Author's note: This story follows the fanfic timeline beginning in "Family Ties", created by Phantom, a fellow tf fanfic writer. Her fanfics can be found here My thanks to her for the initial stamp of approval and allowing me the use of her character, Andromeda.  Nova is my character.

This story is rated 'R' for language and certain conversation. You have been warned!

Onto the story!

* * * *

Chapter 2

Rodimus stood by Nova's bed, patiently waiting for her to wake up. The poor girl had been through enough, he doubted she needed to wake up and find herself alone.

She mumbled something Rodimus didn't quite catch and turned over, her back to him now. He looked down at her - even sleeping she looked so sad. What had happened to her?

She rolled over again, her optics now wide open. At the level the bed was, she was looking straight at his -

Nova sat up quickly, regretting that immediately. Her head pounded and her midsection was in honest-to-Primus pain. Oh, and she was dizzy.

"Ow..." she fell back on the bed.

"Take it easy!" Rodimus urged her.

"God...what...happened? I feel like I was in a battle..."

"Um..." Rodimus didn't know how to reply. He wasn't in the position to tell her what had happened to her. Luckily, First Aid was making his rounds and was coming over to Nova's bed. Rodimus made quick introductions, then excused himself.

As he walked out of the Infirmary, he heard a scream come from Nova. He squeezed his optics shut. He'd never take First Aid or Ratchet for granted after this, after all they had to go through. He heard her moan and beg First Aid to tell her it wasn't true. Not able to take it anymore, he walked out.

* * * *

Rodimus couldn't bring himself to visit Nova again. He couldn't face her after the news had been passed to her. He felt like he was responsible for her miscarriage. He should have made her eat all the goodies while he stood over her, he should have dragged her back to Cybertron to get recharged. He shouldn't have scared her off in the first place!

"GOD DAMN IT!" Rodimus cursed, banging his hand down on his desk, making data pad piles scatter everywhere. The door opened at that moment and Optimus Prime stepped in.

The first words that went through Rodimus's head were "Oh SHIT."

"Rodimus? You ok?" Optimus asked.

"Um..." Rodimus wondered if he knew. The Matrix link had probably relayed Rodimus's discomfort, which was why he was asking. If he didn't know now, he'd find out later.

"No." Rodimus said, trying to keep a level voice. "I killed someone."

Optimus's optics went wide as he immediately pulled up a seat. "What the hell happened?! Why wasn't I called?"

Rodimus tried to choke back a sob. Primus, he was done for after this, socially, politically. And poor Nova and her mate! He was probably gonna have to be the one to tell him about this...

"Cybertron to Rodimus!" Optimus snapped his fingers in front of his son's face.

"Huh? Oh. Right." Rodimus sighed. So Rodimus began telling Optimus exactly what had happened, until he was sure Optimus was either going to start screaming in anger or his optics were going to fall out from shock.

"And that's pretty much it." Rodimus finished. "Optimus, say something!"

"Oh boy." Optimus said immediately. They sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"I feel absolutely awful. It's MY fault she ran off. If I hadn't scared her off -"

"Woah, backup." Optimus held up his hand. "First of all, it's probably a damn good thing you scared her off. Pregnant femmes are a liability to armies, not helpful. Had she been in a battle, and seriously damaged, she probably would have lost the baby anyway. Second, she never told anyone when she signed up that she was pregnant, and eventually she would have started showing and been put on med leave. How much help could she have been then?"

"She wouldn't be half-starved though! On the verge of shutdown!"

"Rodimus, while I condemn your actions for pushing Nova too far, you did everything you could to convince her to return and your efforts were noble to give her the Energon goodies. You had no idea she was pregnant. She did. She knew what her options were and she chose her own path. She could have eaten the Energon and she didn't, but gave the goodies back to you unopened."

"You can't put the entire blame on her!"

"I think I can, Roddy. She KNEW what she was doing. She had too much pride to worry about the health of her unborn baby."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this from YOU, of all people! Possibly the most compassionate robot in the universe!"

"I have compassion for her Rodimus, and the utmost sympathy, but..."

Rodimus sighed. "Then why do I feel so terrible?"

"Would twenty years in the Cybertonium pits make you feel better?"

"No."

"I don't know what to say or do to make you feel better, Rod. Maybe if you talked to her..."

"I can't. I can't face her and say 'Sorry, it was your fault you were so proud.' I *can't*. You do it."

"Ohhh no. You got yourself into this mess, you get yourself out. You need to apologize to the rest of the new recruits as well."

"When?"

"As soon as possible."

"But Prime..."

Prime had a look on his face that screamed, 'Don't argue with ME, young man!' Rodimus just sighed.

* * * *

"Once again, I'd like to apologize for being a royal jerk and extend my warmest welcome to you from all of us in the Autobot Army. Thank you."

A small number of the newbie group began clapping, while some hoped that their laughter was covered by the clapping as Rodimus walked away, feeling utter humiliation. He now had to face Nova. It'd been a week since she'd come back to Cybertron, and he'd STILL rather face off with Trypticon in a fight than face HER.

Rodimus headed to the Infirmary. "Ok, here's the plan. I go in, I say I'm sorry for making her angry, sorry for the baby, and then leave."

He walked in and received a nod of acknowledgement from First Aid, who then nodded towards Nova's bed. Nova was staring up at the ceiling, totally not moving.

Rodimus sauntered up, and asked "How many tiles does the Infirmary ceiling have, anyway?"

Nova looked over at him, then rolled over. "You're the last *THING* I want to see right now."

Ouch.

"Oh come on Nova." Rodimus quickly scooted over to the other side to face her. "I'm REALLY sorry!"

"For what? Ruining my life?"

Make that a double ouch.

"Wait a minute, I didn't do anything -"

"Then why are you apologizing?" Nova slowly sat up, and when Rodimus went to help her, she snarled.

"I'm sorry for making you run off. I had no idea you were..."

"Even if I wasn't, it still doesn't excuse your behavior!"

"I know...I'm sorry."

"You being sorry doesn't change anything! My baby's gone now, thanks to you and your ineptness at handling women!"

"Woah backup. You were the one that needed the Energon, the one who wouldn't accept the Energon I left for you! AND you'd have been a liability in the army had you stayed pregnant! We would have had to put you on med leave and find another person to replace you. And what if there was a battle and you'd been damaged? You would have probably lost the baby anyway!" Rodimus then realized how absolutely crass the truth sounded to her face. So much for apologies! Before he could even TRY to make up for that, Nova began to cry.

"How dare you! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!" She grabbed her pillow and started hitting him with it. "GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" She screamed. She suddenly clutched her midsection and winced.

"Nova!" Rodimus went for her but First Aid was faster.

"Rodimus, under the circumstances I think you'd better leave." the medic said sternly.

Rodimus backed off, with a small "sorry" before heading for the door. Nova gathered enough strength to throw the pillow at him, and it hit him in the back as he went through the door before she fell back on the bed again in exhaustion.

* * * *

"YOU'RE A GOD DAMN, FREAKING IDIOT!" Arcee yelled. "I'M FILING A FORMAL COMPLAINT WITH OPTIMUS!"

"No need to yell Arcee, I'm right here." Optimus said calmly, sitting behind his desk.

"This is for Nova!" Arcee smacked Rodimus HARD across the face. "Believe me, you've been asking for that!" She stormed out of Optimus's office, fully intending to keep her word.

Rodimus rubbed his cheek. "I suppose you want to smack me too?" He looked at Magnus, who was also in the room.

"Oh I think Arcee said and did it all for me. I actually think Nova should shoot you when she's well enough." Magnus said casually.

"What is her status now?" Optimus asked gravely, ignoring Magnus's suggestion.

"She tore some of the patch work Ratchet did initially when she was hitting Rodimus, which you DID deserve, by the way. It's gonna take a few more days before she's at least up and walking."

"Oh, come on, Magnus, the truth hurts sometimes. I didn't want it to tell her like that, it just came out wrong."

"Public relations is NOT covering your sorry ass on this one, Rod." Magnus said. "You've REALLY blown it. Primus only knows how much damage you've done when the word spreads."

"You cannot put the entire blame on me for this one!"

"Oh, like we're gonna blame the poor mother-to-be for her miscarriage, which you induced!"

"I TOLD YOU I LEFT THOSE ENERGON GOODIES FOR HER!"

"YOU COULD HAVE DONE A HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN THAT! LIKE NOT SCARING HER OFF IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"BOTH OF YOU SIT DOWN!" Optimus shouted.

Obediently, but still ready for a fight, both Rod and Mags sat down.

"First of all, Rodimus, you'd just better keep your mouth shut until this whole incident passes."

"Amen." Magnus said under his breath.

Rodimus chose to ignore him. "Then how can I make this up to her? I seriously feel terrible for this."

"I think you'd better just stay away from her as an apology and as respect for her wishes."

Rodimus chose not to challenge Prime. "But what else can I do? I wish I could bring her baby back, but I can't."

"You can't change the past Roddy. Just let it go. You tried, you failed and now it's over. I'm sure her mate won't be pleased either, so we're going to deal with this, not you."

"You're not going to bribe them, are you?" Rodimus asked, half-joking.

Optimus and Magnus said nothing.

"Optimus!" Rodimus sat up.

"Listen Rod, situation's out of your hands now. We want to stay on good terms with our allies and they're NOT going to be pleased with any of us if word gets out." Magnus explained.

"Shit."

"Oh don't worry, the money's coming out of YOUR pay, Rodimus. That's only part of your punishment." Optimus pointed out.

Rodimus groaned.

"You're also being relieved from duty until further notice."

"WHOA!" Rodimus jumped up. "No, you CAN'T do that Optimus! I'm needed!"

"Not if you're going to cause trouble."

"Optimus, come on, this is just one situation that's just gone really wrong! Come on, I have a near-perfect record otherwise!"

"You think I LIKE doing this to you? I know I need you, but I don't have a choice. The entire femme community both on Cybertron and Earth, INCLUDING Andromeda, is calling for your disassembly and I'm almost tempted to give it to them!"

"I'll take the relief from duty. Thanks." Rodimus growled and stormed out of Optimus's office.

* * * *

Rodimus paced back and forth in front of his recharge berth. He was doomed. No femme in the world would come near him ever again, and that was the LEAST of his worries. 

His door chimed. "Come in." he said, half-hoping it was a female.

It was Springer. And he looked MAD.

"Get ready Rodimus, 'cause I'm about to kill you!" he said, fist flying toward Rod at the same time. 

Rod ducked, yelling, "What the hell has gotten into YOU?!"

"Your little conversation with Nova today, that's what! You're a freaking idiot, just like Arcee said!"

"Whoa! Time out!" Rodimus held out his hands. "What are you talking about?"

"Nova was NEVER in any danger of being in battle. She SPECIFICALLY asked for a desk job when she signed up and we were gonna give it to her before all this crap started!"

"You mean you all KNEW she was pregnant??"

"No. It never even occurred to us that's why she wanted a desk job - you STILL need payment for this."

"Lay off Spring, I've been beaten down enough by Prime and Magnus. I've been docked pay and I'm relieved of duties until further notice."

Springer's next punch stopped mid-air. "Whoa."

"That's what I said. I can't believe they'd do this to me."

"Well, this will make Arcee and the rest of the girls *very* happy, and hopefully I'll be able to get some recharge in without Arcee bugging me about this."

Rodimus sighed. All anyone wanted to do now was beat him up or get vengeance, not help him resolve the situation.

"See ya round, Roddy, if you're ever allowed out of your room again!" Springer smirked as he walked out.

Rodimus felt like going after Springer and hitting HIM now, but that would only damage his rep even more, and he really didn't need that.

He instead lay down on his recharge bed, realizing he was very tired. He hadn't recharged since the day before last. His optics became heavy and he was fast asleep soon after, dreaming of Optimus chopping his head off with a guillotine, for harassing Springer, who revealed he was actually a femme in disguise....

<-- Chapter 1 || Chapter 3 -->

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