I wrote in the spur of the moment type feeling. It is set in Transformers Prime and is centered on Jack and how he has no father in the show. I can't really remeber if they said anything about his dad (and i dont think they did) but if they did then I'm sorry if it interfers with that story but this is my POV on what happened to Jack's dad. I also write this story from personal experience as I too am a child of divorced parents. Please read and review.

Dad

Every now and then Jack Darby thought about his father. He hadn't seen him in so many years. He wished he could have told him so many things, but now with his life changed forever due to a motorcycle, he didn't feel that way anymore.

It had been a nasty divorce battle. Back then, Jack was eight years old, still in fourth grade, when his parents sat him down to breakfast on Sunday morning and said,

"Jack, your dad and I are getting a divorce."

He didn't understand what that word meant. Divorce. He realizes now, he was too young to understand the true concept of that one single word, but he would understand it later on in life. He sure understood why mom was upset when dad left for an apartment or why mom was so angry after a big fight with him on the phone. Then things started to hurt for him. He realized that his other classmates had both parents for school events. He saw their dad's give them bear hugs after a big game and mom's give them little kisses on their cheeks in congratulations of their win.

The first step was the separation. Dad moved into an apartment and argued about which furniture he was going to get. His parents argued about when Jack was going to go where. His mom cut down on hours so she had more time to care of her son. His dad used that excuse of her hospital work to try and get custody of him. Jack didn't understand what custody meant either. All he wanted to see was his parents get back together and be happy again.

The second step was the visitation. He saw his father Tuesdays and Thursdays and every other weekend. His mom always called to make sure he was ok. His dad said that soon this would be over and he would get full custody of him soon, but Jack still didn't know what that word meant. All Jack knew what that it was another nasty word, just like divorce.

The third step was the abandonment. All too quickly dad gave up on the custody battle. He let Jack play his games after homework and they had wings and pizza for dinner. It was fun at first, but then Jack heard his dad mutter things about how broke he was because of all the lawyer's fees. How he wanted to move out of Jasper, Nevada because the place was dumb, because SHE was still here. His parents never said a word to each other when mom came to pick him up. He always said bye to dad, but all dad do was nod in silence. All too quickly, dad made excuses as to why he couldn't see Jack. He got held up at work, a friend needed a favor, and he met a new girl. Jack never met the new girl and he wondered at times if she even existed, but dad never answered.

The visits stopped losing their court ordered pattern. It soon came to a Tuesday here a Friday there. It was a miracle when Jack could see his dad for the whole weekend. Mom was furious about it. Jack always hid in his room when mom started to yell into the phone. He could always hear her yelling, even when she tried to stay calm. She yelled at dad because he wouldn't pay up because he couldn't see Jack, but then she would argue that he didn't want to see his own son. Then came the silence of being hung up on.

It came to a full when everything just stopped.

He had counted on his dad to pick him up from school that day, but mom's car came into view and he knew something was wrong. He sat in the front seat as mom drove in silence with angry tears staining her cheeks. She pulled into the garage and gently pulled him inside the house. It was there at the same table they had breakfast that one Sunday morning, that on that Thursday evening, mom told him that dad had left Jasper.

He didn't understand what that meant either. Dad was coming back right? He had to come back soon? Mom kept crying as she told Jack over and over again that she didn't know when dad was coming back or if he was coming back at all. He cried with him mom that night and he didn't go to school the next day because he felt so sad that he nearly made himself sick.

The fourth step was recovery. As he got older he learned about the word divorce. He learned about the word custody. He learned how to grown up in a single-parent household. He learned how that 1 in every 2 marriages ended up in divorce. Jack learned how to accept that and becoming the man of the household. He learned how take care of himself after his father had abandoned them both. He learned how to graduate from middle school. He learned how to ride a bike. He learned how to get a job. He learned how to make friends again. He still wished to have that feeling of the safety of two parents, but he knew mom was a strong person. If she could handle a divorce then she could handle the world.

The fifth step was Arcee.

I didn't want to make up a name for Jack's father so I just called him dad. I know jack's mom's name is June, it wanted the narration to be in Jack's POV between Mom and Dad...with a little hint of Arcee ;). Anway I know this isn't a happy one, but the next one is coming soon and it will be much more fun. I do not own Transformers or Jack and June Darby as they are owned by Hasbro.