Title: Beautiful Stranger

Universe: G1 AU

Rating: PG

Characters: Prowl, Jazz, mentioned Ratchet

Prompt: Beautiful Stranger

Content Advisory: disaster, mentioned deaths and medical triage

Notes: Damn college, thought I'd have more time for this hahaha, oh well. Hope you guys like it ^^

Response to the prowlxjazz 2013 anniversary challenge: Day 4 | Prompt: Beautiful Stranger

The fire had spread everywhere. There was no escape from its clutches. It had come out of nowhere and in the middle of the off-cycle. The flames came with the ferocity of a typhoon and many were not able to escape. Jazz could still remember the screams of pain and horror all around him. Everything had been a blur. All he remembered, was waking to an inferno, and making a run for it.

Adrenaline had him out of his building with many others before he even realized how fast he was going. Outside wasn't much better though; there were explosions, gas lines and oil tanks only making it worse. In the middle of the chaos, something exploded near him and a couple of bots running toward the edge of the city. The force of it hit him like an oncoming truck, throwing him sideways. In the whirlwind of color and distorted noise, he hit something. Hard. His visor went flying, and everything went dark.

0000

Everything was numb, and black. There were no sounds, no up and down, no heat nor cold. He just was; roaming in a sea of darkness and tranquility. Then, at the edge of his consciousness, there was a tiny voice, so far away he could barely make it out. Little by little, there were more sound, still far away and muffled. But they seemed to be getting closer and closer, and Jazz wasn't sure he wanted it to reach him.

Until suddenly, like an echo: "You're safe." A voice soothed, clearer and closer than anything else. For a moment, he stood on the edge of an abyss, silence falling all around him. Then, everything hit Jazz like a hurricane.

His senses came to like someone had just switched them on without his permission and no buffer. He could smell death, and hope. The air around him smelled of fire, burnt metal, and ashes. But also of disinfectant and that awful yet relieving aroma of medicine. As his hearing returned, noise assaulted him. The crackle of fire could still he heard, although he guessed it was far away; the medics and enforcers would never have allowed a triage center to be set up so close to the flames. Sirens wailed in the distance. Some grew further away, while others came closer, and another screaming bot was added to the chaos. Jazz could hear medics yelling for something or another, almost as if they were speaking in another language. Jazz knew they were demanding medical tools, medicine and giving instructions. He tried not to listen too much to that. Specially after he caught things like 'We must remove his plating.' or 'Her spark is fading!' Not very happy things were being yelled all around, and he was scared something like that would be said only for it to turn out that it was about him. Enforcers were giving orders, and bots were screaming their loved ones' names, calling out to see if they would answer and comfort themselves to the knowledge that they were safe. The memories also came rushing back, but they were of little importance to Jazz. He knew what had happened to him. He panicked for a moment, trying to online his optics, but without his visor, all he saw were blurred shadows. He struggled to get up, only for a servo to gently push him down, another cool servo softly running over his helm. After the hell he had just gone through, the touch was heaven.

His frame hurt, and he could feel the burns all across his back and legs. The mystery bot's touches though, seemed to keep the pain at bay.

"Stay still, you are injured and need rest."

Jazz tried to speak. "Who are you?" He wanted to ask, but all that came out was something like 'Arrghh.'

"Shhh, try not to speak. There was much smoke that got into your inner tubing. The medics are preparing vials for everyone to take and help the unclogging process. Be still."

Ah, so the mystery mech was not a medic. What was he then? He'd have to have special permission to be there. Or maybe the medics had their servos so full they didn't have the time to go kicking unwanted personal out.

"You have some deep burns all over your frame. But the medics have assured me that the damage is only superficial, if not painful. You will make a full recovery."

Jazz like his voice. It was calm, no-nonsense, and with hidden care. His voice was sort of deep. Not bass deep, but like the mech spent way too much time being serious, and rarely laughing. Even so, Jazz could hear the compassion and worry beneath it. He raised his servo. It took much more effort than he thought it would. Immediately, the bot's own servos came up to grasp his. They were slim, maybe just a bit bigger than his. He could feel roughness on them, and some bumps and cuts. Had this mech also been hurt in the fire? Why was he here then, looking over another patient when he should be getting his servos looked at? Those same servos grabbed onto his weak one with a gentleness Jazz had not experienced in… he couldn't remember. It had been such a long time since he was shown any sort of warmth.

Jazz tried to pinpoint were the mech was, make out something, but all he could see was a big black blur. He thought he could see some white. But he had no idea if those were the mech's colors or if his vision was acting up again and were only showing him the world in black and white. Again. Still, black and white was better than when his cortex had seen everything in fluorescent pink. That, had been a nightmare.

Even with the mech's warning, he tried to speak again. This time, he managed a very weak and grunt like 'What?'

The mech, interpreting it as a question ("What happened?"), retold him the events of that morning.

"The firefighters are still trying to piece together how the fire started. An abandoned building caught on fire from the inside. Since there was no one living there that could warn the authorities, it soon consumed the whole building and it was too late to contain it. It spread to other buildings faster than the bots in them could evacuate." Jazz shuddered, thinking about all the bots he saw daily in those parts. He hoped that casualties were nonexistent, even if he knew it was impossible.

"Things got worse when the fire reached the oil tanks and gas lines. The explosions took over at least three blocks and created a sinkhole, causing even more damage as nearby buildings fell into it."

Suddenly, the mech shifted, seeming bothered by something. Jazz squeezed his servo in an attempt to put him at ease.

"It was a miracle I found you. The other enforcers and firefighters had claimed the damage too brutal for anyone to have survived it. But I knew I had to look. You were in pretty bad shape. I am glad I listened to my instincts or you would have been lost."

Jazz smiled, feeling his spark do a funny little dance at that. This mech had saved him! Was that why his servos were such a mess? Had he hurt them trying to dig him out? Again, he squeezed the mech's servo in a show of gratitude. It must have gotten through since the mech squeezed back, and Jazz could swear the mech had smiled in return.

They stayed like that for a few minutes in silence. There were still bots coming and going, bots screaming in pain, and sirens in the distance informing him that the danger still wasn't over. All of a sudden, the mech tensed.

"Forgive me, but I must go. I am needed elsewhere."

What? No! He didn't want the mech to leave! His grip on the mech's servo tightened.

"Naahoooo" He groaned, again trying to move.

"Lay still. I must go help. You are in good hands Jazz."

That gave Jazz pause. How did this mech know his name? Maybe he was a medic? They could access that kind of information in emergencies. Or maybe the medics had told him? Now, even more than ever, he didn't want the mech to go, at least not without knowing his name.

"Rest, the medics will give you something for the pain." Another blur joined the mech's, and something pierced his lines. No, he didn't want to rest, not now!

"This will knock him out until he is operational again, why the medics that treated him haven't done so already is beyond me, but I will have a long talk with them after all this is sorted out." A gruff voice said.

"Thank you Ratchet. I must go now. Take care of him."

"Yeah yeah yeah, get going, and look after yourself too. Don't need you adding to my work."

Jazz's vision, what little of it he still had, was growing darker. He found it difficult to concentrate on anything, and his grip on the mech's servo went slack.

The last thing he heard, was the mech's soft voice near his audios.

"Get better, and be safe."

0000

When Jazz woke again, he was in a hospital berth. After a few seconds, he onlined his optics, realizing he had a visor on. It was a medical one, he'd probably have to order one of his own before he left. Looking around, he saw two other berths, the bots on them offlined, but looking peaceful. The room was white, and a large window gave him a clear view to the outside. He could see the noble towers in the distance, so he must still be in Praxus. There was some smoke lifting from a part of the city he guessed was were the fire had started, but there were no flames. He could hear no screams, only the monotone voice through the speakers, calling to one medic or another.

He tried to move, groaning as his body protested. He wasn't in pain, but he felt uncomfortable. An IV was pumping Primus knows what into him, and a spark monitor beeped beside him. His throat felt like rust, and the burns on his legs itched.

Before he could contemplate on moving to scratch at them, the door opened, and in came a tall and slim medic. She was white with blue accents and a kind face. She met his gaze and looked surprised.

"Oh, you're awake! How do you feel?"

"Like Ah was in an explosion." He said with a bit of humor, voice still a bit rough.

"I'm sure." The medic laughed softly. She came up to his berth and checked the readings, humming in approval. "You can be released in a few more joors. You are fine, we had to unclog your systems of the smoke and ashes, but the burns on your frame need to heal more before you leave. We have been applying ointments and a long string of anti-viruses."

"Uh-ow!" He groaned as he made himself sit up straighter. "How long was Ah out?"

"About four joors."

Jazz blinked in surprise. He thought he'd been out for a joor at least! He looked out the window again at the smoke. Following his gaze, the medic guessed what he was thinking about. "The fire went on for three joors. They only managed to contain it yesterday. The neighboring cities sent reinforcements, both firefighter, and medics."

"Wow, what started it?"

The medic sighed. "There is talk that it was an attack of sorts. A statement. A terrorist group called Deceptive something something." She shrugged. "The enforcers caught the perpetrator so I guess that's done with."

"Oh, did many bots offline?"

By the look on the medic's face, the body count was high. Very high. Then he remembered the mech.

"Oh hey! The mech who saved me? Who was he?"

The medic looked confused for a moment. "Who?"

"There was a mech, he saved me from the fire. Do you know who he is?" He asked hopefully.

The medic smiled kindly at him. "Sorry love, I don't know that. It could have been anyone. Enforcers, firefighters, even medics and civilians were getting anyone they could out of that hell."

Jazz deflated.

"Cheer up! After you get out, you could ask around." She said in an upbeat tone, though Jazz doubted he would find his mystery mech. Something else occurred to him.

"Do you know a medic called Ratchet?"

"Hmmm, the name does sound familiar. Maybe he was one of the medics that rushed in to help from another city. Sorry." With another sigh, Jazz let himself slide a little down the berth, wincing as his back burns scrapped against the sheets.

:: Medic Lifeline, please report to Room 806 ::

The medic looked up at the ceiling and frowned. "That's me, gotta go love. See you around!" She beamed at him before leaving the room in a rush.

Jazz sighed as he was left alone with the other comatose patients. He guessed they were still under from whatever they had been given. This sucked. Of course the first time he found someone who was kind and warm, someone that might even be the one, a) he couldn't see him, b) he couldn't talk to him, and c) it was in the middle of a disaster. He didn't know the mech's name nor how he looked like. Hell, he could have been from another city! Great.

The mech was a stranger to him.

"A beautiful stranger." Jazz muttered to himself. An angel sent to show him he was not alone. Someone like that, no matter what, was beautiful to him.

Jazz would find him. He'd go around asking when he was healed. And if he didn't find him here, Jazz would travel to the other cities in search of him. He already had a clue, the medic Ratchet seemed to know the mech. At least a medic, he could find.

There was no way he'd let his beautiful stranger slip away from him.

And so stalker Jazz is born XD Like?