Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am back with chapter 50. I can't believe I'm halfway to a hundred chapters (not sure if the story will be that long but we'll see lol). And of course, this is a SR/KO chapter. Also, because Out of the Past is more a Miko and Arcee episode, this chapter will overlap it. Anyway, I hope you like this new chapter. PS, sorry for any grammar errors.

Transformers Prime: The Medic's Assistant

Chapter 50: Comfort

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime

(Autobot Base)

"Finally," Stormracer said as she inspected her finish. After days of scrubbing paint remover on herself, she had finally removed all the yellow paint from her armor and fixed up her usual teal color.

Looking brand new, she made her way back to the main hangar where everyone else was. She looked over at Bulkhead doing his exercises with Miko. Everyone was ecstatic when the green wrecker had finally woken up. Though he was still in a lot of pain and found it hard to move around. It would be some time for him to fully walk again. Till then, he had to rest and do his daily physio with Miko. Stormracer would constantly check on him, asking if he needed anything or try and help him. However, the others pointed out she was only smothering him. Even Bulkhead was getting slightly annoyed. Stormracer wasn't trying to irritate the wrecker, but she wanted to be there for him as much as possible.

Miko never left Bulkhead's side and continued to have him do his exercises. However, she did the opposite of Stormracer and tried to push Bulkhead past his limit.

The wrecker was trying to walk and had fallen to the floor with a thud. He groaned as Miko angrily ran over and frowned at him.

"Three steps Bulkhead?" the japanese girl asked, "that's all you can manage?"

"Sorry, Miko," the wrecker said, "my legs still hurt." He forced himself back onto his pedes, stumbling a little in the process.

"What did I tell you?" Miko asked him.

Bulkhead vented. "No excuses."

"Exactly. Try again. Ten steps this time."

The wrecker did what he was told and slowly moved one pede in front of the other.

Seeing what was happening, Stormracer approached the girl. "Hey, Miko? Maybe you and Bulkhead should call it a day."

"He's fine, Storm," Miko argued, "he needs to start walking again."

"He also needs to rest," the femme said.

"He won't get any better by just laying around all the time."

"Pushing him too far won't either. I understand you want to help him, but recovery takes time."

Both flinched when they heard a thud, making them look to see Bulkhead had fallen again on his front.

"Bulk, you okay?" Stormracer asked as she and Miko went over to the wrecker.

"Ow," he groaned as Stormracer helped him up.

Miko frowned at her guardian. "Not good enough! You need to come back stronger!"

Seeing Bulkhead was at his limit, Ratchet walked over to the three. "Time for a break, Bulkhead."

"A break?!" Miko asked angrily, "you think the cons are gonna give Bulk a break in the middle of a fire fight?!"

"If you push a patient too far too fast, you risk exacerbating their injuries."

"But-"

"Bulkhead needs to rest!" The doctor said as he and Stormracer helped Bulkhead back to medbay.

Angered by this, Miko stormed away as Bumblebee drove up and transformed near her. "Out of the way!" she snapped at him.

Bumblebee looked at her in confusion as she made her way towards the roof top. He looked at the others. "What did I do?"

With Bulkhead back in Medbay, Stormracer watched as Miko disappeared. She knew the girl meant well and was hurting. She wasn't the only one either. "Maybe I should go talk to her," she said.

Arcee stopped the teal femme. "I got this one." The two-wheeler then made her way up top to join Miko.

Letting out a vent, Stormracer walked over to Bulkhead who was now laying on the berth. "How are you feeling, Bulkhead? Any pain? Discomfort?"

"Sore, but fine," he said.

"Do you need anything?" she asked him. "Ice pack? Energon? Data pad to read? Do you want me to prop your back up?"

"Storm, I'm fine," he said, "you don't need to hover over me."

"I just want to make sure you have everything you need to rest."

"You want him to rest? Then let him be," Ratchet said as he scooted her away. "Why don't you go for a drive?"

"But-"

"Do I have to make it an order?"

Stormracer wanted to argue but vented. "I'll go for a drive."

Deciding she didn't want to drive around Jasper, she decided to groundbridge herself elsewhere to clear her head. Soon after she activated the groundbridge, she glanced over at Bulkhead one last time before transforming and driving off through the portal.

She was greeted by a sunset nearly covered in dark clouds once she reached the other side. Driving through the trees, she finally found the road and sped off. She was sort of familiar with the area, having driven down it before. She liked how quiet it was. It allowed her to think.

Time went by as she drove. In that entire time, all she could think about was Bulkhead. Though she was happy he was still alive, it hurt her to see him in the state he was in. Despite what everyone said, she felt like she could do more for him. Sure, she was just an assistant, but Bulkhead was her friend. She still wondered what the outcome would have been if she had gone to the equator with him. Could she have prevented him from getting hurt? Would he still be fully functional? Was it her fault she didn't fight hard enough to join him?

Her spark clenched at the thought as she drove faster and faster. She was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't notice the deer crossing the road ahead of her.

Finally noticing the animal in her path, Stormracer panicked. "SCRAP!" she yelled as she spun her steering wheel around.

The deer immediately took off back into the woods while the car spun around. Stormracer tried to regain control in hopes to avoid landing in the ditch. Finally, the teal car came to a stop. Stormracer's spark pounded loudly as she tried to calm herself down. Seeing the deer was alright, she let out a vent of relief.

Just then a crash of thunder filled the sky before rain drops began falling down. Letting out a groan, Stormracer continued on. The rain then went from a shower to a downpour as it hit against her armor, making her feel even more upset. Seeing a bridge up ahead, she drove towards it before transforming and making her way down. Soon as she was under the bridge, she sat down, using the structure to shelter her from the rain.

So much for a nice drive, she thought.

Hugging her legs to her chest, she sadly looked at the ground. Tears welled up in her optics as she buried her head and started crying. The rain poured down around her as she remained like this for a while. She was so upset that she failed to notice someone sliding down the slope towards her. She then jumped in surprise when she heard knocking against the cement wall. Looking over, she saw a familiar face looking back at her with glowing red optics.

"Mind if I join you?" Knock Out asked.

Stormracer was surprised to see the red decepticon standing there as she stared at him.

"Not to be rude but it is raining out here," he pointed out.

Seeing he was still standing in the rain, Stormracer snapped out of it. "Uh, no I don't mind."

Knock Out stepped under the bridge before shaking the rain off of his armor. "Ugh! If there's one thing I hate about this planet is its weather. I still don't get why you autobots insist on protecting it." He smirked. "Although since you're hiding under here, I'm guessing you're not much of a rainy-day bot either. Makes sense since you're all sunshine and rainbows."

Stormracer vented as she looked away. "If you're here to try and torment me, I'm really not in the mood right now."

Knock Out's smirk disappeared as the femme sadly looked at the ground. After a moment of just standing there, he walked over, dusted the spot next to her, then sat down. He then awkwardly sat there as he glanced around, even tapping his digits on his knees. He was not good at this sort of thing. He very rarely cared about other's feelings. He looked at Stormracer, seeing her sad expression as she kept her gaze down. Feeling like he should say something, he cleared his throat. "That was an eventful day we all had. The warship coming to life, the relic hunts... though I could have done without your team ruining my finish. Took me hours to fix it, only for an insecticon to ruin it again."

Stormracer glanced at him before looking back at the ground.

Seeing his attempt wasn't working, he let out a vent and decided to just ask the question. "I heard about your friend. Is he...?"

"Dead?" Stormracer spoke, "no. He's still with us but... we don't know if he'll ever be fully functional again."

"Ahh. I see," he said.

Stormracer frowned at him. "Is that why you're here? To find out if our number's gone down? Because it hasn't."

Knock Out wanted to lie and say it was exactly that. But he could plainly see how upset she was and decided to be honest. "Actually... I'm here because I wanted to check up on you."

Stormracer's frown immediately disappeared once he said this. After giving her such a fuss about them not being friends, she was surprised he would say something like that.

"I mean, you listened to me when I lost Breakdown. I thought I should return the favor."

Stormracer continued looking at him before glancing away. "I'm... fine," she lied.

"Really? Because I found you crying moments ago. That doesn't seem fine to me."

Stormracer glanced at him before venting. "I'm just worried about Bulkhead. As happy as I am that he's still alive, he's still badly hurt. I feel like... I feel like I should have been there with him. I keep thinking maybe I could have saved him."

"And put yourself in danger?" Knock Out asked, "You do know he was up against insecticons with Tox En in his possession, right?"

"I know," Stormracer said as she got up. She took a couple steps forward as she looked out at the wet scenery. "But... I keep wondering if there could have been a different outcome. Everyone keeps telling me there's nothing I could have done, but I feel like I should have fought to go with him. I just feel like I should have been there, like i should have been there for..." Stormracer sadly lowered her head.

Knock Out knew who she meant. "Cliffjumper." He finished.

The femme glanced over her shoulder at the con before turning around to fully face him. "The day before we lost Cliffjumper, I was complaining about being cooped up in base, so he convinced Optimus to let me go out and scout for energon along with the others. There was no decepticon activity for years, so we thought it would be alright. All of us were scattered and far from the base when Cliffjumper called for backup. I raced back to base and managed to bridge the others back before sending them to Cliffjumper's position. But by the time they got there... Had I stayed at base... had I not complained about being cooped up, I could have... I should have..." She sadly shut her optics. "I thought the same thing was going to happen when Bulkhead got hurt. Seeing him laying there... him now slowly recovering... it's just hard for me to see him like that. I want to help him, but I've only been hovering over him like he's going to fall apart." She lowered her head as she turned back around. "I don't know what to do."

Knock Out looked at the femme, knowing exactly how she felt. Getting up on his pedes, he stood behind her. "I get it. Trust me. I understand feeling like you could have done something. At least for you... Bulkhead survived."

Stormracer turned around to look at the doctor.

"But... dwelling in the past on what could of or couldn't have happened won't help you or Bulkhead. Nor will it bring Cliffjumper back."

Stormracer sadly looked down. "It's just hard for me to let go."

"I know. But holding onto it won't help you. All that matters is what you do now in the present. And don't feel like you need to hover over the big guy twenty-four seven. You can support him and give him space at the same time. And when he does need your help, he will let you know." He paused for a moment as he looked at her. "And if it makes you feel better... he's very lucky to have a friend like you."

Stormracer looked at him quietly, taking his words to spark. Stepping closer, she wrapped her arms around Knock Out and hugged him tightly.

Knock Out immediately tensed up. He wasn't the touchy feeling type and was not fond of others touching him. But given the situation, he allowed it as he awkwardly stood there.

"Thank you," Stormracer said.

Knock Out looked at her as she continued hugging him. Clearing his throat, he patted her on the back. "Yes, well, don't expect this to happen a lot. There's still a war going on."

Stormracer smiled as she pulled away. "Well, even so, I appreciate it." Without any warning, she leaned over and gave him a kiss.

Knock Out's optics widened when she kissed him. His surprised expression remained even after she pulled away.

Realizing what she had done, Stormracer's optics widened as well as her cheeks instantly blushed. The two silently stared at each other before the embarrassed femme stepped away from the mech.

"Uh, I sh-should uh, get back to the b-base now! Hehe, thanks for the talk, goodbye forever!" She then hurried away as she stepped out into the pouring rain. "Why did I do that, why did I do that?!" she asked herself before making her way back onto the road.

Knock Out listened as she transformed and drove off in a hurry. His spark pounded in his chest as if he could still feel the kiss. He stood there dumbstruck as one word escaped his mouth.

"Whoa."

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Stormracer told herself as she sped down the road. She couldn't believe she had done that. She could still feel herself blushing in her vehicle form as she kept driving.

He must think I'm pathetic, she thought to herself.

Soon as she calmed down, she called for a groundbridge. It wasn't long for a portal to open in front of her, allowing her to drive right in back to base. Soon as she made it through, she transformed and walked over to Ratchet and Arcee. Both turned around to see water dripping off the teal femme's armor.

"Why are you all wet?" Ratchet asked his assistant.

Stormracer looked down at herself. "Oh, it started raining during the drive. At least now I don't have to use the car wash." She looked at Arcee. "How did it go with Miko?"

"She'll be okay," Arcee said, "we had a lot to talk about. She promises to go easy on Bulkhead with his exercises."

Stormracer smiled then let out a vent. "She's not the only one who needs to go easy." She looked over at Bulkhead, seeing him still in Med Bay with Miko by his side. Wanting to speak to the wrecker, she made her way towards the two, gaining their attention.

"Hey, Bulk," she said, "how're you feeling?"

"No change since the last time you asked," he said.

She looked at him apologetically. "Listen, I... I'm sorry that I've been hovering over you a lot. I just really care and want you to fully recover. But I promise I will give you space and will be there when you do need me."

Bulkhead smiled at that. "Thanks, Storm. I appreciate it."

Stormracer smiled back before looking down at Miko. "Besides, you already got the best exercise partner with you. Right, Miko?"

Miko grinned as she gave her a thumbs up. "You betcha!"

Soon as she left the two, Stormracer went to dry herself off before retiring to her hangar. Shutting the door behind her, she flopped backwards onto her berth and stared up at the ceiling. She thought back on the kiss, making her cheeks heat up again. She still couldn't believe she had done that. And to make it worse, she just straight out left Knock Out under the bridge. She was so embarrassed she didn't even think. He probably didn't want to see her again after that.

Still, she smiled. He came all that way in the pouring rain just to check up on her. He really did care.

Her spark was beating loudly the more she thought about it. Thinking it over, she vented. She should at least apologize to him for leaving so quickly. When the right time comes, she would go find him.

And that was chapter 50! Finally, we got a kiss from Stormracer for Knock Out! And because I love these two so much, the next chapter will be another SR/KO chapter. And don't worry, that one will be longer and more exciting.

Shout out to Fairytalegirl22 for suggesting the kiss scene. I thought it was a cute idea and wanted to use it. Thanks, Fairytalegirl22!

Also, I posted a new chapter for my G9 story if any of you are interested. It's my own little take on Overlord taking over Garrus 9 and it has awesome characters I chose along with two OCs of mine. Check it out if you like and I hope to post more of it soon.

Anyway, thank you all for reading this new chapter and hopefully I will update again soon. Until next time! God bless!