A/N: Hello everyone! I apologize for the long wait. I really tried to make this chapter longer, hence why it has taken me longer to write it. Please tell me your thoughts once you've finished reading, it really makes my day when I read what you guys have to say about my writing. Anyways, I hope you guys all enjoy this chapter. :)

Kelsey awoke the following morning, slowly blinking her heavy eyelids as her eyes adjusted to the artificial lighting in Knockout's berth room. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she let out a yawn before diving back under her plush blanket.

Blanket?

She paused for a brief moment, confused that her blanket and pillow had been laid out perfectly for her on the bench. She recalled no recollection of taking out her blanket from yesterday, in fact, the last thing she remembered was falling asleep inside Knockout's compartment in his chest…

So, that must mean Knockout pulled these out for me…this must be his berth room, she thought silently, her gaze drifting over to the slumbering red giant that was resting below from where she sat. There was no one else who could've draped her blanket over her or got out her pillow, so why would Knockout do that for her? Did he really care about her well-being? Shaking her head, she decided not to dwell too much on it, and snuggled back under the warm blanket. What Knockout had in store for her today she had no idea, so far, he had treated her somewhat decently – he had placed her broken arm in a cast and tended to her injuries, and he hadn't squashed her under his foot yet so that was a plus. She still had no idea why he had rescued her from Vince, and that thought troubled her greatly. Why would a Decepticon consider helping a human like her? Knockout had mentioned that his leader, Megatron, intended on taking over Earth and ruling it under his iron fist. Surely that meant that all other humans on Earth, including herself, would most likely be slaughtered or end up being slaves for the Decepticons? So why was Knockout treating her like this?

No…Knockout sees me as nothing more than a pet, he couldn't possibly care for me…could he?

Kelsey pushed those burning thoughts out of her brain, burying herself deeper into the soft blanket. Closing her eyes, she tried to rest her body up some more. The past few days had really taken a toll on her body, physically and mentally wise. Before she could properly fall into a blissful slumber, however, she felt a sharp digit prodding her side rather harshly.

"Wakie wakie flesh bag," Knockout's voice rumbled all around her. "It's time to get up now, unless you want to be cut in half."

Kelsey groaned, hiding her face under the blanket as Knockout continued to poke her with one of his claws. She was still half asleep, and her brain didn't quite make out what Knockout had just said to her.

A growl escaped Knockout's lips and he suddenly scooped Kelsey into his servos, her body still wrapped in the blanket like a burrito. Being picked up didn't really seem to affect her that much, her eyes still refused to open and her body gently leaned against one of Knockout's fingers.

"Get up!" roared Knockout, his face formed into a scowl. "Or do you really wish for me to cut you up? Perhaps into little bite sized pieces?"

"Five more minutes," Kelsey grumbled rather sluggishly, her hand now tightly grasped onto Knockout's finger as she shifted under the blanket.

Scowling, Knockout yanked the blanket out of Kelsey's arms and roughly threw it onto the bench that she had slept on. Kelsey let out a groan of protest, shielding her eyes with her hands as Knockout glared down at her.

"It's too early for this," she mumbled, hugging onto Knockout's finger.

Knockout, horrified that a human was grasping onto his finger so profoundly, flinched back in disgust as he felt her grimy fleshy hands caress over his digit. Knockout knew that humans produced various oils that excreted from their skin, which he could now feel on his servo and finger.

"Ugh, would you stop that!" the red mech hissed, plucking the groggy human girl off the palm of his servo so that she was now being held by her shirt in between Knockout's thumb and index finger.

"You fleshies truly are revolting…producing oily fluids from your skin…disgusting!" Knockout shuddered.

Kelsey blinked, finally opening her eyes properly as she gazed at the giant robot that was holding her up by her shirt. "Uh, y'know, if I had a shower I wouldn't be so oily. And some breakfast would be nice too."

Knockout rolled his optics. "Yes, of course…hmm…" he stared around his berth room, not entirely sure what to do.

"Can't you just let me go back home like yesterday and take a shower there?" she piped up quietly.

Knockout's gaze returned to her small frame and he frowned at her. "Absolutely not! I can't further risk you exposing my kind's existence to your fleshy relatives. And I told you that you're never going back there."

Kelsey let out a sigh. "Well, that's a real shame then because I'm going to stink like no tomorrow if I don't get a shower asap."

"I didn't say you weren't going to have a shower at all!" said Knockout. "Just not at your home."

"Then where am I going to have a shower? It's not like you have human sized showers on the Nemesis, do you?"

"Uh…not exactly," said Knockout. "I could configure one of the oil baths to expel water instead of oil, but, of course, it won't be human sized."

"I don't care, just so long as I can get clean," replied Kelsey. "Would you mind putting me down now?"

Knockout grumbled under his breath, but regardless to this, the red mech placed Kelsey rather roughly on the metal floor beside his foot. She now had to crane her neck up if she wanted to look at him, his tall body looming over her, enveloping her in a dark shadow. It was at that moment that she really drank in Knockout's features, her gaze sweeping over his large frame.

For a giant alien robot, he's actually pretty attractive, she said silently inside her mind, and then nearly recoiled back in shock at her obscure thought. What the heck am I thinking!? He captured me, abducted me against my own will, and now I'll never see my family ever again! How could I possibly find him attractive, adding to the fact that he's a giant alien robot, after all that?!

But she could feel her face begin to burn as Knockout stared down at her, obviously confused at her face that now resembled his red paintjob. Her heart was pounding against her chest like a drum and she hastily pushed her hair out of her face.

But…he did rescue me…and help me…ugh, why am I thinking about all of this?

Her thoughts were soon dispersed as Knockout stomped over to a control panel on the opposite side of the room, the ground shaking at each step that he took causing Kelsey to jump slightly at the large tremors. She gazed up to see what the Decepticon was doing, and saw that he was tapping in figures onto a Cybertronian keyboard as a red screen lit up in front of him. The words that appeared on the screen were completely foreign to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked softly, slowly edging towards where Knockout stood.

"Checking to see if anyone is using the oil bath," he replied, punching in some more code into the screen. "Ah, of course. Starscream has it all to himself. Typical."

"Starscream's using it right now?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We'll just have to wait until he's finished."

"How long will that be?"

"I don't know, it ranges depending on what type of mood he's in. Screamer does like to have a long soak sometimes."

Kelsey let out a frustrated sigh. "But he could be in there for hours! Can't you just kick him out and tell him to beat it?"

Knockout stared at her as if she had spoken a swear word. "I can't just walk in while he's taking an oil bath! That would be an invasion of privacy!"

"But it's not like you guys wear clothes," she retorted. Before she could add more, she paused for a few seconds. "Do you wear clothes?"

"We most certainly do not wear clothes!" Knockout snapped, horrified at her statement. "Unlike you fleshies who rely solely on fabric to cover your fragile skin, we have armoured plating."

"So…does that plating come off when you're taking a bath or something?" she questioned.

"No!" exclaimed Knockout, still horrified. "Our armour is part of us, think of it as like your gross human skin. You can't just take it off, it's physically attached."

"Then why would it be awkward for you to kick ol' Screamy out the bath tub?" she said.

"Because it would be rude!" he snapped. "And, unlike Starscream, I have standards. You don't just barge in while somebody is taking an oil bath, it just isn't polite."

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, whatever. I thought you didn't like Starscream though?"

"Believe me, I despise him," answered Knockout. "But I'm not rude, unlike he is."

Kelsey decided that there was no point in continuing to argue with Knockout and heaved out a sigh.

I guess I'll just have to wait a bit, she thought silently, her gaze drifting over to a rather large berth that was somewhat similar to Knockout's own berth. She wondered why Knockout would need two berths when he already had one, unless he shared his room with someone else. She glanced over to where Knockout was standing, his frame towering above her, as he punched in some codes into the control panel. Surely if Knockout had a roommate, he would've warned her about it? Or at least told her to be careful? But then, why would he keep her in a place where she could be discovered by another giant robot? Shaking her head, she decided to ask Knockout about it.

"Hey, uh, Knockout," she said rather quietly, walking over towards where Knockout stood and tapped her knuckles on his foot.

Knockout's red optics glared down at her. "What is it, human?"

"Is there, by any chance, another giant robot that shares this room with you?" she asked, gesturing to the large berth on the other side of the room.

Knockout froze, fatigue washed over his face, and suddenly there was a grey aura that shrouded over him like a dark cloud. He let out a sigh, his optics resting on the berth on the other side of the room.

"K-Knockout…?" she said softly, suddenly regretting asking the question.

"That berth belonged to my partner, Breakdown," answered Knockout, his voice heavy.

"We used to share this room together."

"What…what happened to him?" she asked.

Knockout turned away from Kelsey, his optics now focused on the screen in front of him again. She could no longer see Knockout's face. There was a pregnant pause, and then Knockout spoke up.

"He was killed."

Now it was Kelsey's turn to be silent. She wasn't entirely sure what to say at that moment, as her brain processed what he had just told her.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered gently, after a brief pause.

Knockout was completely silent as he tapped in some more code into the control panel, almost as if he hadn't heard her reply at all.

Knockout used to have someone that he greatly cared about…his kind is capable of emotions…I had no idea…

Very cautiously, as she knew that if she so much as angered Knockout she would most likely become a human pancake, she placed the palm of her hand on his foot comfortingly. She felt Knockout stiffen at her sudden touch, but he didn't attempt to kick her or squash her with his foot. He remained rigid, the dark cloud growing ever bigger over his frame.

"I have no idea what it's like to lose someone close to you," she said. "I wish I had the right words…I'm sorry."

Knockout turned down to look at her, the grey aura that shrouded him started to ebb away a little as he gazed at her.

"Why…why are you doing that?" he asked.

"Doing what?" she questioned him.

"Being nice to me," he said. "After everything that I've done to you…I don't understand…"

"I know, but, to be quite honest, despite everything that you've done, you did save me from Vince," she said. "And this is the very least I can do to help. I can't possibly imagine what you're going through."

Knockout opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. He looked like he was at a loss for words. And then, after a few more seconds of silence, he spoke up again.

"Thank you, Kelsey."

Kelsey's eyes widened at hearing Knockout's words. She almost couldn't believe her ears.

Did he just thank me AND say my name?!

"W-what?" she spluttered, still not believing what she had heard.

"Ah, looks like Screamer is finally done with his oil bath," said Knockout, changing the subject. "You still want this bath, don't you, human?"

"Uh, yes, of course!" she stuttered, still in shock from what he had said earlier.

"Grab your things then. We're going to the oil bath." He plucked Kelsey off the ground with ease, depositing her on the bench where she had slept the night before. Without a second to spare, Kelsey fished around in her backpack to grab a spare change of clothes and some body wash and shampoo. She also grabbed a plastic bag so that her cast wouldn't get wet while she was in the bath. When she had everything ready, Knockout scooped her up again and placed her inside his chest cavity while suppressing a shudder. Once again Kelsey was faced with the familiar surroundings of Knockout's chest cavity, and after being inside it a few times now, she had become rather accustomed to it. It was surprisingly comfy and warm, and it smelt nice too. Her brain, however, couldn't stop thinking about what Knockout had just said to her a few seconds ago, did Knockout really mean what he said? Had he truly thanked her, or had she imagined the entire thing? Not only that, but if she hadn't imagined the whole scenario, then he did in fact know her name after all. All of a sudden, she heard a very familiar voice that made her blood run cold.

"Ah, are you wanting to take an oil bath Knockout?"

Starscream.

"Yes, and about time you came out too, I thought you were going to be in there forever."

"As a superior officer, I can take as much time as I like!"

"Whatever, Screamer. Now would you move out of the way? I'd like to take my oil bath in privacy, please."

She felt her heart rate slow down a bit as she heard Starscream's loud footsteps fade away, her entire body shaking. The last time she had been in Starscream's presence, he had nearly snatched her up like a tiny doll. He had been so close to discovering her, and, even though she was safe inside Knockout's chassis, she didn't quite feel at ease. She knew for a fact that Starscream was highly suspicious, and he would more than likely discover her for real at some point unless they were extremely careful. For now, however, she was safe from Starscream. Artificial light suddenly shined down on her, and she was greeted by a giant clawed servo that pulled her out of the compartment in Knockout's chassis. Knockout placed her onto the ground, and walked over towards another control panel on the opposite side of the room. Kelsey stared at the giant pool before her, it was enormous! It was as large as a swimming pool, in fact, it was probably the largest swimming pool she had ever laid her eyes on. The only thing was instead of it being filled with water, it was full of thick, oozy, black oil. Her gaze flickered over to where Knockout was standing, hunched over a control panel as he typed away.

"So, uh, this oil is going to be replaced with warm water?" she asked.

"Correct," replied Knockout. "We usually only fill the oil bath with water when it needs a good clean, which is why we have this water feature installed in the first place. But, seeing as Screamer was the last one to use it, it definitely needs a good clean after that."

"How long will that take?" she questioned the red mech.

"Not very long," he replied.

As if on cue, the oil inside the pool started to drain like a giant bath tub. She watched as the oil gurgled and swirled around as it was being sucked away by the drain. It didn't take long until the tub was drained completely of all oil, save for a few traces of it splattered against the walls of the tub. Water soon started to fill the enormous tub, washing away all the remains of the oil that was left behind. Once all the traces of oil had been cleaned off, the oily water gurgled down the drain and the bath was empty again – it was completely spotless, there was no indication that there had been any oil in there at all now. The bath then began to fill up again, this time with crystal clear steamy water. Soap suds started to bubble up inside the bath as she watched the clean water roll in.

"Just how big is this bath?" she asked Knockout.

"Oh, it's about 14 feet deep near the front, the deepest end is about 30 feet at the back. It would probably be best for you to stay near the front of the bath." Knockout said.

"The shallowest is 14 feet!?" she exclaimed. "I'd have to practically tread water the whole time!"

"Well, what did you expect?" scoffed Knockout. "We're giants compared to you, it's not like we're going to have tiny human sized baths."

"Good point," she said.

Once the bath was full, Kelsey placed her bathroom items on the floor and glanced over at Knockout. The red mech was just standing there, observing her.

"Aren't you going to leave?" she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I would love to leave you here right now, fleshy," answered Knockout. "But unfortunately, I can't – if I leave then anyone will just assume that I've finished and waltz right in."

"B-But you can't stay here!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to be completely naked!"

"Yes, yes, I know that," grumbled Knockout. "But I do not find your disgusting organic bodies attractive in the slightest, so you won't catch me looking at you at all."

"What about my privacy?" she shot back. "I thought you were all about being polite."

"Look, human," growled Knockout, stomping over to where she stood which made her flinch back at his large mass looming towards her. "I do not want to be here while you bathe. Believe me, I would much rather be buffing my finish right now then stay here with you. But if I leave then you'll be vulnerable and no doubt somebody else will walk right in while you're in the middle of bathing."

"Can't your ship's sensors pick my heat signature up or something? Surely they can detect my presence on the ship?" she asked.

"The Nemesis rarely scans for organic life," said Knockout. "If they bothered to you would've been found out long ago. You're safe for the time being. But, don't you see, if I leave, then it will look like that there's nobody in here at all then anyone can come in."

Kelsey heaved out a sigh of defeat. She hated the whole idea of having Knockout in the same room as her while she was taking a bath, as if she didn't feel fragile enough around him. But what choice did she have? Knockout had a pretty solid point. What if Starscream decided to come back for a second bath while she was in here? Or, even worse, Megatron decided he wanted a bath?

"Okay, okay, fine," she huffed. "But you have to promise not to look!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," he grumbled.

"Promise!"

"Ugh, fine. I'll promise not to look. Happy?"

"Turn around!"

"What? Really-?"

"Please!"

Knockout rolled his optics and turned his back to Kelsey. He then walked to the other side of the room and stared intently at the wall.

"Is this okay, human?"

"Yes, thank you. Please stay like that."

Once Kelsey was positive that Knockout wasn't going to turn around, she began to carefully peel her clothing off her small frame. Taking her clothes off was a lot more difficult with her arm in a plaster cast, but somehow, she managed to do it. Kelsey had done it once before anyways when Knockout had taken her back to her home a few days ago. Once she had completely stripped down she placed her broken arm in the plastic bag so that her cast wouldn't get wet. She cautiously moved towards the pool, dipping her toe in to test the temperature. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the water was very warm, and she slowly lowered herself into the pool. Her eyes quickly darted back to Knockout's frame for a brief moment, just to make sure he wasn't looking, and she felt relieved when she saw that he still had his back faced to her. With that in mind, she began to float about in the colossal bath as giant soap suds drifted past her. The soapy water spread across her skin, warming up her body as she swam around, she submerged her head so that her hair would get wet.

This doesn't really feel like I'm taking a bath at all, she washed some of the soap suds over her arms, it feels more like I'm swimming lengths round an enormous pool…which is basically what I really am doing.

Reaching out onto the ledge, she grabbed her shampoo bottle and dropped a blob of shampoo onto her hand and began to massage it into her wet scalp. After she had thoroughly washed her hair, she scrubbed her skin with some body wash that she had taken with her next to the shampoo and conditioner bottles. As she was washing her skin, her brain thought back to earlier that day when Knockout had told her about his partner Breakdown. Despite the fact that she despised the giant robot, she did feel sorry for him. Losing someone close to you isn't an easy thing to process. Why had Knockout revealed such personal information to her? She was just a mere human, a pet, in his eyes after all. She was incredibly confused as to why he would do that. Just what exactly was she to him? Surely, he couldn't hate her that much if he felt like he could share such private information? Adding to the fact that he had saved her, fixed her injuries and whatnot, Kelsey had no idea what to think of him anymore.

"Are you almost done?" Knockout's voice rang out through the giant room, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"No!" Kelsey cried.

"Will you hurry up then? I'm getting immensely bored just staring at this wall."

"I'm almost finished."

"Ugh."

After a few more minutes, Kelsey decided that she had had enough of the titan sized bath and gracefully hopped out. She glanced around for her towel as she removed the plastic bag from around her cast. Her towel appeared to be nowhere in sight. Frantically she rummaged about through her clothes, hoping by some chance that her towel had been buried underneath the clothing, but there was no sign of her towel.

Oh, great. This is just flipping fantastic.