Series Title: Wonderful One Night Stand
Chapter Three: So, Are We In Trouble?
Pairing: Slight Ratchet/Bee, implied Wheeljack/Bee
Rating: M
Warnings: creative language, MechxMech, slight drama
Summary: There are certain after-effects that come from a raunchy one night stand with the minibot hating twins, but Bumblebee wasn't expecting any of them.
Bumblebee had slipped into a light recharge nearly a breem ago, but the twins hovered over his frame, an unusual amount of worry assaulting their processors. Sideswipe gently replaced the minibot's hood, his digits shaking as the unanswered questions in his processor felt like they would drive him insane.
What was wrong with the minibot? Was it normal for somebot to be in this much pain after a night of drinking, even if they had had too much? Why did he and Sunstreaker care so much? Sure, they would worry a bit about the spy when he was hurt, but why, after one night, was he at the forefront of their processor?
Sunstreaker softly grabbed one of his twin's servo's, his own chassis back in place, silently offering comfort. Sideswipe squeezed the offered servo, then let go to pick up his own chassis and put it back on, his optics never leaving the peaceful minibot as he snapped it in place.
As the red twin opened his mouth to say Primus knows what, the door slid open to reveal a very irate medbot.
(Scene Change)
Ratchet groaned as he noticed the paint on the walls, a fluorescent blue that was the favorite of a certain prankster. To his continuing horror, he realized that the door to the room where Bumblebee was staying was, in fact, unlocked. His horror quickly turning into rage, the medbot opened the door.
He had expected Bumblebee to be covered in paint or decorated in the very least. He hadn't expected the twins to still be in the room hovering over the recharging minibot. When they saw Ratchet, their expressions morphed from startled to angry in an astrosecond.
Sunstreaker stormed out of the room, advancing on the smaller white mech who backed away from the obviously enraged front liner, as his brother followed him and slid the door shut. The golden mech didn't even seem to realize that there were three other bots standing behind the medic, his optics and anger focused on the red and white form.
"What were you thinking?" Both mechs pulled back as they asked the same question at the same time, which would have seemed humorous in any other situation.
"No, really, Ratchet. Why'd you have to freak out on 'Bee like that? He was nearly panicking when we got here!" A brief flash of shame skirted across the medics faceplates before he reset his vocalizer and glared at the twins.
"You listen and you listen good, you slaggers. I regret rushing out of here without telling 'Bee what was going on, but I was panicking over his health and needed to address some serious issues as soon as possible. Now if you don't mind?"
Much to the surprise of the golden mech, Ratchet pushed him and his brother out of the way, sliding the door open enough for him to slip inside before shutting and locking it again. Sunstreaker fumed, his arms crossed over his chassis, and ignored the other bots in the room. Sideswipe, as he realized that the top three in the chain of command were also there, felt panic settle in his spark.
"Oh, frag, wait... If Ratchet had to rush off and tell you three what's wrong then it's something bad right? Is 'Bee going to be okay? This isn't my fault, is it? I only gave him a little bit of coolant this morning because his tank was upset and it always helps with the after effects of in-taking too much high grade. Or at least it helps me, but I'm bigger than 'Bee. Does that have something to do with it? Please tell me I didn't poison him or something. It was just coolant! I even drank the rest of it!"
Jazz put one of his servo's over the rambling mechs mouth as his brother grinned a bit, despite the grim situation. "It ain't like all tha', Sides'. But it ain't good either."
Prowl seemed especially surprised at Sideswipe reaction, his battle computer immediately working out scenario's that could have occured based on what the red mech had accidentally confessed. Before he could bring up any of these theories, Optimus Prime spoke.
"I was wondering if, since you saw Bumblebee so early, you might have an idea who he spent the night with. There are several things the mech or mechs in question need to be made aware of." The twins' optics widened and they glanced at each other, no doubt communicating through their bond.
"'Bee spent the night with us. Now what is this about?" Sunstreaker wasn't expecting the black servo that suddenly smacked into his faceplates, but he rolled with the force of the hit and dropped into a battle stance, glaring at Jazz when the saboteur crossed his arms and sneered.
"Jazz!" Prowl immediately stepped in between the two bots as they both made motions to continue the fight, but anything else was stopped by Perceptor speed-walking into the medbay with a cube of low grade energon.
His vents were heaving slightly as he looked between the bots in front of the occupied exam room with a curious optic. "Perceptor." Optimus nodded at the science bot and lifted a servo to knock on the door in front of him.
Ratchet's voice came through the comm. system next to the door, irritable and clipped. "What?!" Unperturbed by the medic's tone, Prime entered his override code for the door and grabbed the cube from Perceptor. He held it through a gap in the door and smiled softly when it was snatched from his servo.
Closing the door, Optimus motioned for the science bot to leave. "Thank you Perceptor. I take it you only made one because it would be faster?" Nodding, the red mech turned to leave, his undeniably curious optics taking in the scene in front of him.
The doors slid shut behind the mech and Optimus Prime stood to his full height, towering over every other bot in the room. "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker?" They snapped to attention at their Commander's tone, the golden mech forgetting his somewhat throbbing faceplate. "I believe congratulations are in order."
The other four mechs stared at their Commander in confusion. "Bumblebee, while he has a long road ahead of him, is carrying a sparkling. Your sparkling." Absolute silence stretched in the medbay for nearly a klik as the three officers observed the front liner's reactions.
While Sunstreaker faceplates didn't shift from their confusion, Sideswipe's quickly became elated. "We're gonna be creators?" Nodding, Prime took a step back, expecting what happened next. "WAHOO!" The red mech jumped in the air, much to the surprise of Prowl and Jazz, throwing his arms up and dancing around his brother.
"We're gonna be creators Sunny! A little sparkling! The first sparkling in vorns, thousands of vorns when you count stasis, and it's ours! I'm gonna teach it so much about investing and pranks and-" He stopped suddenly, horror spreading on his faceplates. "Oh slag... That's why 'Bee is in here? He's hurting from it? He didn't lose it, did he? What's going on?
"Is it from the coolant? Can carriers have coolant when they're carrying? It didn't hurt the sparkling, did it? Is it my fault? I'm sorry if it was! I sound like Blustreak right now, don't I? Somebot answer my questions because I am freaking-"
A golden servo clamped over the mech's mouth, though he continued to try and speak through the metal, his optics wide and obviously panicking as he flailed his arms. "Just give him a klik. He needs to get it out of his system, that's all." Prowl, who was categorizing Sideswipe's unusual reactions, stepped towards the red mech.
"Bumblebee's survival protocols are keeping his gestation tank from expanding and allowing the sparkling to form properly, hence why he's in so much pain." The twins, not understanding some of what the white and black mech said, nodded anyways. "Ratchet had to inform us because he needs to remove Bumblebee's survival protocols to keep the sparkling from dying and taking 'Bee with it."
Sunstreaker understood that, his expression changing from confused to grim acceptance. "I might still slag you for hitting me." He glared over at Jazz and the mech shrugged. "But I understand why you did it." He was quiet then, staring at the door to the exam room where Bumblebee was, when Sideswipe pulled his twin's servo away from his mouth.
"So, are we in trouble?"
(Scene Change)
Ratchet had set the low-grade off to the side as he continued to look over the minibot in front of him. Bumblebee had fallen into a light stasis, his spark thrumming a bit stronger than before and the energy of the sparkling was much more obvious, popping up in the most basic of his scans.
Sighing, the medbot softly shook Bumblebee awake, expecting the scared look that overtook the minibot's faceplates. "I'm sorry for rushing out, 'Bee. I didn't mean to scare you like that." Venting heavily, Ratchet grabbed one of the small black servo's in front of him.
"I've got good news and I've got bad news. The good news is that you're carrying a sparkling." Optics widening, the minibot tried to sit up, shock overtaking his fear. "But the bad news is that your gestation tank won't expand because of your survival protocols and we will have to remove them-"
"Whoa! No, we won't!" The minibot was smiling now, kicking his stabilizer's happily and reaching up to hug the medbot. "I have a built in override for my survival protocols, made it myself. Why didn't you just tell me?" He fell back onto the berth, giggling at the look on Ratchet's face.
"No bot with active survival protocols would ever let themselves be captured by Decepticons on purpose!" Grinning, the minibot offlined his optics to activate the override program. The soft whiir of shifting components and an obvious release of pressure on the small yellow chassis made both Ratchet and Bumblebee relax.
Then Ratchet couldn't help himself. He started chuckling, which eventually became all out laughter, confusing the minibot who kept a polite smile on his faceplates. Quieting down once he got it out of his system, Ratchet vented heavily, leaning on the berth in front of him.
"Oh, I needed that laugh. I really did. I should probably head out there and tell them that you're not in danger anymore. They were worried sick before, ya know? Especially Wheeljack when I told him he had to remove your survival protocols... I should probably comm. him first."
Heading over to where he had set down the low grade energon, Ratchet handed it to the under fueled minibot, who chirped out a happy 'thank you', then sent a ping to the engineer. Without waiting for him to start the conversation when the line opened, the medic got straight to the point.
:Wheeljack, it's Ratchet. Forget about removing the protocols. Crisis adverted thanks to an override program.: The relief over the line was obvious as the explosive expert muttered 'thank Primus'. :I'm heading out to tell Command now, then I'll be finding out what bot knocked up our mini.:
:Oh yes, please do. I wish to give them a present. A very loud, very frame-warming present.: The medic chuckled, softly running his digits over the minibot's thighs, which made him mewl happily, the light pleasure signals easier to concentrate on than the continued, if lessened, nausea.
Wheeljack had spent the previous night with the medic and they had had quite a fun time, but Bumblebee was known by his closest friends to spend any evening when he felt like interfacing in the engineer's personal quarters. The minibot jokingly claimed that he liked to see how many different colors the expressive helm fins of his best friend could turn.
Wheeljack would be the first to admit that he was attached to the minibot. They were more than just friends with benefits, but he had respected Bumblebee wishes to not get into anything more serious until the war calmed down. The yellow spy wanted a family with several sparklings and, being a carrier, he could have more than one bond-mate.
The medic and the engineer had agreed, without Bumblebee's knowledge, that they would keep close tabs on the mini and his interfacing partners until there was a chance to settle down. The pure white spark sitting in the minibot's chassis was like a balm to the two older bots, making them forget the tragedies of war and helping them, cycle by cycle, just to get up and do what needed to be done.
Bumblebee did know that both of them intended to bond with him at some point and had even accepted their advances, proving to be quite a fiend in the berth, but as they weren't in an exclusive relationship the minibot was free to spend his nights where ever he chose, just as Ratchet and Wheeljack were.
But Ratchet, knowing how much high grade the minibot had consumed, was convinced that Bumblebee hadn't been fully aware of who had dragged him to their berth. The medic had every intention of finding out and remodeling the slagger or slaggers, despite how much Command would disapprove.
"Go back into recharge once you finish that, 'Bee. And I'm putting you on medical leave for obvious reasons. And I want you to think about what you want the rest of the Ark to know, if anything, alright?" The little yellow bot nodded from his upright position, sipping happily at the low grade while his engine thrummed.
Unable to help himself, Ratchet moved forward and quickly kissed the minibot, his servo's grasping at yellow plated hips and squeezing almost desperately. Without another word, the medbot slipped out of the room and relocked the door, his optics curiously taking in the scene in front of him.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker still hadn't left the medbay, although the gold mech had a slight dent on the side of his faceplates. They were standing just to the side of the door and glared when the medbot relocked it, obviously intending to go back inside.
"No." He stated firmly. "Bumblebee will be refueling and then recharging. His systems need as much recharge as possible for the next few cycles and he will not be disturbed. Is that understood?" Nodding, the twins pushed him away from the door and took positions up in front of it, blocking it from view.
"Ratchet?" Looking over at his Commander, the medic straightened. "Did Wheeljack tell you when he would be heading down here?" Flickering his optics, Ratchet grinned.
"Bumblebee has a built in override for his survival protocols. He made the program himself and has already initiated it, so I've informed Wheeljack that he doesn't need to remove them." The large bot visibly relaxed. "Also, if you'll excuse me, I need to run that circuitry test." Jazz snickered suddenly, watching as the front liners behind the medbot tensed.
Glaring over at the saboteur, the red and white mech crossed his arms. "What's so funny?"
"Ya don't need ta run a test Ratch-man. They're standin' right behind ya!" His optics widening, the medic turned around to stare incredulously at the shuffling front liners. What happened next was somewhat expected, even if the dialogue wasn't.
"How dare you!? I've heard of sick jokes before, but this prank has gone too far! Taking advantage of my friend?"
"Hey! We didn't take advantage of anybot, so don't go accusing us!"
"You did take advantage of him, you red slagger! There's no way Bumblebee was in his right processor with how much high grade he consumed so what you did was practically rape!"
"Hey!" Sunstreaker stormed forward, looming over the red and white mech. "I may be an absolute jerk most of the time but I would never rape a bot! That's just fragging wrong."
"Yea, and we happen to like 'Bee. He's pretty much the only minibot we like." Sideswipe pouted as he looked at the heavily venting medic, barely registering when the Command group moved closer, prepared to stop a fight if one broke out.
"I happen to love that minibot so you'd better watch what you say and how you say it or you might not wake up tomorrow." The clipped, quiet tone that came out of the medic's vocalizer was more frightening than his vicious yelling as his optics narrowed onto Sunstreaker's surprised faceplates.
"But regardless of my feelings, you're the creators of Bumblebee's first sparkling. Congratulations." The acidic sarcasm didn't make the compliment seem endearing in the least and both larger mechs watched with something akin to apprehension as Ratchet turned away from them and began to shift through some of the items on a nearby shelf.
He was muttering softly, shuffling through the smaller items until he realized that whatever he was looking for wasn't there. Exhaling heavily through his vents, the medic moved towards the storage closets. As he disappeared through the doors, Sideswipe turned to face the Command group and repeated his previous question.
"So, are we in trouble?"
(Scene Change)
Bumblebee settled back on the berth, the pressure in his chassis becoming more obvious, but he was so giddy he couldn't care. 'A sparkling!' Nearly jumping off the berth in his excitement, the minibot danced as best he could while laying down. 'I'm going to have a sparkling!'
His carrier protocols were quickly taking over and his gestation tank started to expand, the pressure in his chassis lessening as it spread downwards. Excited beyond words, the minibot offlined his optics and began to concentrate on the extra energy in his spark chamber.
Bumblebee could feel the tiny life growing inside him, fluttering and flickering happily. He wondered, vaguely, why the energy had felt so cold before, but he realized that when his survival protocols reactivated they had registered the foreign energy as a contamination.
Thankful that the sparkling was undamaged, the minibot continued to concentrate on the energy. He was feeling the energy for anything he could; emotions, gender, thoughts, etc. Even though he knew it wasn't developed enough for him to feel any of those things, he still tried.
The more he concentrated, the more he realized that there was more than one energy signature. Happiness bubbling through his spark, the minibot couldn't help himself. He quickly scrambled off of the berth and headed towards the door, intending to find the twins and tell them about their sparklings.
When the door slid open, five pairs of curious optics settled on him, though Sideswipe and Sunstreaker quickly moved to usher him back into the room. "Go recharge! Ratchet said you have to, so go!" He giggled at their insistence and danced around their pushing arms.
"I've got something to tell you! Unless you've already heard it..." Glancing at Command, he couldn't help but notice how gloomy Jazz looked, but he filed it away as something that could wait a few kliks and turned back to the twins. "Guess what?"
"You're gonna have a sparkling!" Sideswipe jumped up, throwing his arms into the air. "Our sparkling!" His faceplates were stretched into a wide smile. "A cute, perfect little sparkling to teach so many wonderful things to, like pranks and investing-"
"And art." Sunstreaker was smiling happily and looked much like a god with his beautiful faceplates in such a soft expression. "But you need to recharge." Bumblebee's smile got wider and he glanced over his shoulder as Ratchet slipped back into the room.
"Ratchet! Guess what?" The medic motioned for the minibot to go back into the private exam room, a long device clenched in his servo. "Just a klik and I swear I'll lay down, but guess what?" Sighing, the red and white mech decided to indulge the adorable little bot.
"What?" Bumblebee turned back to the twins, the smile on his face growing even wider.
"There are two sparklings!" The twins, who had both been smiling at the little bot's enthusiasm, stared in wonder at the announcement and Bumblebee turned back to Ratchet, an apology in his optics, but a smile on his faceplates. "Twins, Ratchet!"
The medic could understand why Bumblebee was trying to apologize to him and he didn't want the little bot to feel guilty, so he smiled as best he could and motioned for him to go back into the private exam room.
"And lay down, please?"
(Scene Change)
Jazz could feel his control slipping as Bumblebee walked back into the exam room, glancing over at him curiously and sending the saboteur a gentle smile. The black and white mech had been trying to keep his true feelings about the situation hidden since he had heard the news, but he knew that even as an experienced spy he was doing a poor job.
Jazz loved the minibot. He had been certain for quite some time that it wasn't the same kind of love that he knew Ratchet and Wheeljack had for the sweet-sparked bot, but after watching the twins carry the mewling minibot out of the rec room the previous night and feeling unusually angry, he knew he had to re-evaluate his feelings.
After thinking on it for quite some time, so much so that he hadn't even gone into recharge, he had come to the conclusion that he was in love with Bumblebee. It was a poor time to realize the depths of his attachment, especially when the minibot didn't need the drama that would come with his Commanding Officer's confession, should it come to that.
And Jazz had intended to discuss it with Prowl, whom he shared a berth with during most recharge cycles. He didn't know what the Praxian thought about Bumblebee, aside from his service record, but he had been hoping to ease the idea of having the minibot as a third in their relationship into the mech's overly logical processor.
But now he didn't know what to do and when faced with a situation where he had no options, the saboteur did the only thing he could. He fled, exiting the medbay as quickly as possible without looking hurried, and locked himself in his office. He could always use the excuse of having too much work to do to avoid being around the minibot, despite how much he hated the idea.
(Scene Change)
Prowl watched Jazz flee and had to keep himself from venting a sigh. He knew how the saboteur felt about the minibot, having noticed the signs even if Jazz was oblivious. Prowl was sure that Jazz had finally realized the depths of his feelings if his actions against Sunstreaker were any evidence.
Turning to face Prime, the SIC saluted. "I'll be returning to my office, Sir. I have datapads I need to complete." The larger mech nodded, dismissing the Datsun and turning to face the twins once the black and white mech had exited the medbay.
"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker?" Snapping to attention, the front liner's tried to keep from feeling apprehensive at their Commander's tone. "I have already congratulated you, but there is something we need to discuss. When Bumblebee is taken off active duty mechs will begin asking why. I need you three to sit down together and decide how much information you are willing to provide.
"But be warned-" Said in Prime's deep voice, the warning sounded extremely ominous. "Regardless of what you wish to tell your comrades, they will eventually find out that Bumblebee is carrying. It won't be long before the Decepticons learn about it as well.
"Bumblebee will be a target too tempting for them to ignore and therefore he will be confined to the Ark for the time being. Do you understand what I've told you?"
"Yes, Sir." The twins replied in unison, saluting their Commander with grim determination. Bumblebee wouldn't come to harm while under their watch.
(Scene Change)
"This probe here," Ratchet lifted the object in his hand, a long cylindrical device that looked somewhat painful. "Is a way to check on the health of a sparkling, or in this case sparklings. I'll be inserting it into your valve and connecting it to your socket. Alright?"
Nodding, Bumblebee spread his stabilizer's and retracted his panel. As the medic lowered the probe, he couldn't help but notice the slight rawness to the edges of the valve. "'Bee, I have to ask..." Setting the calibrations on the probe for the minibot's frame type, Ratchet pressed it into the tight passage. "Did you go with the twins willingly?"
Gorgeous blue optics widened in surprise at the question and Bumblebee fidgeted at the chill on the probe. "I know I was really overcharged, but I knew who I was with and what we were doing." He sighed through his vents, leaning up a bit to look the medbot in the faceplates. "I'm sorry Ratchet."
Shaking his helm, the red and white mech stared at the small read-out on the probe in front of him. "One in a trillion chance of it happening 'Bee. Even more specifically, one in 997.8 billion." A soft clicking sound came from the minibot's codpiece as a connection was established and the medic set the device to scan, looking up at the apologetic carrier.
"Your self-repair probably detached your chassis in an attempt to relieve the pressure from the build-up of energy from the high grade." He shrugged, rubbing one of his servo's over the minibot's knees. "The twins saw that gorgeous spark of yours and decided to play with it." He chuckled and walked around the berth to sit up next to Bumblebee.
"If you weren't with spark, Wheeljack and I never would have found out that you spent the night with the twins, hmm?" Shame filled the minibot's optics and he reached out to grab Ratchet's servo, a pleading look on his faceplates.
"I am sorry, Ratchet. I really wasn't expecting this." He smiled softly, pulling himself towards the medic so he could lay his helm on one of those white thighs. "I was excited when the twins first grabbed me, but I thought they'd stop after a klik or two, because I'm a minibot, ya know?
"Then it just continued and it was awesome, yes, but they're not part of my life like you and Wheeljack are." The medic's helm snapped up. "I enjoyed what happened Ratchet, but the twins and I are only friends. I want them to be there for the sparklings, but I'm not going to bond with them." Ratchet nearly collapsed against the minibot, the relief evident in his frame.
"I don't think I should bond with them just because I'm carrying their sparklings. It doesn't make sense to do something like that." Giggling again, Bumblebee kissed the medic's cheek. "I don't doubt that you and Wheeljack have some kind of revenge planned, but please leave them mostly intact, okay?" A grin was on Ratchet's faceplates when he sat back up.
"I will make no promises."