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"You nervous too, hun?"
"Mhn..."
Tiller smiles softly, his servo gently holding into Powerdrag's claws; squeezing lovingly. "Don't worry. We got this." He reaches down and rests his other servo on his distended middle. Their sparkling had been still for a while, ready for emergence. A softer voice with a vasty different accent to the other two bots speaks up then, "Well the first stage should be starting very soon." Powerdrag frowns slightly at the mid-sized bot across from him, round glasses magnifying the bright blue of the medic's optics. Patch was the newly transferred medic from Cybertron after the old medic on Degaia finally had to retire. Needless to say most of the farm bots on the planet were still not trusting of him. Tiller sighs, headbutting his conjunx gently. "Thank you, medic Patch. I know you are doing your best." Patch smiles shyly, tapping on the screen attached to Tiller, monitoring the emergence status. Powerdrag sighs, his treads rotating around on their barings; betraying the huge tractors nervousness.
Breems pass as Tiller's belly panels start to fan apart, exposing his forge proper. Patch watches the screen closely, waiting for the prompt to open the forge. Powerdrag frowns the longer it goes on, his deep voice suddenly speaking causing the medic to jump, "Isn't it supposed to be opening by now?" Patch glances over at the larger bot but before he can speak Tiller places a servo on his conjunx's arm, "It can sometimes take some time, hun. My carrier took a while so I'm likely gonna take some time myself." Powerdrag frowns more but just leans closer to rest their helms together. Time continues to tick on silently, the beeping of the monitor being the only sound. Suddenly the beeping grew rapid and erratic, Tiller groaning softly as he writhes; Powerdrag startles and stares at Patch as the medic and midwife suddenly start scrambling. "What's happening? What-" Powerdrag is cut off by Patch staring at him, goggles pulled off so his optics are visible. The seriousness in the medic's gaze makes Powerdrag stall as Patch just speaks in a low voice, "You need to leave the room. Now." There was something in the medic's tone that made Powerdrag stand, but he hesitates as he stares at Tiller as his conjunx groans in pain.
"Leave!" Patch snaps again, Powerdrag stumbling towards the door. The tractor's vents coming out harshly as he manages to choke out, "P-please... I can't lose Tiller. If you-" Powerdrag pauses at the door, Patch staring back before pulling his goggles back on, "I'll do what I can." And the midwife gets Powerdrag out of the room, leaving the bot staring quietly at the door. Sighing he goes and sits next to the door, resting his helm on his arms. Waiting. Hoping for good news. Powerdrag watches his chronometer silently as time ticks on, his claws tapping in time with it. Several breems in the midwife suddenly comes through the door, holding a squalling newspark that she shoves into Powerdrag's claws; "Keep him!"
"B-but! Tiller-"
"We are working on it but you need to keep him!" She runs back into the room leaving Powerdrag with the still warm sparkling. Looking down Powerdrag quietly takes in his son; round and fresh. The sobbing infant is faintly green in places but only time will tell if it'll be bright like Powerdrag's own or warm olive like Tiller's. Otherwise the sparkling takes after his sire, with his long arms and stubby legs. He does at least have three digits, more functional than the clumsy claws currently holding the sparkling. The sparkling continues to wail, a heartbreakingly pathetic sound; the little things voice already going hoarse. Unsure of what else to do Powerdrag starts to gently rocking the newspark, murmuring to him, "Now hush... I know... I know... you want your carry... but you got me. Shhh... shhh... you're alright, lil fella..." The sparkling continues to cry for a long while, Powerdrag attempting hopelessly to calm him. Eventually however the sparkling exhausts himself, looking up at his sire with dull and red rimmed optics. Powerdrag sighs, resting his helm on the sparkling. "Oh buddy... I know. I wish I could do more for ya... I just can hold ya." Powerdrag finally cracks, sobbing softly. He kisses the sparkling's cheek, his tears falling onto the newspark. "I don't know what I'm gonna do. If your carry doesn't make it through... I can't do this. I'd ruin you. I can't do this without your carry." Powerdrag holds the sparkling close to himself as he cries himself into recharge.
Eventually the door opens and Patch tiredly steps out, seeing Powerdrag recharging with the sleeping sparkling safely tucked into his chassis. Patch notices Powerdrag's chassis cracking open, spark attempting to reach out to the sparkling. Sighing the medic gently removes the newspark and it awakens Powerdrag with a grunt, chest plate snapping shut. "Doc... Patch is...?" Patch slowly sides down the wall to sit next to Powerdrag, keeping the sparkling in his arms. The medic sighs, looking the sparkling over. "Tiller is functioning but in stasis. So... for now we're just going to have to wait." He glances up at Powerdrag, "Tiller didn't have a functioning hatch on his forge. We never caught it. The... the equipment I have here wasn't sensitive enough to see. The sparkling started to unfurl while inside and caused fluids getting in places it shouldn't. We had to remove the forge. I'm sorry, Powerdrag. I did what I could..." They both sit silently for a while before the sparkling starts crying again, softly. Patch sighs, handing the newspark back to Powerdrag before pulling out a bottle with synthetic sparkling energon. "Here. We're going to pump Tiller later but this will do for now. You need to do it. You can't spark bond yet but at least you can do this." Powerdrag nods sadly, taking the bottle. "I can't even feed the little fella right... I don't think I can do this if... if Tiller..." Patch squeezes the bigger bots arm gently, looking at him understandingly. "You can't feel bad about how you were made, Powerdrag. We can keep the little guy fed, Tiller will wake up and everything's going to be fine." Powerdrag frowns but nods, attempting to get the sparkling to suckle on the bottle. He grumbles, and struggles a bit before Patch reaches over and helps. Together they manage to get the sparkling to latch and start feeding.
They sit quietly for a while, only sound being that of the sparkling eating. The medic eventually asks softly, "So... you guys have any ideas for designations?" Powerdrag shrugs, still just watching the sparkling eat. "Dunno... we had a few but... ya know how it is..." Patch nods, leaning back on the wall. "No rush on it. We're just gonna take this one cycle at a time. I promise... I'll be here every cycle to help and check on Tiller." Powerdrag pauses, staring at the medic. "Why... why are you being so kind?" Patch smiles, patting the other mech. "Because. I'm a medic. And I understand why you and the other's don't trust me but I promise on my spark as a medic I'm going to be here for you, your conjunx and your sparkling." Powerdrag falters before sobbing again in his soft, quiet way. Patch just leans on the other, arms reaching as far as he could around the much larger bot, wrapping Powerdrag and the newspark in his EM field. Eventually Patch led Powerdrag back into the berthroom where the midwife was still tending to the unconscious Tiller. Powerdrag sighs, slumping next to the berth with the newspark still sleeping in his arms. He rests his helm near Tiller's and mumbles, "You did good, sweetspark. He's beautiful." He looks down at the sparkling, rubbing his little cheek with his digit. "... He looks a lot like me. Round and bulky. Heh... he's got a little head ridge like you though." Powerdrag chuckles when the sparkling scrunches up his face at the gentle touches of his sire. "Little bulky guy with your head ridge... Bulkhead." The sparkling blinks awake at that, squinting up at his sire before beeping softly. "You like that? Bulkhead... good enough for you, little buddy?" The sparkling chirps before yawning, falling back into recharge. With Bulkhead snuggling close to his chassis Powerdrag falls back into recharge himself, helm still resting on the berth next to Tiller.
The next several cycles pass in an exhaustive blur. Bulkhead was a very upset little sparkling for obvious reasons. Unable to bond with Tiller and therefore unable to bond with Powerdrag made the little thing miserable. Powerdrag kept waking to his spark attempting to bond but the risk of him bonding without Tiller going first could risk the newspark's life. The fifth cycle Patch came to the hab he saw Powerdrag sitting slumped with the squalling Bulkhead in his claws, optics dull. Patch sighs, slowly walking up to the large mech and placing a servo on Powerdrag's arm. Powerdrag's optics flicker online, looking up enough for Patch to see his full face. Patch just calmly stares into the large bots multiple optics, carefully taking Bulkhead. "Go. Do some work. I got him." Powerdrag nods, slowly standing as the medic hushes the sparkling. Powerdrag tends to the farm until the sunset, doing double the work. Several other bots stop by asking if they can lend a hand but Powerdrag just shakes his head. Everyone knows about Tiller at this point, knowing the hope of him waking is fading each cycle but no one speaks of it. Eventually Patch convinces the large mech inside to eat, spending most of the time coaxing Powerdrag to fuel while he feeds Bulkhead. The medic doesn't push. He knows all of this is a lot for Powerdrag, the already quite bot having gone silent after the 3rd day. The pair eventually find themselves back in the berthroom with Tiller. Patch hands Bulkhead back to his sire before going over to the softly beeping monitor attached to Tiller. Powerdrag watches silently, tucking Bulkhead up to cuddle next to his helm. Patch is quiet before smiling gently, "He's still stable. That's good. While there hasn't been any movement the fact that there hasn't been any negative trends so that means he's still recovering." Powerdrag just nods, staring at Tiller's unmoving form. Patch stands, placing a servo on Powerdrag's shoulder. "Just hang in there. He will wake up." Despite his words the medic has too admit to himself he's not even sure anymore but he has to keep up hope, for all three of them.
That night Powerdrag sat quietly with Bulkhead beeping softly in his recharge, his sire holding his servo over the newspark protectively. Eventually Powerdrag starts to hum. It's a song he doesn't know the name of but it's been one he's always known. Bulkhead makes a soft, happy sound however; pulling a weak smile from Powerdrag. Eventually he falls into recharge himself, helm resting on the berth near his dear conjunx yet again. In Powerdrag's own memory he felt the ghostly half remembering of what had to be his own carrier, claws just like Powerdrag's own; huge, powerful, and terrifying but in his faded memories he felt nothing but safe as they start to hum the lullaby; claw gently stroking his helm. Powerdrag's optics flicker online as he feels something touching his helm but he reaches for his sparkling only to realize Bulkhead isn't under his servo he startles but the touch on his helm turns into a gentle pet, "It's... okay... hun..."
Powerdrag sat up like a shot, staring at Tiller. His conjunx sat, smiling in exhaustion but cuddling Bulkhead to his chest and the sparkling was suckling happily from his carrier. Tiller still looks a bit out of it but he lovingly turns from Powerdrag to his sparkling, voice quiet, "He looks perfect... did you name him?" Powerdrag nods, his own vox sticking before muttering, "I... I named him Bulkhead. B-but if you don't like it-"
"Bulkhead... it's perfect, just like him."
Powerdrag melts slightly as he leans into his conjunx as Tiller gently pulls Bulkhead away from his nozzle. The sparkling's spark starts glowing brightly as Tiller smiles, opening his own spark chamber and glancing at Powerdrag. With a sigh of relief the larger bot does the same.
~
Patch was worried when he entered the hab not hearing Bulkhead crying, the medic jogging upstairs quickly to the master berthroom. Opening the door Patch was prepared for the worst but what he saw made him vent out in surprise. Tiller was sitting up, cuddling up next to Powerdrag on the berth. Bulkhead was happily suckling tucked in safely to his carrier's bosom. The three didn't even seem to notice Patch and not wanting to ruin the moment the medic silently shuts the door.