Chapter 42

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but my OC's and medical procedure. If you want to use, you must ask first.

Litahatchee has very graciously allowed me to borrow the idea of carrying and the carry chamber from her story, "Night Fire".

In this chapter, we find out if the sparkling lives or not. Well? What are you still reading this for? Well, in that case…:dangles chapter out of reach:

Questions, comments, and concerns can be sent through ff's PM system.

EDIT: Thank you to Shadowcat for pointing out that DA was blocking the images. I've fixed it. :)

Oh. And I've drawn a picture of Streak, if you'd like to look at him. ;P

Inside the surgical room, Nightshade held the sparkling to her chest. She couldn't speak, think, or even filter air through her systems. She was focused solely on the sparkling in her arms – she could feel its spark flickering, she could feel it fighting to live. Nightshade held it closer, shuttering her optics, gently but constantly urging the sparkling to move or even cry. Anything would have been better than the deathly silence that had descended into the room.

Ratchet had sunk into a chair a while ago, resting his head in his hands, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. He assumed the worst. Nightshade felt the spark flicker once, then twice. Then it grew stronger, and stronger. Nightshade clicked softly – its fingers twitched slightly. Then the sparkling began squirming in earnest, bringing its optics online. Upon seeing its creator for the first time, the sparkling instinctively tried to access her carrying chamber.

Ratchet shot out of his seat when he heard the sparkling's soft warbles. The chair toppled over as he leaned over his mate, his optics wide with amazement. Nightshade cooed softly and the sparkling responded with a soft chirp of its own. Ratchet sagged against the table, too shocked to even speak properly. Then the sparkling looked directly at him and squeaked. He felt his spark melt and he reached one finger to the little protoform lying in Nightshade's arms. The sparkling looked up at the red appendage curiously, chirping questioningly. Ratchet stroked the sparkling's head gently and it let out a rapid fire succession of clicks and chirps. Apparently, the sparkling craved physical contact. Nightshade smiled up at Ratchet, her optics glinting with emotion.

The little one began squirming as the cool air of the room settled on its tiny frame. Ratchet was hardly aware of the stinging in his optics, more focused on gently stroking his sparkling's tiny arm. Ratchet then sat on the edge of the berth. Nightshade hiccupped quietly, her happiness overflowing into both bonds.

"Red Alert," Ratchet cried out hoarsely, gathering Nightshade into his arms. The exhausted femme only leaned into his embrace, tucking her head under his chin.

The mech ran into the room before the echoes from Ratchet's call had died down. Red Alert skid to a stop next to Nightshade, wondering what was wrong. Then he thought to look at the sparkling. It was twittering away, grabbing Nightshade's hands and trying to burrow into her chassis. Nightshade was frozen where she sat, as though afraid that if she moved her dream would shatter into pieces. Red Alert almost sank to the floor in relief as he scanned away – the little spark had taken to the shell and was growing stronger by the astrosecond. Day Lily and Cross Wise were the next to appear in the room. Day Lily immediately hurried over to Nightshade's other side, leaning over the femme and peering down at the sparkling.

It began crying. Panicked, Nightshade scooped it closer to her chest, but being a new mother, did not know what to do with the crying, hungry sparkling. Day Lily solved that problem.

She spoke as quietly as she could.

"Nightshade, sweetspark, you need to open your chest plates," Day Lily said, sitting on the edge of the berth and facing her daughter. Nightshade nodded and obeyed her mother. Day Lily gently took the sparkling from her daughter's arms.

"Since you'll be carrying the little one, you need to put it in this compartment right here," Day Lily said, gently easing the sparkling into Nightshade's carrying chamber. Nightshade stiffened, the weight in her chest strange and new to her.

"Now, close your carrying chamber…and your chest plates. You should be able to feel the sparkling trying to upload into your systems," Day Lily continued softly. Nightshade nodded, feeling the tiny consciousness in her carrying chamber nudge her softly. Ratchet watched in awe. He had never seen such an intimate exchange up close before – he had always been ushered to the back of the room while the other femmes in the room guided the new mother through her first upload with her child. Now he was witnessing it up close and personal. He watched on, his spark fluttering nervously and anxiously. He was almost overwhelmed by the emotions that ran through his systems, causing his hands to twitch slightly at the pure joy that engulfed him.

Nightshade's optics brightened suddenly and she went stock still in his arms. Alarmed, he began to speak.

"Shh, Ratchet. She's bonding with the sparkling," Day Lily said softly. Ratchet nodded and watched over his mate, noticing how their bond had become foggy. It wasn't at all disconcerting like when he had almost lost her to Starscream, but it felt natural, like it should have been happening. Concerned, he turned the question to Day Lily, who was the sparkling and birthing expert in the room.

"Is it normal for our bond to break down a bit," he asked Day Lily quietly. She nodded.

"The sparkling is bonding with her first. It will take a few minutes. Then it will seek you out," Day Lily said quietly, "But your bond with it won't be as strong as hers, not for a long, long while."

Nightshade felt the sparkling shyly nudge her once more, uploading into her core systems slowly. The sparkling seemed to have inherited its father's curiosity – it spent a long time exploring her personality matrix and memory banks. Unable to comprehend what the strange images and sounds meant, the sparkling turned and instead immersed itself in its bond with Nightshade. It settled down, stretching slightly in the roomy expanse of her carrying chamber. It squeaked quietly – its job was done. Now it could grow peacefully and quietly, and let its creator take care of it. Nightshade hesitated slightly before reaching through their bond and 'stroking' the sparkling. It chirped happily, latching onto her presence and sending her bits of love. Nightshade watched, or rather sensed, as the sparkling began skimming off droplets of her energon supply, filling up its energy reservoirs completely. The spark's frequency grew more defined and now she could tell its gender. Nightshade's optics brightened and she shyly smiled up at Ratchet.

"Your son is very energetic," she whispered quietly, smiling as she felt the sparkling squirm a bit when her attention was diverted – he wanted all of that strange, warm emotion focused on him, not someone else, even if it was his mech creator!

"I have a son," Ratchet asked quietly, his optics wide with wonder. He felt something tugging at his spark and he turned a curious gaze over to Nightshade, who smiled at him encouragingly. He allowed the sparkling to edge into their bond. He could feel the love and happiness radiate from either end of the bond and he eagerly responded in the same manner, letting his presence engulf his mate and son.

After a moment, he stood proudly and turned to the group gathered in the back. Elita, Chromia, Epsilon, and Moon Racer had all snuck back into the room and were poorly hidden by a cabinet.

"We have a son," he said, a goofy smile spreading across his face plates. Elita and Chromia clung together in weak relief. Epsilon's optics were still wide from everything that had happened in the past hour - Nightshade had been poisoned, the sparkling had almost died, and she had witnessed her first ever online process. She had never seen anything quite so intimate before and she was honored that Nightshade would allow her to stay in the room. Red Alert approached Nightshade once more, deeming it safe to approach the femme now that her sparkling was tucked away safely in her chassis.

"Alright, Nightshade. You're going to need quite a bit of rest. So will your sparkling. I've made arrangements for your things to be brought down here until you're strong enough for us to move you back to your apartment," Red Alert said, ignoring the stinging in his optics. Nightshade giggled quietly, watching as Red Alert excused himself to wipe furiously at his optics.

Red Alert honestly couldn't believe it – a truebirth, the first one in Primus-only-knew how many eons. A true birth that had almost cost Nightshade her life, but a birth, a miraculous one! The other younglings were created from residual AllSpark energy, yes, but none of them had ever been carried or nurtured by a femme. It had taken millennia for them to figure out a way to extract the AllSpark energy from the spaces in the bedrock surrounding the AllSpark and many more years before they could figure out a way to channel it into a youngling's shell. They had tried using a sparkling's shell once. It was a tragic ending for the little one – the raw energy had ultimately been the sparkling's own demise. He wiped at his optics again, watching the new family from the corner of his optic.

Ratchet had his arms wrapped around Nightshade, a small smile on both of their faces as they continued bonding with their little one. The other femmes (and Crosswise, who had fainted during the procedure) were still gathered in the back, conversing quietly amongst themselves. Day Lily withdrew, leaving Nightshade and Ratchet to privately bond with their little sparkling.

Red Alert sniffled and hiccuped. He managed to send a malicious glare at Moon Racer but the effect of the glare was lost when his engine hiccuped again. Moon Racer burst into giggles. Red Alert couldn't help it that he was so Primus damned emotional around little ones and first on-lines.

"Red, I thought I told you not to get all weepy on us," Ratchet teased gently.

"Frag you," Red Alert snapped. Nightshade giggled quietly, her engine revving quietly. Her optic shutters drooped as she leaned against Ratchet heavily.

"No cursing around the sparkling," Ratchet growled, waving one fist threateningly. Red Alert blinked. It wasn't as though the sparkling could hear him past the thick metal of Nightshade's chest! Ratchet's glare grew more intense.

"Fine! No cursing. Sheesh," Red Alert muttered quietly, throwing his hands up in defeat. Ratchet and Red Alert shooed the others from the room after making them promise not to say a word about the birth – no even to their mates. Chromia and Day Lily stayed behind. Nightshade and Ratchet would present their son when they were ready. But now, Nightshade needed to rest.

After Ratchet settled beside Nightshade, protectively wrapping an arm around her, Red Alert briskly clapped his hands together and began lecturing the pair.

"Nightshade, we'll upgrade your sparkling into its permanent shell in a few orns or so, or whenever you feel ready, alright," Red Alert said, putting one gentle hand on her shoulder. The sleepy femme nodded, stretching slightly. Ratchet immediately stood and dragged the portable heater in the room over. She sighed happily when the heat washed over her frame. Red Alert put one hand on Ratchet's shoulder and motioned him away from the exhausted femme. He began speaking softly when they were a few yards away from her.

"Ratchet, her systems are extremely erratic right now," Red Alert said quietly, watching as the femme curled up on the berth, "You need to be very careful with her. That means no smart aft comments. If you upset her, she'll spook. You need to be very gentle with her – "

"I know that," Ratchet snapped, a familiar glare descending onto his face plates, "You think I don't know how to take care of her?"

"I never said that. I did, however, imply that you open your mouth without thinking things through," Red Alert said, giving Ratchet a mild glare. Ratchet relented at the glare. It was true. He was so used to saying what he wanted without giving a frag about what others thought. At Ratchet's silence, Red Alert continued speaking.

"She and the sparkling will be completely dependent on you for the next day or two. You'll also have to keep an optic on her energy reserves for a few days." Red Alert's tone darkened slightly at the end, the barest hint of a threat in his voice. Ratchet may have been the CMO, but in Red Alert's CPU, Nightshade and her sparkling were far more important than anything Ratchet could have said or done.

"And I will be taking the rest of this week off," Ratchet said, noting the menacing quality of Red Alert's tone.

"And until she's strong enough to return to work, you will be doing half-shifts," Red Alert continued, satisfied with Ratchet's declaration. Ratchet nodded, sighing as he gazed over at Nightshade longingly.

"Interfacing is safe whenever she feels up to it – "

"Interface is the last thing on my CPU at the moment!"

Nightshade giggled quietly at Ratchet's declaration, curiously turning her gaze at the two mechs standing by the window.

"You're a mech. I'm a mech. I think I know how our CPU's work," Red Alert said dryly.

"Red Alert – "

"And until she and your son are ready, you'll just have to use the hands Primus blessed you with," Red Alert said, grinning. His grin faded just a bit as the seriousness returned to his voice.

"…when you do, you'll need to use firewalls. There's no way she'll be able to carry the sparkling and his sibling at the same time," Red Alert said softly, "Now go take care of her. And pick out a name."

There was a moment of silence as Ratchet returned to Nightshade's side.

"Nightshade, love…what are we going to name him?"

"He's extremely energetic…Light Streak. We can call him Streak for short," Nightshade suggested, yawning. Ratchet nodded, not caring if she named the sparkling Larry. All that mattered to him now was his mate and sparkling. They were both now safe and sound. Nothing could possibly harm them in the medical bay - it was almost a fortress unto itself. Thick, steel plated walls. Self-defense systems. Impenetrable firewalls and coded frequencies. Spark masking frequencies. Nothing short of a nuclear blast could get into the medical bay. Relaxing for the first time in days, Ratchet sank next to his mate and gave her a genuine smile.

"Whatever you want, love. Streak sounds fine to me," he said, tenderly wrapping his arms around her. Nightshade made a soft humming noise and leaned into him, shuttering her optics. He nuzzled her head softly, rubbing his nose and lip components against her gently.

Red Alert felt his optics stinging again and he swore quietly, wiping at them furiously. Ratchet smirked up at his friend, but did not speak. He gently helped her lie down on her back. She winced and turned onto her side as the welds across her abdomen pulled uncomfortably. Ratchet immediately dug out a large metallic blanket. He had had it specially designed with her in mind. Now that fifty percent of her energy was being routed into helping the sparkling develop further, it left very little energy for her internal temperature moderator. She was running with cold systems now.

"Can I have painkillers now," Nightshade asked sleepily, wincing in pain as she tried to turn to glance at Red Alert. He nodded.

"You can have whatever you want, Nightshade."

"I want the strongest painkillers you've got," she murmured, curling up once more. Red Alert chuckled quietly, but did not obey. The strongest medication he had was for someone of Prime's size. A dose of that would probably knock her out for a few orns. He prepared the proper medication and injected it into her fuel lines. The effects were instantaneous.

Her optics dimmed and she giggled quietly. She sat up but began swaying dangerously. Ratchet gently pushed her back down, covering her back up with the blanket. Nightshade weakly batted his hands away.

"I wanna go back to the apartment," she said, overbalancing and falling back down. Ratchet bit down his amused smile and shook his head.

"You're in no condition to be walking, love. Just shutter your optics and get some rest," he said softly, kissing her forehead. She giggled again and latched onto the grille covering his chest.

"C'mere, handsome," she said, leering at him slightly. Chromia and Day Lily began laughing at the expression on Ratchet's face. He managed to suppress his CPU and gently pry her hands from his chest. She immediately fell back and curled up on her side.

"No. Rest."

"I don't want to! I'm fiiiine…tired…gonna recharge now…"

And with that, Nightshade succumbed to the medication and allowed her subroutines to take over.

Ratchet then proceeded to sit down beside her, holding his beloved's hand. Chromia and Day Lily were comfortably and quietly chatting, sitting in the seats Crosswise had dragged in. Red Alert watched for a few seconds before giving them a soft smile. Then, he dimmed the lights and stepped out of the room.

He went into his office and sat down. So engrossed was he in the sparkling's data that he did not notice the fact that the storage room doors were open. Nor he or Ratchet noticed the shadows sliding out of storage and hiding in the darkened rafters, their tiny green optics aglow with malicious intent.

Well. Y'all did want an update. :shrug: Now go look at my DA site. :)