June walked slightly dazed down the hallway with Arcee and Jack watching her every move, every expression for a response, though she was only showing the one: shock.

"So...You and Arcee...bonded..."

"Yeah..." Jack smoothed his hand down the back of his head.

"Well...err, I hope you used protection?" June nervously chuckled, really unsure how to talk to her son about this. Jack recoiled slightly, grimacing and blushing, Arcee rolling her eyes.

"Ah, Mom! We don't need to go through that!"

"Well...did you? I'm not going to have a human..."Cybertronian?" grandchild, am I?" June said hands on hips, raised eyebrow at Jack and Arcee.

Arcee sighed and looked down. "Don't worry June; you'll never have to worry about that" Arcee heavily sighed as she walked off past them. June looked back at Jack, his eyes dimming as she left.

"Whoa...what's that?" June pointed at his eyes.

"Oh! Right, it's a side effect of being Sparkmates. I think it's cool"

"How have I not noticed that?" June exclaimed.

"I don't know...I haven't been close enough to Arcee for you to notice before, I guess"

"Look Jack; I...know you've grown up...you work with her. And with everything that's happened and how she looked after you when...well" She motioned her palm to Jack's leg. "But are you sure you and her are...possible? You know the future?"

"Mom, enough" He said firmly. "Look, I love Arcee and I'm going to spend my life with her. What can I say Mom? She...she makes me happy"

"I know sweetheart, and I'm happy for you...it's just...do you...do you one day want..."

"Want what?"

"A family" June said to him.

"Mom, Arcee is a warrior! There is no way she'd want something like that. And yeah there have been times she's shown me that she'd make one amazing mother...but I know her...she'd hate to be tied down like that"

"Do you...want that?"

"I...oh I don't know Mom. But if I can't have it with Cee, then it ain't worth having" Jack said with finality as he walked past her. June smiled at her son as she watched him walk into the room.

She remembered how she'd clobbered Silas with a metal pole to save her son...too late having his severed leg under her steps. How Arcee was stood by him, clenching his hand as June wrapped up her son's bleeding leg. Arcee kept repeating that Jack can't die and leave her alone. Maybe that was June's first clue to their love not being a figment of her imagination. June had heard Jack say Arcee in his sleep and all the sketches and drawing he did of her while she was away on Cybertron for four long years. Maybe it was only a matter of time, as long as he was happy.

"June? Are you alright?" The tall Prime asked as he stood behind her. She glanced up with a smile.

"Yeah...I take you already knew about them" she said as Optimus bent down.

"I did. But it was there place to inform you, not mine"

"Yeah...they informed me alright. Tell me Optimus, do you have a Sparkmate?" she asked, to see if he could tell her if what they did was true...if they truly were bonded forever. Optimus reluctantly nodded.

"Yes...Yes I do. Her name was...is Elita One. I loved-love her with all my Spark"

"So do you...bond for life? Is Jack now tied to her?"

"Yes...But it is a gift that they were blessed with. They overcome impossible odds and merged heart and spark, blood and Energon. It is only possible if the love is genuine, and obviously theirs was. They remind me of Elita and myself sometimes" Optimus explained to her.

"Where is she...Elita I mean?" June asked unawares.

"One with the Allspark" Optimus sighed as he stood up, walking off past her into the Command Center. June looked at Optimus as only being a bold loveless leader. Now she knew why...why he never got close to anyone...He had lost the only person he was close too. She walked onwards into the base, going to talk to her friend Ratchet. He wanted to learn about human physiology, in case Jack got hurt again.

Meanwhile Jack was looking for Arcee, unable to find her.

"Hey Smokescreen!" Jack called up, as the Rookie bent down to him.

"Hey Jack, what's up?"

"You seen Cee anywhere?" Jack asked, peering around the Command Center.

"Not since earlier. She walked off to the lift"

"Thanks. I'll talk to you later" he pat the Rookie's shoulder as he walked off, past Bulkhead and Bumblebee.

"Yep. Will do!"

...

Arcee looked out over the night time sky from aloft the roof of the base. She hugged her knees and admired the huge full moon as it loomed out over the distant desert and construction of New Jasper. She sighed and closed her eyes, only gently. She could feel the lunar glow illuminating upon her silver skin. She reopened her optics and peered down at her feet. She looked at her boots and tried to wiggle toes, unable to...since she had none. She sighed and activated Sadie, stood before her was her human self, stood gorgeous, curvy and long brunette hair.

She just sat staring at her human reflection. She went to brush a lock out of her own Cybertronian eye line, shocked when she felt nothing but air. She looked at her palm and raised an eyebrow at the human movement trait she picked up.

"Did I just...Gah, I'm so confused" she said, gently slapping her palms against her forehead. She peered up at her human reflection again.

"I...What do I want?" She looked at her human form. Arcee looked over the body. It wasn't the human body she wanted...it wasn't even the hair...it was the ability that a female human had, something that could happen with Jack, but only with a compatible human female body. Her eyes widened at it.

"I want...a family?" She scoffed at herself, palms cupped over her mouth as she gasped. She had never had any desire like this before in all her existence. She was a warrior, always had been. Now she was dreaming of a peaceful life and becoming...a mother.

"No...No, how can that be? How can I of all people want to be a mother?" she snarled. She peered at Sadie, herself cast in human flesh. She looked at the human stomach covered in the blue top. She simply pressed her palm on the human stomach and sighed.

"I can never have that...never" She took a deep inhale and trembled an exhale.

"Cee?" Jack asked from the lift as he arrived. Arcee quickly dissipated Sadie and cleared her throat, wiping the Energon from under her eyes. She steadied herself as Jack walked over, slapping on a fake smile.

"Hey Cee, what's up?" He asked, sitting beside her.

"Oh just...admiring the view" She lied.

"Yeah...it is beautiful" he sighed, watching the huge moon rise higher into the passing night.

"Everything okay with June?" She asked. Jack scoffed and nodded.

"For now...I'm gonna kill Miko" he shook his head with a chuckle.

"Tell you what, you kill Miko, I'll get Bulk" Arcee said with a grin.

"Deal" Jack laughed. "Hey Cee, I'm sorry if Mom upset you. She's just trying to deal with all this"

"Oh it's nothing like that...it's just...something she brought to my attention" She shook her head.

"What's that?" Jack asked her, raising a concerned eyebrow.

"Just...something I can't do, that's all"

"What?" Jack asked as he shuffled closer, a worried look in his eyes. She peered at his glowing eyes, the words "Have children" On the brink of her vocal processor, barely held behind her lips. She kept going to say it, but something prevented her, liking a dam holding the pressures of an ocean.

"Cee?" Jack said more firmly, holding her hand in his. She sighed and lowered her optics.

"Have...Children" She finally vocalized. Jack's eyes widened and he suddenly understood why she walked off earlier.

"Oh..."

"It's stupid I know-"

"No. No it's not"

"It is for me!" Arcee shouted to him. "Jack, I've spent my life being alone and unloved, watching those around me die and be taken from me. Then you come into my life and I shun you. Slowly we get closer and closer. Now here we are, Sparkmates discussing why we aren't compatible for children!" Jack held her hand tighter.

"I know, I know. Look, Cee we managed to be Sparkmates...maybe we can...manage this someday"

"Not the same thing Jack. We are talking about...oh I'll save the details, but it just won't work with organic material and my Cybertronian material"

Jack sighed, rubbing his nose bridge. "Cee...we can...I. Wow, I actually don't know what to say for once" Jack nervously scoffed.

"I'm sorry I mentioned it" she exclaimed.

"No, I'm glad you did. We need to be honest with each other"

"I know...I know"

"Come on, we can talk about this some other time. Let's go have a little fun, huh?" He slapped on his fake smile and helped her up, the tall femme standing and sighing.

"Yeah...okay. I'll be down in a second"

"Cee-"

"I'm okay Jack, honest" She smiled. Jack reluctantly nodded, heading to the lift. She stood, looking out over the night time sky, a deep inhale, cooling against her gyros and cogs. She peered down from the moon.

She placed her hand on her own metal plated stomach and rubbed it slowly in small circles. Slowly her fingers pulled away, tensing and forming a tight fist. She clenched her eyes shut and grimaced.

"Why..." She huffed and shook her head, walking away to the lift.


Author Notes: Got this idea while listening to Padme's ruminations, a heart wrenching track from Revenge of the Sith.