Arcee woke up in the middle of the night, clutching her chestplates, in pain. She shook Optimus. "Something's wrong!"

"Arcee!" Optimus couldn't keep the panic out of his voice. He opened an emergency comm. "Ratchet, we need you!"

Ratchet was there before the comm was even closed. "Arcee? What's happening?"

"It hurts. It feels like my chestplates are trying to open. I...I can't stop them!"

"It's too early." Ratchet muttered as he scanned her.

"Optimus," he said, "put pressure on her chestplates. Keep them closed. . .we're going to carry her to the medbay."

Optimus picked Arcee up in one arm, keeping pressure on her chestplates with the other hand. They walked carefully but quickly to the medbay. He laid her down, but kept his hand on her. Ratchet scanned the sparkling.

"Arcee, can you hear me?" Ratchet said. She nodded, in too much pain to reply. "The sparkling is fine. It's too early for it to be born, but it is not in distress. I'm going to induce stasis. That should help your chestplates to relax and stay closed, and give me some time to figure out what's going on."

Arcee nodded again. Optimus leaned over to whisper "I love you" into her audio receptors, then she closed her optics.

"Keep applying pressure, Optimus," Ratchet said. "I'm going to run some tests."

Optimus nodded, glad to be able to help. He was terrified, and he was certain that Ratchet could tell. He didn't want to even think about the possibility of losing Arcee or the sparkling that they loved so much and had worked so hard to create. He whispered words of love and encouragement to both of them, and prayed to Primus that they would be ok.

Finally, Ratchet turned from his monitors. "Arcee will be fine. She's not in any danger. The sparkling will be fine as long as her chestplates stay closed. It's perfectly healthy. Something in Arcee's systems is trying to expel it early, but I do have a solution. I can synthesize a drug that will relax her chestplates, helping them to stay closed. I'll also weld a strip of metal across them, to take the place of the pressure you're currently applying."

"And that will fix the problem?"

"It should. The real test will be what happens when she comes out of stasis, but I believe it will work." Ratchet paused, then added "I will recommend that she spend at least the next several weeks just resting. She can move around the base, but must remain sitting or lying down for the majority of the time."

"She's not going to like that, but I'm certain she will agree to whatever keeps the sparkling safe." Optimus said. "I'll help with the welding."


Several hours later, Ratchet administered the first dose of the drug that would hopefully keep Arcee's chestplates from trying to open. A stip of metal had been welded across her chest, and Optimus finally removed his hand. They waited a few moments, but nothing happened.

"So far, so good." said Ratchet. "We are ready to bring her out of stasis."

Optimus knelt next to the berth, holding Arcee's hand and making sure she could see him when she woke up. He was still scared, but he knew she would wake up terrified for their sparkling. He concentrated on sending feelings of calm though their bond, so that that would be the first thing she felt when she woke up. He nodded to Ratchet, who turned off the machine.

Nothing happened.

Which was good, because although she didn't wake up, her chestplates stayed firmly closed.

Ratchet scanned her. "She is sleeping deeply, but not in stasis anymore. The sparkling is still fine, and her chestplates are still relaxed. She will wake up soon."

"Thank you, Ratchet," Optimus said, and Ratchet could see the deep gratitude in his optics. "I will remain with her. You should get some rest."

"I'm not going back to sleep. It's nearly time to wake up anyway." Ratchet replied. "I'll be in the lab if you need me. I want to know about anything that changes."

Optimus sat and watched Arcee as she slept. He hid the terror of the last few hours, concentrating on sending just calm and love through their bond. He loved her so much; he wasn't sure what he would do if anything happened to her, or to their sparkling.

Arcee's sparkbeat monitor sped up, causing Ratchet to come into the room. She moaned, and Optimus could feel how scared she was. He whispered "I love you" and "our sparkling is fine" into her audio receptors as she woke up.

As Arcee gained consciousness, the last thing she remembered was that Ratchet had been trying to stop the sparkling from coming too early. She could feel that Optimus was calm, which eased her fears some. She could also feel the sparkling's sparkbeat next to hers, which helped calm her fears more.

Arcee opened her optics. "Optimus?" she whispered hoarsely.

"I'm here." he answered immediately.

"Sparkling?"

"Our sparkling is fine," he assured her.

"What happened?"

Ratchet stepped in to explain. "Your chestplates tried to open to expel the sparkling, like they normally would when it is time for it to be born. It's too early though, and the sparkling is not strong enough yet. I've synthesized and administered a drug that relaxes your chestplates, keeping them from opening on their own. We also welded a brace across them to keep them closed."

"Thank you, Ratchet," Arcee said as she tried to sit up.

"Take it easy," he replied. "Don't sit up yet. You're staying here for observation for the rest of the day."

"Ratchet-"

"And you're on light-or-no-duty for the duration. Sitting down or laying down only; you can move between rooms, but that's it. And you always need to have someone with you," Ratchet finished his instructions. Now he waited to see how she would take it.

"Is that really necessary?"

"We can reevaluate in a few weeks. But for the health of your sparkling, I believe it is necessary at this time."

Ratchet and Optimus could both see the struggle on her face as she accepted that she had to follow the instructions, for the sake of her sparkling. "Ok," she said, "I can do that."

"How are you feeling?" Optimus asked as Ratchet turned away.

"I'm scared," she whispered. "I can't lose our sparkling. I don't know what I would do…" she choked back her tears.

He pulled her gently into his arms, careful of the monitors still attached to her. "Our sparkling is healthy and strong," he said. "I am confident that it will remain so. I know it will be difficult for you to take it easy, but it isn't forever."

"I know," she replied. "And I will do anything I need to do to keep it safe."

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Rest now. The children are in school, so the base will be quiet for several hours. I love you."

"I love you too, Optimus."


These are the first 2 scenes I had outlined for chapter 12. Once I was done with them and checked the word count, I decided to split it into 2 chapters. That also means that I can post this now, so ya'll can stop worrying about the sparkling!

Remember, I promise a happy ending! I never promised an easy pregnancy :)