Authors: pjlover666 and silberstreif

Title: Patchwork

Warnings: none

Disclaimer: TF doesn't belong to us. We just love to play with it a lot!

Chapter Six

Let's do some cleaning - or why Prowl's vacation just doesn't end.

When Prowl had started his vacation thanks to his unusual guests, he somehow had been convinced that it would only be a few orns and that afterwards everything would be normal again. As a result, he had only taken one decaorn off, and this time frame was now rapidly coming to an end.

During the time Jazz had recharged (something the Autobot's frame had sorely needed) Prowl had watched and cared for the sparkling, even played with him. It had been easy. Bluestreak never complained, never screamed... but he knew better than to think that these were good signs.

When Jazz had been awake, Prowl had more often than not left the apartment and gone to different places in the city, hoping to find a good solution. In the beginning he had thought it would be easy, surely Jazz wasn't the first Autobot seeking asylum, surely Bluestreak wasn't the first orphan.

They weren't.

Sadly, that was were the problems began.

The first thing he did was to read through the immigration laws of Praxus. Until a few hundred vorns ago they had been quiet open and friendly. Now? Now you only became a Praxian in two ways - you were born inside the city or you bonded to an upstanding citizen. It followed four pages of definition of the glyph "upstanding". Prowl read it twice and managed to summarize it into two words: "proven loyal".

Jazz had no chance to be accepted through the usual channels.

Not that Prowl was really surprised. An Autobot, worse, a loyal Autobot who had confessed to be part of Special Operation of all things? Right. If he thought about this logically, there was a greater possibility that Jazz was a spy and saboteur than anything else. Just, of course, that no operative of any kind would be that worried about a sparkling that he destroyed his own mobility, which he would need for any job. He wasn't an emotional or trustful mech, really, but Jazz... seemed truthful.

Prowl had still asked himself more than once if Jazz lied. It all always came down to the traitorous question - what if he didn't lie? Would Prowl forgive himself for not trying to help?

No, no he wouldn't.

And so, he went out on the second orn too, trying to find a way that Bluestreak would be acknowledged as a Praxian. He was of Praxian design, creation of two Praxians, surely... but there he hit the second problem:

Praxians joining the Autobot (or Decepticon in rarer cases) army weren't Praxians as long as they were part of said army.

Bluestreak was an Autobot by Praxian law. And as such, the Autobots were responsible.

That was the moment Prowl wondered what the Autobots would do with an orphan.

Orn three, he was in the library and searched for articles and reports on Autobots and sparklings and families. What he found, didn't make him happy. At all.

Autobots cared for their own, that was true, but they also needed soldiers. As a result, sparklings were upgraded to adults as fast as possible and trained from small on to be soldiers. He shuddered. Cybertronians had no childhood as such, more a time of development for emotional subroutines, intelligence, control and all those things. Bluestreak was already heavily damaged and would probably need a much longer childhood than usual. Not a shorter, violent one.

Beside that, Bluestreak would have no creators and that Jazz would probably not be allowed to care for the little one as he was a needed operative, and the sparkling just a liability. Bluestreak would be alone in a sparkling center with nurse bots. If there even were nursing mechs. Had an army even had those?

No, Bluestreak couldn't go back and as a result, Jazz would stay too as long as Prowl didn't want to go physical on that matter.

The following orns he tried to find a way for them to stay in Praxus. He searched for guest rights (only four decaorns, and only after screening), family rights (bonding only, or adoption in some rare cases) and other ways. He began to read through cases, and tried to find a loophole.

There was none.

Jazz and Bluestreak were Autobots and as such not welcomed.

With heavy steps he walked home, instead of driving and wondered what to do now. Prowl couldn't throw them out, as he knew very well that they had no where else to go. And really, they deserved better than some nameless death on the streets through starvation.

But Prowl also couldn't send them back. Jazz was already obviously damaged from his time as a soldier (those nightmares were the worst he had ever seen, and every night he wanted to drag Jazz to a psychologist, because this was not healthy), and Bluestreak was traumatized by... well everything he had experienced before coming to Praxus. He was even in a more dearer state for medical help of any kind.

Both were in no condition to join a bloody, insane war.

What remained?

He could keep them in his apartment, but for how long? The apartment was meant for one mech only, not for a small family.

Reaching his door, he heard Jazz's soft, true laughter behind it. Strangely, it went straight to his spark and Prowl suddenly knew that he would keep them as long as needed. There was no other choice.

Somewhere along the way he had really started caring. With a sigh, he sent a form to his deputy, Charger and requested an extension of his vacation.

::Chief,:: came the very quick answer back. ::You can really tell us if something is not alright...::

::Everything is alright,:: Prowl said, hearing that soft laughter again and wondering if he was lying or not. He should feel sad or angry that he had failed to find a way that Jazz and Bluestreak were safe. Instead, the laughter made him feel warm. ::I'm perfectly fine and just following up a research.::

::A research? Chief, this is called vacation, not educational training!::

::I'm aware of that, Charger,:: said Prowl amused. ::But believe me, it's necessary. Is the extension of my vacation a problem?::

::No, of course not, sir. We just miss our workaholic Chief who seemingly did all the paperwork for us.:: Charger sighed dramatically. ::But the precinct is fine, so far nothing has burnt down besides a few desks and -::

::The desks have what?:: asked Prowl in a voice that said clearly 'speak now or it's going to be very painful for you'.

::... we might have captured an arsonist with a firebomb in his subspace, which he might activated inside the office.::

Prowl sighed and yet couldn't help a smile. Just another normal orn at work. ::Any injuries?::

::No.::

::Good work then, Charger.:: Prowl looked at the apartment where he now heard again laughter and something like water. ::I have to go. Call me, if anything dire happens.::

::Of course, sir. Always.::

He disconnected and opened the door to his home.

Against his expectations Jazz and Bluestreak were neither at ground with the huge green pillow, nor on the couch. The kitchen was also empty. That left only the berthroom and the bath, he was already turning to the first one when he heard water and an amused "Blue!". Bathroom then.

The bathroom wasn't very big, designed for one mech only. As such it only had the shower under which he had forced Jazz only a few orns ago, the towel shelf and not much else except for that small mirror. Inside the shower sat Jazz on the ground with the shower head in hand and an animated sparkling between his legs. Coming closer he saw that it was leaning against Jazz uninjured right leg, so that it wouldn't fall down and waving it's little hands at the thin water jet in front of it.

"It likes water?" announced Prowl his presence.

Startled, Jazz looked up and then nodded. "Very much. Blue tries to drink it, catch it, splash it, you name it."

Having heard Prowl, Blue now tried to look around, and Jazz gently helped. By now Prowl was standing directly at the shower entrance and the sparkling gave him a bright smile, obviously happy. Prowl couldn't help but return that gentle smile back. It was good to see the bitlet reacting.

"Many sparklings like water," agreed Prowl. "And they also like sticky things. It's a common complaint that the first manipulative act of a sparkling is to recognize the connection and to deliberately play with sticky, colourful and just messy things."

"Because sparklings are sneaky little critters!" Jazz exclaimed, tickling Blue a little, "But I don't think we have to worry about that here." A sharp smirk. "Yer apartment's so clean it's practically sterile."

Prowl frowned. He liked his apartment clean, but he didn't have the feeling that Jazz meant it as a compliment.

"Mech, it's not an insult," Jazz added seeing Prowl's look. Even though he had relaxed around the mech over the last decaorn, all instincts screamed at him that it was not wise to criticize the mech you depend on. "Just an observation, that's all. Cuz there's 'clean' and then we have 'Prowl-clean' to the list. Which isn't bad!"

The Chief-Enforcer nodded. "I like how it is," he said and looked at the sparkling. If they stayed the next decaorn too - and the probability was high - then the sparkling would make mess and get dirty as well as a result. Which meant that he had to be cleaned. But while Jazz and Bluestreak seemed to have fun in the shower, Prowl saw the slippery tiles, the damaged leg, how the towels were at the other end of the bath room and how easily the sparkling fell backwards and could hurt his little wings. Also, the spray was far too soft to really clean the sparkling and that a stronger one would hurt him.

This was unacceptable. He liked clean things and if Jazz and the sparkling stayed, they needed to be able to get clean safely too.

Good thing he had extended his vacation. At least now he knew where he would go tomorrow.

0000

Jazz was sitting on a chair as he stared at the strange blue thing that was being filled with warm solvent water. Bluestreak in his lap was looking at it just as curiously.

"What is that?" Jazz finally asked. He had never seen such a thing before. Was it for painting? He hadn't seen any paintings in Prowl's apartment (if at all) though, plus why was it in the kitchen?

Prowl, dare he say it, snorted through his vents.

"You must be joking," the Chief Enforcer said, not believing. "Also, can you raise the thermostat's settings?" Prowl asked as he looked up at Jazz. "I want to warm up the room first."

Jazz gave him a questioning look, rocking Blue in his lap. Still, the spy stood up and limped his way to the control panel on the wall. Soon, the soft whirl of vents filled the room as warm air started to blow through the rooms. Jazz refused to admit that it made him feel rather cozy, with all the warmth surrounding him, Bluestreak close to his spark...

"Alright, hand me the sparkling."

Those words however snapped Jazz out of his light doze.

"What? Why?" He watched as Prowl secured the... thing he had filled with hot solvent water. "You still haven't told me what that is!"

Prowl raised an optic ridge. "You seriously mean you don't remember this from sparklinghood?"

"I didn't have one, okay?" Jazz said, getting annoyed. "The closest thing I had to a toy was a doll I made out of a bunch of rags, geez."

Again, Prowl hid how that little bit of information made him quite uncomfortable. "First, it's not a toy. And second, it's a sparkling-bathtub. Designed for creators to wash their creations."

Prowl was surprised by the horrified look Jazz gave him: "Are you trying to drоwn Blue?!"

Jazz couldn't help it. How could Praxian creators wash their sparklings in that? It was round and deep and filled with solvent. It looked perfect for an excited sparkling to drown in. What was Prowl thinking?

"Jazz..." Prowl said exasperated. "This is a Praxian sparkling - you need this to wash him effectively, safely and properly without hurting his wings."

"And to effectively drown him!" Jazz insisted from his seat, clutching the squirming Bluestreak close to his chest. He glanced at the bathtub, then back at Prowl who hadn't moved yet. But this was the first time Jazz defied him. The first time he didn't nod and say 'yes' and apologized. What would Prowl do? Hit him? Throw them out? Hit Bluestreak? Too late he realized that again his battle controls had overtaken and made him even more unreasonable. But then Prowl really could turn out like some other mechs... "What if you drop him? That thing does not look safe!"

As if speaking to a youngling, Prowl calmly pointed at the rubber inserts. "See this? You can't drown a sparkling in this. They're designed that even new creators can clean their sparkling safely."

Jazz huffed in mistrust, looking at the unknown object with the same intensity he would look at a potential bomb. A part of him far down was thanking Primus that Prowl wasn't reacting aggressive. It would end ugly. "Well, I've never had one so I don't see the point in Blue needing one too. I could've kept washing him under the shower stall like I was doing!"

"It's sad that you never had one." Prowl looked a bit uncomfortable before adding: "And when he falls down as he does every five astroseconds and hurts his wings while you're busy with the towels? What then? I assure you, it's safe. I had one and loved it."

"I'm holding Blue while getting the towels," Jazz reasoned, barely keeping from revving the engine in a clear threat statement. But despite that he had the feeling that he was loosing this fight quickly. Prowl seemed right.

"Jazz, why are you so worried over such little things?" Prowl asked, trying to keep his own feelings under control. He had meant this as a gift, not as a murder instrument!

"Because I've screwed up his life so bad I should get a damn prize for orchestrating such a disaster, and he wasn't even created yet!" Jazz exclaimed. "If I'm gonna do this, I'll be doing it right. And that doesn't include drowning the sparkling while I'm at it."

"Perhaps if I just show you-"

"No."

"Don't be unreasonable Jazz-"

"No!" This time his engine did do a little rev, but Prowl seemed not to realize its significance.

A deep sigh. "Trust me on this, will you? You've trusted me so far, why stop now over something so minor?"

"Because you need to make a mistake only once for it to be too late," Jazz said, voice rife with bitter experience and howling protocols. To control himself and the situation, he turned the other way, shielding little Blue from the Chief-Enforcer. Sure, now he had his unprotected back towards the Enforcer, but Prowl was not armed and he could always escape forward. He shuttered his optic for a moment and touched his battle protocols. There was no danger. Prowl hadn't hit them yet, and Jazz doubted by now that he would. That knowledge... was a needed relief so deep, that it even filtered into his carefully controlled field, making Bluestreak look at him in confusion.

Prowl stared at Jazz who was completely unreasonable. How could this reckless, irresponsible daredevil be afraid of a sparkling-bathtub of all things?! He forced himself to calm and think of it logically. Which was quite difficult.

Jazz came from an extremely poor background from what Prowl could gather through the small slips of personal information Jazz had given, and this explained why he had never seen a sparkling bathtub before. Had he even understood how it really worked? Prowl looked at the blue, innocent bathtub and had to admit that it looked quite deep. Which was intended so that the sparkling couldn't fall out or in any other direction.

Add to that the self blame, past trauma and you had an irrational reaction.

Great. Analysis finished. And now?

"Jazz..." He stepped around them, until he stood in front of them. He crouched so he was level with them and placed a hand on the sparkling's helm when it turned to look at him with big optics. Bluestreak was far too young to understand what was happening, but had gotten uneasy at Jazz's aggressive reaction anyway. When he felt Prowl's hand and field, he relaxed, and little grey wings rose higher. Prowl gave him one of his rare smiles, then concentrated on the scared Autobot: "Trust me when I say that I won't let any harm come to Bluestreak as long as I can help it."

Jazz was staring down at the white hand caressing the sparkling's helmet in a clear sign of trust. The spy knew he was being unfair and probably looked stupid, but he had messed up so bad already... Bluestreak didn't deserve him as his caretaker. He deserved someone like Prowl. A responsible mech who hasn't ruined his life. Who knew what a sparkling needed, even if the contraptions looked strange and dangerous and nothing like anything he had ever seen. Who doesn't have battle protocols installed that made him aggressive beyond reason.

Slowly, Jazz nodded, forcing his own fears down.

"We can do this. Carefully," he added.

Prowl nodded, and Jazz wondered for the hundred time if the Praxian knew that his life depended on Blue's health - intentional injury or not.

"Always," Prowl said and lifted the excited sparkling in his arms. Bluestreak laid on his stomach and the doorwings on his back were fluttering up and down - a level of movement he had reached only three orns ago. Jazz followed them nervously as they went to the little bath tub.

"The solvent's temp is alright?" Jazz dipped a digit inside to taste it - just in case. Not only for temperature, but also for poison. It was habit.

"Yes," Prowl said and slowly dipped Bluestreak inside, observing the sparkling for any sign of distress. The little one made a little noise in surprise. It was really just a klick-klick. But it was enough to recognize it as the second sound beside the whimper Blue had ever done. Prowl's field flooded with approval, and lowered the sparkling a bit deeper.

Klick-Klick. Its optics brightened and it started to move his hands and pedes to feel and splash the solvent around.

At the side, Jazz's field full of happiness joined.

"He likes it..." Jazz was astonished. "You like that lil' Blue?" And dipped his hand into the solvent to carress the sparkling's belly.

Klick-Klick. And a tiny hand hit the water and made a (in comparison) huge splash. Prowl's front was suddenly wet. Prowl didn't even react, and only lowered the sparkling further, until he was laying completely inside the tub.

"I would say, he does," Prowl commented as Blue did another splash.

Klick-Klick.

Jazz smiled softly, relaxing. "Yeah." He looked at Prowl, then back: "Are those klicks normal?"

"Yes," Prowl took a hand out of the solvent to get a white soap, and started to try to clean the sparkling. Which was easier said than done, as Bluestreak started trashing as much as he could, klicking at every splash in delight. "Sparklings usually start klicking the moment they're created. It's actually a good sign that he started now. I had already feared that he might be mute."

"Mute?" Jazz asked alarmed, then calmed. "So, this is really good," he said pointing at the trashing, splashing, klicking sparkling.

"Very."

Jazz nodded and watched him for a bit more. Then he asked: "Can I try to clean him too?"

Prowl looked up in surprise, then nodded. "Sure, just come nearer. Next to me, and hold his head..."

The rest of the afternoon was filled with water, a happy Bluestreak and two adults mechs discussing the properties of the perfect bathtub soap and toys for sparklings.