[Fic] Chaos came with a bang, chapter 15
Title:Rating: T
Universe: G1-AU
Pairings: Jazz/Prowl (secret), Ratchet/Wheeljack
Summary: Life in the Ark was often complicated, but things get out of control when Wheeljack and Ratchet are both seriously injured in an accident. Can First Aid save them? Will Sideswipe take on a new career? And in all the chaos will Bumblebee figure out Jazz's biggest secret?
~blah~ is comm-speak ; blah is Cybertronian
Chapter 15: Small victories and compromises
A/N: for those of you waiting, I'm sorry about the delay in replies - RL dramas have me about 3 weeks behind but I'm catching up!
Bumblebee took the roundabout route to the repair bay and managed to arrive outside Prowl's office just before Pinpoint and Windcharger did.
"So - what's the story?"
"Aren't you supposed to be at the repair bay?" Pinpoint asked.
"I'll go there in a few clicks. Can I have a look, first?"
"I'm not sure that's a good idea..."
"Aw come on." Bumblebee grinned charmingly. "How'm I supposed to stay on top of the gossip if I don't know what's going on? Just one little look? You're going to delete it anyway."
Pinpoint still looked undecided, but Windcharger grabbed the relevant pad and looked at it himself, then choked.
"What in the pit...?"
Pinpoint snatched it back, looked at it, then winced.
"Oh. That one. Look, it was just a theory, and..."
"That the Decepticons are raising sparklings on Cybertron!" Windcharger spluttered. "There's proof of that?"
"No, but there's some good evidence for it." Pinpoint tried to explain, ushering them into the office and closing the door. "The constant use of the space bridge for transporting energon, for a start. I mean, they must be struggling to get enough to keep themselves going, but they keep trying to transport it away. And what does Shockwave do with all that energon? The scouts on Cybertron haven't reported it going to any obvious purposes. It just disappears. And Prowl wasn't just talking about sparklings - he just said that was a possibility because they use so much energon and they're not ready to fight, which is why we haven't seen any of them. But it could just as easily be a strike force in training. And that could be where Starscream's trine disappeared to: off to train the rookies."
"You think?" Windcharger asked dubiously. "Sounds a bit farfetched for me. And what was all that about med leave?"
"I... don't know. Ratchet came in here the other day and marched Prowl out, then stopped back in to say that he was on med leave for the next few hours. That was it."
"Maybe Ratchet thought he was overstressed." Bumblebee volunteered. "It's happened before. I bet that's why Jazz's trying to get him to rest, too. Anyway, I'd better scoot. Catch you in the rec room after next shift, Charger?"
"Sure thing."
Bouncing out, Bumblebee considered what he had learned as he made his way to the med bay. Was this enough to explain Jazz's odd behaviour? It was marginally plausible. If Ratchet had reported the compulsory med leave to Prime, then Prime ordered Jazz to go back and keep an eye on his roommate, it would explain his distraction and rush. But still, was that really enough to explain all the weirdness?
"Bumblebee!"
Turning, he saw Bluestreak hurrying over to him.
"Where'd you go? Jazz sent you to the repair bay, but I went there and you weren't there."
"I just needed to check something. What's up?"
"Prowl's had one of his freezes! One second he was arguing with Jazz about getting some recharge, then he just froze up!"
Definitely a processor error, then. Bumblebee let go of his suspicions; if there had been anything else to know it was now too well buried to keep chasing.
"Does Jazz want us to interrupt First Aid?"
"What? No, he said everything was okay and got Smokescreen to help him carry him out. But it's not okay, Prowl's supposed to go to Ratchet when he freezes up not just get some charge, I mean what's going on?"
Bumblebee had no idea, but he didn't need Bluestreak going into a panic too so he just patted his friend's arm.
"I'm sure Jazz knows what he's doing. In fact think that's what Jazz was getting at when he was trying to get him to go back and recharge. And maybe it wasn't a proper freeze at all, maybe Prowl's just tired I mean, Jazz wouldn't just take him back to quarters if he really needed a medic, now would he? I bet he'll be up and about again in a while and completely normal again."
"I hope so. Hey, you want some company while you wait for Prime to come out?"
"Sure. You can finish telling me about that human movie you were watching."
This time Ratchet heard a click as he came online, and someone spoke.
He's online. Looking good so far.
FrrrrrsAid? he asked, frowned and cleared his processor of garbled commands, then tried again. First Aid?
That was better. No cheering this time, but he felt someone grip his hand. His hand? Strange. He could have sworn his whole body had been blocked before.
Ratchet? Wheeljack called him urgently. Ratchet, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, it was all my fault...
Optimus rumbled something in an unfamiliar language which made Wheeljack respond in the same, but Ratchet ignored that for now.
Jack, what did you do?
There was a pause.
I accidentally blew up the lab with you in it.
Well that explained why he did not remember anything, he must have gone straight from recharge to offline, and that was somewhat reassuring. On the other hand, it meant his injuries could literally be anything at all. He tried to run a diagnostic, but found that he did not have access to that function. In fact, there were huge gaps in his processes. No optics, no specialist database access, no long-term memory storage access, no... no protections... He shivered in spite of himself. If any of them got a good, clinical look at his spark they might start wondering, and that would start questions that he did not want to answer.
Ratchet. Optimus' voice broke into his horrified thoughts. The damage is very localised. It looks very messy to me as a non-medic, but First Aid believes it could easily have been much worse. He has gotten you back to this stage, and I have faith that he can complete the job. You must be patient with him.
What damage? he demanded. My optics...?
The damage there is minimal. First Aid reassured him. I just didn't want to overload your sensors when I first brought you out of stasis. There's a bit of wire damage I need to fix, but nothing serious. He paused. The serious damage is to your CPU.
The news seemed too big to process. His CPU was damaged?
A rod pierced your helmet. Optimus explained. That was the only damage you sustained, and First Aid has successfully removed it. From what I understand, it is now a matter of repairing the area and reactivating it.
He felt Wheeljack squeeze his hand more tightly, and the almost-painful grip gave him something to focus on. His core structure was not compromised. He would see again. The problem was... was something else. Well, he had been injured before. And this time at least he had a reasonably competent assistant.
I need to talk to First Aid about the specifics. he announced. Then I need my optics functioning again, then I'll need Hound. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you can do something to keep the bay clear of other emergencies. Jack - go and clean up your lab. I might need you to manufacture some parts, and you can't help with this now. Prime, I appreciate your help, but you've done your bit so get out of my lab and let First Aid work in peace.
Prowl watched from his recharge berth as Jazz paced agitatedly back and forth, idly counting each round trip. Thirty-nine times so far. Forty. Forty-one. Forty-two...
"Alright, fine." Jazz spoke up finally, stopping two steps into the forty-third journey from door to back wall. "You're gonna get your way anyway, so fine. Just tell me why. You don't think there's enough goin' on right now?"
"There are several good reasons why..." Prowl began, but Jazz was already pacing again so he broke off and waited.
Forty-three. Forty-four.
"First Aid isn't gonna know this is an act, you know that, right? So he's gonna take it seriously. So he's gonna go trawlin' through your files and treat you like this is real because he don't know any different."
"I have tested the likely searches..."
"He's going to be pokin' about in your head!" Jazz bellowed, fear pulsing through their bond so strongly that Prowl rocked back as though physically struck. "What if he gets somethin' wrong?"
"There isn't anything there to fix."
"You an' I both know slaggin' well there's nothin' wrong wit'ya right now. It doesn't happen like this. But all he'll see is that he can't see it. What if he decides t'get creative in fixin' this? You know how determined he is to fix everythin'. What if he does real damage?"
There were definitely times when Prowl was pleased that their quarters were completely sealed. Even Prime's office would not contain this noise level so effectively. Jazz only did this when he was particularly upset, Prowl knew that, and his speakers were blaring loudly enough to make the berth vibrate against the wall. Which meant that he had not heard a word that Prowl had said. And he had begun pacing again. Forty-five. Forty-six. Forty-seven.
Okay, this was getting ridiculous. Rising, Prowl moved to stand in his way.
"Stop."
"What?"
Prowl sighed to himself. Jazz was ignoring all of his attempts to make a comm connection, so he was left with cruder options. Grabbing a datapad, he typed a short sentence then handed it to his partner: Turn off your speakers and listen to me.
The sudden silence was shocking, but Prowl simply turned up his audial gain and began to make his arguments now that they would be heard.
"I'm not going to let him do any damage. Yes, I have been playing this up to get his attention, but only so he will search my notes for the information he needs to repair Ratchet. I would rather he used mine than Red Alert's, for multiple reasons, not least of which being that Ratchet has never fully identified the causes of Red Alert's glitches because the mech won't let him do a full analysis while I have permitted such examinations on multiple occasions.
"Obviously, my current symptoms are not a match to the usual pattern and so need not lead to any radical treatment. We can explain my temporary lapse exactly as you already have: a lack of rest. Ratchet was already quite vocal about what would happen if I did not give myself sufficient recharge time. Prime has heard that lecture many times, and several mechs on duty two days ago heard an abridged version. There is enough of an alibi to manage this without requiring any actual treatment, just a few days rest. A third of an orn, perhaps.
"In the meantime, since you are also known to be wearied, it will not seem remarkable if we spend some time together, which I believe you are in need of given your agitation over Ratchet's plans for handling our bond should one of us perish. It is well past time we found time to talk - there is simply too much going on at present and it is adversely affecting us both."
Jazz was staring at him, but now looked away, his fists clenching.
"And you've been planning this since when, exactly?"
"Approximately twenty minutes ago, since First Aid called me."
"But that stuff about sparklings...?"
Prowl shook his head.
"It's a valid theory, if rather unlikely. I do still believe there was something else going on, but to confirm it I need your team back out doing their jobs but since it seems that that will not be possible, I can only hope that we do not regret this missed opportunity in the future. Nevertheless I remain convinced that there was another purpose to those skirmishes, despite the break in pattern and the lack of evidence."
He reached out to place a gentle hand on his bondmate's shoulder, letting the physical contact soothe the tension between them.
"It's not that I don't trust your skills. You must know that."
Jazz remained frozen in place for a moment longer, then flopped down onto his berth with a groan.
"All I know, mech, is that bein' what we are don't make a micron's worth o'diff'rence t'me understandin' ya."
Prowl sank back down on his own berth, running a quick diagnostic to confirm that his audio-sensors had not taken permanent damage.
"The feeling is entirely mutual."