Cliffjumper didn't understand. How could this have happened to him? He was usually so careful when he interfaced. He had had Ratchet install a Primus damned shunt in him to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

But it had been made pretty clear to him by Ratchet that shunts could malfunction. All it would have taken was one extreme overload and his shunt would have malfunctioned almost immediately.

That was fine. It was logical and all. But the problem was that Cliff didn't even remember having such an overload. Well, except in the crazy dreams he had been having.

Was that what had happened?

Had those dreams caused his shunt to malfunction so that the next time he had interfaced with someone he had ended up sparked?

It was the most logical explanation.

But a few things still bothered Cliffjumper.

For one, as far as Cliffjumper knew he hadn't interfaced in a while outside of those dreams. He knew for a fact that when he had gone out drinking, he hadn't had enough or hadn't met anyone that he had wanted to 'face with.

Secondly, Cliff had been working longer joors at work and so hadn't gone out drinking much if at all.

And thirdly, he had been at home the night cycle the supposed conception had taken place.

Put together, it all implied something that made Cliffjumper uncomfortable.

The only other option was that someone had snuck into his home and 'faced him while he was in recharge. And that was something Cliff didn't even want to think about. It made him sick and a little angry. The very idea that someone could have done that to him sickened and frightened him.

But he didn't tell Ratchet about that theory since he had virtually no evidence of it. And he didn't exactly want to have to speak with Enforcers about an assault that might not have happened to him.

So, he kept silent and listened to Ratchet's firm lecture about proper body care during the gestation period of a sparkling. He had already decided to keep it, even though he didn't know how it was created. Because that and whatever had happened to him during the gestation didn't really matter in the long run. The only thing that did matter was the sparkling and it's health.

Because Cliffjumper was a lot of things but he would never ever want to abort a sparkling that was his. He had always promised himself that one orn he would have a normal life with a mate and sparklings.

He had just never expected that the sparkling would happen before the bondmate.

Well, Cliff could adapt. He would have to because he just wasn't willing to get rid of this sparkling.

Although he had very little idea how he was going to figure out where the frag he was going to get transfluid to help create the sparklings frame.

It wasn't like he was seeing anyone seriously right now. And it wasn't like he could still bar hop like usual anymore, since he couldn't drink high grade anymore until the sparkling had been born.

It was frustrating but Cliffjumper would figure it out. He would have to if he didn't want the sparkling to wither away.

He looked up at Ratchet as the medic finished with a, "Do you have any questions, Cliffjumper?"

Cliffjumper hesitated for a moment before he asked, "How long will the little one last if I can't find a donor?"

A frown darted across the medics face plates, as he said, "The sparkling could technically survive on supplements if you can't find a donor. But it would be a hard process for your body, Cliffjumper. It would probably be better if you can find a donor."

Cliffjumper nodded in slight relief before he said, "Thanks, Ratch. That helps."

The medic nodded quietly and then said, firmly, "We need to have regular appointments. Let's get the next one scheduled and then I'll give you the supplements that you'll need to take if you can't find a donor."

The minibot nodded and followed the medic out of the exam room back towards the front of the Med Center. His thought processes turned back to the potential creation of his sparkling. Cliff grimaced now that Ratchet wasn't looking at him.

He needed to figure out what had happened and how the sparkling had been created. He refused to allow any confusion to consume his every thoughts about his little one. And there was only one way he could discover if someone had been slipping into his apartment.

He would have to stay up tonight and wait them out.

Because Cliff had no doubt that the reason behind his strange dreams was involved in this situation.

There were two options that it could be.

Either the mech that had sparked him up had snuck into his apartment and been assaulting him the last few nights which was what incited the dreams. Or it could be that the dreams were actually memories of the actual assault and that the mech in them had somehow made him believe that they were dreams.

But either way Cliffjumper was determined to figure out exactly what was happening.

And that meant staying up the entire night cycle.

111111111111111

Cliffjumper leaned back in his armchair, a cube full of Energon sitting on the table beside him. It contained the supplements that Ratchet had given him and was slowly draining it as he waited. He took another sip of the Energon and flipped to another page of his book file on a datapad.

This was just to cover his bases in case his suspicions turned out to be true and someone was sneaking into his apartment.

Cliffjumper was prepared if someone did sneak into his apartment. He had downloaded the Enforcers number on speed dial and was ready to punch it if someone did come into his apartment uninvited.

He took a deep intake of air and tried to relax in his chair.

And he continued waiting.

1111111111111111

Cliffjumper's helm jerked up. He had heard something. A noise in his apartment's hallway by the front door. Slowly Cliffjumper stood to his pedes and crept out of his living area towards the hallway.

He tightened his grip on the makeshift club he had snatched from the table next to his armchair. It was an artisanal piece he had gotten at an art show he had gone to last vorn. Cliffjumper had liked it cause it could double as a weapon as well as a decoration.

He gripped the thin, swirling crystal sculpture tightly as he slipped through his darkened apartment towards the hallway. As Cliffjumper got closer he could feel his intake rate rise a little as nervousness began to trickle into his spark.

As he stepped close to the open doorway that led to the hall, he staid against the wall for a long moment, gripping the makeshift club tightly as he checked once again that his comm was ready to send an instant message to the Enforcers once he caught sight of whoever was in his apartment.

Well, if there was someone in here.

Cliffjumper took a deep intake of air and settled his racing spark, before he carefully poked his helm into the darkened hallway.

There was no one there.

Cliffjumper nearly began to relax when he noticed that the light of his berthroom was on.

Then his spark rate went up again.

Because he remembered deftly that he had turned the light off when he had headed into his living area.

Cliffjumper attempted once again to calm his racing spark as he headed out into the hallway, moving slowly towards his berthroom. His grip on the makeshift club didn't lesson the longer he held on to it.

Each step was taken carefully so as to not alert whoever was in his berthroom that someone was coming. Cliffjumper tried to slow his intakes so that they wouldn't be obvious in the silence.

He began to listen to see if he could hear anything in his berthroom.

Cliff couldn't hear anything coming from that room, anything at all.

There was nothing but silence in the apartment.

Cliffjumper tensed as he reached his slightly open berthroom door. Slowly he moved his helm so that he could take a peek into the room.

Cliffjumper could feel the tenseness in his frame growing as he caught sight of a shadow in the room. A distinctly mech-shaped shadow that extended out from the wall.

Slowly Cliff prepared himself, feeling anger beginning to grow in his spark as he prepared to jump whoever was in his berthroom. He was going to pound whoever it was for doing this to him when he was defenseless, no matter who the fragger thought he was.

Cliffjumper prepared his makeshift club and then got into position.

He took a soft deep intake of air. . . and then kicked the door open and dove towards the origin of the shadow, slamming into what looked like a blur of bright yellow.

He rammed into the mech in the room, who let out a soft grunt of surprise as Cliffjumper slammed the club against the mech's stomach plating as hard as he could. Cliffjumper managed to get in one more good hit before the makeshift club was caught in a clawed servo.

The mech who Cliff still couldn't exactly see clearly in the dim lighting, twisted the weapon out of his servos and then began to reach for him. Cliffjumper snarled and angrily attempted to punch where the mech's faceplate was, backing up and beginning to comm the Enforcers.

That comm was shut off almost immediately, before it could even connect with a message that Cliffjumper was out of range of communications. It was then that Cliff could feel himself begin to panic a little.

He couldn't get a hold of the authorities. He was trapped in his apartment with the mech that had probably assaulted and sparked him up. And he was completely alone.

Cliff turned heading back out where he had come, intent on leaving the apartment as quickly as he could and finding a place, he could contact the Enforcers.

That didn't happen because the mech grabbed him from behind and yanked him backwards, hard. Cliffjumper snarled angrily and began to kick and struggle in the tight grip of the mech holding him.

The mech carried him back into his berthroom and Cliffjumper could feel his spark begin to pound harder in his chassis.

Was this mech going to assault him again?

Was this mech going to kill him because he knew what the mech was doing to him?

What was going to happen?

All those questions incited more anger in him than ever before. Cliffjumper snarled out, "Put me down and leave me alone, you fragger!"

The mech said nothing, just yanked Cliffjumper's servos behind his back and began to tie them together. Cliffjumper began to kick at the mech's knees as he tried to twist his servos out of the mechs grip.

That of course didn't work, and his servos were bound behind his back tightly.

Cliffjumper snarled in anger and gave another hard kick at the mechs knees as the mech set him down on his front on the berth. Cliff could feel a knee slide in between his legs then and reacted with anger and fear.

"Stop! Don't touch me! Leave me alone! Leave me. . ."

A clawed servo wrapped around his mouth, stopping his words from being legible. Cliffjumper twitched in more fear as the knee began to rub against his interface panel for a moment before it was pulled back away from him.

Cliffjumper could feel as the mech's other clawed servo carefully touched at his aft, rubbing and petting it before that servo laid down on the small of his back. Then the mech started to turn Cliffjumper over onto his back.

The clawed servo on his mouth remained for a moment before sliding off and going down to Cliffjumper's waist instead. Cliff struggled to see the mech standing over him, as the lights began to slowly brighten in his berth room.

Cliffjumper froze as he stared up at the mech on top of him.

He couldn't believe it.

That wasn't possible.

Because the mech standing over him was the exact mech he had been dreaming about for the last few orns and he looked exactly the same.

There was only one thing Cliffjumper could say.

"You?"