(Please see all previous disclaimers)
Back at the base, Ironhide and Ratchet were a bit surprised when they realized that Aquaformer and Optimus had yet to return. "Where are they?" Ratchet asked, having not been at the battle.
"I thought they were here. Aquaformer took off fast enough with Optimus. I thought they were here already" Hide answered, as unsure about the whereabouts as anyone else.
"Do you think they are safe?" Mirage asked, curious as well.
"I am not sure, Aquaformer took off in a hurry in her aerial mode" Hide replied.
"I hope they are in better condition than I'm thinking" Prowl stated, not liking this at all.
"And I hope our Prime survives with all the hits he must have taken from Megatron" Jumper blurted out.
Jazz gave the minibot a look. "Aquaformer was under heavy fire too. I hope they both survived."
Just as the base was discussing this, Aquaformer arrived with an online but heavily injured Optimus in tow. "Forgive me, fellow Autobots, but I had to field dress some of the wounds to stabilize him before bringing him back here. And I needed to do it away from the battle field" Aquaformer stated, not revealing what all she had done to save the Prime.
"You a medic?" Bumblebee asked, curious.
"No, but I was trained as a nurse bot. I know how to treat some things even without a medic present" Aquaformer answered, all but Ratchet buying this story completely. And so, it didn't take long until the others wandered off and Aquaformer went with Optimus and Ratchet to the med bay.
Ratchet began to patch up the bigger wounds while Aquaformer stayed close by, carefully pulsing love to her mate, but trying not to show that they had bonded. So far, Aquaformer assumed, Ratchet had no idea. Little did she realize he knew some of these hits were borderline fatal. Ratchet finished patching up the Prime before Ratchet dis a full scan to see that everything was in place and as it should be. And it was during that scan that Ratchet found the truth.
"Aquaformer, please tell me what kind of field dressings you did" Ratchet stated, wanting to see if the femme would reveal the truth of what Ratchet had already found.
"Just some basic stuff, nothing to much" Aquaformer stated, not revealing that she had bonded to Optimus to reignite his spark.
Ratchet smiled at that – same old Aquaformer, not taking credit for what she did and not telling anything that would give her away. "Are you sure that is all you did?" Ratchet asked, giving her one more chance to reveal the truth on her own before he showed his hand.
"Yes, just basic stuff" Aquaformer replied, hoping she had been able to keep her secret.
Ratchet looked straight at her. "Aquaformer, you and I both know some of these injuries are borderline fatal. And, you know that I have scanners that can reveal things you can't always see" Ratchet started saying.
"Your point?" Aquaformer asked, still pulsing love to her mate though still trying to hide that they had bonded.
"I know you reignited his spark, Aquaformer. My scan showed me, plus I have been able to see that his spark has bonded. Now let me scan you, as you are injured as well" Ratchet revealed to the former nurse bot.
Aquaformer sighed. She knew If anyone was going to find out the truth, it was Ratchet. "Fine, scan me" She answered reluctantly.
Ratchet nodded and carefully began scanning the femme. She was injured and a few of her injuries would need medic care, but that was not shocked Ratchet the most. What shocked Ratchet was what he found inside Aquaformer. She was – sparked. She was carrying new life inside her which Ratchet figured had happened when Aquaformer bonded to Optimus to reignite the Prime's spark and become sparkmates. "Aquaformer, I have some news for you" Ratchet stated.
"Oh, and what news would that be?" Aquaformer answered sarcastically, as she was kind of in a mood.
Ratchet had expected that and so answered her query, "You're going to be a creator" Ratchet answered, wondering how the femme would take this.
Aquaformer was silent for a few minutes as she processed what she heard. All her life she had wanted to be a mother, to have sparklings, but she had always been told it would never happen. She was not told that by a medic, but by other bots as they figured she would never find anyone willing to be her mate. And after she processed the whole thing, a smile came to her face. She was so happy. "I…I am?" She asked, joy obvious in her voice.
"Yes, you are" ratchet answered. Optimus was still out of it on the table as Ratchet hadn't woke the bot up yet after treating the wounds. Aquaformer hugged her friend. "Thank you Ratchet. Now, can you please wake my mate up so we can tell him?" Aquaformer asked. Ratchet nodded and did as asked. And as Optimus came to, Aquaformer was right there. "Are you alright?" Aquaformer asked.
Optimus, now more back to himself, looked at her. "I think I am. Thank you for saving me" Optimus stated, pulling the femme gently to himself and giving her and hug and kiss.
"I…I have some news, my love" Aquaformer stated nervously.
"Oh, and what news would that be?" Optimus asked, curious.
"We…We are going to be creators" Aquaformer revealed, hoping Optimus wouldn't pass out at the news.
Optimus took a minute to process what the femme had told him, and once he realized what she said, he smiled. "I look forward to having sparklings with you" Optimus answered.
"Just so you two know, I can't allow Aquaformer to fight, as she could lose the little ones" Ratchet stated, happy to see that all had worked out.
Optimus nodded though Aquaformer sighed. She hated being sidelined. "Love, it is for the little ones. Besides, I think we can make you a nurse bot again so you can stay here and help out in the med bay" Optimus said. Aquaformer looked at her mate and saw that he meant it. She snuggled close and realized that he was right. They just hoped that word didn't get to Megatron about all of this.