Chapter 82 – Christmas Present

(MPOV)

I covered Anabelle with kisses, early in the morning as she ran squealing toward me. Will and Sarah's little girl was just absolutely adorable. Optimus laughed as he onlined his holoform, looking at me with love in his eyes as I held the toddler on my hip.

I set her down with a gentle pat, directing her to run to her father. The next moment, Optimus' holoform had me wound deeply into his arms. I closed my eyes and sighed at just how right it felt.

ΩGood morning, my beloved,Ω I whispered.

"Every morning that you are here," Optimus whispered, pulling me a bit more tightly against him.

"Merry Christmas lovebirds," Ironhide rumbled cheerfully, onlining his holoform and grabbing the both of us in a bearhug the next minute. "Optimus, you need to make a run to the store."

"It's Christmas morning!" Will protested. "We have everything here already!"

"Yeah, but they're using all the sugar up," Ironhide grinned unrepentantly.

"Well then we'll just have to make a bit more," Chromia murmured silkily, I looked over at her as she floated diaphanously for a moment. Her holoform flickered into solidarity the next moment, looking drop dead gorgeous dressed as an elf.

I promptly escaped from Optimus and Ironhide's arms, tackling her holoform to the floor and covering her face with kisses as she squealed with laughter.

"Never deleting that image," Ironhide rumbled quietly. Optimus was nodding avidly. Chromia and I exchanged glances and winked at each other, getting to our feet gracefully and striding to our menfolk shoulder to shoulder.

"You know the rules," Chromia murmured, smirking at Ironhide.

"What video do you want coughed up?" Ironhide snorted.

"Mmm mmm," I murmured, sliding my arms up Optimus' chest and pressing myself tightly against him. "The other one, the good one."

"Is there an earth parallel?" Optimus rumbled curiously. Even Chromia looked at me curiously.

"There is," I murmured, smiling at him and hauling myself up to his ear. "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." I purred, dropping my tone to a sultry one. I nipped his ear lightly and slid down his chest, catching Chromia's waist as she laughed.

"Score one Mikaela," she grinned as we surveyed the holoforms of our lovers, both frozen in masks of frankly shocked glee.

Will came in, took one look at the holoform's expressions and burst out laughing.

"Alright, going by age!" Will called out gleefully, bringing in a carafe with Jacobs following closely carrying a massive tray of cups.

Optimus snapped a forcefield around the presents.

"Optimus!" I laughed at him, he looked at me curiously, presents still levitating.

"Half the fun is the sorting," Chromia smirked. Optimus stared at us for a moment before laughing, lightly setting the gifts down.

"Sit!" I commanded, shoving him into a chair, he flumped back and Sarah promptly plopped Anabelle into his lap.

(CaPOV)

Chromia couldn't help but grin at the expressions on Kae and Optimus' faces. She was smiling at him as the dearest look of pure, unadulterated joy touched Optimus'. Sarah was looking back and forth at the two of them, nodding fondly.

"Good," she stated softly, she turned to her husband and smiled. "You need to bring them by more often." Sarah smiled. "If Anabelle continues to learn Cybertronian while she's learning english she won't forget it."

Will was promptly beaming at his mate.

"Which reminds me, housewarming party!" Chromia trilled, grinning at Kae.

"I. Have that completely covered," Mikaela stated with dignified pride. Chromia stared at her sister.

"You happen to be talking to the queen of party arrangements," Kae smirked at her. "You, however, are in charge of decorating."

Chromia whooped gleefully and hugged her newest sister.

"Presents!" she grinned down at her. Mikaela grinned and promptly dropped to the floor, shimmying under the tree.

"Jacobs!" she called out, handing the package to Chromia.

"I'll be back in a second," Ironhide rumbled suddenly, winking his holoform out.

::. What're you doing?.:: Chromia sent to him curiously.

::. Just thought of something.:: he rumbled with a smirk. ::. Don't want to spoil the surprise now do I?.:: he cut the transmission to Chromia's mild irritation.

"Chromia!" Kae grinned handing her a package. It was from Ironhide. She set it down in her pile and watched as Kae crawled over to her Optimus, settling down between his knees. He gently set Anabelle in her lap as she smiled at him, directing the baby girl to run to her father again. Ironhide walked his holoform back through the front door carrying another parcel.

"What's that?" Chromia asked curiously.

"To my niece," Ironhide rumbled with a small smile, handing the parcel to Kae, he moved back and settled down beside Chromia, lightly plucking the box from the floor and settling it into her hands.

(OPOV)

Optimus toddled the hatchling on his knees as she giggled, the two of them cheerfully watching the goings on around them.

∂How do the days treat you, cherished one?∂

∂Good good,∂ Anabelle babbled cheerfully. She squirmed around somewhat and cuddled against him, looking up curiously. ∂How do I say to my mama and daddy?∂

∂Mama∂ "Mommy" ∂Daddy∂ "Daddy," Optimus rumbled with a low laugh. ∂Go try to them,∂ he added, lightly setting the little girl down in his Kae's lap. She immediately set the girl on her feet, balancing her for a second so that she could scamper to her parents.

"To my niece," Ironhide rumbled, smiling and handing a parcel to Kae. She accepted it curiously.

"Mommy," Anabelle stated slowly, smiling at her mother, she looked at Will. "Daddy." Optimus focused on them carefully as the major and his wife began instantly praising and fussing over their little girl, instinctively knowing the major would wish a more permanent memory than that of the mind.

"Provided translation?" Mikaela murmured, looking up at him in amusement. "You know you just gave Will the best present in the world." Optimus chuckled and scooped his Kae up, loving the way she squirmed into the circle of his arm, pressed tightly against his right. Supporting and supported. The lightest touch of the perfume lingered in her hair.

He wound his other arm around his Kae, burying his face in her hair even as she burrowed a bit more into his chest.

Nirvana.

"Okay, I totally have to see what Ironhide decided to give Kae," Jacobs rumbled, grinning at them. Mikaela laughed and obediently opened the parcel as Ironhide looked on with a small smirk on his face.

Optimus looked at her curiously as she froze, gently lifting a familiar trigger assembly from the box. She looked up at Ironhide, wide-eyed.

"What is it?" Epps asked curiously, leaning forward.

"That," Ironhide rumbled calmly, "is the trigger assembly from my first cannon, given to me by Weapons Master Bladesing. For your new body, my niece, I will not have you defenceless."

"Hide," Kae whispered, rising and hugging him tightly.

"Translation," Jacobs murmured, nudging him lightly.

"Ironhide's first trigger..." Optimus rumbled quietly, he trailed off and smiled at the weapons master.

"Human phrase is that it's a hair-trigger." Ironhide rumbled, nodding at Kae. "But I know you, my niece, anything less is unworthy of you. That trigger taught me to wait, because when we fire, we shoot with conscience, we look into the optics of our opponent and make a choice. When it is the safety of the unit at risk, you do not need to be waiting for your cannon to fire."

Mikaela hugged the weapons master's holoform again, her eyes shining.

"Good bot," Chromia murmured softly, cuddling into him.

"The first trigger is what all of a bot's weapons are modelled after," Optimus explained to the still confused looking humans. "The most important piece of equipment, if a trigger fails, it does not matter how many times you send the command for a cannon to fire, it will not."

"I have had triggers fail, it is part of being a weapons master, it's my duty to examine all of the weapons and train the bots to use them." Ironhide rumbled calmly, "But never that one. In three hundred vorn it has never failed me, may it be as faithful to you, my niece."

"That's just awesome," Jacobs rumbled quietly as Kae gently inspected each piece and screw of the trigger.

(MPOV)

Anabelle tore into the mass of presents we'd brought her, squealing at each new discovery. And pretty soon she was playing with the enormous box I'd wrapped the giant teddy bear in.

Will had ecstatically taken pictures of his baby girl as she dragged all of her stuffies into the giant box and sat down, grinning as the enormous teddybear fell somewhat against her, the minute weights I'd sewn in wrapping her in a hug.

"Is that..." Sarah asked in a mildly worried tone.

"No, it's not an auto-bot," I laughed softly, "Brick was a leatherworker in his off-time, he taught me how to weight a stuffie to make it feel a bit more alive. There are a couple of magnets in it's hands, so that they're drawn together when they get close enough."

"That bear is..." Will grinned.

"Giving your little girl the bear hugs you want to give her every morning," I smiled at him, "she's still young enough that in her memory, you gave her that bear to hug her anytime you couldn't do it yourself."

"How..." Jacobs asked in a gentle tone. In response I smiled, fishing out a picture of ten people. Five soldiers in their fatigues, and in the front, two tiny girls were sitting with broad grins as giant teddybears wrapped themselves around them.

"It's a bit confusing sometimes," I laughed softly, "the menfolk would have to go, sometimes, but in my heart I remember them always being close enough to give us hugs."

Sarah teared up as she and Will wrapped me in their arms.

"That's pretty awesome Kae," Jacobs rumbled with a grin as Epps clapped me on the back.

"But are you sure I can take the credit on that?" Will stated seriously.

"Will you've become family to me," I stated seriously, "and among the men I grew up with, no present really came from any one of them, they were from my father and every uncle. Paddy made us pieces of glass, whirligigs and prisms in our windows. Rig made us little mechanical things, Brick made my first set of leathers, but really each was from all." I turned to look at Anabelle with a smile, she was dozing in the comfort of the bear's arms. "That bear is giving your baby girl a hug from you, not from me, someday she's going to be confused, angry and hurt, and she's going to rip that bear, that handkerchief I stole from you is in his chest, embroidered to say 'no matter what, daddy always loves you.'"

Even Will was sniffing as he looked at her, snapping another picture.

Optimus enfolded me in his arms, tucking me deeply into the comfort of his closeness.

I cuddled against him and thought of something. Realization struck hard. My bear had always smelled like daddy.

"Will, you're always wearing swiss army," I said with a smile.

"Yeah? So?" he asked curiously.

"Sarah, every now and again, you might want to dab just the tiniest amount of his cologne onto the bear." I said with a smile, looking at the sleeping girl. "You know? I only just figured that out now, my bear had always smelled like daddy."

"That's your gift, isn't it?" Optimus rumbled softly. "You are not simply giving her a bear, you are giving her her father when he can not be here."

I shrugged lightly.

Will strode over and crushed me into a bear hug.

"That's how you turned out," Will whispered, "That's how your father stayed as a baby. They were out on missions, but they left you their love."

I smiled and hugged him back.