Chapter Text
Prowl felt awful – which was to be expected, considering the amount of damage he took last week. His doorwings had been shredded and nearly ripped off his back by the Predacons. The armor on his shoulders had been wrapped with mesh and temporarily welded closed until the Medbay cleared out. It had been a bad week – even after pulling Wheeljack and Perceptor out of the lab as reserve medics, there still wasn’t enough servos available to repair damages. Not to be unproductive, Prowl had chosen to leave the chaotic and noisy Medway for desk duty. Sitting was hard, but not as hard as standing or walking. His balance was horribly off without his wings being functional. The pain was rearing its ugly head. He was struggling to focus on the report in front of him.
“Uh, Prowl? Can you hear me?”
Prowl jumped. He instantly regretted it, his wings trying to flick in surprise. They had been pressed flat against his back in a welded, makeshift brace to limit movement until they could be repaired. In front of his desk was one of the medics, Optronix. She was the only femme stationed on Earth due to unusual circumstances.
“Yes. Hi. Hello. How can I assist you?” Prowl felt the heat in his cheeks at his awkwardness. She either didn’t mind or didn’t notice. Optronix had a datapad cradled in her arm. She glanced down at it before looking back up at him.
“I’ve got time to repair your wings, since the Cons have decided to stop being aftholes and are leaving us the hell alone.”
Prowl hadn’t heard her talk like this before. Albeit, he was rarely in the Medbay, and if he was, he was there to speak to their CMO. Optronix was usually loud, bubbly, and occasionally annoying – which was hard to fault her for. She was one of the youngest of the Ark inhabitants. But today, he could see how tired she was. Her shoulders were stiff, arms tight against her chest. Her usually bright optics were dim. She hadn’t been recharging. He knew that their medical staff were overutilized and underappreciated. He wondered if she’d refueled today.
“I’m alright for now,” Prowl said as politely as he could. With two taps, he pulled up the duty roster. He didn’t want to imply that she looked like she needed some rest, but he also didn’t want her to overwork herself. “I can wait. You’ve been on for the last three shifts.”
Optronix blinked at him, taking a deep, long-suffering vent. Her tone was irritated. “If you don’t want me to repair you, just fragging say so, but don’t tell me I need a break. I am aware of my limits.”
It took Prowl a moment to realize why she was saying that. He’d almost exclusively gone to Ratchet, due to their friendship and his expertise. He thought she must take that as he didn’t trust her to repair him. And after a week of working with mechs who Prowl knew gave her more trouble than she currently deserved, he couldn’t blame her for thinking that.
“No, that isn’t what I meant. I’m sorry. Of course I can come in for repairs.” Gingerly, Prowl stood. He saw her expression lift. She walked around his desk and offered him her arm. Prowl hesitated for a moment before taking it. He was too unsteady to not have a brace.
They slowly made their way back to the Medbay. Prowl was pleased to find it empty. It was as if a tornado had ripped through the Medbay. Medical supply cabinets were open with supplies spilling out, instruments littering the counter and sink, and medical records scattered across a communal desk.
“Who created the disaster zone?” Prowl commented as lightly as he could. Nix helped him onto an exam berth.
“The walking disaster himself, obviously.”
Ah, Wheeljack.
Optronix scanned him before plugging his file into a docking station. His medical history, previous scans, and other information popped up onto the large monitor. She keyed a few things in before going through the standard questionnaire after obtaining battle injuries. Prowl answered her questions as she moved his arms and legs, tested his reaction time, and his memory. She tapped on her datapad a few more times before offering her servo.
“On your front please.”
Prowl let her help him maneuver onto his chest.
“This is going to suck and fraggin’ hurt,” she informed him. “I can’t put you under because of how integral your wings are to your system for reasons I’m sure I don’t have to explain. So, if you need a break during this, you must say something. I’m basically doing a full reconstruction on the right wing – and that will take a couple hours at least. I’ll turn your pain receptors down some, but if something hurts or I cross a wire, for the love of Primus, say something. Don’t be like Bluestreak and walk around for three days wondering why he can’t feel anything with his wings. I’m no expert when it comes to doorwings.”
“Very well,” Prowl agreed.
As much as he hated to admit it, Prowl needed a break every twenty minutes or so, his wings were in so much pain after the brace came off. He was surprised at how patient Optronix was. Ratchet... he was not known for such a skill. He tended to punctuate medical procedures with cursing. Sideswipe said it helped the CMO think better. Optronix didn’t seem to mind at all, offering him hard candies to suck on as a distraction. He couldn’t help himself, after the fifth time he asked; he started apologizing. He knew he was prolonging the procedure when she was surely exhausted. Optronix would just shake her helm, offering him her servos to help him sit up and walk around for a klik to stretch his legs.
Her servos small in his, he noticed. He noticed how warm they were. He wanted to keep holding them even after she’d long since let go.
Stop it.
After nearly four hours of repairs, Optronix still wasn’t done. Prowl was struggling to relax, the pain unending. His wings were burning like they’d been drenched in acid.
“Nix, I can’t do this anymore.”
“I’m almost done, I swear. Fifteen more minutes and you’ll be off the table. Smoke’s told me it’ll be like a switch flipping.”
“Nix, I can’t.”
“I know how much I am asking of you, but I truly mean it – fifteen or less.”
“I can’t even think anymore. I need to be done.” Prowl tried to get up. Gentle servos touched his shoulders, keeping him there.
“You just need something else to focus on,” she told him. This was true, but he couldn’t find the floor any more interesting than he found Sideswipe. “What if hummed or sang? Would that help?”
“I... suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try.”
He was surprised by her choice of music. He knew she was usually up with Blaster or Jazz singing human rock songs and dancing, but now... she was humming Vivaldi’s Spring from The Four Seasons. He had no idea she even liked that kind of music, let alone enough to hum it by spark. Prowl relaxed, the soothing sound of her humming getting him through the last bit of his repairs – and once he was done, the tingling, acidic pain drained from his wings. Everything was aligned again. Prowl sat up on his own, offering her a soft, almost bashful smile.
“Thank you.” He tried so hard not to sound awkward. Once again, either she didn’t notice or didn’t care, offering him a smile in return. The desire to recharge weighed on her shoulders, making her slouch into the desk as she scribbled.
“Of course. I’ll sign your return to active duty after reevaluating you in a couple days. Until then, you’re on desk duty – which I’m sure you’ll find acceptable.”
“I... do find that acceptable.” His wings flicked.
“Have a good rest of your day, Prowl.”
Optronix turned away from him. She started the sink, waiting for it to heat up as she began gathering the instruments they’d been using. She was dragging herself around the Medbay. The motions were practiced, not a step missed despite her tired state. He’d seen it in Smokescreen enough times after he’d stayed up and stayed out too many days in a row gambling before the war.
“Nix, you don’t have to clean up now,” Prowl spoke suddenly, trying to be gentle. It didn’t come across that way. She didn’t look at him as she dropped tools into the filling basin. The irritation from earlier was back, but more subdued.
“Someone has to, Prowl. Ratchet’s in a war meeting, Wheeljack and Perceptor went back to the lab, and First Aid’s off somewhere with his team. Recharging, hopefully. And if the last two weeks are any indication, the Medbay will be full again soon. Can’t have a Medbay that isn’t ready to tend to patients.” She turned off the water. She stripped the linen from the exam berth, tossing it into a hamper. A surgical tray near the other medical berth was collected and dumped into the sink.
Prowl’s processor jammed for a moment, his optics sweeping the room. He couldn’t leave her to deal with all this on her own. He would go tell Sideswipe and Sunstreaker to assist her.
To his horror, his mouth started speaking before he could stop himself. “Would you like some help?”
She was at the sink again. She was scrubbing tools before putting them into a tray that would go into a sanitizer. Optronix glanced over her shoulder at him, not seeming to understand.
“Were you not listening? Everyone else is busy.”
Too late to back out, Prowl kept talking. “I was offering myself for your assistance. I’m sure between the two of us, we could get this place straightened. I will require some guidance, but I can assure you, I will listen.”
He couldn’t see it, but there was a bright smile that played across her face as she dried her servos. He knew, as her frame immediately perked up. She faced him again, looking him over.
“And why do you suddenly want to help me?”
“As a commanding officer of the Autobot Faction, it is my duty to assist my subordinates however I can, when available. I-I know that I tend to neglect the Medbay, but I can assist whenever you may need it.” Prowl had no idea where these words came from. He felt like he was lying through his denta – but he wasn’t. All his words were true. Why did he feel conflicted?
“If you’re being serious, you can work with the tools. You just need to scrub them clean and arrange them in the tray so the sanitizer can properly disinfect them. I’ll start the scrub down for the rest of the space. It’s a bit of a process that’ll take more time to explain the steps than for me to start on it.”
Prowl did as directed. He would wash everything down, arrange it, and load it for sanitization. He found that Optronix liked to sing to herself. There was something so... special about listening to her sing. It wasn’t loud or for an audience at a party. It was soft, almost unconscious. Prowl didn’t know the song, but he wanted to. He mentally took note of the lyrics. He would ask Jazz about it later.
Each time he finished the assigned task, he’d turn to Optronix and ask for the next one. He wasn’t sure what to make of the surprise in her optics each time. Was she not used to such support? Or perhaps the other Autobots only saw her in a certain light?
He found the longer he spent in her presence, the more he talked. She was so easy to talk to and was extremely intelligent. Of course she was as a medic, but she could talk about anything Prowl mentioned, and if she didn’t know what he was talking about, she just told him so. She was like Bluestreak in the way she’d talk about anything. Optronix was funny too, to the point that she made Prowl laugh – which flustered him to no end. The self-satisfied look on her face made his spark skip.
What was he doing? Was he seriously thinking about her like this? Was the thought of trying to court her crossing his mind? He had to quash the thoughts. He knew her type. He also knew the rumors. He’d seen her and Blaster together, and he’d caught her with the Twins more times than he wanted to admit. They were always pranking the others and getting into trouble. Could he really be with someone who caused so much chaos? Even if he could admit it to himself that he liked her, why on earth would she want to court him?
It took a couple hours, but between the two of them, the Medbay looked as it should. Everything was clean and back in order.
“Anything else that needs to be done?” Prowl asked her. She smiled softly.
“No, actually. Thank you, Prowl. This was... nice.”
Were her cheeks pink? Prowl dismissed it, giving her a soft smile and a nod.
“I’m glad I could make things easier for you,” he said lightly. “If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Prowl was about to walk out the door when he paused. He looked back over his shoulder, looking at her. “I’m going to clear your schedule for the rest of today and tomorrow. You deserve some time to relax after all you’ve done for us in the couple weeks.”
He liked the smile that crept over her face as he left.