A gift fic for Blitz-Krazi-1, to thank her for the beautiful drawing she did of Echo! This isn't officially part of the main "To Protect and Heal" story, so just consider it an alternate universe or something. :) Hope you enjoy it, hun!

A Healer's Love

Echo settled herself on the edge of the medical berth, studying the 'bot who lay there. An energon feed line ran to his spark chamber, gradually restoring his energon and fuel lines, and a sensor-lined brace held his injured leg immobile. Scattered across his white, green, and red plating were patches that covered minor wounds, and dents were visible here and there. And yet, as Echo looked at his features, she saw a strong, determined mech, one who would never back down, no matter the odds.

"Jackie, you glitch," she murmured affectionately, running her slender fingers across the back of his limp servo. "When are you going to learn that there are some fights you just can't win?"

"He learned that around the time you started arguing with him," Ratchet commented dryly from where he stood beside the console, monitoring Wheeljack's vital stats. "I've yet to see an argument between the two of you that he won."

Echo rolled her optics and glanced at her father with a half-smile. "You know what I meant."

"Of course I do." Ratchet moved close enough to run a servo over her shoulder plating. "He'll be fine, kid. The others got him back here in plenty of time." He gestured to the readout with his free servo.

The femme medic sighed a little and shifted to a more comfortable sitting position. "I know." She continued to trace the outline of Wheeljack's fingers with her own. "I just wish there was more I could do for him. It's so hard, being a medic and yet not being able to help the ones you…"

"Love?" At his daughter's startled glance, Ratchet smiled. "Yes, Echo. I know. I've seen you with him…I know enough to recognize the signs. You love him, and vice versa. Of course, that's not going to stop me from kicking his aft for scaring you."

Echo blushed fiercely. "We were going to tell you, Dad…we were just waiting for the right time…"

"Shh. You don't have to explain." Ratchet sat down on the berth beside her, taking her free servo in his own. "I trust you to tell me anything you feel I need to know."

"Thanks, Dad." The femme smiled slightly at him before glancing back to Wheeljack. "You're sure he'll be alright?"

Ratchet almost rolled his optics, but caught himself just in time. After all, he'd been the one pacing the corridor ready to chew someone out at the slightest provocation while Moonracer had been delivering Echo. "Yes, he'll be fine. Check the readouts."

Echo glanced at the console for a second with a wry grin. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

"Yes you are." Ratchet shook his head, catching sight of the blinking signal. "Proximity sensor. I'll go help Optimus deal with it; I suppose I don't need to tell you to watch him."

His daughter waved briefly as he left, optics already turned back to the Wrecker. Cautiously, she slid her servo underneath his, and waited for any reaction.

Echo wasn't sure how long she waited before Wheeljack's fingers slowly closed around hers, cradling her servo in his own. His optics flickered briefly before settling on her face. "…Hey, beautiful."

"Hey, yourself," she murmured, stroking his cheek with her free servo. "How are you feeling?"

Wheeljack's narrow lips curved in a smirk. "Better, now that I'm looking at your face instead of Bulkhead's."

"Oh, stop it," Echo scolded, stifling a snicker. "If he hadn't gotten you back here, you might not have made it back."

Wheeljack's head-fins flickered slightly with laughter. "And I suppose Bulk' is responsible for the fact that I'm not a scrapheap at the moment?" He shifted his free arm, pointing to one of the patch jobs. "This doesn't look like his work…or that brace…not to mention this." His fingers brushed the energon feed line, and Echo pushed his servo back.

"None of that. The feed line has to stay attached for at least another solar cycle." The medic made a few quick adjustments to the connector. "I know you hate being stuck in the medbay, so do as I say and you'll be out sooner."

"Huh." Wheeljack obediently left the feed line alone. "A little bossy, aren't we?"

"Only when certain 'bots are stubborn enough to deserve it," Echo retorted. "Honestly, Wheeljack; trying to take on half the 'Con army by yourself?"

"It wasn't half the army," the Wrecker pointed out. "Maybe a tenth of them."

"Maybe," Echo imitated. "Maybe. Did it ever occur to you that taking on even that many Vehicons by yourself was a bad idea?"

"Hey, that's harsh," Wheeljack protested, a hurt expression crossing his face. "What'd I do that's got you slagged off?"

Echo glared down at him, optics flashing. "Besides almost getting turned into nothing more than molten scrap? What happened to 'common sense' and 'fall back when ordered' and – "

"It wasn't my fault! Besides, you've patched up all the other 'bots before, and you don't yell at them!"

"That's because they're not you, Jackie…" Echo growled. "I'm not in love with them!" She bit her lower lip painfully, determined not to snap at him again. "I don't want to lose you, alright? I never want to lose you."

"Oh." Wheeljack's optics flickered uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Echo…I didn't even think about that."

"Well, maybe you should have," the femme sighed. "You're not on your own anymore…you just can't take risks like that. We need you. I need you."

"Hey, hey…" Wheeljack tightened his hold on her servo. "I never meant to hurt you. That's the last thing I want to do."

"I know." Echo turned to look at him again. "Speaking of which, Dad wants to have a word with you when you're out of here…"

Wheeljack grimaced. "Uh-oh. Just promise he's not going to remove anything I'm particularly attached to."

Echo shrugged. "Can't make any promises…but I'll tell him you apologized."

"That's not going to help when he's taking a blowtorch to my –"

"Wheeljack!" Echo had to giggle. "He won't do that."

"How do you know?" Wheeljack looked around as if expecting the senior medic to come after him with something heavy and sharp. "Remember what he told me when we first met?"

Echo rolled her optics. "Yes, I remember. That doesn't mean he'll actually do it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Jackie." Before he could protest any further, Echo leaned forward and planted a kiss directly on his lips, shocking him into silence. "And that's why." With that, she stood up and marched over to the console. "You should go back to sleep. It'll help you heal faster."

Wheeljack finally found his vocalizer again. "Uh…do all your patients get this treatment? Because I'm pretty sure it helps a lot."

"Oh, shut up," Echo sighed, blushing fiercely. "Go to sleep before I send Dad in here with a wrench."

"Yes, ma'am," Wheeljack smirked, leaning back and watching her until she left the room.