A/N: Just came to me and I felt like I had to get it out there. Gonna be some characters from other series in here. Starts before RofF. Gonna be sad in the beginning. Hope you enjoy.

Main Parings:

ex OptimusxBarricade

IronhidexOptimus

Child(s): Bumblebee (adopted), Switch, Nighttron,

RatchetxJolt

Child(s): Red Alert, First Aid, Prowl, Talis, Sunbolt, Kore,

SamxMikaela

InfernoxRed Alert

Child(s): Heatwave (not RB), Smokescreen, Breakfire

JazzxProwl

Child(s): Bluestreak, Remix

BumblebeexBarricade

Warnings: Mentions of interfacing, mystical Matrix powers, mpreg, sparking, blood, gore, some out of character, secret relationships, odd relationships, character death, revival, and anything else I forgot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Only Hasbro. I only own my characters.

It was the average day for the Autobots. Optimus was still recovering from Mission City. He had taken more damaged than they realized, but Ratchet had managed to fix him right up. Ironhide stood by his side, ever so obediently as a bodyguard should be. Lennox walked into the office they had given to Optimus to work in.

"Hey Prime, a ship landed near us. It has the Autobot symbol on it," Lennox reported.

"Thank you Major Lennox. I shall go out and greet our newcomers," said Optimus. His joints creaked as he got up slowly. It would be another few weeks before he was back to normal. Ironhide helped him over to the doorway and outside, never saying a word. "Thank you Ironhide."

"No problem Prime. I'm your bodyguard. I live to help and serve you," Ironhide said gruffly. He looked at the small ship just as the hatch opened. "Looks like there's about 7 newbies."

Ironhide's estimates were correct. Prowl, Talis, Inferno, Red Alert, Heatwave, Jolt, and Smokescreen piled out, taking in their surroundings. Prowl walked over and greeted his leader with a warm smile. They shook servos before Optimus took them inside the base to introduce the newcomers to the humans. Lennox bowed in respect before leaving to his post. Once introductions was over with, Ironhide told them where each quarters were and who was with who.

"Jolt you are with Ratchet next to the medibay. Red Alert and Inferno will share a room near the mess hall. Heatwave and young Smokescreen your room is next to theirs. Talis your quarters are across from Optimus' quarters. Prowl, you will stay in Jazz's former room," Ironhide listed, sending a map of the base to each of them.

"Former? Ironhide what are you talking about? Where's Jazz?" Prowl asked, fear crawling up his throat and making it hard to speak. Ironhide looked sadly at him, his optics saying the words his processor refuses to emit. "No. Ironhide no it's not true."

"I'm sorry Prowl. He died protecting the humans and us from Megatron," said Ironhide. "His body is in a secluded room in the medibay. Ratchet thinks that he can use a piece of what remains of the Allspark to bring him back. We haven't tested the theory yet."

Prowl's doorwings shook in anger and sorrow. His sparkmate couldn't be dead. Jazz was a strong soldier. He could survive almost anything thrown at him.

"You're lying!" Prowl shouted, scaring a few humans nearby. "Jazz can't be dead! He's stronger than death! He has to be alive!"

"Prowl... come here please," Ratchet beckoned. He pulled his second eldest son into his arms. "Shh... shh... it's all right. If it helps he didn't feel pain when he died."

"It's not fair carrier. Why did it have to be him?" Prowl cried.

"I'll take you to him. You can see for yourself. I'm close to figuring out how to access the Allspark's energy," Ratchet comforted. "Jolt, Talis, Red Alert, you three can join us. The rest of you will have to wait."

"What happened to uncle Jazz sire?" Smokescreen asked innocently.

"Oh my son, Jazz is dead. He's living with Primus in the Allspark now," said Inferno.

"When is he coming back?" Smokescreen continued.

"Probably never. Death is forever. But don't worry. Grandcarrier is figuring out a way to bring him back," said Inferno. "Let's go get you and your brother settled into your new room."

"I'll even let you have first pick of what side you want," said Heatwave.

~~~3 weeks later

The twins, Sideswipe, and Arcee triplets showed up next. They were informed of the all that had happened during their absence. Ratchet and Ironhide talked in a corner of the rec. room where the new arrivals were fueling up.

"He doesn't seem like himself. It's as if he wants something badly, but he won't tell me," said Ironhide. "I can see it's stressing him out."

"The best you can do is stay by his side. It's gonna be hard not to act too much with your feelings for him," said Ratchet, swirling his cube of energon. "Do you plan to tell him soon?"

"I don't know. I would like to, but it doesn't seem like the right time. It hurts my spark when I think about him not wanting me that way," said Ironhide. "I will be patient and wait for the right moment to tell my feelings. I will in time. How is it coming along with Jazz's revival."

"Excellent. I managed to retrieve part of the Allspark fragment. I was going to test it later on when I finish with his repairs," said Ratchet.

"That's excellent."

~~~000

Ratchet stretched his back. He had been working for a few hours and finally finished. The only thing that was evident of battle was the scarring metal where Jazz was ripped in half. He took the chance to polish the silver armor before forcefully opening up the chestplates, showing the empty spark chamber. Jolt wrapped his arms around Ratchet, kissing the medic's shoulder.

"You ready to do this?" Jolt asked.

"As ready as I will ever be," said Ratchet. He pulled out the small sliver and placed it into the spark chamber. Nothing happened. "It is as I feared."

"Let's go inform the others. They should have a chance to say goodbye before we bury him," said Jolt. "He was a great mech for Prowl. Talis sensed it the moment Prowl brought him home from the police academy. He's always looking out for his younger brother."

"Indeed. He was Prowl's support when we thought that we were going to lose Red Alert to sparking Heatwave. He managed to make him smile and prove that everything would be all right, even if we did lose Red Alert," said Ratchet. "Jazz will be missed dearly. Even though he was very energetic and got on some nerves a few days, he did an amazing job."

"Jeez Doc, I've got tears in my optics," a voice piped up from behind. It wasn't as deep anymore due to the damage. "So where's Prowler? I hear he's here on base."

"It worked Ratchet! You did it," Jolt congratulated. "Welcome back Jazz. I'll take you to Prowl right now."

Jolt dragged the spy through the medibay doors. Ratchet sent up a thanks to Primus before joining his rejoicing family. It was a miracle that his plan had worked.

~~~5 months later

The base became more lively with Jazz playing his music and telling jokes. Prowl of course was extremely happy and had rebonded to the mech that night. A few days later Jazz was feeling sick and went to Ratchet about it. The saboteur looked down at his extended stomach. He was close to sparking his first child. It would be a pain in the aft if the child had doorwings like his sire. The months went by quickly without much going on. Jazz usually slept, interfaced, or chilled. Everyone was lucky he didn't have mood swings except for the joy and light mood.

"Prowler, can I get some energon? The little bitlet is draining me again," Jazz requested, a cute pout on his lips.

"Of course Jazz. I'll get it for you," said Prowl. He grabbed medical energon and passed it over. Jazz chugged down the bitter energon quickly. "Do you need anything else?"

"My back hurts. They keep kickin' and shifting around," said Jazz. Prowl gently rubbed his back in soothing circles. "I wish he would stop. I want to recharge but he won't let me. Ratch' says I should spark sometime today."

"Then I will escort you to the medibay. He will need to monitor you for when you go into labor," said Prowl.

They passed by Ironhide, who was just leaving the medibay. He had been training a bit too hard and popped his shoulder out of place. Ratchet quickly fixed him before sending him out.

"Time all ready?" the weapons specialist laughed. "Keep me updated Prowl. I'm sure the rest of the base will enjoy it to know how our favorite spy is doing."

"I will my friend," said Prowl. He caught the longing look in his friend's optics. He knew he had a crush on a certain mech upon the base who was younger than him.

~~~000

"Jazz I need you to keep pushing for me," said Ratchet. Jazz grunted and tried to push the sparkling out but couldn't.

"He didn't move much," said Jolt.

Ratchet slipped a few digits from each servo into the valve. He felt around for the sparkling to see what was the problem. He slightly cursed when he felt doorwings. Jazz's frame and valve was too small to handle doorwings without damaging the sensitive metal. Jolt grabbed an artificial lube to try to relax the valve so that the sparkling could arrive safely. Ratchet didn't have this problem when he delivered Prowl and Talis.

"He has doorwings Jazz. I'm going to apply this lube to help ease the valve walls. It's going to feel strange and possibly hurt if you have any cuts, but it will ensure that he is delivered alive," said Ratchet. He quickly worked, helping the sparkling along until he caught it in his hands. "There we go. A perfect healthy mechling."

Ratchet cleaned off the wailing sparkling while Jolt took care of the rest. Prowl took his son into his servos, cooing down at him. The sparkling stopped crying, looking up at his sire curiously. Jazz petted his son's helm, wiping way the tiny tears left behind. He was grey with red upper legs. Two small blue streaks ran along the back of his doorwings. His tiny crest looked almost like Prowl's, color and design.

"Hello Bluestreak," Jazz croaked out. He took his son and opened his chest to allow him to feed.

"Get some rest Jazz. I'll watch him when he's done feeding," said Prowl. He turned to his creators. "Thank you carrier, sire. He looks amazing."

"Indeed he does. I'll go inform the others of our new addition," said Ratchet. "I'll see you three in the morning."

~~~000

Ironhide sighed as he looked at the picture taken of the new family. It felt good to see new life in war appear. It made him think about wanting a sparkling of his own. He had helped raise Bumblebee with Optimus when he was a sparkling, but it wasn't quite the same as having one to call his own. Ratchet patted his back, giving him a knowing smile.

Ironhide hid it very well that he felt attracted to another. Most assumed that he and Chromia would be together, but they agreed just to be friends when it didn't work out very well. Ironhide had no objections to that. It was getting late and he wanted to rest. He passed by Optimus' quarters, going to the ones next to it. The light coming from under the doorway caught his attention. The black mech knocked softly, entering when a voice told him to.

"Hello old friend," Optimus greeted, setting down the datapad in his servos on the desk next to his berth.

"Hello Prime. Jazz delivered a healthy mechling," said Ironhide. "Just thought I would let you know since the humans insist on keeping you busy."

"Thank you for the update. I shall go see them tomorrow," said Optimus. "Is something wrong Ironhide?"

"Of course not. Why would anything be wrong," Ironhide said rather quickly.

"You seemed trouble since Jazz announced he was carrying," said Optimus, sitting up more to study the other's features.

"It's nothing. Just remembering when Bee was a sparkling," Ironhide partly lied. "Get some rest. You've worked hard enough. I'll be in my quarters if you need me. Night Prime."

"Goodnight Ironhide," Optimus returned.

Ironhide rested on his berth, not really wanting to go into recharge yet. Before he knew it, he was dreaming of his secret lover.

~~~dream

Ironhide blasted away Starscream, watching as he retreated back with Megatron. His cannons whirled down to a halt before he put them away. The base had been attack and as far as he knew, no one was hurt. He turned inside the wrecked base, looking for one in particular. He saw him laying on his back, Ratchet hovering over him with shaking shoulders.

"Ratch'?" Ironhide asked, trembling as he got close to the still form.

"I'm sorry 'Hide. I tried my best to save him. His spark had been penetrated," said Ratchet.

Ironhide couldn't believe what he was hearing. His lover... dead before he could admit his feelings. That feeling of regret brewed in his spark, forever being a reminder of what he didn't do.

"What about the Allspark?" Ironhide asked.

"Gone. The Decepticons stole it when they attacked," said Prowl. "So far there has been only one casualty and no humans were harmed. I can't figure out why they would attack so suddenly. And why was Megatron here?"

Ironhide ignored the tactician. His mind screamed while he stayed silent. He gathered the frame in his arms, hugging it closely. His tears dripped onto the cooling frame and onto the cold ground. He cursed Primus for doing such a thing to him.

~~~end dream

Ironhide woke with a start. His breathing was heavy as he recalled what he had dreamed about. Was it a warning? A vision? Was it all fake? Oh Primus he hoped none of it would be real. The mere thought of the lifeless body made him shudder in fear. There was no way he was going to let that happen.

~~~a year and a half later

Bluestreak walked on wobbly legs towards his sire. Prowl praised his son, lifting him up high as soon as he was within reach. Bluestreak squealed in happiness, babbling at his sire. Jazz smiled widely at his son. Smokescreen watched from next to the spy. He had grown a strong bond with the younger mechling closer to his age than anyone else. Prowl set Bluestreak down and pointed towards Ratchet.

"Go get grandcarrier Blue," Prowl said.

The sparkling hobbled over to his grandcarrier and latched onto his leg. Ratchet looked down, warmly smiling down at his son's creation. He picked him up and tickled his stomach plating. The sparkling laughed, loving the attention he was getting.

Optimus looked on with a grin. It reminded him of when Bumblebee took his first steps. He had been so proud of his adopted creation. Ironhide even showed how proud he was when Bumblebee showed him what he accomplished. It was just a wonderful memory that hasn't faded away. This sparkling was one of the few to live during the war and not know about it until later in his life.

"You've grown again Blue," said Ratchet.

"GraCa," Bluestreak gurgled. "Wuv yew."

"I love you too," said Ratchet.

The alarms blared, scaring the sparkling. Ratchet soothed him, rubbing his back in between his doorwings. Optimus silenced them and studied the map. There was a lone Decepticon signal about ten minutes away.

"Ironhide, come with me to investigate," said Optimus. "The rest of you stay here. We will call for backup if needed."

~~~000

Barricade knew that he would get caught by Autobot sensors. He didn't really care much. He hoped that the scout was coming to see why he was there. Instead he got Optimus and Ironhide. He growled under his breath, spark sinking at not seeing his scout.

"Barricade what are you doing here?" Optimus asked, surprised to see the mech. He thought he had been killed in Mission City.

"None of your business," said Barricade. Optimus glared at him. "Fine I was searching for a fuel source. I detected one on my scanners. I haven't found any yet. With Megatron and the others dead, I have to scout for my own."

"And you have no intentions of harming any life?" Optimus pressed.

"Of course not! I'm not foolish enough to do that. You should know me better than that Prime," the shock trooper snarled. "You've been with me since before the war, before we both decided that it wasn't working out because of your sire."

"Very well then. You may continue in your task," said Optimus. He turned to leave when he and Ironhide fell through the ground and into a cavern.

Barricade smirked before leaving a distress signal. The Autobots would come looking for them with it. He turned away as the ground caved in, burying the two alive.

~~~later

Ironhide grunted as he removed the boulder on top of him. He looked to find Optimus, spotting him not too far. It looked like the Prime had taken most of the damage from the fall and the earth collapsing on them. Optimus onlined with a groan, unburying himself and looked at Ironhide. They didn't have much room to move around. Optimus couldn't stand up, even if he wanted to. Ironhide got to his leader's side, wiping away a thin trail of energon from his mouth.

"You all right Prime?" Ironhide asked.

"I will be once we get out of here," said Optimus. "It appears as if the ground had eroded away and our weight was too much for it. Are you damaged?"

"Not as much as you are. Just a few scratches," said Ironhide. He looked deeply into those dark blue optics.

"Ironhide?" Optimus asked. "Something doesn't feel right."

Ironhide looked down at the slender body. He removed pieces of rock from plating, easing the pain. Just as he finished, there was a blinding light. It disappeared quickly, leaving both mechs panting and shaky. They had no idea what it was. Voices from above alerted them that help was on the way. Optimus moaned as he passed out, helm dropping onto Ironhide's chest.