Just in time for Christmas! Thank you to my wonderful beta, Second Daughter of Eve! She got this back to me quickly! XD
Enjoy guys!
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Savannah wandered through the quiet and calm base. It was the only reason as to why she knew that it was night, that and the fact that the temperature had dropped about ten degrees. The loss of her vision had not changed the fact that she couldn't sleep at night. In fact, now she could barely sleep at all. The most sleep she had gotten was when she slept in Optimus' cab almost a week ago. She had gotten almost six hours of sleep that time before she had yet another nightmare and Optimus had been forced to wake her. Ratchet had tried to get her to take some sleep aids. She had not only refused, she had thrown them back at him and told him where to shove them. As much as she appreciated their worry, sometimes Savannah just couldn't stand their company. Since then she once again avoided all of the Autobots. Except for those random moments when Jazz or Blaster found her.
She would then sit and have what could be called a listening session with them. They would talk, and she would appear to listen. She knew that they were only trying to help, but she preferred to remain in a quiet area and just sit still. When it was quiet, she could allow her mind to clear completely, and she could forget what had happened to her for a short time.
Savannah had just found a good spot to sit and had begun to clear her mind when she heard the sound of a mech approaching her. The steps were irregularly quiet, and the lack of sound confused her for a short time.
"May I join you, Ms. Price?" A cultured, polite, and very quiet voice asked gently.
Savannah smiled slightly at the Second In Command's request. "Yes, Prowl. If you do not mind to be in the company of a blind woman."
"I do not think of you as a blind woman, Ms. Price." Prowl replied as he sat beside her almost silently. "And I apologize for being so quiet as I arrived."
"No, don't apologize." She smiled up at the source of his voice. "And I am a blind woman, Prowl. There is no need to ignore that fact."
"You, Ms. Price, are not blind. Blindness is not something that happens easily. Listen to the area around us, and tell me what you think you would see." Prowl requested.
Savannah was slightly taken aback by the request, but sighed and focused on the sounds. Within seconds she had pinpointed three buildings, four people on patrol, the steady beat of Blaster playing music ten buildings away, and a quiet thrum coming from Prowl.
"I hear… what is that beating noise?" She turned to Prowl.
"That beating noise would be Blaster." Prowl sighed.
"No, it's closer." Savannah motioned to him. "Blaster is a few blocks away. The sound that I am talking about is coming from you."
Prowl was very quiet for several seconds before Savannah heard him reach down to pick her up. She nodded consent when he paused, and then allowed him to lift her up.
"Did the sound get louder?" Prowl questioned when he stopped lifting her.
"Yes, it's right in front of me now." Savannah reached out and touched the warm metal that she figured made up his chest plates. "I can feel a vibration every time I hear the beat."
"That would be my spark." Prowl's voice was gentle and patient. "You can hear it?"
"Yeah… if I concentrate." Savannah pulled her hand back and allowed Prowl to place her back on the ground.
"Interesting… have you heard the beat before?" Prowl questioned.
"Well… yeah." Savannah shrugged.
"Then you could pinpoint a Cybertronian in a room by listening for it." Prowl stated. "And you could tell that Blaster was not near."
"Yes, Prowl. I could." Savannah sighed in irritation. "What's your point?"
"You do not need eyes to see." Prowl stated simply. "You could tell where you were simply by listening, and I'm sure that if you tried, you could add your other senses in order to see everything. Just in a different way."
"So… like a different view of things?"
"Exactly." Prowl sounded proud that she had grasped the concept.
Savannah turned toward a building and thought about what Prowl had just showed her. With a sudden grin, she realized that he was right. She didn't need her eyes to 'see'.
"Thank you Prowl…" The woman turned back to him. "I needed someone to make me think."
Prowl chuckled and stood. "Believe it or not, I did the same thing with another friend of mine a long time ago."
"Jazz?" Savannah guessed.
"Yes, I showed him how to 'see without sight.' A lesson I learned at a young age from a mech who was much wiser than I."
The dark haired woman smiled and turned to leave.
"Still, thank you. I think…" She paused. "I think I can try again."
"Try what again Ms. Price?"
"Please, call me Savannah." She sighed. "And I can try to live again, instead of just existing."
"Savannah, there is really no trying when it comes to living. You, of all beings, know that. You only needed to talk."
"No, I needed you to show me that losing my sight doesn't mean that I can't do what I used to. I just need to learn how to work around it." Savannah grinned. "It's not that I can't do it, it's just that I need to do it differently. I need to… have a different view of things."
"Good luck Savannah." Prowl stated as she turned and walked way.
Instead of hunching over and bowing her head, though, Savannah walked with a straight back and her head held high. She was determined to prove that she wasn't a different person just because she had lost her sight.
Prowl couldn't help but smile, she reminded him of Jazz a bit. He could definitely see why Jazz had adopted her as his sister.
And why Optimus had fallen in love with the woman.
/Optimus/
/Yes Prowl?/
/I think Savannah will be fine./
/You did it again I take it./
Prowl actually chuckled through the comm.
/I didn't do anything but speak with her./
/Yes, I think you did it again. Just like when you helped Jazz, am I correct?/
Prowl only chuckled again and cut the conversation.
"What are you laughing about Prowler?" A very upbeat voice asked as the mech who had just been talked about plopped down beside him.
"Nothing, Jazz." Prowl sighed with a smile.
"So… I noticed Savannah on my way here. She looked better." Jazz changed the subject smoothly.
"Yes, I do believe she is doing much better."
Jazz laughed. "Showed her how to see without sight huh?"
"In a way, yes."
"In other words you did." Jazz grinned over at him. "Mech, you are better than you think at this stuff."
"Only because I speak quietly." Prowl sighed.
"No, Mech, you tell it how it is." Jazz stated simply. "And then you prove it."
Prowl sighed again before focusing on the sky.
"Send me a still of the stars." Jazz suddenly requested.
Prowl grinned, before doing as Jazz asked. The hyperactive mech gave a short laugh before getting quiet in order to study the file.
"They look different here." He sighed before saving the still in a data file.
"That is because we are on a different planet, Jazz."
"I know that Prowler. I mean that you can see them better, the sky isn't hazy and the stars are brighter."
Prowl remained quiet as he studied the sky.
"You're right… they are." Prowl finally stated.
"These humans have so much to appreciate." Jazz stated quietly. "But I've only noticed a few of them that do appreciate it."
"I know Jazz. But I also know that Cybertron had just as much to offer."
"But only a few of us appreciated it." Jazz finished for him.
Prowl sighed and nodded before studying the stars quietly.
/Prowl, whatever you did… good work./ Ratchet suddenly stated over the comm. link.
/What makes you think I did something?/
/Savannah just came in and asked me to help her come up with a plan that will get her moving around a bit faster. She's… better. Savannah is… trying./
/And that makes you think that I did something why?/
/Because she stated that you and her talked and that because of you she has a whole new idea of how to handle herself as a blind woman. Something about 'seeing without sight'?/
Jazz snorted, showing that he had been listening in on the comm. conversation.
/And tell Jazz that he needs to quit listening on private conversations./
/Oh come on 'Hatchet! It's not like I comment or anything./
/You just did Jazz./
Prowl rolled his optics and shut himself out of the conversation so that Jazz and Ratchet could disagree without giving him a helmache.
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Whew, about time I made her start working toward getting better! The pace is going to pick back up now, and Savannah has a few tricks up her sleeve after that talk with Prowl!
Reviews are appreciated, but not required. I'm just thankful I have so many followers for this story! THANK YOU TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE FAVORITED/FOLLOWED/REVIEWED THIS STORY! YOUR SUPPORT MEANS MORE THAN YOU KNOW!
Oh, and as an added bonus, here is an excerpt for the next chapter of my story, Guardians of Danger.
Enjoy!
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"How can a human possibly gain a bond with Cybertronians?" Chi asked in a deceptively calm voice.
"We don't know, but we are working on it." Ratchet replied cautiously.
Chi could be rather vicious when she was angry, confused, and worried. He had repaired many bots that had driven her to this point and did not want to be the next on her list.
"Trust me, Ratchet; there is no way we did this on purpose." Chi stated just as calmly as before, though her eyes did flash with a violent light.
"I know that Chi." Ratchet replied and glanced at Optimus, who was watching the conversation with extreme caution. "We are doing our best to figure this out."
Chi only watched him with dimly glowing blue eyes. They had regained the glow shortly after she woke and had yet to stop.
"Good, because I am trying to stay calm right now." She finally stated after several tense seconds. "It's only getting more difficult to do so."
"Why?" Optimus asked simply, though he did step forward in a motion that caused Chi to look over at him sharply. Taking her focus off of Ratchet and putting Optimus himself under the heat of her stare.
"Because." She stated slowly as her eyes took on a red glow around the edges. "The longer the twins are unconscious the angrier I get. They aren't the only ones who have a dark protective side anymore."
Chi's eyes continued to slowly turn a smoldering red.
"They aren't the only gladiators in the ranks now."
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There you guys go! I should have the new chapter to Guardians of Danger out by New Year's Day! Hope you guys enjoyed!
~Chistarpax