Chapter Text
Ratchet liked to blame the latest health crisis on Rodimus.
He'd never put much stock in the "hyper fertility" of Primes given the fact Optimus had never been an issue, but within a few months of their "forever adventure" starting Rodimus had sheepishly approached him with a concern. Rodimus being sheepish was enough to set off warning alarms but Ratchet had naively let himself believe it was some embarrassing injury. Probably related to whatever interface he was allegedly having that required special order equipment from Brainstorm that Ratchet had overheard him consulting First Aid to develop.
He should have known better than to assume Rodimus had a sense of shame.
Ratchet supposed he could also lay the blame solidly on his unknown partner as well.
That had just been the tip though because soon enough others were coming in with similar symptoms. All around they had an absurdly high number for a species that general deferred to asexual reproduction. Most were caught fairly early and didn't have a desire to mentor so it was instantly and painlessly taken care of. Ratchet had been quick to send out a public announcement and the whole of Medical Bay had been dealing with near constant visits to get protection updated and check to see if anyone else had just not showed symptom yet. They'd all had a required safe interface talk and warning about proximity to Primes and fertility.
The miniature boom had steadied out but it did leave them with a more complicated issue.
The ones who decided to keep the protospark and allow it to develop fully.
There were four in the end.
Rodimus. Ratchet was not offering any opinions on what was happening there or the way that Rodimus insisted it was budding. No partner whatsoever. It was already driving Drift mad and Ratchet knew there were bets going on.
Swerve. That certainly had been a surprising revelation as no one had known he was seeing anyone. Well that questioned had been answered easily. Misfire, followed quickly by the Scavengers, had rushed in after him and excitedly cheered when they got the diagnosis. Ratchet wasn't sure about all of the Decepticons but Krok seemed fairly solid and had definitely stepped up in helping prepare. Ratchet was carefully not understanding the dynamics going on there given the Scavengers as a collective seemed to be filling the sire role. Swerve, at least, seemed fully supported, which was one concern away.
Chromedome. He and Rewind were thrilled and judging by how much medical material Rewind had prepared to share with them, Ratchet wasn't convinced theirs was quite an accident. The amount of gushing he'd heard and doting on each other seemed to have tripled following the confirmation.
Cyclonus. Ratchet was least worried about him given how attentive Tailgate, and, surprisingly, Whirl were being. First Aid the shameless gossip, had looked absolutely not surprised on the other hand and his field had been downright smug at the sight of Whirl passing Tailgate pillows to fluff to help prop Cyclonus into a more comfortable position.
Or, at least, it had been four until now.
Ratchet couldn't quite manage to make himself glare but his expression was definitely pinched as he looked at the softly flickering light orange red growth that as flickering along the edges of his Spark, hidden by being on the back. Ratchet knew it would slowly lighten as the charge and heat grew, breaking off when it started to whiten and orbiting until it was ready for extraction once it hit the blue spectrum (or, much more concerning given associated health risks, green). It was early. It wouldn't have even began to develop a consciousness yet. At this stage most dissipated back into the primary Spark before ever full igniting. It wasn't even maintaining the earliest coloring, only flickering occasionally like it was still considering sparking.
Ratchet's was also still recovering from the jumpstart First Aid had concocted to treat his burnout. He and Drift had been forced to remove their blockers to help continue treating it. The charge related to Spark interfacing genuinely helpful and a much more enjoyable alternative to weekly visits to the Medical Bay to have First Aid hook him up to the glorified battery that Brainstorm, Nautica, and he had made together, but neither had thought it was an issue. Their Sparks were older and less likely to divert the energy to attempt a protospark. With Drift's own history, his charge was generally weaker to begin with and Ratchet's focused on healing. The risk was so minuscule they'd barely even considered it.
He'd been wrong that was clear.
His hand hesitated over his barred Spark Chamber. He could take care of it himself. No one else would ever have to know.
Ratchet had never even considered if he wanted to reproduce.
Medics didn't, patients went first.
He'd always enjoyed mentoring. Pharma, a first eventual tragedy, First Aid, Velocity given her youth, and now, strangely, Megatron. But there would be a vast difference between caring for a protoform and an already developed mech.
That was only if he could carry to emergence though. The chances of him successfully carrying the full time where about the same as his getting Sparked. Astronomically low. There was every reason to believe it would fade itself before it even turned yellow.
Would Drift even want to raise a protoform with him? If he did, wouldn't it be crueler to give him (them) hope only to have him know or watch as the protospark burned out? Drift had lost so much. Should he say something when all statistics Ratchet knew said was likely to fail? Let him (them) get attached and then suffer a new loss? Could he keep this a secret from Drift though?
Ratchet's hated that his hand shook slightly.
He needed to talk to Drift.