"please don't Will. please, I just want to keep you two safe. don't do this." Ironhide soothes gently.

"I'll do it Ironhide. please. I won't stay with out you." Reflect whines. Ironhide sighs softly.

"please, don't argue with me. you're safe in the medbay. you wouldn't be safe outside." Ironhide murmurs.

"I'm not fucking leaving you alone outside!" Reflect growls. Ironhide squeezes him gently.

"Will, don't do this, this is the safest thing for you and the sparkling." Ironhide murmurs.

"if you're not going to stay with me then I'm not staying in the fucking medbay. I'm not leaving my bondmate outside alone." Reflect growls. Ironhdie sighs, nodding and carrying him into the medbay.

"okay. okay." Ironihde mumbles.

"hey, just lay him on a berth, we're moving things around to set you guys up in the human side of the medbay. since Reflect managed to kick the human Government asses into gear, the room will be finished in a about a week, maybe not that long. we're hoping two or three days, if we follow plans the way they've been drawn." Ratchet says. Ironhide nods.

"I'll help where I can." Ironhide nods.

"I'll help." Reflect mumbles, sleepily.

"the only thing you're doing, is getting some rest." Ironhide says firmly, laying his bondmate on a berth gently. Reflect mumbles and curls up.

"don' just leave me. cuddle me." Reflect mumbles.

"let me help them clean a spot for us to stay a few days." Ironhide murmurs softly, rubbing his cheek gently.

"m'kay." Reflect murmurs.

"its not much to move, just need to move a berth from here into the human side." Ratchet says. "Wheeljacks still sore and hasn't felt better enough to help me." Ratchet frowns.

"we can move it together." Ironhide assures. Ratchet nods and together they pick the berth up and move it.

"where's Bumblebee?" Reflect mumbles.

"we managed to find the parts we needed and put him back together, so he's out of here." Ratchet grunts, carrying the berth.

"less talk, more brawn." Ironhide mutters. Reflect snores quietly, curled up on the berth.

they finally get the berth over where they want it and Ironhide glances at his bonded.

"I'm just going to leave him there for now." Ironhide mutters.

"he's fine right there. we'll move him if we need to." Ratchet assures gently.

"I'm going to run and get a cube and go let them know they can start on the room." Ironhide mutters. Ratchet nods.

"be careful. if he wakes up I'll send him your way." Ratchet assures. Ironhide nods and heads out of the medbay.

Reflect stays curled up, sleeping, for only about 30 minutes, before he shifts.

"Hide?" Reflect mutters.

"nope. he ran to help them work on the room." Ratchet says.

"can you help me up?" Reflect ask.

"sure kiddo." Reflect says, helping him up. Reflect winces, rubbing the sparkling bump.

"just a couple more weeks." Reflect mutters.

"is it really that bad?" Ratchet ask.

"huh? oh I meant until I got to shove the sparkling off on Ironhide to carry around for a few days." Reflect snorts. "so tired of carrying all this extra weight." he mutters. Ratchet chuckles softly.

"well get used to it. you and Nitro both wanted to be carried all the time." Ratchet snorts.

"in my defense, if someone wasn't holding me, I was running head first into things and hurting myself, plus I thought you needed it, I wasn't wrong." Reflect mutters. Ratchet sits back against the berth a little.

"why us...?" Ratchet ask.

"I assume because you guys had the most sparkling experience and needed me. I dunno." Reflect says. he frowns. "I don't remember dying. I remember... very little of the battle. I've seen it from Ironhides point of view and... unfortunately Sams, but I remember after death. I woke up in this... distorted version of the farm. the Primes were talking to me. they offered me the opporunity to 'continue my life' as they put it... but because my body was destroyed, they provided a new one. when I accepted they told me that things would be different. I'd be in a bit of pain, but not any harm. that I'd be handed back to you guys but since I had a new body, you guys wouldn't recognize me. I recognized you guys, like I'd seen you before, but I didn't remember everything. my memories came back as time went on. they told me I'd be safe and in good hands." Reflect explains. "and then, I woke up on that berth with you standing over me." he adds, looking over at Ratchet.

"I remember that, of course, you started babbling about a mile a minute." Ratchet snorts.

"I got excited. I was trying to tell you it was me... they didn't tell me I'd be a sparkling or that I'd be found by you and Wheeljack. they just told me I'd be safe. I didn't realize you couldn't understand me, but then I got to looking around and well, I realized I was in this body, but I wasn't a mech. I honestly had no idea what was happening, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. as time went on, I learned a lot. they never told me why they sent me to you and Jack, but then I learned about Nitro and kinda..." Reflect trails shrugging.

"put the pieces together." Ratchet says. Reflect nods.

"and the more I tried to tell you guys who I was, the more strained you and Wheeljacks relationship got, but when I stopped and accepted the fact I wasn't Will anymore and that you guys didn't need to know I was Will... things got better." Reflect says. "Ratchet, I never meant for any of that... I mean that, I really do. I thought they were going to throw me back to Ironhide, should've known there were strings attached." he snorts. Ratchet chuckles softly. its quiet a moment before Ratchet groans.

"so thats why you protested energon so hard." Ratchet mutters. Reflect nods, snorting.

"all I could think of was the time Jazz spilt it on Epps and burned his arm. I didn't want that anywhere near me, then Wheeljack spilt it on my head, when it didn't burn I gave it a shot. figured it was better than starving." Reflect snorts.

"he spilt it on your head? thats how he convinced you to drink it?" Ratchet huffs. Reflect nods.

"but ou said it was common with Allsparked sparklings." Reflect says, watching the medic.

"Allsparked sparklings are particular little ones. for their first few days or weeks, they only allow physical contact from the mechs they've accepted as caregivers. builds a bond with them. thats why you were so hostile to Optimus and Bumblebee. on Cybertron is wasn't uncommon for Allsparked sparklings to starve themselves, sometimes to death, even with sparkling grade present. no one is really sure why. many sparklings would eventually drink the energon, but, like I said, several would allow themselves to starve to death. medics attempted to prevent this but weren't always able to." Ratchet frowns. Reflect nods a little. "how were you so fast?" Ratchet ask. Reflect shrugs.

"I dunno. told Wheeljack you guys should've named me for my speed." Reflect snorts. Ratchet goes quiet a moment. "Ratchet?" Reflect asks, confused.

"you can always change your name. you know that right?" Ratchet ask. Reflect waves him off immediately.

"I've grown pretty fond of Reflect actually. besides, I'm Reflection Prime I can't just change my name now. seems rude." Reflect frowns. Ratchet snorts.

"you can always change your name. anytime." Ratchet says. Reflect smiles.

"I like my name." Reflect assures gently. Ratchet nods and glances over the medbay, before looking at Reflect.

"did..." Ratchet starts. Reflect looks over.

"hmm?" Reflect ask. Ratchet frowns and looks away, before looking back at Reflect.

"did you at least have a good three years of a sparkling hood?" Ratchet asks. Reflect nods immediately.

"you kidding?" Reflect chuckles. "it was better than my original childhood. did Ironhide ever tell you how bad that was?" Reflect ask. Ratchet shook his head.

"we figured it wasn't our business." Ratchet says.

"well... I stayed with you and Wheeljack for you guys... but also for selfish reasons. hold on to your plating, this is gonna be pretty nasty." Reflect frowns.

"I'm a medic, I've seen and heard things you could never imagine." Ratchet murmurs. Reflect nods a little.

"I was... I was abused pretty badly as a human child. my parents would scream and yell alot. at each other, at me, my brother. I grew up watching them hit each other. I think I was three the first time my dad put his hands on me. I was probably four when my mom started doing the same. I was always covered in bruises and had broken bones. I got removed from the house, briefly, but then I got put back. it got a hell of a lot worse after that. it wasn't just belt buckles and fists. it was beer bottles, glass plates, chairs, tools. whatever they could throw. I got busted with a brick once, almost took out my eye. my mother broke my fingers slamming the door on them when I came home late from school once.then when my brother was born... I was ignored for a bit. locked in my room, missing school. I was starved and dirty. wasn't allowed to use the bathroom, I was five so I'd pee on myself. I smelled. I didn't cry, wasn't allowed to cry. at least when I was locked in that room I wasn't getting beaten." Reflect murmurs. he shakes his head. "that lasted a few months, my mom snuck me a few slices of bread every now and then. I was real close to starving to death, but then they let me out one day. told me to watch my brother. I was only five. he was a few months old... he looked like such a happy fucking baby. I was always so mad, so jealous." Reflect growls.

"did you hurt him?" Ratchet ask. Reflects shoulders drop and he shakes his head.

"I wanted to so bad, but no, I couldn't do that. it wasn't his fault. none of the abuse was his fault... I had a lot of thoughts about hurting him." Reflect sighs. "I thought about it a lot. hitting him the way they hit me, starving him. giving him the same beatings I got... then sometimes I thought about ending him, so he wouldn't eventually go through the things I went through." Reflect murmurs.

"but you didn't kill him. right? you didn't hurt him?" Ratchet ask softly. Reflect looks away.

"well... I did... once on accident. I was trying to make a bottle. I had seen my mother boil the water on the stove so I tried it, but I bumped the pan and I spilled the water on both of us. we both got burned up pretty badly. once the burns healed, it got even worse, which I didn't know it could. my dad would beat me from sun up to sun down. my mother starved me. I had a water hose shoved into my mouth once. they turned it on and almost killed me that day. they wouldn't shut it off until the water started pouring from my nose. I puked up water for days after that.... my childhood was... horrendous. I got a little selfish when the Primes told me I could stay with you and Wheeljack for a little while longer." Reflect murmurs. he doesn't look at Ratchet. he can't. if he looks over at the medic he's going to break down, he just can't.

everything makes since to Ratchet though. the way Will used to flinch sometimes when soldiers or bots yelled at each other. the way Reflect always flinched and cried when he and Wheeljack fought. the way the sparkling flinched sometimes when someone moved too fast. how scared Reflect had been when Optimus made him confront the human soldiers that had beaten the sparkling. the medic shifts, unsure what to say. he knows the mech beside him is struggling to keep himself together.

"I'm... I'm glad you got a second chance... a chance to actually be a sparkling, or baby as humans call them." Ratchet says softly. Reflect shakes his head.

"I wasn't in control and it felt like I was using you guys." Reflect murmurs. "but it was... its was really nice. I really appreciated it." Reflect adds. he snorts a little. "by the way, I was the one who put the dye in your solvent in the wash racks. Wheeljack was my intended target and you were collateral damage. sorry. he kept hitting my head on the damn dryer and I got angry." Reflect says. Ratchet laughs.

"I was orange because of you! I blamed the twins for that!" Ratchet chuckles. Reflect laughs a little.

"I stole their dye." Reflect says. he goes quiet again for a few minutes, before heaving a sigh. "I enjoyed those three years Ratchet. I really did, more than you guys could ever know. with you guys I didn't worry I was going to starve or get beaten. the couple times someone did hurt me you guys almost killed them for it... I was nice. it was different." Reflect chokes softly. he rubs at his face. "fuck. sorry." Reflect mumbles.

"Jack, drop whatever you're doing and come here."

"huh?"

"don't ask any fucking questions. get in the medbay now."

"on my way."

Ratchet turns to the mech and gently pulls him close, hugging him to his chestplates.

"come here kid." Ratchet murmurs softly. Reflect cuddles to him, hugging him as tight as he can. Reflect doesn't even bother trying to wipe at his face. he appreciative that they took care of him, that they cared for him in more ways than one.

Ratchet looks up when Wheeljack walks in, looking confused. the medic doesn't say anything just motions the inventor over. Wheeljack looks more confused, but walks over and hugs them both.

"what the hell is going on Ratchet? what happened?"

"I'll tell you later, just hug him for now. Ironhides busy and he needs love."

"okay."

"don't squish the sparkling." Reflect mumbles. he's ignored, his adoptive caretakers not caring if the sparkling is a little squished. they hugs the mech for a little while, until he shifts. Reflect winces and pulls back, rubbing his back a little. "okay. thanks. you guys are crowding now. I don't want to snap at you guys." Reflect says.

"don't worry about snapping at us kid. its okay." Ratchet murmurs softly. "go get you a cube alright?" Ratchet ask. Reflect nods a littl an dheads out of the medbay. Wheeljack immediately turns to Ratchet.

"talk." the inventor orders.

Reflect heads down the hall way quietly.

are you alright WIll?

m'fine sorry. just had to stop for a random break down. you know how it is. I just cry randomly sometimes.

okay. I love you. I'm helping them work on the sparklings room if you need me just tell me.

okay, love you too Hide.

Reflect grabs himself a cube from the rec room and sighs, heading outside. its beautiful outside. the sun is shining.

"hey Reflect!" Sam shouts, waving. Reflect waves back at him, walking closer to him. Cade adn Tessa are nearby.

"hey guys." Reflect waves.

"Grimlock don't you dare!" Cade growls in warning. Reflect looks confused.

"who the fuck is Grimlock?" Reflect asks. he pauses. he can feel someone standing behind him. Reflect tenses up.

"don't freak out. don't freak out." Sam says gently.

"what are you doing?" Tessa asks, eye brow raised.

"Reflects never met them." Sam says.

"oh shit." Tessa says, stepping back. Reflect turns around slowly. he swollows, optics slowly dragging up the large metal being standing over him. when he finally gets to the top of the being, its staring down at him. a giant, 100 foot plus tall dinosaur. immediately a scream of terror escapes his vocal processor, backing away from the bot, his cube slipping from his grasp and shattering on the ground. the giant beast lets out a loud roar, fire shooting from its mouth, before bending down to get a better look at Reflect.

IRONHIDE!!!!

he scrambles away from the dinosaur, tripping and landing on his aft.

"easy! easy! he won't hurt you it's just Grimlock!" Cade calls.

"ITS A FUCKING DINOSAUR!" Reflect shrieks. "IRONHIDE!" Reflect screams when Grimlock leans over him.

"get away from him before I blow your ass to Cybertron you fraggin dino! back up! get away from my fucking bondmate before I beat your ass! don't fucking touch him! move it! get away from him! I don't care what kind of high and mighty fragging warriers you are! no one fucking messes with my damn bondmate or sparkling!" Ironhide growls, running over to them. Grimlock looks confused, stepping back away from Reflect. "get the fuck away from him! get lost damn it! don't you dare touch him!" Ironhide snaps, swatting at the oversized Dino.

"easy big guy, back it up. back it up." Cade says, motioning for Grimlock to move back some. "Grimlock, go play with the other Dinobots." Cade says. he turns to Ironhide and glares at him. "don't threaten the Dinobots!" Cade growls. Reflect looks at the bot, horrified, before looking at Ironhide.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!? WHAT IS THAT!? IRONHIDE THATS A FUCKING DINOSAUR! THERE'S A DINOSAUR ON THE BASE!" Reflect shrieks. Ironhide helps him up gently off the ground, hugging him tightly to his chest.

"shhhhh. take it easy. he's not going to hurt you. its okay. Grimlock didn't mean to startle you." Ironhide soothes softly.

"what the fuck is a Grimlock?!" Reflect asks.

"Grimlock is a Dinobot, the leader of the Dinobots. there's four of them. Grimlock, Strafe, Scorn, and Snarl." Ironhide murmurs softly, gently rubbing his back. "just relax, take a moment to calm down. its okay. its alright." Ironhide says softly, kissing the mechs head gently.

"where the fuck did those things came from?" Reflect asks. the smaller is shaking slightly against him. this had done more than just startle him, this had scared the absolute fuck out of him!

"don't worry about that right now. thats not important right now. right now, you need to calm down a little. I will explain everything the best I can." Ironhide murmurs.

"what is going on out here?" Optimus frowns, walking out and over to them.

"uh, I didn't realize the Dinobots were here... Reflects never met them." Ironhide frowns.

"I thought that fucking thing was going to kill me." Reflect says, hugging Ironhide tighter.

"oh my apologies Reflect. I forgot you hadn't met them yet... they're usually at Cades scrape yard, but they've been getting in trouble out there and needed more space to.... roam." Optimus frowns, walking over to them. "are you alright?" Optimus ask, watching them.

"I'll let you know later when I stop shaking." Reflect mumbles, clinging to Ironhide. Ironhide frowns and rests his chin gently on Reflects head.

"a warning they would be on base would be nice next time." Ironhide grumbles.

"I will make sure you and Reflect are both alerted of their presence next time." Optimus assures gently.

"thats enough outside for me today. I'm going back in." Reflect says.

"probably for the best. come on." Ironhide says, carefully leading him back into the base.

"sorry big rig, I forgot he never met them." Cade frowns, looking up at Optimus. Optimus frowns and shakes his head.

"yeah, Ratchet forbid it." Sam mumbles.

"the Dinobots are very large and dangerous warriers Samuel. Ratchet was Reflects guardian and he did not think it was safe to introduce a sparkling to four large beasts such as the Dinobots." Optimus says. "I forgot as well, but I will keep in mind that he apparently not a fan of them." Optimus adds thoughtfully. Cade nods.

"give him time, he'll get used to them." Cade says. "I can't keep taking them back to the yard, they're getting in too much trouble out there." Cade adds. Optimus nods.

"understood, we will have to find something to do with our friends, for now they will be alright out here." Optimus assures.

Ironhide helps Reflect into the base and straight to the rec room. he helps the mech lower himself onto the couch, then grabs him a new cube.

"we could hear Reflect shrieking down in the medbay, what happened? is he alright?"

"he's fine Wheeljack. Grimlock just startled the hell out of him. no one told him about the Dinobots and I didn't know they were here or I would've stopped him from going outside.'

"Dinobots?! is he okay!? did they step on him or anything!? are he and the sparkling alright?"

"stop fucking panicking. shut the hell up. he's just fine. it just scared him."

"have you gotten him calmed down?"

"I'm working on it. he'll be alright."

Ironhide crouches down gently infront of his bonded, resting a servo on his knee gently.

"hey, you alright? I didn't know the Dinobots were here. I would've warned you had I known." Ironhide murmurs softly.

"what the fuck are those things Ironhide?" Reflect asks, watching him.

"legendary warriers. but don't worry about them. they're scared of me. I'll beat any of their asses if they get too close to you, but they might be drawn to you a little. they're drawn to Optimus because he's a Prime, a knight." Ironhide explains. Reflect nods a little, still looking utterly confused. he's still shaking a little, not trembling like he'd been. "are you alright?" Ironhide ask softly.

"scared the hell out of me. that thing blew fire at me!" Reflect says.

"yeah, Grimlock does that. its okay. I promise. he won't hurt you. I wouldn't let that happen." Ironhide soothes gently. Reflect pulls Ironhide to him, cuddling up to his bondeds chest. Ironhide wraps his arms around him gently, kissing his head. "I know. you're still pretty shaken up, but it's alright." Ironhide assures gently. Reflect cuddles closer to him. "do you want to go back to the medbay or are you alright here?" Ironhide ask softly.

"you're not leaving me. you're staying here with me." Reflect mumbles.

"alright, thats fine, I'll lay with you on the couch, but how about we use our holoforms, yeah? we'll go down to the medbay and use our holoforms in the rec room." Ironhide murmurs softly. Reflect nods at him a little.

"okay." Reflect mumbles. Ironhide smiles, helping him up gently.

they curl up in the medbay and activate their holoforms, curling on on the couch in the human rec room.

"sit here okay? I'll go get a blanket so you don't get cold and we can cuddle up, alright?" Ironhide ask. Reflect nods cuddling into the couch. Ironhide walks off leaving him there to go fetch a warm blanket.

"hey, you okay?" Sam asks, walking over. Reflect looks at him.

"I think so, just... terrified the fuck out of me..." Reflect mumbles. Sam nods a little, smiling at him.

"yeah... I almost shit myself the first time I met them... Grimlock is fucking terrifying." Sam snorts.

"yeah no shit. lucky I'm not human, probably would've had the sparkling out there if I fucking was." Reflect mumbles. Sam laughs a little.

"yeah I guess thats a good thing. hey where's Hide?" Sam asks.

"he's running to get me a blanket so we can curl up and cuddle for a bit on the couch." Reflect mumbles, curling up more.

"don't curl up so much, you're going to hurt you back." Sam says.

"I'll be fine." Reflect assures. Sam nods a little.

"beat it kid, leave him alone." Ironhide says, walking over. Sam looks over, smiling at Ironhide.

"just checking on him." Sam assures gently. "see you later Reflect." Sam waves, walking off. Ironhide throws the blanket over his bonded and curls up with him on the couch, hugging him to his chest tightly.