Finally posted. Special thanks to Bumblemus_Prime for the new awesome cover. You rock!

Special thanks to ConPrincessStarfire and pretty much everyone else for helping me out with this.

Thanks guys!

~~~~~

The old doctor felt himself slowly waking up again, after what felt like an eternity. He stared blankly at the white ceiling and thought about a few things then realized he heard crying. He furrowed his brow then slowly looked over to the sound.

Piper was sitting by him with her head in her arms as she sobbed silently. He grunted quietly as he turned to her and wanted to comfort her. She continued to cry for a moment and he twitched his hands only to tense in pain. Piper jumped up when she heard him weakly cry out.

"Dad?" She whispered quietly and quickly wiped her tears away, she then sat up to try to make sure he was alright. Ratchet let her do what she wanted then watched her sit down again.

"P... Piper... what's... wrong?" He rasped as he looked at her and attempted to move again. She shook her head and gently gripped his shoulder.

"Don't strain yourself." She whispered quietly and wiped her tears away again. "I um... I had.... I'm okay... I uh..." she trailed off and her lip quivered as she tried not to fall apart but failed. She covered her mouth and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Knockout... died... he was poisoned.... over a... long period of time... Airachnid... killed him..." she choked and the doctor blinked in surprise. "He did love... he did love me... but he lied about it... to protect me!" She cried and buried her face in her hands.

"Oh... Piper..." he whispered quietly as tears fell down his face. "Come... here..." he mumbled and she got up then curled up by his side, making sure to be careful.

He rested his head against hers as he listened to her sob her heart out. He knew she loved the young man and he had grown fond of him as well. He stared blankly as he thought about everything that happened.

Piper continued to hold on to her father as she sobbed silently. She slowly calmed down after a while and stared blankly. Her mind drifted off to earlier that day and how she managed to speak to him for a moment.  She couldn't believe he died shortly after the doctors saved him.

They said his body couldn't take it anymore. That it was too poisoned and rejected the antidote. She buried her face in her father's chest and sobbed silently.

~

Megatron stared blankly at the white sheet that covered the young doctor. He was down in the morgue with Beta, after hearing about the man's passing. He hesitated then gently pulled the sheet back. He stared at the young man's face then looked away.

"I'm.... I'm sorry... I didn't help you and your brother... I shouldn't have let you boys join... but I did..." he whispered quietly and looked at his still face again.

Beta walked over and looked at him then gently hugged his free arm. She stared at the young man that had been tortured by Airachnid, his body slowly dying from the abuse.

"His brother... Breakdown... was also killed by Airachnid... she stabbed him in the heart when he was trying to protect Knockout...." he rasped as tears filled his eyes. "These poor boys... I did this to them..." he whispered. Beta stared at him then buried her face in his arm. Knowing he'd probably blame himself for a long time. She didn't know what to say though or how to help him.

Megatron stared at him for a long time then carefully put the sheet back over the young man. The two silently left the room, and Beta told the doctor in charge that they were finished. They were silent as they went back to the main floor and made their way to Blitzwing's room.

Megatron stepped away from the others and tried again to call his oldest son. He lost count of how many times he had actually called him. The father listened to the phone ring for a long time, then sighed forcefully.

The voice mail was full of his messages and he couldn't leave anymore. He rested his head against the wall as he stood in the corner of the room. He listened to the recording tell him the mailbox was full and then it hung up.

He'd leave a message anyway. He always did.

"Steeljaw... it's me again... please pick up... I need to know you're okay." He whispered quietly. "I need to speak with you... I'm sorry I upset you... I'm so sorry... please just... speak to me..." he rasped as tears fell down his face. He didn't understand why his son hated him so much. Then again he did know.

Beta watched him then walked over and hugged the man. He dropped the phone and hugged her tightly as he buried his face in her hair. She felt him shaking as he sobbed silently, and she tried to comfort him. She knew he felt he had driven his son away, but didn't know what caused him to leave.

He just wanted peace. He wanted things to be right.

~

Tarn narrowed his eyes as he gripped the bars. He thought for a long time then smirked a little. He found the weakest link of the guards and managed to get him to come over. He spoke to him and quickly made friends with the man.

Tesarus watched his leader and smirked a little. Vos grinned madly as he gripped the bars and snickered. Helex looked at them then at his leader before making sure the coast was clear. They waited and watched their leader as he continued to talk to the officer. They couldn't hear what he was telling him though.

A half hour went by and the guard walked off as he seemed to shake off a daze. The members of the Decepticon Justice Division watched him leave then waited for the door to close.

"What was that-" Vos stopped suddenly and smiled wickedly as Tarn left the cell. He held up the keys and smirked darkly before freeing them.

"Let's go. There's a back way we can go and get back to the hideout." Tarn said as they got out and followed their leader to the exit. They went to their van that was in the yard, and got it freed before they quickly drove off.

"Yes! Ha ha ha! Take that suckers!" Vos shouted out the window as he grinned like a mad man. Tesarus growled lowly and yanked him back inside.

"Idiot." He grumbled and watched Helex drive towards the edge of town. They looked around wondering what they'd do next.

"No. Head back to the hospital." Tarn said seriously as he stared straight ahead, he was sitting on the passenger side. Helex looked at him and blinked in surprise.

"Wha? Bu the oops a-" Tarn grabbed him by the shirt and glared darkly as his grip tightened on him.

"Go. Back. To. The hospital." He spat and shoved him back. They were surprised that he didn't wreck and looked at their leader. "We have a job to finish." He growled angrily. "And new pests to squash." He seethed. They didn't say anything and made their way back to the hospital. Not wanting to anger the man further.

~

A few hours earlier.

The doctors sighed in relief as they saved the young man's life. They put him in recovery and went to speak to his family to let them know he was alive. He just needed to wake up and they could check a few things.

Knockout slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a while. He remembered what happened and looked around. He grunted weakly as he saw Piper sitting by his side. He smiled a little and gently gripped her hand. She was so wonderful to him. Why did he ever let Airachnid manipulate him? He thought about the abuse he went through and looked away as tears filled his eyes.

"Hey... it's alright... we'll get through this." Piper whispered as tears fell down her face. She gently kissed his hand and smiled sadly as she brushed some hair out of his face.

"I'll be by your side the whole time... I promise." She whispered and he looked at her then smiled a little.

"What... did... I do... to deserve... you?" He rasped. She shook her head and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I love you... no matter what." She promised and gently kissed his cheek. He rested his head against hers as he smiled slightly.

"I love you too..." he rasped and looked at her after a moment. "Piper... I want... to be... with you... forever..." he whispered and she sat up a little.

"I want to be with you forever too. I love you so much and don't forget that. I'll be with you through the healing process... everything. I love you so much." She said and smiled more. He gently set a hand on her cheek and ran his thumb over her lips.

"Piper... I love you..." he said again and looked at her. "Will... you... marry me?" He asked quietly. She stared at him for a moment then grinned excitedly. She gripped his face and kissed him.

"Yes... yes I will..." she said between their kiss. He smiled a little as he held on to her arms. She let go and rested her forehead against his then glanced to the heart monitor. She laughed quietly and hugged him gently.

A nurse came in and told her she had to leave for a moment so they could check on him. She nodded and kissed him again before promising to come back. The nurse led her out and Knockout smiled weakly as he closed his eyes. He heard someone enter a moment later but didn't really mind.

"How are you feeling today?" The doctor asked as he looked over a clipboard. Knockout opened his eyes as he recognized the voice. He stared at the man as his expression became blank.

"Pharma..." he rasped weakly and narrowed his eyes a little. The other man smirked darkly as he approached.

"My my my, you do remember me. I'm flattered." He sneered as he went to the cupboards and started working on something.

"W... what-"

"You're on the list, idiot. The DJD are missing so I figured, 'hey why don't I fill in'?" He said and worked on a few more things. "That way they'll respect me for once." He growled angrily. Knockout glanced around and grabbed the help button. Pharma walked over and looked at him then chuckled softly.

"Oh it doesn't work. I made sure when we brought you in here." He said as he pulled out a syringe and went to the IV bag. He then injected the liquid into the man's IV and watched it slowly go down the tube.

"N... No..." Knockout rasped as he watched it go down towards his hand. Pharma gripped his wrists to keep his hands down, so he didn't rip it out.

"You shouldn't have promised her anything." The doctor said seriously as he smirked at him. Knockout glared as tears filled his eyes and he slowly clenched his fists as the liquid got closer.

"This is the poison Airachnid used, except I modified it. You won't feel any pain or make a noise as it keeps your body from moving. Okay I lied about the pain but your muscles will be locked up. But don't worry, you'll be dead within the minute." He explained.

The liquid entered his blood stream and he grunted weakly in pain as the poison quickly spread. He knew the doctors wouldn't be able to locate the poison. It would just seem as though his body gave up. He continued to glare at the man as he felt the fire and pain.

"Don't worry..." Pharma said and checked his watch. He let go of his arms, knowing he wouldn't be able to move, and stepped back. He watched him then leaned closer to his ear. "At least you'll be able to see your brother now." He sneered. Knockouts eyes widened in pain and he grunted again as he tried to say something.

"Tell him I said hello." He smiled wickedly then stood again. Knockout made a strangled noise as if he was trying to yell in anger. He gasped then fell still as he stared at the ceiling.

Pharma glanced at the heart monitor as it flat lined. He gathered his things and walked out then quickly disappeared. He smirked darkly as he heard Piper scream and sob after finding the young man.

One down, several more to go.