Inner Strength

"Um, Mom?" Tigress's voice suddenly filled the office.

Looking up in surprise, Raptor's optics locked with those of her stray daughter whom had just teleported into her office. Standing up with a smile, she walked around the desk that was piled high with paperwork and embraced the deep blue femme. A warm feeling spread up from her core, for no matter what mistakes Tigress had made, she was her daughter – and Raptor had missed her deeply.

"I'm sorry Mom, I know I shouldn't have. But- " Tigress broke out into tears as she buried her face into Raptor's intake. She was ashamed for what she'd done to her dad, so ashamed that she hadn't dared come back until she had no choice.

Raptor stroked her daughter's wing. "Shhh, things happen Tigress. You can't help who you fall in love with," she whispered. She understood the overwhelming passion of fresh love, hadn't she almost destroyed an entire planet for it once?

"So how's dad?" the blue Seeker asked. She feared that he'd never forgive her for stealing his bond mate.

"He's getting over it. You know he's my room mate now?" the older femme asked. Pulling away, she sat down and motioned for Tigress to do the same. She could see the shame running through every bolt of her daughter.

Tigress sat down heavily. She was a little surprised that Optimus would end up rooming with her mother, but then again, Raptor and he had been good friends. "Do you think he'd forgive us?" Her voice was filled with hope.

"I think so. Where's Jetfire?" Raptor raised one of her optic ridges in curiosity.

"Well, um, he's kind've waiting until I give him the 'all clear'," Tigress admitted.

Raptor leaned back and studied her daughter. Suspecting that there was far more going on than her daughter merely getting homesick. "So why have you chosen to come back?" she asked.

Tigress looked down at the floor. "Well, um, I'm getting close to delivery."

The older femme's optics widened and she gripped her daughter's shoulders. "You're PREGNANT?!" she exclaimed.

Tigress merely nodded, not daring to look up into Raptor's optics.

"Well that's great!" the gray/green femme exclaimed excitedly. For she was going to be a grandmother again! "Well, after we tell Prime – we need to start building, don't we?" Standing up, she grabbed her reluctant daughter and began dragging her down the Embassy hall.

"But mom, I don't think I can face him," Tigress stammered. She tried to pull away from her mother's grip.

Raptor looked at her steadily. "You can, and you will. And when Jetfire gets some kahuna's – then he's got to too!" she was using her disciplining tone that Tigress knew oh-so-well from her youth. Bowing her head, she followed her mother down the hall. Knowing she had no choice but to ask Optimus for his forgiveness.

--

Optimus heard a rap on his office door, looking up, he nodded to his room mate as she poked her head in. Sliding in, the femme closed the door behind her.

"You got a few free minutes?" she asked him. The tone of her voice told him that something rather serious was going on.

Pushing his paperwork aside, Optimus nodded and leaned back in his seat.

Uncharacteristically, Raptor plopped herself down on his desk. Her leg rubbing his side as her crimson optics held a strange emotion. "Prime, we're going to be grandparents again soon," she informed him.

A smile crossed his face while happiness spread through his core. "That's great!" he replied as he hugged her. But the hug she gave in return left something to be wanted. Pulling away, he realized that something was very, very wrong. Looking into her optics, he didn't see the total joy that one should expect by the news.

"So what's the catch Raptor? What's wrong?" he asked. As a feeling of unease spread through him.

She put her hands on his shoulders, rubbing her fingers lightly against his frame. "It's Tigress that's pregnant," she said softly. Her optics spoke volumes.

His core felt like he'd taken a direct hit from Megatron's cannon! Sinking down into his chair, Optimus shook his head in denial. He'd fought so hard to push those feelings back into the recesses of his mind. Back, where he couldn't feel the pain of Jetfire's betrayal every waking moment of his life – but now that betrayal smacked him in the face. His own daughter would again have Jetfire's sparklings. And this time, it was because Jetfire loved her.

Yes, he was going to be a grandfather again. But could he honestly look at his daughter and tell her that he was happy for her? Could he look at the resulting sparklings as anything more than a testament to Jetfire's disloyalty? His thoughts flashed wildly through his meta; As his emotional turmoil began to give way to confusion.

Then he felt arms surround his trembling frame. He gave no resistance as he was pulled into their safety. Smashing his helm tightly against her cockpit, he felt the warm vibrations of her idling plasma engines flow through him. Her lips kissed the top of his helm as she told him that she understood his pain. Those gentle hands rubbing his back in comforting circles. He wanted her to block the pain of reality, to pretend everything was like it once was.

"Optimus, our grandsparklings will be innocent of what Jetfire did. Don't blame them, accept them, learn to love them," she whispered into his audios.

He shuddered, trying to control his tears. She was so right. He had to look past the wrong, and accept the future grandsparklings. They were innocent, they were family, they needed to be loved and cherished – regardless of who the sire was. Gulping down his feelings, he nodded to her words. He would somehow accept and love the sparklings.

Feeling him nod, Raptor gently kissed the top of his helm again and squeezed him. She knew that this would be the hardest trial that Prime would ever face. For she had seen the true depth of his internal strife concerning Jetfire; but if he got through this, then he'd be whole again.

"Tigress is young, she didn't think, she didn't understand the pain she would cause you. She's filled with shame for what she did. Can you forgive her?" Raptor's gentle voice prodded him. "You've been young once, you know the stupid decisions made on a whim."

He tensed, trying to fight his anger and outrage at his daughter's actions. But again, the femme was right. He had been just as impetuous as Tigress all those years ago. Letting his emotions override his common sense, time and time again. And Tigress had thought he was off lined when Jetfire had approached her. She thought Jetfire was truly alone. And by the time Raptor had returned with Prime, Tigress had been in love with his bond mate. But even though he could conceivably excuse her part of the mess based on her inexperience – could he actually forgive her. Could he love her as his daughter again?

"I know it's difficult. And no one expects you to forget. But Tigress needs her father right now. Can you forgive her?" the Seeker's soft voice pleaded with him.

"I don't know," he whispered. His voice filled with pain.

"Can you at least talk with her? Tell her that you to can try to rebuild some kind of relationship?" Raptor lifted his chin with a finger, forcing his optics to meet her warm ruby orbs.

Behind his mask, his lip trembled. He knew it meant everything to Raptor to have the family strong. And both he and Tigress were part of that unit. So whether he liked it or not, Tigress would always be part of his life. Raptor had done so much for him, he owed it to her to try and forgive Tigress. "I'll talk with her, but I just don't know…" he answered honestly.

She ran her fingers down his cheek and the side of his facemask. "I know how hard this is for you Prime. But you're going to have to face Jetfire again. You're going to have to forgive so that you can truly move on."

His fingers trembled as he considered the truth to her statement. Was he strong enough to do it? To face the one he'd given his core too – who had thrown it by the wayside?

"Shhhh, you won't face it alone, my friend. I will stand with you throughout. Just as I promised I would," Raptor kissed his cheek. Her optics gleamed with her concern over him. "Use my strength, Prime."

Warmth flowed over him as he knew he wouldn't have to face the terrible pain alone again. She was more than just a mere friend to him, she was family. "I'll try, Raptor. I'll try," he said in a voice so low that the femme could barely hear it.

--

Tigress fidgeted in both shame and nervousness. She stood outside Prime's office door, facing the silently accusing glances of all of his officers in the Central Command. Keeping her optics leveled at her feet, she knew that she deserved every angry glare that came her way. She was no better than slag for what she'd done. She knew it – they knew it. And now she was here to face the music.

She prayed that Optimus could forgive her. Could one day joke and play with the sparklings now within her. But Raptor had warned her not to expect an overnight miracle. For Tigress and Jetfire had caused the big mech an immense amount of emotional pain. Tigress gulped in shame, trying to control the outward tremble of her wings.

"Tigress, come in," Raptor said quietly as she opened the door a crack.

Gripping her hands together in nervousness, Tigress fought to control herself as she went inside.

Keeping her optics glued to the floor in shame, the blue femme couldn't even glance up at her father's face. Raptor left her side, to go stand behind Prime. She laid her hands comfortingly on both his shoulders as she showed her emotional support for him. "I believe you have something to say, Tigress?" her musical voice inquired.

Tigress gulped down the nausea rising from her primary core. Shifting nervously from foot to foot, she tried to build up her courage to say it. To admit she was totally wrong, admit she was totally in love, and ask Prime if he could conceivably ever forgive her. "Um, I'm really sorry for what I… uh… did…" she stammered, her voice breaking. "But .. uh.. I love Jetfire.. and I'm.. uh .. Pregnant.." She thought she was going to overload, her intakes came on, trying desperately to keep her engines within normal operating temps. "Um.. can you forgive me?... Dad.." There! She'd said it, she'd actually said it!

Optimus studied the ashamed young Seeker. His chassis tensed with his effort to contain his emotions. Raptor's fingers kneaded his shoulders, giving him the strength to maintain his emotional control in front of Tigress. He knew what he needed to do, to say. He knew he had to move past this, to heal. But he'd rather face a dozen Megatrons, than do this – for that'd be far easier! But he'd promised Raptor that he'd try. And unlike Jetfire, Raptor wouldn't abandon him – she'd stand by him and help him through it.

"I can't say that I'll ever truly forgive what you did," he began. His voice was low with pain. "But I can forgive you." With that he lowered his head, unable to say anything more to the blue femme.

Raptor nodded at her daughter to leave. The trembling blue Seeker, kept her optics to the ground as she slid out the door and slunk down the hall. Every optic in the Command Center locked with anger and disgust on her thin wings.

Putting her arms around Optimus, she felt how high his core temperature had risen. He was truly fighting an internal battle against his renewed pain again. "I'm proud of you Prime. You are a very strong mech," she whispered in his audio.

He curled his fingers around her arm and leaned back into the comforting embrace. It wasn't him that was strong. He was so weak that he doubted he could even stand up right now. It was her emotional support that was strong. It seemed to lift him and carry him along. "Thank you for standing by me through this, you don't know how much this means to me," he admitted to her.

She kissed the top of his helm. "Yes I do, Prime. We are friends, we are family. I told you once that family stands together. Don't ever forget that."

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