Optimus sat in the middle of the rec room floor, a content smile on his face. Knightfall sat in front of him, energetically playing with some of the toys that Ratchet had made for the twins' birthday. The little black seekerling had his favorite stuffed animal, a gray and yellow tyrannosaurus rex, and was making it stomp around on the floor, all the while making little roaring noises. The Prime let out a rare chuckle as the toddler started attacking the triceratops toy he held in his servo. Eventually, he let the toy fall over on its side, holding up his servos in defeat. "Oh no! I have lost!" the Autobot leader said with another light chuckle. Knightfall let out a happy giggle, jumping up to his pedes and holding his toy over his head victoriously. "Me Gwimmwock win!" he called out in what he thought was a big tough 'dinosaur' voice.

Megatron watched from his spot across the room, holding a recharging Dawnbreaker against his shoulder. The silver seekerling hugged a gray, yellow and red pterosaur to his chestplates, chewing lightly on one of its wings as he slept. It had been countless ages since he'd been able to stand in the same room with Optimus without feeling the strong urge to decapitate him. Seeing the Prime happily play with his young son was so surreal. He almost couldn't believe it was all over. Though… He really hated to admit it, but he missed this. He missed being around his old friend.

Megatron was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a tug against his shin plating. He looked down, catching optics with Knightfall. "Papa! You come pway?" he asked, flashing his sire a cute grin that he'd discovered the adults had a hard time saying no to. He then held up his stegosaurus toy. "You Snarl!" he added with a playful giggle. The warlord's faceplates flushed slightly as he took a quick glance over at Optimus, who had a smile on his face that Megatron hadn't seen since he was still Orion Pax.

"Err… I'm sorry, Knightfall. I can't come play with you right now. Your brother is asleep." Megatron replied, motioning to the still recharging seekerling resting against his chest. Knightfall lowered his toy from above his helm slowly, a sad pout appearing on his lips. "B-but… You say you pway wif me and Oppy…" he whined out, coolant starting to well up in his optics. The warlord flinched as the toddler let out a soft sob, hugging his stuffed dinosaur tightly against his body. Oh great… Well, he didn't have to worry about Dawnbreaker sleeping on him here in a moment… Suddenly, before the black mechling began to cry, there was a flash of silver in front of him. The next thing he knew, Megatron felt his son being gently lifted off his shoulder, immediately replaced with the stegosaurus toy that Knightfall had just been holding.

"You promised him…" Starscream whispered, narrowing his optics up at his mate in warning. Dawnbreaker remained asleep even after being passed to his carrier's arms, stirring only to shift into a more comfortable position. Megatron vented a sigh, but immediately gave in. The Seeker watched as the warlord made his way over to where Optimus sat, taking a seat across from him. Knightfall immediately let out a happy squeal, picking up his Grimmlock toy as he ran back over to where the two adults were waiting. Starscream smiled softly at the sight of the two former enemies contently playing with his little one. It was as if the war had never happened.


Starscream soon left the rec room in search for a quieter place for Dawnbreaker to sleep. As soon as he made his way out to the main chamber of the Autobot base, he heard the ground bridge activate. The jet looked over in time to see Breakdown arrive through the gate, followed by an absolutely miserable looking Knock Out. The sports car held a servo against his enlarged abdomen, the other servo held by his mate as he gently lead him towards Ratchet's medical lab. The Decepticon medic could be heard letting out a reluctant groan. "Breakdown, I really don't need to be here yet… The sparkling isn't due for another two weeks… Can't we just go back home? I'm tired… I want to go back to recharge…" he whined out, though it looked like Breakdown was having none of it.

"Ratchet needs to look you over before you go into labor so he knows what to expect. You haven't let him examine you since we first came here, the least you could do is let him have this one look at you." Breakdown retorted as calmly as he could. Knock Out vented an aggravated sigh. "But I've already done all the examinations I need! The baby's fine, everything's progressing normally… It's about as textbook as you can get! There's no need for Ratchet to do anything right now!" he argued, hanging on his partner's arm in an attempt to at least slow him down a little. The larger mech rolled his optic at that, not bothered in the slightest by the sports car's 'dead weight' routine. "Y'know, there's a human saying that comes to mind…" he grumbled out. The Aston Martin eased up a bit, giving his mate a questioning look. "Doctors make the worst patients…"


Ratchet looked up when he heard the door to his lab open, raising a single brow plate. Breakdown was practically pushing his reluctant mate into the lab, a frustrated look on his face. Knock Out was trying his best to resist, but was far too exhausted to put up much of a fight. Eventually the blue mech got fed up with it, leaning down and carefully picking his partner up into his arms. The expectant sports car let out a small yelp of surprise before being laid gently down on the medberth. The older medic let a smirk spread across his lips, giving Breakdown a nod of thanks. Knock Out wasn't quite so happy, folding his arms across his chest with a huff.

"I told you there's no need for this…" he growled out. Ratchet let out a scoff, shaking his helm as he walked over towards his equipment. "I hate treating other medics… They always think they can do everything on their own…" he grumbled under his breath, though that was probably the single most hypocritical statement he'd ever made. By the time he'd returned with his scanner, Breakdown had already removed the plating covering his mate's gestation chamber. Well, that was a pleasant surprise. He wasn't used to having someone help him with his patients. Perhaps he should look into getting an assistant of his own…

Knock Out flinched slightly when he felt the cold scanner being pressed against his protoform. He watched as what was by now a very familiar image appeared on the display screen. Even so, Breakdown's optic was glued to the screen, a small smile on his lips. However, before Ratchet got a chance to really examine the unborn sparkling, the med lab door slid open. The sports car sat up slightly in order to peek over his swollen abdomen, catching sight of two huge blue optics peeking around the door frame. Ratchet looked back over his shoulder. "Ah, Bumblebee. Is there something you need?" the medic asked somewhat nonchalantly, prompting a small growl of annoyance from his current patient. "Hey! Shouldn't you keep that slagging door locked? I'd like a little privacy at the very least!" Knock Out complained. The ambulance ignored him for the most part, motioning for Bumblebee to come in. The young scout was hesitant, but eventually skulked his way in, keeping his helm low.

'I-is this a bad time?' he asked in a series of low beeps, eyeing his former rival's bare gestation chamber with wide optics. The expectant mech gave him a vicious glare of warning, making the yellow bot quickly avert his gaze. "No, it's fine. What do you need?" Ratchet asked as casually as ever as he returned most of his attention to the screen ahead. Bumblebee's optics drifted up to the image of the Decepticons' sparkling on the screen, his door wings drooping slightly. Knock Out couldn't help but let out a scoff, finding the young scout's reaction somewhat amusing. "What's wrong, kid? Don't tell me you don't know where sparklings come from." He teased with a small smirk. Bumblebee's wings seemed to droop even further at that. 'U-umm… N-no, I know exactly where they come from…'

Ratchet looked back at Bumblebee, raising a brow plate. "Is something the matter? You're acting strangely…" the old medic asked, turning off the scanning device for a moment. Knock Out's sparkling wasn't going anywhere. He could wait for a few minutes. Bumblebee couldn't, it seemed. Eventually, the yellow sports car vented a heavy sigh, letting his chest plates split open. All three of the other mechs let out a gasp, their optics widening. "Oh Primus, Bumblebee…" Ratchet sighed out, covering his mouth with his servo. He stared into the young mech's spark chamber with stunned optics, focusing on the second tiny spark nestled just below his own.

"B-Bee… You're still practically a child yourself! Aren't you a little young to be carrying a sparkling? Are you even bonded with anyone?" Knock Out stuttered out, a rare hint of concern in his voice. Bumblebee gave an uneasy whistle as he closed his chestplates again, stepping backwards into the corner as if trying to retreat from the lot of them. Ratchet made his way over to the scout, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "It'll be okay, Bumblebee. We'll take care of you and the sparkling. There's nothing to worry about." He reassured softly, rubbing a servo gently down one of the young sports car's arms. Normally, in a situation like this, he would have scolded the carrying mech or femme for being careless, but not now. He could tell how scared Bumblebee was. The last thing he needed right now was a lecture.

Of course, just because Bumblebee didn't need a lecture didn't mean someone else was off the hook. Ratchet could remember seeing the young scout retreating to his quarters with a certain mech several times over the past few months. Honestly, the old medic was genuinely surprised that mech would let something like this happen, accidentally or otherwise. And if he could make a mistake like this, there was no telling what some of the many less responsible bots present could do. This seemed like an issue that needed to be addressed immediately. Screaming at Bumblebee's recent berthmate could wait.


Within the hour, all of the officers from both factions were gathered in the main chamber of the Autobot base, most of them with a confused look on their faces. Ratchet stood by the main control console, Optimus standing just behind him at his side. Most of the others were standing in a group in front of him, but he could see Breakdown sitting towards the back with Knock Out in his lap, his arms wrapped securely around his mate. Megatron and Starscream stood close to those two, the Seeker keeping a close optic on his twins as they played with the human children nearby. Bumblebee was practically hiding in the corner, afraid of what everyone would say when they found out he was with spark. Ratchet didn't mind them sticking towards the back. He wasn't really speaking to any of them, as they all currently had children in one form or another. No, it was the rest of them he was worried about.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, we can get started." the medic announced, raising his voice so that everyone could hear him. They all knew better than to talk while Ratchet was trying to speak, so Autobots and Decepticons alike shut up immediately. They knew that he was likely toting around a good stock of wrenches, and none of them were too keen on testing the old mech's aim today. "I've called you all here to address a potential problem I've noticed recently as a result of the recent truce. While this newfound peace does allow for us to relax quite a bit more than many of us are used to, that is no reason to start getting careless. Yes, it may be safe in theory to start having sparklings, but we simply do not have the resources or man power to deal with any more expectant mechs or femmes right now."

That last part earned a collective "Wait, what?" from the lot of them. Arcee was the first to step forward. "What brought this on all of a sudden? Is someone else carrying now? Who is it?" she asked, folding her arms across her chestplates. Ratchet shook his helm. "I'm sorry, but it's not my place to tell you who it is. In time, he'll come forward on his own." He replied, making sure to not let his optics linger on any one bot for too long. Everyone seemed to draw their own conclusions on the matter however. Most of the Decepticons immediately looked over towards Dreadwing and Skywarp, the latter of the two staring back with a blank look. Arcee, however, immediately looked at Wheeljack and Bulkhead, narrowing her optics slightly. Bulkhead's faceplates immediately heated up.

"Whoah, no! I-it's not me! I mean… I-it's not like I don't… Y'know… B-but it's not me!" the big mech stuttered out nervously, holding up his servos in defense. Suddenly, he let out a high-pitched shriek, feeling someone pinch his aft. He immediately turned around to glare at Wheeljack, who had a mischievous smirk on his face. "Something you're not telling me, Sweet Plates?" the white Wrecker teased, even though he knew for a fact his partner wasn't the one carrying. Bulkhead gave him an aggravated growl, throwing his arms across his chestplates. "You're not helping, Jackie…" he grumbled out.


Bumblebee had snuck away from the group in all the confusion, retreating back to his quarters. He sat down on the edge of his berth, his door wings folding down against his back. He wrapped his arms around himself, venting a heavy sigh. He had no idea what he was going to do. He wasn't ready to have a sparkling! Knock Out had said it best, he was still just a kid himself! He was going to make a terrible carrier! His sparkling was probably going to hate him!

The young scout shook his helm as if trying shake all those thoughts from his head. He had to calm down. Getting himself all upset wasn't going to help at all, it would only make himself feel worse. He vented in a deep intake. Optimus and Ratchet had both promised they'd help him as much as they could, so… It was going to be okay, right? Ratchet knew what he was doing, he'd delivered sparklings before. Hell, he was going to get even more practice with Knock Out in just a few days, so it's not like the old medic was going to be rusty at all. As for Optimus, well… He'd practically raised Bumblebee himself from a youngling. The young sports car looked up to the Prime like he was his own sire. And speaking of sires…

Bumblebee let out a whir of dread, burying his faceplates in his servos. He'd almost forgot about the sparkling's sire... What was he supposed to say to him? How was he going to tell him? And how would he take the news? Would he be angry? Would he even want to have anything to do with the sparkling? Would… Would he leave him? The scout let out a soft sob at the last thought. He didn't want to be all alone…

The sports car froze when he heard the door to his quarters slide open. He waited, listening for Optimus' heavy gait making his way towards him, or Ratchet's reassuring voice calling to him from the doorway. There was nothing. Just silence. Then, he barely heard the soft sound of pedes practically gliding across the floor towards him, coming to a stop next to him. Bumblebee felt his sparkbeat racing in his chest as he felt someone sit down next to him on the berth. He looked up hesitantly, optics wide in fear. Thin digits reached up to caress the young scout's cheek in an attempt to calm him. Bumblebee vented a shaky sigh, averting his optics.

'D-did… Did Ratchet talk to you?' he asked in a series of soft beeps and whistles. His reply was simply a silent nod. The sports car looked back up at him, coolant streaming down his faceplates. 'Soundwave…' he began, burying his face against the Communications Chief's chestplates and wrapping his arms around his thin frame. 'I-I'm scared…' he sobbed out, hugging the Decepticon mech close. Soundwave ran a spider-like servo down the young Autobot's back, his visor screen crackling to life. "Bumblebee: No reason to be afraid." He began in that over-synthesized mechanical voice of his. "Soundwave: Will be here. Always…"