Before there was war, before there was all of the carnage and the besieged planet that the civil war left in its wake, there was a Cybertron full of life. Beneath the crust were rich ores of energon that fed the bustling world. In the capitols there were politicians that, though they argued, they all argued for the better of the people they presided over. There were schools, Sparkling Wells, and laboratories burgeoning with improvements for the future.
At one of those Sparkling Wells, a towering figure stood in the waiting area. His helm was adorned with massive 'antlers', spikes that sprouted to the sides and turned upwards. These were a birthmark of his lineage, he was a miner. Not just any miner, however, this mech owned and ran the entire mining operation in the northern hemisphere of Cybertron. He did not normally stray so far from the countryside, but today he found himself deep in Central City, his sparkmate and their son by his side. The tall mech was obviously nervous, though his sparkmate just looked proud. They had been waiting a stellar cycle and a half for this day and it was starting to become obvious. Her chest-plate was beginning to swell slightly, as her own spark was accompanied by two new ones.
"I'm getting two brothers right?" Little Brakecheck asked. His bright blue optics were wide with wonder and excitement. Both his father and mother looked down at him, a relaxed smile on her face and a worried expression on his father's. Before the big mech could answer, his sparkmate knelt down beside the boy.
"We don't know if they will be brother or sisters, but you are definitely getting two." She cooed, touching her helm to his. He grinned and playfully batted his own antlers against her forehelm.
"Dogleg? Caliper?" A familiar voice called out. Both adults turned their attention to the doctor's door, where a young medic stood, more focused on reviewing the holographic notes in front of him than looking for the expecting family. Excitedly, they approached him. It was the same medic that had assisted in their implantation. He looked up at them and smiled softly. "Oh, good you're here." He said shortly. It was his first appointment with a couple today, all his other patients had been bratty protoforms that liked to kick shin-plates.
"Good to see you again, Ratchet." Caliper chirped. Brakecheck popped around in front of her, giving the medic a small start. The maroon painted femme grabbed him by the shoulder, just before the young mech has a chance to trip over his own stabilizing servos and into the red and white medic. Dogleg nodded, concurring with his sparkmate. Anywhere but in front of his workers he was a mech of few words. Which is why Caliper was the one that represented the mines in Parliament.
"Yes, yes, good to see you too." Ratchet nodded, his processor already focusing back on the long list of work he had to do before the end of the day. His optics surveyed the information about the femme before him. Okay, twins. He waved them to follow him and led them to a room. "I will be right back with the infant protoforms." He informed them before activating the door to give the family some privacy. Dogleg let out a breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding.
"It'll be okay, Dogleg." Caliper comforted, her servo caressing his upper arm. "It's a simple process, and soon you'll be holding our new sparklings." While he knew she was right, he was still tense. New children meant more expenses.
"Caliper, I need to tell you something." His words escaped his lips before he could stop them. It wasn't the time or place to give her this news. But now it was out there, in the air and waiting to be revealed. Her optics widened a little, her processor whirring to predict what it is that he could be about to tell her. Instead of Dogleg's confession, the door opened. There was Ratchet and a nurse, each holding a slate grey bundle in their arms. Once the sparks were placed in them, they'd know the gender of their new sparklings.
"Are you ready, Caliper?" Ratchet chirped. This was his favorite part of his job. It was the most important, welcoming new life. He pulled a rolling table with six-inch railings over to the patient bed in the center of the room. Brakecheck had found the bed while his parents had been talking earlier and was sitting on the edge, swinging his legs. "Come on now, your mother has got to lay up here." Ratchet scolded gently.
"Dogleg, why don't you take him out to wait." Caliper suggested. With the excitement of seeing her new children, she'd already forgotten about the incomplete conversation. Seeing that energy of happiness on her faceplate pushed the worries down in Dogleg's spark. He nodded and picked up their son. Before he left with Brakecheck in his arms he touched his antler adorned helm to his sparkmate's. A silent message was transmitted, one only sparkmates can share. It was a warm jolt that told her of how much love he held for her and how proud he was. The smile on her faceplate only deepened.
With Dogleg and Brakecheck gone, Ratchet returned to business. An IV was set up, introducing a pain reducing synthetic. Normally femmes don't require any pain-killers but extracting twin sparks was too complicated not to take that precaution. The nurse stood across the bed from Ratchet, her servo gently resting on Caliper's arm. "Make sure to tell us if you start to feel any pain." She instructed.
Caliper nodded. She knew what was coming, she was already a mother after all. Ratchet gently folded back her chestplate's armor and pressed against the latch in the center of her chest. Her spark chamber opened up and exposed the somewhat overflowing spark. Beside her bright blue spark were two small green ones, pulsating rapidly.
"In order to create the least amount of stress on the mother's spark, we are going to have to extract them simultaneously." He instructed his nurse. She nodded and picked up the specialized tongs that were required for the task. The temperature of the sparklings had to remain the same during the transition, or they wouldn't be strong enough to inhabit their new little bodies. The tongs would replicate that warmth to prevent energy from being lost.
Carefully, oh so carefully, Ratchet readied his own tools and waited for his assistant to line up with him. If any pain were to occur, it would be in separation. Very gently, each set of tongs closed around the sparklings. Once they were adjusted to that new heat, they could be pulled away. As the sparklings were separated from her own spark, Caliper bit her lip. It was just a twinge, not enough to indicate anything was wrong but definitely more than Brakecheck had been.
The protoforms were already opened and ready to receive the little sparklings. The nurse carried her sparkling around the bed and waited for Ratchet to finish placing one in and then handed him the second. As soon as those little chestplates closed, the protoforms began to glow and hum. The metal took on characteristics of the parents and little points protruded from each little helm. One's plating turned a lime green and the other's a hunter's green. Both were little girls.
"It looks like you've got a pair of sisters here." Ratchet announced, turning and smiling at Caliper. The nurse closed the mother back up and removed the IV. "It'll be a couple of hours before you feel yourself again, so I'd recommend purchasing one of our pushcarts in the lobby." He advised, helping the mother rise up and stand. Caliper nodded, only half listening. Her optics were on her two daughters, sleeping over on the table.
"Could Dogleg and Brakecheck come back in?" She asked. Ratchet nodded and he and the nurse left. Families always deserved a few moments to themselves at the beginning of new life. Outside stood Dogleg. For such a burly mech, his midnight blue frame was trembling. Brakecheck, however, had no trepidation. He bounded into the room, jumping up on the bed and giving his mother a hug.
"Be gentle!" Dogleg scolded, coming in after his son. But Caliper just hugged the little mech back.
"Look at our little girls," She practically squealed. The father refocused on the new additions to his family. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "We've got to get started thinking about names."
"We do." Dogleg agreed. He picked up his two daughters and held them against his chest. "But for now we can just go home and rest. The train ride will be a long one if we wait long enough for them to wake up." He chuckled.
