There were giants above, silver faces peering down with ethereal glowing blue eyes and shining armor. Murmured words were gibberish to her cotton-stuffed ears as Shay lay on a hard surface. Although it felt like someone had placed a folded blanket under her neck and head. She didn't care, far too content to just stay there and bask in the warm embrace of drug-induced bliss.
'I've been kidnapped by shiny aliens,' the woman though slowly, staring in blurry fascination at the light glinting off the moving metal forms. 'I should tell those ufo crazies they got their descriptions wrong.' An inane giggle sounded and Shay realized it was from her, but the bots were talking again. Hair rustling against the makeshift pillow, her head turned slightly. Bright. Too bright. She didn't like the light glaring down at her from above. At least it was warm.
But her body felt so sluggish and heavy, she couldn't really move. And then blackness swept across her eyelids.
The second time the human awoke, she didn't at first realize she was actually conscious. A room, laying down, light from above. That was all she knew.
And slowly more awake thoughts drifted in with their nagging questions that unconscious was too lazy to answer. Where was she? Metal, lots of metal everywhere in a room easily twice the size of her house and probably larger. This was familiar... After a few moments, the previous events came back and with it the impending dread while she sat up slowly. Things were most definitely screwed to hell now and she didn't have the Twins for backup. 'Thanks life, glad you could kick me while I was down again.' An aggressive though before the female forced herself to breath in deeply and remain calm. She was only angry because Sunstreaker and Sideswipe weren't there. Calm, calm was good.
Critically eyeing the large table she was on and scooting around a bit, Shay decided there was no way she was getting down without help. Besides, where would a shoe-less woman go in the middle of a giant base? She did contemplate taking out the drip taped to her wrist but lost the chance as a red and white bot stomped over from a small room off to the right. He methodically checked her over, carefully poked and prodded while glancing at his scans as she sat very still. Mouth plates set firmly into a deep frown, Shay couldn't decide if the expression on his face was peeved, worried, furious or tired. She suspected all of them.
One servo coming up to rub his face, Ratchet vented before giving her an odd look and speaking, "First off, I would like to apologize."
Not what she had been expecting. A blink, "Okay... Why?"
"After you were brought in, you became conscious and acted quite violently. Normally, I would hesitate to administer sedatives when I do not have complete medical files on someone, however, you were behaving erratically and hurting yourself." Ratchet paused to poke at the bandages covering her right arm. Shay had wondered why it'd been wrapped and only looked at him patiently, "I based the dosage on your weight. Which by the way is below average and not anywhere close to where it should be!"
His tone turned indignant as he crossed his arms and glared. The woman shrugged to which the medic rumbled before continuing.
"Basing it on weight proved to be ineffective as it was too much and kept you under for longer than was safe." Shay watched him before turning to look at the machinery off to the right and below the table she was sitting on. There were flashing lights and beeps coming from the devices.
A grumble, "It goes against my medical code to cause serious harm or threat to patients. Administering a dose of chemicals into your body was dangerous, although I lacked a better alternative. Which is why I'm trying to apologize." Ratchet waited, scowl still in place although he did sound slightly ill at ease for possibly causing harm to the human. Shay continued to stare at him.
"...Okay."
Now the medbot got a suspicious look, "Are you completely awake?"
"Yes. My eyes are open and I'm speaking."
"That does not always constitute being conscious." A new voice with a mild British accent chimed in. Behind Ratchet, a taller bot leaned over to get a peak at her. Shay only caught a short glance of his face and tri-colored plating of maroon, teal, and black before the CMO was shoving the newcomer out the door.
"I said NO ONE comes in unless I say they can!" A snarl as Ratchet's armor puffed up slightly in aggrievance, "OUT Perceptor."
The new bot, Perceptor apparently, pleaded his case, "I was only coming to see if you needed help..."
"OUT!"
The doors whooshed shut behind them, leaving the female to question just how awake she really was. Tired and sore yes, but completely conscious. With a sigh she unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, as a tee-shirt was not quite warm enough. Outside the doors came the indisputable sounds of shouting followed by silence and then the grouchy medic came back through dragging a door-winged mech by the arm. At least this one she knew. It was hard to forget such a talkative Autobot.
"There!" Ratchet pointed at her with an almost accusatory finger while still holding the Praxian, "She's not dead. So you can stop sitting out in the hall."
Bluestreak's wilted body language instantly perked up as he saw Shay sitting on the table, "You're okay! I mean, you look better. It was awful before because you were screaming and then unconscious but you don't look so bad-"
"Blue," the woman sighed, "I'm alright now."
The white and red ambulance disagreed vehemently, "Oooooooh no, we're going to have a talk about that later. For now, you get to calm him down. And stay here while I find human food." He snarled. Whirling around, the mech stomped right back out of the medbay.
"Where else would I go?" Shay muttered before turning back to her companion that was rapidly working himself into an excited state. Doorwings fluttered up and down with joy. She hadn't realized the sensory panels could actually move that much.
"I was really worried because I didn't know what to do so I brought you to Ratchet (please don't be mad at me for that) and then he kicked me out. So I've been outside in the hall for awhile except I had patrol so I had to leave for a bit but I came back and Ratchet wouldn't tell me anything and First Aid came out but wouldn't say anything either. And then Ratchet called some of the officers..." He stopped his information splurge as the human raised a hand to intervene.
"How long was I out?"
The datsun hummed in thought and hefted himself up on the med-berth to sit next to her, "Well, I brought you to Ratchet yesterday evening and now it's Wednesday, noon actually. So... about fifteen hours. Yeah." He nodded almost to himself as he checked his math. Shay blinked and pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering 'fifteen hours?!' under her breath. Blue leaned down to peer at her with a frown but the woman waved the impending questions away.
"That's... longer than I expected. I suppose the sedative had to do with it." She gave a partially amused and rueful look to the gunner next to her, "I've caught up on a lot of my sleep but still feel tired."
They sat in thoughtful silence as the human wondered what all was going on outside the medbay and where Ratchet was. The IV bothered her. Needles were not something she particularly enjoyed. But those wandering thoughts were pulled back when Bluestreak piped up almost hesitantly, feet swinging back and forth. "Wanna know something cool?" He continued at her nod, "I looked up your name a bit because I thought it was really funny and apparently there was a little known Egyptian god called Shay although it was usually Shai and the female version of the name was Shait. Anyways, he or she's the god of fate and I thought that was sooooo cool. You did save the Twins." Mischievous and hopefully glinting sky blue optics looked at her. Damn. Shay wanted to know who taught this kid that look, because if she found them they were getting throttled. How the hell could anyone be annoyed when he got that face?
Dark crescented eyes rolling, she huffed, "The irony is not lost on me. But I am fully human."
"I know I know!" Bluestreak hurried, sweeping his servos out. He seemed to talk with his hands a lot, "But it would be interesting..."
"Interesting my aft. It would complicate things more so than they already are." Even though she didn't know how Cybertronians aged, the woman would have bet good money that Blue was either a late teen or early adult. Grudgingly she added, "But you're correct. Meeting an Egyptian deity would be... different."
The door opened as the head medic stomped back in, seeming even more vexed. He set a large Tupperware container in front of Shay and then placed his servos on his hips, noting Bluestreak's much calmer manner. With a firm look, the mech pointed toward the doorway he'd just come through, "Alright, you saw her. Now out."
"But Raaaaatttttccc-"
"You'll see her later. Go." A cold-iron solid and superior officer voice that made mech's do as they were told without question. The medic remained unfazed by the puppy optics as the gunner pouted and slunk out. Shay's tired eyes narrowed at Ratchet's flat statement. He seemed so very certain that she would be staying here awhile. She didn't like that. As they became the only two inhabitants of the room again, the woman's face turned into a glaring expression. For a moment, the Cybertronian and human regarded each other as if not sure where they stood in the situation. Then Ratchet stuck out his red servos.
"Come on then. We haven't got all day." A gruff rumble as she studied the large metal palm. Shay didn't move.
"Where to? And why?"
"NOW." The bulky mech loomed over her with impatience rapidly blooming over his face, "Woman, I have just spent the last who-knows-how-many-hours dealing with you. So kindly do me a favor and do NOT make this more difficult than necessary." With every word his tone sharpened. The human scowled and slowly stood on shaky legs while making sure the blanket stayed securely around her shoulders. With a hand, she lifted up the plastic dish and hugged it. Shay could understand why he was grouchy. But her own patience in the last week or so had fled and the echoes of annoyance still reverberated below. Not to mention authority without her consent usually ended with sharp words.
"If I had no choice, you should have made that clear from the start." The murmur came out bland and almost non-existent in the huge room.
He rumbled briefly but she'd already stepped into the palms, his thumbs wrapping up to hold guard so she wouldn't fall. It was slightly strange to be handled by one who wasn't the Twins, metal plating unfamiliar in it's structure. Not another word was spoken, maybe because they both knew it would head toward insults or perhaps the medic really was too annoyed and tired to try and argue with her. Whatever the case, he carried her out and down the wide hallway. A few others passed by, curious glances that quickly looked away when they caught the warning glower Ratchet sent out. Shay merely studied all the different sizes, colors and shapes of their frames passively until they arrived at a slightly larger door than the ones she'd seen before. Passing through the threshold yielded a space slightly smaller than the medbay and held a much more diminished variety of objects. Only a large table with chairs scattered about filled the room. Save for an oddly shaped raised oval attached to the center of the table, the space was undecorated and bare. Nothing on the walls, no other furniture in the room.
People however, were another story. Two figures lounged on the chairs. Well, one relaxed with feet up on the table and servos linked behind his horned helm. The other fairly recognizable one was disassembling what looked to be a big gun. If Shay recalled correctly, the the lazy-looking visored one was Jazz. He'd spoken to her and given her a ride. Big Red was Iron-something or other and all the woman remembered of him was a thick southern accent.
Without even a greeting, Ratchet set Shay down on the table, although he was careful to make sure she didn't fall. He pointed at the container she carried and commanded, "Eat, drink, and stay here. You two..."
"We're watchin' 'er." Jazz gave a two-fingered salute. That settled, Shay gave the bots a wary look before kneeling to sit while the medic left them. She wondered why he seemed in such a hurry.
Opening the plastic container showed a sandwich, an apple and a water bottle inside. The woman wasn't really that hungry, just the thought of eating stirring up faint nausea. But it had been too long so she had to at least try. Sighing, she twisted the cap off the water and sipped. Her throat was starting to ache a bit and the liquid helped, even if it made her stomach queasy. Her blue eyes returned to the warriors.
"Am I allowed to know what is going on?" Big Red just shrugged with a noncommittal grunt as he pulled out a cloth to clean all the little metal pieces organized on the table. Jazz grinned and one of his feet bobbed up and down. Shay wondered if he was listening to music.
"Jus' watin'."
Thin rough fingers clenched in worry, "For what?"
"Da others." Not satisfied with his vague answer, Shay turned away to look at the food again. The human really wasn't hungry, but her body need her to eat. A tiny rumble shivered through her lower torso. Maybe she was hungry after all.
Sunstreaker had been delegated to be the bearer of bad news. It hadn't been planned out and no one nominated the other. The task just seemed to fall to him, and so the frontliner shouldered it as he shouldered all uncomfortable things; with silent resolve.
Beachcomber was the most heavily wounded with a ragged hole in his left leg. The shorter bot's armor wasn't as thick as the frontliners and not really meant for heavy combat. He also had hardly spoken a word since his close friend had been captured, so it was obvious that the beach buggy would not be the messenger. Darker and revenge-ridden thoughts plagued Brawn. They could have asked him, but one look at the mini's expression stalled those ideas. Asking such a task wouldn't help him, even if the tough little bot insisted he was fine. Which left the twins.
Sideswipe didn't say a word, anger still sidling along his wires. It would have to be one of the two and Sunstreaker took the burden. Even though his twin didn't ask and nothing was said, aloud or over the comm links, the brothers just looked at each other for a split second as they sat in Skyfire's hold and that was enough optic contact to decide. The barest nod from the red twin.
Their transportation for that matter didn't question what had occurred. Hound's absence spoke for itself. Flying back to base was a silent and bleak ride.
It seemed like an eternity and no time at all, as they were soon in the medbay with First Aid and Ratchet checking them over. Beachcomber was moved to another room after Wheeljack started digging around in the wound to see what needed replaced. If the CMO saw the grateful look the blue bot sent, he didn't show it. The only thing on the medic's faceplates was a pinched expression. Optimus came in and went to Sunstreaker, the only bot who was making optic contact.
While they conversed, Brawn and Sideswipe sat still so their medics could slap patches on and seal energon lines. Larger dents were hammered out and Ratchet said not a word. That should have been a warning.
A quiet Ratchet was bad. He always griped about them being 'thick helmed idiots with no common sense' and how they were going to be the death of him. Too caught up in their own thoughts, the recently returned team didn't notice the lack of expected threats. And if they had it would only have been attributed to the medic noting their missing. The fact that Ratchet hadn't barked at them the second they entered escaped them. Prime's quiet baritone rumbled enough to catch everyone else's attention.
"You are certain he was alive when they took him?" Seated next to the berth, Optimus' form held straight but for the tiniest of slouches in the shoulder plating. Even so, the red and blue bot was easily a head taller than the lambos. Tired optics searched Sunstreaker's face.
A solemn nod, "My back was turned. But the others all saw. Unconscious and injured, but alive." The Autobot leader looked to Sideswipe and Brawn who both nodded.
The Prime vented a deep sigh as Sunstreaker spoke again, "They'll torture him for info before they call for a trade." Optimus nodded in agreement but said nothing more. They all knew what happened when bots got captured. Hopefully, they could send in a rescue team before things got too bad. Optimus waited patiently as First Aid questioned if anything felt uncomfortable to Brawn and then sent him out, moving on to Sunstreaker's dent in the front hood. By now the Twins had realized something was off. Why hadn't the Prime left? Identical faces glanced at each other while Ratchet scanned the carnelian pit-spawn.
Sideswipe spoke up, "I'm fine Ratchet. Nothing major."
"Hush."
It was a muttered retort lacking any real heat or the expected barb. The frontliners were finally coming to the conclusion that something was very very wrong. Ratchet's quiet response sent unease through them. And Optimus still hadn't gotten up. Impassive blue optics watched them and Sideswipe's dark servos twitched, a nervous habit from having been on the receiving end of an officer's irritation too many times. The fidgeting only ever happened when he knew he was in really big trouble. Had they found evidence that he'd been the one to put flower stickers on Swoop's wings? Maybe it was about replacing Track's wax with a special glue a couple weeks ago. Although if it was, this was a terrible time to bring it up.
At last the medics were finished, Ratchet running one more scan and giving the scanner a nasty look as if it had dared to lie to him before declaring them fit. Except when the Twins went to leave, the Prime stood with them and the medic placed a heavy grip on both their shoulders.
They stared back at the officers with widened and suspicious optics but neither Optimus nor Ratchet gave a single clue, leading them down the hall. Something was wrong here.
It turned out Shay was hungry after all. Ravenous actually. But that's what happens when one hardly eats for more than a week. Of course, she knew exactly why her appetite came back and certainty grew as bits and pieces of emotion not her own sprang up.
Anger. Rage. Guilt. Worry.
Whatever was going on, it was bad. But she could only wait it out in the room. Finishing her food left the woman with nothing to do and her stomach rolled at the sudden influx. But she breathed slow and easy until it settled. Still bored, Shay decided to watch the large one clean his gun. There were so many pieces that were tiny compared to the behemoth but he still handled them expertly and with the utmost care. How the mech remembered where all those bits went astonished her.
"You are Ironhide, correct?" His name had come back while she was watching.
The bot's navy optics landed on her and held, fingers not even slowing as they deftly moved about, "Yeh." She made no comment in return and continued to stare. Eventually he huffed. A dip of a crested helm in silent question.
"Ah don't get yah." He finally grumbled.
"Oh?"
The bulky red bot rumbled his engine quietly, "Tryin' tah figure out what kin'a human yah are."
"The no-nonsense kind." Shay replied immediately straight-faced. She wasn't sure what she expected but it was not rough and deep laughter. As the Autobot chuckled loudly, a scowl slid onto her face, "I was completely serious."
"Ah know. That's why it's funneh."
Doors whooshing back to click into the wall caused her to turn and see a gold bot and another red one step into the room, Prime and the medic at their heels.
Shock.
Heavy silence as the room seemed to shrink in on itself, sucking out all the air and movement. One could almost see the dissonant chord hovering in the air between, tying optics and eyes across the tension filled space. Surprise flowed onto the Twin's faceplates, optics almost comically wide and paling to soft frosted blue. Shay looked back grimly, her mouth thinning into a flat line. The rest of the room watched the silent interaction. Then the moment was broken, and with it the stifling feel that had hung in the air.
Sideswipe spoke up first, "So...uh, what's with the human...?" A nervous but innocent grin seemed strained. His brother's expression turned blank as he continued to stare at the woman.
She snorted, "Don't bother. They're not that stupid."
"I would concur." Prowl glided into the room on light feet, doorwings held high and stiff. He pulled two chairs out and waited as the Twins cautiously sat, before taking a seat himself and smacking Jazz's feet down in the process. With everyone now in a chair, save for the cross legged human on the table, Prime began.
"This is your chance to explain."
"Well..." Sunstreaker said not a word and only stared back as his brother searched for the right explanation.
Ratchet was finally showing the bubbling anger that he'd been struggling to keep at bay, "Yes, do explain why the human who dragged your sparks halfway across the continent is now giving off a faint energy signal. One that matches you two."
The three accused looked at each other in confusion before Shay studied the medic, "An energy signature?"
"You didn't know?" He balked in disbelief. Surely the Twins had already known? Once again the human and frontliners glanced at each other, looking for confirmation. Sunstreaker gave the barest shake of his helm. The woman frowned and looked back at Ratchet, "We were unaware."
"But you have been hiding something," Prowl spoke to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, "Tell us what is going on." The rest of the room remained quiet and waited. Sideswipe scratched the back of his helm and looked at the table before murmuring in Twinspeak. However, instead of his brother replying, it was the human. A low grumble followed by a stretched whirling croon and sharp cut-off 'bre' syllables. Mouths fell open as the human tongue distorted the Terror Twin's language and Sunstreaker dipped his helm in agreement as a reply. Letting out a sigh, Shay turned to Optimus.
"I suppose I'll go first." With a nod from the huge bot and a steadying breath, she began, "I believe it started on my way here..."
For the next hour the woman talked, and talked and talked. Far more than she was used to and at one point her voice cracked until she drank more water. Shay told them everything that hadn't been told before; picking up emotions from the sparks, why she left, being sick. Even the lighting dream, at which point both lamborghinis grew fidgety and let their optics drill holes into the table. When she was finally done Ratchet started in on the questions, trying to dig up whatever she had forgotten. Then it was the Twins turn and Sideswipe spoke for himself and his brother. At the end he nervously hunched his shoulder plates and said quietly, "We didn't... mean to do whatever we did, when we were in there. I mean, we didn't even realize we were doing something."
Sideswipe shrugged as he didn't know quite what else to say and the human's eyes darted around the conference room to watch all the reactions. Optimus looked tired, probably unsure of how to deal with this new development. And who would have expected it?
Prowl was thoughtful, mind zipping along all the facts while Ironhide seemed mulish and unhappy with the situation. The medic was seriously pissed off by the glares he was giving the three of them. Jazz alone didn't seem too bothered, face neutral and visor hiding his optics with whatever the bot may have been thinking. Shay unfolded her legs as they started to cramp and took another swig of water.
Groaning, the weapon specialist rubbed his face, "This is crazeh."
"Well, at the very least I can say with almost complete certainty that it is not a bond." Ratchet tossed his piece in, going over the gathered information on the datapad before him. Simultaneously, the Twin's optics widened before both vented a sigh of relief.
Shay looked around puzzled, "Bond?"
The medic looked up from the gathered files to frown at her before glancing at the Twins, who just happened to be emanating nervousness all of a sudden. Eyes narrowing, Shay turned around to glare daggers at the bots who were most definitely not looking at her. Even Sunstreaker who never cared when she got angry. A vicious snarl settled on her lips as they curled up over her teeth, "Boys..."
Jazz stepped in to answer for them, "It's a tie between folk. Like married couples, twins, and gestalt siblings." The human paled at the humongous grin spreading across the saboteur's face plates and his words. Optimus cleared his intakes and gave the Porsche a stern look, kicking him under the table. Shay didn't notice. Her eyes bleached out until it seemed only a thin layer of blue resided in there and Ratchet leaned forward to note the change with interest. Letting out a furious hiss and short clattering sounds, she sent a venomous look across the table. Both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe leaned away from the woman verbally threatening them. A curling noise tinted with a whine from Sideswipe was harshly cut off as the female switched back to English. "Don't 'But Shay...' me!"
The golden twin hurriedly added with the slightest traces of embarrassment, armor flattening close to his body by a few tiny degrees, "There was no need to bring it up because we were pretty sure that wasn't it." Her scowl deepened before she turned away and the Twin's relaxed slightly. Optimus queried their medic.
"Do you have a theory then?"
"Hmm," Ratchet studied Shay, watching the paleness leaving her eyes and did another quick scan with a hand scanner before comparing it to the datapads spread before him, "Similar to a bond but not because she doesn't have a spark. Although she appears to be suffering some symptoms of a strained bond. I would call it a link, an empathy link to be exact. It seems to be mainly one way."
Sideswipe shifted a little and didn't agree, "But we can pick up stuff from her, sometimes."
"Only when you're extremely close, only if you make an effort, and only if she tries to send emotions to you; if everything you said is correct. And it is difficult for her to stop reacting to you. Mainly one way..." He trailed off and rapidly flicked through the information files, "Of course, I would be more certain and have more information on this if some people had come to me sooner, slaggit!"
Shay startled as a red servo banged on the table top loudly. However, no one else seemed surprised. The irate medic partially stood to loom over the frontliners, optics promising murder and something more. Just the tiniest bit of sorrow hidden under an ocean of fury. "Why the Pit didn't you bring this up before?! Her I can understand, she hardly knows us. But you two! I've put you two back together Primus knows how many times and you couldn't have trusted me enough to tell me something was WRONG?!"
His voice had steadily grown in anger and volume until he was bellowing at the Twins, their flame-colored plating hunched as they stared back sadly and quietly. Optimus requested the CMO take a seat again while Shay tried to read the uncomfortable feelings coming from the lambos. This time, it was Sunstreaker who spoke, trying to apologize although the words were not quite coming out like he wanted.
"Well, we did. Back when we kept feeling off but didn't know for sure what it actually was." He glanced at Ratchet and then away quickly, tone strained. Shay spoke up slowly, still reading the menagerie of emotions.
"It is hard to go to someone with a problem when you don't exactly know what it is that's wrong. We don't know what happened." All optics turned on her but the woman stared back resolutely, "And we were planning to tell you. As soon as they got back from that Peru mission."
Ratchet was not appeased, servos spread wide on the table as if he were about to get up again, "I don't care. You two should have mentioned trading emotions as soon as you woke up!"
A knock on the door paused the brewing wrath of Storm Medic as Prime tapped a flat button on his end of the table. Red Alert stood in the doorway as it opened and his optics flickered quickly around the gathered mass, pausing at the female, before landing on Optimus. The security chief's expression turned grim. "Sir, Megatron is on the screen. He wants energon for Hound."
Uneasy looks passed from face to face as the Autobot leader's optics narrowed slightly. It had been too quick for them to be calling for a trade yet. Ironhide rumbled and stood with the Prime. Eying the ones still sitting, the semi gave an order, "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and Shay; I believe it would be best if you went to the medbay for Ratchet to do more tests. We will discuss the details later, but for now it seems analyzing this empathy link is the best course of action. Meeting adjourned. You are all dismissed." With that, the two bots followed Red, Jazz trailing after with a wink to the human in passing. Shay blinked and watched in puzzlement at the Twin's loud sighs of relief. It didn't last long though.
"You are both in serious trouble." Prowl stated flatly, blithely unconcerned about the muttered cries of 'awww' from the more mischievous hellion, "Keeping important information such as this from superior officers is a huge violation of the rules. For now, neither of you are to leave the restriction zone around the Ark without expressed permission. Also, the entirety of the brig is going to be cleaned."
Sunstreaker gave him a suspicious look, "We never get off that easy." "How come Shay doesn't get grouched at?" His twin whined, making sure not to see the poisonous expression on the female's face.
"I believe Miss Carpenter has already learned her lesson, having to deal with the repercussions of her choice through these painful side effects. And don't concern yourselves about punishments. There will be more to do later." The police car paused and added quietly, "However, I believe a decent recharge for you both is in order first." The medic made a noise of agreement but no comment. Sideswipe's cheerful grin returned full force as he shook his helm and reached over to tussle Shay's messy hair, although the woman rudely slapped away the comforting gesture.
"Soon. Prime said we gotta let Doc do some tests first. And we got some catching up to do."
"And an explanation." His brother added with a quick narrow-opticed look at Shay. She scowled in return.
"Not my idea. Don't blame me."
Ratchet decided it was a good moment to join in, "While we're on the subject of you being here, you are to be staying here. I can't accurately keep track of your health if you are not on base. Not to mention we don't want to trigger an episode should you go too far from these idiots." He watched as if expecting an argument. Instead she merely sighed and nodded, a murmur of 'thought so' under her breath.
"I do need a few essentials first. I can get them from their hideout." Shay jerked a thumb at the lambos.
"No." The ambulance replied instantly as he gathered up the medical datapads, "Send someone else to get them, you're not leaving base."
That didn't go over well, Shay's eyes shifting into a venomous glare. Elbowing the tawny warrior under the table, Sides silently gestured at the two opposing forces of nature. Scary medic of doom Hatchet versus stoic growly human who shot giants three to four times her size. Who would win? Prowl frowned and opened his mouth but Shay was already speaking again.
"You cannot force me to remain here." The female bit out slowly, "I will stay because it is necessary but I do believe I will be perfectly fine for half an hour to acquire needed items. You can order the others around all you like but I am human, and therefore not under your jurisdiction." A tremor of amusement from the Twin's ghosted along her insides. Apparently this entire argument was nothing but a farce for them.
"Wrong," Ratchet leaned in to tower over her and snarled lowly, "I am in charge when it comes to injuries or health issues. Human or not, you will listen unless you want to be confined to the medical bay for a very long time."
He'd barely finished the lecture when the human's eyes snapped to the washed out version. Silence reigned among the three bystanders as they waited to see how she would react until Shay finally murmured without taking her eyes from the ambulance's bulky form, "Can he do that?"
"According to the Human-Autobot Treatise with the United States Government, Act twenty-seven, Provision six point four; any human(s) with medical issues pertaining to contact by Decepticons or Autobots is to be treated under Commanding Medical Officer Ratchet. So technically... yes." An even reply from the tactician as he stretched his doorwings, "Although may I suggest that she may retrieve these important items with an escort? Someone other than Sideswipe and Sunstreaker obviously." As he stood, the human's face didn't change from the icy mask but Sideswipe's wince said all they needed to know on how she was feeling. Ratchet tapped a finger on the table with a smug look before sighing and adding grudgingly.
"I suppose it is imperative for you to have necessary items. You can leave with an escort later." The only response was a nod before the human stalked over to her bots, "First you three are going to the medbay. I need more scans."
Muted farewells to Prowl as they left the conference room and were once again in the sprawling repair center. Shay was really starting to hate this room. She'd barely settled herself between the Twin's seated forms when Ratchet stalked over to the doors on the opposite side of the medbay. He slammed a heavy fist on the button attached to the wall, causing the doors to retract with a quick flash.
The medic in charge pulled back as three people crashed onto the floor with resounding clangs and yelps. The fourth and by far the largest caught the frame just in time to avoid falling in the pile. Unsympathetic to the groans from the mechs who'd just gotten comfortable to ease drop, Ratchet hauled First Aid up and then yanked Wheeljack from the bottom. Giving those two critical looks as well as glowering at a sheepish Skyfire and Perceptor, he grumbled loud enough for all to hear, "Gossiping idiots." In the background, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe snorted while Shay rolled her eyes.
"Alright you lot," Rumbled the white and red medbot, "We have work to do."
"Yes!" Wheeljack fist pumped, audio finials glowing bright tangerine in excitement. A muttering of 'oh brother' from the human could just barely be caught by cybertronian audio receptors. This was going to be just loads of fun.