mbv, The /Ark/, News of New Beginnings Part 2
continued from here.
Meanwhile
Rachel: //Emi, if you don't answer me I swear I'm coming down there and bringing Seamus along.//
Emi: *no answer*
Rachel: //Seamus, where are you?//
Seamus: //I didn't do it!//
Rachel: //I'm just trying to find you, doofus.//
Seamus: //...Oh. Well... I'm kinda stuck...//
Rachel: //Okay, never mind.// *calls Bea and tells her about the bitty sleeping with Jack, and then PINpoints to Patrick and Emilia's house*
Patrick's house: *Quiet, aside from the normal house sounds*
Rachel: *scans for life signs, one hand over her chest, the other holding the scanner*
Patrick and Emilia: *in the master bedroom, and both appear to be in stasis*
Rachel: *frowns and goes to investigate this, taking the precaution as she does so to activate the scanner's anti-infection shield*
Patrick: *in deep stasis, one hand on his chest, and the other holding Emi's hand*
Emi: *snuggled close to Patrick, has her link cable plugged into her wordmate's wrist port, which may be why she's in stasis as well*
Rachel: *deep frown as she runs the scanner over Patrick's chest*
Patrick: *systems running at low power, but the Matrix of Leadership is very active... Seems someone's Matrix-spelunking again*
Rachel: *face. Palm* Chief, when you wake up I'm kicking your aft. And then I'll get Prowl's when he comes out of the honeymoon. You two have the lousiest slagging timing...
Emi: *very soft sound, eyelids flutter a bit*
Rachel: *sighs and calls for Raj* //I need a hand moving two derps back to the Ark. Are you available?//
Raj: //If it's Seamus and Quinn, I'm not. Those two can dig themselves out of the snow... What are your coordinates?//
Rachel: //The Chief's bedroom.// *sends exact ones*
Raj: //...// *Is there a few moments later*
Rachel: I can get Emmy. But we have to make sure we don't break their link when we lift and move them. *going to Emelia's side of the bed*
Raj: *Will move to carefully lift Patrick* Did they finally bond?
Rachel: Nope. *lifts Emilia* He's busy talking to the old Primes. Again. *jerks her head toward the end of the bed and then sidles sideways toward it*
Raj: *Moving with her, being mindful of the cable that connects the couple* ... He's done this before?
Rachel: Yup. *meets him at the end of the bed and moves close* Can you grab my wrists?
Raj: *Carefully reaches for her wrists* How does doing that affect him, beside the obvious?
Rachel: I don't know. Brace yourself.
Raj: *Braces himself*
Rachel: *brings everyone back to the main ward and then backs toward the nearest table*
Bea: *jumping up and coming to help*
Raj: *Will help get the linked couple situated on the table*
Emi: *turns her head just slightly as she's set on the table*
Rachel: Shhh, Emi. *makes sure they're steady, and then grabs the next table and pushes it against theirs so they have more room* Bea... thanks, sweetheart. *takes the blanket the black-haired girl brought her and uses it to cover the couple* Thanks, Raj. Grab some crackers if you want. Russ decided to join the 'Yay! AWOL!' list.
Raj: *nod* Serenity was getting him some soup earlier....
Rachel: *sighs, then looks over toward where two big dark eyes are peeking around the corner of the hall at her* Oh, Usagi. ~Nobody brought you any lunch, did they?~
Usagi: *little head shake* *softly and shyly* ~The sushi cats are also hungry.~
Raj: *puzzled expression, doesn't understand what's being said*
Rachel: *reassures the little girl, and then calls Blitzwing, only to find that the old cop is hard at work on someone's roof back in Japan* *bit of a frown* Raj, can you grab some good food for a little girl while I make formula for newborn kittens?
Raj: *Nods and goes to do so* *Will return with a tray of crustless peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks, celery sticks, and freshly made fruit salad, with apple wedges cut to look like bunnies*
Rachel: *squints at it* ...Is that where Lisa is?
Raj: *nods* And Melissa as well...
Rachel: *chuckles and nods toward the little peeker*
Raj: *Will bring the tray to Usagi, clicking gently as he moves*
Usagi: *peeks at him and clicks back slowly and carefully*
Raj: *Gently* Where would you like me to bring the tray?
Usagi: *nearly invisible little brows draw together as she concentrates on his words* Bring tray? *offers to take it*
Rachel: *glances over and sends Raj Japanese*
Raj: *acknowledges and installs the language pack before he carefully repeats his offer of assistance
Usagi: *brows up* ~This small one can carry it herself, Uncle. You do not need to trouble yourself.~
Raj: ~It is no trouble, Miss Bunny.~
Usagi: *hesitates and then gives a tiny bow* ~Please wait for a moment.~ *turns and runs to Kriti's room* ~Kriti-chan, a strange man wants to bring my lunch. Will he frighten you?~
Kriti: *looks up from feeding the kittens* ~Who is he?~
Usagi: ~I think I heard Auntie Rachel call him 'Raj', but I do not know anything else.~
Kriti: *Purses her lips a bit, considering* ~If Auntie knows him....~
Usagi: ~Alright.~ *gives her shy little smile and turns to run back to Raj* ~Please forgive this small one for making you wait, Uncle.~
Raj: ~That is alright. Lead the way.~ *Gentle smile*
Usagi: *tiny bob of a bow and then she turns to do so, bringing him down the hall, past Jack's room, and through the open door of Kriti's room. Scoots over and turns the table so that it's easy for him to reach*
Raj: *Will follow and carefully set the tray on the table*
Kriti: *Watching the stranger, even as she continues to take care of the kittens*
Usagi: *softly and demurely* ~Thank you, Uncle Raj.~
Raj: ~You are very welcome, Miss Bunny.~ *Nods to both of the girls, before heading out*
Usagi: *watches him go, and then moves to climb up on the bed beside her friend and look at the food she was brought* *confusion* ~I... do not know what any of this is, Kriti-chan.~
Kriti: *looks to see what was brought, will name off the items and explain what she knows about each one*
Usagi: ~How are they eaten?~ *gentle touch for the grey kitten as he wakes and realizes he doesn't know where his brother is* Shhh, kitten. Not cry.
Kriti: *will explain that as well, before she carefully moves the brown kitten so the grey one will know where his brother is* *Gentle clicks*
kitten: *stops crying and looks for milk on brother*
Usagi: *gets his bottle and offers it, making soft clicks as she does*
Kriti: *clickclickclickclick*
Usagi: *leans against her. Will make sure that the kittens are cared for before she eats herself*
Rachel: *can hear the clicking down there. It makes her smile, though the rest of the day is kind of getting her down*
Patrick: *Shifts position slightly* Nnn...
Emi: *moves, opening her eyes* ...Wha...?
Rachel: *looks back down at them, and then pokes Patrick in the ribs with a finger. Isn't gentle*
Patrick: *awake!* *soft groan as he moves to cover his eyes with his arm*
Emi: *reaching to unplug her cable from Patrick's wrist*
Rachel: Welcome back to the land of the wakeful, Chief. You're on my slag list. *settles in the rocking chair*
Patrick: *barely peeking* It's not because of the truck again, is it?
Rachel: It's because you and Prowl decided to go AWOL and leave me in command on the same day Russ got sick and left me in charge here. Oh, and today is the day that the ET Ambassador arrived.
Patrick: *Lays his head back and lets out a low, drawn-out curse*
Rachel: *quietly* And they brought the Protectobots home this morning before dawn.
Patrick: *Lips thin, small nod*
Rachel: *tips her head back and bites her lip. Is NOT going to cry and slag Missy off*
Jack: *awake, and just pinged your comm to ask whether the blue plaster cookies are alright to give to Hopesong, Rachel*
Rachel: *sadness fades into a grin* //Yes. Just make sure they're powdered before you give them to her, alright, sport?//
Jack: *Cheerily* //Gotcha.//
Patrick: *Quietly* I take it Jack said something amusing?
Rachel: *softly, as she lowers her head and looks at him* He's feeding Hopesong.
Patrick: *small nod, a ghost of a smile coming to his face*
Rachel: *still soft* She's beautiful. Just like them.
Patrick: *Quietly* Congratulations...
Rachel: *slight nod as she closes her eyes* Thanks. So what did you find out?
Patrick: *Quietly* Megatron's forces are thinning out.... In-fighting, mostly.... *Even quieter* Deadlock... has left Cybertron....
Rachel: *surprised that the youngest Decepticon is still alive* Yeah, well, they attacked the IGP when the JDs offered them aid, too.
Patrick: ... *Quiet mutter of "idiots"*
Rachel: Oh, and we've got a Spacecop on base. *mouth quirks at once corner* Anything else we need to know?
Patrick: .... *looks to Emi, both brows up when he realizes she's asleep again*
Rachel: *poke a Chief*
Patrick: *moving to try and sit up* *concerned* Why is Emi asleep?
Rachel: *gets the scanner and stands up so she can walk around the table and see*
Emi: *pushed herself too hard by trying to keep Patrick anchored*
Rachel: She's just tired. She'll be okay.
Justice: *brushes against Patrick*
Patrick: *turns his head to look*
Justice: -The visitor has a letter for you. I heard him tell the Gran'ma lady.- *feels more cheerful than usual, as though joy is bubbling past his usual grave mien*
Patrick: -Where... Which grandmother?-
Justice: -Raoul and Beau's.- *but that isn't what's making him so happy...*
Patrick: -Did something happen?-
Justice: *pause* -Yes, but it's not time to tell you about that yet.-
Patrick: -...Worse than Emi when she's got a surprise...- *said fondly*
Justice: *affection* -The letter and the visitors are important now, I think, Dad.-
Patrick: -Alright.... Let's see if Rachel will let me out of here or not...- *moves to try and get off the table*
Rachel: *busy fussing over the blanket on Emi and ignoring him*
Patrick: *Will also try to call Prowl, now that he's on his feet*
Rachel: *hears that ping* Like I said. Prowl's AWOL.
Patrick: .... *Raised brow* How AWOL are we talking about?
Rachel: *softly sings the wedding march*
Patrick: ... I thought they were planning on waiting....
Rachel: I found them locked in a broom closet, with Marcia guarding the door.
Patrick: .... *Facepalm*
Rachel: Though Prowl did try to get up to save Javan from Irene when she went into labor.
Patrick: ... How are Irene and Javan, and how is their little one?
Rachel: Parents and little Stella Steelsong Del Sol are all going to be just fine after they've rested.
Patrick: *Ducks his head a bit and thanks any higher power who may be listening*
Rachel: *pat pats him and goes to help Jack sit up*
Patrick: *will move to head for the door, after gently kissing Emi's forehead*
Justice: *has ducked into Patrick's shell and is riding as he sometimes does* -They're at Raoul and Beau's house.-
Patrick: -I figured...- *Is still concerned about Emi, but will focus on the priority things right now*
Justice: -Do you want me to stay with Mom?- *protective youngling*
Patrick: -Rachel is there... and I think she'll be moving Jack out to the main part of the ward....- *Wants to know what Justice mentioned earlier*
Justice: *there's his Megatron stubbornness* -It's not time yet, Dad.-
Patrick: *Soft chuckle as he heads for the lift*
Justice: *sparkles with a chuckle of his own, and then thinks of what Soli was doing when he left the creche to come find Patrick*
Patrick: *Curious about that now*
Justice: *shows her crawling around the creche room, tiny hands chasing after the soft blue gummi candies that Bert brought from the Nexus*
Patrick: *soft 'heh'*
Justice: *is amused at how the tiny frilly skirt on her romper moves as she crawls*
Patrick: -Emi put that outfit on her....-
Justice: -If we never tell her how cute her little skidplate looked all covered with flowers and surrounded by frills, we will be safe.-
Patrick: *Snerk, pushes the right button for the family quarters*
Justice: -Oh, and all the Banana Nut Cheerios are gone.-
Patrick: -Frenzy, Rumble, and Rewind?-
Justice: -And Laserbeak. She was stealing them.-
Patrick: *Facepalm*
Justice: *shows him the flailing of the other three recorders as their purloined dainties were snatched from them*
Patrick: *snickers. Then he realizes there's no commentary from the peanut gallery*
Justice: -Peanut gallery?-
Patrick: -Blaster or Teletraan... usually, by now, one or the other will have chimed in..-
Justice: -Oh. They're laughing at the pile up on the front lawn.-
Patrick: -... pile?-
Justice: -Yes, the Aerialbots were exercising with the Seekers and Strafe.-
Patrick: -Ah... I see.- *chuckles and heads down the hall once the lift stops*
Justice: *darts ahead and gets into the bell circuitry so that it will ring*
Beau: *is the one who answers the door when Patrick gets there, then he's blinking a bit and moving aside to let the older man in* *is soooo not used to seeing Patrick sans glasses*
Denver: *conked out on the couch. She tried to stay awake, she really did... but some things can't be helped, it seems*
George: *looks up from the picture album he's reading and then gives Hattie a quizzical glance where his friend is sitting with a sleeping Trevor leaning against her*
Hattie: *snort* 'Bout tahm y'u showed up, Mr. Oberson.
George: *sets the book aside and stands respectfully* Sir.
Patrick: I apologize for my tardiness...
George: Well, it was probably something important. *good-natured smile*
Patrick: *moves to offer his hand in a handshake* Thank you for coming to Earth...
George: *smile becomes a grin as he gives Patrick's hand a strong grip* Thanks for giving me a reason to come here to the Ark.
Patrick: *sincerely* You are welcome here any time.
George: *can't help it, glances at Hattie to see if she's going to have a say about that*
Hattie: *soft chuckle*
George: *grins and looks back to Patrick* Thank you, sir. *and then he's reaching into a pocket on his tunic to pull out a folded piece of paper closed with a red wax seal* This is a reply to a letter that Col. Franklin sent to Traal.
Patrick: *attention sharpens. He recognizes that planet's name*
George: *offers him the letter, which bears a soft scent of cinnamon*
Patrick: *Accepts the letter and very carefully opens it without destroying the seal* *Surprised by the cinnamon scent*
letter: *is in Seaspray's flowing, graceful writing and says that the water operative and his wife and youngest daughter are planning to come to Earth if the plan is alright with Optimus and Col. Franklin*
Patrick: *eyes sparkling as he politely excuses himself and moves to hurry back to the med ward to show Rachel the letter*
George: o.0 *glances over at the sleeping Nijika, and then settles back in his seat and picks up the photo album again*
Med ward
Rachel: *sluffing off! Laying by mate and new baby*
Patrick: *enters the med ward and makes a beeline for Rachel. Will put the letter in front of her face and grin*
Rachel: o.0 *reads* 0_0 Eeeeee!
Hopesong: *blinks big eyes at Mama and wonders what the heck that was about*
Jack: *Bhuhwhutnow?* *blink blink*
Rachel: *reads him the letter, then hugs him and baby*
Jack: *Grinning like a loon now!*
Patrick: I'm going to see how soon we can get a reply sent with safe landing coordinates. *Gone!*
Rachel: *laughing softly, and then turns her head slightly* Do you hear that, 'Aid and Beachy? Seaspray's coming home. *closes her eyes as she feels the soft brush of contentment and farewell, and then sighs and lays her head down as she feels the two gentle presences fade away*
((co-written with random_xtras))
Meanwhile
Rachel: //Emi, if you don't answer me I swear I'm coming down there and bringing Seamus along.//
Emi: *no answer*
Rachel: //Seamus, where are you?//
Seamus: //I didn't do it!//
Rachel: //I'm just trying to find you, doofus.//
Seamus: //...Oh. Well... I'm kinda stuck...//
Rachel: //Okay, never mind.// *calls Bea and tells her about the bitty sleeping with Jack, and then PINpoints to Patrick and Emilia's house*
Patrick's house: *Quiet, aside from the normal house sounds*
Rachel: *scans for life signs, one hand over her chest, the other holding the scanner*
Patrick and Emilia: *in the master bedroom, and both appear to be in stasis*
Rachel: *frowns and goes to investigate this, taking the precaution as she does so to activate the scanner's anti-infection shield*
Patrick: *in deep stasis, one hand on his chest, and the other holding Emi's hand*
Emi: *snuggled close to Patrick, has her link cable plugged into her wordmate's wrist port, which may be why she's in stasis as well*
Rachel: *deep frown as she runs the scanner over Patrick's chest*
Patrick: *systems running at low power, but the Matrix of Leadership is very active... Seems someone's Matrix-spelunking again*
Rachel: *face. Palm* Chief, when you wake up I'm kicking your aft. And then I'll get Prowl's when he comes out of the honeymoon. You two have the lousiest slagging timing...
Emi: *very soft sound, eyelids flutter a bit*
Rachel: *sighs and calls for Raj* //I need a hand moving two derps back to the Ark. Are you available?//
Raj: //If it's Seamus and Quinn, I'm not. Those two can dig themselves out of the snow... What are your coordinates?//
Rachel: //The Chief's bedroom.// *sends exact ones*
Raj: //...// *Is there a few moments later*
Rachel: I can get Emmy. But we have to make sure we don't break their link when we lift and move them. *going to Emelia's side of the bed*
Raj: *Will move to carefully lift Patrick* Did they finally bond?
Rachel: Nope. *lifts Emilia* He's busy talking to the old Primes. Again. *jerks her head toward the end of the bed and then sidles sideways toward it*
Raj: *Moving with her, being mindful of the cable that connects the couple* ... He's done this before?
Rachel: Yup. *meets him at the end of the bed and moves close* Can you grab my wrists?
Raj: *Carefully reaches for her wrists* How does doing that affect him, beside the obvious?
Rachel: I don't know. Brace yourself.
Raj: *Braces himself*
Rachel: *brings everyone back to the main ward and then backs toward the nearest table*
Bea: *jumping up and coming to help*
Raj: *Will help get the linked couple situated on the table*
Emi: *turns her head just slightly as she's set on the table*
Rachel: Shhh, Emi. *makes sure they're steady, and then grabs the next table and pushes it against theirs so they have more room* Bea... thanks, sweetheart. *takes the blanket the black-haired girl brought her and uses it to cover the couple* Thanks, Raj. Grab some crackers if you want. Russ decided to join the 'Yay! AWOL!' list.
Raj: *nod* Serenity was getting him some soup earlier....
Rachel: *sighs, then looks over toward where two big dark eyes are peeking around the corner of the hall at her* Oh, Usagi. ~Nobody brought you any lunch, did they?~
Usagi: *little head shake* *softly and shyly* ~The sushi cats are also hungry.~
Raj: *puzzled expression, doesn't understand what's being said*
Rachel: *reassures the little girl, and then calls Blitzwing, only to find that the old cop is hard at work on someone's roof back in Japan* *bit of a frown* Raj, can you grab some good food for a little girl while I make formula for newborn kittens?
Raj: *Nods and goes to do so* *Will return with a tray of crustless peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks, celery sticks, and freshly made fruit salad, with apple wedges cut to look like bunnies*
Rachel: *squints at it* ...Is that where Lisa is?
Raj: *nods* And Melissa as well...
Rachel: *chuckles and nods toward the little peeker*
Raj: *Will bring the tray to Usagi, clicking gently as he moves*
Usagi: *peeks at him and clicks back slowly and carefully*
Raj: *Gently* Where would you like me to bring the tray?
Usagi: *nearly invisible little brows draw together as she concentrates on his words* Bring tray? *offers to take it*
Rachel: *glances over and sends Raj Japanese*
Raj: *acknowledges and installs the language pack before he carefully repeats his offer of assistance
Usagi: *brows up* ~This small one can carry it herself, Uncle. You do not need to trouble yourself.~
Raj: ~It is no trouble, Miss Bunny.~
Usagi: *hesitates and then gives a tiny bow* ~Please wait for a moment.~ *turns and runs to Kriti's room* ~Kriti-chan, a strange man wants to bring my lunch. Will he frighten you?~
Kriti: *looks up from feeding the kittens* ~Who is he?~
Usagi: ~I think I heard Auntie Rachel call him 'Raj', but I do not know anything else.~
Kriti: *Purses her lips a bit, considering* ~If Auntie knows him....~
Usagi: ~Alright.~ *gives her shy little smile and turns to run back to Raj* ~Please forgive this small one for making you wait, Uncle.~
Raj: ~That is alright. Lead the way.~ *Gentle smile*
Usagi: *tiny bob of a bow and then she turns to do so, bringing him down the hall, past Jack's room, and through the open door of Kriti's room. Scoots over and turns the table so that it's easy for him to reach*
Raj: *Will follow and carefully set the tray on the table*
Kriti: *Watching the stranger, even as she continues to take care of the kittens*
Usagi: *softly and demurely* ~Thank you, Uncle Raj.~
Raj: ~You are very welcome, Miss Bunny.~ *Nods to both of the girls, before heading out*
Usagi: *watches him go, and then moves to climb up on the bed beside her friend and look at the food she was brought* *confusion* ~I... do not know what any of this is, Kriti-chan.~
Kriti: *looks to see what was brought, will name off the items and explain what she knows about each one*
Usagi: ~How are they eaten?~ *gentle touch for the grey kitten as he wakes and realizes he doesn't know where his brother is* Shhh, kitten. Not cry.
Kriti: *will explain that as well, before she carefully moves the brown kitten so the grey one will know where his brother is* *Gentle clicks*
kitten: *stops crying and looks for milk on brother*
Usagi: *gets his bottle and offers it, making soft clicks as she does*
Kriti: *clickclickclickclick*
Usagi: *leans against her. Will make sure that the kittens are cared for before she eats herself*
Rachel: *can hear the clicking down there. It makes her smile, though the rest of the day is kind of getting her down*
Patrick: *Shifts position slightly* Nnn...
Emi: *moves, opening her eyes* ...Wha...?
Rachel: *looks back down at them, and then pokes Patrick in the ribs with a finger. Isn't gentle*
Patrick: *awake!* *soft groan as he moves to cover his eyes with his arm*
Emi: *reaching to unplug her cable from Patrick's wrist*
Rachel: Welcome back to the land of the wakeful, Chief. You're on my slag list. *settles in the rocking chair*
Patrick: *barely peeking* It's not because of the truck again, is it?
Rachel: It's because you and Prowl decided to go AWOL and leave me in command on the same day Russ got sick and left me in charge here. Oh, and today is the day that the ET Ambassador arrived.
Patrick: *Lays his head back and lets out a low, drawn-out curse*
Rachel: *quietly* And they brought the Protectobots home this morning before dawn.
Patrick: *Lips thin, small nod*
Rachel: *tips her head back and bites her lip. Is NOT going to cry and slag Missy off*
Jack: *awake, and just pinged your comm to ask whether the blue plaster cookies are alright to give to Hopesong, Rachel*
Rachel: *sadness fades into a grin* //Yes. Just make sure they're powdered before you give them to her, alright, sport?//
Jack: *Cheerily* //Gotcha.//
Patrick: *Quietly* I take it Jack said something amusing?
Rachel: *softly, as she lowers her head and looks at him* He's feeding Hopesong.
Patrick: *small nod, a ghost of a smile coming to his face*
Rachel: *still soft* She's beautiful. Just like them.
Patrick: *Quietly* Congratulations...
Rachel: *slight nod as she closes her eyes* Thanks. So what did you find out?
Patrick: *Quietly* Megatron's forces are thinning out.... In-fighting, mostly.... *Even quieter* Deadlock... has left Cybertron....
Rachel: *surprised that the youngest Decepticon is still alive* Yeah, well, they attacked the IGP when the JDs offered them aid, too.
Patrick: ... *Quiet mutter of "idiots"*
Rachel: Oh, and we've got a Spacecop on base. *mouth quirks at once corner* Anything else we need to know?
Patrick: .... *looks to Emi, both brows up when he realizes she's asleep again*
Rachel: *poke a Chief*
Patrick: *moving to try and sit up* *concerned* Why is Emi asleep?
Rachel: *gets the scanner and stands up so she can walk around the table and see*
Emi: *pushed herself too hard by trying to keep Patrick anchored*
Rachel: She's just tired. She'll be okay.
Justice: *brushes against Patrick*
Patrick: *turns his head to look*
Justice: -The visitor has a letter for you. I heard him tell the Gran'ma lady.- *feels more cheerful than usual, as though joy is bubbling past his usual grave mien*
Patrick: -Where... Which grandmother?-
Justice: -Raoul and Beau's.- *but that isn't what's making him so happy...*
Patrick: -Did something happen?-
Justice: *pause* -Yes, but it's not time to tell you about that yet.-
Patrick: -...Worse than Emi when she's got a surprise...- *said fondly*
Justice: *affection* -The letter and the visitors are important now, I think, Dad.-
Patrick: -Alright.... Let's see if Rachel will let me out of here or not...- *moves to try and get off the table*
Rachel: *busy fussing over the blanket on Emi and ignoring him*
Patrick: *Will also try to call Prowl, now that he's on his feet*
Rachel: *hears that ping* Like I said. Prowl's AWOL.
Patrick: .... *Raised brow* How AWOL are we talking about?
Rachel: *softly sings the wedding march*
Patrick: ... I thought they were planning on waiting....
Rachel: I found them locked in a broom closet, with Marcia guarding the door.
Patrick: .... *Facepalm*
Rachel: Though Prowl did try to get up to save Javan from Irene when she went into labor.
Patrick: ... How are Irene and Javan, and how is their little one?
Rachel: Parents and little Stella Steelsong Del Sol are all going to be just fine after they've rested.
Patrick: *Ducks his head a bit and thanks any higher power who may be listening*
Rachel: *pat pats him and goes to help Jack sit up*
Patrick: *will move to head for the door, after gently kissing Emi's forehead*
Justice: *has ducked into Patrick's shell and is riding as he sometimes does* -They're at Raoul and Beau's house.-
Patrick: -I figured...- *Is still concerned about Emi, but will focus on the priority things right now*
Justice: -Do you want me to stay with Mom?- *protective youngling*
Patrick: -Rachel is there... and I think she'll be moving Jack out to the main part of the ward....- *Wants to know what Justice mentioned earlier*
Justice: *there's his Megatron stubbornness* -It's not time yet, Dad.-
Patrick: *Soft chuckle as he heads for the lift*
Justice: *sparkles with a chuckle of his own, and then thinks of what Soli was doing when he left the creche to come find Patrick*
Patrick: *Curious about that now*
Justice: *shows her crawling around the creche room, tiny hands chasing after the soft blue gummi candies that Bert brought from the Nexus*
Patrick: *soft 'heh'*
Justice: *is amused at how the tiny frilly skirt on her romper moves as she crawls*
Patrick: -Emi put that outfit on her....-
Justice: -If we never tell her how cute her little skidplate looked all covered with flowers and surrounded by frills, we will be safe.-
Patrick: *Snerk, pushes the right button for the family quarters*
Justice: -Oh, and all the Banana Nut Cheerios are gone.-
Patrick: -Frenzy, Rumble, and Rewind?-
Justice: -And Laserbeak. She was stealing them.-
Patrick: *Facepalm*
Justice: *shows him the flailing of the other three recorders as their purloined dainties were snatched from them*
Patrick: *snickers. Then he realizes there's no commentary from the peanut gallery*
Justice: -Peanut gallery?-
Patrick: -Blaster or Teletraan... usually, by now, one or the other will have chimed in..-
Justice: -Oh. They're laughing at the pile up on the front lawn.-
Patrick: -... pile?-
Justice: -Yes, the Aerialbots were exercising with the Seekers and Strafe.-
Patrick: -Ah... I see.- *chuckles and heads down the hall once the lift stops*
Justice: *darts ahead and gets into the bell circuitry so that it will ring*
Beau: *is the one who answers the door when Patrick gets there, then he's blinking a bit and moving aside to let the older man in* *is soooo not used to seeing Patrick sans glasses*
Denver: *conked out on the couch. She tried to stay awake, she really did... but some things can't be helped, it seems*
George: *looks up from the picture album he's reading and then gives Hattie a quizzical glance where his friend is sitting with a sleeping Trevor leaning against her*
Hattie: *snort* 'Bout tahm y'u showed up, Mr. Oberson.
George: *sets the book aside and stands respectfully* Sir.
Patrick: I apologize for my tardiness...
George: Well, it was probably something important. *good-natured smile*
Patrick: *moves to offer his hand in a handshake* Thank you for coming to Earth...
George: *smile becomes a grin as he gives Patrick's hand a strong grip* Thanks for giving me a reason to come here to the Ark.
Patrick: *sincerely* You are welcome here any time.
George: *can't help it, glances at Hattie to see if she's going to have a say about that*
Hattie: *soft chuckle*
George: *grins and looks back to Patrick* Thank you, sir. *and then he's reaching into a pocket on his tunic to pull out a folded piece of paper closed with a red wax seal* This is a reply to a letter that Col. Franklin sent to Traal.
Patrick: *attention sharpens. He recognizes that planet's name*
George: *offers him the letter, which bears a soft scent of cinnamon*
Patrick: *Accepts the letter and very carefully opens it without destroying the seal* *Surprised by the cinnamon scent*
letter: *is in Seaspray's flowing, graceful writing and says that the water operative and his wife and youngest daughter are planning to come to Earth if the plan is alright with Optimus and Col. Franklin*
Patrick: *eyes sparkling as he politely excuses himself and moves to hurry back to the med ward to show Rachel the letter*
George: o.0 *glances over at the sleeping Nijika, and then settles back in his seat and picks up the photo album again*
Med ward
Rachel: *sluffing off! Laying by mate and new baby*
Patrick: *enters the med ward and makes a beeline for Rachel. Will put the letter in front of her face and grin*
Rachel: o.0 *reads* 0_0 Eeeeee!
Hopesong: *blinks big eyes at Mama and wonders what the heck that was about*
Jack: *Bhuhwhutnow?* *blink blink*
Rachel: *reads him the letter, then hugs him and baby*
Jack: *Grinning like a loon now!*
Patrick: I'm going to see how soon we can get a reply sent with safe landing coordinates. *Gone!*
Rachel: *laughing softly, and then turns her head slightly* Do you hear that, 'Aid and Beachy? Seaspray's coming home. *closes her eyes as she feels the soft brush of contentment and farewell, and then sighs and lays her head down as she feels the two gentle presences fade away*
((co-written with random_xtras))