The Diego Diaries: Soundly (dd8 373)

NOTE: Everyone in the path of storms crossing Europe right now, please take the greatest care. For those of us who have these kind of storms normally, they are real and you can't play around with them. They are lethal sometimes. I hope all is well. Please be careful. I have to say watching the videos of some of your countries, you live in astonishingly beautiful places. The Netherlands is amazing. I love you all so much. -Nana.

=0=In a corridor

Ratchet discussed the situation with the doctors who were part of Tell's team, listening to their advice as he held the crying baby.

Tell for his part had a very healthy vocalizer and the more he cried the more he was scared of the sound. Into his silent world noise had intruded and nothing he had experienced prepared him for this moment. He wailed as his fathers stood side-by-side, their servos gripped tighter than a winch.

Alor stood beside Drift gripping his arm as the three of them watched.

Finally Ratchet turned toward them. "They said his hearing might return out of the blue so to speak, coming online without warning. He's done such good work progressing toward his CNA repair that this is sort of expected."

"What do we do? Is he going to be alright? He isn't going to … you know," Springer said with real terror in his voice.

Drift was too overcome to say anything. He stared at Ratchet with genuine fear, this former bad ass Decepticon and now Autobot ninja warrior.

"This isn't in the least life threatening. He's just afraid. Here," Ratchet said. "Hold him while we get ready to take him to the Med Center for the team to examine. There are things we can do."

Ratchet walked back into the apartment where everyone was standing silently, their optics riveted to the door. "We're taking him to the Med Center. He's got his hearing back and sometimes it comes all at once. They're going to examine him and let us know the next steps. You stay here and party. We'll come back with news. Don't worry. I got this." Ratchet grabbed blankets and a little hat, then hurried out. He peered back inside. "Alie is coming." The door closed again.

For a moment no one said a word, then Raptor vented his relief. "I'm glad that Ratchet does that and not me. You can't pay me to be a doctor."

There wasn't one person in the room who didn't agree.

=0=Hallway

Tell was wailing but not that loudly as he lay in Springer's arms. He stared at both his fathers with the most piteous expression as he struggled with the painful sounds in his audials.

Ratchet handed the blankets to Drift, then gently put the little hat on the baby's helm, tying the ties into a bow. "Wrap him up. We have to go."

Drift and Springer awkwardly wrapped the baby, then started to put him into Springer's hold.

"He needs to see you. You have to hold him. Protect his little servos and face. The blankets," Ratchet said as he straightened them a bit. When all was well, he led them to the elevators and the trip to the ground floor and the short walk to the Med Center next door.

=0=Up there

"I got a message from Alor that Springer and Drift's baby just got his hearing all of a sudden," Milie said with surprise. "He's a deaf baby. Its a genetic thing they're working on repairing. One of the ways it resolves is by hearing to go online at once. Apparently it did and he scared himself half to death, the poor little baby."

A murmur of concern and commiseration filled the room among the adults. Prowl made a note to check in shortly in case moral support was needed. He felt the burn for everyone and the baby as well.

His baby.

=0=Less far up there

"Amma."

Everyone glanced at a solemn Hero.

"What happened? Why did Tell cry?" she asked as she anxiously wrung her tiny servos. Prowler stood on one side of her holding his teddy bear and Halo was on the other. Both of them looked worried.

"Tell can't hear anything, babies. He was separated that way. They gave him some medicine and he got his hearing back. He's never heard anything so when he did he was frightened. He was crying because he was afraid," Ravel said gently. "He will be fine. Your ada is taking care of him."

"Ada doing the she," Orion said as he walked up to Hero and placed a tiny servo on her shoulder. He leaned into her face with his own earnest one. "Ada helpeded that she. She good. Ada good she. Ada do good to she. She be good. All good."

Hero stared at her brother, then grinned. She looked at Ravel. "Orion is taking care of us."

"Orion is a good big brother," Tie Down said with emotion.

Orion glanced at him, then the others, all of whom were looking at him with varying degrees of emotion. It was different, this kind of attention but it woke in him a protective need. He walked to Ravel and patted his knee. "Good you, Amma. I good you." Then he walked around the room patting everyone, grinning at them with confidence that he was helping them feel better. He exuded a sense of sweetness and hopefulness that was almost palpable.

They watched him comfort and give confidence to everyone, this tiny version of Ironhide. It would be just what they needed at that moment.

=0=Outside

They stepped out into the frigid night. Darkness had fallen and it was bitter beyond human endurance. To them it was just another night and as cold as they allowed themselves to feel. They were adults. They could regulate such things. Children would take time to mature, then gain those features and their mastery. Snuggled in his blankets with a soft warm cap on his tiny helm, Tell clung to his father as they walked briskly to the hospital in the next tower over.

Sounds of traffic and someone's shout here and there filled the urban landscape all around them. Far away a siren sounded, identified by all as a police vehicle. Someone was either speeding and getting pulled over or someone was hurrying to a call. Up the walkway they went to the front doors. Mechs were coming and going as the business of a large metropolitan hospital never ended.

They entered the slightly dimmed lobby, walked to the elevator, then went up to the fifteenth floor where the audial team was housed. It was silent and tense in the elevator as the baby fell into a silent watchful mode. The heat of his father's chassis and the patting of his other father had helped him settle. Although the cap helped, he could still hear muffled sounds and it was scary for him, it was clear.

They stepped out and followed Ratchet who led them through the doors marked "Audial Lab and Testing Center'. Into the reception area they walked. Ratchet paused to get the word on who was here and where they were before leading everyone to that room.

Dr. Carvil was there along with Doctors Meslin and Piery. They were a specialist team who worked on a lot of really complex audial problems including genetic originating deafness.

Ratchet paused beside the med berth where they waited. "Good thing you're not out in the Valles. Our baby's audials decided to kick in when I was holding a full plate of dinner."

They grinned at Ratchet, then Meslin gently took the baby who began to cry again.

Springer and Drift looked about as bad as Alor when Springer handed the baby over. His wailing cries were piercing in sound and effect.

"What's happening? Is he going to be okay?" Springer finally managed.

"Remember when we said that the rate of his progress was so good he didn't have to take the medicine anymore?" Carvil asked.

The three nodded as Ratchet helped Meslin with Tell. The baby reached for Ratchet who took his little servos into his own. Rubbing them gently, Tell fell into a keening sound with the saddest little expression on his face. "You're a champion. You're going to hear things now. When your daddies say no, you're not going to have an excuse anymore."

Meslin chuckled as he removed the cap, then plugged the baby into machines. The doctors gathered around to read the data with Ratchet.

Alor, Springer and Drift watched feeling as useless at this moment as they ever had in their lives. The baby was settling a tiny bit and that helped.

A tiny bit.

It seemed like a million years had crawled past when Ratchet after having an off line discussion, something that seemed of and itself terribly ominous, finally turned toward them. "He has his hearing. What Carvil and Meslin will do is fine tune the level of sound toward normal. It came in very loud for some reason and that's what scared him, though I'd wager he'd be scared anyway. He's a strong healthy little champion."

Springer felt himself deflate like a balloon while Drift edged closer to look. "He's going to be alright?" he asked with a tight slightly strangled sound.

"He's going to be great," Dr. Piery said. "This was so fast and complete that we'd like to study his recovery and progress. I've treated this sort of thing before but never with this type of recovery."

"Well, he is that side of the awesome scale as someone always tells me," Ratchet said with one of his best smiles.

Springer stared at him, nodded, then stepped out of the room. He hurried down the corridor to the end of the hallway, stepping into the little lounge with a great view that was there. He walked to the window in turmoil. A hand gripped his shoulder and in the reflection of the window he saw Drift. Spinning around, he hugged Drift tightly. They stood that way for a long time together.

=0=In the room down the hallway

Alor watched them go, then glanced at Ratchet. "Those two better toughen up," he said as he wiped his optics with his servo.

"Yeah, hard aft," Ratchet said as he cricked his neck. "I knew this would be fine but I still want to cry."

"You and me both." Alor walked to Ratchet and stared at the baby. "That is one outrageously great baby. His fathers are both a wreck."

"I'll get them home. No one is going to work for a few orns." Ratchet glanced at the three who were discussing the plan going forward. "I'll help you with this, to keep them organized. They're not very good at this sort of thing yet."

Carvil grinned. "That's the best part of this, helping them get on their peds again. We can give you the protocol and if you would, that would be good. We want to study the baby if they'll let us. His recovery is rather remarkable."

"Awesome scale," Alor said with a chuckle. "I'll get the boys." He walked to the door, then slipped out.

Ratchet looked at Tell, then grinned. "I'll get them to do it. It could help him later on and help other babies and children. You three are the best. You really are."

"Victories, Ratchet. They make us look good," Carvil said as he wrapped the baby up. "He's going to be startled easily but if they go home and carry him around showing him things that can make sounds, sounds that are soft and mellow, then it will help. This baby will adjust really fast. Tell them that singing to him or reading is primo for desensitizing him to sound. But he will be for some time. His world was silent. Now it isn't. Its a process."

"It is," Ratchet said with a grin at the baby.

It would be a while before he would grin back. That would happen when his shaken fathers returned to the room.

=0=Down the hallway

Alor paused at the door. Drift and Springer were holding each other. He walked in and hugged them both. "Group hug?"

Springer raised his helm from Drift's shoulder. "Yes."

Alor squeezed them both. "That baby is a champion. He's such a hero that they sincerely want to study him to find out how big his other super powers are."

Drift snorted, then chuckled. He squeezed Springer, then turned to Alor for a hug. "He is. He's our super hero."

Springer nodded. "Can we go or does he stay here?"

"He goes. Ratchet and I will go with you. You're off duty in all areas for a few orns until the strangeness of hearing fades. Come on. Let's go." Alor led them back to the room, holding the door as they walked in, then followed.

Ratchet was holding Tell as he joked with the three smiling doctors. He turned when Springer and Drift came in.

Tell saw them, then raised an arm. He smiled at the two of them.

The two of them would have smiled back if they could. They took him from Ratchet and hugged him tightly instead.

=0=TBC 2-22-22 (these numbers are auspicious if you're into this. Wish good things for yourself. You never know.)

Please be careful out there. Inclement weather is my thing here. It might be new to you. Just listen to the warnings and believe them. I'll think good thoughts for all of you. -Nana.

ESL

commiseration: (koh-miss-ur-ashun) To commiserate is to talk to someone kindly, to listen and help them feel better. Commiseration is the act of doing that. Sympathizing is commiseration.

palpable: (pal-puh-bl) If something is palpable you can feel it. If you are in a tense room and you feel everyone's tension, then that tension is palpable. If you feel with your senses things that aren't real, such as fear, tension, expectation to a high degree, then that thing is palpable.