step one: stop fighting robots

[wreckers]

Who: Verity and OPENish
Where: Autobot Clinic
When: Noooow??
What: The fallout of this
Warnings: Injuries, TBD.


[ Once she shook loose from Arcee, Verity bagged out. She was not inclined to trust anyone let alone someone closely associated with Prowl, on good terms or not, but she trusted Arcee to run interference long enough for her to clear out of there. Running away happened to be one of Verity's talents and one she took immediate advantage of when the opportunity presented itself. ]

Shit - shit.

[ Burning rubber screeched on the metal floor of the clinic followed by a loud crash when a disoriented Verity slammed into a nearby steel utility table; spilling all kinds of equipment onto the floor. The clinic was dark - of course it was, everyone was off getting stupid at that party at the forum. Verity swore louder as she staggered up and waved her arm wildly in front of a motion sensor near the doorframe that brought the lights back on.

I fucked up, was all Verity could think while stumbling through the clinic wildly searching for anything that looked human friendly. ]

Enough people on this rock they should have painkillers or someth- hnng.

[ Verity stopped near a minicon sized gurney. She pulled herself up and once she was sitting felt the full force of what a little scuffle with something rip snorting pissed off and over thirty feet tall did. The plates of her armor retracted back until she was down to her clothes. Stomach rolling as she took rapid shallow breaths close to hyperventilating, pulling her shirt up to find angry red and purple bruising covering her entire right side. She cringed, looking down to see the inflamed mess that was her foot that twisted awkwardly at the ankle.

Winded, Verity collapsed on her back. Leaving her armor in pieces around her on the ground as she tried to steady her breathing. ]

Comments

(A few days lateur)

[aminerproblem]

[Verity was the first human they'd had as a patient at the clinic, and as unfortunate as the circumstances were that put her on the medical berth to begin with, he still found himself curious about them. Talking with June didn't really cover the whole scope of an entire species, did it?]

[So, some time later, he kneels down to the small berth and the even smaller patient, he does his best to hide his own intrigue. He was here to tend to her first and foremost.]

How are you feeling?

[asafepairofhands]

"Right," Ratchet says bitterly, but his touch is still incredibly gentle as he touches lightly at her cheek. "'Got into a fight' with who? Who the hell would--"

He freezes, then stares down at her in a kind of sick, lurching understanding.

"You went after Prowl, didn't you? Is that who did this to you?"

[wreckers]

[ Blankets were definitely an improvement; she owed whoever bankrolled textiles now that she could be laid up on the medical berth without worrying about aggravating the fact her ribs were sticking together out of determined spite. Waking up at the sound of someone talking, she stirred in the cocoon she made for herself.

Only what needed to change was how they kept running lights on in the clinic. Humans had these inconvenient things called retinas. Verity blinked against the harsh fluorescent light and tilted her head into the shade of the massive figure looming over her. Squinting, she started to say 'Impactor' until her eyes adjusted to the light. ]

You look a little big for a nurse.

[ She didn't sound ungrateful, just amused if exhausted as she eased up into a sitting position. Blankets down around her waist she was nothing but bandages from the neck down. She pointed to a stack of clothes on a near by table. ]

In one piece. Pass me my bra?

[ beat. ]

It's the chestpiece with the hooks.

[wreckers]

"You should see your face." Gaze still a touch unfocused and boneless against him she didn't retract from the physical reassurance as she normally would.

And in despite all of that pulled a sour face and was almost petulant in her response.

"I didn't plan on it."

[asafepairofhands]

"Dammit, Verity," Ratchet says, but he just sounds worried and tired. He cradles her as carefully as he dares. "I don't care if you did or not. You're concussed and I don't know how to fix it."

[wreckers]

"Not shouting would be a start." Verity groused even though Ratchet was hardly shouting, as she blinked against the lights over head and gingerly touches the temples of her forehead. She wanted to sleep, or throw up. Mostly just not be in this predicament.

"Ibuprofen and an ice pack would also be a step in the right direction."

[wreckers]

"I have so far." Verity nodded, with unbroken eye contact. "My best guess is he's casing my apartment; I never told him I have the data on me even after I gave him some information about a few dead facsimiles. Nothing classified, so it's safe to assume he'd think I've stashed it somewhere. And he isn't wrong."

She smiled, exhausted but capable of self satisfaction, "There's a couple dummy data slugs at my place."

And then she says something she would not have if she weren't still delirious and concussed. "For what it's worth," She crossed her arms loose over chest to fight off a chill that wasn't in the room, "It go nasty but he probably never meant to kill me. Autobots took me in when my own species didn't and given the reaction I'm getting in some messed up way I can see why that leaves him feeling so raw about it."

[aminerproblem]

[Megatron seems concerned as she sits up, still unfamiliar with the thresholds of human hardiness. But she didn't wince in pain, so he assumes she wasn't straining herself too badly.]

[Unbothered at all with the task, he prods through the lump of cleaned clothing to pull out a bra by the strap between two massive fingers.]

[With the piece half dangling out of the pile, he looks back at her.]

This? Are you sure? It isn't much of an armor plate.

[wreckers]

It functions for support not protection.

[ Verity pulls a face but otherwise has no other reaction as she snatches the bra out from between fingers that look better suits to crushing boulders than suturing. ]

You know Impactor? Hazard tapes' not that popular for anyone under the age of fifteen with a bedroom door and issues.

[Yanking the blankets aside she slips her arms between the straps; mindful of bandages but unconcerned with the giant robot leaning over her. After the Wreckers she had gotten most of the awkward conversations out of the way, and this was supposed to be a medical check-in. ]

[asafepairofhands]

"I'll... see what I can do." Ratchet settles her down against the slab again and digs until he finds a blanket, then settles her until she's on top of it with it tucked around her and under her head. "Just--don't try to go anywhere for a bit, all right?"

He limps hastily to the back room and digs out his comm, pulling up pretty much the only expert he knows' number.

"June?" he asks into the mic, sounding uncharacteristically hesitant. "I need--I have a-a friend of mine, here. She's injured, and I can't tell how badly. I taped her ribs and her ankle but she hit her head and I--" He stops for a moment, and when he speaks again he sounds as frightened as anyone ever hears him, the liquid in his tanks turning to icy sludge even as he meets her eyes over the vid pickup, his own optics pale and open.

"I need your help. Please. I don't know what to do."

[aminerproblem]

Yes.

[A hand thoughtlessly goes to cover the caution stripes on one of his forearms. It's been a long time since he's been accustomed to what they signified to every other Cybertronian in the room, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little eager to get rid of them.]

[Realizing he'd let the pause drag on, he moves again, reaching for a pair of forceps better suited to handling human-sized objects. Ratchet may have been able to treat her completely bare-handed, but he wanted to be careful before moving forward.]

He's a good friend of mine. We worked together on Nova Peak. Any more pain in the chest? The head?

[Verity will soon find herself being offered some water on a plate held gently between the thinner metal tips.]

[optout]

He nods in affirmation, silently impressed at her resourcefulness. It wouldn't derail Prowl's search for long, but it was crafty. He bets even Prowl would be impressed with her if he knew. Without breaking their gaze, his eyes shift from worry to a more warm gesture, hand gesturing out.

"You two go back. I'm sure your death was never on his mind--but he has gotten a bit more maverick since you last met him. Sometimes I hardly recognize him, even from after the war." His own arms go to his elbow, folding as he leans. "He's determined, but not without his spark. I think humans use the term 'rough around the edges'."

...

A glance to her injuries. "Whether or not that's figurative or literal can be debated."

[wreckers]

We got a friend and common - thanks.

[ Verity played fast and loose with a word like friend, sure, and especially with the likes of Impactor. She smiled all the same in gratitude as she took the glass of water off the platter after she got the last eye hook in her bra. Slapping down the glass on a nearby table when she polished it off and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, and doing so all without wincing. Even had more color to face. ]

I hobbled all the way to the bathroom last night without incident and all by myself, too; the headaches and nausea don't come and go as often. Breathing isn't so hard on painkillers. Small victories.

[ Without needing a cue Verity pulled the tape on the bandage on her ribs for Megatron to inspect. The blood was minimal and still bright red with the bruising a duller, yellowish brown. ]

So, Ratchet take you under his wing?

[wreckers]

"Don't ask me to say he's something more on the inside because I was knocked inside him and that's why I have three stitches stapled into my head." Verity tapped her temple.

"I was going to call him a 'dissident' but that might be a little too personal when the authoritarian state is on two legs and standing right in front of me." Verity said, aware of if nothing else than Prowl and Optimus were not exactly seeing eye to eye right now. "Sorry, former authoritarian state. Go democracy."

Verity raised her fist only for it to fall back limb in her lap. Blood loss mixed a fresh concussion meant her sass was running on fumes.

"And hey, I'm not going to dictate how anyone is going to adjust after four million years of total war except maybe 'not like that'," She adjusted on the gurney with her complexion still clammy and soaked in sweat, "But if you want my two cents: Keep this in-house."

[milkruns]

"I'll be right there."

The words are uttered quickly, decisively, and the feed of June's serious face cuts out. She's never seen this Ratchet look so stone cold scared, and the few times she'd seen the Ratchet she knew back home in genuine distress had been telling enough.

Thank god for the combined efforts to get June's clinic stocked and running -- it means she's got a halfway decent first aid kit, even if none of the supplies have that universal grip to them. In the emergency room there was always a comfort in that kind of familiarity. There's a hard edge to the way she moves now that Ratchet's never seen in her before, every word in a tone of firm instruction even as she has him lift and deposit her onto the slab where he'd placed Verity. She's down on a one-kneed crouch at Verity's side in an instant, the heavy case to her first aid kid spread open next to her. She peels back the blanket and her gaze sweeps over Verity's form, taking in the injuries, the tape that almost looks as though a human did it. He's got impressive dexterity, all right.

"You should have called me right away," June says to Ratchet gravely, but her voice lacks the expected chiding tone. She turns her attention back to Verity, her face softening slightly. Ratchet's never mentioned his human friends to June, not really, but she finds she's not surprised to know he has them. And for him to look -- to sound so painfully terrified for her well-being -- June knows she must be someone important indeed.

"My name is June. I'm a nurse. I'm just going to take a quick look at you, all right?" Her voice is steady, certain to introduce herself before she reaches to gently cradling the back of Verity's head in one hand, digging out a battered penlight from her pocket with the other. She taps it on with a thumb and flashes it quickly into Verity's eyes. She doesn't doubt Verity's concussed; it's just a matter of how bad. "I'm a friend of Ratchet's, he called me over. Can you tell me your name?"

[wreckers]

A growing disquiet seeps in progressively faster and faster as Verity watched as Ratchet left her side; feeding off his own sense of anxiety compounded with her own latent complications. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she rolled back against the gurney her face half pressed into the metal through the thin blanket. The dizzying exhaustion was like a heavy weight on her shoulders she couldn't stave off with her haywire distress. Verity was a hairs breadth away from passing out until a cool air swept over her as the blankets were ripped off and someone, a human someone, was shining a light in her pinprick dilated pupils.

"Ver-" Verity had her own name half-formed on her lips when she batted away June's hand and wrenched to the side. Head over the gurney she vomited noxious bile onto the floor with her chest heaving, coughing as she rolled on her back again even though her insides burned like it was lined with broken glass.

Complexion clammy, drenched with sweat aggravated by the short shallow breaths she was taking, she was a mess but fought her way through saying her name then her birthday along with some other useless but accurate personal information. Keeping herself talking as she motioned to the wet spot around her temple. Hair matted with dried blood, a minor laceration where she cracked her head against the side of Prowl's driver side window one too many times.

"Ratchet, your friend is scary as hell." She rasped. Even in her condition finding Ratchet deferring to someone else amusing.

[asafepairofhands]

Ratchet lurches forward, catching her as she twists and supporting her head and side as she heaves over the edge of the gurney in long, wracking spasms. He helps settle her when she finishes, cool, absent fingertips pushing her damp hair from her face as he looks helplessly down at them both, keeping Verity partway upright with a hand curled around her shoulders and head to prop her up.

"You don't think I'd call some pushover for backup against you, do you?" he says, his mouth barely twitching into a smile as his thumb brushes very gently against her uninjured temple. "June knows what she's doing. You're going to be fine."

[milkruns]

Nothing about June wavers as she moves with Verity as she lurches, stopping only when Ratchet catches her. She nods along with Verity as she listens, checking Verity's head for any other injuries with careful hands. She appreciates Ratchet's assistance just as much as his vote of confidence -- she knows she can rely on him right now, if nothing else.

"Scary? That's a new one," June murmurs as she gently brushes some of the matted hair away from Verity's temple. She isn't quite smiling, but there's a faint light of amusement in her eyes. "Ratchet, keep her there, will you? Let's keep her head steady -- yes, like that."

She grabs a few swabs and a disinfectant from her kit, and a cloth she dampens with water. "Verity, you are going to be fine," she confirms as she smooths Verity's hair away from the wound and begins to dab away the matted blood. "You've got a concussion, and it's not pretty, but in the grand scheme of things it's not that bad. This is probably going to sting a little."

June swabs at the wound with gentle pressure, her other hand lightly cupping Verity's face. She's burning to know who's responsible for this -- because she knows an injury of violence when she sees one, and this was no accident -- but that'll come later. "Why don't you tell me how you and Ratchet met?"

[wreckers]

"I hitched the wrong ride." Verity groaned with a sense of self-awareness how circumstances that threw her headlong into this war mirrored events that put her on this gurney.

Fighting through lethargy and the sharp smell and biting sting of antiseptic, Verity put the last several years of her life into a nutshell; from life as a wayward kid drifting up and down the southwest to her stint as a regular teenage astrogirl throwing her lot in with the Wreckers (skimming the details of Garrus-9 off the tops). Several times pausing to motion at Ratchet when he, in her words, pulled her ass out of the fire.

Verity fell quiet, her eyes drifting around the room as her head lolled against Ratchet's gentle but firm hold. She started to move against June cleaning the wound on her temple, becoming increasingly irritable with a slur creeping back into the growing incoherence of her word. When she had the room she jerked her arm forward, gripping Ratchet around one of his fingers. Somewhere along the line she connected 'head injury' to a name - Ironfist, and suddenly panic crept in and took hold.

"Ratchet," She was starting to shake with fever and throat bobbing, "If this gets worse...if this gets worse -" Knuckles bone white as she squeezed Ratchet's hand with all the strength left in her, "I need to tell you how to get into the on board smart system in the suit. The matrices I wrote to encrypt it - there's a code for it. To get the data to you."

[asafepairofhands]

"Verity..."

Ratchet hesitates for a long moment, looking grave and cradling her just a little more securely. He sees the mute terror in her eyes and connects it, grief and pain pressing a leaden weight down on the tops of his tanks.

"You're going to be okay, Verity," he says, very firmly. "You aren't going to have an aneurysm. You aren't going to die on this table. You are going to be fine." He holds her hand back in a delicate grip, his optics locked on her face. "But if you want to give me the code, I'll take it."

[aminerproblem]

I'm surprised to hear you befriended him so quickly. Impactor can be a bit rough around the edges.

[When Megatron first pushed Ratchet to begin training him, tending to something as peculiar as a human being never came to mind. He goes through the mental checklist he'd memorized previously as she unwraps the bandages, pinching a disinfectant cloth between the edges of the forceps. It was so absurdly small to him it was something of a small miracle he could use it properly it at all.]

[With it his optics focus on his target, his other hand reaching around with another tool to begin the business of changing her bloodied bandage, cleaning her lacerations, and soothing the bruising with a cool cloth. There was a rough twitch here or there - he still had to practice to steady his hands a little, but otherwise seemed to have at least been instructed well.]

After some persistent pestering, yes. It's not something most doctors would even consider.

[wreckers]

'Quickly' would be generous.

[ A smile tugs at the corner of her dry and cracking lips, 'rough around the edges' was how Optimus cautiously described Prowl and in a way she could see the similarities. In an objective, I'm-not-bitter sort of way. ]

Ratchet isn't most doctors.

[ Arms raised above her head she watches through the bend of her elbow the delicate if a bit nervous touch to Megatron cleaning her wounds. Doing her level best not to jolt against the sudden freeze of the cold cloth or sting of disinfectant. ]

And hey, I get that. Even with ratioism dead and buried the lot of you are pretty reticent to jump ship to another profession even when you really want to. [ During a lull, Verity shrugs. ] I've kept up with the oeuvre of Cybertronian political writers.

[aminerproblem]

[Listening to her speak, he quickly makes the conclusion she must have met him in the future - their future, anyway. There's a slight relief to hear that his friend survived the ensueing chaos he was center at causing.]

The lingering poison of the Functionist regime will take time to cleanse. It may never be gone completely without persistent vigilance.

[His eyes brighten a little at the sudden change in topic. Who knew that aliens would be well-versed in their isolated politics? After cleaning up her side, he sets the previous cloth aside and gets a new bandage to apply.]

[wreckers]

[ Verity chewed on her lower lip as she straightened out her back, and took in a lungful of air as the bandages were set firmly around her ribs. The pain was still there as a constant thrum that took some of the color out of her face. Good thing the hands setting her wounds were surprisingly gentle and the conversation kept her mind off the pain. ]

"Utility as the organizing principle. The Functionist regime made the lock and the Senate holds the key."

[ Quoting directly from Towards Peace - which she nearly cited but immediately decided she didn't want to sound like she was trying to upstage the people it actually affected. She look back up at her nurse and caught that excited light in his eyes and knew it right away for what it was. ]

Burgeoning pundit, huh? If this is your thing I can forward you my copies of Megatron's collected works. Really, and hear me out on this because believe me I know, but the guy didn't go completely off the rails without leaving some real solid stuff readily available.

[ Verity doesn't wait for a reaction as she keeps going. ]

I'm serious. I'd skip over the racially charged polemics but even they're not undisciplined and still touch on the anti-mechanical issues brought up in Towards Peace. The neologisms in his pre-war poetic work could even be called inspired.

-Hey, can you pass me the ibuprofen and another glass of water?

[aminerproblem]

[Megatron can't help but find a laugh get teased out of him. A genuine, youthful, jovial sound. Terminus really got his works distributed quite far, didn't he?]

I suppose offworld copies wouldn't keep my picture in case of this rare occasion, would they? I'm humbled to hear that you enjoyed reading my work.

[The requested items are placed within her reach on the same plate as earlier. Water and a dose of painkillers.]