Okies, so I've been sitting here miserable in bed for the last few days here with the earache of the century and swollen lymph nodes, while trying to stumble my way through a new chapter for BnB while I've been lucid... Yet somehow I've managed to write a short chapter for this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.

Now I'm going back to dozing while listening G1...

Chapter 9

~x~

~Bay~

~x~

"Are the handcuffs really necessary?" Bay asked as the door to the interrogation room opened. She glanced up from her paperwork to see a balding older man in a suit step in.

"What in the hell is taking you so long to sign those damned papers?" he grumped as he sourly glared at her.

Bay blinked at him as she retorted, "Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't realize that I was inconveniencing you by thoroughly reading this book of papers you've given me to sign. After all I wouldn't want to sign anything that would take away my nephew's and my rights away."

"Just sign the damned papers."

Bay slowly turned to the next page, inciting a growl from the man. "I will read this at my own pace. However things might go faster if I were to have some refreshments." Bay said smugly as she scanned over the page.

With another growl the door was harshly opened and closed as he stormed out in a tiff. A smirk graced her lips as she pulled out the hair pin that she had been trying to pick the locks on the cuffs with.

~x~

~Jazz~

~x~

Jazz was sitting on Ratchet's shoulder, watching as the larger mech went over his original frame inspecting all of the repairs he had made thus far. Jazz found the sight of his own chassis both interesting and disturbing at the same time...

He turned his gaze over to the berth where Eight had curled up in recharge. Ratchet vented a sigh drawing Jazz back to him as he closed the chest plates of his frame. "I've done all I can. I've flushed your lines of the stale energon, and replaced what I could. All that remains at this point is transferring your spark back to your frame." Ratchet held a servo out for Jazz.

The tiny bot transferred over to the servo to better look the medi-bot in the optics. "Thanks Ratchet."

"Are you okay Jazz?"

Jazz remained quiet as he thought of the right words to say. Finally the little bot spoke up with, "Ratch' do ya believe in fate?"

Ratchet blinked at him. "Hm..." he mused on it fir a few minutes before saying, "I suppose." he said as he walked over to sit on the edge of a spare berth. "Being a medic a certain amount of luck is required in my line of work, and sometimes I'm meant to fail as much as I hate to say it. Why do you ask?"

"Ah shoulda offlined."

The words hung heavily in the air between the two of them.

"Jazz..."

"Mah spark should be in da Well and ya know it." Jazz cut him off. "But yet here Ah am, in dis frame; which used ta be a toy. A toy that belonged ta Eight and his brother, who jus' happened to be righ' dere when Ah was supposed ta offline? Not ta mention tha' he just happened ta live in Tranquility of all places?"

"So you believe that it was meant for you to meet this youngling?"

"Ah don't now but there is too much coincidence..." Jazz smiled. "Y'kno' he tol' meh that there was no such thin' as coincidence."

"Hm.."

Silence fell between them as Jazz stared at the boy. "Ratch' wha's gonna happen to him an' Bay?"

"Worried about Barricade?"

"Da fragger won't forget the, anytime soon. He knows tha' they were hiding meh."

Ratchet rubbed his chin. "I suppose that Optimus will put them under our protection. At least until the Con's threat is dissuaded."

Jazz shook his helm. "Bay won't like tha'."

Ratchet chuckled. "I've no doubt of that. She is certainly a feisty femme isn't she?"

"It's a façade. Ah've been watching 'er for da last few night's. She's more worried than she's lettin' on, and Ah doubt that adding us ta her stress level is gonna help."

"Very true." Ratchet said as he unsubspaced a datapad. It displayed the results of a scan he had taken of Eight when the boy had first drifted off.

"Say Ratchet."

Ratchet glanced up from the data pad. "Yes Jazz?"

"Is he gonna be alrigh'?" Jazz asked looking over to the boy.

"I neutralized the poisonous effect of the energon in his system... however it is still in his body. I can't remove it since my current scan revealed that the energon has broken down to a cellular level. With time and perhaps luck it will eventually disperse."

"Ah hope so."

~x~

~Bay~

~x~

Bay grinned as she leaned against the wall by the door waiting for it to open. She had managed to go through the entire 'book' and was less than pleased. The footsteps in the hall stopped and the door clicked open.

"Alright I've got your damned-" Grumpy trailed off midsentence before the coffee and a bag hit the floor as he rushed forward. Bay took that moment to strike, nailing him in the groin and the solar plexus before tossing him aside.

"I didn't really agree with your contract! Catch ya later!" she said as she bolted out the door.