Shockwave tended to the sick Decepticons as they whined and squirmed on their berths. He watched as Optimus injected each of them with the formula. His adopted daughter trailed behind him and touched each of the patients' heads.

"They should all recover in a few days." Optimus touched Megatron's head as the Decepticon leader slept. "I would desire to see them eventually, if that would be okay."

Shockwave looked past him at his daughter, who blinked shyly at him. He slowly nodded. "Just you and your daughter. No one else."

Optimus bowed his helm in respect. Then he swept Kayla out of the room and he looked down at her. "You will say nothing to anyone. Do you understand me? Ratchet would lose his processor if he knew."

Kayla nodded and she nuzzled his hand when he touched her head. "I won't. He would probably ground me for life."

Optimus smiled and he nodded. "He probably would. He has zero tolerance for these kind of things."

"Why?"

"It is just his programming. He is very protective of his family and of the team."

She smiled and walked with him through the door. Ironhide was sitting in one of the chairs, in his boxers (of course) and he smiled at them both.

Optimus fixed him with icy-blue eyes. "We were out for a night walk to get this." And he held up his hand. In it was a necklace similar to the one around Kayla's neck.

Ironhide whistled and he stood up to examine the pendant, then he pulled the chain out from around Optimus' neck, which had several things on it, including the same pendant as both necklaces. "Sweet. For your pretty-boy mate, I suppose?"

"Yes. Each member of the family will get one eventually."

Ironhide tucked Optimus' necklace back inside his shirt and he patted it, making the pendants clink against themselves. He smiled at Kayla. "I'll keep this little encounter to myself." He pressed his index finger to his lips.

Optimus nodded and he patted his shoulder. "Thank you. I appreciate this. I will be sure to repay this little favor."

He laughed and he nuzzled him playfully. "What I want, Prime, you wouldn't give me."

The Prime grinned and he shoved him away, but it was still playful. "You are a hungry mech."

"You bet I am. We'll wrestle for the position as Dom."

Kayla's eyes widened when her sire pressed Ironhide against the wall and he put his face in his. Their lips brushed as Optimus spoke.

"I am always on top."

Ironhide laughed and he hugged his neck, pressing his face into his leader's neck. Kayla was concerned that her sire was cheating on her carrier, but then she remembered that Optimus and Ironhide had been best friends since Optimus was known as Orion. They were extremely close, and Cybertronians were not like humans. If two males or two females were nuzzling and hugging, they were considered an item, but Cybertronians were social and hugging and even kissing were common in siblings and close friends. They were closer to wolves than humans in behavior. Optimus was the Alpha, and Ironhide was his subordinate showing his affection and appreciation.

Ironhide pulled away and smiled at her. "Sorry you had to see that, love. Ratchet would flip if he saw us doing this in front of you. You're supposed to be innocent." He put in a dramatic pause. "You are still innocent, right?"

Optimus swatted at Ironhide, laughing. "She has not been taken. She is still my little girl."

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Atleast he thinks I am." She winked, allowing Ironhide to take that however he wanted. Of course she was still innocent. Not many men stuck around after seeing her uncle in kitten-boxers, or her father strutting down the hall with no covering whatsoever. She had learned to accept the fact that while she was a human, she would be better off with a Cybertronian mate.

Ironhide elbowed Prime. "Oooh, we have a rebel here now! Whoo! And a cute one, too. My, my, my. Sure I can't have a taste of her, Prime?"

"You might as well be my brother, Ironhide. It would be an uncomfortable situation, and Ratchet would chop your head off with a chicken. I would not dare it if I were you."

The black-haired warrior laughed and he patted Optimus' chest. "You've got a wild one, that's for sure. Maybe I'll pluck at her rose when Ratchet's not looking."

Kayla, growing tired, yawned and gave him a thumbs-up. "Carrier has eyes on the back of your head. You'd never get away with it." She then hugged his neck and kissed her father's cheek. "I'm going to bed, Sire."

"Good night, my little one." He took her hand and helped her up the first couple stairs before he let go.

The last thing she heard was Ironhide asking Prime if she knew that Optimus wasn't her real sire and Ratchet wasn't her real carrier.

"She knows, Ironhide. She knows."

She closed the door softly. She crawled into bed, squirmed out of her clothes, and laid her head down on her pillow. Her eyes flew open when she scented roses and she grabbed at the sheets, yanking them up to her neck. "Shockwave!" she hissed.

Lazerbeak flew in as Shockwave dropped down on the floor with only a soft thud on her carpet.

"I came to thank you."

She waited, not sure if she should be blushing, growling, or screaming for her sire, since an enemy mech had just dropped into her room and the only thing keeping his eyes from seeing everything was the thin sheet she clutched to her chest.

Shockwave shifted his weight, grunting. "Thank you."

She still stared, then she made a grab for her nightstand where she had set her commlink. Who knows what Shockwave would have in store for her? Decepticons didn't just stop by to say thank you...did they?

"Kayla, don't..." He was pleading? "Just..."

"Just what? Just let you stand there, possibly kill me, or worse?"

His one eye shone with humor. "What is worse than death?"

"If you were to 'pluck the rosebush', as Ironhide so fondly puts it, Carrier would find out and he would go beserk."

Shockwave settled on her desk chair, nodding slowly. "Ah. You refer to Ratchet as your carrier? But you are human."

"You're taking the term family as literal. They adopted me, saved me from death. They might as well be my sire and my carrier."

Shockwave played with the papers on her desk, selecting her English homework and examining it. "I see."

She clamped her teeth down on her lip. How could she just spill that information out to the enemy? What was wrong with her?

Shockwave suddenly turned his attention to the door, snapped his fingers softly, and then he and Lazerbeak were gone the moment the door swung open.

Ratchet stood in the doorway in his favored robe, his eyes blinking sleepily at her. "Optimus thought he heard something in here. Are you okay?"

She nodded and she fumbled with the sheets. "I was just...going over my lines...for the play."

That brightened his eyes. He walked over to her, kissed her forehead, and pulled her hair out of its braid. "Oh? Did you get the part?"

"It's for the auditions, Carrier. I don't know if I did." The play she was talking about had already been performed, successfully. Everyone liked it.

"Well, you shouldn't really be up this late, but I'll let it go just this once." He stood back up and he touched her cheek. "I'll see you in the morning."

She grabbed the commlink off her nightstand when Ratchet left and she took a deep breath before contacting Shockwave, like she had so many times before. She wasn't sure why she was so shy when he was in her room (uh, perhaps it was because he wasn't invited, she had no clothes on, the whole talk of roses made her twitchy...), but she was determined to get over this fear. She was in a apartment building full of Cybertronians, after all.

Ah, I see you have gotten over your initial shock.

Never go into my room without permission again.

Yes, I have come to the conclusion that you were naked. My apologies.

Kayla stood up to grab her nightgown and she slipped it on over her head. It was a favorite of Optimus', who gave up when Ratchet refused to wear it and he offered it to Kayla for her last birthday, and she walked to her window. Ironhide, Leadfoot, Roadbuster, and Topspin were working on the balcony she requested. Hound hadn't quiet finished sketching the blue-prints and Ratchet was fretting like a regular mother. What if she falls down? What if she gets locked out there? What if...?

She pressed her fingers to the comm. Just never do it again.

The line went silent, and Kayla considered cursing like a Wrecker. Did the little bugger just hang up on her?

I will let you sleep, my human rebel. It is late, and Ratchet is getting restless. Soon he will come to your room to watch his little daughter sleep in two minutes.

She nodded, thanked him for the information, and set her comm down. As soon as the sheets had settled over her body, the door opened and Ratchet padded in. He pulled the sheets back and moved into the bed with her. They slept together like they used to, when Kayla would wake up screaming about nightmares and Prime was too far asleep to jump up and tend to his daughter.

She dreamed of her sire, of her carrier, and then of Shockwave.

OoO

When Kayla woke up, her bed was crowded. Sometime in the night, Optimus had moved in beside her as well as Ironhide, Blaster, the lion Steeljaw, Jazz, and Bumblebee.

All were watching her.

Ironhide reached down from his perch on Optimus' back and he moved her hair out of her eyes. "Good morning."

Steeljaw licked her face, purring. He laid his head on her lap when she sat up. Optimus quickly braided her hair back again.

She batted at them sleepily, yawning. The yawn was somehow an invitation for everyone to move closer and purr loudly. She growled at them and yanked the sheets back over her, mostly to check if she had clothes on, since the vast majority of the family did not.

Ironhide tickled her out of the sheets. "You've been called in sick. You overslept."

"What!?" She had never missed a day! Never! Not even when her sire was dying.

Optimus smiled softly. "If we rush, you can make it into school." He kissed her head.

Rushing meant that the whole family was active in helping someone prepare. Kayla sighed and flopped back. "Fine."

In less than seven minutes, Ratchet and Optimus had her dressed, Ironhide had carefully (and thoroughly) bathed her (with many comments that earned more than one slap in the face with a towel by Ratchet), and the Wreckers had applied a minimal amount of makeup (on Ratchet's request). Steeljaw and Blaster were either coaches or cheerleaders during the entire process. Kayla lost track of which they were being.

Part of the family trekked down to the school using Optimus' chosen route, the one that he gave Kayla in the first place.

When they arrived in the office, the desk attendants stared for several long moments, and Kayla didn't blame them.

Ironhide was dressed in a black shirt that revealed his tattoos with black shorts that he had cut out of old jeans.

Ratchet was dressed in a white shirt and jeans, which would have been normal if Optimus hadn't have put a few (rather large) holes in both the jeans and shirt. He leaned against the counter, and that revealed the bite-marks on his neck and collar bone as well as the massive hole in the seat of his jeans.

Optimus was almost normal. He had a blue T-shirt, his favorite leather jacket, jeans, and a good pair of boots. But he didn't want to take off his sunglasses, just to make his mate mad.

"You must be Kayla Prime...and family."

Ratchet nodded. "Our little girl was sick, but she recovered quickly after she threw up."

Yeah, Cybertronians were extremely open.

The attendant blinked. "We don't usually allow kids back into school after they...throw up..."

Optimus leaned over the counter, and his hand drifted over Ratchet's aft. It might have been missed, except Ironhide whistled. The attendant blushed. "Ma'am," Optimus said softly, "I'm sure you can allow this one thing?"

Kayla smiled as she was given an excused pass to Study Hall and she nodded at the attendant. "Excuse my parents. They're just anxious to get back to interfacing, I mean..."

Ironhide's mouth dropped open at her, then he shook his head. "Haha! Our baby's growin' up."

Ratchet, unbelievably, got extremely comfortable and dared to rub at Optimus' belly (and someplace lower), which prompted the attendant to look down. "We'll pick you back up when we finish, Kayla...for your doctor's appointment."

Optimus nodded at the attendant and ushered the other two men out, one arm hooked around their hips, but his love was all for Ratchet.

Kayla watched them leave before he walked to class. She smiled at her teacher. "Yeah, I'm feeling much better now, but I have to go to a doctor's appointment once my parents finish with each other. Yes, I will be attending the parent-teacher conferences." She took her seat when her teacher was finished interrogating her and she opened her book.

She decided she liked being the daughter of a medic and a Prime, but it still had some downfalls.

Like parent-teacher conferences.

When Optimus picked her up for her "doctor's appointment", she wasn't too surprised to see that his face was reddened and his shirt was wrinkled.

"Had a good time with Carrier?"

Optimus hugged her, smiled down at her and laughed. "As always. Now, let's get this physical over with so we can go to the parent-teacher conferences."

She walked beside him, hugging her textbooks and her folders as she nodded. "Are you sure you want to go?"

The last time they went to a PTC, the teachers were shocked to find that Ratchet ("Richard") and Optimus ("Orion") were an item. Most of the teachers got uncomfortable, two were extremely happy about them being a public couple and they informed them that they had their full support, and one had insulted them to the point that Optimus was red-faced and Ratchet was about to dissect the human where he stood.

In the end, the teacher's car was reduced to a pile of metal pieces thanks to the Wreckers and Optimus' instructions to get revenge that didn't cause injury.

"I am sure. We will send Ironhide with you instead this year, I think. Ratchet and I are working on something." A muscle twitched in his jaw as he clenched his teeth.

"Working on what?"

"Something."

Kayla huffed. There was no use in trying to get information out of him when he was like this, so she settled on asking another question. "Are you going to pick Ironhide's outfit for tonight?"

The Prime grinned, and Kayla knew that her teachers were in trouble.