It had been a long day for the autobots and their human friends. After a three month pregnancy and five hours of waiting, Arcee and Ratchet's twins were finally born. While everyone was happy for them, they all knew things would change. One of them being Arcee would be spending less time with the team. This mostly had to do with caring for the sparklings. The team also agreed that they would go to great lengths to protect them and offered to help out with the twins when they could.
After two hours, Ratchet went to check on Arcee. He found his mate was awake, the twins were quietly resting next to their mother.
"It's been a couple hours, think you can handle a few visitors?" Ratchet asked.
"I think so." Arcee replied.
Ratchet nodded and left to get the other bots and the humans. Fowler had arrived moments ago, he had been tied up with work and hadn't received the voice message June left for him.
"All right, go on in." said Ratchet as he held the door open.
Everyone walked in quietly save for Smokescreen who tripped over Ultra Magnus.
Arcee laid in the berth, covered with a large gray blanket. She was also propped up with a couple pillows.
She was greeted by her friends and teammates with a series of hellos, hi, and how are you doing.
"I'm fine, really...just tired." Arcee replied.
"Yikes, sounds like that had to hurt." said Smokescreen.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"It did, but I guess you never heard me screaming, did you?" Arcee asked.
"Oh, we heard you all right." Jack assured her.
"I've never been in so much pain in my life...but they were worth every minute of it." Arcee said with a smile.
She gently nudged the twins with her left hand.
"Wake up, you two." Arcee said softly.
Both Stella and Diesel woke up and looked around. The twin sparklings froze at seeing the other bots and humans.
Ratchet and Arcee couldn't help but laugh at their reaction.
"It's ok, little ones." Arcee assured them.
Ratchet picked up Diesel and went over to Optimus, the red and blue mech smiled at the little sparkling.
"Hello there,"
Diesel was surprised at the size difference between his Sire and Optimus.
"You want to hold him?" Arcee asked.
"If it's all right with you." Optimus replied.
"Go ahead," said Ratchet.
He handed Diesel over to his friend. Optimus couldn't help but smile at the orange and white newborn. Diesel's colors, markings and eyes were just like Ratchet's.
"He has a strong resemblance to you, old friend."
Ratchet grinned.
"That he does."
June snickered.
"And it looks like your little girl is making friends." She pointed to Bulkhead who was holding Stella.
"She likes you," said Miko.
"No doubt," Bulkhead agreed, noticing the blue femme smiling back at him.
Her eyes were similar to Arcee's. As she and her brother were introduced to the other Autobots and humans, they quickly imprinted their scent and voices.
After a while, Ratchet noticed his mate was getting tired, it would be a few days before she fully recovered. June saw it too.
"All right, people. I think it's time we left."
Both the kids and bots groaned.
"Hey, come on now...they'll be still be here." June pointed out.
After saying their good byes to Arcee, Ratchet and the twins, the group left.
The next day.
Arcee woke to a gentle kiss being placed on her lips.
"Morning." She yawned.
"Morning sweetspark." Ratchet murmured. Arcee smiled lightly at him then looked at the twins that lay by her side.
"I can't believe it." She whispered. Ratchet smirked.
"I can." He said and gently stroked each sparkling, they both stirred awake. Diesel giggled and reached out to his Sire. Ratchet smiled brightly and gently picked up his son. Diesel cooed up at him while Ratchet nuzzled him. Stella was pretty quiet as she laid by Arcee, but not for long, she whimpered a little.
"I think they're hungry." Arcee said, picking her daughter up. Ratchet nodded.
"Listen, I have some work I need to finish. I'll be back later." He explained and placed Diesel next to Arcee.
"See you." She said, before he left the room and shut the door.
Once Ratchet was gone, Arcee focused on the twins, both of them whimpering for attention. She quickly figured it out and starts to remove her chest plates. Despite having fed the twins before, Arcee was still getting used to them nursing from her. It did seem strange at first, but she knew her offspring needed the nutrients and antibodies in order to develop properly and build up their immune systems. The only way either of them could get it was from the milk their mother produced. Arcee relaxed a little as they suckled. She then noticed Diesel push his sister away a second time. Stella whined loudly at this. Arcee simply shook her head, while Diesel was just a newborn he was still a mech, which were not only bigger than femmes but also more dominant.
"Come here," Arcee said softly and brought Stella back to her chest. The tiny sparkling calmed down as she continued to nurse. Arcee watched her daughter closely making sure she got her portion. Being the smaller twin, Stella could easily become underweight if she wasn't eating enough. Arcee then noticed Diesel had stopped suckling, his stomach was now full, making him sleepy.
He yawned and closed his eyes. His sister however, was obviously still hungry and tried to get more milk. After a moment, Stella let out a small yawn. She blinked her eyes twice, feeling both tired and full. Arcee then put her chest plates back on. It'd be a while before she would have to feed Diesel and Stella again. Looking at the twins, she still found it hard to believe after being pregnant for three months that they were here with her. She was determined to raise them as best as she could and protect them. While Arcee had been afraid at first, she knew that she and Ratchet had their friends and teammates to help them.
Diesel was fast asleep next to Arcee, his sister on the other hand wasn't. She looked around the room, curious about the outside world. Stella made eye contact with Arcee and wrapped her tiny hands around the older femme's index finger. Her mother reacted by purring softly and nuzzling Stella's cheeks. The little sparkling cooed in reply. A minute later, she loosened her grip on Arcee's finger and fell asleep in her mother's arms.
Arcee watched the twins as they slept, she felt tired as well, her muscles were also still sore from giving birth. Within seconds, Arcee was asleep. Almost an hour later, Diesel woke up, he noticed that his mother and sister were sleeping. Feeling somewhat bored, he tried to crawl but didn't get very far. After a few attempts, he was near the edge of the berth.
The young Cybertronian became fearful at seeing how far away the floor was. He slipped and fell though a blanket broke his fall. He looked around, whining softly at how cold the floor was. He had been used to his parents and sister keeping him warm. Now, Diesel was on his own. He decided to keep moving and reached the door. It was slightly cracked and didn't take much effort to get it open. Diesel stumbled out into the hallway. It was somewhat dark and quiet. Feeling scared and cold, Diesel let out a small cry. He wanted to be back with his mother and sister where he was warm and secure.
So far, it seemed that no one heard his cries but one person did. Bulkhead was walking down the hallway way when he heard a strange noise. Looking down, he saw the tiny sparkling on the floor, crying and shaking.
"Diesel?! What are you doing out here?" Bulkhead wondered.
He picked up the little orange and white mech. Diesel quickly stopped crying and looked at Bulkhead.
"Better tell Ratchet." He sighed.
Carrying Diesel into the medical bay, he found Ratchet organizing his tools and medical supplies.
"Uh, Ratchet... I think this belongs to you." Said Bulkhead and handed Diesel to his Sire.
The little sparkling looked up at Ratchet and squeaked happily.
"Where did you find him?" Ratchet asked.
"In the hallway, little guy must've wandered off." Bulkhead concluded.
"Well, thank you for finding him." said Ratchet.
"Anytime," the green mech said with a smile and left.
Ratchet glanced at his son and sighed.
"What am I going to do with you, Diesel?" He asked.
The sparkling yawned in reply. Ratchet chuckled and nuzzled his son. Already the little one was eager to explore the world around him. Carrying Diesel back to the room, Ratchet was glad to find Arcee and Stella were sleeping and didn't notice that Diesel was missing. He placed him next to his sister and stroked his head.
Diesel yawned and closed his eyes, worn out from his rather short trip. Ratchet left the room, with a smile on his face. This was only the start of a new adventure.