The Sum of Their Parts

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I wouldn't be struggling to pay for college now.

Heart: [hahrt] -noun1.A hollow, pumplike organ of blood circulation, composed of rhythmically contractile smooth muscle, located in the chest between the lungs and slightly to the left.

2. The center of emotion.

Ratchet knows everything about the human heart without really understanding it; its close link to human emotions will, he suspects, always baffle him. He often thinks that the human heart, compensating for its lack of size, makes humans feel emotions far more intensely than the Cybertrons.

Logically, Ratchet knows that it's not truly the heart that creates feelings and emotions, but the brain, sending a potent cocktail of chemicals and hormones. Still, the way that tiny organ pumps faster in stress and excitement, and slows in the moments of peace and happiness, serve as a far more accurate judge of human moods than faces, words, or actions.

As fascinating as it all is, it terrifies Ratchet that the slightest touch to that fragile organ could end the life, extinguish their spark. Such a delicate little pump, he thinks, should not determine the fate of someone so vibrant and alive. The tiny little wad of muscle doesn't even have the ability to put itself into stasis when injured, and will keep on pumping, even if it means its death.

Whenever Sam is on base, visiting, talking, laughing, painfully alive, Ratchet is relieved. But it's at night, when Sam is asleep, that he looks far too much like the dead; nothing to prove he is still alive but the faint rise and fall of his breathing. Ratchet has a habit of sneaking into his room (because even though he doesn't live on base, it will always be Sam's room) and scanning him, making sure that little heart is still going strong. He knows that one day, he'll hear nothing but silence from the human's chest (humans after all, are so short-lived). But today it's still pumping, playing out a quiet little march, and Ratchet knows that he'll do everything in his power to make it keep pumping.

A/N: Hey, it's my first Transformers fic! I tried to get down Ratchet, but it's been a while, and it's so very difficult to write him. Well anyways, please review! (constructive criticism is welcomed)