Disclaimer: Don't own TF: Prime, just a love for big trucks.

Review please? Oh, and from this point on it's basically AU, not going to keep with the Season Three Beast Hunter episodes...little hard to convert if Prime is "off active duty" in my fic versus the show...

Chapter Six

Tough

xxx

Optimus groaned slightly as he transformed and sat against a tree, after the authorities had reached their Maine battle grounds, they had driven to the border of New York and Pennsylvania, stopping off a back highway in the woods.

Ironhide and Bulkhead were setting up a perimeter, in constant comm. link with Prowl for surveillance and the black and white mech's strong scanners. Ratchet was patching up the others' wounds, Optimus hadn't been damaged besides sore plating and a few scratches. Thank Primus for small miracles.

The two human females who had come with Ironhide were now tucked into the branches of a large Oak tree near Optimus' position, wrapped in sleeping bags Ironhide had in subspace and tied to the tree branches. They'd fallen asleep as soon as all of the cybertronians were in the collected area.

Optimus shifted, pressing a hand against his midsection and the distended plating, the sparkling's position had change drastically since he'd first shown Nurse Darby and Ratchet. Now, instead of below his spark chamber, the unborn sparkling had slipped into the gestation chamber in the middle of Prime's internal components. As it grew, it pushed the parts away from it, expanding Prime's plating and pressing into his back strut and hip joints.

This new frame of his wasn't designed for carrying at all.

Already, the sparkling was beginning to move, and was currently pressing against Prime's sensitive tanks, making its carrier extremely nauseated.

Ironhide returned from scouting the area, assigning Bumblebee, Smokescreen, and Wheeljack to watch shifts for the night.

"How ya feelin' Prahm? Ain't lookin' too good right 'bout now."

Optimus nodded once, regretting the motion as he clamped a hand over his mouth plates for a few minutes.

"I wouldn't stay near me Ironhide, I'd likely purge on you."

Ironhide ignored the warning, going ahead and sitting next to Optimus against the adjacent tree after checking the two humans.

"Here, lean back against me Prahm, sittin' upright ain't gonna help any."

Optimus welcomed the change in positon, it allowed his legs to unfold more and gave the sparkling a bit more room, which it took gladly, stretching within its confines and pushing against every available part it could.

Prime groaned, trying to get the sparkling to relax and only earning a sharp set of kicks to his spark chamber and tanks. Optimus gagged, trying to sit up as his tanks began rolling, only Ironhide stopped him, keeping him laying against the black mech's chest plates as one servo rubbed the plating where the sparkling was kicking.

"Active little one...how far 'long are ya Prahm?"

"A few months...aah...Not sure when I'm due..."

"Not for awhile yet then."

Optimus nodded, groaning as Ironhide moved his servo to Prime's back strut, rubbing the aching metal. Prime sighed softly, relaxing as his optics began to droop.

"Go ahead an' recharge Prahm, ya need it."

Optimus didn't bother protesting, Ratchet would sedate him if need be, and with Ironhide right there, it wasn't likely anything or anyone even an autobot would risk disturbing Prime. The cons would still be nursing their wounds, especially with Ironhide's damage onto them. Prime slipped into a light doze, enjoying the feel of Ironhide's thick, but gentle digits rubbing the aches from his back strut, allowing the cables to release tension. Hopefully the sparkling would take its carrier's shutting down as a sign to go into recharge itself, allowing Prime a few hours of needed sleep.

A sharp kick to one of his intakes made him choke, waking out of his recharge protocols, Ironhide rested his servo against that side, heating the metal to soothe the ache before returning to his massaging. This time Optimus made it into recharge before the sparkling kicked again, at least something that didn't wake Prime up.

Ratchet finally approached his leader, his optics bright for Ironhide alone, glad to see his old friend alive and well. The medic turned serious after a moment, scanning Prime quickly to avoid disturbing him.

"How is he?"

"Tired, sparkling's active an' givin' 'im trouble, gonna be a fighter, whose the Sire anyway?"

"Knock Out."

Ironhide glanced up at Ratchet, before shrugging, "Could be worse."

"True, I would rather it have been one of us though..."

"Who Ratchet? Prahm locks himself up so tight behind his rank and his mask an' hiding his emotions...who still online could possibly get under all that? Elita offlined when the war began, ya know Prahm's never opened up ta anyone since that, let alone would be willin' to frag 'em. Even if it was jus' fer stress relief."

Ratchet sighed, nodding in agreement, Prime just didn't open up to them...

Knock Out had always watched Optimus, even though they were on opposite sides. Since their encounter in Greece, Prime had been truly aware of his affections. It wouldn't surprise Ratchet if he and Prime had met up before the initial conception interfacing.

"Did you notice if anything else was bothering him?"

"He don't seem that comfortable carryin', it ain't easy on 'im."

"His frame's not designed for it, I've already removed back up systems and there still is limited room. Most carrying femmes don't have this issue, but Prime's plates are going to distend a lot further before the sparkling's born. It's definitely going to be big."

"Know what it is yet?"

"Not yet, didn't get the chance to before it moved to the gestation chamber, it started developing off Prime's spark chamber before dropping. We'll have to wait until its born, Prime's frame has literally locked the bitlet in tight."

Ironhide nodded, adjusting the temperature of his servo as Prime shifted against it in attempt to relieve some form of discomfort.

The carrying mech sighed heavily through his vents, intakes shuddering at the rush of air before humming softly, "He's takin' longer ta drop into recharge, that was almost five minutes fer the protocol ta activate."

Ratchet nodded, "It's been like that for awhile, even before he was seeing Knock Out; this war's been rough on him."

"Who hasn't had it rough?"

Again Ratchet could only nod, sighing as he eased onto the ground near Ironhide and Prime; their leader shifted again, head now resting comfortably on Ironhide's shoulder.

"Go ahead an' get some recharge Doc. They've got the other shifts covered fer the night, you'll need ta check a couple tubes I found in Prime earlier in the morning."

The medic didn't argue, yawning as he leaned back against a tree after scanning the two humans, satisfied all was as well as it could be before shutting down into a heavy recharge.

Ironhide stayed awake until the first guard rotation, nodding to Prowl as the tactician moved almost silently to wake Chase as Bumblebee went to sleep. The weapon specialist soon let himself drift into recharge, servo resting against Prime's side for heat and added security should Prime wake up again.

A 'con battle, finding Prime, learning of Prime's upgrade and condition, finding out about the last Rescue Bots, learning Knock Out was attached to Prime...That was a lot to take in.

The night wasn't even half over...what did that mean for the future?

Review?