Sooo... I'm home alone and sick and extremely bored, so I decided to update early! Seriously, I have nothing at all to do, it's driving me insane. So here we go! I would absolutely love it if you could leave a review, too! Thank you!

"So, will ya join us tonight?"

"No." Jazz said stubbornly, folding his arms over his swollen stomach area. Thankfully, the rec. room was mostly empty, so there weren't many mechs to openly gawk at him as he lay sprawled across the couch.

"C'mon mech." Despite himself, Blaster was now pleading in an effort to get his friend to act even a little bit cordial towards Hightail. Though Jazz hadn't said anything, it was blatantly obvious exactly why his dislike was so strong for the junior tactician. Anytime Hightail was in the company of Prowl, nervous and expectant looks were cast to Jazz, looking for a reaction.

It was no secret now that the TIC had been growing closer to Prowl until they had fought. Nor was the fact that he was sparked a secret. And yet, despite this and all the raging betting pools about who the sire may be, no one had yet to consider Prowl. Other than Blaster, but he had been banned from the betting pools by the saboteur.

Sometimes, Jazz had to simply marvel at the sheer stupidity of some mechs. "No." He said firmly, looking away from Blaster. "Not if he's gonna be there."

"But ya always come t' movie night! Ya could at least pretend not t' be bothered by him-"

"No, Ah can't!" Hissing angrily, Jazz actually rose a little from his chair. "Ya know Ah can't! Ah'm gonna end up punchin' him in the faceplates!"

With a frustrated groan, the tape deck massaged his forehelm in an attempt to ward off his approaching processor ache. "Look buddy, just come along for a while. If ya feel uncomfortable, ya can leave. Ya don't even have t' talk t' anyone! In fact, Ah'd love it if ya could watch over the cassettes for me."

"The cassettes?"

"Yeah. Sometimes they just need someone to watch them, even when they're watchin' a movie. Would ya mind?"

There was a pause, and the visored mech looked away as he thought it through. "Ah guess. But only 'cause ya want meh to."

Clearly relieved, Blaster expelled a large gust of air from his vents and stood up. "Better get goin', then. We're watchin' some horror vid at Hound and Cliffjumper's quarters."

"Help meh up." The carrying mech muttered grouchily, holding out his hands. He grunted as he was hauled to his feet, before stretching his hands high up over his head. "Ugh."

"Gettin' big." The tape deck pointed out cheerfully, grinning as he started making his way to the door of the rec. room.

"Shut up." Barely resisting the urge to smack his friend upside the helm, Jazz stalked after him and into the corridor.

"Ah'm just sayin'. Your stomach armour's gonna have to be removed soon enough."

"Ain't no one gonna take away mah stomach armour." Jazz snapped furiously, marching quickly to keep pace with the taller red mech. "Ah need that. To protect mah stomach."

Shooting his friend a sharp frown, Blaster shook his helm. "Mech, the li'l sparklet needs t' grow. You're just gonna end up stuntin' its growth."

"So you're sayin' Ah'm gonna end up with a short sparklin'?"

"Well, it's probably gonna be short anyway, considerin' your own height."

Jazz stopped dead, staring at the tape deck. Once Blaster realised that he was walking on his own, he stopped and turned back around. "Excuse meh? Say that again, please."

"Uh.." A wince crossed the Communication Officer's face when he realised he had pissed the sparked mech off. "That was just a joke, Ah swear."

"Oh, really? Maybe Ah just didn't understand the punch-line. Repeat it for meh, please."

"C'mon, Jazz.. Ah was just jokin'."

"It. Wasn't. Funny!" With a snarl, Jazz pulled back his arm and punched his friend hard in the face. As the taller mech stumbled back, Jazz whirled on one foot and continued his marching down the hall. He could hear footsteps hurrying after him, but Blaster kept his distance, apparently worrying for his own safety.

Even when Jazz had reached Hound and Cliff's quarters and hammered on the door, the tape deck left a large space between them.

The door slid open, and Hound grinned out at them. "Hey, Jazz! How's it going?"

"Fine." The word was clipped, and Jazz began tapping his foot impatiently as he waited to be let in.

Taking the hint, the green scout stepped aside and raised an optic ridge as the normally friendly TIC stormed passed him. Shifting his attention to Blaster, his grin slipped off his face. "Primus, are you okay?"

"Ah'm fine. Jazz just lost his temper." Blaster murmured, following his smaller companion into the room. Mirage, the twins, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Tracks and the cassette twins were already there and seated comfortably.

"Jazz lost his temper?" Hound couldn't help his surprise; the saboteur's infamous patience was almost enough to rival Prowl's, although in an admittedly different fashion. As Head of Special Ops, it was necessary to have a high level of patience, particularly in high stress infiltration missions.

"Don't ask." The Communication Officer muttered, catching sight of Jazz circling the room. He cautiously edged closer to his friend, although remained out of punching distance. "Hey.. Jazz? Sorry about.. uh.. what Ah said. Ah didn't mean it."

The saboteur turned with a wry smile across his face. "It's fine. Don't worry 'bout it." His smile slipped off suddenly as he caught sight of the taller mech's face. "Blaster, yo' nose is leakin' energon."

"Hm? Oh." Blaster touched his nasal ridge and winced, before forcing a laugh. "Ya punch pretty hard."

A look of horror crossed the TIC's face, and he covered his mouth with his hands. "Oh my Primus... Ah'm so sorry. Ah'm.. oh Primus, Ah'm a horrible person."

Everyone in the room had stopped their conversations and were now watching Jazz's reactions intently. Barely anyone even noticed Hound greeting Prowl and Hightail and welcoming them into the room.

"Nah, Ah'm fine. Seriously, just a little energon. Nothin' t' worry about."

Suddenly bursting into tears, Jazz covered his face and launched himself at Blaster. "Ah'm so s-sorry! Ah dunno what came over me, Ah didn't mean ta, Ah swear! Sorry, Ah shouldn't have-"

"Whoa, calm down." The tape deck soothed, casting a panicked glance around at the completely unhelpful audience. "Don't cry, mech. It was an accident."

"It wasn't an accident! Ah did it on purpose! Because ya were really annoyin' meh 'bout the armour thing, and then ya were suddenly insultin' mah height," his voice was getting steadily louder and angrier, "-and the sparklin's height too, and it's not even been born yet! That's why Ah punched ya in the face!" Jazz was yelling now, with his coolant tears streaming down his face and leaving glowing tracks in their wake. "And ya called meh fat, too! So now Ah sorta think ya deserved t' be punched in the face!"

"You aren't an organic; you can't actually gain fatty substances-"

There were a few yelps and gleeful laughs as Jazz drew back his arm to punch the red mech again, but before he could do anything Hound had leapt forwards and grabbed both his arms. "Okay! Maybe you two should sit down! The movie is starting!"

"Yeah, good idea." Blaster practically fled to the other side of the room and inserted himself in between Bumblebee and Tracks on one of the berths.

Still furious, Jazz turned and made his way over to sit down on a spare couch. Both berths were occupied by Cliffjumper, Mirage, the twins and now Blaster, so the saboteur stalked over to one of the couches and sat down in between the cassette twins. Crossing his arms across his bulging abdomen grumpily, he began to glare at the view screen that had been set up on the wall. He couldn't even be bothered to start wondering how Cliffjumper had managed to procure such an obviously non-standard piece of furniture.

With his advanced Special Ops hearing, Jazz could acutely hear the newly arrived Hightail whispering "Is he okay? What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing." Both Prowl and Hound whispered back quickly, clearly hoping Jazz hadn't heard him. The green scout cleared his vocaliser and gestured. "You can take a seat on the berth next to Cliff and Mirage if you want, and I'll sit next to Blaster and the twins."

As everyone took their seats, Jazz maintained his glare and tried not to be bothered by the fact that Prowl and Hightail were sitting on a berth together. He also tried not to think about how Hightail had managed to get the SIC out of his office and to a social event like this. No one else had ever managed such a feat. It was clear that the cassette twins had noticed the saboteur's mood, because Eject nudged him slightly and flashed his visor cheerfully at him. "How're you doing?"

"Fine."

Undeterred by the clipped answer, Rewind tilted his helm at the older mech and whispered "Can I touch it?"

"Wha'?" Startled, the word came out far louder than it was meant to, and the three of them were quickly subjected to curious stares.

"Everythin' okay?" Blaster called worriedly from his place on Hound's berth.

"Uh.. Yeah." The saboteur replied quickly, never tearing his gaze off of the mostly black cassette. He lowered his voice again to regain some privacy. "Touch... wha'?"

"Your stomach plates. Where your gestation chamber is."

Completely bemused, Jazz could just stare and open his mouth slightly. "Ah.. Ah guess? But.. Why would ya want ta?"

At almost the exact same time, the twins curiously set their hands on the distended abdomen and began softly patting it. Surprisingly, it felt quite relaxing, and Jazz found the tension he hadn't even realised he had melting from his body as he slowly melted back into the couch. He didn't even notice the movie coming on, nor the mechs chatting away behind him. He was focusing entirely on the gentle massage on one of the most stretched parts of his whole body, and how nice it felt.

A glint of amusement flashed through Rewind's visor as he watched the sparked mech's reactions. "We used to do this for carrier when he was carrying Steeljaw whenever he was getting grumpy."

"Ah'm not grumpy." The saboteur mumbled grouchily.

"I know." The cassette soothed, beginning to half-watch the movie out of the corner of his optic.

Noticing this, Jazz gave a small smile and took one of each of their small hands in each of his. "Ah'm fine now, thanks guys. Ya can watch the movie."

"Thanks!" Eject said. He had retracted his face mask and was now grinning comfortably at the screen.

His twin did the same, although instead of leaning back into the couch, Rewind shifted closer to the black and white saboteur and curled up into his side. "Do you feel better now?"

Unable to stop the soft smile spreading across his face, Jazz wrapped an arm around the little data-disk and hugged him back. "Yeah kiddo, Ah do. Thanks. Ya can watch the movie now, if ya want."

Jazz became bored of the movie exceptionally quickly. It was all about the Necrobot and how he raised armies of undead Cybertronians to take revenge against the functioning. Soon enough, the saboteur was drifting into a doze.

He was awoken suddenly by someone burying the face in the crook between his belly and his chassis. Sleepily raising an optic ridge under his visor, he whispered "Rewind? You okay?"

"Rewind's afraid of the Necrobot!" Eject jeered, laughing at the sight of his twin hiding his face. From behind them, there were a few laughs from the berths.

"It's just a movie, Rewind. It's not real." Cliffjumper called from one of the berths, clearly trying to stifle a laugh.

"Hey, you okay?" Clearly concerned, Bumblebee was trying to catch a glimpse of the scared cassette. "It's alright, I used to be afraid of the Necrobot too."

"Maybe someone should take him outside. He shouldn't be watching this if it scares him." Hightail spoke up, watching the small bot with concern.

Barely resisting the urge to snap at the blue tactician about how his input was unappreciated, Jazz motioned at them all sharply to hush. He bent down slightly so Rewind was the only one who could hear him if he chose to speak, and began gently running his fingers along the youngling's neck and back struts. He said nothing, and eventually the cassette raised his helm and stared at the bigger mech through his visor. Jazz smiled, and gently stroked the little bot's helm. "You okay?" He asked quietly.

"I don't like this movie." Rewind whispered weakly. He didn't look at the screen, and he couldn't bring himself to look at the other mechs in the room, so he kept his gaze evenly on Jazz.

"Yeah, Ah'm not too into it either." The saboteur shrugged delicately. "Ah was gonna leave, actually. Do ya wanna come wit' meh? It's cool if ya wanna stay here-"

"No! No, I'll come!" A heavy vent of relieved air escaped the cassette's vents, and he scrambled quickly to his feet.

Without getting up, Jazz glanced around to the mechs on the berths. "Yeah, Ah'm gonna head off. Rewind's comin' with meh. Guess Ah'll see you all tomorrow. You comin'?" He gently nudged Eject and tilted his helm questioningly.

"Are you kidding? It's getting to the best part!" The blue cassette exclaimed, pointing dramatically to the view screen.

The saboteur snorted, before beginning to heave himself off the couch. He winced slightly when he stood as several of his back struts cracked into place. "Ow."

The moment that tiny exclamation of mild discomfort left his lips, the room exploded. Almost every bot jumped to their feet and began reaching for Jazz, and panicked questions were shouted out like rapid fire.

"Are you okay-?!"

"-something gone wrong?"

"-the sparkling moving?"

"What if the sparkling's coming NOW-"

"Somebody call Ratchet!"

Wincing at the noise, Jazz raised his voice to be heard over the clamour of all the idiots in the room. "AH'M FINE!" When the din died down, he glared around at everyone. The only mech who did not look panicked was Prowl; he simply looked exasperated with the rest of the mechs in the room. "Primus, Ah can't even fraggin' stand up off a couch without people makin' a stupid fuss. C'mon, Rewind."

The cassette scampered after the carrier as he stalked angrily out of the room. After a few moments of marching in silence, Rewind spoke up. "So.. Where are we going?"

A rush of air escaped Jazz's vents as he gave a small sigh. "Ah'm kinda tired, so Ah was gonna head back t' my quarters."

"Can I stay over with you tonight?" The cassette whispered, looking pitifully scared. "It's just... I don't think the others will be back for another while, and Steeljaw and Ramhorn are on a recon mission.. I don't want to be on my own."

"It's cool, li'l mech. Ya can stay if ya want. Make sure Blaster knows, though."

"Thank you." Rewind hugged the grown mech's leg as they approached the officers quarters. The TIC just grinned and patted his head as he typed in his code with his spare hand. The first to enter the room was Rewind, and he bounced over to the couch and jumped on it.

Smiling slightly, Jazz followed, though he made a beeline for the berth and promptly fell on it, groaning. "Sorry, li'l mech. Ah'm really tired, so Ah think Ah'm jus gonna sleep."

"That's okay." The cassette assured, scampering over and climbing onto the berth. Curling up into Jazz's side, he offlined his visor and cuddled closer. "I'm tired too."

Barely able to stifle a laugh at that, Jazz drifted into recharge, subconsciously holding the scared cassette close.

...

Jazz slid Mirage's most recent mission report across Prowl's desk, and watched the tactician for a reaction. Barely glancing up, Prowl took the datapad and looked over it swiftly, before looking up at Jazz. "That is fine, you may leave now."

"Ah wanted t' talk t' ya."

"If it is not about work, then I will have to decline."

"Ya need t' listen t' meh! Ah ain't fraggin' anyone else-"

"Jazz, I have no wish to talk about this!" The tactician hissed, shaking his helm. "Whomever you interface with is your business-"

"Ugh!" In his anger, Jazz turned and punched the wall. It seemed he had underestimated his strength, because his fist went straight through the smooth metal with a harsh tearing sound.

"Jazz!"

Irritated, the saboteur tugged his arm out of the wreckage of the wall. "Lucky it wasn't Hightail's face."

"That is quite enough!"

"No, it ain't! Why won't ya listen t' meh?!"

"Because you have nothing to say that I want to hear!"

"How do ya know if ya haven't heard what Ah want t' say yet?!"

Taking a deep intake, Prowl put his helm in his hands. "Ratchet gave me very specific orders not to put you under any stress. It seems that you are stressed right now, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave so you can calm yourself."

"Oh, frag off."

"I swear, I will call someone to remove you from my office!"

"Just listen t' meh!"

"I have enough to do without you bothering me further. It seems that the arrival of a sparkling includes finding larger quarters for yourself and the sire, having low-grade sparkling energon ordered in from Vos, getting-"

"Don't bother, Ah ain't keepin' it." Jazz sighed, massaging his visor in a weak attempt to calm himself down.

The tactician paused, glancing up at Jazz in surprise. "Pardon?"

"Ah ain't keepin' it!"

"What about the other creator?"

A cruel snort escaped the saboteur, and he glared at the wall. "He don't care."

Forcibly preventing himself from correcting his comrades grammar, Prowl frowned. "Well. That.. certainly removes a great deal of paperwork."

With a sigh, Jazz stood up and rested his hands on his swollen bump. "When you're ready t' listen t' what Ah have to say, come find me."

Prowl watched his fellow officer waddle out of his office, an unfamiliar emotion thrumming in his spark.