Sam - Ok... I kinda cut the last one short, so here's the last of that scene...

Syndrome - Storms gonna fritz when he finds out!

Sam - Don't be such a wuss!

-Memory Playback Resumed-


"Can we see him now?"

First Aid and Prowl turned, meeting the curious optics of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Both of them smiled slightly. Firestorm whimpered, hugging the black and white SIC tighter slightly as a couple more mechs approached. Prowl had been right about the child and crowds. The sparkling grabbed his blanket, using it to cover his damaged body so the other members of the room couldn't see. Ratchet poked his head out from his office, looking at the small scene not too far away. Spying the child and his carer, he sighed, walking out of the room slightly.

"First Aid" The younger medic turned "I need to talk with you. Alone"

"Erm... Alright. Prowl, could you-"

Prowl smiled "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on Firestorm"

"Thanks. I won't be long"

First Aid nodded once to the sparkling before he vanished into the white medics office, the doors closing firmly behind them. Firestorm whimpered, weakly trying to reach out for his carer. Prowl shifted him to stop the child from falling out of his grasp, earning a tiny sob from the little red mechling as he struggled to follow.

"G-gentle spark!"

"Don't panic Storm... He'll be back before you know it"

"W-where he going?"

Prowl smiled slightly "He needs to talk to Ratchet"

Firestorm's optics glazed over "He talk about me..."

"You don't know that for sure..."

"He no let gentle spark take me in... it about me..."

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker looked at one another and shrugged as Prowl and Firestorm continued their convorsation. Both of their optics glazed over as they engaged in their own talk over their twin bond, eventually coming to a conclusion. The red twin huffed in annoyance, tapping the SIC on the shoulder plates.

"Can we see him now?"

Prowl turned, Firestorm looking up at the two mechs curiously. Sunstreaker smiled slightly at him, making the mechling blink, look up at the Datsun holding him, then back at the yellow mech still smiling at him. Firestorm cowered slightly, weakly pulling at his blanket. He wanted to hide away in the safety of he small piece of cloth Jazz had given him to help him sleep at night. Prowl sighed, loosening the blanket so the child could do what he wanted.

"Sideswipe. Even your presence is frightening him. Do you really think I'm going to-"

"Come ere little guy"

Firestorm gasped as he was quickly taken from the black and whites arms, the blanket being tucked underneath him. Sideswipe smiled, turning slightly so Sunstreaker could view the child too. Prowl huffed in annoyance, reaching out to grab the sparkling back, only to be stopped by the yellow mech.

'Protector! Help me! Why they got me now? I-I want to go back to Protector! Lemme go!'

"We arn't gonna hurt him Prowl! Take that rock out of your exhaust pipe and chill out will ya?"

"You're scaring him!"

"No we're not!"

"Just give him back!"

"But I haven't held him yet!"

"He isn't a toy! The poor things petrified!"

"Probably because you're raising your voice afthead!"

Firestorm shrunk in the quiet twins grasp, shaking in fright as they argued. Sideswipe's optics narrowed slightly as he watched the fight, eventually sighing and turning to walk towards Blaster, who was sitting with several other mechs on the otherside of the room. The quiet talking from the group suddenly vanished as the mischevious twin wandered over, the small white bundle in his hands, the sparkling's red helm poking out of the top.

"Blaster. Take Firestorm for a second. I gotta split them two up"

Blaster looked up, smiling slightly as he was suddenly entrusted with the shaking red bundle. Sideswipe sighed, running back over to the arguing pair of bots and pulling them apart before a fight started out. Firestorm whimpered, shrinking into his blanket as the quarrel continued. Blaster shifted the little red mech, slowly unwinding the white cloth. The sparkling gasped.

"N-no..."

The tapedeck stopped "Sup lil Storm?"

"No see wounds please..."

"Awah don't worry! We arn't gonna care bout a few lil cuts!"

Firestorm squeaked when the warmth of the blanket disappeared, his damaged frame curling up slightly as it was exposed to the cool air. Before anyone was able to look properly, the blanket returned, along with the stern face expression of Prowl as he wrapped the child back up. The twins stood at his heels, their arms crossed over their chestplates, blue optics narrowed.

"Stubborn glitch..."

'Protector! H-he save me again! I no like those two... t-they scary!'

Firestorm nuzzled into the SICs grasp, his intakes hitching and hiccuping as he shook in fright. Prowl carefully stroked the childs helm, being careful of the large burns that sat on it. The sparkling gasped, relaxing into the comforting gesture, his intakes still having problems with his breathing like they had been for a while. Blaster's optics narrowed slightly as he stood, the Datsun moving back slightly to walk over to the clear medical berth.

"Hang on a sec Prowl"

"What is it?"

"I wanna see somethin"

Prowl stopped, Firestorm still shivering in his grip under the blanket, his wide grey optics shut tightly. Blaster gently turned the childs head, revealing the half of his face he had been hiding. A small cracked hole was just visable on the side of the sparkling's neck, stopping him from taking in air properly. Energon was still dry around some of the edges even though Jazz had attempted to wash all of it off. The tapedeck covered the hole with two of his fingers, the child gasping for air loudly, his optics opening widely in shock before blinking in confusion, his breathing seeming to become easier. He looked up at Blaster, then at Prowl, before finally at the wall ahead, a damaged arm appearing from the blanket and weakly tracing the two fingers covering the crack. Confused, Firestorm squeaked, following the arm up to it's owner.

'H-huh? Where did pain go? H-how come I can take longer breaths now? I never used to be able to do that... h-he puts his fingers on my neck... a-and breathing pain disappears! B-but how?'

"W-what you do?"

Blaster smiled slightly, a few other mechs appearing behind him to see the sparkling. Firestorm wasn't bothered by them anymore knowing that Prowl was there to protect him.

"Tell me if it hurts ta breathe when I do this" The tapedeck removed his fingers. Firestorm immeadiatly closed his optics, his breathing pattern hitching and hiccuping again as he attempted to intake air. The fingers returned, and the childs breathing returned to silence, his pained grey optics slowly opening. Prowl watched on cautiously, watching the two mechs as the older proved his point. Firestorm shivered, tugging at his blanket to pull it around his damaged frame a little more.

'I-it's that hole... that thing Master did w-when I fell asleep on his berth... b-but he said it would never go away... s-so how come...'

"How did you crack that Storm?"

'Uh oh... Protecter wants to know how I... I-if I tell him truth... Will he give me back to Master so he can make it worse? N-no... B-but he might punish me if I don't answer! Quick! Tell him!'

"M-Master did it... last time he punish..."

"And when was that?"

"D-day afore dey attacked... a-and I was finded here..."

Blaster interveined on the convorsation "Why didn't you say anything lil guy?"

Firestorm said nothing. Instead, he closed his optics and looked away, taking in deep breaths like it was the last thing he'd ever do. Prowl replaced Blasters fingers, earning a gasp and a shiver from the sparkling as the two warm fingers were replaced by two cold ones.

'I-I still don't understand... Why do these Masters help me, w-when my other Masters didn't? Why do they not punish me for being bad and sleeping on berths and stuff, then other Masters did f-for no reason? W-why do they allow me to listen to spark... A-and why do they hold me nicely? Other Masters always hurt me... Other Masters always found fault... Always took anger out on me... C-chain me to berth a-and make me sleep in dirt underneath... M-Master tell me to never go near Auto-Bots because they'll kill me! S-so why haven't they?'

The sparkling jumped when the door to Ratchets office flew open, both of the medics exiting, still in mid convorsation. Prowl turned, keeping his fingers firmly on the childs neck. Firestorm smiled weakly, blinking several times.

'Gentle spark... H-he came back from strange room!'

"I'm telling you Ratchet, he won't want to go back!"

"And I'm telling you that you have to ask him just in case! Now just do it or I'll ask him myself!"

First Aid sighed "Alright... Let me settle him down first though. There's no telling what went on out here"

Firestorm's smile grew slightly as the young medbot approached, thanking Prowl for taking care of him whilst he was 'indisposed'. The SIC didn't have time to explain about the hold in the childs side before First Aid picked the sparkling up, the Datsuns fingers slipping away. Firestorm let out a pained squeak, his frame curling up and optics shuttering closed tightly as he once again started gasping and hiccuping for a straight breath. The mechling began to panic, shaking in his blanket. Prowl quickly returned his two fingers, earning a confused look from both the medics. His optics narrowed slightly.

"Storm... can you hold your breath for a few seconds?"

The sparkling nodded, sucking in as much air as he could. Prowl removed his fingers, quickly showing the two medics the hole in the childs neck. The three spoke quietly before First Aid covered the hole, gently rubbing the bottom of Firestorms neck with his thumb. The red mechling relaxed into the comforting gesture, releasing the air he had sucked in as the younger medic walked him over to the empty berth.

"You should of said something before about your neck Firestorm... I could've done something about it"

"S-sowwie..."

"It's alright... but when something's bothering or hurting you, let me, Ratchet or protector know ok? We won't hurt you. Now could you twist your neck a little please so I can plug this hole up?"

Firestorm nodded, turning his neck ever so slightly, wincing and stopping when he reached a certian extent. First Aid worked quickly, removing his fingers and immeadiatly replacing them with a sterile seal. Once the wound was properly dressed, it would heal on it's own. But if it hadn't been found, the sparkling could end up with terrible breathing problems, resulting in a possible young death. Firestorm squeaked, pulling his small blanket over his shoulders.

"Ratchet wants to try a couple of tests later. Is that ok?"

"H-huh?"

"He just wants to check your base strength and other things. Nothing bad, don't worry"

"O-okay..."

Ratchet watched from the otherside of the room, snapping back into focus when something hit him on the back of the helm. His optics narrowed menacingly as he spun around, rubbing the new dent as he eyed up the suspects. On the ground beside him was the weapon, a small pair of pliers. Every tray near the berths had one.

"I'll be right back Mirage... Don't move"

The Lancia sitting on the berth infront of him nodded, his back panel sitting open from where Ratchet had started his repairs. The white medic picked up the tool on the ground, throwing and catching it in one hand as he started walking past all the berths, scanning the medical equipment on them. All he had to do was find the tray missing the pliers...

"Alright I'm giving you a chance! Whoever threw it, fess up now and I'll make your punishment slightly less painful!"

All the suspects cringed, two in particular. Ratchet smiled slightly, noticing the lack of pliers on one of the twins trays. Sideswipe looked from the tray, to his brother, then the medic. He grinned slightly as the angry CMO approached.

"H-hey Doc!"

"You seem to be missing these"

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker jumped when Ratchet slammed the tool back down on the tray. They looked at each other, optics glazing over as they quickly had a convorsation through their bond. The medic's scowl deepened, his tone of voice ushering a low growl.

"What have you got to say for yourselves?! Well!?"

Sunstreaker smiled lightly, nodding once to his brother. "Great shot Sides"

"Why thanks Sunny!"

"Don't call me that..."

"THAT'S IT! OUT! NOW!" The twins shot up and ran for the door as Ratchet unspaced a pair of wrenches, eyeing up his targets. The two barely managed to make it out before they were both struck down, everyone in the room flinching from the loud CLANG that emitted from the hallway. Blaster smiled slightly.

"And they're outta here!"

Ratchet's glare turned to the tapedeck.

"YOU WANT TO JOIN THEM!?"

Blaster's optics widened slightly as he held up his hands innocently. Ratchet nodded once, grumbling and muttering a quiet string of curses as he returned to his work. He picked up his soldering iron, ready to melt a couple of wires back into place.

"Erm... Ratchet?"

Ratchet slammed his tools back down in frustration, several bots nearby jumping from the sudden noise in the now silent room.

"WHAT?!"

First Aid looked down at the sparkling next to him. The white medic followed his gaze, his face expression softening slightly. Firestorm was latched onto the younger medics side, cowering and whimpering in fright, his white blanket hanging loosely over his scorched shoulder plates. Terrified sobs filled the silence as the sparkling's tear glazed grey optics met the CMOs blues, a weak squeak emitting from his tiny volcaliser as he shuffled out of his sight. Prowl stood from his berth and headed in the sparkling's direction, stopping in his tracks as the little red mechling shreiked and curled up in First Aids lap, completely fogetting about the white cloth as it flew from his grip and onto the berth.

'I-I knew they'd hurt me! Now they all come hurt me! Protector going to hurt me! Angry medic hurt scary two! H-he throw stuff at them! M-Master was right! T-they are going to kill me! Gentle spark! H-help me! I no want to die!'

Everyones attention shifted to the medbay doors as they shot open, a black and white mech wandering in. He smiled looking round at everyone, his visor flashing. The room stayed quiet and the mechs smiled faded slightly.

"What went on in here? Co'mon! Ain't nobody gonna say they missed me?"

"Not now Jazz..." Prowl walked back to his berth and sat down, his optics still focused on the shaking red bundle practically glued to First Aids lap. Jazz followed his gaze, noticed the sparkling, then the rest of the group. He immeadiatly noticed the twins' absence.

"What ya'll do to tha sparklin? He looks afraid ta even be here!"

Ratchet's optics narrowed back to normal as he returned to his work, slightly calmer then before. Nobody answered the question. Jazz just shrugged, wandering over to the younger medic and jumping onto the medical berth beside them.

"Is anyone gonna give me an answer?"

First Aid sighed, gently running his fingers lightly over the sparklings abused armour, earning a frightened squeak but no other movement besides the shaking.

"Ratchet just threw the twins out in his usual fashon, so now Firestorm's petrified incase he might do that to him"

"Awah, but Ratch wouldn't do that!" A small smirk re-appeared "That's twins only treatment!"

"You try telling him that..."

"Well actually I came in here ta see 'im! I was wonderin if ya needed me ta watch him anymore"

"How come?"

Jazz shrugged "I was getting a lil bored on my own! Thought ya might want a break"

First Aid smiled slightly under his faceplates. He looked back at the CMO, then at the others around the room. Prowl nodded once at him, Blaster smiled, giving him the A'OK sign. He nodded back at him, turning to the visored saboteur and nodding again.

"I could use a break... And right now I think it would be better if he wasn't in here"

Jazz smiled, carefully picking up the red mechling. Firestorm squealed, panicking as he was moved, his tiny frame shaking in fright. The black and white shuffled the child, jumping up from the berth and pacing slowly as he calmed the sparkling down.

'I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'MGONNADIE!'

"Hush hush lil Storm... It's music man remember?"

'Music man... h-he show me how to say bye-bye to dirt! I-I can trust him... right? B-but then again I can trust Protector! A-and Gentle spark! But not angry medic... h-he throw things at people! H-he hurt people!'

"M-music man?"

"Hey Storm! Remember me now?"

First Aid watched from the berth as the child slowly uncurled, his grey optics looking up and into the visor of the smiling mech that held him. He whimpered, nuzzling into the saboteurs frame, shivering. Jazz carefully bent down, picking up the child's blanket and wrapping it around him.

"Don't worry Storm! No one'll hurt ya! Well, all the exception of Ol'Ratch of course"

"Thanks Jazz! Make him even MORE petrified of me!"

Jazz smiled, his vision turning to the angry CMO.

"Ya welcome Ratch!"

The older medic just grumbled even more, continuing his work. First Aid chuckled lightly, Firestorm's gaze turning to him. He was confused, looking to his usual carer for answers.

"Storm? Jazz is going to take you to his room for a little while until things have calmed down in here ok?"

The sparkling squeaked weakly, looking around the room to try and understand what the young medic meant. He met the CMOs gaze and whimpered, cowering away into the saboteurs frame. Jazz chuckled.

"You wanna come listen to a lil music with me Storm?"

Firestorm nodded, bringing his right arm up and sucking his thumb. He wanted to get away from the white medbot incase he decided to throw something else. First Aid stood, walking the two towards the door. Jazz wandered out of the room, the sparkling waving goodbye to the younger medic as they walked away from the double doors and towards a seris of dorms.