A/N: OMFG, I am so sorry. If you're wondering why you're not on the alert, or this is not on your favorites list anymore, I made a boo-boo. I meant to delete this chapter to possibly add something (I changed my mind). What I ended up doing was deleting the whole story.

So you'll all have to re-subscribe and favorite apparently. I know it's a pain in the butt, but it's better than having to re-read the entire thing just rewritten, because that was the only other option if it was deleted for good.

Again, I am literally just SO sorry. I have no idea what happened. Thank God for the recovery button though or this would have been 41 chapters now the toilet.

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CHAPTER 41
Damage

It had been an hour, and still there was no sign of the second exit that Prowl knew existed. They'd stopped in one of the caverns, Jeff resting himself on a large rock. His leg had stopped bleeding out, but by the way the boy rubbed it, the pain was not subsiding in the least. "Here." Prowl inched toward the boy carefully "Allow me." He noted.

Prowl's holoform appeared before his son, gently rubbing the pained areas. "Dad?" Jeff looked at the mech as his holoform continued to do his work "When I was captive, I kept hearing your voice." He explained, Prowl smiled a bit "Was I hearing things?" He questioned.

Prowl shook his head, knowing that their bond had gone through. Shifting a bit, but keeping his sensors on high alert for Tarantulas, he peered down upon the human boy. "No, you were not hearing things. What you were hearing was my voice through our bond." He noted the look of confusion on Jeff's face "For our species, we have an unbreakable tether to the sparks of our children. Sometimes our biological ones. But when we adopt a sparkling as our own, we can make the bond as well." He paused a moment "One night, while you slept, I tried to see if I could make one with you. By some miracle, it was successful." He noted.

"So I'm now connected to you?" Jeff replied "Like forever?"

Prowl nodded his head, his smile widening. "No matter where you go in this world, or how old you get..." Prowl began to explain, his holoform poking his chest "This connects you to me, and makes you by all intents and purposes my son." Jeff blushed again "No one, not even your own mother can say they know you like I do anymore. A bond allows me to know every emotion you feel, every time your scared." He then added "And yes, speak to you without use of my vocal processors." He explained.

Jeff couldn't help but feel like the luckiest boy in the world knowing he was forever connected to Prowl in such a way. Prowl gently removed his hand from massaging the boy, moving a hand to run it through Jeff's hair. "Come on, son, you need to get up." Jeff slowly stood up, allowing the mech to pick him up again "Are you okay?" He questioned.

"Knowing that we've got that connection?" Jeff questioned "I'm more than okay." He groaned a bit "I could do without the big spider bite in my leg though." He muttered.

Prowl nodded his head, knowing that there was not much he could do to help his son. Not until they got home and Ratchet pumped painkillers into Jeff, though he could hope the boy wouldn't need surgery of some type. "Don't worry kid, we can't be too far off from the exit by my calculations." Prowl noted, his optics keeping an eye out for Tarantulas "You'll be home, safe and sound before you even-"

He had to quickly move Jeff to the side as Tarantulas made his all too quick return. Prowl had no time to react as a large rock hit the back of his helm, knocking him to the ground, stasis lock quickly filling him. Though he could already feel his systems attempting to reboot, Jeff was in a panic as the horribly disfigured Predacon turned to him, unable to do anything but screech in a horribly beastial way. As the Predacon swung for him with his claws, Jeff barely leapt out of the way, feeling as the claws dug into his shirt and slashed it practically off.

Hitting the floor of the cave, Jeff shrieked, trying to pull himself up. Tarantulas stepped toward him, shooting out webbing to keep Jeff against the ground. The human squirmed, crying out, as Prowl attempted to online. The last bit of web slapped Jeff hard in the mouth, silencing his screams. Tarantulas brought out the poisoned blade from before, raising it above his head, and swinging it down. Jeff prepared for the end, but the squelching sound was not from his body, nor was it from Prowl's...

He opened his eyes silently to see the body that had leapt in the way just in time. May Devlin stood there, the blade rammed through her body, her body trembling as Tarantulas removed the blade. She fell to the side, to the side, Jeff could also hear the sound of the other Autobots as they bolted for them. His eyes turned to his mother, the woman who had abandoned him, who had done horrible things... The woman who had just given her life to make sure that Jeff kept his in-tact. From behind, Tarantulas found himself with a large hole in his chest, and another, and another.

Prowl stood on the other end of a blaster, grunting as he pulled himself to his feet. He kicked Tarantulas in the head, crushing it before he could retaliate further before quickly removing the webs from Jeff. "Jeff, stand back!" Prowl shouted as Jeff rushed to May's side "I don't know if that poison can affect you!" He grabbed him back, and rushed to May's side "M'am, please cover your wound." He noted.

"T-Too late for me..." May trembled, she leaned up so that only Prowl could hear her "Please, don't let him see me die."

Blood cascaded down her lips as Prowl nodded to Jeff, gently motioning him away as he did as he was told. Prowl turned to May, within her eyes, a light was fading, and fast. "Your buddy was right... I was so selfish when I did what I did to him." She managed to breathe out, Prowl's optics seemed to fill with sympathy "But they ... They were not going to have him." She stared Prowl dead in the eyes "You're Prowl..." Prowl nodded "They told me... How much you loved him..." She managed.

"Conserve your energy." Prowl stated quietly.

Slowly, the woman reached over to Prowl's hand, laying her tiny one on his. She stared up at him, her eyes begging him for the very thing she was about to ask of him. "Don't let my son grow up an orphan." May begged him, she shook her head "Please... I never wanted this for him. Any of it..." She shook his head "I don't want him to be alone... Not for my mistakes." She added.

"He won't be." Prowl answered quietly "You have my word, your son will be loved."

Slowly reaching into her pocket, May dug out a small envelope. Her hand shakily set it beside Prowl. "When he's ready... Just give it to him..." Tears streamed the woman's cheeks "He deserves... To know..."

Before the sentence was completed, May was limp. Her body lying on the cave floor as Prowl stood over her. Though he may not have agreed with what she had done in the past, Prowl still felt a tinge of sadness as he realized she had expired. A moment passed, and slowly, surely, Prowl gently closed the woman's eyes. "Prowl." Prowl turned his head towards Sideswipe as he rolled forward "She got ahead of us... I had no idea-"

"Never mind that." Prowl spoke quietly "Comm Ratchet, and let him know we are making our way back as we speak."

...

By the time they returned in the evening, rain fittingly beat against the window of the med bay. Though none of the Autobots had been particularly fond of May Devlin, it did not write off the fact that she had died doing a noble deed. It was because of her that Prowl was even in there right now, seated at Jeff's beside as the boy, hopped up on painkillers, lay resting off the surgery for the wounds he had sustained. Ratchet peered over at the second-in-command quietly, his optics rising up to Prowl.

"You cannot blame yourself, Prowl." Ratchet finally spoke up "May Devlin made her choice. She did not need to take the blow, but she did." He explained, checking Jeff's IV drip quietly "If it had not been for her choice, you may very well have come home without him." He nodded towards Jeff and sighed quietly "If it's any consolation, we all feel what you do at this moment." He added.

Prowl nodded his head in agreement, staring down upon Jeff. He carefully ran a finger through the sleeping boy's hair, more than glad to not only have him back, but also sad at the knowledge both his biological parents were now dead. Until the day when and if his adoption went through, Jeffrey Devlin was an orphan, one with no one call family in his world. One might argue his uncle was "family", but all things considered, Prowl did not. "I went over his wounds sustained. His jaw was harmed and his tooth fractured long before the cave." Ratchet pointed out "He was hit, quite hard at that." He noted.

"We should notify social services of obvious child abuse." Prowl replied "Once he is awake, and in a good state of mind, you may ask him about it." He shook his head "But not right away, he is no doubt in a fragile and traumatized state." He explained, peering up at Ratchet "He need not reaccount what Peter did to him the moment he has his bearings." He added.

Ratchet nodded in complete agreement, taking a deep breath. He too, stared at the young boy with great concern. There was no doubt that Jeff would be left with many scars, both emotional, and physical after that night. But at the same time, Ratchet found himself simply grateful that the child was alive, and no exceptional harm had come to him. "He's going to need us to help him get through this." Ratchet spoke quietly "Thank Primus we got attached. Can you imagine if we were sending him to another home instead?"

"I'd rather not."

Ratchet was silent a moment, taking a deep breath. "If you are going to stay the night, you may as well take an open berth." Ratchet finally grunted "Just this once, considering the circumstances, I will allow you to stay overnight." He then added 'I want you out tomorrow night though." He added.

"Understood."

As Ratchet left the second-in-command there, the mech sighed inwardly. Prowl was thankful to have the boy back, to hear the boy's heartbeat just this closer, to be able to hold him again. Tonight, he would sleep well again. Even if, deep inside, he knew the guilt he felt would not go away.