Author's Notes: I actually finished this chapter yesterday, but the fanfiction website was glitching then so I couldn't upload the file. I tried all day with no luck, so I am super happy I am able to upload today! Yay! Anyway, this chapter turned out pretty much how I wanted it to, and I hope it's a good one. Thank you guys for reading and reviewing, and I hope you're all having a great week :)

Chapter 7

Confrontation

The Present

Jack, Miko, and Raf came to the Autobot base after school as had become the custom lately. Miko was looking forward to showing Bulkhead her new binder that had a picture of the band Slash Monkey on the cover. She jumped out of Bumblebee's passenger side (he had picked them up from school) and ran inside to look for Bulkhead.

She found Bulkhead in the training room punching a bag harder than usual, and he looked angry.

"Hey Bulk, what's up?" Miko called out loudly to be heard over the sound of the blows Bulkhead was delivering to the punching bag.

Bulkhead looked down at Miko, and he tried to school his features so he didn't look quite so upset.

"Hey Miko, just working on my hooks," Bulkhead replied with fake joviality.

Miko arched her eyebrow and gave Bulkhead a look that said 'I'm not buying this'. Bulkhead groaned and sat down on the bench against the wall, with Miko following closely behind.

"It's Enamel," Bulkhead finally admitted, "We, uh, spent some quality time together yesterday."

"So? I thought you two wanted to be friends again," Miko reasoned.

"No Miko, I mean we spent some...grown up time together," Bulkhead said quietly; embarrassed to talk about something so personal with a young femme; even if she was human.

"Oh," Miko nodded in understanding, "So does this mean you two are back together?"

"That what I thought, until this morning," Bulkhead growled lowly, "I got her a bouquet and told her about my renewed love for her, and she told me flat-out that she used me for a plaything! What's worse, she pretty much said I was free to act the same way toward her. What kind of relationship is that? Enamel was my mate for over 400 vorns, and she acts like it was a casual hookup! What kind of a mech does she think I am? She has so little respect for me that she thought I would be okay with using her and being used! Miko, I don't know what to do. I have to see her every day now that she's an Autobot, yet she treated me like an old oil rag. How can I keep myself composed around her when she hasn't changed at all?"

Miko listened quietly for a change as her friend spoke of his woes. The sadder and more defeated Bulkhead became, the angrier it made Miko. Enamel was already kind of boring as far as Miko was concerned, but to hurt her friend in such an intimate way? No, this time that red and gold glitch had gone too far.

Enamel was in her quarters calibrating a device that Ratchet needed for deep armor scans. It seemed that the best way to forget where she was and what had become of Cybertron was simply to keep busy. She was interrupted from her mundane task when she heard a soft knock on the door. She opened it to see Miko standing there with a hard expression on her normally chipper face.

"Why Miko, it is so good to see you," Enamel greeted the teenager politely, "May I offer you anything? A chair? Perhaps a...well, actually I don't keep human fuel in my quarters, but you're more than welcome to use my rotary buffer."

"Get out," Miko barked in clipped tones.

"Um...excuse me?" Enamel replied; perplexed.

"You heard me," Miko replied coldly, "You've caused nothing but trouble since you came here, and now you're hurting Bulkhead. You need to leave, now."

"What happens between Bulkhead and I is none of your concern," Enamel replied; her tone stiff to match Miko's aggression.

"Oh, yes it is!" Miko contested harshly, "Bulkhead is my best friend, and if you mess with him then you mess with me. Are you ready for that? Because I don't think you are. I can become your worst nightmare."

"And I could squish you if I so chose," Enamel pointed out, "However, I don't see why our relationship has to be doomed. Try to understand Miko that the relationship I have with Bulkhead is a complicated one, and has been for some time. I don't really want to get back together with him, but on some level...I miss him."

Enamel's vocalizer hitched on that last statement, and she stopped talking for a moment. Enamel then wiped away a drop of cleaning fluid from her optic, and turned back to Miko once she had composed herself.

"Have you ever been in a romantic relationship, Miko?" Enamel asked.

"No," Miko replied, though she still didn't seem placated by Enamel's current emotional display, "I'm not ready for all that."

"So then you understand how serious it is?" Enamel prodded.

"Yeah, do you?" Miko snapped angrily, "Because Bulkhead is upset right now because you used him!"

"I never meant to hurt him," Enamel replied quietly, "But why would he want me back so badly? He left me, Miko. He walked out on any hope we had for a family and a future. Yes, I know people can change their processors about things, but that means nothing when I am confronting the mech that twisted my spark around for so long. I hated how miserable he made me, yet I loved how good he could make me feel when we had a good orn. I cannot simply see the end of our love when I look at him. I also see the burning passion we once had. We used to be young and felt that together we could change the world. Now the world is gone and I have nothing familiar in my life except for him. Yet I do not know if it is love or loneliness. I do not expect you to understand. I do not even understand."

"Are you gonna apologize to Bulkhead?" Miko asked pointedly.

"I suppose I should," Enamel sighed, "I suppose I will. I should not have complicated things here. I just...missed his energy and his warmth. Physical intimacy can be a great comfort when one is facing down their own mortality, but I suppose I was being selfish. All I can say youngling is learn from us. Someday you may likewise face the end of the world, and I hope you can do so with more dignity than I did."

Miko and Enamel parted ways then, Miko to go play video games with Jack and Enamel to keep her promise and apologize to her former bondmate.

A few days passed in relative calm. Bulkhead was still hurt, but he accepted Enamel's apology anyway. Oh some level he understood her feelings of loneliness, but at the same time he hated that she had been underhanded toward him. Either way they agreed to keep their relationship professional from that point onward.

It was early noon when the Autobots heard the alarm from their computer. The Decepticons were on the move somewhere in the Andes Mountains, likely mining energon.

"Autobots, there could be humans near that area, so we must go to protect them," Optimus told them, "We are also in desperate need of that energon. Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Enamel, let's roll out."

"Wait, sir! Me?" Enamel asked incredulously, "I would be useless out there."

"Don't you have a weapon installed?" Arcee asked.

Enamel transformed her digits into five tiny drills and five tiny scalpels.

"Digit drills? That's it?" Arcee asked critically.

"I am a surgeon, not a soldier," Enamel stated sternly, "However, I suppose if you are going out there to get yourselves killed I might as well join you. You'll need someone to put you back together."

"Now you're starting to sound like Ratchet," Bulkhead chuckled; much to Enamel's annoyance.

With that argument settled, Optimus decided it would be best to send everyone they could since there would be safety in numbers. Enamel was nervous about going out there to face the evil that had consumed her world like Unicron itself, but she wasn't about to show that to the Autobots. She would not be made to look like a coward in front of those younger 'Bots and her former bondmate. Together the Autobots went through the ground bridge into the unknown…

...And found themselves surrounded by Vehicons!

"Take cover!" Optimus shouted as the drones began to shoot the Autobots.

Most of the Autobots scurried around rocks in an effort to get into the cave where the energon was being mined from. Optimus continued to shoot to provide cover for his troops, and everyone else ducked around rocks, trees, and anything else they could find.

Enamel realized she was separated from the group, and was terrified at being surrounded by so many drones. She dared to venture a peek from around the tree she was hiding behind, and saw that Bulkhead and Bumblebee had made it inside the cave while Arcee continued to dodge Vehicons with the grace of a dancer. Enamel nodded to herself that she could probably get closer as well, so she made a run for it.

As Enamel ventured closer to the cave she saw that a ground bridge was opening a mere few yards away from her, and a big Decepticon was coming out! She had no time to take cover, and when the ground bridge closed Breakdown was standing right in front of her!

"E- Enamel?" Breakdown stuttered when he saw her; his only optic widening in disbelief, "But...I thought you were dead. I took you into that prison ship myself! No…you're not here. My processor is obviously playing tricks on me again."

"What happened to your optic?" Enamel asked; ignoring his stammering, "You welded a piece of cheap steel over it."

"Well we don't exactly have proper supplies around here and-! Wait, so, you're really here?" Breakdown asked; still unable to believe it.

"Yes, I'm really here," Enamel stated in a patronizing tone, "So, how is Knockout doing?"

"Pretty good," Breakdown said, but then he shook his helm and shouted in a harsher voice, "Wait a klik! Don't talk to me like we're discussing the weather! You came back from the dead! I know you shouldn't still be here! I captured you, took you to the prison ship, and saw them begin experimentation on you! You should be dead!"

"You sound disappointed," Enamel replied with an amused smirk, "Well big guy, here's your second chance. Hurt me."

Enamel's forceful words caught Breakdown off-guard for a second, which was exactly what she was counting on. She whipped out her tiny scalpel and sliced it across Breakdown's abdominal struts! Breakdown howled in pain, and then angrily grit his denta as he prepared to give chase to the fleeing femme.

Enamel knew that wouldn't buy her much time. Normally she would have severed the cables to his wrists, but she knew that Breakdown was a medical assistant, and somehow it just didn't seem right to damage the hands of a healer; no matter how much of a scraphead he was.

Breakdown transformed into his alt mode to catch up to her, so Enamel transformed as well. Optimus saw that Breakdown was pursuing Enamel, so he shot at the approaching 'Con. Breakdown, not ready to face down the power of the Prime, drove away with his tires screeching.

The other Autobots came out with energon crystals in tow, and Optimus ordered a ground bridge. Everyone ran for it, and made it back to base unharmed and with a cache of energy to live off of for another orn.

"So Enamel, how was your first mission?" Bulkhead asked with a smile on his face plate after they were safely inside the base.

"Uneventful," Enamel shrugged, "I believe I should invest in a weapons upgrade, however. Perhaps see if Ratchet can build me a pistol or something."

"Can you shoot?" Bulkhead asked curiously.

"No, but I need a weapon I don't have to install," Enamel explained, "My surgical equipment is far too valuable to scrap. By the way, you have a cut on your backside. I can fix that for you."

"Thanks, but it'll heal on its own," Bulkhead replied good-naturedly; the former ugliness seemingly forgotten.

Enamel went back to the medbay then to talk to Ratchet about exterior weapons. She was relieved that Bulkhead didn't know about Breakdown's involvement in her capture or that he had been on the battlefield with them. She knew if Bulkhead was aware of such a thing that he would hunt the blue and white Decepticon down like a turbo fox, and she didn't want Breakdown's energon on her conscience.

The Past

Enamel onlined after a fitful night of recharge. Her body ached, and she was having trouble coming to herself. She stepped off the berth and into a pile of broken glass and metal shards, and then the entire previous night came rushing back to her in a wave. She and Bulkhead had another fight.

He had come home after blowing his paycheck at the bar and was overcharged out of his helm. Enamel, tired of dealing with his insufferable addiction, berated him without restraint. That caused Bulkhead to yell at her, and before long they were throwing anything at each other that would break. Last thing she remembered was Bulkhead passing out on the couch. Sadly this was nothing new for her.

She sighed and slowly trudged into the living room to take inventory of everything that was damaged. Oddly enough Bulkhead wasn't there. It wasn't like him to online so early after an evening like that, but Enamel was just grateful she didn't have to wake him. There were bits of broken items all over the floor just like in the berth room, and with all the enthusiasm of a dental checkup patient she found a dustpan and began to clean up the damage.

After a breem or two of attempting to tidy up Enamel heard a banging noise coming from their garage. That was the place where Bulkhead liked to keep his tools, so it was likely him messing around in there. Enamel just sighed again and continued cleaning.

It was a quarter joor later that Bulkhead came back inside through the front door. He was stomping around, indicating he was still angry from the night before, and he seemed to be ripping things from the shelves and pulling various items out of drawers. Enamel growled low, not knowing what was going on, and tried to ignore him. After he pulled a picture off the wall however, she couldn't take it anymore.

"What are you doing, Bulkhead?" Enamel snapped as she stood up from cleaning junk off the floor.

"What I should've done a long time ago," Bulkhead snapped back at her, "I'm leaving. Goodbye, Enamel."

"Leaving?" Enamel repeated incredulously, "Wait, do you mean to say you're severing your spark bond with me?"

"You got it," Bulkhead replied even as he continued to forcefully throw items into his subspace compartment, "I've had enough of this, and I think this is what's best for both of us."

"I...you...How dare you!?" Enamel shouted in white hot rage, "After everything I put up with from you, the drinking and the cursing and your rowdy friends, and you have the gall to leave me!? I gave you my youth, Bulkhead! I gave you my spark!"

"And I did the same for you," Bulkhead pointed out, "Look Enamel, this can't go on. All we do anymore is fight. I know you're never gonna have the struts to leave, so I'm leaving. You can have the house, but I'm taking everything in this dump that rightfully belongs to me."

"But...Where will you go?" Enamel asked; her voice much more timid and pained than before.

"Someplace where you won't find me," Bulkhead replied resolutely, "You tear me down and you make me feel like less than a mech. I put up with my formech all day and then you all night. I can't take it anymore! You criticize everything about me, and I just want to go someplace where I can live in peace and be myself. I hope you can understand that."

"Oh, I understand," Enamel replied bitterly, "You think I'm a sparkless glitch. Well then, you might as well get it over with. Let me tell you something though, if you walk through that front door then you are never allowed to enter this house again."

Bulkhead gave her one last sad look, and then with a painful pop their sparks disconnected from each other. For the first time in 400 vorns they couldn't feel each other, or anything other than themselves, and it physically hurt.

Bulkhead then left the house with the possessions he had managed to cram into his subspace, and Enamel walked over to the front doorway and watched him as he transformed and drove away; out of her life forever.

A few orns passed after Bulkhead left, and Enamel was stuck in a depression she couldn't escape. The money she earned at her medical practice was barely enough to cover her rent. She worked with low-income mechs and femmes because she knew there were few members of the medical caste that would, yet this meant she made a lot fewer credits than most. She would be lucky to keep the lights on, and she would really have to cut corners when it came to energon consumption.

She had taken two orns off to allow her spark to recover from the severing, but she couldn't afford to lose any more time from work than she already had, so she returned and tried to keep her features schooled. Her apprentice Breakdown was there to greet her as always and she tried to give off an aura of calm authority, but he knew that something was wrong.

"It's nothing," Enamel had told Breakdown when he asked about it.

"Come on, Doc. If you don't tell me then how will I know what to look for in future patients that might have your condition?" Breakdown reasoned persistently.

"It's not a condition, Breakdown, it's just..." Enamel took a deep breath before she finally continued, "Bulkhead and I are severed, and my spark is still in recovery. I will be fine, but it will take time."

"Spark severing?" Breakdown asked incredulously, "Enamel! You shouldn't even be here! A severed spark requires at least 7 orns of berth rest! I'm taking you home."

"No, you can't!" Enamel shouted frantically, but then in a calmer voice said, "I need the money, and I need to keep myself busy. I don't want to spend all day in that quiet house thinking about him. I need to be here. Please understand."

"Yeah, I get it," Breakdown relented, "So, what's on today's lesson plan, Doc?"

"Well, our first patient won't arrive for another joor, so I believe we should continue with chapter 17 of your medical assistant training manual," Enamel replied; her mood improving already, "Let's see, chapter 17 is Deep Armor and Spark Scanning. Oh, joy."

"Is it that bad?" Breakdown asked apprehensively.

"It's a bit technical," Enamel admitted, "You will need to become familiar with the scanner's advanced settings. I will be your patient for this exercise. Now, have you studied the scanner's advanced settings?"

"Yes, ma'am," Breakdown nodded as he reached for the oversized device, "Yeesh, don't they make these things any smaller?"

"They do, but we can't afford the newer models," Enamel replied with a wry smile, "Now, do you know the setting for shoulder guard armor scanning?"

"Um...delta to the right, press the green button, and then turn the gamma knob until I hear a low humming noise?" Breakdown asked rather than stated.

"Correct," Enamel replied approvingly before laying down on the med berth, "Now demonstrate."

Breakdown fiddled with the controls of the scanner and pointed it toward Enamel's right shoulder.

"How does it feel?" Breakdown asked.

"I feel nothing," Enamel replied, "That is good. Now, do you see the scan?"

"Yeah," Breakdown replied.

"Can you read it?" Enamel asked.

"Yeah," Breakdown replied, "It says your shoulder guards are undamaged and your joints are up to date on lubrication and maintenance."

"Good," Enamel replied, "Now, do you know how to adjust for a spark scan?"

"Uh...delta to the left, push the green and red buttons at the same time, wait for a blinking light, and...gamma turned off?" Breakdown asked rather than stated.

"That is exactly right," Enamel replied proudly, "Now demonstrate."

Breakdown wasn't as confident with the spark scanning option. He knew if he did this wrong it could do some damage, especially since his instructor was already dealing with a weakened spark. He steeled himself and set the scanner to the correct settings. He then pointed it at Enamel's spark.

"Do you feel anything?" Breakdown asked nervously.

"Um...I feel movement," Enamel replied warily, "The setting might be slightly too high. It shouldn't interfere with the readings, however. What does the scanner say?"

"Um, let's see...It says...Oh, that can't be right," Breakdown muttered.

"What? What can't be right?" Enamel asked worriedly.

"Hm, according to these readings, you're carrying," Breakdown replied skeptically, "I must have set the scanner wrong."

"Let me see that," Enamel ordered and held her servos out for the scanner.

Breakdown obliged and handed her the cumbersome scanner. Enamel looked to make sure all of the dials and buttons were in their proper place, and then read the scan for herself. She did a double take just to make sure, and then she gently set down the scanner on the berth.

"Well Breakdown, I have good news," Enamel said with a cheeky smirk, "You're going to pass your medical exam."

"Holy pit! You're really carrying?" Breakdown exclaimed in awe.

"Yes, and I believe now would be a good time to discuss the prenatal spark scanner settings," Enamel replied without missing a beat.

"It's always business with you, huh?" Breakdown teased her, "Oh, alright. Let's see...I can't remember what chapter that's under."

"Chapter 21 of this data pad," Enamel replied, "Of course I can just show you. All you have to do to switch from regular scan to prenatal spark scan is to hold down this pink button next to the green one while you're scanning. Remember not to let go of the button until the scan is complete since scanning a newspark takes more time."

"Got it, Doc," Breakdown replied as he calibrated the settings, "Okay, now hold perfectly still and let me know if you start to feel overheated."

"That's what he said," Enamel quipped dryly.

It took a moment for Breakdown to realize she was joking, but when it finally registered Breakdown snorted in laughter and almost dropped his scanner, but quickly righted himself and began to take readings on Enamel's newspark. She waited for 5 breems while the scan was completed, and then Breakdown saved the scan results before turning off the machine.

"Well?" Enamel asked impatiently, "Is it healthy?"

"Yeah, he's healthy," Breakdown smiled warmly as he helped Enamel up off the berth.

"He? It's a mech?" Enamel asked hopefully, and Breakdown nodded, "Tell me everything. What is his alt mode? How far along am I? Is the coding for his color nanites completed yet?"

"Well let's see..." Breakdown pulled up the chart again, "Looks like he's gonna be a racer just like you. No nanites yet. Apparently you've only been carrying for 12 orns."

"Ah yes, of course. The carnival," Enamel sighed wistfully.

"Carnival?" Breakdown asked in confusion.

"12 orns ago Bulkhead surprised me with two tickets to a carnival in Vos," Enamel explained with a fond smile on her face plate, "Apparently Brawn owed him a favor and paid him back with some tickets he got from someone else. Bulkhead thought it would be a nice romantic getaway for a couple orns, and it certainly was. We stayed a cheap motel with the most adorable crystal sinks. The Vosian carnival was unlike anything I have ever seen. There were games, rides, and the most spectacular air show. Those sky performers were like living fireworks. Their bodies glowed, and their synchronized movements entranced. Bulkhead kissed me under the electrum archway, and when we got back to the motel we made love as if we were young again. That was the last good night we had together..."

"Bulkhead doesn't deserve you," Breakdown snapped when he realized she had started to cry, "You're a kind generous person that goes out of her way to help others. Just forget about Bulkhead. You don't need him."

"I wish that were true," Enamel replied morosely, "But the truth is I deserved what I got from him, and I do need him. I have trouble simply supporting myself. How will I take care of a youngling? My family hasn't spoken to me in deca-vorns, and now my only support system is gone. This is the greatest orn of my life, and yet it is the worst orn of my life. What do I do?"

"Aw, come on, Doc. You'll pull through this," Breakdown soothed her as he put an arm around her shoulders, "Maybe you could move out of that house you and Bulkhead lived in and find someplace cheaper."

"There is nothing cheaper in Iacon," Enamel replied miserably, "I could try moving back to Tyger Pax, but my medical practice is here, and my patients rely on me. Oh, I do apologize for forcing my problems onto you, Breakdown. Please, just tell me when my first patient of the orn arrives. I'll wash my equipment while I have the time."

"Um, are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Breakdown asked in concern.

"I'll be fine," Enamel replied unconvincingly, "Soon I will have a son, and whatever it takes I will see to it that he has everything he needs."

Breakdown was still worried about his boss, but he knew there was no point in arguing with her; not when her spark was weakened and trying to support a new life. Part of him feared she would lose the newspark, but she didn't seem to share that concern. At the very least she didn't say anything about it.

When Breakdown was out of the room Enamel tried to contact Bulkhead over the comm system. It took a few seconds but then-

/Who is it?/ Bulkhead asked once he answered the frequency.

/Bulkhead, it's Enamel,/ Enamel informed him.

Kzzt.

Enamel stood there for a moment dumbfounded as she realized what had just happened. That pile of slag had hung up on her! Well, this news was important. Bulkhead was going to be a father, and whether or not he would come back he still had a right to know.

/Hello?/ Bulkhead answered.

/Bulkhead, this is important!/ Enamel shouted quickly.

Kzzt.

"Oh, come on..." Enamel growled as she rubbed her servo over her face plate in frustration. One more try.

/Bulkhead you're going to be a si-/

Kzzt.

Enamel exhaled a sharp gust of air. Well, if Bulkhead couldn't be bothered to learn about his own son then fine! She would do this on her own, and he could rot in the pit for all she cared.