Authors note: I'd like to start with a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you really made my day and I can't believe how supportive and encouraging you've been. From the bottom of my heart thank you very much.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Transformers; I just enjoy writing about them.
There was no warning
Chapter 2
With a string of expletives Ratchet stormed into his med-bay and looked around it desperately trying to hold on to the anger that fuelled him, to his mind there was only one thing worse than a full bay after a great disaster and that was an empty one.
The final report from Uraya had come in while he was snatching some much-needed re-charge and he'd on-lined to read the message that he had dreaded.
Search and rescue had gone through the whole city and found nothing. The only mechs to survive were a musician that he knew vaguely from a performance he had done for Sentinel Prime and a sparkling he had met when he had gone to see if he could be of any help.
Both mechs would be joining him soon for more thorough examinations than he had been able to give them a few cycles before and he knew in his spark that he had to stay furious or surrender to the alternative of despair.
"How could this be allowed to happen?" He demanded to know as he hauled out some of the equipment he would need. "How dare these Decepticons do this?" He doubted that any mech could have answered his questions and told himself that it was just as well that he was alone.
A few breems later a courtesy comm from Prowl informed him that they had arrived at the building and he crossed to the door to greet them. "Well come on in then." He snapped.
"We're not late are we?" Jazz asked.
"Not by my chronometer." Ratchet answered.
"Then could you check Prowls?" Jazz grinned. "'Cause all I've had since I got out of re-charge is him worrying."
Jazz' seemingly infectious good humour threatened to override Ratchets defence mechanisms but he caught himself just in time and looked down and the fidgeting sparkling who stood nervously between the two mechs.
"Have you discovered his real name yet?" Ratchet asked.
Prowl shook his head. "Jazz started calling him Bluestreak not long after we got him home and he seems to like that. Is it possible that the heat he suffered damaged him memory chips?"
"Yes it is." Ratchet confirmed. "Come on youngling lets take a look at you." He was being as soothing as he could be but Bluestreak was having none of it.
"Don't wanna, don't wanna." The sparkling shrieked, wriggled out of the hold his guardians had kept on him and scuttled under the nearest table.
"Well I see that he found his vocaliser at least. Fast isn't he?" Ratchet observed as Prowl leapt after his charge.
"Hence Bluestreak." Jazz smiled. "Most of the time that's all I can see of the little mech."
"So your self repair systems haven't been able to do much for your optics then?"
The barest shake of Jazz' head was the only answer Ratchet received.
"Got you!" Came the triumphant cry from the other side of the med-bay and Jazz' sombre disposition disappeared without a trace. He chuckled fondly and made his way towards Prowls voice.
"You were the one who gave him the energon goodies to keep him quiet." He reminded his partner.
"I'm well aware of that Jazz and if someone hadn't decided to spend most of his time in the wash rack before we left I wouldn't have had to, would I?" Prowl shot back.
"Can we leave the bickering for later? I do have other things to do today." Ratchet said briskly. "Bluestreak would you like me to look Jazz over first so that you can see that it doesn't hurt?"
The sparkling nodded and Jazz dutifully perched on the edge of a berth. Ratchet examined his hands first and was pleased to see that the burns Jazz had suffered saving Bluestreak had almost healed. The only other real damage the mech had taken was to his optics and there the medic was disappointed.
"How much can you actually see Jazz?" He asked thoughtfully.
"I can see that you're mostly white." Jazz answered. "But mostly all I get is shapes and movement."
"Bright light renders him almost completely blind." Prowl put in. "And it causes him pain."
"That I can do something about." Ratchet reached for a tool and in less than a breem detached a few pain receptors. "But I'm sorry to say that…"
"The rest is permanent." Jazz finished for him with an almost disturbing finality. "I've accepted that."
Finding Jazz' attitude somewhat disarming Ratchet nodded to buy himself the time to push a surge of sorrow away and turned his attention to his other patient. "Right then Blue. Up you come."
Bluestreak squeaked loudly and dashed under a workbench. Prowl followed him without hesitation but came up empty handed. "Lost him." He admitted.
Ratchet uttered a curse and received warning looks from both mechs before Jazz gestured for quiet and listened intently. "Bluestreak don't you dare shut off your vents again." He said firmly. "You know what happened last time you tried that trick."
The medic correctly guessed that the pair were using their bond to communicate when they moved into a pincer formation around a cabinet. Ratchet was surprised to note that while Prowl couldn't help making some noise Jazz made no sound at all. There was a brief scuffle and a small clang before Jazz came up with the youngling struggling in his grip and a grin on his faceplate.
"Well done." Ratchet conceded gruffly. "Now get him on the table."
Despite the couples best efforts Bluestreak refused to be still and Ratchet was having a difficult time examining him until Prowl held up an energon goodie. The little mech quieted for the length of time it took him to devour the treat, then bounced off the bench and ricocheted off a few walls leaving impressive dents in the metal panels before he seemed to forget why he was running and launched himself at Jazz.
"Hush now Blue." Jazz whispered and he started to hum softly. The sparkling wriggled once to make himself more comfortable and slipped into re-charge. "Looks like we wore him out." He smiled.
"At least that means I get to finish." Ratchet growled and a breem or so later he looked up again. "He's fine, Prowl was right about the heat and his memory but sparklings are a lot tougher than they look and everything's working perfectly now so he shouldn't have any further problems."
"That's great. Thank you." Jazz said gratefully.
"Ratchet?" Prowl asked.
"What?" The medic demanded.
"I just got a comm to tell me that there's an info waiting for me, could I use your console for a breem?" His attention switched to Jazz as soon as he finished talking. "If it's not life and death I swear we're going straight home." That seemed to be enough to sooth his partner and Prowl looked back to Ratchet who nodded. "This won't take long." He promised both of them.
Ratchet turned away from the others and busied himself tidying up a few instruments to stop himself watching the tenderness he saw when he looked at Jazz and Bluestreak. The meeting was proving demanding enough for him and he had no intention of making it any harder.
"That was Prime." Prowl announced. "His staff have finished going through everyone who had some connection to Uraya but weren't there when it was destroyed. Not one of them has any claim on Blue."
"I didn't think that they would be that quick." Jazz whispered flatly.
"So what will you do now?" Ratchet asked them.
"We said that we'd give him up once we knew what was going to happen to him next…" Jazz said reluctantly. His optics never left the bundle that rested in his arms and his vents were pulling air in deeply to keep him calm.
Prowl moved to his lovers side, put a protective arm around his shoulders and used his free hand to bring Jazz' face up to look at his. "But I don't think we can." He finished.
"You really mean that?" Jazz asked quietly.
"We've only had him for five cycles but he already feels like ours." Prowl answered certainly "I think that we lost enough in Uraya and that it's time something good came from it."
In response Jazz buried his faceplate in Prowls shoulder and hugged him as best he could with one arm.
Ratchet got the sudden feeling that he was intruding on something incredibly private and moved automatically to a piece of equipment to keep himself occupied.
"Ratchet." There was still a slight tremble of emotion in Jazz' voice but he seemed to have regained most of his composure. When the medic looked up the other mech was standing at his side. "We'll be going now. I just wanted to say thank you." He said almost shyly.
"No thank you." He corrected sincerely. "I wish the three of you all the good luck on Cybertron."
"I think we already have most of it." Jazz smiled. "I hope I see you again soon."
"Likewise." He nodded. "Prowl take care of these two won't you?"
"Will do." Prowl promised, he waved with the hand that wasn't holding Bluestreak close to his chest and waited until Jazz joined him before the three of them headed out.
Ratchet held on to his emotions just long enough to watch the door close before he covered his face with his hands and sat down heavily. He missed the chair he was aiming for but hardly noticed. He was not as distraught as he had been at the beginning of his shift; the despair had to some degree been melted away by the hope he had seen in the little family.