Chapter Four

xXx

He woke up the next night, with an almost audible gasp, clutching at the bed sheets for his life. Abruptly, he regretted moving, as a sharp stab moved up his leg, jamming him back on the bed. Looks like the painkillers were wearing off. No wonder he woke up so soon. Drowsily, his eyes wondered to where the Camero stood, paint gleaming in the dim lights. He tried not to groan, and sat back down on the covers.

Fingers clasped at each other through the hot sheets, and he fidgeted away, mumbling away some of the pain by biting his lip, making them bleed after what seemed like hours. He gasped as another flash of searing pain darted up through his body. Was he still dreaming? He could almost swear that every inch of his body was still under Megatron, still experiencing every little inch of torment Megatron had inflicted on him.

He gasped again, a small streak of sweat pouring down his burning neck.

What was happening?

He felt his heart pound away in his ears, and his lungs started to tighten. He arched his back upward, and nearly screamed. He couldn't ask anyone for help, or else he'd die from lack of air. He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't breathe.

His hands grappled for the edge of the bed, and he pulled on the metal bar he found, squeezing it as tightly as he could. By now, the aches had spread to his head, and he wanted to rip his very skin apart, and he groaned again, wondering if he could somehow alert Bumblebee. He couldn't keep going through this. He couldn't hold out until morning.

"Sam? Sam, what's wrong?" the Camero squeaked, but Sam would not answer. If he did, his voice would erupt into an endless wail.

A fire was burning in his chest, ripping his skin apart like fingers prying open his ribcage. The twisting motion caused him to spin from the edge of the bed and onto the floor, where he lay sprawled out, his body curling into a ball, his breathing non-existent. He stopped trying for oxygen ages ago.

Something was pounding forward, and he shrank away from whatever it was, his whole self flinching when he felt a hand pull him up from the floor. He was blind with the pain, but even so, he knew it was Rachet holding him. There was a commotion in the background, voices as high-pitched as his heartbeats, sounds coming out much louder than his racy breath, and a keening sound, like something was dying. He knew it could only be coming from his own mouth, not even Bumblebee could create a sound that had his trademark inside out.

"He's dying, Rachet. Is there any way-" Optimus was saying.

"No, not dying. We both know Samuel isn't dying, Optimus. We need to operate now, before it kills him," Rachet spoke hurriedly back, and Sam jumped as he felt himself being placed down on something soft, but he couldn't fathom what it was, because his mind had gone blank, save for the few voices he could hear. For some reason, everything had clicked and disappeared, like his body had gone into shutdown, and he wondered, dazedly, if this was what dying felt like.

"Samuel? Can you hear us?" he knew that as Optimus spoke, his eyes had probably found the leader's voice, but there was no point in asking the human to reply: Sam was already gone. Sam couldn't think for himself, Sam couldn't answer questions, and Sam couldn't move. But he could hear, and that was all he needed to have at this very moment.

"Sam?" A British voice this time, wailing out for him. "Sam? I'm here, I'm right beside you, I'm right here, and I swear I'm not going to leave you, I swear- Sam! Please don't go, please stay-"

One breath, then time stopped.

xXx

There was a light glowing inside of him. It only dawned on him then what they meant earlier. Yet he wasn't surprised, not by the sudden realisation that he was not the only one inhabiting his own body, nor by the reasons which he had received this-unwanted?- gift. This was Megatron's… child?

A spark.

That was what Sam had felt inside himself, glowing with the light of a thousand suns, with the burning need to feel wanted, safe, no longer alone. This spark was lonesome, and it needed someone to love, or else it would die-

What kind of a freak had he turned into?

He looked at it worriedly, and the rising horror grew from his throat, climbing into a scream that would never find its way through his mouth, much like all the others screams he attempted to utter for the past week. God, wasn't it just so grand to know no-one would ever hear these confounded sounds?

A spark was growing inside him.

A spark.

Megatron had given him… a spark?

What sick twist of fate had done this to him?

There was a burrowing feeling worming its way through his chest, nestling for comfort, as if sensing his discomfort, and Sam knew if it had arms, it would've wrapped it's little fingers around him in an embrace which sold him to the devil. Sam knew this spark was still innocent, unknowing as to what it's- daddy?- had done in order to give him life.

Suddenly, Sam wanted this spark to be his. This was his… child, and he wanted to raise it, even if he couldn't be there for it's whole life, even if he died in order to see it before his eyes-

Wow, he felt like such a mother.

xXx

Before he woke up, he noticed those arms had gripped him, tenderly. They were strong, cold, but they were there. They were keeping him here, holding his body to the ground, whereas he had thought he had floated toward the Heavens hours ago. He marvelled at the strength Bumblebee had inside him, knowing that that strength came from eons of fighting for his planet. He opened his eyes gently, and came face to face with a checked shirt, yellow and black. Figures.

Spark.

Sam bolted up, the arms holding him coming briefly undone, before they tightened around his back again, bringing him back down to where he was previously lying. He grunted as he ended back up where he was, his face digging into Bee's cold chest. No matter who it was that was holding him, he couldn't stop the shudder that ran through him when his face came into contact with another body. Even if it was Bee, the feeling of his body pressed up against-

His legs were hurting him, and he had the sneaking feeling they hadn't given him anything to take for the agonising sensation of those burning welts. "Bee, let go, please-"

"No, you need to rest, now, Sam," Bumblebee's voice was hard, not friendly, and it occurred to Sam that this was the first time he'd ever heard Bee use that tone with him. A shiver went through Sam, before he mustered up the courage to try again.

"Please, Bee, I need to get up now-"

"Why didn't you tell me he done those things?" Bumblebee's voice was quiet, and he spoke with a burning anger that trembled in his voice.

It was enough to stop Sam from trying to get out of this suddenly steely grip. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he knew Bumblebee could feel it there, fluttering like the wings of a fragile bird, praying for its chance at escape. But no matter what Sam pleaded with his eyes, it seemed obvious he wasn't letting up.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a spark?"

"I didn't know," Sam answered truthfully, "I swear, I didn't know I could even have-"

"So you were ready to keep the fact that Megatron had raped you from me?" Bumblebee was truly hurt by this, and Sam looked up to finally see those blue eyes full of heart-wrenching emotion. "I can't believe," he uttered, so softly, "That you would keep that from me, Sam. I'm your friend, am'nt I?"

"Of course you are, Bee!" Sam almost whimpered it out, because the tension he'd felt in his body was becoming overwhelming. Bumblebee's grip on him was tightening around his body, and even the welts on his chest had not healed completely. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the pain would die down now, anytime now, but before he could help it, Megatron's face had loomed up in front of his lids, and he gripped Bumblebee's shirt even tighter. He bit his lips, struggling to untangle himself from Bee's death grip. "Please, Bee, let go of me- Hurts-" he mumbled as best he could, and suddenly he felt light headed.

Bumblebee's arms had come out from around him, and he gasped for air, lying his head down on Bee's chest, his exhaustion overcoming his relief. He brought his legs up toward his stomach, and one of his hands came out to wrap itself around his ankle. It was a force of habit, him lying on his side, in fetal position- Call it weird, but it made him feel safe.

Safe.

Ha, how ironic.

"Sam? I'm sorry, I'm just-"

"Fine, it's fine," Sam answered taking another shuddery breath. His shoulders melted into the groove on Bee's stomach, and he winced at the pain he felt on his legs. This time, Bumblebee took notice of his wince, and made to get out from underneath him. The way they were sitting on the back of the car seat made it a hard try to pull himself from underneath a weight that didn't want him to move. Sam's hand came out and gripped Bee's shirt. "Please don't go. I'm scared. Of this," with the other hand he pointed to himself, meaning the spark. It was there, growing inside him.

"It's not there anymore, Sam. I-" At this point, Bumblebee wondered at how much he could say, but he shook his head, wrapping his arms around his charge's shivery shoulders, and pulling himself back down to where he fit comfortably. He brought his knees up to shelter Sam from the outside world, pulling Sam up to his shoulder.

"What do you mean? What do you mean it's not there anymore?" The rising squeal in Sam's voice caused him to pitch his body away from Bumblebee's welcoming arms. The panic in the human's eyes almost startled Bumblebee. Almost, because he knew Sam was a kind soul: he wouldn't want anything to happen to anyone who didn't deserve it, and seeing him like this over something that happened to him, caused him to look down to his chest, where underneath the clothes hid a long scar from the operation that took place over an hour ago. If only for Rachet's quick thinking, Sam would be dead by now.

The way his eyes darted to his chest made Sam look down, and he pulled the shirt up to see what Bee knew he was going to find anyway. Underneath the layer of clothing stood many blood red scars, all of which would probably not leave his body without skin grafts of some sort, and he didn't understand why Bee would look here, until Bee's hand touched his chest, over where his heart-beat, cold fingers trailing down a stitched scar, stretching right down to his waist line. Sam felt time stop, and the sound of rushed breath came through his parted lips. Bumblebee looked up to see those eyes as heart-broken as he felt deep inside. Bumblebee left his hand on Sam's waist, and Sam pulled down his shirt, letting the whole world crash around his head.

"Sam, the spark would have killed you," Bumblebee faltered, as Sam closed his eyes, biting his lips. "So I asked Rachet to put the spark inside me, to let it grow until the time is right for the sparkling to hatch." Bumblebee finished the sentence, glad that he'd prepared himself for this. Of course Sam would want him to look after the sparkling, but would he be okay with the thought that Megatron had given him this? Sam looked up, and in those eyes, he saw understanding, and a near smile.

"So it's safe? The spark is safe?"

"Yes, the sparkling is safe. But," he added, "If you don't want to see it when-"

Sam shook his head fervently, beaming. He put his warm hand down on Bee's, which was still placed on his bare hip, pressing forward.

"It's alive. That's all I care about. Not-" his eyes went dull with memory, "I don't care about what happened before." He shivered, and all Bumblebee could feel was this longing to be with him, this bursting vibrancy that urged him to stay with Sam, to help Sam, to hold him. All of a sudden, Sam was acting strong, trying not to let the sadistic bastard get to him through memories he so badly wished to take away. Still, Sam's eyes glistened with the thought that the youngling wasn't going to die.

Sam was an innocent human being, no matter what he'd been through.

Bumblebee pulled Sam forward gently, pressing him to his chest. Sam literally melted there and then, the exhaustion he felt earlier becoming too great. There was no fight or wish to pull away from this cold embrace. His closed his eyes, and listened to Bumblebee hum a tune, rocking him to sleep.

"I'm sorry for not telling you. I just-" Sam mumbled, gripping Bee's shirt again with a worrying amount of force. Bumblebee's eyebrows knitted together, his blond hair peeking out to see Sam shuddering into his body. Sam was reliving those memories again, and even while he slept, he was thinking about Megatron, how cruelly he tortured him, how sadistic his teases and taunts were too the poor human being who could not move, who was held in place while Megatron got him with spark. How excruciating that must have been for Sam, who meant no harm to the bastard anyway.

If he'd only stayed away.

Bumblebee gripped him tighter and replied, softly, "It's okay. I'm sorry for being so angry earlier. I shouldn't have even thought of saying those things to you, not when you-" he didn't know how to finish the sentence, and so he pursed his lips. He brought a gentle hand up to touch Sam's feverish arm, and held it carefully. In return, Sam shivered, sleep riddled eyes staying closed.

"I'm sorry," he said again, as if the first time wasn't clear enough, and then, "Thanks Bee. Thanks."

Why was Sam thanking him?

He was the one who experienced that, he was the one who woke up in the middle of the night with those horrifying pains, chaining him to whatever he lay on, while the spark inside of him grew and grew. He was the one who'd been through enough to last him a lifetime.

"Sure," he replied, feeling Sam relax into his body, and drift off into a land of dreams.

It just felt so sad, to be so pure in the face of so much horror, Bumblebee thought.

A/N: I AM SOOOO SORRY! :'(

I swear, I did not mean to keep this for soo long! I've been too busy, and now that I'm off for the hols, I only just remembered it! I swear, the work keeps piling, and I have such a bad memory! I apologise profusedly, and I hope the double-trouble will keep you all happy for a little while...

As for how the story will turn out, well, I don't know! Should I make it a sad ending, or would you all prefer a happy one? My pessimistic side tells me to end it all on a sad note, so I tend to go with the flow in any case...

Anyways, hope you likey the next chapter... It's got a little more-well, umm-check it out! A little surprise in store for the lovers of Bumblebee and Sam! XDD

xoxoxox