(Please see all previous disclaimers)
Ratchet and the others watched as Optimus' systems reacted to the injected serum of sorts. Ratchet had no idea if this would work, but nothing else he had tried had done any good. Mirage was quietly frantic, pulsing love to his mate and hoping this experiment would not leave their sparklings as orphans. The minibots stood by, close to Mirage, while Hide stood off a little ways, hoping this didn't cost the Prime his life.
Slowly, Optimus' systems started to react. Ratchet and Mirage were the first to notice, but both were concerned by what they observed or felt. "Ratchet, I think we are losing him" Mirage stated suddenly, not liking what he felt.
"Please, Mirage, give it a little more time. We almost lost you and then you bounced back, but it took a bit" Ratchet replied, hoping to calm the anxiety in the room. Mirage merely nodded. He didn't like this but all he could do was hope, pray, and be patient. The others said nothing, not wanting to increase the already stressful situation.
About half an hour later, Optimus seemed to be waking. Mirage was hopeful as were the others, but Ratchet was still concerned, as Ratchet had no idea if this solution would harm the Prime or the sparklings the Prime carried. Ratchet then thought of something. "Mirage, I need you to release your spark and call his forth" Ratchet suddenly barked. Mirage, a bit stunned, did as asked and released his spark. Soon, Mirage's spark was floating in mid air, trying to call forth its mate.
And to the amazement of all, Optimus' chest opened and only released the Prime's spark. All knew what that meant – Optimus would survive but in what condition. What no one knew, but Ratchet sensed was that if Mirage hadn't connected sparks, Optimus would wake with amnesia. Thanks to following his instincts, Ratchet unknowingly stopped that from happening.
Shortly after the sparks met, merged and then returned to their owners, Optimus' blue optics came online, and the bot smiled when he saw Mirage. "Love?" Optimus managed to whisper.
"I'm here, my beloved, I'm here" Mirage replied, gently rubbing his mate's face. Optimus closed his optics and just felt, enjoying the soft touches. Ratchet was pretty sure that Optimus was now safe, but the same couldn't be said for the precious life Optimus was carrying. "Is something wrong, Ratchet?"
"I have been scanning the sparklings. I don't like the readings right now, but they do appear to be safe at this time" Ratchet stated, unable to lie.
Mirage sighed. Optimus looked to his mate. "Love, if we are meant to have them, Primus will allow them to continue to grow. If we are not, then Primus had other plans for them already. Please just trust Primus as he knows and does what's best."
Mirage nodded. "It would be very sad to lose them, love, but you are right." Optimus carefully lifted his hand and gently placed it on Mirage's face. Mirage rubbed his face into that hand, happy Optimus had survived. Now the only question was would the sparklings make it too? Only time would tell.