Burned (Transformers Prime)

Chapter Fourteen | Hospitalized

"Do, do you, got a first aid kit handy?
Do, do you, know how to patch up a wound,"

»«

Ratchet was waiting apprehensively as Arcee made her way through the Groundbridge, carrying what looked like a pod in her hands. In that pod there was a human, her red scrubs all it took for Ratchet to recognise who she was.

"Dana?" Ratchet asked as the Groundbridge closed, stepping forward and reaching for his charge. Arcee took a half step back, warning him not to touch. "What happened? Why was she on Cybertron? What . . . What is wrong with her?" He began to notice all of the bruising and swelling that was disfiguring her body, becoming more and more panicked.

"Megatron . . . He . . . Hurt her." Arcee described in morbid detail what happened, but didn't waste time to tell him what needed to happen. "She needs to be taken to the hospital, now. Her injuries are vast and could be fatal."

"I'm calling Nurse Darby." Ratchet immediately dialed the woman, Arcee gently setting the pod down, carefully opening the lid so fresh oxygen could reach the girl. Dana didn't so much as stir, chest still rising slowly and shortly. "And I should contact Agent Fowler." The medic added as an afterthought.

Arcee simply nodded, worried not only for Dana but also the other humans. While the human girl had pushed Megatron to his breaking point, if he was still angry enough any of the other kids could be victims. The femme couldn't bear to see her like that, but she didn't want to risk moving her and provoking her injuries. Arcee would never forgive herself if she did irreversible damage to the girl . . .

"Nurse Darby is on her way." Ratchet turned to see Arcee kneeling by the pod, a knife of grief piercing his spark as his optics lingered on his charge. He carefully walked over to Arcee and knelt down, his digits lightly touching the outside. A part of him hoped that Dana would show some other kind of life, but to no avail. She remained immobile.

Arcee put her small servo over his. "She's still breathing. She's going to survive."

"At what cost?" Ratchet questioned, his other servo curling into a fist. "Will she be able to function normally again? Will she remember anything?" His voice dropped to almost inaudible levels. "The last thing she remembers of us is fighting. What if that is the only thing she remembers?"

"You can't change the past, Ratchet." Arcee wanted to try and get him to see reason. Losing Tailgate and Cliffjumper had been hard, but she was able to deal. How Ratchet could handle losing someone close to him was unpredictable at best. "You can only look forward to the future. So what if you have to start from square one? If nothing else about her has changed, then your relationship will persist. If friendship can span across species, it can span across memories. I promise you, things won't change between the two of you, not for the worst."

Ratchet shook his helm. "I shouldn't have let her meet him. I shouldn't have given her the opportunity to get close. I should have-"

"We all should have done a lot of things." Arcee admitted. "But now the best thing we can do is get her medical attention."

June Darby pulled into base moments later, a hand on her mouth as she ran to the pod and got a good look inside.

"What happened?"

"I can explain everything later." Arcee assured her. "And you have nothing to worry about, Jack and the others are safe. Right now, we need to get Dana to a place where she can receive treatment."