"Were you talking to Smokescreen?" Ratchet asked as he and Knock Out continued to work on Sideswipe.

"Yeah, he wanted to know how it was going."

Ratchet was about to say something when they suddenly heard beeping, "Scrap, he's offlining!" Knock Out shouts as he does everything he can to get Sideswipe's spark going again. They send electrical shock waves into him again and again, Knock Out was beginning to panic. He can't lose his son, his son will not die on his watch.

~~~~~~~~~~

Smokescreen stopped driving and transformed as he placed a servo over his spark. The others stop and transform as well after they see him, "Smokescreen, what's wrong?" Bumblebee asked as they all walked over to him.

"Sideswipe... I feel him slipping away. I can't lose him, not my son," Smokescreen says as lubricant starts filling his optics.

"Have faith in Knock Out and Ratchet. Knock Out will not let him offline, I know he won't," Arcee says as she places a servo on his shoulder.

"I can feel Knock Out panicking, he doesn't believe in himself but he's trying. You guys should go on ahead, I'll catch up."

"I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone, Bulkhead will stay with you," Bumblebee tells him. Bulkhead nods, as much as he wants to find Strongarm he knows Smokescreen can't be left alone right now, he needs to stay and comfort his old friend.

"You two just catch up when you can. If we find Steeljaw I'll leave a little bit of him intact for you, Bulk," Wheeljack says before he transforms.

"We'll try not to beat him up too much without you," Arcee says before she transforms as well. Bulkhead just chuckles as the rest of them transform and they all drive off towards the base.

~~~~~~~~~~

Knock Out continues to work tirelessly to save his son. They were eventually able to get him stable again but they needed to hurry and finish the surgery before he went again, next time might be for good. Knock Out's spark was pulsing much faster as he mended wires and wielded metal back into place, he'll never forgive himself if his own son offlines under his care. He would never be able to look his mate in the optics again, nothing would be the same between them.

Is he stable? Smokescreen asks through their bond.

For now, but we'll need to hurry. Hopefully, he won't crash again.

Hopefully. That scared me, I really thought we were going to lose him.

So did I, but I'm determined not to let him offline. We just have a bit more to go and we'll be done with the surgery.

Thank Primus.

"We're almost done, Knock Out," Ratchet says reassuringly. He's seen medics fall apart while working on their own sparkling, it's not easy. That's why he was more than willing to come with Knock Out and Smokescreen to help with the surgery because he knew it was gonna be difficult for Knock Out. "Do you want me to finish up while you take a break?"

"No, I want to see this through."

"Just let me know if you need to step out."

"Thanks, Ratchet. I really appreciate it."

~~~~~~~~~~

"He's stable again," Smokescreen tells Bulkhead.

"Thank Primus. Let's go catch up with the others."

Smokescreen nods as he transforms with Bulkhead following him and the two drive off, "Hey, Smokescreen, I've been wondering. What traits did Sideswipe get from you? I know he took on Knock Out's red paint job."

Smokescreen laughed, "He took on his red paint job and his obsessiveness over his looks. Sides does not like having his paint job scratched or messed up in any way just like Knock Out. He got my blue optics and cockiness."

"Would have thought the cockiness came from both of you."

Smokescreen laughed again, "True, but he mostly got it from me as well as his thing about just running into situations without thinking."

"Now that is so you."  The two just laugh as they continue driving.

~~~~~~~~~~

As Steeljaw and Strongarm walked through the forest, Strongarm felt very sluggish. Between Steeljaw cutting back her Energon rations, him biting her to mark her, her heat, and them fragging twice, it all is paying a really heavy toll on her body. Steeljaw can see it and he grows concerned, "Are you alright, Strongarm? Would you like for me to carry you?"

Strongarm sent him a sideways glare as she growled, "No I'm not alright and no I don't want you to carry me! In fact, I would really appreciate it if you never touched me again!"

"Your heat is making you cranky."

Strongarm fully turns to him with a hardened glare, "You're gonna blame my heat!? Steeljaw, you put me on very low Energon rations for four days, it's not just my heat!"

Steeljaw glared back at her, "You tried to escape! Did you think that would go unpunished!? You're lucky I didn't do worse than that!"

Strongarm gets in front of him and brings them both to a halt, "Be honest with me, Steeljaw. What is it you really want from me? Why are you so bent on making me your mate?"

"All I want from you is your love. I've been dreaming of you for the past couple of years, I don't know how or why but I have. You plagued my dreams every time I slept and then it got to where you started plaguing my processor. I couldn't stop seeing your beautiful face and your beautiful blue optics, and eventually, I started falling in love with you and I was determined to find you and find out who you were. Then I finally found you, the moment I turned around and saw you I knew I found my mate. I couldn't let you go."

Strongarm looked up at him as her cheeks tinted blue. What kind of response is she supposed to make to that? She narrows her optics, "That's the biggest load of bull I ever heard! Why don't you try telling the truth for a change and stop making up stories!" She says as she starts walking off.

Steeljaw grabs her arm and turns her back around to look at him, "I'm not lying to you, Strongarm." He places a servo on her face as he makes her look him in the optics, "I'm telling the truth. I don't know what it is but something is making me have dreams about you which have made me fall in love with you."

Strongarm looks to the side as she recalls reading stories about that kind of thing happening to other bots, "I've read about that happening to others. I just can't believe it's happening to me."

"Did you read about what causes it?"

Strongarm nods as she looks at him again, "I did. It happens to those who are going down the wrong path, they start dreaming about the one that is supposed to help guide them the right way. The dreams are supposed to help them fall in love with the mech or femme so when they actually meet it can go easier, especially when the one that was chosen for them is on the opposite side. It's usually set in motion by one that was very close to them, like a parent or a close friend, that doesn't like seeing them going down the wrong path." She pulls away from him as she moves back, "Some bot that was close to you and is now in the well of all-spark has set this up and for some reason has chosen me."

Steeljaw remains silent as he processes everything she just told him. Some bot he was close to and is now with Primus has set this up. He can think of only one that would try to get him on the right path, his carrier.