Chapter Text
“-and Figs fricking tried to run mid-exam! I swear to God, if I hadn’t locked the door beforehand and he’d escaped-” Rin hummed to acknowledge her friend, rubbing circles on the sides of her head as a blaring headache rocked her brain. “- but Epps was actually well-behaved for once when Crosshairs caught him and dumped him in the med bay, I’d have thought he’d run for-” Rin stumbled slightly with her tablet as the room went fuzzy and bright for a moment. “- Rin? Rin, are you liste- Are you okay?,” Ella said and Rin blinked a few times before realizing her friend was staring at her worriedly. “ Fine,” Rin said, a tight smile on her face, “ Didn’t sleep well last night.” Ella looked unconvinced and opened her mouth to say something when a loud bang followed by numerous swears and Crosshairs’s laughter echoed outside the office door. Ella sighed. “ He must have caught the next batch of runaways,” she muttered before briskly walking out and shouting at the new group of soldiers.
Rin winced as the door slammed before dropping her tablet to violently massage her lobes. The headache had turned from an ache to a pounding to a ‘world rocking, knife stabbing sensation’ in a matter of hours and Rin was smart enough to know that it wasn't a good sign. Unfortunately she was stubborn enough to push it aside for later as she walked out the door to the med bay. The past few days had been hellish and hectic between scheduling exams for both bots and humans, rounding up a majority of both parties who avoided their exams, doing the exams and updating medical files, prescribing new meds and placing orders, doing inventory, dealing with not one, not two, but now three sparked/pregnant co-workers who Rin personal forbid from working over 8 hours shifts, doing general repairs to bot armor, filling out paperwork for each patient and sending them to Will or Optimus, and a number of other small tasks that kept Rin going without rest. She sighed deeply once more as her headache was joined by a persistent pinch in her stomach and dryness in her throat. Her eyes ached terribly, her feet were screaming, and her back felt like it’s shatter if Rin moved too quickly. Rin was exhausted beyond words, now running on her third day with no sleep, beforehand only managing about three hours a night. She knew it’d been at least 48 hours since she’d managed the time for a bite to eat and 12 hours since she got the chance to grab some water or more importantly coffee.
Yes, Rin was all but running on fumes and sheer will power and even that was starting to fail. “ Ah Rin, I just sent Prowl to room 3 for his exam,” Knockout greeted as Rin entered the med bay built specifically for bots. “Thanks KO,” she mumbled, heading to the small room and dragging herself up to the lift by the medical berth. The lift had been a gift from Will and a blessing to Rin. It was wide enough to fit all scanners she’d regularly need with no railing so she could easily step on or off a bed or bot, making her job so much simpler now that she didn’t have to lug her equipment up ladders built into the sides of the medical beds repeatedly. “Afternoon Commander,” she mumbled once the lift reached her desired height, prepping her scanners to examine the strict bot. “Afternoon Doctor,” Prowl greeted, turning his helm to face Rin. “Not technically a doctor sir,” Rin mumbled and Prowl rolled his optics. She’d had the same argument with most bots as they didn’t understand how since she hadn’t gotten her doctorate- she couldn’t be a doctor in human professions. Thankfully, Prowl wasn’t one to pick small arguments or need a constant stream of chatter so Rin stuck to explaining what she was doing and filling him in on the details as she went. “ Everything looks good sir,” Rin said, returning to the computer on her lift, “ No rust, no cuts, no permanent damage outside of some heavy scarring that’ll clear in time, and no sign of illness, infection, or processor damage.” Prowl nodded as Rin input the data, waiting for her dismissal. “All you nee- all you need to- to……,” Rin’s words turned slurred as her vision started going yellow and white, her legs going weaker as she staggered heavily. “Doctor?,” Prowl asked hesitantly as he’d seen her start to sway. Rin staggered heavily one more time before Prowl saw her eyes roll to the back of her head- and her body fall off the lift towards the floor. “Rin!”
Luckily Prowl was quick to react, grabbing Rin as gently as possible before she hit the ground. He quickly sat up, cupping the young woman in his hands as he got out of the med berth. “Knockout!,” he shouted, swiftly heading out the door and nearly toppling into the red medic. “What’s wro- Rin?!,” he exclaimed, quickly taking the girl from Prowl’s hand. Her body was completely limp during the exchange, not showing any movement or consciousness. “ Ratchet, get to the med bay, NOW!,” Knockout yelled into his comm before rushing to place the small girl on a severely oversized berth. Prowl stood off to the side, for once unsure of what he should do. “Get any bots out,” Knockout ordered him, hooking a machine up to Rin’s chest, “And make sure that this stays quiet for now.” “ Shall I notify Doctor Ella?,” he asked and Knockout hesitated. “ No, not yet at least, but make sure she stays out of here until Ratchet can get a look of RIn.” Prowl nodded before leaving the bot to his work.
“ Come on girlie,” Knockout muttered worriedly, only understanding half of what was benign shown on the monitor, “ Come on Ratchet…” Speaking of the mech, he rushed in not even a minute later. “What’s happening, who- Rin,” he said sharply, his medic mod taking over as he shoved past Knockout to get to the unconscious girl. Ratchet took out his scanner, and quickly ran it over as Prowl reappeared at the door with Drift behind him. “Ratchet- what got you moving so fa- Rin!,” Drift exclaimed, going to rush towards his ward. Prowl quickly grabbed his arms. “Let Ratchet work,” he muttered to the swordsmech who stared helplessly at the berth. Ratchet moved as soon as the scan was done, going to a cupboard and pulling out a human IV line delicately before attaching some bags of fluid to it. Carefully, Ratchet transformered one of his fingers into a small, human-sized hand so that he could insert the IV into Rin’s arm. The modification was one Rin had actually installed for him after learning Ratchet had human medical knowledge, something she insisted would make treating humans easier. And she was correct.
After putting the IV lines in, Ratchet simply grabbed a small blanket and draped it over the girl before stepping back. “ Is something wrong? Why did you stop treating her?,” Knockout asked. “ I’ve done all I can for now, thankfully it was nothing medically too serious,” Ratchet explained, “ But we need to have a talk with her when she wakes up.” “ Why, what’s wrong with her?,” Drift questioned nervously. “ She’s beyond exhausted is what is wrong with her. Overworked, dehydrated, lack of sleep, not enough protein or iron in her system, not enough rest in general,” Ratchet listed quietly, “ From my scans, she’s several days behind in sleep and hasn’t gotten nourishment in over two days.” Drift looked guiltily at the floor. “I can’t believe I haven’t noticed,” he murmured sadly. “Not your fault,” Knockout sighed, “ Unfortunately I doubt Rin, Ratchet, or myself are innocent of putting work far above personal care. This isn’t the first medic I’ve known to work themselves into the floor, thankfully not literally due to Prowl it’d seem.” “All she needs is a good sleep cycle, some food and water, and a gentle reminder of self care,” Ratchet said comfortingly to his conjux. “Gentle?,” Drift inquired, raising an optic. Ratchet huffed. “Depends on my mood when she wakes up.”
Although Prowl had done a good job in keeping the news of beloved medic underwraps- they’d all known it was a matter of time before news got out and rumors started to hit the fan. Luckily Ratchet managed to inform Ella and Mikela of Rin’s condition before the truly ridiculous rumors hit, and they were able to tell any humans and bots that came to the med bay in a panic that Rin would be fine. “Primus have mercy on whoever started the rumor that Rin was possessed by the spirit of Unicorn,” Drift muttered from his seat next to his ward’s side,” Ratchet is on a warpath.” Wheeljack chuckled lightly from the other side of the berth, his eyes not leaving his charge.
It had been unexpected to both Wheeljack and Drift when they discovered they both formed a guardianship over Rin. The two mechs had never interacted much and had nearly no connection to one another beforehand, not to mention their personalities were strikingly different. But they had formed a friendship as the weeks had gone on with Rin as their shared ward- now at a point where they trusted one another with her safety completely. Really, all bots had questioned the dynamic of the odd trio- but they worked rather well together when it came down to it. Wheeljack shared Rin’s intelligence and creativity along with her friendly and arson prone nature, making him a wise mentor and a good friend to the young woman. Meanwhile Drift shared Rin’s bravery and protectiveness as well as her calmness (with both having a hidden, violent side towards those who threatened their loved ones) which made him an equally important friend to Rin- one who understood the weight of carrying your past. Both bots filled in for the otherwise missing pieces had only one or the other been a guardian for Rin. Except now, Drift and Wheeljack realized they’d each missed a piece- the caretaker bit.
Rin was old enough to take care of herself- that they both knew and trusted her with- but seeing their friend lying in a oversized berth, wires pumping fluids with nutrition she’d been ignoring for herself into her veins in an attempt to recover the young girl from her own carelessness- they realized that she’d not been taking care of herself to the standards she should have. And that was something she could not afford to continue.
“I talked with Ratchet- decided that we should be the ones to speak to her about this,” Drift told Wheeljack, “I think she’d feel too guilty talking to him or Ella or even Knockout about her own health.” “Agreed,” Wheeljack said solemnly , “ Just aside from the fact that she should never have neglected herself like this- we can’t risk this happening again- not with everything happening in the future….” Drift looked down in guilt and Wheeljack reached over to pat his shoulder. “It’s not your fault- not anyone’s fault really. We just have to make sure someone is caring for her as much as she’s caring for everyone else.” “ It is our fault though technically, I mean-”
“ You’re all freaking catholic rabbits is what it is,” a voice mumbled and Drift and Wheeljack turned to beam at their now conscious ward. Rin had her eyes cracked, a hand going to rub them gently. “How long was I….?,” she asked hesitantly. “ Not long at all, just around five hours,” Drift said gently before his tone sharpened slightly, “ Which is actually nowhere near how much sleep you needed- meaning close your eyes and get some rest.” “ I got work,” Rin mumbled, sitting up slightly. “ You got dehydration and malnourishment with a side of sleep deprivation is what you got!,” Ratchet exclaimed as he walked in with a scanner in hand, “ Which also means you don’t leave my med bay until I say.” Rin gave him a glare. “ Hey you handed the CMO title to me,” she muttered but laid back to let Ratchet scan her. Ratchet grumbled something to her and gave the scanner a glare as the results popped back up. “ As I thought- nowhere near what they should be,” Ratchet declared, narrowing his eyes at Rin. “ 48 hour mandatory bed rest, 12 hour IV line, and no arguments.” “ 48 HOURS?,” Rin exclaimed, bolting up, “Ratchet there are patients out the whazoo and reports that need filing and repairs that need to be done and-” “ And nothing that can’t wait 48 hours,” Ratchet said sternly before his face softened, “ Rin, your health and well being is more important- and more critical- than such things. As for the appointments, Knockout and myself can handle them just fine.” “ But you both need rest,” she argued, “ Ella too- I’m the only one-” “ Believe me my friend- the days of you being alone in this are coming faster than you may want them too,” Ratchet sighed, “ But I also realized how ridiculous we were to expect you to handle all human and bot care by yourself.” Rin looked hurt. “ You don’t think I can do it,” she whispered, her eyes shining. Ratchet gently tapped Rin’s head. “ No, what scares me is that I know you can, because you’ll do it all no matter the cost,” he said softly, “But I don’t want you to give your health up like this- which is why I made a call and asked an old friend to come to Earth.” Rin looked up. “Who?,” she asked curiously. “ First Aid, an old classmate from Iacon and a fellow medic from the early days of the war,” Ratchet said, “ After explaining everything, he’s more than happy to come and assist us here in the med bay and work under you as a medic. Although he won’t arrive for a few weeks meaning that for at least two weeks you’ll be the solo medic for all personnel” “ Well that’s good- wait, under me? You’re keeping me as the CMO?,” Rin gaped and Ratchet chuckled. “ I know you are more than capable Rin, now please get some rest.” He left after that and Rin settled back down hesitantly.
Wheeljack cleared his voicebox and gave Drift a look, nodding his head towards Rin. Drift sighed slightly and Wheeljack chuckled. "Rin, we do need to talk about this," he said gently. "About what?," she asked, genuine confusion in her voice. " About working yourself too hard and passing out because of it," Drift stated, " Wheeljack and I both decided that we're gonna start doing check ins on you, making sure you're getting rest and food and whatever else you may need." "Guys, really, this won't happen again," Rin insisted, "And you heard Ratchet, I'll be okay with a little sleep." "Rin, you lost consciousness and fell off a lift that was almost 20 feet off the ground," Wheeljack said sternly, " What if Prowl hadn't caught you?" She didn't look at either of them in the eyes as she spoke quietly.
"I don't want to be a burden."
Drift exchanged a glance with Wheeljack and Wheeljack nodded, quietly getting up to leave the room. He knew smaller details of Rin's past, but he also knew that it was something she'd prefer to talk to Drift alone about. As soon as the door closed, Drift leaned in close to his ward.
"Rin," he started softly, "You know your parents were wrong right? You know that the way they treated you was wrong." She nodded miserably, her head now resting on her knees. "Do you though?," he asked gently and she hesitated before slowly shaking her head, a tear running down her face. "They could have been happy," she whispered, "But they had me, and it was my fault." "They were idiots of the highest caliber to not see you as anything less than their most precious gift," Drift said firmly, "And how they treated you, what they did to you, and what they said to you, was wrong and untrue." Rin didn't respond but a small hiccup escaped her. "But I also know that when people treat you like garbage most your life," Drift said, lowering his voice to a soft undertone, "It's hard to think of yourself otherwise. I know somedays I still do." "But you're awesome," Rin sniffed, wiping her face and Drift chuckled. "See? It's easy for you to say it, and I know it's true," he said cheekily and Rin rolled her eyes at him, "But it doesn't mean that I feel it in my spark quite yet."
"Will we ever?," she asked sadly and Drift sighed deeply. "Maybe not," he confessed, "The past leaves its scars." "Some more literally than others," Rin mumbled, her hands unconsciously running over her shoulders and Drift fought the urge in himself to break his promises to Rin and hunt her parents down. "You have more scars than anyone should at your age, both mental and physical," he said, taking a calming vent, "They are a part of you Rin, but scars never have to define us-." "They only have to remind us of what we've overcome," she finished, familiar with the motto often used by her guardian. "Exactly," Drift smiled, "Now get some sleep, or I'll call Ratchet back in on you."
Rin chuckled before sliding back to lay on her side, one arm out to prevent the IVs from pressing into her skin painfully. "Maybe we can go for a drive when I wake up?," she asked hopefully and Drift grinned. "A nice hour long drive could do wonders," he said happily. "DRIFT- DON'T BE KEEPING MY PATIENT UP, SHE NEEDS REST PRIMUS DAMIT," Ratchet shouted from the other room and Drift winced. "Maybe a nice five hour long drive, going the long way back," he muttered and Rin snorted loudly as her friend went to face his conjux with slumped shoulders.