Jasmine turned over in the bed slowly, her hair a tousled mess. With a hand grazing over the top of her head, she knew she probably looked like she’d been standing in a wind tunnel all night. But as her lover shifted next to her, she couldn’t have cared less. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, smiling, as even in his half-sleeping state, he returned it, a smile quick to his lips as he pressed close to her.

Orion: “Good morning, Mommy . . .”

He murmured against the sensitive skin, and she laughed, emerald eyes bright. Her spark tingled with the renewal of the bond, with the growing forms inside her that were a part of her spark, split off, combined with more . . . human conception.

Jasmine: “Good morning, Daddy . . .”

She took his hand in hers, lifting it to her lips, kissing the back of it gently a few times over. He smiled in his sleepy state, approving of her affections.

Finally, things had changed again. Jasmine could feel the twins again. She could feel the dull sensation they had on her spark. She could feel the nearly electric pulse inside her womb, where she knew they were growing. Well, perhaps ‘nearly’ was too light of a term.

Jasmine yelped as a jolt shot through the tissue, as a spark shocked her from the inside, most certainly not from her own internal workings.

Jasmine: “What in the-?”

She frowned, gazing down at her abdomen, where it had resonated from. Optimus smiled, kissing her again before she could finish, sliding  a hand over her bare abdomen. He pressed his lips close to hers with a gentle touch, smiling when she gave in to him under the mess of blankets and sheets. He hooked his arm around her waist, moving to press a few light kisses to her neck.

That was when the shock hit him, too. He pulled his hand back in confusion, staring down at her skin.

Orion: “They didn’t do that last time . . .”

She smiled impishly, sliding a hand over his neck slowly.

Jasmine: “They didn’t have half-breed parents last time, either . . . I’m taking it as a good sign . . . They’re feisty this time . . . They refuse to give in . . . That’s good . . . We’re going to have our babies . . . For now and always . . .”

His grin returned full force and he kissed her again, earning him a muffled laugh.

Orion: “Our babies . . .”

He whispered, squeezing her a bit of wonder in his tone.

Orion: “Our babies . . . Our babies . . . OUR babies!”

He pulled her closer, kissing over her shoulders, her collarbone, her sternum, her neck, a hand always gliding over her skin. He paused for a moment, his head tilting as he looked up at her.

Orion: “Are you already swelling?”

She blinked and sat up, frowning, Optimus promptly moving out of her way.

Jasmine: “I don’t . . . I don’t think so . . . I mean . . . That’s not possible . . . Is it? Not even full Cybertronians develop that quickly, Optimus, I mean . . .”

She fumbled to find the words, a confusion settling over her. Optimus gave a slight nod, sensing her distress over something so simple, so small, but so monumental.

Orion: “It could be nothing, Maiden. I could be mistaken. Don’t worry yourself. You’ve been through enough with them.”

Jasmine: “How long have I actually been pregnant?”

She asked, turning her eyes to him, searching for an answer in her own mind. They hadn’t been intimate that many times, so the choices were limited. Had it actually occurred the first night they’d been together?

Jasmine: “Between one and two weeks, right? Maybe less than one . . .”

She frowned, biting her lip. So much had happened so quickly. And she’d completely lost track of everything that had happened. Or, rather, the timeline it had happened on.

Orion: “I believe you’re correct, Maiden . . . Somewhere in there . . . Please don’t worry . . . It’s probably nothing . . .”

Her body began to tremble softly, crossing her arms and biting her lip. She didn’t know what was going on inside her own body, and when what she did know was that she had two small bodies starting to grow, it terrified her to think something was going haywire. She couldn’t stand the thought. Angel had said they would live. She’d promised. She’d promised they would be just fine. So what was going on?

~~~

They waited two days before calling Angel. Jasmine’s abdomen was indeed swelling, bit by bit, every day. It was still hardly a bump, and could easily be mistaken for extra abdominal weight, unless you were Optimus, Jasmine, Angel or Sunny, who couldn’t seem to keep her thoughts to herself.

Sunny: “Do you think they’re like, mutant babies or something? Wouldn’t it be cool for me to have a mutant brother and sister? That’d be the best! That would be so cool, and we could be the crime-fighting children of L.A.! Oh my gosh, that would be the best! Jasmine, please, please, please have mutant babies!”

Jasmine held Optimus’s hand tightly as Angel examined her, controlling her breathing as Sunny rattled off onto another of her rants. Orion draped an arm over Jasmine’s shoulder gently. The little blonde girl blushed when she didn’t get a positive reaction from her adoptive parents, and rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

Sunny: “S-Sorry . . . I just . . . It’s exciting to have siblings again, y’know . . . ?”

Jasmine sighed as Angel’s hands slid over her abdomen. Ratchet had taken the time to teach her what she needed to know of techno organic conception and development as it occurred between Cybertronians and humans, what he knew of it, anyway, and she skimmed several medical books in her free time. Ratchet was a bit large to be doing too much of this himself. And the grumpy medic couldn’t exactly make house calls the way she did.

Jasmine: “I know, Sunny . . . I’m just . . . antsy . . . Worried . . .”

Sunny gave a small nod and sat down on the couch near them, watching Jasmine’s eyes rather than Angel’s hands like the others did.

Sunny: “I didn’t mean to make you sad, Mommy . . .”

Jasmine tensed, squeezing Optimus’s servo again. The young blonde girl had called her and Optimus by parental titles one other time in the few days they’d had her.

Jasmine: “Sunny, Baby, we talked about this. You should say it if you really want to, if you feel ready, not because you feel obligated. It doesn’t matter what you call us-.”

Sunny: “I know . . . I want to . . .”

She insisted quietly, and Jasmine turned her head slowly to look at the girl at her side, and sighed, reaching an arm out, offering the space under to her adopted daughter. The bright little girl beamed and slid closer, curling up in the nook of Jasmine’s arm, closing her eyes as Angel continued to poke and prod. Jasmine slid her free hand over Sunny’s eyes when the exam began to get a bit more mature. She would’ve sent her from the room, but didn’t want to make Sunny feel unwanted.

Jasmine: “Just don’t look, Baby . . .”

The small girl nodded against Jasmine’s shoulder.

Sunny: “Okay, Mom . . .”

Jasmine’s spark beat a bit faster at the title. She was a mother. And she would be the mother to two more soon enough. Two daughters and a son. It was all happening so quickly. It was a rush and utterly terrifying.

Sunny jumped when Angel, and Jasmine a millisecond before, gave a small yelp and the blonde pulled away from Jasmine, frowning at the auburn haired woman’s abdomen.

Angel: “Well, they’re healthy.”

She muttered, a bit less than pleased with the event, a shock that had come to her hand, resonating from inside the pregnant woman.

Angel: “Did you do that?”

She asked, turning her gray eyes back to Jasmine’s green ones, even though she was fairly certain she already knew the answer. Jasmine, while she could pull an occasional scare, wasn’t exactly in a joking mood. She still blocked Sunny’s vision of what was happening.

Jasmine shook her head and looked down at the bare skin of her abdomen, worried already that something was going on that she didn’t understand.

And it was. But it wasn’t as ‘doom-and-gloom’ as she feared. Angel sighed.

Angel: “It looks like they’re just fine so far. The picture of health. As much health as two developing embryos can give off. But anyway, the thing is, because their sparks already existed and they’re really only being reborn, and yadda, blah blah, whatever, they’re developing at an unusually quick pace. Well, part of it’s because they’re being reborn and their sparks and everything else don’t have to develop, and because you guys are practically techno organics on steroids, and because you have some incredibly impatient children. I suspect you’ll be giving birth by the end of July, start of August.”

Jasmine blinked, staring at Angel, processing the information, all of it clicking just a moment before it did for Optimus. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat it to him.

Jasmine: “That’s just over a month away! Are you insane? Did you do your math right? Did you carry the two? Did you divide by Pi? You’re kidding! This is some horrible, months late April Fools joke, right? Right! Right? Oh Primus, please tell me right!”

Angel laughed softly, shaking her head.

Angel: “ ‘Fraid not, Jazz. You have just over a month to prepare yourselves for their arrival. By the last week, I’ll be spending all my extra time here. Okay? You’re not alone in this. I’ll have Ratchet parked outside full-time. You’ll be just fine. This is what you wanted, right?”

Jasmine took a deep breath and gave a small nod. This was what she’d wanted since she’d lost her sparklings as JewelBlade. This was what she’d wanted for years. To have them back. To hold them in her arms and never let them go again. To let them know she loved the scrap out of them and that she would never allow them harm, even by Megatron. She would face anyone, anything to save them. Because she loved them.

And compared to the thirteen, nearly fourteen years since she’d lost them, perhaps only having a month left to wait was appropriate. Perhaps it was the AllSparks, or maybe it was Primus’s, way of saying she could have her babies, no strings attached.

So maybe everything would be okay, even with the stress her body would be put under. Jasmine gave a small nod.

Jasmine: “I have to call Daniel.”

She said simply. No way was she going to be on set while pregnant. For the next nine months, she had to drop off the grid completely. She couldn’t have the tabloids see her with two small ones that looked suspiciously like her and Optimus less than two months after they’d been together. Especially if they managed any early pregnancy photos.

That would be hard to explain away. Thankfully, Daniel would understand. He always understood that Jasmine was different and that she had secrets she would be dissected for if anyone ever found her out. She hadn’t told him about Optimus yet. All Daniel knew was that he was a serious relationship. She’d tell him someday. Someday soon.

In the meantime, she was going to do her best to memorize every possible second of her pregnancy and enjoy every moment of it. She had to remind herself to absorb it, the experience and everything about it. She didn’t know how long she’d have with them. They could be premature, they could be late. Any way it happened, she was going to love it. She was going to love them. With all her spark.

Jasmine slid a hand over her abdomen slowly. She swore she could hear talking in the background, but she didn’t pay much attention to it. She was absorbed into her own little world with the twins.

Jasmine: ‘You can hear me, can’t you? You know I love you two. You know I’m here for you. And I’m going to take good care of you. I’m never going to let you go again. I promise I’m going to do my best possible job as your mother to make sure you’re okay. Always. And your father will be here, too. And you have a big sister this time around. She’s kind of hyper, but you’ll learn to love her. I promise. She wants you to be mutant babies, you know that? Even if it’s what she wants, please don’t be mutants. You’re going to be a handful as it is. I need every break I can get with three of you going to be running around.’

She gave a small smile, gazing down at her abdomen.

Jasmine: ‘But I promise I’ll love you no matter what you are, or who you are, or what you’re like. Because I could never ask for anything better than to have you in my arms. Don’t make me wait too long, okay? I can’t wait to see you. Your father can’t wait to see you, either. I’m sure Sunny’s more excited than she’s letting on. And she’s letting on quite a bit how excited she is. You’re happy to be joining us, right? I’m happy to have you here again. I promise I won’t screw up too bad this time around. Just tell me you’ll be patient as I try to figure everything out, will you? I’m not perfect. I’m trying. Just don’t ever forget that we love you. We love you with every ounce of our sparks.’

She got an unvoiced answer from inside her womb. It wasn’t a shock, but a slow, gentle hum, much like that of quiet machinery, that let her know the twins heard her. And that they loved her, too. Jasmine smiled, closing her eyes, a few tears beginning to slide down her cheeks. She was going to have her long-lost sparklings at last. Maybe not as the way she’d imagined them before, maybe not at the time or in the way she’d hoped back then, but they were here. They were coming to her and Optimus and even Sunny and Angel.

She wouldn’t ever let them go again. They were far too precious to just let them slip away again.

Jasmine: ‘Everything will be okay . . . I promise . . .’

A gentle nudge came to her shoulder. Optimus, Angel and Sunny were watching her, utterly perplexed.

Orion: “Maiden? Are you all right?”

Angel: “We’ve been trying to talk to you, but you haven’t been responding. At all. What’s going on?”

Sunny’s head just tilted, and Jasmine gave a weak smile, wiping her tears away.

Jasmine: “Sorry . . . Just . . . Excited . . . Optimus, I expect to have cameras around all the time. Otherwise we’ll completely forget to capture the moments as they pass. Kay?”

He smiled and gave a short nod.

Orion: ‘Tell me about it later?’

She smiled back and nodded in turn, her eyes turning back to her abdomen.

Jasmine: ‘I’ll tell you about it later.’

The world felt a bit brighter again. The sun was rising on what had felt like an endless night since they’d lost the twins. But the day to come was going to be glorious.

Jasmine: ‘I’ll see you soon, Babes . . .’