Thundercracker was asleep, snoring away like a chainsaw (as usual), but Starscream couldn't go to sleep, and not just for that reason. There was no comfortable way to sleep—sleeping on his front didn't feel right, obviously, and he couldn't lie on his back any more because his wings hurt, and of course jets couldn't sleep on their sides because of the wings.

So basically that left him to toss and turn all night, trying to forget about his being sparked and the fight his two best friends had started in the med bay. Immediately afterwards, he'd headed to his room and refused to talk to anyone for the rest of the day; at night, Thundercracker came in, but he fell asleep immediately.

Starscream felt a few tears leak from his eyes as he tried to fall asleep on his back again. Dear Primus, did that HURT. Ouch.

And that was when he felt someone gently tapping his shoulder. "Starscream? Are you awake?"

"Skywarp?"

Yes, it was Skywarp, sitting on the edge of Starscream's bed. The purple jet reached out and rubbed Starscream's forearm a little, then whispered, "I'm sorry about today."

"That's all right, 'Warp," said Starscream, sitting up in bed and putting his head in his hands.

"I brought you a present from me and Moonbeam," Skywarp told him, and held up a container of what looked like lotion.

"What is that?" Starscream asked.

"Moonbeam says your wings won't stop hurting until after your twins are born, but this ointment helps relieve it at least a little." Skywarp handed the ointment over, and Starscream gratefully took it. "And, she says after a little while you won't be feeling sick any more. In about a year or so you'll be holding a little sparkling or two."

"Thank you, Skywarp." Starscream fiddled with the ointment for a little and stared down at the ground.

"Are you scared?" Skywarp's voice was small and quiet.

"No," said Starscream, wondering why he bothered to deny it.

"Well, you don't have to be," Skywarp told Starscream, reaching over and giving him a hug. "Moonbeam's done this plenty of times before. I know she'll help you all she can, and so will I."

Poor Skywarp, Starscream was thinking. Completely innocent to the fact that I don't like Moonbeam and she doesn't like me.

"Yes, I'm sure everything will be fine," Starscream mumbled.

"And, you know, I don't judge you at all for 'facing with Megatron," Skywarp continued, shrugging. "If it's what makes you happy, then…"

"Well, it sort of makes me happy," Starscream told him. "It's the kind of thing where…he hurts me…but I do it anyway. I don't know. I just can't make myself stop."

"I don't know much about that sort of thing, Starscream," said Skywarp. "And I'm sorry to hear it…but I do know that when a sparkling is born, Cybertronians rejoice. Double that for when there are two of them."

…

Starscream was standing outside of Megatron's quarters the next morning, feeling more scared than he ever had in his life. When he got up, he had applied some of Skywarp's wing ointment, and it had helped a little, but it hadn't taken care of the underlying sting.

"Lord Megatron?" Starscream whispered, knocking on the door. When it opened, Starscream yelped a little in surprise, but it was just Megatron standing there, glaring at him, like usual.

"What is it now, Starscream?" he asked.

"Well, I-I kind of have something to tell you," said Starscream, starting to feel even sicker than he already did. Maybe it was his regular nausea, or maybe it was because he was terrified out of his mind. Probably the latter. "You should probably sit down."

Megatron looked a little confused, but sat down on his bed anyway. Starscream just stood.

"I don't have all day, Starscream," Megatron said shortly. "Spit it out."

"Please don't…don't put it that way," Starscream mumbled, clutching his stomach and sinking down onto the floor. "This is just kind of big news."

"What did you do, Starscream?!" Megatron demanded.

"I'm carrying your children," Starscream blurted out.

The words took a moment to register, but before he knew it, Starscream found himself being picked up and flung into the wall.

"WHAT?!" Megatron hollered. "YOU'RE WHAT?!"

"In about a year, I will give birth to your children," Starscream repeated, rubbing his helmet and staring down at the ground.

Megatron stormed over to Starscream and stood him up again. "I can't believe this. My CNA is finally being passed along, and you are the one who carries the sparklings. Starscream! My worst enemy! Carrying MY CHILDREN!"

"Well, maybe if you hadn't forced me into 'facing with you, it wouldn't have happened," Starscream said bitterly, turning away.

"You had as much to do with that as I did!" Megatron yelled, hitting Starscream so hard that he slammed into the wall again. "This is your fault!"

"How is it my fault?!" Starscream screamed at him, trying to stop himself from crying again. "I always let you do whatever you wanted with my body, letting you rob me completely of my dignity every time! And now, when you spike me and get your CNA into me, it's my fault? How does that work?"

"You faint-hearted coward!" Megatron hollered. Starscream cried out in pain as he felt himself get hit again, this time in the side of his face. "You pitiful excuse for a Decepticon!"

"That's a fine way to treat someone who just found out he's sparked with twins," Starscream mumbled, standing up as he rubbed his hurting face with one shaking hand.

"Leave my presence!" Megatron demanded furiously, shoving Starscream towards the door. "I don't even want to look at you, you disgusting little whore!"

Without another word, Starscream exited the room, trembling and wiping tears.

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER…

Starscream knew deep down that a new sparkling was always a good thing in itself, but ever since he got the "Big News", his life had become a living hell. For one thing, he had to tell everyone else at base that he was carrying Megatron's twins, and now that the secret was out, there was no end to the teasing he had to endure. Take Rumble and Frenzy, for example:

"Starscream and Megatron, sitting in a tree!

K-I-S -S-I-N-G!

First comes love, then comes marriage,

Here come the twins in their baby carriage!"

And then there was the simple fact that his symptoms alone were making him miserable. Every day he was plagued with headaches and especially sickness, and he'd given up on using the stupid wing ointment. It didn't work, anyway. All he wanted to do was lie in bed or on the couch all day, and the slightest things were ticking him off. If something didn't make him angry, it probably made him incredibly weepy, or happy for a little bit and then upset again.

Worst of all, he didn't really have anyone to help him. Sure, the medic was supposed to be helping, and sometimes she did, but she was usually out with Skywarp, making him buy things for her as he let her boss him around. Thundercracker would try to listen, but got bored or exasperated as Starscream's constant whining continued on. And, obviously, Megatron was no help.

One morning, about a month in, Starscream was lying down on the couch, a pillow behind his head and another underneath his wings. Megatron was sitting next to him, trying to force him to drink something.

"You know I don't care about you, Starscream," Megatron said harshly, handing a cube of nutritious high-grade out to Starscream. "But I might as well be treating my children right. So drink this nourishment immediately."

"I'm not thirsty," Starscream mumbled, holding his hand out. "Take that away before I throw up all over it."

Megatron whacked Starscream upside the head. "I command you to drink it!"

"I said I don't want any!" Starscream screeched, knocking the energon cube out of his master's hand and starting to cry again.

Megatron looked like he was about to do something dangerous, but that was when Skywarp and Moonbeam walked in, just about to go on their date.

"Starscream?" asked Skywarp, walking over to the couch, Moonbeam close behind him.

"I-I hate my l-life!" Starscream was sobbing over and over again. Megatron sat up and rolled his eyes.

Skywarp, looking concerned, lifted Starscream up and sat next to him on the couch. "You know, if you want me and Moonbeam to stay home with you instead of going out tonight, we can."

"That would be great," said Starscream gratefully, wiping his eyes.

"You don't want to go on our date?" they heard Moonbeam say, her voice a little shriller than usual. "Don't you love me, sugar daddy?"

"Oh, of course I love you, kissy-wissy," said Skywarp, standing up and putting his arms around Moonbeam. "It's just…Starscream is kind of going through a hard time, and I'm his best friend."

"But I'm your girlfriend," Moonbeam whined, managing to squeeze some fake tears out of her big sad red eyes. "You aren't abandoning me…are you?"

"No, it's always been you, Moonbeam," Skywarp whispered, closing his eyes and kissing the top of her helmet. "I love you."

"I love you too, sugar daddy," Moonbeam told him. "Could we please go on the date? I've been looking forward to it all week…and it would really mean a lot to me…"

"Starscream?" asked Skywarp tentatively. "Do you think you'll be okay without us?"

Let's see, Starscream thought to himself. I feel absolutely miserable, I'm stuck here with that jerk Megatron, I have no idea what being sparked up for the next year will be like, I'm terrified of giving birth, and I would be a terrible parent. Is it any wonder I'm depressed?!

"Yes, I'll be fine," Starscream mumbled, sinking back down onto the couch. "Go have fun on your date."

"Thanks, buddy." Skywarp squeezed Starscream's shoulder and swept Moonbeam away. Just once, Starscream saw her turn around to look at him; there was an evil little smirk on her face, just to let him know who had won.

"You might be pretty on the outside, Moonbeam," Starscream muttered bitterly as they left the room. "But on the inside, you're the ugliest thing I've ever seen."