Author's note: Here is the next installment! Thank you all for your support! We are so close to the end now! It's taking a little longer than I expected, to which I am sorry for. But please bare with me! Let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Warnings: Nothing really, except maybe language.
Word Count: 5,235
People had been skirting around Sam for a week. No one really knowing what to say to him. He spent so much of this passed week standing in front of the sparkling's pod in the Medbay. Optimus and Bumblebee hovered. A lot. Ratchet more often than not would shoo all of them away because they've been hanging around without any real reason other than to take up space. Many of the Autobots have cycled through the Medbay, a place normally avoided, but the baby Cybertronian there is the center of attention. Each day, Ratchet would send the crowd away, but Sam would found himself standing there again the next morning. Sam was trying hard not to let this consume his life but all he could do was stand there and stare at the sleeping husk of a Cybertronian life.
Megatron's unborn, sparkless child. This would have been one of the bodies walking around had Megatron been victorious and gotten the power of the All Spark or even the Matrix. If Sam is somehow able to give this little body life, would that mean that somehow, Megatron won?
Sam shakes his head, but it's difficult with Bumblebee hanging off of him like a monkey on his back. Bumblebee's arms are wrapped around Sam's waist while his chin lay on Sam's right shoulder. Definitely out of the two he's destined to be with, Bumblebee is the more overly affectionate one. Optimus isn't very big on touching. He's done it before, but when it comes to comfort: a hand on the shoulder or simply drawing it from his presence is enough. And Sam is okay with that. He's not all that sure if he would be okay with two robots in human form hanging off of him all the time.
"This is the first time I've ever seen one" Bumblebee says softly in Sam's ear. The brunette turns slightly to look at him.
"Seen what?"
Bumblebee's blue eyes stare locked on the small pod housing the Cybertronian baby. "A Sparkling."
Sam feels a stab of guilt in his gut. All he's been focusing on is how he feels about this. Whether or not he should give this Sparkling life or not just on the principle that it was spawned from Megatron. But it never really occurred to Sam that maybe the Autobots wouldn't even care. They would be able to overlook it because this is a baby and they haven't seen one in a very long time.
"If I can give this sparkling life, I should, right?" Sam asks softly. Bumblebee makes a strange noise in his ear but Optimus turns to look at him with an unreadable expression.
"I think," Optimus says slowly, "that you should do what you think is right."
Sam grunts at that answer. "Thanks All Spark for your thinly veiled lessons."
Optimus smiles faintly at that. "I'm sorry, Sam. There isn't really anything else I can say. I can tell you what I really think you can do, but judging by your hesitance on the matter, I would assume it's not something that you would actually like to hear." Sam gives him the most sassy, 'try me' looks he can. Optimus looks back over at the Sparkling. "I think, regardless of what holds you back, that everything deserves a chance to live."
"Especially if the fear stems from something as trivial as lineage?" Sam asks quietly.
"That..." Optimus says slowly, "depends..." He looks back over at Sam with the same bright blue eyes as Bumblebee, but his are older and wiser and can see right through Sam.
Sam looks over at the pod and nods toward it. "It's Megatron's." Bumblebee stiffens against him. "I mean, I know you guys don't really focus heavily on family dynamics, but humans do. And I just... I can't get over this. Should I help it because it's a baby and disregard everything Megatron has done? Is that even right? Or am I just punishing someone for something that is completely beyond their control?" There is a long stretch of silence between the three of them. Sam not sure if Optimus or Bumblebee know how to answer those questions. The sounds of the Medbay can be heard around them. Sam looks over at Optimus and asks softly, "What do I do?"
"I know. I've known all along that this was one of the Sparklings that Megatron created," Optimus says, looking down at Sam with sad eyes. "And I still believe that each life deserves a chance. This little one shouldn't be denied a chance to live based solely on what he may become."
Sam looks back over at the pod. "He will be the next Lord High Priest. Like Megatron."
"No," Optimus says, turning back to the pod as well. "He will be better than Megatron, but love just as much."
"The All Spark said that too. Said that if the Spark holds too much love, it's Lord High Priest. I don't understand that. In my opinion Megatron was anything but loving," Sam says, still looking at the pod. Bumblebee makes a noise of agreement.
Optimus sighs, tiredly. "It was an old saying taught to us in school. The Priest held unwavering love so much so it could be cruel while the Prime held so much loyalty it could be crippling."
Sam shakes his head, letting out a puff of laughter. "It is so crazy how well that fits." Optimus makes an indignant noise at that.
"All Megatron wanted was to continue the race and the teachings, but along the way he lost sight of what was really important. Of what really mattered and it ended up being his downfall," Optimus says slowly. He raises his hand to his chest. "We do not get to chose what our sparks feel. At least, no more than how you can decide your own genetics."
Sam nods. "I guess so. The All Spark said that I would just know how to do it. Like something instinctual. I didn't have the heart to tell her that humans have been fighting their instincts for a very long time." That comment didn't get the round of applause it probably deserved, but it did get a few chuckles from both Bumblebee and Optimus.
"The All Spark has been on Earth for a long time," Optimus says after a few moments of silence. "I'm sure it knows that you can do it. When the time comes, I know you will be able to do it. Don't think about whether the little one has good genes or not, just think about all the good you are doing for us. Each Sparkling you give life to, is one more chance that our race will survive. Things are going to be different this time around. Perhaps that is where we went wrong. We never thought to let the Sparklings really grow up with the ones who the All Spark blessed into existence to."
Sam nods slowly. "Kinda like how we humans do it?" Optimus hums softly in affirmation.
Sam leans back into Bumblebee's embrace, wondering if he'll be able to see this celestial sign that everyone was talking about. Would he really just know or should he put a little more thought into it? Wait, how did the All Spark do it? Sam had to think back to when he saw the All Spark bring Jazz to life. The All Spark zapped their sparks with it's own energy and then was able to create a tiny spark from theirs.
Or a small spark from pieces of their sparks.
Or a small spark from pieces of their sparks held together by the power of the All Spark.
Sam stood there, mind racing. Bumblebee makes a worried noise, feeling Sam stiffen in his arms. He pulls away slightly to look at Sam, worried when the boy didn't immediately sate his fear but instead stared forward, lost in his own thoughts. Slowly, Sam peels himself from Bumblebee's hold to take a step closer to the pod and the baby inside. He looks inside the pod to see what might be considered a head amongst all the wires and mechanics inside.
Sam turns away from it to look around the room, trying hard to pluck the answer from the tip of his brain. If the power of the All Spark somehow stitches the two pieces of the sparks together... then how the hell is Sam going to do that?
Wait... instinct. It's all instinctual.
"I need a spark," Sam says, looking between Optimus and Bumblebee. His eyes wide. "Quick! Where are your real bodies? Get them here, quick!" Bumblebee opens his mouth but Sam grabs his shoulders. "Now, Bumblebee, before I lose it!" The blond nods quickly, eyes wide.
A long moment later Optimus and Bumblebee's bodies come racing into the room. Bumblebee tripped and stumbled a few steps before regaining his footing and making his way over to Sam. Both drop down to a knee in front of the human boy. Ratchet steps into the doorway, probably having heard the sound of Optimus and Bumblebee running through the base like a heard of rhinos.
"What's going on?" Ratchet asks.
Sam doesn't seem to hear him. The brown haired young man looks between the two Autobots before stepping up to Optimus. "L-Let me see your spark." The words sound strange to Sam and he almost wondered if Optimus was going to tell him to shove off, but a moment later, just like when he explained how to destroy the All Spark back in Mission City, he pulled back his chest plates to reveal the bright, blinding light of his spark.
Sam hesitates, wondering what in the world he is going to do before just letting himself move. Act based on instinct. Here's to hoping he doesn't burn the shit out of his hand. "This..." Sam says softly, staring into the bright light of Optimus's spark, "will probably feel weird." Then, on a limb, he reaches into the spark. Optimus jolts, like he wants to pull back but steels himself and stays put.
Instead of burning Sam alive, like he expected, it felt... pleasant. It felt like he was touching Optimus in light form. It felt kind, loyal, strong, faithful, wise, all words that Sam would use to describe the old bot. As Sam pulls his hands back out, a piece of Optimus's spark follows his hands out. It's small, probably the size of a golf ball. A quick glance up at Optimus shows that, other than being a little freaked out, there isn't anything noticeably wrong with him. Even though Sam did just pull a chunk of his soul out of him, but whatever.
Sam cradles the little piece of Optimus's spark, it's very malleable. It has no feel to it, it wont even touch Sam's hands it just hovers centimeters above with this bright blue glow around it. Sam looks over at Bumblebee. "Okay Bee, let's see it."
Bumblebee makes a concerned noise, glancing quickly over to Optimus, who puts his armor back into place, running his hand over his spark chamber in a daze, probably wondering if Sam really was holding a piece of his spark. Bumeblebee reveals his spark hesitantly and Sam moves the tiny half-spark into one hand and reach into Bumblebee's chest.
It's playful and loving and loyal and so Bumblebee. Sam pulls his hand away and feels a little piece, just like with Optimus's, of the young yellow bot's spark came out with it. Sam looks between the two golfball sized sparks and brings them close together, just letting himself move. He hopes this doesn't cause some kind of miniture nuclear explosion or something. He would be really pissed, and have a few choice words for Falada-Feirin and Primus. And a lot of them would make his mother cry and his father shake his head in aghast.
He holds the two parts of what he holes will be a new little spark together and pull them close to his chest. He closes his eyes and tries to force all of his love and his happiness and his confidence into the small ball of light. In his mind's eye he can see all the smiling and excited faces of all of his friends and family. Autobots and human. All of the people that have every meant anything to him at all.
Bumblebee makes a noise of awe, a soft whirling noise. Sam can hear Ratchet approaching slowly and Optimus take in a sharp breath. Sam opens his eyes and stares down into the now single orb of light. It's bright and warm and so loving. It's still about the size of a golfball, only slightly bigger, but it shines brighter as a whole spark than two pieces. Sam can feel the endless amount of love pouring off of it in near tangible waves. So this is what the All Spark meant. This is what it means to hold the soul of the Lord High Priest in the palm of his hand.
Sam turns tentatively toward the small, awaiting body. Once again, he's worried about whether or not he should be giving this soul to the body of a spawn of Megatron, but from the awestruck look on the three Autobots' faces, he knows he has to.
Sam turns half way back to the pod when he hears the sound of heavy footsteps racing into the room. First it's Prowl, eyes wide. Then the twins; Mudflap and Skids. Then all of the Autobots begin piling into the room. Someone must have tipped them off about what Sam was going. They all stare at him with wide eyes, looking down at the glowing light in his hands. All of them holding the breath they don't need.
Sam rolls his eyes and turns the rest of the way to the pod. "Ratchet?" he calls out to the old bot.
There is a long pause when the green Autobot finally realizes that it was his name that was called. "Huh? What is it, Sam? What can I do for you?" His voice is so soft, so hypnotized. A zing of pleasure goes through Sam. They are excited. Like really excited. All of them want to see this little body up and moving around again. Maybe Sam was thinking too much about it.
"Can you open this for me?" Sam asks, looking down at the little pod, then over his shoulder at the old medical boot.
Ratchet nods swiftly, walking a step or two closer to the pod before lasers from his eyes hit a flat panel on the pod before it makes a loud hissing noise and pops open. Sam has to step back to avoid the thick white smoke that comes billowing out of it. He looks over his shoulder at the medic again, eyebrows pulled together slightly.
"Is it suppose to do that?" he asks.
"Yes," Ratchet says simply. The wide eyed look on his face gives Sam the impression that 'yes' in that chipped tone, is all that he's going to get on the matter. So once it settles down and the smoke stops, Sam walks closer and looks down into the pod. Even now he still can't really distinguish any of the black metals on the small bot to the metals on the inside of the pod.
There is a slot though, in the very center of the chest of the little body that Sam immediately recognizes as an empty spark chamber. Sam hesitates once more, before shaking his head and lowering the small spark into it's chest. He pulls his hands away and the spark floats peacefully in the chamber. For a moment nothing happens and Sam has a strike of fear go through him. What if he had messed up? What if he somehow did this wrong and the little body would never move?
But before Sam can really start to panic, the little body convulses. And it's not like a little twitch here and there. No, it was full on body spasming out. Flopping around wildly. Little blue bolts of electricity circulate through the sparkling's body. Sam hesitates, wondering if this was hurting the little guy. His gets his answer mere moments later when the little body bends outward letting out a shrill noise of pain.
Sam stumbles back a step or two before falling onto his bottom, eyes wide when the sparkling falls out of the pod and twitches around on the floor. Flopping around like a fish out of water. Medical lasers from both First Aid and Ratchet, Sam assumes, start scanning the whining sparkling. It flops onto it's stomach and stops, opening it's eyes. One bright blue, one bright red. The left and the right. Both eyes stare lazily back at Sam for a moment before it slowly lifts itself up and flops toward him. Like he's in some kind of horror story, Sam scoots away a little but stops again at the whine coming from the Sparkling.
It struggles, moving it's body tiredly, continuously flopping, then stopping as if to try and regain it's strength before flopping toward the young human again. Finally, it manages to crawl between his legs and flop onto his stomach. It's tiny. Only about two and a half feet in length and built like a small child. It has no armor at all, it's just the bare bones. But it's almost twenty pounds, a lot lighter than Sam expected. It crawls as close to Sam as it can before relaxing, letting out another soft whine, this one less pained and more tired.
Sam slowly reaches out and touches the side of it's head. It trills tiredly and leans against Sam heavily, blue and red eye shuttering closed. Sam pulls it closer, mesmerized by the tiny, frail body. It compacts itself, pulling it's knees up to it's chest and then wrapping it's little arms over them. Sam shakes his head slowly, unable to believe what he's seeing. He did this. He gave this little baby life. And just like that, staring down at the little sleeping face, Sam knew that this little life wasn't Megatron's. Ultimately, it wasn't really Sam's either.
It was all Cybertronian kind's.
Sam just stares down at the little body for a long time. He can hear the Autobots moving around him, but he can't pull his eyes away. The baby curls up against Sam, actively looking for his body heat. Sam has to wonder if his small human body could provide enough for the little guy. If Sam thinks about it, the carrier Cybertronian that takes on the female role of carrying the Sparkling, would carry it in a compartment just under their spark chamber. That's got to be pretty hot.
"I did it," Sam hears himself whisper. Bumblebee makes a low whirling noise, lowering to a crouch on all fours to get a good look at the Sparkling.
"Is he okay, Ratchet?" Optimus asks, stepping back a bit to let the medic get a good look at the little one. Ratchet lowers himself in front of Sam and scans the curled body of the Sparkling. Green lazers covering it's body before pulling back. He pulls open a little tab on his forearm and looks at the readings with expert eye, he nods slowly.
"Yes, Optimus. He's okay. Just exhausted. Sparklings can't move too much in the beginning of their lives. They rely on the carriers to keep them safe. It seems this little Sparkling thinks of Sam as it's carrier." Ratchet makes an amused noise, before grinning down at Sam and the baby. "Sorry, Sam."
The Autobot liaison manages to muster up a scowl up at the old medic. "I am nobody's momma, Ratchet. Come on now."
Bumblebee makes an amused sound. Sam sends a glare his way as Ratchet says, "I'm sorry, Sam. Sparklings are very clinging the first few years to their carrier. It won't be too bad, though. Scouts honor." Was it just Sam or was there a bit of humor edging its way into Ratchet's voice?
"Oh bite me, Ratchet," Sam says, only slightly annoyed. He looks down at the little body again, eyebrows pulling together. He sighs a little. "I have no idea how to take care of a baby, let alone a baby from a different planet." He reaches down and lightly touches it's head, afraid to put too much pressure on it. What if they were just as delicate as human babies? How would that look? First Sparkling born on Earth dies due to negligence on it's creators behalf.
Sam cringes a little at the thought.
"Don't worry," Dustyrose says suddenly, surprising Sam with how close behind him she was. "We will help you. This youngling is our future too."
Sam looks up at her surprised. He had always had this distinct impression that the gray bot had no love for him, but it seems her instincts are pushing past her possible dislike of Sam into something more nurturing for the Sparkling. Sam decides then that he's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If she wants to help raise the youngling, like hell is Sam going to ask her to stop.
"Can I help?" First Aid asks softly, looking down at the Sparkling.
"Sure!" Sam says throwing his hands up into the air for a moment before putting them back down to stabilize himself with the weight of the youngling on him.
"Oh," Arcee says, taking a few steps closer. "And me too, right Sam?"
Sam lets out a little huff of air, feeling the burn in his nearly nonexistent abs, with the strain of holding his weight and that of the Sparklings. "The more the merrier, Arcee." She makes a pleased noise. Sam shrugs his shoulders to no one. "Has anyone ever heard the human saying: It takes a village to raise a child? Yeah, I feel like that's going to be case here." Sam looks around to see some of the Autobots adopting that far away look and he knows that they are looking up the saying.
It's only after that that the rest of the Autobots chime in with their own desire to be part of the village and raise this youngling. Sam feels a smile cross his face and his earlier annoyance has long since passed. He looks back down at the sleeping Sparkling. "You're not going to have the most normal family ever, little guy, but there will be a lot of love, I'm sure."
Bumblebee nods briskly in Sam's peripheral. Sam looks up at Optimus and stares. The old bot looks so blindingly happy. Sam remembers when he came to the realization that Optimus was ashamed of wanting to leave his people behind, forsaken them to death without ever being able to have children again without the All Spark. But now, here it is, the relief that Optimus has been waiting for, whether he knew it or not. This little Sparkling is going to be carrying a lot of people's hopes and dreams for a while.
Sam finally lowers himself completely to his back, sighing in relief once the tension is released from his stomach. "Damn, Ratchet, how long is he going to be sleeping like this?"
Ratchet makes a humming noise and taps his chin in consideration. "Not too long, I'd say. Probably a year or two."
"What?" Sam shrieks. "I can't be sitting here like this for a year or two! I got shit to do." He hesitates a moment before looking down at the small body on his lap. "Don't... uh, don't repeat that, okay little guy?" The Sparkling doesn't react, just continues sleeping away.
"I'm messing with you, Sam," Ratchet says and Sam has to wonder how those words tasted. "The Sparkling is full grown already, it's just tired from being born essentially. It will be up and moving around in a day or so. Two at the most."
Sam lets out a sigh of relief, pillowing his head with his hands. "That's better at least." Bumblebee reaches out with his pointer finger and lightly strokes the small body, making a loving cooing noise. The Sparkling responds to the touch with a little coo of it's own. Bumblebee makes a noise of excitement and Optimus chuckles something that sounds like "children" but Sam can't be sure.
They move Sam back to his room, the Sparkling attached to him, whining loudly every time the young human tries to pull himself away from it's iron grasp. The Autobots wait on him hand and foot. Getting him everything he needs while he's unable to leave the Sparkling's side. He's couped up on his bed with the Sparkling curled up at his side. He's going through paperwork that he's been skipping out on the past few days. Giving out updates to the President and Mearing.
For a long moment, half way through his report, he stops. Sam looks over at the sleeping Cybertronian next to him. It's little head is on his knee. Poor thing is no bigger than three or four year old human child and without any armor, it's stick thin. It's not dreaming, so it doesn't move. It falls into a position and it stays there unless Sam moves. It makes an annoyed noise every time that Sam shifts because it pulls it from it's sleep.
"How are you doing Sam?" Ironhide asks, standing in the doorway with his human form. "Do you need anything?" His blue eyes flicker down to the small Sparkling sitting next to him. Sam shakes his head. Not that it really mattered, the weapons specialist only came in to see the Sparkling, as had every other Autobot before him for the past three hours.
"Don't worry abou' nothin'," Wheelie says, jumping up onto the bed, on Sam's other side. "We' be lookin' after him."
Ironhide gives him an annoyed look but Sam looks away, going back to his work. "I'm good, Ironhide. Thanks," Sam says softly, considering what to do.
"Uh, okay. Uh, that's good."
Sam smiles faintly. "Bye Ironhide."
"Oh," the army man looks around for a moment before nodding, more to himself than to Sam. "Yeah, um, bye..." The man turns away for a moment, before vanishing into thin air. Sam lets out a huff of an amused breath .
A soft knock on the door pulls his attention away, yet again. "Come in," he calls, slightly annoyed. The door opens and Maggie sticks her head in.
"Hey, busy?" she asks, stepping in, regardless and closing the door behind her.
Sam shakes his head, hands hovering over the keys of his computer. "Uh, no. What can I do for you, Maggie?" He shakes his head and leans back against the wall, rubbing his face tiredly.
She sits herself onto the bed next to him, pausing a moment before picking up Wheelie and scooting back against the wall shoulder-to-shoulder with Sam, laying the little ex-Decepticon onto her lap. She looks down at his computer, skimming it with her eyes before looking over at him. "I came to see how you were, but now I see that we have something more important at hand." She nods toward the computer. "Are you going to tell them about you? About the baby?"
Sam groans loudly, rubbing his face again. "I don't know. I should. I'm a loyal American, but... I don't know. No one really knows how to feel about the Autobots and aliens in general, if I tell them that I'm no longer normal, what will that do? Will they pull me from my duty? Will I disappear like in one of those old spy movies? I don't know. On the other hand, they may try and take the baby away to study it. The least dangerous Cybertronian to step foot on this planet, thus far and I'll be damned if he becomes some kind of science experiment."
Maggie nods in understanding but doesn't comment, which Sam is grateful for. They sit in silence listening to the sound of the computer blowing air from its vents. Wheelie stares at Sam in that stretch of silence before finally asking, "Would dey really do dat, Sam? Take da little one away?"
Sam shakes his head. "I don't know, Wheelie. I just don't know."
"If dey try... we ain't gonna let 'em, righ'?" Wheelie asks, looking past Sam to the little form, slightly larger than his own.
"Never," Maggie says immediately, then she looks at Sam with big blue eyes. "We aren't, right Sam?" Sam doesn't respond, looking at the little baby, trusting him whole-heartedly to keep him safe. It knows nothing of Sam. It doesn't even know that Sam was debating just hours ago, whether to let it live or die. And it trusted him without a moment of doubt to protect it. "Sam?" Maggie says softly, eyebrows pulling together.
"Right," Sam says softly, laying a hand on it's little head. "Nothing is going to get it's hands on this little guy." A smile works it's way across his face "He is the future after all."
Maggie nods in agreement, lowering her head onto his shoulder. Sam brings his hand back over the keyboard and types away.
And, as per new developments in the case of the Autobots and their co-operation with NEST forces and myself, nothing has changed. It is with a firm hand and a kind heart, do I believe that the Autbots will continue to live here in peace with humans.
It's dark out and Sam has turned out the lights hours ago. He's curled up around the Sparkling, staring at it. Is this how parent feel? Staring at something that they breathed life to? It looks so delicate. So small next to Sam. Yes, it is made of metal, but in Sam's eyes it could blow away into the breeze or be hurt by the simplest of things.
Sam reaches out and caresses it's little face with growing affection. "I will protect you, little one. I swear it. I don't care who made you. You are ours, mine, NEST and the Autobots. And we, little one, are yours." Sam closes his eyes. "I was able to do it All Spark. Maybe, just maybe, I can save the race."