The tone Ratchet had used left no room for hesitation. Bulkhead burst immediately into the room, witnessing their leader whimpering in pain over a messy puddle on the floor, while Ratchet was trying to lift him up.

"What is going on!?" he asked, almost panicking.

"No time to explain! Help me get Optimus in the med-bay, hurry!" Ratchet ordered, moving out of the way as the Wrecker stepped in and lifted the suffering Prime in his arms and carried him on a berth in the medical bay next door.

The commotion was loud enough to having also alerted Arcee, who came in running.

"What's going on? What is happening to Optimus!?" she demanded, her earlier mood long gone.

"There's no time! Here, take this and clean that up! And stay alert in case I need back-up!" the medic barked, threw a large rag in her direction and closed the med-bay doors, leaving both Arcee and Bulkhead behind, both very alarmed and confused.

Ratchet closed the door in a zip and rushed back inside beside his ailing leader. The others didn't need to know anything before he had had some serious spark-to-spark with a certain Prime. That had to wait for now though; there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Oh, Optimus! Why didn't you tell me!? I could have helped you!" he bemoaned, not being able to resist the appealing remark while trying his best to avoid making up any speculations on any possible reasons behind it, let alone how he was in this condition the first place. There was no time for that, and he knew he wouldn't like the answers regardless.

He swiftly checked his patient's status, folding his legs up and settling himself in between them at the foot of the berth. The Prime didn't say anything; too busy being in pain – the medic concluded not giving it much thought. He briefly advanced a bit closer, resting his servo on the other mech's chassis to offer some quick words of encouragement:

"It's going to be alright, just listen and do as I say when I tell you! You're going to be fine!" he uttered, this time making sure Optimus had heard him and instantaneously returned to his work.

The seeping of the liquid had already ceased, Ratchet noticed while examining the business end of the operation. The codpiece had folded away on its own accord, leaving the Prime's interface array out on full display. In any other situation the medic would have turned his helm away in embarrassment, unless it had been anyone else, but urgency and professionalism overrode any discomfort he might have experienced otherwise. He quickly applied a protective glove and then pushed two digits in the mech's stretching valve and pressed around, trying to feel the progress. The Prime didn't even flinch, possibly didn't even notice what he was doing.

"You're doing fine; it's going to be over soon! I need to go gather up some essentials, try to hang in there! I'll be back right away!" the medic stated, concern written on his faceplate. The Autobot leader grimaced, groaned and convulsed as the sharp pain tore through his body, beads of coolant having appeared on his forehelm, but he roused enough to weakly nod for the medic to assure him he was being heard. Ratchet instantly rushed around the med-bay and after promptly grabbing some tools and clean rags he returned to his post and reached out for the Prime again, after making sure all was clear. He was venting out heavily, the pain having subdued for the moment.

"Optimus! I need you to listen to me, carefully!" Ratchet exclaimed.

"When the next wave starts, I need you to push! Push as hard as you can along the pain! When the pain eases, take a break! Do you understand?"

The exhausted Prime casted an odd look towards the medic, confused; but didn't have time to question him as equally soon as the ache had lessened, it returned, with interest. He didn't hesitate to do as he was told though, as it began to feel like that was exactly what his body wanted him to do.

The pain made the Autobot leader roar, his venting and moaning becoming even heavier by the minute as the pressure in the pit of his abdomen moved lower and grew more intense. He pushed, trying to find support anywhere he could. And boy, did he push! The raw power of his pedes caught Ratchet completely off-guard, almost sending him down on the floor.

"Whoah, there! Easy, Optimus! Slow down!" he cried while desperately trying to stay standing. This hadn't exactly been what he'd meant by 'pushing as hard as he could'.

To tell the truth, the medic couldn't blame him for wanting to this being over as soon as possible, but he needed to control it, otherwise he would only tire himself out too fast, and that could cause some serious complications they didn't need right now.

"Save your strength, or you might tear something yet!" the older mech advised.

The Prime only grunted and moaned in response of the pain and the odd stretching pressure between his legs.

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"What in the pit was that all about?" Arcee asked, sending a questioning glance at the Wrecker. Bulkhead only shrugged, seemingly worried.

"I dunno. But it looked pretty bad." he sighed, turning his head towards the pool on the floor.

"I have never seen that type of mechfluid. What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know. But if Ratchet only told us to stay put in case he needed help, it can't be life-threatening. Though I must agree with you; it did look pretty bad."

They both flinched as they heard the Prime's muffled cries coming from the inside.

"But whatever it is, I don't think he's telling us everything." the femme continued, sternly.

"Well, I gathered as much as well." Bulkhead agreed.

They both stood awkwardly in silence for a while, paying close attention to every single noise echoing from the med-bay. Their confusion added with the stress and feelings of helplessness created a rather fruitful atmosphere for worst-case-scenarios. And you could hardly blame them. All in all – the sounds weren't far from grotesque.

Arcee clenched the rag in her hands.

"Well, if I can't go in, then let me be useful in at least something." she announced, throwing the rag on the floor and beginning to mop.

"I sure hope Prime's gonna be okay." the bigger bot said, trying to lift the mood.

Arcee stopped abruptly.

"Does he sound 'okay' to you?" she snarled.

"Hey, no need to be snappy! Just hoping for the best." the Wrecker defended himself.

"Yeah? Have you even got any idea how badly we're doing at the moment? If Optimus is injured, he's going to need energon. We're currently consuming our emergency-stock, Bulkhead! And there isn't much to spare." the motorcycle vented out heavily in agitation.

"We can't lose him, too. Not again. Not like this." she finally added, lubricant gathering in her optical canals.

The green mech stepped closer and landed a servo on her shoulder, pulling her in a soft hug.

"I know. But I also know Optimus. He's a strong one, and not easily defeated. He'll pull through. He survived 'back then' for a reason. You'll see." he consoled, softly brushing her back.

The femme shed a few silent tears, knowing all too well what he was referring to. It was all still fresh in each of their memories. It didn't take long for her to calm down.

"You're a good friend, Bulk. It'll never cease to amaze me how you always keep your faith like that. It's beyond me." she told him appreciatively.

The Wrecker sighed. "I know... You know how it is. It's not always easy… The things I've seen and survived from… Not pretty. Sometimes, faith is all you have to keep going."

She nodded and dried up her optics.

"I'm sorry for snapping like that. You didn't deserve it." she apologized, but he brushed it off.

"Don't worry about it."

They stood like that for a moment, until the noises from the med-bay increased again, catching their attention.

"Should we call in the others?" Bulkhead finally asked the femme, who slowly casted her optics between the door and the half-finished job on the floor, landing them lastly on the console. She left out a defeated huff.

"You do it. I have a job to finish."

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When the next wave hit, the pain reached an entirely new level. Things were getting more intense by the minute though this time Optimus obediently curbed his strength while pushing. But the pain was slowly becoming too much for him to handle.
"You're doing great, Optimus! Just keep pushing!" Ratchet urged.

"I… I… can't…" was the Prime's reply, before the pain hit yet another climax, and he roared out even louder. It didn't last for long this time though as his vocalizer finally short-circuited, leaving him crying out in silence.

"You're almost there, Optimus! Just keep pushing!" the medic consoled.

It took a few more strangled pushes before the Prime could finally feel the pressure easing with something sliding out of his body, and welcomed the relief with deep, relaxed vents. He didn't really notice how Ratchet had suddenly dived lower as if to carefully catch something; and soon light, barely audible wails met his audio receptors through the exhausted vents. Confused anticipation flared in the Prime's spark.

"Optimus…" Ratchet whispered as the most blissful smile anyone had ever witnessed spread out on the medic's faceplate, awed bewilderment clear in his voice. He was fussing about something on the berth that the Prime couldn't quite see.

"Primus below…" the medic sighed, as he lifted up the wailing bundle, slowly bringing the fruit of the leader's labor closer for him to see. Said bot petrified almost instantly, optics intensively fixated on the cargo the medic was holding, his processor not being able to completely comprehend what it was exactly that he was seeing.

Ratchet lowered his arms and slowly revealed the sparkling's face for the new creator.

"Congratulations. You have a beautiful, strong, healthy… son."

The expression on the Prime's face had begun slowly shifting from relieved to curious, to confused, to bewildered and finally to utter and complete shock as the realization on what had just happened finally hit in.

AN/ Decided to revise the title and summary a little, I hope they're more understandable now! Hopefully you liked the chapter! Please tell me what you think! ^^