Categories > Cartoons > Transformers > Patient H-18
When Prowl finally came online, he was surprised to find himself looking at the ceiling of an unknown room and hurting. However, his memory banks quickly brought him up to date and explained the strange situation he was in. He was hit by a mech's laser cannon during a crisis in the repair bay where Ratchet was working.
That now brought up the next question.
What happened afterwards?
I'd better go find Ratchet, Prowl thought. It was true he was feeling his body much heavier than he would have liked, but there was nothing for it. He had to get out of the berth to find the Autobot medic. It was the only way he could find out that everything was all right.
He regretted his decision the moment that he moved. Pain coursed through his circuits, making him cry out. He froze and closed his optics in the hopes of somehow calming himself.
At the next moment, he heard metallic footsteps hurrying at his direction.
"Ratchet?" Prowl said softly. He looked up, only to see that he was wrong. It was another mech, a black and silver one, who was now looking at Prowl with what could only be described as concern.
"Who are you?" Prowl asked. "And where's Ratchet?"
The mech didn't answer. He just placed a white hand on Prowl's chest plate in a gesture to make him stay put.
"It will pass," Prowl said. "Just tell me if Ratchet is all right."
The mech didn't reply this time either. He merely shook his head.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Prowl was now feeling his patience wearing thin, and he didn't even bother to hide it anymore.
The mech must have realised that as well, because his optics widened and he took a step back. Still, he said nothing.
This was too much, even for one as calm as Prowl.
"Say something already!" he all but shouted, making the mech bow his head.
"What do you think you're doing?”
The tactician immediately turned his head at the direction of the voice. It was First Aid, who was now entering the room and glaring at Prowl. No matter how illogical that seemed to Prowl at that moment, he decided to overlook it because there was another, far more important matter to settle.
"Please, I want to know what happened. Your friend isn't telling me."
"That doesn't give you the right to scare him," First Aid snapped. He walked up to the silver and black mech and prodded him to look at him. "H, it's perfectly fine. He doesn't know, that's all."
The silver and black mech nodded meekly and then cast a brief, apologetic look at Prowl's direction.
Only then did Prowl start to suspect something; something that could certainly explain the mech's seemingly persistent silence. "He--?"
But First Aid proved faster and raised his hand. Understanding, the tactician stopped mid-sentence and didn't continue.
H still looked at both of them, wringing his hands nervously. But First Aid patted his shoulder in an encouraging manner.
"Why don't you go find our patient's friend and bring him here, okay?" he said gently. "I'll stay here for a while."
That earned First Aid another nod. And as soon as he bowed his head at Prowl's direction in another form of apology, H turned on his heel and walked out.
Prowl winced when he caught sight of H's back at that motion; for to say that it was battered and scraped would have been an understatement. The whole frame seemed to be almost bent out of shape, several dents disfiguring it in an abhorring way. Scratches marred it so badly that there was practically no paint left. And the worst part were the two long holes along H's shoulder blades in place of what must have been door panels, very much like the tactician's.
"H-18 is one of our patients. He isn't silent merely out of choice," First Aid said at that moment, cutting into Prowl's train of thought. "You realise that now, right?"
"Yes," Prowl said softly. "I will apologise later."
"Good. And you should thank him while you're at it too. He finished what you started."
What I started? Prowl thought. "What do you mean?"
Though First Aid looked like he was ready to answer, he never got the chance; because it was at that moment that Ratchet walked in.
"Well, well, look who's decided to join the functioning!" the Autobot medic said, a broad smile on his lip components. He patted Prowl on the shoulder carefully. "How are you feeling?"
"It hurts when I move my torso and legs," Prowl replied candidly.
"Yes, I was afraid you might say that," Ratchet said. He turned to First Aid. "Could you leave us alone for a moment?"
"Sure thing," First Aid answered. He exited without another word, obviously on his way to find Groove and the others.
Prowl locked his optics on Ratchet. "Well?"
Ratchet shook his head. "The laser cannon fried most of the circuitry in your mid-section and we had to replace the parts we couldn't fix with any spare ones that were available. Unfortunately, we couldn't do anything about a small cog that was close to your central kinetic gears. Without it, your motions get strained."
"In other words, I'm not supposed to move if I can help it," Prowl said with a sigh.
"Precisely," Ratchet said.
"And how long am I to stay like this?" Prowl asked.
"One of First Aid's siblings, Streetwise, has already left to find a cog that's compatible to the one that was destroyed. However, he told me that it could take him even up to a week, depending on his luck."
Prowl pursed his lip components momentarily. He certainly didn't like what he heard, but what was he supposed to do?
"Did you inform Prime?" he asked.
"Don't worry about it," Ratchet said. "I managed to make contact an hour ago."
"At the secret frequency?" Prowl asked.
"Of course."
"And what did he say?"
"What do you think?" Ratchet said. "To stay put till you get fixed; then leave before the Decepticons discover us and put the medical centre in danger."
Prowl nodded. "Good."
"Indeed," the medic said, smiling a bit again. "And now that we have taken care of that, I should go. With you incapacitated, I have to do the work of a medic and a recruiter."
"My apologies," Prowl said.
But Ratchet waved his hand dismissively. "It can't be helped. I'm just glad that young mech came along before you were finished off."
"Young mech?" Prowl searched his memory banks in the hopes of finding anything useful there. "Right... I remember. A silver and black one..." The tactician's voice trailed off when First Aid's words finally made sense. It was H that tackled the blue mech, obviously stopping him from causing further harm.
"That's the one," Ratchet said. "And, speaking of which..." The Autobot medic walked up to the door, which hissed open to reveal H standing right behind it.
"Listen... H, right?" Ratchet said. He pointed at Prowl's direction. "My friend here won't be able to move for a while and so he might need help from time to time. Can you stay with him and make sure he gets comfortable?"
H nodded slowly.
"Good. Thanks." He let H step inside. "I'll be back soon enough," he reassured both mechs and, with one final wave of his hand, he was gone.
Silence reigned in the room as the two mechs regarded each other for a very long time. Prowl was quite cautious and trying to figure out what he was supposed to say first, whereas H looked quite embarrassed and unsure as to what to do.
In the end, Prowl's unwavering gaze proved a tad too much for the young mech. H lowered his optics and walked up to the corner where there was a chair for him to sit down.
That had Prowl thinking hard. He still recalled First Aid's reprimand when he scared H, and Prowl had hoped that he wouldn't do such a thing again. The young mech didn't deserve that, after all; not when he helped out just a couple of hours ago.
"I'm sorry about before," he said quietly. "I honestly didn't know."
H looked up in what seemed like surprise for a long time. Probably feeling that Prowl's apology was sincere, he nodded politely, a thin yet friendly smile crossing his face-plate.
"And... you did well back at the repair-bay," Prowl continued on. "First Aid and the others must be fortunate to have you around."
That made H squirm uncomfortably in his chair and avert his gaze at once. Prowl stared at the black and silver mech dubiously, certainly not expecting that reaction. However, as he focused his gaze closer, he realised what the problem was.
H was trying to hide a blush.
Prowl couldn't help but find that amusing. Quite modest, too, he thought.
There was silence again, though it wasn't as discomfiting as it was a few minutes ago. Nevertheless, it still had the effect of seducing Prowl to a much-needed recharge. The tactician tried to fight it at first, wishing to study H a little while longer, but he finally decided it wasn't possible. In a few moments, he was offline once more.
TBC...
That now brought up the next question.
What happened afterwards?
I'd better go find Ratchet, Prowl thought. It was true he was feeling his body much heavier than he would have liked, but there was nothing for it. He had to get out of the berth to find the Autobot medic. It was the only way he could find out that everything was all right.
He regretted his decision the moment that he moved. Pain coursed through his circuits, making him cry out. He froze and closed his optics in the hopes of somehow calming himself.
At the next moment, he heard metallic footsteps hurrying at his direction.
"Ratchet?" Prowl said softly. He looked up, only to see that he was wrong. It was another mech, a black and silver one, who was now looking at Prowl with what could only be described as concern.
"Who are you?" Prowl asked. "And where's Ratchet?"
The mech didn't answer. He just placed a white hand on Prowl's chest plate in a gesture to make him stay put.
"It will pass," Prowl said. "Just tell me if Ratchet is all right."
The mech didn't reply this time either. He merely shook his head.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Prowl was now feeling his patience wearing thin, and he didn't even bother to hide it anymore.
The mech must have realised that as well, because his optics widened and he took a step back. Still, he said nothing.
This was too much, even for one as calm as Prowl.
"Say something already!" he all but shouted, making the mech bow his head.
"What do you think you're doing?”
The tactician immediately turned his head at the direction of the voice. It was First Aid, who was now entering the room and glaring at Prowl. No matter how illogical that seemed to Prowl at that moment, he decided to overlook it because there was another, far more important matter to settle.
"Please, I want to know what happened. Your friend isn't telling me."
"That doesn't give you the right to scare him," First Aid snapped. He walked up to the silver and black mech and prodded him to look at him. "H, it's perfectly fine. He doesn't know, that's all."
The silver and black mech nodded meekly and then cast a brief, apologetic look at Prowl's direction.
Only then did Prowl start to suspect something; something that could certainly explain the mech's seemingly persistent silence. "He--?"
But First Aid proved faster and raised his hand. Understanding, the tactician stopped mid-sentence and didn't continue.
H still looked at both of them, wringing his hands nervously. But First Aid patted his shoulder in an encouraging manner.
"Why don't you go find our patient's friend and bring him here, okay?" he said gently. "I'll stay here for a while."
That earned First Aid another nod. And as soon as he bowed his head at Prowl's direction in another form of apology, H turned on his heel and walked out.
Prowl winced when he caught sight of H's back at that motion; for to say that it was battered and scraped would have been an understatement. The whole frame seemed to be almost bent out of shape, several dents disfiguring it in an abhorring way. Scratches marred it so badly that there was practically no paint left. And the worst part were the two long holes along H's shoulder blades in place of what must have been door panels, very much like the tactician's.
"H-18 is one of our patients. He isn't silent merely out of choice," First Aid said at that moment, cutting into Prowl's train of thought. "You realise that now, right?"
"Yes," Prowl said softly. "I will apologise later."
"Good. And you should thank him while you're at it too. He finished what you started."
What I started? Prowl thought. "What do you mean?"
Though First Aid looked like he was ready to answer, he never got the chance; because it was at that moment that Ratchet walked in.
"Well, well, look who's decided to join the functioning!" the Autobot medic said, a broad smile on his lip components. He patted Prowl on the shoulder carefully. "How are you feeling?"
"It hurts when I move my torso and legs," Prowl replied candidly.
"Yes, I was afraid you might say that," Ratchet said. He turned to First Aid. "Could you leave us alone for a moment?"
"Sure thing," First Aid answered. He exited without another word, obviously on his way to find Groove and the others.
Prowl locked his optics on Ratchet. "Well?"
Ratchet shook his head. "The laser cannon fried most of the circuitry in your mid-section and we had to replace the parts we couldn't fix with any spare ones that were available. Unfortunately, we couldn't do anything about a small cog that was close to your central kinetic gears. Without it, your motions get strained."
"In other words, I'm not supposed to move if I can help it," Prowl said with a sigh.
"Precisely," Ratchet said.
"And how long am I to stay like this?" Prowl asked.
"One of First Aid's siblings, Streetwise, has already left to find a cog that's compatible to the one that was destroyed. However, he told me that it could take him even up to a week, depending on his luck."
Prowl pursed his lip components momentarily. He certainly didn't like what he heard, but what was he supposed to do?
"Did you inform Prime?" he asked.
"Don't worry about it," Ratchet said. "I managed to make contact an hour ago."
"At the secret frequency?" Prowl asked.
"Of course."
"And what did he say?"
"What do you think?" Ratchet said. "To stay put till you get fixed; then leave before the Decepticons discover us and put the medical centre in danger."
Prowl nodded. "Good."
"Indeed," the medic said, smiling a bit again. "And now that we have taken care of that, I should go. With you incapacitated, I have to do the work of a medic and a recruiter."
"My apologies," Prowl said.
But Ratchet waved his hand dismissively. "It can't be helped. I'm just glad that young mech came along before you were finished off."
"Young mech?" Prowl searched his memory banks in the hopes of finding anything useful there. "Right... I remember. A silver and black one..." The tactician's voice trailed off when First Aid's words finally made sense. It was H that tackled the blue mech, obviously stopping him from causing further harm.
"That's the one," Ratchet said. "And, speaking of which..." The Autobot medic walked up to the door, which hissed open to reveal H standing right behind it.
"Listen... H, right?" Ratchet said. He pointed at Prowl's direction. "My friend here won't be able to move for a while and so he might need help from time to time. Can you stay with him and make sure he gets comfortable?"
H nodded slowly.
"Good. Thanks." He let H step inside. "I'll be back soon enough," he reassured both mechs and, with one final wave of his hand, he was gone.
Silence reigned in the room as the two mechs regarded each other for a very long time. Prowl was quite cautious and trying to figure out what he was supposed to say first, whereas H looked quite embarrassed and unsure as to what to do.
In the end, Prowl's unwavering gaze proved a tad too much for the young mech. H lowered his optics and walked up to the corner where there was a chair for him to sit down.
That had Prowl thinking hard. He still recalled First Aid's reprimand when he scared H, and Prowl had hoped that he wouldn't do such a thing again. The young mech didn't deserve that, after all; not when he helped out just a couple of hours ago.
"I'm sorry about before," he said quietly. "I honestly didn't know."
H looked up in what seemed like surprise for a long time. Probably feeling that Prowl's apology was sincere, he nodded politely, a thin yet friendly smile crossing his face-plate.
"And... you did well back at the repair-bay," Prowl continued on. "First Aid and the others must be fortunate to have you around."
That made H squirm uncomfortably in his chair and avert his gaze at once. Prowl stared at the black and silver mech dubiously, certainly not expecting that reaction. However, as he focused his gaze closer, he realised what the problem was.
H was trying to hide a blush.
Prowl couldn't help but find that amusing. Quite modest, too, he thought.
There was silence again, though it wasn't as discomfiting as it was a few minutes ago. Nevertheless, it still had the effect of seducing Prowl to a much-needed recharge. The tactician tried to fight it at first, wishing to study H a little while longer, but he finally decided it wasn't possible. In a few moments, he was offline once more.
TBC...
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