Author's Notes - Here it is! The anticipated sequel from my last story 'To Love the Enemy'. If you haven't read that already, you might be a bit confused as to whats going on in this one, so I strongly suggest you read 'TLtE' first. On that note, enjoy and review!

Disclaimer - I STILL own nothing but my own imagination.

~Altruism - The principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others; Opposite of egoism~

"She's sparked."

A pregnant pause followed the announcement as everyone stopped what they were doing to let the information sink in. Even Arcee, who was still writhing in pain on the berth, couldn't help but sit up and stare in shock at both doctors. She held in an intake of air, as if waiting for the punchline to this joke. When her optics finally settled on Knockout, his dumbfounded expression confirmed that this wasn't a joke at all. She was really sparked.

"What does that mean? Being sparked?"

Of course it didn't take long for Miko to let her curiosity get the better of her and ask that question aloud. Jack would've stopped her, if he wasn't nearly as curious as Miko was.

Ratchet, noticing Knockout still fixated on the results, answered the question to the best of his ability.

"Being sparked means Arcee is carrying another life force in her spark chamber. In human terms, she would be considered pregnant." He double checked the results one last time, "And according to these scans, she's been sparked for over five months now."

Before Miko could blurt out another personal question, Jack covered her mouth with his hand and asked his own question.

"So, Arcee is actually gonna be a mom?"

Ratchet nodded to the boy before turning a pointed look to Knockout.

"And it looks like you're going to be a father."

The startled ex-Con finally looked away from the scans to gaze at Arcee, who was regarding him with pleading optics, silently begging him to respond to the situation. How was he supposed to respond though? He loved Arcee, enough to have bonded with her, but he hadn't been expecting her to get sparked from it. Being a doctor was hard enough, but caring for a child? He was only good at caring about himself. Plus all that responsibility would interfere with his free spirited self.

"I...I need to think. I just need to be alone for awhile."

Without another word, he transformed and drove out of the base, leaving them all confused as to what prompted the sudden reaction. Breakdown stepped forward, taking Knockouts place and gently pushing Arcee back down on the berth.

"Sorry about Knockout," Breakdown explained, trying to console Arcee, "I think his reaction might have something to do with the way his own father treated him in the past. That's just from what he told me, so I could be wrong."

"Thank you Breakdown." She turned her attention to Ratchet, "Would it be possible for me to leave the base for awhile? I need to talk to Knockout."

"At the rate your energon levels are being depleted, I normally wouldn't recommend it. But, if you could talk some sense into his processor, I'll let you go. But I advise you to make it quick." He produced a syringe full of energon from his workbench and injected the contents into an energon line in Arcee's arm. "This should keep you stable for about an hour or two. Now go and find that glitch head."

Arcee gave a small smirk as she too transformed and drove into the Nevada desert.

"Good thing I know where to find him."

Exactly where she thought he would be, Knockout was sitting on the edge of the cliff in their getaway spot looking out across the valley. She quieted her engine, transformed, and walked up silently behind him.

"I'm sorry."

Arcee paused in her step towards him. She didn't think he had heard her arrival, but there was no point in staying silent now. She crouched behind him and rested her chin in the groove separating his neck and his shoulder armor.

"For what?"

He turned his head slightly, glancing at her, "For leaving like that. It was very...unprofessional of me."

As he said that, Arcee felt confusion well up in her spark. Knockout was trying to hide the fact that he wasn't used to a situation like this and obviously had no idea what to do. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against in neck cables.

"Knockout, I know you're scared." She felt him tense, but continued, "I'm nervous too. A sparkling is new for both of us, but we'll get used to it." She grabbed his servo and entwined their fingers together.

"Arcee, I don't know if I can change from being vain and selfish, to being a caring father in what little time we have. I...I'm not good with change."

Arcee could almost feel the energon being drained from her systems, courtesy of the sparkling, but ignored the feeling, opting to try convincing Knockout using a different approach.

"Breakdown mentioned you had problems with your father. Is that what you're really afraid of? Not being a good enough father?"

The feelings of confusion from her spark quickly morphed into feelings of anger, betrayal, and disappointment. Knockout must've had a lot of problems with his father if all these feelings surfaced at the mention of him. Knockout shifted uncomfortably and gazed towards the starry sky, memories of his past resurfacing in his processor.

"Everything I did was wrong. Even getting a medical license wasn't good enough for his approval. I don't know if I can be a good father because my own wasn't exactly a shining example."

Arcee briefly wondered if that was the reason he became a Decepticon, before moving to sit next to him and guiding his face to look her in the optics.

"I know its difficult to forget the past, but you're better than that. In due time, caring for the sparkling will come naturally to you." Still seeing the uncertainty in his optics, Arcee tried one last time to convince him otherwise, "Please, at least try for my sake. I love you too much to let this drive you away."

Knockout vented a sigh and wrapped a servo around her waist. Seeing her pleading optics again made him realize how much she really did want this sparkling. Coming to a decision, he gave her his signature smirk and a slight squeeze.

"I'll try, if only for you. Now, I hope this doesn't interfere with, ahem, our nightly escapades."

Arcee smiled, glad that Knockout was returning to normal. She was about to answer with her own suggestive remark, when a noise from behind them drew her attention away from her lover.

"Did you hear that?" She asked, standing up in a defensive position.

"Hear what?" Knockout questioned, standing up as well, albeit a lot more relaxed than she was.

"I know I heard something in the bushes just now." She scanned the area for any energy signatures besides Knockout's, "I'm not getting any readings."

"That's because we're not exactly Cybertronian my dear."

Out of the bushes came the M.E.C.H leader, Silas, and an army of armored vehicles and soldiers, their guns all pointed at the two Cybertronians. With one swift motion, Silas snapped his fingers and watched as the startled robots were both paralyzed by the same electric pulse that had paralyzed Breakdown. When their systems finally went into stasis lock, both Arcee and Knockout fell to the ground, the tremble vibrating through each vehicle and every bone in the terrorist's bodies.

"Sir, which one will we be taking?"

Silas walked over to study his unconscious test subjects, grazing his gloved hand over Arcee's helm before making his decision.

"Secure the blue one. I believe they were saying something about this one being a father." He pointed to Knockout, "And if that's the case, then I want to see whats growing inside of this female. If they really are able to reproduce, she might also be of more use to us in the future."

He patted her helm before giving the order to secure her to the truck they had prepared. Before leaving though, he turned and spoke to Knockout's unconscious body.

"Thank you for leading us here. I know it wasn't intentional, but you've just done M.E.C.H a favor by aiding us in our advancements of Project Chimera. I hope we meet each other again real soon...and bring your friend. We weren't quite finished dissecting him."

Laughing at his own joke, Silas strode past both Knockout and the truck now carrying Arcee, and climbed aboard his personal helicopter, ordering the pilot to take off to their new area of operations.

"Let's see the robots find their missing comrade this time."

I hate Silas and the rest of M.E.C.H so much, that I had to make them the main villains in the sequel. Honestly, no one saw this coming?

Anywho, reviews are very much appreciated! And enjoy the story!

-RulerofFire