a comforting way. "We cannot do anything to help Alexis now, Mikaela. She must do this of her own accord if she is to survive... and we must assume that the All Spark wants to keep her alive in order to fight off Unicron."

"Don't talk like that!" Starscream snarled, his lip curling in rage. Then he narrowed his eyes. "Did you know of Prime's plans for her?"

Dropping his head into one hand, Ratchet shook his head. "No, Starscream. I was aware of the fact that Alexis presented a way to defeat Unicron, but Optimus did not tell anyone exactly what the two of them were planning to do when he came... I would have at least attempted to talk him out of such an action." He paused. "Optimus has not even elected a second-in-command to take over from him when he is gone... he appears to have planned this in an uncharacteristically hasty manner."

Starscream snorted. "Well spotted, medic. He condemned my spark partner without so much as extending the courtesy of asking my slagging opinion on the matter - 'uncharacteristically hasty' indeed." His large fist tightened and his jaw clenched tightly. "And I will not forgive him for it," he added, sounding somewhat choked.

He was more distressed than he appeared, Ratchet observed in silence as he mulled over what the flyer had said. When Alexis had passed out, many things had been put into place - Optimus had come and explained to Starscream, as well as Jasmine, that he and Alexis were going to die in the pursuit of saving Earth. The reaction had not been anything like pretty - Jasmine had screamed hysterically for half an hour before being dragged to the medical bay in tears, and Starscream had sworn and shrieked in Cybertronian at Optimus for almost two hours before his hologram had stormed back into the Pentagon to be with his spark partner.