Work Text:
If there was one thing the Rescue Bots all agreed on, it was that they loved their human partners, even if some of them were more open about their feelings (Blades and Boulder, who had always been friendly social butterflies) than others (Heatwave, who much like Kade tried to play the tough, aloof guy and didn’t quite manage as well as he hoped).
So, when their human friends were happy, they were happy too.
Even if the good news that Doc Green, Frankie and Professor Baranova left them more puzzled than anything else.
“Congratulations, Doc,” Chief Burns said with a wide grin, patting the scientist’s shoulder, while Dani crooned at Professor Baranova and Kade and Graham hung back, smiling and exchanging awkward looks.
It was Cody, who hung back from the little group after Frankie had been swept into another conversation, who first noticed how quiet the Rescue Bots were.
“What’s wrong, guys?” Cody asked, puzzled. “That’s a great news, isn’t it?”
“I… guess? I mean, it’s supposed to be when there isn’t any ambiguity on who the father is, and if there isn’t a murderer on the loose after the baby’s parents, or if there isn’t a problem with the pregnancy, and if there isn’t a baby swap at the maternity and…” Blades scratched his head, only to get cuffed by a grumpy Heatwave.
“Would you stop bringing up those stupid TV soaps ideas?” the Rescue Bots leader grumbled, muttering under his breath about Blades and television rights while Boulder, who looked more puzzled than anything, tilted his head to the side.
“Cody, why is the Professor pregnant?” the green mech asked unexpectedly, making the blond boy pause.
“Uh, I’m not sure I understand your question? You… you know what being pregnant means, right?” he found himself asking. Between TV shows that Blades was fond of and Mrs Rubio, surely they knew how humans reproduced? Oh please, let them know, because Cody didn’t think he was the best person to try and handle that type of conversation, ever. It would be painfully awkward, like the time Kade and Graham had taken him asides to teach him a few things about puberty (which Cody wouldn’t hopefully hit for another couple of years with any luck. Sure, part of him wanted to be an adult already and be taken seriously, but the growing years promised to be a pain he wished he could skip already) before Dad caught them and set a few things straight (but didn't actually refute some of Kade and Graham's warnings, much to Cody's dismay).
“Well, yes,” Heatwave shrugged. “It means she’s going to have a baby. We saw that in a lot of movies. She’s going to get… big,” he continued, waving at his middle, “and tearful and emotional and once the baby is all ready to get out, there’ll be a rush to the hospital –”
“Without a care for speed limitations, I must add,” Chase cut in, looking vaguely irritated.
“—and she’ll be crying and say she won’t do it ever again and perhaps threatens the Doc because it hurts –”
“Threatening people with bodily harm or death is also illegal,” the straight-laced Rescue Bots continued.
“—and then everybody will be happy because the baby will be here and coo at the camera,” Heatwave finished with an annoyed look at his blue-colored friend, who just looked back at him with a straight face. Sometimes, Cody wondered if he wasn’t exaggerating just to annoy Heatwave.
“That’s… more or less that,” Cody chuckled, amused. Sounded like the Bots had all watched a lot more romcom than he first thought during their breaks.
“But Cody, how did the baby get into Professor Baranova?” Blades asked, tipping his fingers together and Cody almost choked. “Movies never says HOW the baby gets into the mother’s tummy; do you know?”
“Yes, I’d like to know too,” Boulder nodded along.
Cody’s smile wobbled. Oh. Oh, boy. He would have thought... Surely it may have already come up on TV or on an Internet search? Surely they knew...? Then again, Dani had taken to screen a lot of programs so their partners didn't get any wrong ideas on humans, and Graham had installed a safe search feature some time ago, in part due to the Rescue Bots and in part due to a computer virus coming from somewhere -- Kade had grumbled about it a lot, until Dad had given him a Look. So yes, technically, there was a good chance the Rescue Bots didn't known about the... mechanics... behind a pregnancy. And they were curious. That… How to answer that tastefully? Cody wasn’t a naïve little kid, he had long since been taught the biological facts about babies and how they happened. But knowing and explaining it to a group of alien robots were two different things, especially when said robots were his friends. His clueless friends who’d better be taught before it could become an issue. “Uh… Dad?” he called quickly. “I think the Bots have questions for you!”
He was just a little boy! Better his father do it than him, after all! Or Doc Greene and the Professor themselves, even if Frankie had to mock him for his dodging of the situation. And better than Kade, certainly; Cody didn’t dare to think what his brother would say or do upon knowing Heatwave wanted to know how to make babies…
End