Hello again one and all! Again, sorry for another long wait for the next chapter to MERCY. Work has got me on all ten toes for the past three months and I've been trying like hell to get a new job so I can get some better hours for myself. No success so far… But let this not discourage from the fact that the many adventures of Caspian the Vehicon drone are still live and vibrant, and although this is mostly filler, I'm glad to say that I am dedicated to finishing this story even if it takes me another whole year. That reminds me… Happy anniversary to myself! More Cass cuteness to come in the future! Woo!

So, in this chapter it skips ahead a little bit into the future by about a month and we start with the issues Knockout and Breakdown are going through. Cass comes in a little later with a small surprise and reveals something odd going on with his optics. I never really brought this up in the story, but if anyone is generally wondering yes, a handful of the drones know that Cass is different and is currently carrying. The rumor mill will take care of the rest.

Special shout outs too: Guest, vampgirliegirl, and CreepyLola. Too Guest, thank you for taking the time to review and the constructive criticism (and I mean that sencerily, though I most likely will not go back to correct any mistakes), rest assured as I have mentioned before, this story will keep going until the end. Too vampgirliegirl, thank you for always having my back, and sorry I didn't mention in the last shout outs. Too CreepyLola, did you change your name, or have I been miss typing it this whole time? Anyway, thanks for the joke, it perked me up. Keep having fun doll.

Remember! Don't be shy. Feel free to comment and ask questions, I love to hear from my readers!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any stocks, trades, or licensing from the Transformers franchise. All rights are reserved for HASBRO entertainment.

MERCY

Chapter 31

"They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world:

someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for."

-Tom Bodett-

Breakdown entered the med-bay with a heavy spark. In the farthest corner of the room there was an encasing circle of thermal medical sheets. His mate was behind them with an Eradicon drone's lifeless body. Tristian was his name as the former wrecker recalled, and if memory served him the Eradicon was one of Cass's friends. Breakdown was the mech that carried the poor troop back to the med-bay to be examined. Normally, if a drone died on the ship, he would be jettisoned into space or dumped on a random planet's wasteland. Higher officers would never usually condone such care for an expendable soldier, but for Cass they would.

"The poor kid…" Knockout sighed as Breakdown opened the curtain and stepped inside the tiny autopsy room. "It's one thing to die alone on a battlefield… But to be murdered in an abandoned storage space, and possibly by one of your own...?"

"I know KO…" The blue mech empathized with his partner and moved closer to hold the sides of his arms. Knockout had no reservations for such a gesture, but when those large and thick digits tried to slink their way around his waist, the medic pushed himself away. He knew if he let Breakdown embrace him, he would place one of his servos over the red mech's abdominal plating. He wasn't ready for that.

"Oh my love…" The taller mech sighed through his own broken spark. "I know this is difficult for you, but it has nearly been a month since we initiated the dormancy."

"I know…" Knockout shivered as he went back to examining the cadaver. "It was my idea after all. It's still hard though. One minute there's a grand feeling of a life growing in me, and in the next… It becomes completely silent… And still." The shaking in his shoulders escalated when he realized he had no strength to hold back his tears. The medic began to cry over the lifeless drone, unable to properly contain his sorrow any longer. "I never knew it would be this difficult to let go!"

"Shhh… Knockout…" Breakdown whispered with comforting intentions and stepped forward to once again embrace his mate. Knockout knew this would be the blue mech's initial move, so he quickly shifted his position. Now facing Breakdown's front, the smaller mech could manipulate his lover's servos to slide over the small of his back struts.

It was a mutual decision between the two of them to postpone Knockout's gestation cycle. Things on the ship had escalated to terrifying proportions, and the Eradicon with the gaping hole in his chassis was the final straw. This had convinced Breakdown that he and his partner needed to take all the essential precautions to defend themselves from the building chaos. Their timing couldn't have been better, since soon after, Megatron received word about Tristian's death. The fact that it happened so close to his quarters made the warlord paranoid and suspicious. He treated it as if it was an assassination attempt gone wrong. One either against him or his precious carrier. He immediately ordered Knockout to investigate and unfortunately called Soundwave back to work to help sort through all surveillance. In turn, Breakdown and Arachnid were called on to carry more of the field workload.

The former Wrecker had actually just returned from a recon mission. He was tired and beat, but most of all he was worried for his Bondmate's well-being. Ever since they performed the procedure to hold back their sparkling's development, Knockout had become withdrawn. Breakdown couldn't even feel the extent of Knockout's despair, because he had closed off their bonding. The larger mech didn't know what hurt most, feeling helpless from not being able to comfort his mate at all? Or completely being rejected from properly trying?

In a way, Breakdown was almost resentful for being turned away so easily, but that was mostly powered by his lack of recharge. Getting angry wasn't going to change anything, and aside from that, the reason he was feeling hurt at all was because Knockout was in so much emotional pain. Sparkbond or not the medic's pain was all too evident by the way he shook and sobbed over his partner's broad chest.

"Come with me a moment." He whispered and coaxed Knockout into the center of the med-bay. One of the berths were set out low and flat so the two of them could rest on it if they needed to. They had been spending so much time at their workstations as it was, so they needed to set something up for a little R&R. Once the red mech was seated and settled, Breakdown knelt in front of his distort lover. He couldn't help a small smile as he thought how adorable Knockout's optics glistened when they were full of tears. The way his audio fins appeared to dip lower and how he bit his bottom derma was just irresistible, and there was nothing Breakdown wanted to do more than hold that weary face in his hands and kiss away every tear. But he knew the sensitivity of this matter called for more subtlety.

He took one of Knockout's slim silver servos and held it in both of his own as he glanced worriedly into the medic's gaze. "Why have you turned me away my love? I can see you are in pain and—."

"I understand!" Knockout interrupted him, then tightly closed his optics. Optical fluid streaked down his flushed cheeks and he turned his helm away almost shamefully. "I understand your concern, I do! But I don't want to burden you with what I am feeling now… The pain that you see is nothing compared to what is truly there." He tried to slip his servo back to his side, but even Breakdown had his stubborn streak, and he held him tight.

"You are not alone in this Knockout." Breakdown gently kissed each digit in his grasp before nuzzling them with care. "I am here for you always… For better or worse. I want to be here to support you… Don't turn me away." Letting go with one servo, the gentle giant reached out to caress the center of Knockout's spark chamber. There was an initial resistance to this move, but the medic allowed his mate the attention. The touch was soft and warm, and despite Knockout's protests the feeling was eventually welcomed. He had nearly forgotten the way Breakdown's initial touch actually felt, because he had been avoiding it as best he could. He didn't want to feel comforted about what had been done, because it wouldn't be right to feel such a way. It wasn't right. Nothing was right about what had happened, but the burden of holding on to such guilt was taking its toll. His strength was draining from him like a running faucet, and he didn't know how to stop it. Last thing he wanted was to project this burden onto his Bondmate.

"I can't…" He spoke in a sad hushed tone. "I can't Breakdown… Please do not ask this of me…"

"Knockout… I love you…" The former Wrecker rose high enough to take hold of the red mech's helm, and his fore-helm found its mark above Knockout's optics. "Do you remember what you said to me the night I proposed to you? You said you couldn't go through this war alone anymore, and you don't have to. Not while I'm around… Share your pain with me and let me hold you until your fears subside. Let me be your Bondmate."

"I…" Knockout's shoulders quivered. He'd be lying if he didn't admit how much he loved how close his lover's lip-plates were to his own. It had been a while since they had kissed as well, but the idea of it brought the red mech more dismay, as if somehow, he didn't deserve it. "Breakdown… I…"

"If you still trust me my love, then do not keep me out any longer." The blue mech smiled and delivered a warm signal through his EM field. The electricity in the air lightly crackled over Knockout's red armor and he sighed from the light wave of affection. His resolve was finally slipping away and his connection to Breakdown's spark was slowly starting to slip. "Hah…"

The ache of Knockout's soul crept into Breakdown's chest agonizingly slow. He nearly cried as well as he thought of how long his mate held in all of this turmoil. It was a cold and sharp feeling that circled around his spark like a twister. He gasped and pulled the red mech closer by the back of his neck. "D-Don't hold back now… It's okay to let me in…"

"But it hurts so much Breakdown…" Knockout cried into the giant's shoulder and wrapped his arm behind Breakdown's helm. "You looked so devastated when… When our sparkling was set for hibernation. I don't want you to feel more despair."

"The pain is worse when you shut me out." Breakdown cooed slightly despite the heaviness filling his frame. "Open up all the way. We'll get through this together. Unh!"

The floodgates were unleashed, and the medic finally reopened their connection. It burned the inside of the former Wrecker's systems and completely threw him off guard. Yes, Breakdown was hurt from the dormancy, but he had no idea how consuming the agony Knockout was truly going through. The waves of emotions swirled in his spark briefly, then sank to the base of his tanks. There it began to numb all sensation and the emptiness that followed it was unbelievably unnerving. He too began to cry.

"I tried to warn you…" The red mech tightened his servo over Breakdowns'. "It was too much and… Wait… Breakdown? What is that?"

Just as he was able to send his own emotions to Breakdown through their connection, the larger mech was able to do the same. It started out so small that the medic hardly noticed there was anything else being passed to him, but gradually there was a warm sensation gently trickling past the ache. As it flowed into his chamber it pooled at the base of his spark, and over a short period of time, the warmth rose and enveloped his soul with a gentle caress. This compelled Knockout to sigh heavily in relief as he was soothed into a calming demeanor. Though the ache in his soul was still present, the red mech still felt happy enough to list his helm back and relax into Breakdown's caresses.

"You are not alone my love…" The larger blue mech smiled while he began to kiss his way up his mate's shoulders, over his neck cables, and kissed away the remaining tears rolling under his chin. "Try to remember… He is not gone… He is merely resting. He is waiting for us to wake him up once more, and when that happens, we need to be aware and present for him." When he was kneeling upright, Breakdown was tall enough to rest his fore-helm over his lovers' again. "As long as I still have energon running through my veins, I will be here to fight, love, and protect his future that I know we will be able to provide for him."

"Oh Breakdown…" Knockout delivered a chaste kiss in return to the giant mech's kindness. "I am still so afraid… This whole thing was my idea to begin with, and I feel as though I have failed us both. I should have done better to prevent this from happening."

"You did everything you could, and this wasn't just your idea." Each kiss and caress deepened as the two Con's continued to comfort each other and the red mech could feel himself leaning further onto his back. "When you told me you would be my mate and said you wanted to carry my sparklings, I could have said no and waited longer… But I felt I had waited long enough, and I had no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be one with you."

Knockout was now resting on his wheels and upon instinct he lifted his leg struts around Breakdown's hips in an attempt to pull him closer, but then his medical training kicked in and he needed to push his mate away. "Mmm… Wait… Breakdown…" He mumbled through loving pecks over his dermas. "We can't… I am prohibited from valve play while in a dormancy cycle."

"I know," Breakdown smiled and started to shift his frame comfortably over the medic, "but we can still have fun with your spike…" He smirked as Knockout non-verbally griped at him, but still he yielded; taking the hint that his mate was not really in the mood. "I see what you mean though… And try not to fret my love. We will get through this together."

"Wait!" The red mech followed Breakdown as he backed away to stand. "I… Um… Could we just stay close to each other…? Just a while longer?"

Their connection was still open wide enough for Breakdown to feel a slight jolt in his chamber. Anxiety was not a feeling he was used to sensing, but Knockout was very good at hiding it until it was shared through a bonding. However, the former Wrecker just smiled and sat beside his lover with open arms.

"Of course," he whispered happily and allowed Knockout to slip under his shoulder and nuzzle his chassis, "we can stay here a while…"

"You are a pillar of steel set in foundation in which I cannot stand…" Knockout cooed through the bond. "Without you, I would truly sink… I love you so much."

"I love you too…"

A while turned into three hours as the two of them fell into recharge on the berth. They were woken by the sound of their door intercom buzzing for their attention, and Breakdown was the only one to properly hear the voice echoing through the speaker.

"Officer Breakdown? Officer Knockout? Are you decent? I have a favor to ask of you."

"Hmm…" The giant mech groaned from the sound of Cass's voice slipping over his audios. He glanced down at his chassis to see Knockout's beautiful faceplate resting peacefully over his frame, and regretfully needed to wake him up. "Knockout? Were you expecting Caspian for an appointment?"

"Nummm…" The medic mewled adorably and even unconsciously nibbled on a piece of Breakdown's armor before groggily opening his optics. "Five more minutes… Ten tops…"

"Come on KO, I need you to wake up." The blue mech was so regretful for saying such words, but it needed to be done. "Cass is here, and if you didn't schedule him an appointment then there might be something wrong."

"He has an appointment…" Knockout yawned and stretched over Breakdown like a sleepy cybercat before standing at the edge of the medical berth. "But I told him I would meet him in the Communications bridge and conduct a visiting checkup. I didn't want him to bother finding someone to escort him all the way here from there."

Poor Caspian, the medic thought while he walked over to the door. Ever since he discovered Tristian's body, Megatron had placed so many rules and orders around him. No one was allowed to get close to the young model without first being approved by the Warlord or Soundwave, and even than they could not linger around him unless given the permission to guard him all day. It took a lot of convincing on Cass's part to persuade his master to allow him to go back to work. Otherwise, if Megatron had his way, he would keep his mate-to-be cooped up in his quarters until his carrying came to term. Maybe even longer.

Luckily, Soundwave was there to also back him up, delighted to find out that Cass was carrying, and wanting to be as close to the young model as possible. He was able to assure Megatron that with his skills in security, he would be the most reliable mech to protect him. They did leave out the detail that he was actually Cass's creator, but it was mostly because the smaller mech was still trying to wrap his own processor around such news. Time would tell how their relationship would change, but for now things had settled well enough that they could stay in the same room without things feeling awkward.

As a month went by without any incidents, these rules became laxer, and Cass had more of his freedoms given to him once more, but Knockout still insisted on visitation appointments since the little drone's frame had expanded. Such a small body was not designed to carry a heavy and still growing load. It was getting difficult for him to move without someone to at least hold him under his arm.

"What are you doing down here Caspian?" Knockout asked on another yawn while opening the bay doors. Breakdown however, walked to the curtains to make sure they were closed properly. He didn't need to see his friend sprawled on an examination table like that. It wasn't as bad as finding his lifeless body in the state he was first in, but it wasn't an improvement either.

"I need to… Well, actually, my escort needs to see Tristian…" Cass muttered while he stroked his rounded plating with one servo and beckoned a shy Miner drone to move closer. The medic was still a little sleepy, but he still tilted his helm curiously.

"Why would he need to see him?" Knockout casually leaned against the door frame and sighed in concern. "I'm sorry Cass, but your friend is still being examined, and… He's not exactly in the most presentable state for visitors."

"Please, doctor…" The small mech pouted and the look in his optics immediately caught Knockout's attention, but before he could address his new concern, Cass pointed to the other drone and insisted he let him inside. "This is Salem. He is here on the ship for medical attention… And he is Tristian's mate."

Breakdown heard the conversation from the other side of the room and immediately walked over to Knockout's side. He stared at the sweet drone and his companion in awe as he placed his large servo over his mate's shoulder. The red mech felt a sliver of sympathy slip into his spark. Clearly this news had upset Breakdown, and the kind portion of his soul was reaching out to take pity on the Miner.

"Come inside then." The medic sighed and led the Miner to the berth. His partner went over to the other end of the room to get a separate berth for Cass.

"Lie here Caspian," he smiled when the metallic bed was stretched out flat, "we will take care of your friend and then examine you. You have a checkup soon anyway."

"Your name is Salem correct?" Knockout sat in a chair in front of the Miner and was given a soft nod in response. "I'm going to explain a few things before you see him, because his appearance may come at a shock. I understand the need to say goodbye properly. It is rare for all of us, drone or officer otherwise… But this will be the last time you see him, and I want you to be sure that this is something you are prepared for. Do you want to just remember him as he is in your memory? Or do you still want to see him now?"

"Uh… Uh…" The drone quietly grunted and pointed to the curtain. "Uh… Uh…"

"Something wrong with your vocalizer kid?" The blue mech quirked his optical ridges while he began attaching monitoring equipment to Cass's frame. The young model was the one who answered for his friend, understanding why he could not in all too familiar details.

"Salem was the Miner drone that was attacked by the rogue Autobot with green optics." The smaller mech softly cringed from his memory. The dream he had of Salem's attack was still fresh in his mind. "The double digits did the best they could to repair the damage, but their sources were limited."

"I see," Knockout nodded inquisitively, "if you allow me, I can take a look at it for you. Since you are here anyway."

Salem gasped when the red mech reached for his helm. He quickly shook his helm nervously and pointed at the curtain desperately. He just wanted to be near his lover one last time and didn't see the need to be pawed over. He didn't like it when the double digits examined him so roughly, so he wasn't ready to allow the higher officer to take his turn.

"Okay," the medic backed away, "I understand…" He held out his servo and helped the shivering mech to his pedes. He eventually slid his arm behind Salem's back and guided him to the curtain. "Take a deep intake… And when you are ready to go inside, I will allow you as much time as you need to say your goodbyes. Alright?"

"I'm right behind you Salem." Cass added, but was unable to look directly at his friend from where he sat. "Don't forget that. You are not alone."

"Hold on a minute Cass…" Breakdown noticed something odd about his patient when he tilted his helm to the side. "Let me see your optics a minute."

"I noticed that too." Knockout confirmed from his side of the room, still patting the Miner's shoulder. "I will be there to examine him myself soon, but in the meantime draw some cycled energon from him to be tested and prep for an internal physical."

"Internal physical?" The smaller mech's vocals wavered, earning his comrade's attention as well. "Could there be something wrong with the sparkling?"

"We don't think so." The larger mech assured the young model not to panic yet by squeezing his shoulder gently. "It's just better to be safe than sorry. I don't want you to worry though, but we just noticed there is something odd about your optics."

"My optics?" Cass reached up to lightly touch the top of his cheek-plating. "I haven't worn my battle visor for almost a month now. Is the exposure causing some kind of problem?"

"I really don't believe so, but the color in your center irises have changed. They are not green anymore."

Concerned, but not yet ready to panic, Cass held his servos over his torso for comfort. He did his best to assure himself the Sparkling was okay before he swallowed nervously and asked, "What color are they now?"

"Violet."

-END-