Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers

Please R&R

(Crack. I mentioned in the Importance of Braking, that Prime was afraid of Giraffes thanks to a prank that Prowl pulled off once before. And in that single line a one-shot sprang at me... enjoy?)

It was a giraffe.

A baby giraffe.

It was staring at him.

Jazz was holding onto its neck like he had just found his favourite toy he hadn't seen in vorns because he never cleaned under the berth.

It had a blue tongue that wrapped around his wrist and made him drop his data-pad in revulsion at the mammal saliva now seeping into his wiring.

"Get it away from me Jazz!" he hollered back pedalling dragging the giraffe and its long freaky tongue with him.

"Nuh-uh Prowler!" Jazz cooed petting the creature on the small horns. "She's our new baby!"

"I thought Bluestreak was our baby" Prowl said sarcastically to his bondmate as the baby giraffe followed him around the room obviously keen to try some more of his plating and wiring. "Stay away from me you long necked demon!" he snapped at the awkward looking mammal.

Jazz was looking disapprovingly at him as he strode past on his fifth trip around his desk, the little female giraffe persistently following him "She'll take it as rejection Prowl! Give her a hug!"

"Where did you even get it!" the Tactician huffed tempted to take out his acid pellet gun as he made a sixth trip around his desk.

"Where did you get HER, Prowl, not it" Jazz corrected tapping his hip and whistling to the baby "Come here Patchy"

The critter trotted to his bondmate's side obediently and got a hug and a string of baby talk in return from an overjoyed Jazz.

"You called it Patchy?" Prowl asked feeling the ache of a crash begin to bloom within his processors

"It was either that or Delilah" Jazz said cradling the giraffe's small head in his servos. "She responded to Patchy better."

"Forget I asked" Prowl snapped rubbing his optics "And you never answered my first question. Where did you get her?"

"Africa" Jazz said happily somehow managing to pick up the baby and hold it so that it was technically lying on his arms, it's long spindly legs curled beneath it as it licked and probed Jazz's helm with its blue tongue.

"Jazz when Hound said to sample the wildlife, I don't think he meant to actually take an animal back…" Prowl said vaguely remembering Hounds recommendation when some bots had had to go stop Megatron in the savannah a few days ago. "How'd you get her back here anyway and into the ARK without Red Alert blowing a fuse?"

"She's my Sparkling!" Jazz cried outraged "I couldn't leave my sparkling in a foreign country by herself!"

Prowl belatedly realised that it had said in the report from the mission that Jazz had also taken a pretty nasty fall on the head, and in retrospect this day couldn't get any worse.

"Come on Jazz" he coaxed as he walked out of his office, his mate following him with Patchy curled up in his arms "Let's go see Ratchet…"

-Medbay-

Ratchet took one look at the scene and laughed. His second reaction was to immediately cower as Jazz went into over protective mother mode, giving the medic a rather spectacular dressing down about hurting his 'sparklings' feelings. The giraffe clearly wasn't worried about Ratchet's laughter as it was too busy eyeing Prowl who glared back defiantly.

"This" Prowl said gesturing to Jazz and his new 'baby' "is the result of his knock to the head. Please fix it and get Skyfire to drop, what was her name again Jazz?"

"Patchy" Jazz pouted as he set his baby on her legs after being asked to get on the repair berth.

"Yes… to drop Patchy back in Africa." Prowl said "Primus knows where her real mother is"

"Patchy?" the medic snickered earning a warning glare from Jazz

The baby Giraffe snorted and trotted over to Prowl "While I fix Jazz, you look after your new kid Prowl" Ratchet said as he knocked the saboteur out.

"What?" cried Prowl mortified as Patchy nuzzled his hip "I have to go to a conference meeting with Prime and some human ambassadors in ten minutes!"

"Well drop her off with her new big brother then" Wheeljack suggested from the repair berth next to Jazz, in for his usual daily explosion related repairs.

The SIC merely sighed and walked off down the corridor in a huff, Patchy following him like a puppy, her tail swishing happily.

-Rec-Room-

Bluestreak watched with a resigned air as his father walked into the rec-room, his face like thunder. "What did you do?" he sighed turning to the Twins that were sitting across from him openly gaping at the door

Sideswipe was silent and merely pointed at Prowl an indescribable look of glee on his face, the whole rec room going silent as they heard a soft snort from behind Prowl.

Obliging his friend he turned only for his mouth to drop open in shock, for behind Prowl was a baby giraffe. His father spotted him and walked over, the baby mammal prancing after him as some bots snickered.

"Bluestreak look after your carrier's new 'sparkling' while I deal with a meeting" his father ordered as he picked up the giraffe and plonked it next to him on the sofa. "And make sure it's alive when I come back please. Your carrier is quite fond of her, her name is Patchy. Good luck" With that his father turned on his heel and left the room leaving a mortified Bluestreak with his new 'sister' trying to sniff him on the couch.

As soon as Prowl was out the door, the room erupted in laughter, Patchy nuzzling Bluestreak who still sat staring after his black and white father.

"So care to introduce us Blue?" snickered Sideswipe as the long necked creature stood on the sofa to sniff at Bluestreak's chevron

"Not really" the sniper grumbled gently dissuading the female from nibbling his chevron by pushing against her chest "Where did Jazz even get her?"

"I'm guessing on that mission to Africa" Hound guessed still chuckling with mirth. "Put her on the floor Blue. She can't go far with all these mechs in the room"

"I guess this is my carrier's way to ask for another sparkling" the grey datsun grumbled setting his 'little sister' on the ground who let out a sneeze and then trotted about the room.

Suddenly Cliffjumper barged into the room scaring the little giraffe. To the surprise of Mirage who was petting her back, the mammal reared in fright and took off at a loping gallop. Bumblebee dived for Patchy just as she made it out of the door.

"Slag!" Bluestreak cursed running out after his new friend, he was still in denial that the baby giraffe was now family. "Which way did she go!" he screeched at a passing Trailbreaker, as most of the bots in the rec-room scrambled in all directions to search for the wayward Patchy.

"You mean the small brown patched animal that was heading for the conference rooms?" asked the mech in surprise "You mean that wasn't a hologram?"

"Frag, Frag, Frag" Bluestreak chanted as he took off with the Twins in tow towards the conference rooms. "Jazz is going to have my helm!"

-Conference Room 1-

Optimus Prime was having a very good day.

This was why he was prepared for it to go horribly wrong. Prowl had just finished his presentation and one of the humans had taken to the floor, or table as the case was.

Why Prowl suddenly looked panicked he had no clue, but he guessed it was something to do with the reason he shot from his seat like his aft was on fire, stammered something about forgetting a sheet of his notes and ran out the door. Ironhide and Red Alert looked a little alarmed at the SIC's behaviour as the door hissed shut again.

He reassured them that Prowl was probably worried about Jazz, who had been acting out as of late, ever since he had returned from Africa. The odd behaviour having been extremely prominent when he had become incredibly protective of Skyfire's back end on the way home, he presumed that Ratchet had found the problem and fixed it, obviously not if Prowl was acting out as well.

As the presentation continued Optimus felt something pass his leg. He stiffened and looked under the table, regardless of the odd looks he was receiving.

With a yelp and a thud, Optimus' head connected with the underside of the table, jolting the humans sitting upon it and unbalancing the one that was currently half way through his presentation and toppled off the side with a shriek, only to be caught by Ironhide lunging from his seat and face first onto the floor, the human dangling from his hand.

"What in Primus' name are you doing Prahm!" the older bot snapped just as something jumped onto his back and over his other side.

The large Autobot leader withdrew his head from under the table rubbing the sore spot that was marked with a dent "Something kicked me! What are you doing on the floor?"

"Catching the human" Ironhide grumbled as he tossed the human back on the table, "what the slag ran over me?"

"That" snickered Red Alert pointing to a cute looking baby giraffe that was now standing in the corner chewing on a bush that Hound had insisted on in the Conference room.

"What in Primus' name is that?" cried Ironhide aiming his cannon at the innocent little creature.

"Woah! Don't shoot!" cried Bluestreak stumbling in the door, tripping over thin air and landing on his front, the Twins Sunstreaker and Sideswipe not able to stop, sailed straight into the table after tripping over Bluestreak's downed frame "That's Patchy!"

"My baby!" cried a voice that made everyone freeze. Jazz rushed into the room and picked up the baby giraffe and hugged it gently. "Have you been a good girl?" the Head of Special Operations asked Patchy, nuzzling her face with his own, her tongue flicking out to lick her adoptive parent "Of course you have!" the saboteur squealed ignoring his elder creation flat on the floor and his leader rubbing the back of his helm.

Prowl stood in the doorway looking resigned.

"Prowl?" Optimus asked shocked as the doorwinged mech merely sighed

"He banged his head and his Parental instinct programme kicked in on the first young life-form he spotted, which happened to be Patchy who had been abandoned. I'm assuming." Prowl explained with a sigh

Ratchet peered in the door as Prowl walked into the conference room and in front of all present snickered "Congratulations on the new member of the family then"

The last thing that Prime thought before he crashed was 'I' going to wake up soon'

A/N: I hope you liked it! This might turn into a Two-shot if I figure out what to do with Patchy... -_-