« He really just said maybe at the end of it all ? »

« Yeah. » Laurelin murmured, sounding a little distracted as she looked around the workshop. She was seated on the edge of a cleaned off work table.

On his side, Wheeljack was working on a large halfway gutted ship in the middle of the workshop.

« He did also say he didn't want me to be hurt again… »

« Well… Sunshine… You can't really blame Prime for that. » Wheeljack said, still partially underneath the ship that had been jacked up off the floor. « You had us all worried there for a while. Weren't sure if you were gonna make- » The sound of an electrical jolt interrupted the Wrecker and he made an irritated growl. « You slagging piece of- ! You can either play nice with ole Jackie or I can get mean. And you're not going to like it when I get mean. »

« Is the ship winning, Wheeljack ? » Laurelin giggled, raising a helm ridge.

« No. » Wheeljack replied with a grunt, as he worked to force a cable back into place. « It's-just being-stubborn ! I'm just-more stubborn-than it-ow-than it is ! »

« Careful. » Laurelin called, tilting her head to try to see if Wheeljack was indeed winning against the stubborn ship. « Pretty sure Knockout doesn't do house calls. »

« Pft ! I don't need him doing a house call for this. » The Wrecker answered, sliding out from underneath the ship and standing up. He was streaked in oil and even had a few small electrical burn marks against his armor but to his credit, Wheeljack still looked quite pleased with himself.

« So... Wheeljack one, ship zero ? » Laurelin asked teasingly, looking over to the Wrecker.

« Yep. You better believe it. » Wheeljack agreed with a smirk, already working to wipe away the smears of grease and oil on his face. « So... You're sure you want to try again for a sparkling ? »

Though she didn't verbally answer : Laurelin nodded quickly and without hesitation, earning a soft chuckle from Wheeljack.

He walked over to a toolbox to rifle through its contents. Glancing over at the femme : Wheeljack made a short sigh and continued to search through the toolbox's contents, trying to find a small enough welder so that he could then get the cable back in place.

« Well, for whatever it's worth : I think you two would be some of the best parents a little youngling could ask for. » There was a pause, before Wheeljack smirked as he made a short snicker. « And : I'll be sure to help get the little runt in as much trouble as I possibly can… »

« You better not ! » Laurelin laughed. « I'd rather my child not get into any trouble at all. Thank you very much ! »

« Aw, but… C'mon, Sunshine ! He'd have the best teacher ever ! I can promise that they won't get caught ! »

« Wheeljack ! You're awful ! » Laurelin giggled, almost falling off the edge of the work table.

« Yeah, yeah... » the Wrecker said with a dismissive smile and a wave of his hand, finally finding the welder that he had been looking for. After a moment : He cast a somewhat serious, but inquisitive look to Laurelin traces of worry knitted into his expression. « So, Sweetspark… What were you planning on doing ? Gonna' try to talk to Prime a bit more about the whole sparkling thing ? Or let it sit for a bit ? »

« I'm not sure. » Laurelin sighed, her gaze flicking up to catch Wheeljack's cerulean one. « That's kind of why I came to you. I... don't want to make things any more stressful than they already are. But... I do really want this, Jackie. »

A rare – but soft and sincere – half smile tugged at one corner of the Wrecker's mouth. He walked over to the femme, lightly setting a hand on the side of her arm.

Laurelin looked up.

Wheeljack tilted his head to the side, adding a bit of confidence to his smile.

It was enough to make Laurelin both relax and seemingly feel a bit better about the entire thing.

« I know you do, Ssunshine. » He said softly. He paused for a moment and then seemed to brighten a bit. « Knockout… »

« Hm ? » Laurelin inquired, looking up appearing a little confused.

« Knockout. You get along with that arrogant Doc quite a bit, don't you ? »

« He's... self-assured, Jackie. » Laurelin argued lightly, with a knowing smik. « I don't know if I'd go so far as to call him arrogant. »

« Sweetspark… He's arrogant. Trust me. » Wheeljack stated, giving her a level look before promptly continuing. « But, given that you two get along so well : Maybe you and Prime could go and talk to him. I know ole Ratchet gave you a clean bill of health after... what happened… But maybe, getting a second opinion from Knockout would help ease Prime's concerns about you carrying… You know ? »

« You think Knockout would be willing to do so ? »

« For you ? » Wheeljack asked, looking up momentarily. He then smirked and nodded. « Yeah, he would. You just gotta' ask. And, maybe… Say something nice about his paintjob. »

« Thanks, Jackie. » Laurelin said quietly, favoring the Wrecker with an appreciative smile.

« Hey… Don't mention it. Happy to help out where I can, you know ? » He began to walk back over to the ship, but stopped and turned back to look at Laurelin. « And… Don't worry too much about Prime, alright ? He's just looking out for you. Loves you too much to let anything happen to you. He just needs a bit of time to get accustomed to actually being able to relax for more than a few minutes. "