This is the revised version of my multi chapter story called Gifts.
Rated M for insinuations and I'm paranoid.
Warning for M/M relationships and mechpreg.
Do not own transformers (cries in a corner)
Anything found that is similar to other fics that can be seen as plagiarism please let me know as I am unaware of it.
Pairings Op/Rat and Meg/Star
Any questions, comments, concerns, leave a review.
It's been months since I've posted anything and I would really like to get back in the groove of writing ff again. Hopefully revising an older fic will be a step towards that.
This story begins many vorn ago with the timeline of an extraordinary mech, one we are all very well aware of. His creators gave him the designation Orion Pax. Orion was noteworthy for many positive reasons and those who spoke a word against him did so out of jealousy. That being said, he possessed one gift few knew existed.
When Orion was a mere mechling his creators were astounded by the rate of his progression. Orion learned how to walk and speak at the same age as most other sparklings but what Orion actually said and did, well, it caused a bit of concern. Simply put, when the little one was barely up to his Sire's knee joint he could speak a number of different Cybertronian dialects fluently. In a rather elementary form mind you but fluent nonetheless.
It was soon found that Orion emerged with an amazing abnormality. All Cybertronians are created with multi-tier processors and in the higher castes career paths were often chosen based on this number. The average Cybertronian had two or three, a politician had four, and a medic had five. Each mech or femme could commission for additional tiers once they had reached their final frame, if they had the credits and knew a member of the planet's council personally, with the limit being five total. A very small amount even emerged with six and became ambassadors between Cybertron its partners.
Orion emerged with thirteen tiers.
Now, Orion and his creators were members of the Pax clan, a family that was rumoured to be the descendants of one or more of the Original Thirteen. It was no rumour. At the discovery of their son's gift they immediately got into contact with the only Prime still within their reach, Alpha Trion. They pleaded with him to help them keep their young son safe. Alpha of course agreed but not before he had a visit from his brother, Vector Prime. Vector warned Alpha of Orion's future and told him what needed to be done to ensure the mechling would live.
Alpha Trion wept with the stricken bondmates at learning Orion must stay with the Prime in order to remain hidden from others, isolated from his own creators. It was not two orns later Alpha learned the couple had been murdered by the Council of Cybertron upon refusing to reveal their son's location. When the Council confronted Alpha Trion, he nearly dropped sleeping Orion in shock as the general's speech suddenly cut off and the mech began to address the Prime as if speaking to an aged, frail femme. As the guards with him moved their attention to a youngling stealing from a merchant Alpha thanked his father for the miraculous act.
With all record of Orion's gift erased from current memory, Alpha hid in plain sight. He became the Chief Archivist for the Iacon Hall of Records, comforted by the fact his siblings would allow him to use their inventions in the vaults to protect this special mechling. However, one very personal consequence of this mechling's gift hasn't been told yet.
No side effects were apparent at first, no negative ones that is. There was the usual bullying for a mechling so intelligent, but it wasn't until the mech was just that, an adult mech, that the true problem came to the fore.
While Orion was in the Academy for Cybertronian History and Literacy, he was kidnapped by a classmate along with three others. None of the four could remember what happened, knowing only that they had been put into forced recharge by somebot behind them, and than the medical authorities were looking down at them in a hospital. All four were found with evidence of rape and what appeared to be a conception agent in their systems.
Alpha quickly took Orion to a centre that was only known by word of mouth. The Council had made several laws against certain medicine and treatments that are proved to save lives. The reasoning? The ones who needed such specific types of healing were the lower classes, the higher classes never in contact with those ailments. Alpha had stumbled upon a young mech who owned a place in Kaon that was illegally giving anyone who came in what they needed to be healed. This idea of a back door clinic was not uncommon, what had caused Alpha to pause was the medic had covered the fact his average in medical school was 100%, and score thought to be impossible by many.
The two mechs went to this medic, Ratchet and asked for his help. After many basic visits Ratchet put his ped down and demanded to know all the details so he could effectively help his patient. After gaining a bit more trust he learned of Orion's predicament as a whole. What the medic found was shocking to the core.
Orion wasn't carrying.
The poor mech had been raped at least twelve times with a conception agent so powerful it was illegal, and he yet hadn't actually conceived. After almost 15 orns of near nonstop searching, Ratchet found out why. Orion's processor had made adaptations to compensate for his extra tiers. One of those adaptations was the removal or complete shut down of certain parts of his processor. One of the parts removed was the codes necessary for actual conception, a carrying cycle, and emergence. In basic terms Orion wasn't carrying because it was impossible for him to be such.
This nearly broke the young mech. He absolutely adored sparklings and had many in depth discussions with his Guardian about the process so he could be prepared for the future. The medic, who had very quickly become a dear friend, and Alpha Trion never left Orion's side. Even as mech and femme alike turned their back on him when they became aware of his inability to have creations.
The only one to stay with the now fully trained archivist was a certain gladiator from Kaon. They started out as possible partners but that, somehow, naturally changed to brothers instead. What happened between them I believe is a well worn tale so it will not be reiterated yet again here. Much more importantly, the Great War started, Orion Pax became the heroic Optimus Prime, and a certain red and white seeker joined the Autobots.
After a touching and comical introduction Jetfire and Optimus began courting. Despite the war their friend's and family's encouragement pushed them to decide to bond. A mere 3 breems after their announcement of doing so Optimus became quite ill, and another blessing was found. When Orion was reformatted as Optimus, his processor became a much calmer 10 tier one thanks to Primus fiddling around. Apparently he had fixed a few other things while he was in there.
This point was undoubtedly one of the happiest of Optimus' life cycle. He had a beautiful bondmate and a sparkling on the way that they had never thought possible. However, many of you will be noting there is no mention of Jetfire nor a sparkling in the present orn and you are correct.
When Optimus was almost half way through his carrying cycle the Autobots received intel of the possible location for a medium sized shipment of energon the Decepticons were transporting. During this time of The War energon was crucial, giving this chance far more importance than it may seem at first glance. Jetfire led the team to raid the energon supply, what was thought to be a simple grab 'n go. He never came back. The shock of having a new, not yet solidified bond shattered caused Optimus to miscarry. The amount of grief from this and the previous build up from the war forced his less necessary systems to completely lock up. These locks would not open unless the mech was ready to take on the added responsibility. Once again, the mech was barren.
This is where we pick up our observations of the newest Prime, on a planet called Earth where he and a small group valiantly fight for peace and freedom. Optimus has just collapsed to the ground, without any warning, and the others are carrying him to the med berth, no small feat considering his recent upgrade. A familiar medic scurrying around anxiously, praying the mech will suffer no more emotional pain from this newest bump in their lives.
Ratchet's prayers were answered before he uttered them.
"Will Optimus be OK?" It had been almost a full human day since young Rafael had asked that question, his eyes glistening with tears and voice shaking in a way that almost caused Ratchet to break down along with him. Almost a full day, and he still didn't know the answer.
It had only been a few weeks since they had almost lost everything, they had barely gotten into the base let alone settled and already things were going downhill. The hunt for Predecon bones was almost continuous causing the Bots at the base to be even more overworked than usual. Finally, 3 full days with no Decepticon activity and Nurse Darby had shown up with a surprise. Using the universal tone of a Carrier, she had ordered all Bots and humans to take a break together, ordering all of them to go somewhere for the day and do nothing but relax even if Unicron himself decided to show up. They had begrudgingly agreed.
The humans had been having fun with their guardians, swimming and splashing in the secluded lake they had found. Ratchet, Agent Fowler, and Nurse Darby had gotten into a lively conversation and were having a great time as well. Even Ultra Magnus and Optimus were over a little ways away, speaking in tbe Cybertronian language "Iconian" and sharing memories and small jokes known only to them.
Just as June had risen to call the children in to make sure Raf didn't tire himself out too much, Magnus called out Ratchet's name with an urgency he had not heard in a long time. Turning, his spark constricted painfully at the sight of his lover laying there on the ground with Magnus hastily checking his vitals. He moved quicker than he can remember ever have done and arrived at the Prime's side in mere nanokliks. After a systems scan and finding nothing of grave severity he quickly calmed the stricken Commander and ordered him and Bulkhead to carry Optimus through the ground bridge to the base.
Once he had been settled onto the only medical berth that would hold his new frame, in the most public part of the entire base we might add, Rafael had asked that awful question. For hours straight he had done check after check and found nothing. He had a list of small system anomalies, but they didn't add up to anything he was aware of. He had gone through what little family history he possessed for the Prime and even less had come up. He was starting to run out of options and ideas.
What if he couldn't find what it was? They couldn't handle losing the Prime even if they would be better off now that Ultra Magnus had arrived. As a team they would be better off. What would they do? What would he do?
"Ratchet!" As his gloomy dent momentarily popped back into its rightful place, he couldn't help but wonder at the Nurse's impeccable ability for timing.
"June, thank you for coming." He noticed out of his peripheral that she paused on the ladder she had been climbing. Just in the wording used he had shown how desperate he was, and Ratchet knew that was scarier than any threat or wrench he was equipped with.
"What have you got so far?" She asked, going into her 'Nurse mode' as Jack called it. He ex vented.
"A list of symptoms." He answered as he changed some of the levels for the nutrients being put into Optimus' frame. "And a processor ache the size of Bulkhead's aft." The Nurse let out a small chuckle.
"What exactly caused him to collapse?" She asked as she looked at the same levels he had just changed on a human sized monitor. Over the time they had known each other she had gained enough knowledge to pass the first basic term exam of med school back on Cybertron. Most had to redo it 2 or 3 times over because they claimed it was too difficult, she had nearly matched his score the first time.
"Nutrient depletion."
"Hence the minor adjustments in how much is being administered." He made a soft engine hum of agreement.
"His systems are also using larger amounts of energon and coolant. His processor signals are misfiring slightly, not enough for serious damage just enough for discomfort." There was a brief pause before June snapped her head around to look at the mech.
"That's it?" She asked incredulously.
"I know, my thoughts exactly. If there was one more symptom I would be able to diagnose the problem."
"But there isn't another symptom."
"No. And I've tried every scan under Cybertron's twin suns and nothing. You will find a list of them in the usual folder." June quickly opened said file and scanned over the information.
"Ratchet, aren't these also the symptoms of a carrying mech?" Ratchet's entire frame stiffened so quickly June could hear the plates click. She turned to look at the mech once more.
"Ratchet?"
"That is not a necessary scan." He answered in a, well, robotic tone.
"Ratchet, I've heard Arcee complaining about the two of you if it's a possible cause-"
"It is not possible, Ms. Darby." The edge in the mech's tone was not one June had heard before. It spoke of a deep pain, one so old she knew she could not possibly comprehend it. She waited silently, giving the other medic as much support with her small presence as she could.
"Optimus," He stopped and turned his helm away, feeling the hot tension of coolant filling his optics. "Optimus is not capable of having, creations." As he said this he felt a single tear run down his faceplates. It was not his own sorrow, no, the sorrow for his love that he had seen endured for so long, memories of breems spent comforting the mech as he cried and clung to him.
He had not been aware of her moving but suddenly the Nurse was as close to him as she could get on the platform. She sat down on the cool metal, cross legged, and just waited quietly. Knowing that her friend would talk if he needed to, which he obviously did, and Ratchet was very thankful for that. He grabbed the stool Bumblebee had put together for him while they were still on the Harvenger and brought it in front of June, sitting down. He clasped his servos together and simply stared at them for a long moment.
"Optimus, he has always been special, always unique. When he emerged, as Orion, his coding had shifted to allow him to have a greater processing power than most mechs. Something had to give, and that was the coding that allowed him to have creations. When he became a Prime, that coding was fixed." He paused, smiling sadly but fondly at the memories.
"He was bonded to a mech named Jetfire, I have never seen him so excited except in that moment I told them he was carrying." He heard June take in a sharp breath and he looked up to see she too had tears in her eyes.
"When Jetfire off lined, it tore Optimus to shreds. When he lost the new spark, he became a lifeless shell. The trauma caused his processor to force shut down the codes that Primus had so graciously fixed. That is the reason he does not show emotion, does not laugh and barely smiles. For vorns he refused to bond with me, not because of this Pit spawned war, but on the grounds that he can not give me the family I have always wanted." June placed her hands shakily over her mouth as she took in all that he said. Her look of mixed shock, sorrow, and sympathy quickly changed to confusion.
"If Primus was willing to help him before, would the Forge not have done the same?" Ratchet shook his helm sadly.
"We had thought of that as well. He was so hopeful when we were finally alone and he asked me to check his coding." He paused and took in a shaky invent to try to hold back the coolant. "It is the same as before." He saw the small human nod her helm slowly.
"I, will never know the full extent of your pain, but I do, at the very least, understand where it comes from." She stopped, dipping her head slightly with a soft smile.
"I was told by everyone that I couldn't have children, that I was barren. I found out just after my husband had gone to serve over in Iraq that I was pregnant. I told him on the phone at the base he was in. That was the last time I spoke to him." Ratchet felt a few more drops of coolant leave his optics. So many of their kind had shunned Optimus when they found out he could not have creations, claiming a barren Prime was as useless as one without the Matrix. Yet, here was a human Nurse willing to not only to see past that point but to openly compare herself as lower in relation to the pain it caused. His respect and devotion to this small human and her son grew in his spark a thousand fold.
"I do have one question." Ratchet looked up at her with a, contemplative look, not quite confused. "Do you have recorded in official medical documents the fact Optimus cannot conceive?"
"No. In the event the Decepticons somehow obtained the documents, they could use this against him." He carefully did not mention Megatron's knowledge of the situation, nor the unspoken agreement to never cross that particular line.
"Then, considering we have no way of knowing if you will always be the doctor attending to him, shouldn't I perform this test as well?" Ratchet went to open his mouth and angrily protest, until he processed the wording she had used. He smiled gratefully and nodded, wiping away his tears before speaking.
"That would indeed be the practical decision, Nurse Darby. It would also be an excellent step forward in your training." June smiled, getting up and going back over to her monitor, seeing the statement for what it truly was. Ratchet himself stayed sitting for a brief moment, then started to hook different pieces of equipment to his monitor and the Prime's frame.
As he fit the last connector onto the inside of Optimus' servo, he paused, reaching out to caress the Prime's faceplates. He then leaned forward and placed a soft, human kiss against his helm and whispered comforting nonsense against his audio receptor. He returned to stand at Optimus' side, rubbing an armour plate on his forearm with his digit.
"Please proceed, Nurse Darby." June nodded, though she knew the medic would not see, he was so captivated by his recharging mate. She started the scans with only a few choice clicks on the keyboard in front of her, waited a few moments for them to be completed, and froze. She hastily redid the scan. And again. And again. After the fifth time she very slowly turned to look at the other medic.
"Ratchet, you need to see this..."
Optimus slowly came back online to the sound of arguing around him. His HUD was helpfully telling him that he had no damage but required immediate medical attention. He onlined the rest of his systems one by one, though kept his cooling system down, his optics closed, and the bond with his mate closed off, simply listening to the others bicker.
"You have to tell him Doc Bot!" The unmistakable whine of Miko was heard.
"And I most certainly will. Once. You. Leave." Well that was a little unsettling.
"Why? Why do we have to leave?" He heard Ratchet give a long suffering vent and internally chuckled.
"Miko, for almost his entire life cycle it wasn't possible for this to happen to Optimus."
"And the one time it did, it didn't end well." Arcee added in a grave tone.
"We understand that, Ratchet, it's just, Optimus is family to us, you all are." Jack reminded the medic.
"Ratchet." Optimus called softly, halting the conversation that was quickly becoming more heated. The medic was by his side within a klik, fiddling with the various levels and controls on the monitors near his helm.
"How are you feeling, Optimus?" Ratchet asked gently. Optimus opened his mouth to answer, thought about it, then shut it again. He honestly had no idea. Ratchet turned around abruptly when he didn't speak up.
"Don't you dare hide any-"
"Ratchet, when has such a thing occured?" A rather deadpanned look answered his question.
"Outside of battle or its aftermath." He amended. Ratchet's expression turned to unamused, scarcely a difference.
"As we are in the middle of a Civil War, such an argument leaves you with few options." Magnus just had to point out. Optimus fought a grimace as suddenly an ache decided to make itself known in his chest cavity, merely shuttering his optics closed instead.
~What did I manage to do this time?~ He griped to Ratchet across their bond. The medic snorted out loud and ignored the weird looks he received.
"Since the Immature Nine aren't going to budge I'll ask you." Ratchet paused and Optimus realized he was carefully shielding certain ideas from crossing their bond as well as keeping up a wall of calm. "Want me to tell you here or in private." Optimus tilted his helm slightly, considering. One look at the pleading faces of the three younglings and he was done for.
"I'd prefer them to stay if possible, old friend." Oh he felt that endearment warm the sadistic old Spark. Not that said Spark would ever admit that to another venting frame.
"I'd like you to sit up if you can." Optimus nodded and with Ratchet's hovering, managed to sit up slowly on his own. "Optimus, I..." Ratchet stopped and moved to sit next to his mate on the med berth. He had coolant glistening in his optics, something he never showed in public. He didn't speak for a very long few kliks, long enough even Optimus felt like fidgeting.
"You're carrying, love." Ratchet had spoken in barely a whisper but to Optimus it felt like the loudest scream.
"What?" He somehow asked even though he knew Pit well what had been said but there was no slaggin' way on Unicron's green Earth that he could be carrying. He forcefully slammed his bond shut with his mate at the anger he felt. His mate was more aware than any of the pain this had caused him, how could Ratchet purposefully hurt him in such a way?
"Look into your Spark for yourself. You should be able to feel it this far along." The tone he used was a perfect balance of familiarity and professionalism, with a fine tremble from his own emotions. Just the kind of voice needed for Optimus to listen and it just made the Prime's anger rise. He tried to glare at his mate in rage and in return the medic showed the closest expression to pleading he would ever show. They had known each other for far too long.
Optimus let a very long vent, than nodded slightly, showing with his optics how terrified he really was, only the other Cybertronians could interpret such a subtle expression. Ratchet in turn pressed his forehead against Optimus's. For a Cybertronian this gesture meant more than any human could understand. There were nerve clusters in their foreheads that shut off all outward sensors except for the basics of audial and optic, making them literally blind to everything but the loved one in front of them. It was a Spark deep way of saying 'you are the sole object of my attention'. Optimus shuttered his optics, and obeyed his bond mate.
First, he checked his coding, completely ignoring his spark for now. He had to search for a while, having pushed Carrier and Sire protocols far back in his processor due to his grief. When he at last found them he almost collapsed in defeat, they were offline still. He was about to return when he felt the Matrix nudge him. He nudged back harshly causing it to be more of a shove really, but the comfort he received in response was enough for him to look again. He felt the brush of rising hope in his spark, he had been mistaken. The Sire protocols remained dormant, the Carrier protocols were very much online. He flew from the depths of his processor and thrust his conscience into the state of only acknowledging his spark.
The inward searching of his spark was nothing new to him, he did this every time he communed with the Matrix. Normally, however, he simply passed it while now he was actively studying it. He felt around his spark and found nothing out of the ordinary, but then he delved deeper. He knew that he gasped in shock out loud in reaction to what he "saw". There was a spark, a precious newbud just underneath the surface static of his very life force. He felt around it and recognized the connection strands from so many vorns ago. He sent a hesitant wave of affection down them and keened with his entire being at the waves upon waves of innocent and unfailing love it responded with.
He returned to himself, pulling back from Ratchet slightly to look into his optics, opening their bond once more.
"Ratchet..." He whispered in their first tongue, he couldn't possibly think of anything else to say in that moment. Not when he felt the joy and astonishment from Ratchet, the mech he loved more than anything, at the echoes of emotions he could feel from their creation, a living example of their love for another, a blessing they both had long accepted as impossible.
For the first time since the orn he'd held the broken frame of his first mate so long ago, Optimus broke down in front of those around him. He keened, openly let coolant fall from his optics, clutched at his mate, accepted the soothing words from him, and gladly allowed the other Cybertronians to gather around the couple in a form of comfort Miko would later stubbornly call a "group hug".
When they did eventually slowly untangle, they did not completely detach, all relishing in this moment of awe tinged with sorrow. Optimus rested his helm on Ratchet's shoulder, exhausted from the sparkling taking nutrients from his frame and from the emotional ordeal involved with its discovery. He said nothing as Miko, sitting in Bulkhead's servo, wiped away more tears than Optimus himself had. He noticed Nurse Darby had a slight smirk on her faceplates and raised an optic ridge in question.
"Should we be checking Ratchet to see if he's carrying as well?" Optimus quickly turned his helm to hide his equal amounts of embarrassment and amusement as Ratchet's side of their bond filled with shock and slight panic.
"I don't think that will be necessary, Nurse Darby." Ratchet assured her almost nervously. Now it was the other Cybertronians who were smirking.
"And why would that be, Ratchet? Prime, care to explain?" Wheeljack needled with a teasing tone Optimus had not heard for many years. Optimus tried his best to school his features and turned to them. When he opened his mouth to speak he found he couldn't due to a servo in his back pinching a certain line only one medic knew existed.
~There are children in the room.~ Ratchet hissed over their bond.
~I'm aware. Let go.~ Optimus assured and commanded, than quickly continued to speak, having realized he left his intake open.
"My Sire protocols have not come back online." He felt shock once again from Ratchet, followed by understanding.
"That's why when we looked at your coding earlier we thought there was no change." Optimus nodded his helm.
"Why would it be only your Carrier protocols? Doesn't Primus realize we're in a war?" Magnus asked quite roughly. Immediately June and Miko started to chew the Commander out for being so harsh. Optimus opened his mouth to explain that Magnus was worse than Ratchet in using a gruff attitude to hide softer emotions when the Matrix gave a helpful answer to the questions.
He let out a bark of laughter and had to move away from his mate as he threw back his helm and continued to laugh right from his core. Ratchet, having heard what the Matrix said through their bond, was next to him almost vibrating out of his armour with embarrassment hidden by rage. Magnus looked at them and optic ridges moved upward slightly, only enough for those who'd known him for so long to notice. Optimus opened up a comm channel with all the other Autobots.
:According to the Matrix, Ratchet is only capable of siring femmes:
Magnus barely dodged a flying wrench as he too laughed uncontrollably.
Beep!... Beep!… Beep!... Beep!... Beep!... Beep!...
The sound of the human alarm Knockout installed as payback two weeks ago. The alarm only Knockout can remove. What a wonderful way to wake up in the morning.
Megatron slowly raised himself to a sitting position and twisted to set his peds on the solid metal floor, muttering to himself about how much harder it was now than vorns ago. He quickly stood up to stop the alarm that was blaring through his processor and was hit with a wave of nausea that forced him to sit back down. Which of course set off the slaggin' alarm again.
Venting harshly he slowly got up and was relieved when the alarm stopped and he was able to remain standing. He stretched his back strut and worked the chords back into place in his neck before then heading towards the entrance for his quarters. The Warlord didn't even get half way across the room when the nausea hit again like Astrotrain at full speed.
He stumbled over to the corner where there was a somewhat clean bucket, collapsing in front of it, and allowed his intake to spring open. He purged everything in his tanks, right down to his reserve stores. After what felt like vorns spent dry heaving on his knees he was able to lean against the wall next to him and close his optics.
He tried telling himself it was probably a virus, just a glitch in his systems, an after effect from purging the Dark Energon. Megatron knew down to his very spark this was not the case. He'd felt like this once before and could recognize it instantly. Some would still say he had a virus, that it needed to be offlined and disposed of. Megatron, though, he could never forget the first time he'd felt like this, found out what kind of "virus" it was. Could never forget how he allowed himself to be persuaded to believe such things. Never forget that he took away something that innocent simply because others labelled "inconvenient".
Could never forget his first creation.
He shut down the memories welling up in his processor, spark spinning in slight distress. He stood with exaggerated care and walked to his berth to once more sit down on it. He placed his head in his servos and did something he hadn't done in vorns. He prayed to Unicron, begging him to make this work, to allow this one small light the chance to ignite into a beautiful inferno.
"Lord Megatron! You are looking well this orn!" Knockout bowed low to his master as he walked into the ships medbay, quickly abandoning the equipment he had been tinkering with.
"I am in need of an examination, doctor." The usual teasing scorn put on the title. Knockout gestured to a hidden door in the back wall mutely. Megatron walked forward briskly and flipped a tile to reveal a pass code screen, typing his personal one in faster than Knockout could follow even though he memorized long ago.
On the other side was a private medical room that Knockout specifically used for Megatron and his bondmate, Starscream. He was the only one on the ship who knew of their true relationship, had been there at their introduction in fact, and helped stage many an injury to keep suspicion at bay. It would hurt their leader far more if his mate was off lined than to be occasionally forced to personally inflict physical harm. There were two medberths in the room of almost completely opposite sizes, Megatron smoothly climbing onto the larger one. The two berths were pressed against one another with obvious scrapes and gouges into the floor from the larger one being dragged over. Starscream had extensive surgery done after being taken by MECH and Megatron refused to leave his side the six orn he had remained in forced stasis to recover afterward.
"Now, my Liege, what seems to be the problem?" It did not go unnoticed by Knockout that Megatron had actually reclined on the berth instead of merely sitting on its edge like usual. Truth was, Starscream had approached Knockout asking him to check up on the Warlord saying he "seemed far more exhausted" than normal. The worry that practically oozed off the Seeker's frame while he had spoken led Knockout to believe it was something far greater. Add these two facts with Megatron coming of his own accord and you have a very stressed out medic.
"I was hoping you can could confirm my own personal assessment." Knockout merely raised an optic ridge at the cryptic statement and went about achieving the right equipment for a basic systems check.
"Symptoms?" Knockout asked in a clinical tone, having learned early on this was the easiest way to get either stubborn aft to actually answer completely. He glanced up at the silver giant when he heard him let out a slow vent as if steadying himself.
"Nausea, specifically when I first come out of recharge. Frame overheating. Mood swings. Lack of concentration. A need to be beside my mate at all times. Chest plates slightly swollen and also tender." Knockout's servos stilled at the list. Any drone or youngling could figure out what that was. Megatron had closed his optics and clenched his fists while speaking in a very clear display of vulnerability and distress.
Knockout calmly, outwardly that is, put away the equipment that he had acquired and rummaged through a cupboard until he found what he was looking for in the back. (We will not mention the stool that he used to reach said cupboard). He walked over to his Lord with scanner in hand and waved it over Megatron's chest. Two beeps. A second pass. Two more beeps. Knockout then saw something he did not ever wish to witness.
Megatron started to cry.
Coolant didn't fall, no, that would be too much, he simply let out the most spark wrenching sounds the medic had heard in a very long time. The door behind him burst open and he thanked Primus and Unicron equally for his moment of insight to call Starscream as soon as he'd recognized the symptoms Megatron had been listing off.
The beautiful seeker looked shocked at the state of his mate, shot a short panicked expression in Knockout's direction, to which he simply answered with a rare genuine smile, and dashed over to the huge war frame. Megatron looked up surprised when he felt that his mate was in the same room, then clung to him like a lifeline. Starscream nuzzled his head against Megatron's and held his mate as much as he could.
"Megatronus?" The seeker called softly, trying to calm his mate. The mech in question did calm down considerably after that, keens becoming slight engine hiccups, eventually nodding his head to show he was alright.
Starscream let go of him but quickly took his servo when the larger mech unfolded himself and Starscream was able to sit on the edge of the huge berth. Knockout came over and simply handed the Seeker the scanner he had been holding before stepping back. A former scientist, Starscream would recognize what it was right away, as well as what the information on the scanner meant. Knockout watched as he simply stared at it for a few long kliks then looked up into his mate's optics.
"You are..." He couldn't finish the sentence.
"Yes, Starscream, I am...I am carrying." To say it out loud, to hear it, set off both mechs. While outsiders may have assumed the huge amount of keening was from agony, in reality it was with great amounts of happiness as well.
Many doctors and specialists, including a grave Knockout, had informed the couple that neither would ever conceive due to multiple factors related to their size differences. Starscream would not have survived the emergence so his body automatically would reject the idea of carrying the creation of a mech as large as Megatron. And these same doctors told Megatron that his frame build would simply eat away the small being within hours of it being conceived, a war build meant only for survival.
"Starscream..." The Decepticon leader pleaded softly. Starscream murmured words of assent before shooting a significant look in Knockout's direction. The medic nodded before he quickly strode back through the door, ignoring the obvious sounds of parting chest plates, and double checked that it was sealed and hidden from sight. He stood there for a long time, leaning his helm against the door as he let silent tears of happiness fall for his comrades.
In another realm, Unicron had an arm wrapped around Primus, watching the two powerful couples that seemed so opposite yet completely identical in their shared sorrow. He watched as they cried out in joy and pain as they shared in acts of love, rejoicing in the feeling of leaving grief behind and being able to welcome hope. The Bringer of Chaos looked away from the scene with a softness to his optics. A smile that even Primus had seen only a handful of times spread across his face as he used his free hand to softly caress the sparkling being cradled by his mate. Their optics met and they pressed their foreheads together, Unicron keeping his optics open to look towards the millions of their people who had swayed his processor and spark when he had finally returned to the spiritual world. The only request they had rang clearly in the God's audials.
Share your gift.
Yeah! Happy ending. Hope you enjoyed!