Sorry for the long wait, but just to let you know the next update will probably be in two week's time, due to work and study obligations. This chapter has not been edited…it's my raw version so please forgive the quality. I just felt I needed to post something. Time has not been on my side lately and I originally planned on at least two more scenes, but alas, due to time constraint, you'll have to wait till next time. Apart from the boring news..

I would just like to thank all my stunning reviewers - SunnySidesofBlue, EmperialGem21, Starfire201, iNsAnE nO bAkA, DemonSurfer, Alathea2, and Faecat. Really, from the bottom of my heart thank-you!


I'll Be There 9

The hangerbay at the most quiet of times was a hub of activity as mechs scurried to and thro between shuttles, loading or offloading supplies, repairing or cleaning ships, all the while hollering and cursing at each other in the most creative Cybertronian curses imaginable. Metal creaked and engines groaned as various ships of different styles and sizes were grabbed by willing docking arms and gently escorted into docking bays.

Usually the commotion in and around the hangerbay thrilled Jazz and bred excitement within him. To him it meant the start of another mission, the thrill of the chase and the danger of infiltration. It was what he was made for.

Yet this time was different. Instead of excitement he felt trepidation. He wanted to be here, with Prowl. He needed to be here. Another bot passed by and shouted a colourful greeting. Jazz answered in turn, quickly pushing his thoughts to the back. He couldn't allow Prowl to distract him. He was third in command and head of special ops. He needed to focus on the mission, not Prowl, not Smokescreen and definitively not Codebreaker.

Jazz headed briskly to the back of the hangerbay, his senses assaulted by the heavy smell of exhaust fumes and raw fuel. His headed towards the area allocated to smaller vessels used primarily for stealth purposes.

Jazz came to the section and was met by the sight of a mech casually leaning against a metal crate. The handsome red mech was busy inspecting his blaster, but upon seeing Jazz, he flashed a devilish smile, his mischievous optics alight with the prospect of getting out of the confines of Iacon.

"Hey Jazz. Long time no see." The mech pushed away from the crate sauntering towards Jazz.

"Hey Sides. This our littl' lady?" Jazz nodded towards the small, black stealth ship docked at the bay nine.

"Lady? You mean this hunk of junk they just so happened to assign us?" Sideswipe grimaced as he sceptically glanced over the small vessel. "One would think with your rank we'd be able to get a proper stealth shuttle. You actually expect me to fly this?"

Jazz smiled at the vessel, leaning slightly back to get a better view. He shrugged lightly. "Only vessel available at such short notice. Ah think she'd be just fine. Suites you perfectly anyways. She's yer type."

Whatever Sideswipe had planned to retort was cut short as two flashing fins appeared out of the hull, its owner's merry voice filling the noisy area like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy morning.

"Ok! She's ready to soar!"

Jazz turned towards the voice and flashed his famous smile. "Hey 'Jack." Jazz greeted him, then looked worriedly at the small vessel. "Ya didn't, uhm, place anything in there? Weapons or somethin'?" he asked cautiously. Wheeljack's weapons had a nack for exploding, and he didn't feel like flying inside a fireball.

"Frag he better not have or I'm really not flying that thing." Sideswipe muttered under his breath, taking one step back from the vessel.

"Nah, just gave her a quick look over. Most of the engineers are busy with the other ships as this one was a bit, well, unscheduled." Wheeljack said as he stepped onto the docking bay. His optics suddenly went wide as he remembered something and, fins flashed excitedly, he quickly pulled a relatively normal looking blaster from subspace. "But if you want, I have this new weapon I've been working on…"

"NO!" Sideswipe and Jazz cried in unison, both flinging their hands out towards the engineer in defense. Wheeljack cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy. He held the weapon before him, looking at it then at the two mechs before him.

Jazz cleared his vocaliser as he looked at the confused engineer. "This is a stealth mission. Drop and go only. So we won't be requiring extra weapons." He said to try and smooth over the awkward situation.

The chief engineer visibly deflated, sighing as he looked at the blaster. "I've been itching to try it out. But I guess I'll just have to wait, huh?" He asked looking sheepish as he gently stroked the blaster like it was some kind of weird pet.

Jazz cringed at the defeated look of his friend. He was about to hate himself, but he sighed as he took the blaster from Wheeljack's hands. "Maybe Ah could take it along, you know, for back up. But Ah can't promise that Ah'll test it though." Absolutely no fragging way Ah'm testing it.

Sideswipe stared at Jazz in abject horror, automatically leaning away from him and eyeing the offending weapon. "You're sitting way in the back. And don't you dare touch anything." He murmured softly as he stepped around Jazz and marched towards the vessel's entrance.

"Well, I'll let you two be on your way. Be careful though. See you when you get back!" Wheeljack called out as he leisurely strolled through the busy hanger, oblivious to the loud curses and screeching brakes as hanger workers swerved to avoid the absent-minded engineer.

Jazz shook his head at his departing friend. Primus only knew how the accident prone mech still managed to stay functional. Jazz grabbed hold of the door and swung in just as the stealth engines sputtered to life with an agonizing screech. Hanger workers spared a click to stare at the source of the alien noise reverberated throughout the hanger. .

"Ya sure ya got the right vessel? Jazz asked.

"Told you it was a hunk of junk." Came the cheeky reply from the cockpit.

"Ya also mentioned stealth." Jazz chuckled as he prepared to shut the hatch.

"Jazz!"

What know? Jazz thought as he peeked through the hatch at the mech who had hailed him. Codebreaker. Great. He leaned back into the vessel and shouted into the cockpit. "Yo Sides, give me a few clicks."

"Whatever, just hurry it up, don't know how long I can keep her airborne."

"Ya'll manage." Jazz said and disembarked just as Codebreaker dodged the last hanger worker to come to a screeching halt in front of the special ops mech. "What ya want kid?" Jazz asked pleasantly, "just make it quick Ah'm running a tight schedule."

"I know sir, just thought you might want to know that I have been assigned by Smokescreen to work with Prowl on this case." Codebreaker said, looking around the hanger to make sure no one was within hearing range. It wouldn't have mattered anyway since the small black ship's engines were kicking up quiet a racket.

Ah am so gonna kill you Smokes. "You come all this way to tell me that?" Jazz asked, a fraction of the irritation he felt slipping into his words like poison as he folded his arms over his chest.

"No, sir, what I wanted to tell you is," Codebreaker fidgeted slightly, looking around one more time before looking at Jazz, "that I will be looking out for Prowl."

Jazz's visor darkened marginally at that. Looking out for Prowl? "Explain."

"Sir, Smokescreen informed me of the last attack, and Prowl's situation since then, and I think I might have gotten a lead in it." The young tactician flustered at Jazz's deep scowl. This wasn't how Jazz usually was. Could he suspect…?

"Go on." Jazz ordered curtly. He and Smokescreen was definitively going to have a discussion about this. Prowl was an officer and such a young, relatively new tactician was not suppose to know any detail about a senior officer's medical conditions. Especially Prowl's.

"Well, the other day I went into medbay to speak to Ratchet about a personal matter, when I came across the young medic, Jumpstart by designation. He was perusing medical files when I entered. I must have startled him because he dropped the datapad and I briefly got a glimpse of the file name. It was Prowl's." Codebreaker stared intently at the third-in-command, willing him to understand.

"He's a medic. He has been working on Prowl since the beginning. It wouldn't be unusual for him to be goin' over a patient's medical files."

The small ship stuttered behind them again, creaking and groaning her impatience at the unnecessary wait. A few bots turned to stare at the small ship, wagging their heads and muttering under their breaths.

"Yo Jazz! Hurry it up I'm collecting rust here!" Sideswipe's impatient voice drifted from the small vessel, barely heard above the clatter of the hanger.

Jazz ignored him and looked at the fidgeting mech before him. "What's yer point 'Breaker?" he asked.

Codebreaker sighed in exasperation. "My point, sir, is that he was acting suspicious the whole time and he immediately locked the datapad away after I gave it back to him. Also, we worked together at Tyger Pax. He was a specialist in his field. A virus specialist."

Jazz head shot up at that. Virus specialist? He narrowed his optics as his processor began racing in different directions, each new possibility fiercely vying for attention.

"Jazz!" Sideswipe shouted, shattering Jazz's thoughts.

Jazz looked towards the vessel, then quickly turned back to Codebreaker. "Ok, just watch him. If he locks up, take him to Ratchet, but do not say anything about this or yer suspicions. An' that's an order."

"Yes sir." Codebreaker said and stepped back as Jazz launched himself at the hatch, barely closing it in time before the black shuttle gracelessly lifted into the air, slowly manoeuvring into launch position. Codebreaker watched it all, a small, sweet smile adorning his faceplate. I'll definitively be watching Prowl.


Prowl, meanwhile, was diligently pouring over the data concerning the attacks on the Neutral settlements and the Autobot outpost. Something about the attacks did not add up. They were too random to be after something specific, yet the attacks were increasing in both occurrences and violence, and appeared to have now spread to Autobot outposts. Energy was a crucial resource to both sides, so why would Megatron waste time, resources and most importantly energy with attacks that seemed to yield no strategic advantage or sufficient energy returns to validate it.

Prowl turned to the holomap. There was no logical pattern to any of the attacks, save that they were confined to the area close to the Kaon – Tyger Pax – Iacon borders. It was suppose to be declared a neutral area and was littered with Neutral settlements – both Decepticon and Autobot sympathisers.

There had to be an ulterior motive for the attacks, one that the Autobots could not yet determine, but must be of immense importance to the Decepticon faction. Prowl rubbed his chevron gently. He could feel another ache coming and the last thing he wanted to do was wake up to Ratchet's scowling face in the medical bay.

"You OK, Prowl?" Smokescreen asked.

Prowl looked up at the doorway, where Smokescreen stood silhouetted against the backlight.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank-you." Prowl replied easily and waited for Smokescreen to leave so that he could continue his assessment. Or perhaps go see Ratchet if the headache persisted.

Smokescreen moved into the room and took a seat across from Prowl, ignoring the small scowl his younger brother sent him. "Don't look at me like that and don't lie to me. The only time you ever touch your chevron is when you feel a lock-up coming."

Prowl sighed as he leaned back in his chair, regarding his older brother with a fair mixture of exasperation and tolerance. He decided to ignore Smokescreen's comments and returned to his impassive facial expression. "I am working Smokescreen. Is this a social visit or do you have some pressing matter to discuss? If not, I would appreciate it if you left." he asked briskly.

"Don't do that Prowl. Don't go hiding behind that professional mask. You know it doesn't work with me." Smokescreen said slowly shaking his head. "Besides, I'm here for both reasons. Firstly, we haven't 'socialed' in ages so I barely have any idea what's going on in your life. And I'm worried. You've been to the medbay twice where Ratchet had placed you on medical leave for no apparent reason. I haven't pried or anything, just waited for you to come talk to me and yet you haven't. As your older brother, I am concerned about you Prowl." Smokescreen ended gently, his optics shone with sincerity and concern.

The office was painfully quiet as Prowl watched Smokescreen. Without a word he turned to the holomap and deactivated it before sending a command to the door to shut. Prowl turned to his desk and started sorting the datapads.

Smokescreen waited patiently for Prowl to finish, knowing well that if he tried to push his brother to talk or act it would most likely end in disaster. He watched Prowl's doorwings for small signs of agitation, and sure enough, they were there. The doorwings were held stiffly, although not as high as usual and twitched every few nanoclicks. That was either a sign of fatigue or unease. In Prowl's case it was likely both, since Prowl tended to work himself to the support struts and talking about emotional conditions was not the logical tactician's forte. Still, Smokescreen loved his brother and was genuinely concerned about him. That and he needed to warn him about a certain, troublesome saboteur.

Prowl set the last datapad neatly on a stack on the left side of his desk and looked at Smokescreen. "Smokescreen, I appreciate your concern for my well-being, and I must apologise for my lack of socialization the past few orns. As you have already pointed out, I have been on medical leave and therefore I have neglected work that needs to be urgently tended to." Prowl said as he formed a steeple with his hands, gently leaning forward in his chair until his chin rested against his hands.

"Come on Prowl, it's not like the tactical division has been inactive while you were on leave. I personally handled many of the datapads that came to your office. It's more like you've been avoiding me or," Smokescreen's optics narrowed in suspicion, "you've been socializing with someone else." He said and cocked his head, a small smile playing at his lips.

Prowl glared at Smokescreen. "I will not lie to you. I had been restricted to my quarters and the only bots to socialize, and I mean in a working environment, has been Jazz and Codebreaker."

"Uh-huh." Smokescreen said and sat forward in his chair. "We'll talk about that later. First, I want to know why you were on med leave. You scared the living Pit out of me each time I got the comm. you were in medbay. You don't lock up that often and especially not to that extent." He said quietly.

Prowl leaned back in his chair and stared at his computer screen, a small scowl crossing his forehead as he battled to find the right words. The truth was that they didn't know. Ratchet had determined that his battle computer was somehow involved, yet diagnostics showed nothing. It wasn't like a regular lock-up either, since that usually involved his logic centre. Prowl looked at Smokescreen's expectant visage. So much warmth and concern swam in those optics, and Prowl hated not being able to give a satisfactory answer. He sighed and gave a small shrug. "To be honest, I am not sure. Ratchet has not been able to isolate the problem. All he knows is that my battle computer is somehow involved, but is not the source of the problem. He has me scheduled for more tests in the next orn."

Smokescreen watched Prowl closely as he talked. "So it's not your glitch acting up?"

"No, my glitch hasn't 'acted up' in at least twenty orns thanks to the Twins being mostly away on missions or in the brig." Prowl commented wryly. "Besides, the problem seems to have had its origin when I was attacked at the Neutral settlement. Ratchet believes that the attack might have jarred my battle computer so that it is malfunctioning. However, it is highly unlikely. My systems would have determined and logged a malfunction of that kind."

"Ok Prowl. Just please be careful. You've been in the medbay enough already. The past couple of orns you've been there nearly as much as the Twins have been in the brig." Smokescreen lightly joked, though Prowl could hear the concerned undercurrent of his words.

"I will be. Now, was that all you wished to know?" Prowl politely asked his psychologist brother, clearly indicating that he wished this 'social' session to end. His mind already ached enough that he didn't want to venture further onto the dangerous plateau of unfathomable emotions.

Smokescreen shifted uneasily in his seat; unsure of how to start the next conversation, yet he was reluctant to leave until they had talked about it. "Where's Codebreaker? I ordered him to assist you with this case." Smokescreen matched Prowl's polite tone. Prowl would relax marginally if they talked about work. He was in no way oblivious to the fact that Prowl didn't want to venture into emotions, but that didn't mean he could goad him into it.

"He has gone to collect our evening rations of energon. He is still assisting in the investigation and his knowledge of the Kaon - Tyger-Pax borders are most convenient." Prowl replied.

"He's a smart kid. Talked to the bots back at Tyger Pax when I was doing his psychological evaluation. They gave him a very good report. He works hard, follows orders, and actually has the ability to think, something I sometimes find lacking under the majority of bots. Wouldn't you agree?" Smokescreen asked lightly.

Prowl smiled at him. "I have to agree. I enjoy working with Codebreaker. He is a good associate and an asset to the Tactical Department. His work is thorough."

"Praise indeed from someone as strict as you." Smokescreen chuckled. They fell into comfortable silence as Smokescreen wondered exactly how he was going to brooch the subject of 'Jazz' without aggravating Prowl. Smokescreen knew that Prowl regarded Jazz as one of his close friends, but Prowl was still his brother and there was no way he would stand by and watch Jazz mess with him.

"Huh-um," Smokescreen cleared his vocaliser, staring at his hands.

Prowl looked at him raising his chin slightly. "What is it Smokescreen?" He asked in a long-suffering voice. Usually when Smokescreen fidgeted like this it meant two things. One, it involved emotions, and two, it was a subject that was going to cause some level of discomfort for them both.

"Well, I need to talk to you about something, or rather, someone." He said finally, looking pointedly at Prowl.

"Is this on a personal or professional level?"

"You could say it involves a bit of both." Smokescreen narrowed his optics as he stared at a point on the wall above Prowl's right shoulder, absentmindedly stroking his chin.

"I am listening." Prowl intoned, although his voice held a note of weariness to it as the ache in his processor moved up a notch in intensity.

"OK. In short, I want to talk to you. About Jazz." Smoekscreen decided to play it straight. Prowl wasn't known for beating around the bush in any case.

Prowl frowned. "Talk to me? About Jazz?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes. I know Jazz very well and I know his reputation, especially among lovers. He's a player and he only cares about someone to warm his berth. He's not in it for the long run. And, well, I don't actually know what to tell you." He ended lamely. His finely rehearsed speech had somehow become lost in the archives of his processor.

"Lovers?" Prowl asked again, this time with a note of surprise wedged firmly next to incredulous. "Excuse me Smokescreen, but I am not sure what this has to do with me." Prowl pointed out, hoping his brother would stop talking strangely. Why was his brother concerned with Jazz's love life anyway? A small, discomforting emotion wrapped its strange, unfamiliar embrace around Prowl's spark. What if Smokescreen was interested in Jazz as a lover? Prowl looked at Smokescreen, suspicion rearing its head in his thoughts. "You are interested in Jazz as a lover? You want my opinion?"

"Me? What? No! Never! He's slaggin' good looking, but I'm not stupid, or well, not stupid, just…He's not my type." Smokescreen back-pedalled. Where on Cybertron did Prowl get that idea from.

Prowl slightly relaxed at that assurance while the strangling embrace of the unwanted emotion slowly released itself from his spark. "Alright, if you are not discussing your interest in Jazz, then why would you want to talk to me about his personal affairs?" Prowl asked.

It was Smokescreen's turn to look incredulous. Was Prowl really so thick when it came to matters of the spark. It briefly occurred to him that now would be a good time to drop the subject, but he ignored the thought. "No I meant you. As in he has his sights set on you."

"Me?" Prowl asked shocked. The ache in his processor moved up another notch, but this time it was joined by a dull ache in his logic centre.

"Yes, you." Smokescreen stood and paced the room. "Prowl, I know you are a grown mech, but as your older brother, it is my duty to warn you against things like this. I don't know how you feel about Jazz, even if you harbour any kind of feelings towards him you have to think it through carefully. You are not exactly compatible." Smokescreen came to a stop before Prowl, eyeing his brother sternly.

Prowl was staring at nothing in particular, trying to sort through the various emotions without having his processor crash in the process. As it were his emotions were moving onto dangerous new ground. "So you are admitting that you are aware Jazz has emotions toward me that surpass those of friendship?"

Smokescreen folded his arms across his broad chest. "Yes, I am aware of that. And that is why I need to warn you. He will be flirting with you, making you feel like the best bot on the whole planet, but once he got you into his berth, it will be all over. You're a challenge to him, and once that challenge is won he will emerge as the victor and leave you standing as the loser on the sidelines. I'm not going to stand by and watch that happen."

Prowl stared around his office. He was confused with the strange feelings fluttering within his spark, yet at the same time he was elated to know Jazz considered him as a romantic interest. Why would that be such a bad thing? "Smokescreen, as much as I appreciate your concerns, I admit that I am," he paused to consider the right words to use, "flattered by Jazz's attention. I will also admit that I share some positive feelings towards Jazz, which I will not completely classify as within the boundaries of friendship."

Smokescreen stared at Prowl, mouth open. Slag he wasn't prepared for that. He had thought Jazz had only bluffed when he said Prowl might return some of those feelings. "Prowl, think for a moment. This isn't logical. Jazz is not your type. He isn't loyal to his lovers, you are. He isn't bothered by deeper emotions, you are. He loves partying, you don't. If you compare yourselves, you almost have nothing in common."

"If I were to compare ourselves I believe my logic centre would glitch." Prowl commented dryly.

"Exactly!" Smokescreen interjected, his voice rising in irritation. "Entering into any kind of romantic relationship with Jazz has more hazards than benefits. Why don't you rather go for someone dependent, loyal, logical or any other emotion that's compatible to you? I don't want Jazz to cajole you into some relationship for the sake of his own amusement."

Prowl stiffened at that last accusation aimed at Jazz. Icy optics locked with Smokescreen. "If Jazz and I were to become romantically involved, it would be my choice. Jazz is not as shallow as you make him out to be. We have been close friends for vorns, and even though I am aware of his reputation, I will not let it hinder me if I find the circumstances to be convenient."

Smokescreen drew deep drags of breath through his ventilators, fighting, and failing miserably to remain calm. He couldn't upset Prowl. It wasn't why he was here, but somehow he had to make Prowl see reason.

"Apart from my opinion that you are wholly incompatible, there is also the matter that you are both high-ranking officers and an affair of this type could put us at a disadvantage should the Decepticon's discover it. Are you willing to endanger the Autobots just because of your feelings towards Jazz?" Smokescreen said evenly. It was a low blow and he knew it, but if it was what the situation required, so be it.

Prowl dropped his optics and swung away from Smokescreen. Absentmindedly he raised his hand and started rubbing his chevron again. Smokescreen was right. A relationship with Jazz was likely give the Decepticons leverage should one of them be captured and it be discovered. Prowl was also responsible for sending Jazz out on dangerous missions. If he was to enter into a relationship with Jazz, how would it influence his decisions? He groaned as pain laced through his CPU. His processor ache definitively warranted a trip to the medbay now. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into his brother's optics. All the anger and irritation had drained away and now all that remained in his blue optics were unadultered concern.

"Prowl, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You don't need to deal with this now." Smokescreen stared back at Prowl. His eyes were too white to be healthy and his armour too hot for it to be normal. Stupid, stupid. Smokescreen mentally berated himself for losing his cool with Prowl. Why did he allow it to go this far when he knew his brother couldn't handle the emotions?

Prowl gave a brief nod and rested his head in his hand again. He tried to clear his thoughts from all emotions, but to no avail. The room started blurring and everything became distant as he felt himself slowly locking up.

"Prowl, I've called a medic. He ought to be here soon." Smokescreen said as he turned Prowl to face him. "Look at me." Prowl reluctantly turned his diluted optics towards Smokescreen. "Good. I need you to tell me about…" Smokescreen hesitated a click as his mind tried to grasp unto a logical concept he could ask Prowl about, "about the new security measure Red Alert installed during the previous cycles." Good. That was something logical Prowl could hopefully latch on to.

Prowl focused and refocused his optics on Smokescreen, willing his processor to recollect the information needed. "New cameras in sectors B1 and B2, old cameras were destroyed in one of Sideswipe's pranks. New motion detectors installed in…" Prowl's voice slowly trailed off as he sagged against Smokescreen.

"Prowl!" Smokescreen shook him harshly to get his attention. "Where are the new motion detectors? Have they been tested?" Where is the damn, fragging medic? Smokescreen thought as Prowl once again struggled to recollect the data.

Prowl's door pinged and Smokescreen hurriedly reached over to enter the codes to open it, allowing an unfamiliar orange and white medic to race in. Smokescreen shifted around Prowl to support him from behind, gently massaging his doorwings as the medic knelt before Prowl and inserted his cable.

Jumpstart immediately accessed the logic centre and defragged it using a special medical protocol suited to Prowl's condition. At least this would stop the lock-up.

Jumpstart allowed the program to run unhindered as he ran diagnostics and scans over Prowl's frame. Prowl's core temperature was slightly above normal, but he wasn't overly concerned with it. He focused his attention on the battle computer. With most of Prowl's firewalls down he was free to inspect it at leisure. He scowled slightly as his diagnostic reports came back, indicating the activation of the battle computer at least fifteen to twenty breems ago. Why was Prowl's battle computer activated? It wasn't supposed to be active.

"Did you have an argument?" Jumpstart asked Smokescreen, who managed to look sheepish as he stood behind Prowl.

"We may have had a disagreement or two touching a sensitive topic." He replied.

"When was this? Or how long ago did you argue?"

Smokescreen shrugged, "Probably within the last five to ten breems. No longer than that. Why?"

Jumpstart briefly hesitated, "It helps with treating the patient if I know what caused the lock-up." He lied. He quickly uploaded his diagnostic results and wiped the logs of the battle computer being active.

Smokescreen nodded. He couldn't care less what the medic did as long as it helped Prowl. Smokescreen stared around the painfully neat office, everything was placed to maximise efficiency and no personal ornaments were to be found. Prowl just wasn't the kind of bot to hold sentimental value to objects. Smokescreen shuttered his optics. How was Prowl ever going to function normally in a relationship – especially with a creature as illogical as Jazz? Why the Pit did he allow this to slip past his radar? Prowl was already too emotionally involved with that mech for his own good.

Smokescreen's musings were interrupted by the soft-spoken voice of the medic. "Ok, I managed to unlock his processor and run a quick defrag of his system. However he would need at least seven cycles of deep recharge to defrag it properly. Luckily he didn't go into full lock-up otherwise we would have had to send him to medbay." Jumpstart gave Smokescreen a reassuring smile. "I've also uploaded a program that ought to bring down his temperature back into normal levels. Don't worry, he'll be fine." Jumpstart laid his hand on Prowls shoulder and gently shook it. "Prowl, sir? Can you respond to me?" He asked.

Prowl moaned and shuttered his optics, raising a servo to his optics before letting his hand drop again.

"Prowl? Can you hear me?" Smokescreen asked as he leaned over Prowl, trying to see into his face. Prowl flickered his doorwings back and forth, moaning softly as he relaxed back into Smokescreen's touch. "Good. How are you feeling?" Smokescreen asked again.

Prowl took a few clicks before he unshuttered his optics, gazing into Smokescreen's face. "Better. Thank you." He replied in a static voice before looking at the medic. "Where's Ratchet?"

"Unfortunately Ratchet was busy with another patient and was unable to come. He sent me instead." Jumpstart said as he got up and started folding his cable. "I would recommend that you take the rest of the shift off and recharge. Your CPU needs a good defrag session."

Prowl looked at his desk and the stack of datapads still craving his attention. He sighed. He felt weak and unstable, yet the datapads needed his attention. He turned back to Jumpstart. "Understood. I will recharge as soon as I finish these."

"Oh no you don't!" Smokescreen grabbed Prowl under his arms and hoisted him to his feet. "If you need recharge, then you are going to recharge. Your shift has been over for at least one cycle so you are not neglecting your duties."

Jumpstart inched back into the corner of the office, staying out of the way of the two Praxians.

Prowl glowered at Smokescreen, but Smokescreen paid him no heed. He kept his hold on Prowl's arm and escorted him out of the office.

Jumpstart headed back to Prowl's office and glanced at the datapads, then at the door. He could probably take a quick peek without anybody noticing…

"What are you doing here?" A cold voice asked from the doorway.

Jumpstart jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. "I was here on Smokescreen's request." The young medic said as he turned to face Codebreaker.

Codebreaker stood holding two cubes of energon in his hands, looking suspiciously at Codebreaker. This might be his chance to talk to the medic, but knowing the medic he would probably find a good excuse to leave. The medic was already walking towards the door, but Codebreaker interceded him.

Jumpstart glared at Codebreaker. "Please move. I am needed back at the medical bay." He said stiffly.

Codebreaker leaned against the doorway, an easy smile adorned his faceplate. "On one condition." He said playfully.

Jumpstart eyed him suspiciously, then decided to go along with it. "And what might this condition be?" Codebreaker raised an optic ridge at his cold reply. A glacier was warmer compared to Jumpstart's icy tone.

"Join me for energon after shift?" Codebreaker asked sweetly. "We could meet in the recroom," he hesitated, "or if you prefer I could always meet you at the medbay?"

Jumpstart stared at Codebreaker. "Why?"

"Why? You hail from Tyger-Pax, that practically makes us brothers here! It's just a friendly cube of energon."

Jumpstart stared at Codebreaker then at the door. "Fine. Meet me after your shift at the medbay. I'm working graveyard shift." He reluctantly agreed.

Codebreaker graciously sprang to the side, allowing Jumpstart to flee past him to his medbay. Codebreaker watched him leave, his expression unreadable as he narrowed his optics at the retreating medic.


I will be editing this chapter at some stage when I have more time. If you see any errors or such, please PM me. Sorry about the quality of the chapter. It should have been way better, but I'll put more effort into the next chapter and edit this one later.

Please review and thank-you! :)