fan: Keep your eyes out in the future. One of my future stories will contain an adopted female character. Though she will not be present at the start of the story, rest assured, she will be by the end of that story. Glad you love mine by the way! :)

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CHAPTER 13
Careers and Questions

"My daddy has the coolest job ever! He's practically a superhero!"

Optimus held in a chuckle at the introduction that Michael gave him. It was mostly true, and easy to work off, yet the enthusiasm he had admittedly amused him. He stood there with a smile, and waved at the kids slowly. "You may want to elaborate on that one a little, Michael." His teacher replied with a chuckle "What exactly is it that your daddy does?"

Michael looked at Optimus, chewing his lip as the Autobot nodded encouragingly. They had practiced what they would both say several times. "He uh.. He works for the military." Optimus nodded again, to which Michael felt his confidence build "In fact, my daddy's the leader of a whole unit!" That seemed to get the attention of most of the class.

Optimus stepped forward, putting a hand gently on Michael's shoulder. "Indeed, what Michael says is true. I am the leader of a unit that our military has designated "The Autobot Division"." A division that had not existed until Wheeljack had hacked into the servers of the military and quickly placed it there "We are specifically placed where we are to protect America from any attacks that might happen on our soil." He explained.

"Does that mean an attack could happen." A young boy asked worriedly.

Optimus had not expected the children to catch on that easily. Yet he simply shook his head and held up his hand slowly, sighing quietly. "Of course not, little one. It is very unlikely that anyone will ever attack American soil." He explained "Our job, as I explained is to make certain of that. We intercept any threat before they can even become one." The children all seemed fascinated "So yes, in a way, I suppose my team and I are a bit like "superheroes"." He winked at his son.

The parents seemed skeptical for only a moment. The Autobot leader could tell that there was some jealousy. After all, most parents were not giant robots with an impressive job, most had normal jobs. "That's very impressive, Mr. Pax." The teacher, who he finally remembered to be "Mr. Granger" commented "Is there anything you'd like to say to children who may be interested in joining the military."

Optimus thought it over carefully, that was probably the easiest question he would have to answer. After all, advice on joining the Autoobot army never seemed much different from advice to joining any military. "Joining the military is a very difficult decision to make. It will not be easy, nor will what you see be any definition of the word "pretty"." Optimus stated calmly "But if you have the heart, courage, and valor to handle what will be thrown at you... Then you will be doing your country a valiant service by serving it."

"Let's have a nice big round of applause for Michael's father, Orion Pax."

Optimus led Michael back to his seat as the applause began. Keeping his hands on his son's shoulders as the flurry of talks continued. Some of the human jobs were quite interesting, especially the firemen and policemen. Yet as the it all wrapped up, he relaxed more. It had not felt good to bend the truth, yet the smile on the boy's face was well worth it. "You gonna go back to base, daddy?" Michael asked as they were dismissed, given Michael's recess was about to begin.

"I'm afraid so, I have work, and you have school." Optimus explained "I'll be by to pick you up after school is done, son." He kissed the top of his head "I love you."

"Love you too."

Michael watched as Optimus left with a wide smile on his face. As he turned, a young boy around his age stopped him in his tracks. "Okay, Pax, who'd you pay to be your daddy?" The boy mocked rudely "That guy looks NOTHING like you. What'd you do, bribe an army official or something?" He then added "No way would an awesome guy like that have a looser kid like you." He added.

Michael hung his head slightly, holding the strap of his backpack. "M-My daddy adopted me." Michael explained "I didn't know my other daddy. My daddy took care of me." He tried to stand tough "So he is my daddy."

"Yeah right." The boy laughed "I knew you had to be a freak. But I didn't know you were that much of one." He laughed along with his friends "Just goes to show, your folks didn't want you. So that must mean that he was nothing but desperate." He then added "Maybe he should bring you back to the orphanage and get a better model."

The boy elbowed his way past Michael, and laughed along with the other boys. Michael simply stared at his feet, feeling more than a little upset by the words the other boy had said. He didn't know if that was true or not, the Autobots had never told him how they'd found him after all. All he knew was that he was the orphan of circumstances as Optimus explained to him. As he stood there, thinking it over, he knew that there was only one way to figure out what had happened. And that was to ask.

He just didn't want to hurt Optimus. The mech had raised him, had taken him in from the time he was young. Was he ready to answer the question about what happened to his parents? Michael didn't think about the other half of it, which was who they were. He was still too young to think about it, but he did want to know this. He had to know.

...

"Excuse me?"

"Did my mommy and daddy abandon me?"

Optimus had to hide the sadness in his optics a moment, taking in what Michael had just asked. He had expected it when he was older, and with questions as to who they were. In fact he had fully prepared himself to explain that to him. But this early, to hear the question out of Michael's mouth caught him off guard. "Of course not, whatever would give you that idea?" Optimus asked.

"Ryder from class." Michael chewed his lip "He told me they must not have wanted me... And that's why you had to take me." He paused "Because you're so "cool" and I'm just a looser."

Optimus felt anger build towards the "Ryder" boy, at the very thought of him telling his son such things. Every Autobot knew it was far from abandonment. Him especially as he would never forget the way Michael's mother had shielded him with her body. It was among the most haunting scenes he had ever witnessed. "You were very loved by your biological parents." Optimus explained "You weren't abandoned."

"Then what happened to them?"

Optimus's optics could not hide their sadness this time. He carefully picked the boy up, sitting down and setting him on his knee. "Are you sure that you are ready for this, Michael? What you're about to hear is not..." Michael nodded his head "... You were five months old. We were responding to Decepticon activity in a state called Colorado." He paused a moment "It was..." He paused a bit.

"What happened?" Michael asked.

Optimus was silent, uncertain of how to tell his son that his parents had died so senselessly. How did you look into the eyes of your child and tell them they died because the Decepticons decided it would be "fun" to attack a human settlement? How did he explain to him that he would never know them? "The Decepticons took their lives." Optimus shook his head a bit "I'll explain how when you're older. But simply understand that your parents loved you very much." He then added "Enough so that your mother gave her life so that you could live." He explained.

"But... How did you find me?" Michael asked.

"When we went through what was left after what happened..." Optimus shuttered his optics "We found your mother, holding you. Protecting you. But there was nothing we could do for her." He then added "Except exactly what I did that day. Silently assure her that the sparkling she left behind would be well taken care of..." He paused "And loved."

"And my other daddy?"

Optimus's optics shuttered a bit, knowing that Prowl had found his body in the wreckage once he left. "He died protecting you both. He was most certainly as brave and loving a man that you could imagine." He then added "They both were brave and loving, if their actions may speak for them. As, though we never knew them, we could see from their positions... They both loved and cared for each other and you so very much, Michael."

Michael laid against Optimus, nodding his head and fighting back tears. "Do you think they're watching me from the Allspark?" Michael asked "Or that Heaven place people talk about?"

Optimus had no doubt in his answer to that question. A large part of him liked to believe that somewhere up there, Michael's biological parents watched him proudly. "I do believe they are. They probably look down at you every day and feel pride." He noted as he poked his son's belly "I believe that as long as you are happy, they most likely are as well."

They sat there for a long moment, as Optimus waited to see if Michael would ask anymore. When he didn't, Optimus surmised he was still too young to ask who they were. That much, he had expected after all. They were the only family that Michael knew and he wasn't ready to change that fact. "Daddy?" Optimus looked down "Thank you... For taking me." He smiled "I bet that took a lot of guts..."

"Your Uncle Ratchet nearly had a conniption when I said I was taking you."

Michael giggled lightly in response to that, letting Optimus run gentle circles into his back. "Shoulda known it wasn't true though." He added "After all, you always say you love me..."

"With all my spark."

Optimus smiled behind his face plate, leaning back in his seat as he reflected back on the day they had spoken of. That day that changed the Autobots lives forever, that day that no matter how much time passed, he would never regret.

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A/N: I know two chapters with a portion focused on them, and I still haven't revealed anything about his folks. LOL Rest assured, we WILL learn who Michael's parents were. Just saving that until he's a little older and he'd probably be more curious. ;)