Waiting

Chapter 2

Arcee sat back down upon her berth. Did she really have a conversation about sparklings with Optimus Prime? That was amazing... and disturbing... and strange. Had she really volunteered to produce a sparkling? Wow.

She rubbed at the back of her head, gazing at the floor. She'd always wanted a sparkling, it was just that she hadn't known under what circumstances. There had been no way she or any other femme would consider it with the war still raging, but here on Earth; peaceful Earth; with no Decepticons and years of quiet living, it really was a good time to start reproducing if that was one's desire.

Her and Optimus really needed to go over some of the fine details. Like; should the other mech's know she was sizing them up to become a breeder? Or should they keep quiet? What about Ratchet? He would need to prepare a sparkling protoform, as well as examine her to ensure she could safely produce a spark. Should she explain to the others that she didn't want to become sparkmates, instead she wished to borrow them for the 'deed', the private and personal act that would create the sparkling. She already knew she didn't want a deep and meaningful relationship – except for one mech, however, she was trying to keep him out of the equation.

"Maybe I better work some of this out..." she muttered, lifting a datapad from her desk. She drew three columns – one for the name of the mech, another for their 'good' points and another for their 'bad' points. "That's better, much more scientific," she joked with herself.

"Okay. Umm... Bumblebee."

Sifting through her processor's data banks, she lifted out some 'good' points.

Good – smart, brave, inventive, sweet, kind.

Arcee nodded to herself, "That's not too bad." Then she started his bad points.

Bad – Not attracted to him. Young to be a Sire. Inexperienced with femmes.

She was upset with herself for not wanting to use Bumblebee. It was hardly his fault that the 'chemistry' wasn't right. While she wasn't attracted to him, that didn't mean he was ugly. He was good looking in his own right. And what nicer bot than Bee could she find to help her? Even if she thought he would faint if she approached him. The problem with Bumblebee? He just wasn't mature enough for her tastes.

"Next victim... Ratchet."

Now here was a dilemma. She liked Ratchet, she'd like to get her fingers underneath his armor. This was one bot she was attracted to. That body. Those super supple hips, strong male physique and five-fingered precise hands. He was all mech. Nothing sissy about Ratchet. But was he a worthy Sire? Apart from Optimus, Ratchet was one of the most mature mechs on Earth. To have a conversation with him was to talk with interest about any casual topic without his optics straying to cover her female body from head to toe, while knowing that going spark-to-spark with him on a recharge berth would be a very satisfying experience.

Once again, the 'good' and 'bad' columns were lined up.

Good – Attractive, super intelligent (rumor says the sharpest CPU on Cybertron), good body, medical knowledge, dependable.

Bad – Bad temper

There it was. Ratchet's mood swings and tendency to aggressively go 'nuclear' over something that ticked him off pretty much ruled him out. Arcee didn't want a bad-tempered sparkling, and a partnership with Ratchet meant putting up with his angry tendencies if she wanted to be near him.

She sighed and wrote down another name. Ironhide.

The Weapons Specialist was similar to Ratchet. A big mech, roughly attractive (when he wanted to, he had a killer brooding pout), strong, a brilliant fighter, and if she or the sparkling were ever threatened, their attackers would find every weapon in Ironhide's formidable arsenal pointed at their heads. There was also one piece of femme 'gossip' that made Ironhide seem plausible – rumor had it that Ironhide's female conquests were legion. He was supposedly brilliant at satisfying all of a femme's needs; anywhere, anytime. Yes, she could do with a bit of that, thanks! Creating a sparkling didn't have to be a chore, and lying underneath Ironhide wouldn't be a hardship.

Ironhide was also aggressive, but not as bad as Ratchet. Ironhide got angry with Decepticons – and Sunstreaker. His outbursts were warranted and understandable. He also knew how to laugh. Ironhide was becoming quite a good candidate...

Good – Attractive, solid, reliable, superb on the recharge berth, great warrior, loaded with weapons.

Bad – Not the smartest. Lacks finesse. Rough around the edges. Would he take her seriously?

"Ugh," Arcee rubbed at her face, "this is more work then I thought it would be."

She scratched down her next candidate. The Twins. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. She could think of many good points (gorgeous, fun-loving, capable warriors) and some not-so-good (she was sure Optimus WASN'T thinking of Sunny or Sides when Arcee suggested choosing a mech). Out of the two brothers, Sideswipe was the more tame mech. He didn't attract as much serious trouble as Sunstreaker did. Neither liked authority – Sunstreaker was the worst - but they did pay attention when the big guy Optimus had something to say.

Any bot looking at her situation from the outside, would believe she'd chose the most gorgeous mechs; the sports car Twins; but it was much more complex than that. She liked Sideswipe; he was friendly and jovial; and she didn't have any trouble thinking of him sweeping her off her feet, but again - like Bumblebee – she wasn't attracted to Sides as a potential Sire. Sunstreaker; definitely not.

Wheeljack she didn't know very well, he was another one she put into the same category as the Twins and Bumblebee. No innate attraction. She could think of no real redeeming features to chose him over Ironhide or Ratchet. Nice, but not a candidate.

Arcee put down her datapad and let herself lie flat on her back, staring at her Optimus Prime damaged ceiling.

There was just one mech left that she hadn't considered. She had left him till last because everything about him was perfect. Too perfect. Scarily perfect.

Optimus Prime.

Did she even have the courage to approach the Supreme Leader of the Autobot Forces and ask him to mate with her?

Arcee groaned, covering her optics with her hands. She sighed and sat up. Best to keep approaching this problem logically. Make a listing for him too. Her stylus pointer tapped out the reasons 'for' and 'against'.

Good – Handsome, noble, strong, kind, caring, intelligent, mature, dependable, that delectable body

For the bad, she could only think of herself being too nervous to be intimate with him. Sure, most femmes dreamed of having Optimus Prime all to themselves, but the reality might not be so perfect. What if their handsome, illustrious Commander was a dud at joining sparks and mediocre at pleasuring a female? He could be so bad that it would take him several tries to enable her to produce a sparkling... or what if the reverse was true and Optimus was such a hot mech, she'd be ruined for any other mech afterwards, always wanting Optimus on her berth?

Arcee snorted at herself. She didn't have to chose Optimus at all, that's what she was making lists for! Dropping the datapad and scrubbing her hands over her faceplates, she decided to get some recharge. She wasn't due on duty for several Earth hours yet. Perhaps she would follow the old Earth saying and 'sleep on it'.

Arcee's dreams weren't any kinder to her than reality was.

Deep in recharge, she found herself surrounded by the mech's of the base, all of them giving her 'come hither' advances, until one long red and blue arm stretched out and shoved the leering mech's effortlessly to one side. Arcee sighed – her hero!

The huge mech stood at the end of her berth. Staring at her. Arcee opened her arms invitingly, purring.

Using slow, lithe, movements, Optimus Prime climbed onto her berth, inching his way up her body like a predator. Placing one arm, than shifting the other. His sapphire blue optics bathed her with their god-like light, turning her purple armor blue.

The dreaming Arcee arched her body up off the berth, whimpering, eager for the embrace of a proud and strong mech.

Back in the dream, the femme watched eagerly as Prime hovered on top of her on outstretched arms and began opening his thick chest armor to expose his spark. Arcee prepared to be dazzled by the sight of the legendary spark within his chest.

The chest armor retracted fully... revealing a dark chest cavity with a spark the size of an Earth golf ball.

Arcee slapped a hand over her mouth to stop her laughter. That was what he'd been hiding behind his armor all these years?! It was miniscule! Frenzy had a bigger spark than that! The spark of the great Autobot Leader was no bigger than that of a sparkling!

Arcee awoke, groaning and wriggling. Oh Primus, she sure hoped the mech she chose didn't have a spark that small. There wasn't much she could do about it if he did. Anyway, small sparks performed just as well as bigger ones. Or so they said...

On her way down the hall to log-on for her shift, she found herself staring intently at the chest of each mech she passed. Was there any way to tell who had a large spark and who didn't?! Maybe she had better revise her list.