Everything that had happened in the 4-hour time span since she had been injured was a jumbled blur Heatwave was still trying to process.
Quickshadow had blacked out from energon loss just before he managed to fully walk through the ground bridge's orange vortex.
His sparkbeat dramatically quickened the second he felt her frame go limp in his arms.
Heatwave had never been the type to panic or overreact in perilous situations, but in that moment, he felt anxiety fill every inch of his processor and found himself frozen in place.
Rushed orders left his voice box without him fully thinking them through.
Boulder wheeled a med-berth over to where an anxious Heatwave was holding the unconscious femme, helping him place said femme face down on the berth to prevent her winged spoilers from receiving any more damage.
The bulldozer noticed the worry in Heatwave's optics as he readjusted the agent's arms to where no more energon could escape from her larger wounds.
Boulder grimaced at the amount of energon that stained the red mech's shiny finish. "You should go get cleaned up. I'm taking her to the med bay's largest room; Blades just finished setting it up," he suggested with a worried look.
Heatwave hadn't noticed the energon on his frame and was shocked by the amount he found on his servos alone.
His gray digits were painted with a blue substance that belonged to the special ops femme.
The mech looked back up to see Boulder wheeling the agent down the long corridor before his optics trailed back to his stained servos.
Heatwave scanned the room only to find a few puddles of energon at his peds and felt his throat go dry as his processor began to haze.
He found his reflection staring back at him a little while later; he had somehow reached the washroom and was staring at the mirror that hung above the 'sink' area.
He was practically glaring at his reflection, studying all the energon on his torso.Her energon.
A wave of guilt washed over him as if he had been the cause of all the glowing stains that covered his red paint job.
His metallic jaw clenched as the guilt that hung over his helm only increased.
He should've ignored Blades and fulfilled his duties.
The project was of great importance to both the humans and Autobots. As leader, he held the responsibility of overlooking the testing stage. How could he let Blades' embarrassing remarks distract him?
He wasn't mad at the rotary; teasing was just his nature, he knew that. Heatwave was mad at himself for letting his feelings toward Quickshadow get in the way of his job.
His feelings for her were the sole reason why she was currently unconscious— at least, that's what he kept telling himself.
With one final glare at the bot in the mirror, he turned the water on and let the cold liquid run over his servos.
He watched as the water turned a brighter hue of blue as the stains left his servos and disappeared down the drain.
Once his servos were back to their normal gray color, he dampened a rag and began to clean his frame.
The water stopped running, and the washroom lights were switched off.
Heatwave wandered towards the medbay to assist in any way he could.
A familiar blue mech greeted him at the entrance of the medbay. Chase walked over to him after noticing how zoned out he was.
"Are you alright, Heatwave? You seem distraught." His left optic brow furrowed, and his helm slightly tilted to the side.
Heatwave couldn't form words, and an unconvincing response left his lip components a few long seconds later.
"..Yeah...I'm fine.."
Chase didn't seem to buy it, but he didn't push the matter any further as he was in a rush and had made a pit stop to check on the femme after hearing the news from Doc.
"I stopped by to assess Quickshadow's current state. How is she?" he shifted on his peds as he awaited his leader's reply.
"..I'm not sure. She uh- lost a lot of energon.. Blades and Boulder are treating her wounds as we speak." He was beginning to gain back control over his voice box.
Chase only nodded. "I'm needed back on Griffin Rock; update me on any changes that occur." he prepared to leave.
Heatwave nodded in response.
Chase was halfway to the door when he stopped and turned back to meet Heatwave's 'numb' gaze.
"I've been told you two have an...attractionto one another in a more..amorous way?" It was more of a statement than a question, one that shocked Heatwave.
Was it really that obvious?
He felt his cheek plates grow warm and immediately broke eye contact.
"..It's only one-sided feelings, Chase. And I need to keep them in check...I'll brief you on her condition later."
Despite being confused by some of the terms the red mech had used, Chase nodded. He gave the firebot a small salute before disappearing out the door.
A frustrated groan left the red mech's voice box as soon as Chase was gone. He was still unsure what he felt for Quickshadow, but whatever it was, he had to push it away for the time being. It was getting in the way of his duties and had already caused an avoidable incident.
He didn't know how to stop his feelings from developing further. He had already attempted to keep his mind off her but had little success. This was the first time he was experiencing these new emotions, and he quickly found they were not easy to wield.
"What do you mean you can't feel her spark beat?!" Boulder's worried voice snapped him back to reality, and he barged into the room.
"I- I don't know..I can't feel a pulse!" the rotary stammered as he moved to the side to give the bulldozer some room.
Heatwave eyed her chassis, and his breath hitched at the realization that it wasn't heaving up and down or showing any indication of breathing.
The seconds stretched out like eons, but Boulder's relieved tone cut through the lingering silence.
"..Her pulse is just weak from all the energon loss. She's unstable; we need to get more energon into her system fast."
"Sorry..it's been a while since I saw this much spilled energon.." Blades scratched at his neck cables, relieved he had been mistaken.
"It's fine. Do you need to step out for a bit?" Boulder asked as he continued watching her vitals.
Blades shook his helm and finished setting up some of the other machines in case they were needed.
Heatwave let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. The other mechs didn't seem to notice him and continued with whatever treatments they were doing to treat her wounds.
"Ugh, we don't have any extra energon here. I'll take the ground bridge back to-" The copter was abruptly cut off by the red mech who he hadn't seen come in.
"I can give her an energon transfusion."
Boulder looked from Heatwave to Blades, who nodded in approval.
"She needs a few gallons." Blades looked up to the firebot from the data pad in his servo.
Heatwave only nodded and sat on the crate Boulder had brought over for him.
He silently watched as Blades linked her arm with his with a clear tube that soon began draining his lifeblood into her system.
The procedure seemed simple enough, but a few minutes and several gallons of energon later, his vision began to blur, and the room seemed to spin around him.
He felt Blades disconnect the tube from his arm but couldn't make out what he was saying.
He shook his helm in an effort to come back to his senses and found a cube of Energon stretched out towards him when he reopened his optics.
Heatwave drained the cube of its contents without a second thought, thanking the green mech when his surroundings finally stopped swirling.
"You need to rest."
The red mech didn't make any effort to get up; instead, he moved his helm to face the unconscious femme.
"Heatwave-" Blades tried to reason with him, but the stubborn mech disregarded his command.
"I'm fine, Blades." He stated bluntly, not averting his gaze from the various tubes that were attached to the agent's arms.
Boulder placed a servo on Blades' shoulder pad, telling him it was best to leave him alone. Blades obliged and began collecting his equipment.
"I have to get back to Dr.Szeto's lab to update them on Quickshadow's condition; I'll be back to check on her later." With a small wave to no one in particular, he walked out the door.
"I have to meet up with Graham to discuss the test results; I'll be back to give her a second dose of painkillers. If you see any major changes in the spark monitors, call me."
Heatwave only nodded but slightly flinched at the feeling of the green mech's large servo on his shoulder pad.
"She'll be fine, Heatwave. She just needs to rest." Boulder cast him a reassuring smile before walking out the door.
The beeps and hums from the machines were the only things keeping Heatwave from losing his sanity.
The loss of Energon and the lingering guilt that lurked in the back of his processor were taking a toll on him.
He couldn't pry his optics off Quickshadow.
Blades' words played over and over in his mind.
'..I can't feel a pulse!'
His spark had dropped to his engine.
What if that had been the reality of the situation? What if she had really gone..offline?
He didn't think he would've been able to live with himself if the rotary's statement had proven to be true.
In many ways, he felt he had failed her.
He was supposed to have been there.
The guilt he was feeling before returned, and his mind soon wandered off into deep thought.
The next thing he knew, he was hearing a set of familiar voices chanting his name.
"Heatwave? You okay?"
He looked down to see Frankie and Cody standing before him with worried expressions.
Rubbing the side of his helm, he finally mumbled out a small greeting to the two.
"Hey Frankie, Cody."
The girl took a step towards him and questioned if he was alright again. Blades had filled her in on Quickshadow's current state, and she immediately called Cody to see if he wanted to come with her to pay the femme a visit.
"I'm fine, just somewhat dizzy from the energon transfusions.." The mech muttered in a groggy tone.
He checked his internal clock to see just how long he had been lost in thought.
The clock read 7:15 pm. It had been approximately 4 hours since Blades and Boulder left to tend to their own agendas.
"Transfusions? Shouldn't you be resting?" Cody set down his hoverboard and Frankie's jacket before meeting the firebot with a raised brow.
Heatwave held back a frustrated groan and instead shrugged his shoulder pads.
"I feel fine, Cody." He assured the teen.
His optics trailed back to the femme, watching her chassis rise and fall in a steady rhythm.
Cody nodded his small head. He knew how stubborn Heatwave could be, and he didn't want to agitate him further.
Frankie changed the subject, and the three began conversing over a series of different topics. Heatwave contributed a few short phrases to each question the teens were throwing at him.
The effects of energon loss were starting to drain his energy and he found himself struggling to think straight.
Cody and Frankie didn't seem to notice and continued rambling on about different subjects.
A sharp pain ran through her circuits the minute a single string of her consciousness came back to her.
Her senses were numb and the only thing she was able to register at the moment was that she was laying face down on a plush-like surface with what was possibly a pillow propping her helm up.
Though her optics were closed, she was able make to out the bright white lights that were stationed around her, slightly illuminating the insides of her optic lids.
The previous twinge of pain finally managed to reach her processor and her immediate response was to press her servo to her helm— or at least she attempted to.
Her servo stayed perfectly still on what she assumed was one of the berths in the medbay.
No amount of commands pushed the limb to tent to her throbbing processor, in fact, she soon found that none of her other limbs were responding to the various commands her processor was giving.
Her body felt heavy and her mind was barely half awake as she tried to recall the previous events that led to her ending up here.
A few muffled voices brought her out of her daze and she finally realized she wasn't the only one in the room.
The voices sounded awfully familiar and she concluded they belonged to Cody and Frankie.
"..Shouldn't you be resting?"She heard barely made out Cody's question.
"I feel fine Cody."A groggy, slightly raspy voice answered the blonde.
After a few more phrases, she registered the third voice as Heatwave.
The conversation faded into nothing but whispers after a while. Her optic-lids seemed to be getting heavier despite them already being closed. Quickshadow felt her throbbing helm go numb as she was engulfed in a serene hue of black.
It was currently a little past 8:30 and the only sound that filled the training center's long corridors where 2 sets of footsteps.
Cody and Frankie were headed to the firehouse as it was getting late. They had left a half asleep Heatwave in the medbay, deciding it would be best to let him rest.
"Hold on, you guys did what?!" the girl stopped walking and stared wide-eyed at her best friend.
Cody scratched at the back of his neck as he tried to explain himself.
"The other bots had been suspicious of Heatwave liking Quickshadow ever since that trip they took to Cybertron. Dani got involved and they had come up with a plan to set them up because according to Boulder, Heatwave was having a hard time accepting his feelings or something.--"
Frankie listened intently, her smile widening with each small detail that left Cody's lips.
The blonde told her how he only got involved because he felt Quickshadow felt the same way about Heatwave.
"How do you know she feels the same?" inquired the girl, arms crossed over her chest.
Cody didn't know how to explain his reasoning with words so he decided to show her the little photo album the other bots had put together, showcasing a variety of small moments and interactions between their leader and newest member.
"I'll explain at the firehouse."
The lights being emitted from the various machines and monitors the femme was hooked up began blinking at a faster pace along with the beeps slightly increasing in volume
Quickshadow barely managed to remember where she was before a familiar throbbing pain clouded her senses.
This time, however, when she ordered her servo to tend to her helm, her digits obeyed her silent command and lifted a few inches off the berth.
She soon discovered that she was able to open her optics and she blinked a couple times to allow her them to adjust to the room's dim lighting.
She tried to sit up from her current position, but a twinge of pain from her shoulder pad urged her to stop.
She then felt the fabric that was wrapped around her left arm like a cast and realized it was the only limb she couldn't move properly.
Quickshadow fumbled with the pillows 'till she was able to prop herself up just enough to feel the mess of wires that lay on her back.
She felt her senses begin to clear up and the sound of soft snores finally managed to reach her audials, instinctively putting her on edge for a brief moment. She whirled her helm to the direction in which they were coming from and caught sight of a large frame slouched over on a crate in the corner of the room.
It took her a while to register that the 'sleeping' frame she was staring at was none other than Heatwave.
She felt her optic brow cock up, questioning why he was there.
A few seconds passed before the femme caught herself staring and immediately pried her optics off him.
The light blue glow on her cheeks didn't go unchecked, either.
She internally scolded herself for letting the small crush she had on the mech flourish.
Quickshadow found that her 'bottling up' method was useless against her quickly developing feelings.
It was hard to keep them at bay when she first started noticing them, and it had gotten much harder after the little 'date' and various other small moments she had shared with Heatwave.
At this point, the only thing that was holding her back from embracing the fact that she was perhaps falling for the red leader was the various memories and flashbacks of her past encounters with the hurtful emotion calledlove.
She'd never been in a real relationship and was quite relieved she never went past the 'talking' stage with most mechs.
Quickshadow held her throbbing processor as she fought the memories back, but her processor automatically began recollecting flashbacks and projected them into her mind.
She was so naive and gullible. Her standards were so low because she didn't know she was entitled to feel happy and safe in a relationship.
She never looked out for herself, always sought to please others, and denied herself the love she deserved.
She'd been played various times by many mechs, both colleagues and other mechs who she had no affiliation with.
The breaking point was when the mech she had been seeing came over to her estate after a long mission to simply complain and rant as if she was the cause of his troubles.
Something clicked in her processor that day, and she stunned herself by yelling back at him.
The room fell silent as the both of them initiated some sort of staring contest.
Quickshadow narrowed her optics at him and only broke eye contact when his fist started flying in her direction.
She twisted out of the way, successfully evading the dent she would've had on her cheek for the next few weeks. But her response to his punch added to his fury, and he began to inch his frame toward the femme.
"Y-you glitc-" he wasn't even able to lay a digit on the femme before he realized he was falling back and landed on the polished floor with a loud thud.
Quickshadow glared daggers at the seething mech before her as she got back up.
She had side-sweep kicked him off his peds.
The femme kicked the mech out after affirming she no longer wanted to see him.
The next day, she requested to transition to a solo agent and was granted her request a week later.
Thereon, she became really closed off. Promising herself she would never let anyone take advantage of her again.
Her trust issues severally increased as she got used to not depending on anyone but herself.
However, the memories of her mistakes still lingered in her mind, and instead of coming to terms with them, she pushed them further and further into the back of her processor.
Each mission became a distraction from her bottled-up past, and she didn't know just how much damage she was causing herself.
Quickshadow managed to push the flashbacks away and reminded herself to keep herself in check.
The agent resumed moving the tubes and wires she was linked with to the side in a second attempt to get up.
The quiet rustling was enough to jolt Heatwave from his semi-peaceful recharge.
Fiery amber optics slowly opened and gazed up at the femme who was attempting to free herself from the tangled tubes and wires she was attached to.
Though the lights were dim, he could still make out the many scratches and cuts that matted her once glossy paint job, and a sour feeling began to rise from the pit of his engine.
But the blame that had been weighing him down for the past hours somehow completely vanished when her dull blue optics met his.
They eyed each other for a while, neither moving to speak.
Her normal sapphire blue hue was slowly returning to her optics as she continued to eye him curiously.
Heatwave couldn't pry his optics off her. His brows knit closer together with every scar he caught sight of.
The cuts on her frame were small but deep, and the two largest were the ones located on the side of her mid-torso and shoulder pad.
He quickly averted his gaze when the femme cleared her throat, and an all too familiar question left her dermas.
"..How long was I out?"
"Around..9 hours. It's 11 pm." He shifted her attention back to her and saw her slightly wince in pain.
"..How are you feeling?" He slowly got up and walked to the berth.
Quickshadow ignored her pounding processor and repositioned her helm on the pillow. "Aside from this annoying headache and uncomfortable position, I suppose I'm alright."
Heatwave nodded and was about to ask something else when the femme mumbled a question of her own.
"How long have you been sitting there?" She tilted her helm towards the crate the mech was sitting on just a few moments ago.
Heatwave did his best to keep the energon from staining his cheek plates but to no avail.
"Uh..-"
"Quickshadow! You're awake. How are you feeling?" Blades walked into the room, data pad in servo and a warm smile plastered on his faceplates.
Heatwave and Quickshadow looked over at him, startled by his sudden appearance.
The creamsicle had been notified of the new sparkbeat patterns the monitors picked up, and the data indicated the femme was awake.
"I feel fine, Blades, just a mild headache." she finally replied.
Said mech nodded and typed something down before walking over to the various monitors she was attached to jot down the information it held.
Boulder came in a few minutes later and helped Blades assess the femme's vitals.
Meanwhile, Quickshadow was slightly tossing on the medberth. Her back struts were beginning to ache, and she wanted nothing more than to sit up.
"Need some help?" the red mech offered.
Quickshadow let out a defeated sigh before nodding her helm.
As Heatwave untangled the wires and carefully lifted her frame, she couldn't help but be reminded of the time she had passed out from exhaustion.
Why did she always find herself in these kinds of scenarios?
Once off the berth, Heatwave helped her turn around so she was right-side up when he set her down on the berth again.
Boulder looked back and saw Heatwave repositioning the femme. He nudged Blades with his metallic elbow before grabbing a few more pillows for Quickshadow to use.
Blades looked over, and a small smirk stretched on his mouth plates before he lifted his datapad to snap a quick picture of the scene to send to Dani and the other mechs.
Once Quickshadow was comfortable, Boulder went back to setting up another drip but not before noticing Heatwave holding his helm in an attempt to stop the room from spinning.
"You really should go rest, Heatwave; your energon levels are still depleted. We'll keep monitoring her vitals."
" ... " The red mech didn't move to look at him.
"..I already tried Boulder. He won't budge." Blades commented from his side of the room.
The bulldozer gave a small shrug and walked back over to his workspace.
Quickshadow raised a brow in a questioning manner. She didn't know what they were talking about and looked to Heatwave for an explanation, but the mech shrugged it off and sat back down.
Boulder hung a clear bag filled with a transparent blue substance on a tall IV pole and began removing the previous drip Quickshadow was connected to.
"What's that?" Heatwave's voice asked from his corner of the room, referring to the liquid in the bag.
"Pain reliever." Boulder connected the new tube to the femme's arm.
"Your vitals look good, Quickshadow. You just need to rest." Blades gave his final evaluation of her condition, turning his data pad off and making his way towards the medberth.
"Your sling should come off in a few weeks, but you need to avoid any strain on your shoulder as it heals." Quickshadow suppressed the urge to roll her optics and kept her faceplates emotionless, giving a few nods every few seconds to show she was listening.
"You'll stay here for the rest of the night to recover, and we'll discuss where you'll stay for the next few weeks in the morning."
The femme gave him a short nod and thanked him and Boulder before they walked out of the room.
It was just the two of them again.
Neither acknowledged the other due to their processors being occupied with different thoughts.
The silence stretched out for what seemed like hours until Heatwave finally broke under the pressure of the guilt he was feeling and decided to apologize.
He looked up at her, mouth slightly open to utter his apology but felt the words get caught in his throat when he saw the femme fumbling with the berth sheets that covered her.
She tried to swing her peds off the berth, but an all too familiar servo stopped her.
"What are you doing?" Heatwave narrowed his optics questioningly.
"..getting up," she stated like it was obvious. She tried to pry his servo off her lower torso, but Heatwave didn't budge.
"Blades said you needed to rest," he repeated the rotary's orders, and this time, Quickshadow didn't suppress an eye roll.
"I recall Boulder saying the same to you, yet here you are." she crossed her arms over her chassis, still waiting for an explanation about the conversation that was held a few minutes ago.
Heatwave let a frustrated sigh escape his lip components before he gently pushed the femme back down onto the berth.
"What happened to you?" she wasn't letting up on her silent question.
Heatwave hesitated for a second but knew how persistent she could be.
"..You uh- were unstable due to energon loss..so I gave you some energon transfusions." he stuttered uncharacteristically, and Quickshadow couldn't help but notice the nervousness and hesitation in his tone.
When she didn't respond, Heatwave assumed she wasn't pleased with the news and began blabbering on about his reasoning.
Quickshadow was stunned and couldn't bring herself to form words. Her optics were fixated on the red mech who was stammering before her. She broke free from her trance when the firebot rubbed his temples to calm his headache.
"..You need to go rest."
Her change in tone startled Heatwave. He had never heard her voice that soft and filled with concern.
"Your headache is only going to get worse," she stated matter-of-factly. She was worried he would blackout just as she did, but more so, she was bewildered by his previous actions.
Why did he go out of his way to give her his energon at the expense of his well-being?
Why was he even here? How long had he been waiting for her to wake up?
She vaguely remembered hearing Cody and Frankie's voices conversing with Heatwave a few hours ago. He'd probably been sitting on that crate for at least 6 or 7 hours.
Heatwave simply shook his helm after muttering a not-so-convincing "I'm fine."
"You should rest; you're putting too much strain on your shoulder." he helped her position the unfunctional limb to where it felt comfortable.
Quickshadow observed how gentle he was with her arm and the unspoken question slipped from her lips.
"..Why are you doing all this?"
Her voice was a whisper, but Heatwave heard it nonetheless.
Deciding he had enough of the lingering guilt over him, he swallowed his pride, and his optics met hers with guilt and shame.
"I'm sorry..."
The femme immediately furrowed her brows at him.
"Whatever for?"
"This-" he pointed to her sling. "..for all this." he motioned to the rest of her wounds and cuts and to the room as a whole.
"What are you talking about?"
The mech ex-vented but didn't avert his optics from hers.
"..I should've been there. I was supposed to be there," he muttered.
Quickshadow couldn't make sense out of his words.
"I let Blades distract me with his teasing...and you got hurt.." he turned his helm away, balling his fist up out of habit.
Quickshadow was utterly dumbfounded. Was he really blaming himself for the malfunction of the Scrubber tech? She looked at him for a long minute, deciding how she wanted to respond to him.
"..None of this is your fault."
The mech was about to object, but she didn't let him.
"Even if you were there, the tech would have still malfunctioned. I miscalculated a hit to its Hive Mind patch and caused it to go haywire. I understand you could've helped stop it faster, but I would've still ended up hurt." she locked her optics on his.
He took in her words and came to terms with the fact that there really wasn't anything he could've done.
"..But besides the point- thank you...for everything, Heatwave." a smile spread on her dermas, and Heatwave immediately felt the weight lift from his shoulders.
"No problem." he shot back a smile of his own.
"Now go get some recharge," she ordered again, but just as before, Heatwave shook his helm.
"I'm fine here."
He's impossible.The femme rolled her optics at how stubborn he was being, but she wasn't one to back down so easily.
"If you won't rest, then neither will I." she challenged.
"You're injured," he stated the obvious.
"And your energon levels are depleted." she tilted her helm to the side.
She almost let out a few chuckles at the frustration that flashed Heatwave's faceplates. A minute passed, and he still made no effort to move.
Quickshadow knew he wouldn't leave anytime soon, and she was beginning to feel the effects of the pain relievers Boulder had injected into her IV drip start to overtake her senses.
"Fine. Let's compromise." she suppressed a small yawn.
It was Heatwave's turn to cock a brow at her.
"You need to rest, but you won't leave..so the logical solution to both our problems would be to share the med-berth."
She wasn't ready for Heatwave's reaction and almost let out a heartfelt laugh at how blue he was.
Heatwave looked at her with a shocked expression, reading her faceplates to the best of his abilities for any sign that she was simply messing with him.
Her expectant glance made his engine turn. Apparently, she was being serious.
It took a few mental scoldings before he was able to compose himself enough to consider her sudden proposal.
He wasn't one to back down easily, either.
Quickshadow watched him walk over to her and scooted over to make a little more room for him.
The mech carefully lowered himself on the berth, wary not to pull on any tubes or wires that surrounded him.
He felt the weight of the berth sheets on his frame and found Quickshadow smirking down at him.
"Good night."
"Night."
With the guilt finally leaving his system, the room began to fade as recharge called to his throbbing helm.