Unexpected Involvement

Parenthood

Despite his desire to stay awake and the strange, almost anxious feeling in his gut, Steeljaw found himself near to nodding off as he waited in the den. Despite a full night of rest, his body was still drained. Which was understandable. For all of his incredible strength, giving birth five times would have left anyone feeling weak. To keep from slipping in to recharge, he focused on his pups, taking note of their differences to better tell them apart in the future. Most were a good blend of himself and their sire. One in particular looked to be himself in miniature, save for two nubs that would one day be antlers and a darker shade of blue armor. In fact, despite what he'd thought he'd seen in the darkness, all of them had the marking of growth that would be antlers, as well as the faint spots in their coloring that was seen in newborn Cervicons. Thunderhoof clearly had some powerful genetics on his side, the brute.

As if thinking of his mate suddenly triggered his focus, he realized at that moment one of the pups was hardly a pup at all. Pulling them in for inspection, he was greeted by a wiggling, angry newborn that was Cervicon in every way, save only for a tail like his. And an even closer look revealed her to be the only femme of the group. Figures, he supposed. He remembered faintly noticing these features at her birth, but the whole ordeal was already such a blur that he could barely get the details together. At her surprisingly strong squirming in his grip, he found himself smiling in pride, giving her a few loving licks on the helm. She was still his, regardless, and he adored her implicitly.

Letting her rejoin her siblings, he pondered naming. Thunderhoof would name the femme, but that still left four pups to think of names for. Their unique physical characteristics would make for some good starting points, but it would probably be worth waiting a bit for their personalities to show through. If he recalled, he'd gotten his name after biting his sire hard enough to draw energon as a pup...

His ear flicked when the faintest thud was captured by his senses. The sound was something he had more than enough close up experience with to identify on the spot, and he shakily got up on all fours to respond. Thunderhoof was approaching with his usual lack of grace and stealth, perhaps even moreso than usual. Though his body ached with every movement, he guided the bitlets nudge by nudge to the exit, leaving most of the supplies to be reclaimed at a later date. The newborns protested the move every step of the way, but were limited to wiggling and whimpering to show their disapproval. Shushing them between pants of exertion, he stopped when they were just in front of the boulder sealing the entrance, his whole body shaking from just the effort of crawling a short distance. He recovered as he listened to Thunderhoof approach, his audials catching the hurried footsteps as they tore through the forest without grace or any attempt at stealth. The ground shook as he finally arrived outside, his tired ventilation audible before he got on the comm without hesitation.

"I'm here, where the frag are yous?" Thunderhoof demanded through their channel, though he was close enough that Steeljaw could hear him through the earth. Huffing at the usual crassness, he replied with a scolding.

"Watch the language in front of the children, Thunderhoof." He said through his comm, despite being close enough that his mate could probably hear him. A little more softly, he explained. "If you simply remove the boulder, you'll see."

There wasn't a moment of hesitation before the great hunk of stone was pulled free and tossed aside as if it weighed nothing, the sudden flash of morning light and the resulting bang setting the sparklings into a flurry of whimpers of frightened squirming. Kneeling over the babies, Steeljaw assumed a protective stance as he found himself optic to optic with their sire, a natural distrustful instinct keeping him poised to attack if need be. Thunderhoof was on his knees as well, his optics going to Steeljaw and then to the bundle of sparklings he'd helped create. The ordinarily loud and crass mech was silent in visible awe. As their babies finally started to settle, he seemed to find his voice.

"That's eh... that's them, huh?" He asked in a failed attempt to sound casual. There was obvious desire in his optics to hold and touch his newborns, but he was smart enough not to push it yet. There was a kind of... ritual, to this meeting, that neither knew but somehow full understood.

"All five, yes. Healthy and here, at last." Steeljaw replied, taking his optics off Thunderhoof and dropping them to the bitlets. They'd managed to pull themselves all together in a single pile to cuddle and start napping again, their tiny bodies rising and falling in gentle ventilation.

"They looks like us." Thunderhoof remarked, a smile betraying him.

"That is how genetics work." Steeljaw replied with his own chuckle. Regaining himself, he returned to thoughts of how exposed they were. "Do you have the pod?"

Looking like he'd been snapped out of a dream, Thunderhoof reached behind him. He held an oval metal container just small enough to fit under the arm. "Yeah, right here. What makes it so special? I could have just gotten a basket."

"It's temperature controlled, waterproof, bulletproof, and hides their EM fields." Steeljaw replied evenly, making the Cervicon blush as he tried to look over the plain looking pod for signs of the complexity Steeljaw had described.

"Suppose that's probably a lot safer." He finally concluded, offering it to Steeljaw. Rather than taking it, he pushed it to the ground between them.

"I'll allow you to lay them inside. Someone has to teach you how." Steeljaw said, measuring every word in the hopes Thunderhoof would pick up on the significance of what he was saying. The wide optics told him he did. He was trusting him to hold them, to touch them for the first time, and to lay them out safely so they could be brought home. It was as much a sign of trust as it was a test.

"Right. Of course." Thunderhoof croaked, thankfully recognizing the full weight of his situation. Steeljaw started with the smallest, a little mech that was a good blend of their shared features. He began to snuffle and whimper as he was pulled from the warmth of his siblings. Thunderhoof tried not to shake as he offered his hands.

"Keep his whole body supported, especially the helm. Lay him down on his back, and he'll sort out the position he wants." Steeljaw advised, laying the bitlet down into the offered servos. Thunderhoof let the tiny weight settle into his palms with a blink, his face going blank and his body still shaking as he froze in terrified awe. Pleasing as the reaction was, the sparkling didn't take too kindly to the trembling and started to whimper anew.

"The shaking won't help." He advised after clearing his vents for emphasis. Thunderhoof looked thoroughly embarrassed, but did as he was previously advised without comment, laying the Cervipup in the pod. The two of them silently repeated the process with each one. There was a pause as each bitlet was settled in Thunderhoofs hands, his delay only lasting as long as it took for him to look over the sparkling and take in their features. Subtle as he likely thought he was, there was no hiding the pride in his optics each time he saw one of his features. At last, they came to the femme, and Steeljaw braced himself before handing her over.

"Eeyoo, that's what I'm talking about!" The mob boss boasted, holding up his near miniature to the sun. She wiggled and gave a tiny scowl, prompting him to bring her in close for inspection. The moment she was within range, the tiny femme snapped her head forward, giving her sire a not insignificant clang on the mouth. Steeljaw was immediately mortified, but Thunderhoof only laughed with pride. "That's my girl! Chip off the 'ol block!"

"She'll be much safer at the base, so if we could get moving...?" Steeljaw prompted, thrilled to see him so excited but feeling exposed out of his den. Thunderhoof acquiesced and let the femme join her siblings, pausing to admire the cuddled newborns before closing the pod. He stood and offered a servo to Steeljaw, who realized only then that he did indeed need the help. His body was still aching and exhausted from its efforts, and the simple trek to the base would probably take what little he had left. But, for the sake of his sparklings, it would be done.

Accepting the help, he got shakily to his pedes, leaving the den behind him. He'd come back for supplies later. For now, it was just him, his mate, and their sparklings on their first walk together. He'd try to enjoy what he could.

The end

Or is it?