First Aid hummed as he checked over the dents and cracks in Cosmos' plates. "The plates are holding well; you'll be able to leave within perhaps the next orn. Though Ratchet will have final say; any new discomfort you may have just noticed?"

Cosmos's optics shuttered briefly, before shaking his helm. "None other than what I'm still feeling. My aches and pains are lessening though, and the worst I can say is that I'm terribly bored."

First Aid's optic band brightened as his smile was hidden. "I'll see about bringing you a datapad."

"Thank you." Cosmos replied, before his optics dimmed. "I've been meaning to ask…how is Skyfire? He looked so…so scared. I don't want to think that something might have happened to him because of-"

"It's not your fault." First Aid cut in, gently but firm. 'It's no one but Sunstreaker's.' he thought. "Skyfire is…well. I'm afraid I can't say more than that."

Cosmos leaned back onto the berth. "That's still good to hear. I was worried Sunstreaker might've hurt him too."

The junior medic kept his mouth firmly shut, and let Cosmos fall back into recharge. He didn't want to think more of the abuse Skyfire might've suffered, not when the last of the mech's injuries were finally healed. Well, the ones anyone could see, at any rate. 'I doubt Skyfire is willing to even talk about it, let alone acknowledge it yet.'

First Aid vented and cleaned up his work station. He spark pulsed in sympathy for his poor welder. It was on its last leg and it needed to be repaired or scrapped. The latter was an unpleasant thought, but unfortunately Ratchet didn't like Wheeljack touching their medical equipment without supervision. 'Maybe Perceptor could help; it'd help mend fences over the insult.' Hopefully.

With the thought firmly in place, First Aid signed out once his shift was over and gathered up his welder. The trek to the lab was short and familiar, but he tried not to think about what the camera some ten feet above them caught happening out here. First Aid sincerely hoped no one brought it up to Cosmos either. Poor mech had been through enough.

First Aid let the door open, but noticed that Perceptor was nowhere in sight. Instead, both Skyfire and Wheeljack were hunched over a table, seeming to check a sample they were studying. Wheeljack noticed him first. "Hey there, 'Aid. What brings you here?"

First Aid hesitated before he stepped inside, and offered up his welder for inspection. "I was going to ask if Perceptor might be able to salvage this. I don't really want to turn it in for spare parts."

Wheeljack rubbed his chin, chuckling. "And you couldn't ask me or Ratchet might turn me into a toaster."

Skyfire looked alarmed. "A toaster?"

Wheeljack waved it off. "It's a joke. Ratchet might be…grouchy sometimes, but he means well." His fins flashed as embarrassment laced his tone. "And it's not like my…modifications succeed more times than they fail."

"You do go to the medbay a lot for it." Skyfire said with concern.

"It's fine, a quick patch up and I'm all set. Anyway, maybe Skyfire can take a look at your welder." Wheeljack reached up and patted the shuttle on the elbow. He didn't seem to notice how Skyfire stiffened, but First Aid did.

"Engineering was never my specialty." The shuttle said, but Wheeljack waved him off.

"You'll be fine. Perceptor can always give his second opinion." The mech said, and made his way out of the lab.

First Aid hesitated again, before he showed Skyfire his welder. "You really don't have to if you're unsure."

Skyfire shook his helm. "No, I might as well give that engineering degree I have some work." He gave the medic a sardonic smile, to which First Aid's optic band flashed brightly in return. If the welder was just the size of First Aid's servos combined, it was even smaller in Skyfire's. The medic appreciated how the shuttle looked over the tool and took the utmost care with inspecting the interior. "Well, the blowtorch needs to be replaced, but some fine tuning on the wires should do it."

Relief and gratitude filled First Aid's spark. "That's wonderful, thank you so much."

Skyfire smiled at him gently. "I understand how important the instruments one needs for their work are." That smile dimmed with sadness, and the medic's spark ached for him. "I used to have a different microscope, but it was broken beyond repair when I…had one of my falls."

A chill swept up First Aid's spinal strut. Oh. He didn't want to even guess which of the many injuries Sunstreaker inflicted on Skyfire came from the microscope shattering against him. "I'm glad to see you're doing better."

"I had a good doctor." Skyfire said earnestly. First Aid's spark pulsed, and he let the shuttle fix up the wiring.

Once the medic had the welder back in hand, he vented slowly. 'Once more, with caution.' He thought. "I don't mean to pry, but…what are you working on right now?"

Skyfire's optics widened in surprise, before he gestured down to the sample he was studying; there were two slides, one containing a glowing pink crystal and the other a blue liquid. "It's a type of energon which was created from the kickback from a device Wheeljack made. He didn't go into much detail, but he wanted me to check if the properties were similar to be a substitute; sort of…like a 'diet' version, as the humans would say?"

First Aid nodded. "That's certainly help with maintaining energon rationing better." He tilted his helm. "Forgive the abruptness, but are you still studying the organic matter of this planet?"

Skyfire's wings hitched. "Yes," he answered slowly, "or rather, I try to-when I can. For the past few months it's been quite…difficult to go out and gather samples when I'm not needed."

First Aid had a sinking suspicion as to what the reason was. "Was there no one to help you?"

Skyfire shook his helm. "No, Sunny was helpful. He just said that his finish was getting too dirty from trekking through the woods. And since he said no one else wanted anything to do with me, not to bother them." He paused, before he vented slowly. "I offered to go by myself, but Sunny thought I'd be too clumsy and get the organic matter into my wiring and he'd end up digging it out."

First Aid was quiet for a long moment, absorbing the information as he always did. It wasn't enough for Sunstreaker to tear down Skyfire's self-esteem, but he had to take his love of discovery away too? "I'm sure there are mechs who'd be happy to help you gather samples."

Skyfire sent him a guarded, suspicious glance. The medic tried not to tense. Had he overstepped a line? The shuttle only held his gaze for a moment longer, before his wings drooped. "I wish I could be as certain as you are on that. My attempts to make friends was…never successful."

First Aid remembered that conversation all too well. He didn't know if Sunstreaker just goaded Skyfire into talking to mechs more inclined to be suspicious of him, or had deliberately made any interaction seem like it went wrong. "Hound and Beachcomber are always going out to explore the forests; perhaps you could ask one of them? They really love the nature on this planet. Though I wouldn't go asking Gears; he really doesn't."

Skyfire snorted, but another small smile crossed his lips. "I'll keep that in mind, but…" he paused, uncertainly flickering in his gaze, "do you really think they wouldn't mind?"

Even with what First Aid knew of the two mechs and their rather laid-back personalities, he couldn't say for sure they'd agree. He could just be honest. "Skyfire, you won't know unless you ask. The worst they can say is no, but even if they do, no one's stopping you from doing it yourself."

Skyfire's optics widened. "Sunny-"

"-isn't here right now." First Aid said, quiet but firm. "And I've just watched you handle the welder with precision and care. I'm sure you do the same with the rest of your work, right?"

The shuttle's expression pinched, as if he were conflicted. "Well, yes, but…" he trailed off, and his frame tensed. Slowly, he nodded. "I would…like to resume my foray into Earth's biospheres. I'll take your suggestions into account."

It was all First Aid could hope for. "Good to hear."