Transformers: Where You Belong

Chapter 12

Daniel stared around the med bay that Ratchet had now moved himself and Ben into. He was surprised by the size, being that of a small house, rather then the size of a small doctors office. He nodded a little, very impressed to say the least, the mech was doing even better than he had expected. Ben had a rather nicely sized bedroom, outfitted perfectly for a human his age. Ratchet had rewired his welcome home gift so that it now worked within Ben's room in the med bay, and it was perhaps what astounded the man the most.

No, what impressed Daniel most was that every ounce of new items was indeed within Ben's room. Most Foster Parents bought at least one thing for themselves the first month, and they normally let it slide. But Ratchet had apparently spent every penny on Ben, and giving him a proper living environment. He smiled somewhat, staring up at Ratchet who seemed nervous. "I'll give you this, Ratchet. You're one of the best Foster Parents I've seen in a long time." He then jestfully added "I might even say you're spoiling the boy a bit."

"Well even if... Well... He's not really mine. Ben is my only child." Ratchet explained, he leaned against the doorway "I don't usually 'spoil' anyone, but you should understand. It just sort of happened." He explained "If nothing else, I want him to have a better childhood then I ever did." He explained quietly, Daniel looked over "I do not know if I have mentioned it before. But I spent my entire childhood in an orphanage with a less-than-pleasant caretaker, myself." He explained.

"I knew you grew up in an orphanage, Ben mentioned it. Never knew about the caretaker." Daniel admitted, Ratchet nodded his head slowly "I think I better understand why you took him now." Ratchet nodded again, not wishing to speak on the matter much further "You're perfect for him, you know that?" The mech tilted his head "For all the time I've known Ben, he's struggled with his life. I think, given time, being in the care of someone who understands him as much as you will will help him immensely." He added.

"He's admitted to what Dexter has done to him. I believe that to be a start." Ratchet nodded in agreement "I just wish I could catch him in the act, all those other kids..." He shook his head slowly "I understand unless you see him doing it, his word is just words. But I still do not understand why you cannot do anything to stop him." He admitted.

"We have no real physical proof. We know he's abusing the kids, but bruises aren't enough to go by." Daniel shook his head slowly, he wrote some notes down onto a clipboard of paper calmly "But, more on point. You have passed the inspection. I will put through your paperwork today, and you will officially be given legal guardianship of Ben." Ratchet smiled, widely "Congratulations, I'm glad Ben's found as good a guardian as you. I can tell you're both going to be VERY happy." He explained.

"Thank you, Mr. Brooks. Your approval is appreciated." Ratchet stated calmly.

As Daniel left, Ratchet felt a sense of complete and utter relief. Ben was his, he'd have custody by the end of the day. Needless to say, that was relieving considering anything that Dexter may now try would be deemed illegal. Ben poked his head into the room slowly, looking up at Ratchet. "Looks like you're definitely stuck with me now." Ben noted, Ratchet turned back to him and smirked "Sure hope you know what you're doing big guy." He added.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you." Ratchet snorted quietly, looking down upon him "You're no longer spending your life indoors. And school starts late next month." That hit Ben hard, that was the thing he least looked forward to "Don't worry, you'll do fie." Ben looked after him, completely confused "Don't tell me I broke you already!" Ratchet noted, clearly freaking out.

That brought Ben out of his state of shock, and he laughed. The fact the medic thought he could break a human like a toy was, without a doubt, amusing. "Ratchet, you have a lot to learn about humans." He patted the side of the mech's leg calmly, chuckling "A whole lot." He added.