Title: Keep It Together

Author: DeviousGypsy

Summary: Unbeknown to anyone else, Starscream is a young Seeker. So when he hits his first heat cycle, he has no idea how to handle it. His trine tries to help but the plan falls apart and brings Megatron and Starscream together in a strange way...only to have Starscream ripped from Megatron's servos.

Warnings: Slash, mech-preg, the like :P

Pairings: Megatron/Starscream, Thundercracker/Skywarp

Chapter: V

Notes: Yeahhhh, kind of another cliff hanger. Sorry again. I'm going to try and get these out faster, but it's kind of hard since I don't have internet at my house, I usually post when my friend goes tanning, she leaves me in the car and the place she tans has free wi-fi so that's how I post. Hope you enjoy!

Orn = Roughly 4.7 Earth days, Vorn = 83 Earth years, Breem = 1 Earth minute, Stellercycle = 1 Earth month, Megacycle = 1 Earth hour

Thundercracker paused in his attack on Sideswipe, Sunstreaker had been thrown Primus knew where, and with one twin out of the way, Thundercracker was able to focus his attack on the red one. The reason for his pause was the com that was sent out to all Decepticons, Soundwave had gathered enough Energon for thirteen stellercycles and Megatron was calling a retreat. Turning to jet mode Thundercracker returned to the spot where he had left Starscream, only to find Starscream gone. Thinking that Starscream had onlined and responded to Megatron's retreat, Thundercracker headed back towards the Decepticon leader's position.

Many Decepticons had already taken to the sky, a few ducked into Astrotrain's cargo bay. Not seeing Starscream in the air, Thundercracker presumed that his energy level had been too low to maintain flight and instead Starscream had gone inside Astrotrain. Thundercracker flew up beside Astrotrain, listening as the Autobot's stopped firing once they got out of range.

The flight back to the Nemesis was quiet, no doubt Megatron would celebrate once they returned, high grade that Thundercracker would have to sneak under the table to Skywarp since carriers were not supposed to drink high grade. However, he couldn't fight the feeling on unease that had settled deep within his spark. He pushed it aside, passing it off as worry for Skywarp being caught with high grade.

Upon reaching the Nemesis, Megatron ordered that everyone return to their quarters to recharge before having a meeting in the rec room. Now by 'meeting' Thundercracker knew it involved Megatron boasting about his victory while he and everyone else around him got completely overcharged. Skywarp was waiting for him when they landed, launching himself into his mate's arms.

"TC!" He cried out, "How did it go?"

Pulling back slightly, TC smiled at him, "Not as good as we may have hoped, but enough for about thirteen stellercycles."

Looking around Thundercracker, Skywarp's faceplates turned down into a slight frown. "Where's Screamer?"

Turning his helm to look back at where Soundwave was already unloading Astrotrain's cargo bay, Thundercracker simply shrugged, "Probably gone to recharge already, or to get his wing repaired by Hook."

Mouth agape, Skywarp made a frantic clicking noise, unintentionally speaking their native Seeker Vosian speech. "Starscream was hurt?"

Thundercracker simply gave a small chirp in response, "A small hit to his wing from the twins, he'll be fine with a little recharge and some energon." Skywarp seemed to be calmed by this, and nestled closer to his mate, a low purring noise vibrating from him. "Speaking of recharge, Megatron has ordered us to return to our quarters for some rest before we celebrate our victory."

Skywarp's optics glinted brightly, "But TC," he started, running a violet digit down Thundercracker's cockpit, "I've been resting all day," he looked at his mate suggestively, "Can't we do something else in the berth?"

Optimus watched as the Decepticons took to the sky, lowering his gun after he was sure they would not turn back for more. Scanning his optics over the chaos that the 'Cons had left, he let a quiet sigh of air from his vents. "Any casualties? Prowl, headcount."

Nodding, the Second In Command began counting and listing the Autobots he saw. Frowning, the police car double checked before turning to his Prime, "We're missing one, Prime."

Prime frowned behind the battle mask, "Who?"

"Hound, sir."

"Spread out, locate and return Hound," Prime ordered, the other Autobots nodding and spreading out to search the area for their missing comrade.

Ten minutes later, Mirage's voice came across the com, "I've found him, we need to get him back to Ratch quickly."

The others turning to make their way to Mirage, Prime frowned, "What happened?"

"I don't know sir, it looks like an explosion, but it's not from any weapon I've seen from the Decepticons." There was a slightly pause in Mirage's explanation, "Hold on, there seems to be something coating him."

"Well what is it?" Ironhide's voice rang out, his thick accent making his voice clearly distinguishable.

"It's thin, but I think it's jet fuel."

"Jet fuel? Why the slag would Hound be covered in jet fuel?" Ironhide asked, making his way towards where Mirage's coordinates were. However he stopped short when he saw a still frame in front of him, one that was definitely note Hound. "Uh, I think I answered that myself."

Pinching the bridge of his nose above his battle mask, an annoying habit he did when slightly stressed, Prime asked; "What it it, 'Hide?" Knowing that nothing good could have his mate's voice so shaken.

"Well, from what it looks like, a pile of scrap, but I'm pretty sure it's Starscream. I'm gunna take a closer look," Ironhide responded, making Prime's frown deepen.

"Be careful, Ironhide," Prime warned, knowing from past experiences that Starscream was not against playing dead to get the upper hand.

"I really don't think ya have ta worry Optimus, if he's not in stasis lock he's deactivated." Ironhide responded, kneeling close to the unmoving Seeker, Starscream's back to Ironhide. From what he could gather at first hand, one of the Seeker's wings were crushed beneath him, the other scorched badly. Smoke rose from Starscream's thrusters, energon dripping from cracks and burns, if the Seeker wasn't running dangerously low on energon he soon would be. "Optimus, Starscream needs immediate attention from Ratch. I'm attachin' an energon line to him to try an' keep him stable, but yer gunna need ta have Skyfire come an' bring him home because I dun dare carry him back m'self."

Hurrying to his mate's side, Optimus had to stifle the shock at how bad the Seeker actually looked. Hearing it come from Ironhide was one thing, but seeing it first hand was a completely different story. "Holy slag," Optimus muttered, voice low even though he was with his mate and he knew Ironhide would never be insulted by the Prime's choice of language. "I'm sending a com to Skyfire right now."

Frowning, Ironhide added, "Tell him it's Starscream before hand, an' that the Seeker's in real bad shape before hand so that he doesn't freak out." Nodding, Optimus sent the com while Ironhide disconnected an energon line from his abdominal plating and attached it to a receptor, starting a steady energon line. It wasn't anywhere near as sophisticated and productive as a medical line, but it was good for quick fixes on the battlefield with no medic present.

"Skyfire's on his way with Ratchet," Optimus told Ironhide, opening a com with Mirage next, "Mirage, how's Hound?"

"Online and stabling, some minor burns, no real wounds other than that. I guess he just got tossed around a bit, sir."

"Alright, head back to base, Ironhide and I will rejoin you later."

"Yes, sir." The respond came from a number of mechs, and he could hear the sounds of them transforming a little ways away before hearing them heading back to the west.

"How is he Ironhide?" Prime asked, turning back towards his mate where he knelt beside him.

"I couldn't really tell ya Optimus, I'm no good at this medic stuff."

Sighing slightly, Prime had to agree with him, he wasn't a medic either and had no idea what to do in this sort of situation. They couldn't exactly leave Starscream to fend for himself like this, the mech would surely offline if they hadn't found him. The only logical solution would be to take the Seeker in, heal him, then try and get some Decepticon intel out of him. As Second In Command, Starscream was sure to know Decepticon strengths and weaknesses, perhaps even some of Megatron's most tightly kept plans.

The sound of a heavy jet landing pulling his attention to his right, Skyfire's thrusters powering down as Ratchet stepped from the shuttle. The medic had not been present in the battle because of how close he was to birthing his and Wheeljack's second sparkling. Irritation-probably from being brought out of recharge-disappeared quickly at seeing the state Starscream was in. Closer inspection saw that Spike had also accompanied the medic and scientist, unable to pass up the opportunity to get a close up view of the Seeker.

When Ratchet knelt down and began patching the stuff he could to make sure Starscream would make the flight back to base, Spike's jaw dropped at the sight of the crumpled mech. "Holy cow," the human muttered, stepping closer. Inspecting the Seeker, Spike saw that the mech's cockpit was seemingly the only thing not completely damaged. There were burns and a few dents here and there, but Starscream seemed to have crossed his arms over his chassis to prevent too much damage. Placing a curious hand to the yellow glass, as soon as he made contact he pulled away with a hiss.

"What's wrong?" Ironhide asked, worried for the damageable human.

"Nothing, he's just really hot," Spike explained, wrapping his hand in his shirt, "His cockpit burnt me."

Kneeling beside his old friend Skyfire inspected the Seeker, though he couldn't diagnose as thoroughly as Ratchet. Frowning, Skyfire touched a gently hand to Starscream's chassis as well, noticing the significant increase in temperature. "His core is running hotter, it's not just the burns from the explosion." Turning to Ratchet, Skyfire's blue optics dimmed with worry for his old friend. "Do you think he has a virus?"

Leaning away from the mech, checking for any opens wounds he would need to wield before deeming Starscream stable enough for the ride back to the base, Ratchet shook his helm. "I won't know anything until I have him in my med bay and I have all my tools on hand." At Skyfire's worried expression, Ratchet offered a small smile to Skyfire. "He'll make it through, Sky. For now, let's get you transformed so we can get him back into functioning order."

Not completely convinced, Skyfire simply nodded, transforming into his alt-mode and opening the doors to his cargo hold. Standing with a little difficulty at the weight of his almost-due sparkling, Ratchet turned to Ironhide and Optimus. "I'm going to have to ask you two to bring Starscream aboard since I cannot do it myself."

Nodding, Ironhide and Optimus both carefully grasped Starscream, careful of his wounds. Gingerly lifting the broken Seeker and carrying him up the ramp and into Skyfire's cargo hold, setting Starscream down on the floor while sitting against the walls beside the still form.

Opening a private com to Ratchet who sat on the other side of Starscream with Spike, he asked the question he didn't want to ask in front of Skyfire. "Well, Ratchet? Is he going to make it?"

Prime could see the sigh escaping the medic's vents as Ratchet rubbed at his sore chassis. "Honestly," Ratchet sent back, "I have no idea."

Thundercracker was starting to get a little worried, the celebration had been going on for about a megacycle and Starscream had yet to appear. He could understand if his trine leader was slightly tired from the battle this afternoon, however Starscream would have at least appeared for the celebration, even if it were only for an hour. Thundercracker could tell that Megatron was slightly irritated at his lack of SIC, optics darting across the room every now and then as if to look for him.

Getting Skywarp's attention, the violet mech turning from his chat with Astrotrain to look at Thundercracker. "Yeah, TC?"

"I'm going to check on Starscream," he told his mate, adding a warning to not get caught drinking through a private com. Standing, Thundercracker left the Rec Room, feeling Megatron's optics follow him as Thundercracker started down the hall way that would lead to Starscream's quarters.

When he reached the door, he pressed his audio receivers against the door, listening for any signs of movement that would indicate Starscream being awake. Hearing none, he entered the command to open the door, Starscream not really caring that they knew it since they knew not to bother him if he were busy and for the simple fact that if Skywarp wanted to get in, he could just warp himself in. "Starscream?" Thundercracker called out when the door retracted. The room was dark and eerily quiet, not even the sound of air escaping vents filled the room. Frowning, Thundercracker walked further inside, turning the lights on in Starscream's sleeping area only to find the berth empty.

Cursing, Thundercracker hurried out of the room, heading back towards the rec room at a much more quick pace. Seeing his mate's distress, Skywarp stood from his seat, hurrying over to where Thundercracker was making a beeline towards Megatron. Seeing Megatron's frown deepen as he saw the frantic look in his Seeker's eyes, Thundercracker simply quickened his pace, stopping at the front of Megatron's throne, where the silver gun-former slouched, optics slightly dim.

"Lord Megatron, did Starscream return from battle this afternoon with you?"

Megatron's frown deepened, partly at the idea of his SIC causing trouble and the fact that the sound of Starscream's name and the fact that he was missing slightly dampened the high-grade induced haze that had come over him. "I was in Astrotrain's cargo bay with Soundwave and Hook, I had assumed Starscream was with you."

Skywarp, of which had just appeared by Thundercracker's side in time to hear what the conversation was about, looked up at Thundercracker fearfully. Thundercracker's worry began to steadily raise. "And I had assumed he was with you in Astrotrain's cargo bay."

Megatron's optics brightened as his overcharge left him, bringing a fist to his mouth as he bit back whatever worry stirred deep within him, trying to cover it up with anger. "And when was the last time you saw your trine leader? I certainly didn't see him participating very hard in the battle."

"The last time I saw Starscream one of the ground-pounding twins shot him down, he had offlined and I went back to fight them off. When I returned to where he had fallen he wasn't there, I assumed he had answered your call of retreat."

Frowning, Megatron clenched his fist harder. The only answer he could come up with was that his Second In Command had been taken prisoner by the Autobots, the aftheads probably took advantage of the Seeker's inability to fight back and took him captive. Megatron couldn't decide who to be more angry at; the Autobots for taking his SIC, or Thundercracker for leaving him defenseless. Deep within whatever was left of his spark, he had always found his SIC attractive, regardless of his traitorous personality. Perhaps it was what made him announce Starscream as his SIC and Air Commander in the first place.

The Seeker was indescribable in the sky; stunning, beautiful, powerful. None of those words even compared to the real thing. The Seeker was smart too, if he only used his talents instead of wasting them. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he had been so susceptible to the Seeker's heat cycle. Regardless, the Decepticon leader could not act upon his feelings. It was a weakness, as soon as the Autobots or even another Decepticon that was looking to overthrow him found out, the Seeker would have been put in danger. So long as everyone believed that he hated his SIC, so long as everyone believed that he would eventually offline the 'worthless piece of slag', then no one else would try to.

He was brought out of his thoughts after noticing how quiet the two Seekers in front of him were being. Both were looking at each other intently; Thundercracker glaring and Skywarp somewhat pleading. Knowing they were taking through their bond or private com, whatever it was, Megatron's irritation rose at not being let in on whatever was so important that they need to discuss it at this very minute.

Growling, he brought the Seeker's attention back to himself, "Speak aloud or do not speak at all, if it is about your precious Air Commander I need to know so that I can decide what to do with the worthless little glitch." Skywarp once again brought pleading optics to his mate, Megatron's optics dimming in irritation. Finally Thundercracker yielded and nodded slightly to his bond mate.

Megatron watched curiously as Skywarp's cockpit clicked open and his bared his spark to Megatron. Frowning, Skywarp explained; "Starscream has not been entirely truthful to you Megatron."

"This is not news to me, Skywarp," Megatron growled out, "But enlighten me as to what he has believed to have gotten away with this time."

Swallowing the lump that suddenly appeared in his vocals, Skywarp motioned towards his chest. "As you can see; I am not with spark," Skywarp admitted, and he could see Megatron's optics brighten in anger and slight surprise. Upon seeing his leader's anger, Skywarp began rambling, speaking quickly. "Thundercracker and I pretended to be creators so that when Starscream birthed his sparking we could pretend it was ours and you would never suspect that it was you and Starscream's sparkling from that time he was in heat about two stellercycles ago and so we came up with this whole elaborate plan because Starscream thought you'd kill him and the sparkling and-" Thundercracker nudged his mate's side harshly with his servo, optics wide at the secrets that poured out of his mate's mouth.

Megatron was deathly silent on his throne, his posture had stiffened and his optics were unfocused as he took in everything Skywarp had just confessed. Starscream was carrying his sparkling. Starscream had carelessly gone into battle two stellercycles into his carrying period. Starscream had gotten hurt. Starscream was in the hands of the Autobots. Starscream was in danger. The sparkling was in danger.

Fury exploded within Megatron and he let out a roar loud enough to completely silence the celebration that had been-until quite recently-going on around them. "Soundwave!" Megatron shouted to the telepath, and within seconds the blue and white mech was standing beside him. "I want every spy drone, every satellite, everything pinned on the Autobots. I want Starscream's locations. I want his condition. I want to know everything, and I want it within half an orn!"