Crack in the Pavement
Chapter 18
And now for Ironhide to get some... Unsettling news.
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers; I'm just prostituting it for my amusement.
Summary: Megatron uses Ironhide to get his revenge on Prime. Multiple minor side pairings, see list in fic.
Warning: Graphic rape. Torture. M/M robot slash consensual as well as NON-CON
Pairings: Non-con Megatron/ Ironhide, Con Optimus/ Ironhide. Established Jazz/ Prowl, Twins/ Ratchet, Mirage/ Cliffjumper
"'Hide?" Ratchet said as he turned around. Ironhide had deposited the Twins on two medbay berths have worked them to exhaustion and dinged them up more than a little. After dropping them on the berths, he'd turned to leave. Hence, Ratchet calling for him.
"Ya, Ratch?" Ironhide replied.
"All these two really need to do is recharge," Ratchet said. "I haven't had a chance to do your follow up scans. Sit down on a berth and let's get this done. Then I'll clear you for full duties."
Full duties. It was a carrot Ratchet was dangling, but Ironhide was willing to jump for it. He hopped onto a berth and relaxed. Ironhide hadn't felt so much as a twinge of discomfort since Ratchet had freed him from the medbay and this scan was that last thing standing in his way from returning fully to his life. Ratchet activated the berth's diagnostic protocols and began scanning Ironhide's systems one at a time. He didn't get far before he froze, repeated the scan and froze again.
"Out, both of you," Ratchet ordered the Twins. They looked at him, Sunstreaker with only one optic, the other he kept shuttered, he slowly dragged himself up to the sitting position on his berth. Sideswipe did the same. Ratchet gestured wildly to the door and repeated the order: "Out. Go to our quarters and I'll see you there later."
"You're so cruel," Sideswipe groaned. He and his brother obeyed though, and they didn't look at Ironhide. Clearly, what Ratchet's exam had uncovered couldn't be good. They dragged themselves out the door and Ratchet performed the scan for the third time.
Ironhide sat on the berth, frozen. Ratchet repeating the scan had sent his fuel processor into nervous contractions. Ratchet chasing the Twins out sent Ironhide's spark pulsing erratically, and his circuits overheating. What the Pit was wrong?
"Have you interfaced recently?" Ratchet asked, his voice was tight with his own anxiety.
"Yes," Ironhide sputtered. His faceplates burned even as his fuel processor contracted painfully, and his spark pulsed painfully fast.
"Thank Primus, there's a chance then," Ratchet said and vented. His expression was one of relief.
"A chance for what?" Ironhide demanded, sharply.
"Easy, 'Hide," Ratchet soothed.
"Easy?" Ironhide snapped. "I hate it when mechs say that. It always means bad things."
"There's no tactful way of saying this so I'm just going to blurt it out," Ratchet said, taking a long intake. "You're with spark."
Oh Primus. Oh Primus. Oh Primus. Oh no, no, no, no. Ironhide felt like he was spinning. His spark hurt.
"A chance?" Ironhide asked, trying not to fall apart. "What chance were you talkin' about?"
"A chance that he's not Megatron's," Ratchet explained.
"He..." Ironhide couldn't think.
"Unless you 'faced a femme, and I doubt that since there are any around here, the sparklet must be that of a mech."
"Of course," Ironhide replied. He was totally numb. His processor felt frozen. He was sparked. Slag. Oh slag. He hadn't replaced his implant. There was a chance. But Megatron had 'faced him, merged sparks with him, how many times? That act, the merging of sparks was the single act that mattered in sparking a mech. Optimus and he had only merged sparks a handful of times. Megatron had... Ironhide doubled over as his fuel processor threatened to purge.
"Easy," Ratchet soothed and rubbed Ironhide's back. "I know you're in shock but you have to try and calm down your spark. For his sake."
"His sake," Ironhide echoed. He kept his head down to fight the dizziness and the ever present need to purge. "Oh Primus."
Ratchet hovered over Ironhide for a long while. He went between rubbing his back reassuringly and speaking softly. This was the side of Ratchet he rarely showed, one he rarely needed to show, the reassuring and gentle medic. Eventually, Ironhide raised his head and Ratchet stood sat beside him.
"I need to go over your options with you," Ratchet said in as even a voice as he could manage. This was not the sort of conversation he had wanted to have with Ironhide.
"Ya," Ironhide replied. "What options."
"I can remove him, it," Ratchet said, realizing that his choice of pronouns could have been better.
"Pit no," Ironhide replied immediately. He touched his servo to his chassis and let it drop. No, no he couldn't do that.
"There is a test I can perform to test his make up, and identify his sire," Ratchet continued. He shifted his tone and spoke gravely. "It has risks. I would have to take a sample from the sparklet to run the test and the actually act of taking the sample can cause the sparklet to prematurely detach and die."
"No way in slag," Ironhide said quickly. His optics were wide and he once again brought his servo to his chassis. This time he kept it over his spark and the sparklet, protecting it, subconsciously.
"Okay," Ratchet replied and nodded. Ironhide was giving him all the right answers. Well, all the ones he wanted to hear. Ratchet didn't like to abort a sparklet at the best of times. This was the sparklet of one of his friends. Still, Megatron would be looming over Ironhide even more now, and it would be three to seven months, depending on how fast the sparklet gathered energy to himself, before Ratchet could safely test for parentage.
"Slag," Ironhide swore. "It, he's going to be Megatron's."
"Ironhide," Ratchet tried to reassure him.
"He merged our sparks more times than I even know," Ironhide said, panic and chagrin coloured his voice. "Optimus and I only merged sparks a few times."
"Ironhide, when Megatron had you, you were severely damaged and critically low on energy," Ratchet explained. "Sparklets do not tend to form when their carriers are low on energy. It isn't a viable situation for them. With Optimus you have been healthy, with full energy reserves. It is far more likely that your sparklet was sired by Optimus. I would put the odds at 80 to 20 percent in favour of Optimus."
"Are you just saying this to comfort me?" Ironhide asked, suspicion and chagrin clouded his processor.
"No, it's the truth," Ratchet promised. "But Ironhide, you need to decide if you can live with either outcome."
"I can't take it out when he could be Optimus's," Ironhide replied. "I can't. If he's Megatron's... I don't know, I'll have to prepare myself to live with that."
"Remember 'Hide, no matter what, this sparklet is yours," Ratchet said. "You are his carrier. Half of his formation comes from you and your energy will bring him into being."
"Mine," Ironhide said the word as he kept his hand over his spark and the sparklet. "He's mine and the Pit can't have him."
"Good," Ratchet said and then asked: "So do you want to tell Optimus or should I?"
"Err," Ironhide mumbled. One difficult question answered and Ratchet throws out another one. "I should tell him. But you need to be here in case I can't."
"I'll call for him to join us," Ratchet said. He walked away from the berth and left Ironhide alone. Ironhide stared down at his chassis. Sparked. He couldn't believe it. It was not something he had ever expected. There had never been a thought of a sparkling between him and Chromia. They had taken pleasure from each other but there had been only fellowship, the love of friends as each of them had loved another. Even after Chromia had captured the love of the one she had wanted, Elita One, and Optimus had been available, he hadn't been. Not until now. What was Optimus going to say? Would he be able to accept the sparkling even if Megatron was the sire?
The thought filled Ironhide with dread. He didn't want to lose Optimus because of this sparkling but he was his and Ironhide was not prepared to give him up. Ratchet reappeared and sat with Ironhide as Ironhide tried to reconcile himself with the fact that he was a carrier.
Optimus appeared in the medbay, moment later, alarm made his optics wide and bright. He rushed over to Ironhide and Ratchet and placed a servo on Ironhide's back in the hopes of both comforting Ironhide and himself. Whatever was wrong, surely Ratchet could fix it.
"Sit down, Optimus," Ratchet ordered. Optimus's alarm grew and his circuits ran cold with dread. He looked at Ironhide, who didn't look at him, and then he sat.
"Optimus," Ironhide said and faltered. His servos, both of them were over his chassis. He looked up at Optimus with fear in his optics. That expression made the energon freeze in Optimus systems. Optimus looped his arm around Ironhide and pulled him close. Whatever it was, Ratchet could fix it.
"I'm..." Ironhide faltered again. He shuttered his optics and vented, angry with himself for the fear that made his vocalizer fail. "I'm sparked."
"Sparked?" Optimus asked. Okay, Ratchet couldn't fix this. "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay," Ironhide replied. He let himself collapse against Optimus, seeking his strength. Ironhide wasn't feeling very strong right now. Even then, he kept his servos over his spark.
"The odds are in your favour Optimus," Ratchet said. Seeing that Ironhide wasn't capable of saying anything more. "Energy is the most important thing to a sparklet and Ironhide had as close to none as a mech can have and still live when we got him back. I'm betting you two didn't 'face until 'Hide was fully recovered."
"Of course not," Optimus replied. He looked down at Ironhide and rested his helm against Ironhide's,
"Then with you 'Hide had full energy stores and fully functional systems," Ratchet said. "That is the optimal environment to create a sparklet. As I've told Ironhide, the odds are approximately 80-20 that the sparklet was sired by you."
Optimus nodded slowly, his helm brushed back and forth against Ironhide's. He placed one of his servos over Ironhide's and kept it there. Ironhide vented, it sounded like relief. For now, at least, Optimus hadn't abandoned him.
"Before I leave you two in peace, I want to tell you want to expect," Ratchet said. "Ironhide, you're going to need to recharge longer, and probably more often. When you're tired, recharge. You'll need to up your rations by at least one extra cube a day. If you find yourself craving energon, drink it. It doesn't matter how much you've already consumed, you need to trust your body it will tell you what it needs."
"Understood," Ironhide replied. Optimus nodded. Ironhide guessed that Optimus was going to see to it he listened to his body even if Ironhide tried to overwork himself. He wouldn't overwork himself though. He was a warrior and warriors knew to listen to their bodies for fear of causing irreparable damage to themselves.
"That being said as long as you feel up to it, I see no reason not to put you back on the duty roster," Ratchet proclaimed.
"What?" Optimus asked, taken aback. Just as Ironhide exclaimed: "Excellent!"
Ironhide looked up at Optimus with a dire warning in his optics. If Optimus had been paying attention it would have warned him that Ironhide would inflict significant pain upon him if he didn't mute his vocalizer.
"Ironhide has some of the thickest armour of any mech alive," Ratchet said. "Until he enters the third stage where the sparklet will start making even greater demands of his body, there is no reason to keep him from the field."
"Thank you, Ratchet," Ironhide said. His tone kept Optimus from arguing further. They would discuss this more in private.
"That's it," Ratchet replied, nodding. "I'm putting you back on the roster. I expect you to see me weekly so I can monitor your sparklet's development."
"Got it," Ironhide replied. "Come on Optimus. Let's talk about it in your quarters."
Optimus walked with Ironhide down the hall. He realized he had upset Ironhide with his reaction to him being placed back on the duty roster. The best Optimus could do was a little damage control; he reached out a servo and took Ironhide's servo in it. Ironhide looked up at him and offered a small smile. They entered Optimus's quarters and the Autobot leader closed and locked the door. 'Bots rarely barged in but Optimus did not want to risk them being intruded upon.
"I don't want either of you to come to harm," Optimus said softly. What ever irritated statement Ironhide had planned to make was lost at that tone. Love. It was too slagging hard to be angry at Optimus when all he was doing was loving him.
"I've got thicker plating than you, Optimus," Ironhide replied, pressing his servo against Optimus's chassis. "Yer way more likely to get damaged than me. One of the reasons I'm yer bodyguard. And even when I am guardin' you, you stick yer helm into trouble and still manage to get damaged more often than me."
"You are right, of course," Optimus sighed. He pulled Ironhide to him and pressed his chassis against Ironhide's back, and placed one arm around Ironhide's waist and rested his other servo against Ironhide's chassis, over his spark and sparklet. "Please take special care. Don't throw yourself in front of me to take a killing blow. I am not worth you and our sparkling."
"What if," Ironhide asked, promising nothing but realizing that he did need to protect his sparklet as well as Optimus. "What if it turns out Megatron is the his sire."
"He will still be yours," Optimus said, and kissed the the top of Ironhide's helm. "And as yours, no matter what, he will always be mine."
Ironhide shuttered his optics and leaned back into Optimus and smiled.
End Chapter 18
A/N I realize that I haven't warned that this is a sparkling fic. Well... There are two reasons, one there was no room in the tiny write up Fanfiction allows, and two it would have given away a whole lot of the story premise. If the idea of Ironhide having a sparking turns you off my fic, I'm okay with that.
I know some of my faithful readers will be annoyed by this, but have a little faith. I only write happy endings.
Now, updates will have to come a little less frequently because I'm still focused on other fics and I don't want to run through my birth of chapters before I've written more.