Author's note. Some people in the last chapter thought the character Darkrunner was a bit of a Mary Sue. She's not meant to be, she a young teenage who has problems and has developed certain difficulties. Hopefully, I'll do a better job with her next chapter.

With thanks to Orionprime92 who has suggested two characters called Starsong and Boomer, they will be used probably in the next chapter.

Enjoy and please review.

Laserbeak Maternal

Optimus sighed as he settled down for the night's recharge. It was now his turn to look after little Spike and he feeling very pleased about this. He'd always fancied the idea of having a Sparkling but as a Prime during War time, he couldn't put that idea into practice.

So he was very happy with the thought of looking after a Sparkling, albeit temporally.

Said Sparkling was currently dozing in his little crib, not quite asleep but not quite awake either. Just before Optimus had taken over responsibility of the little Sparkling, his tanks needed to be expelled of their built up waste. Thankfully, this had gone a little better than the last time and Spike had only needed a little bit of comforting afterwards.

It was a shame that Sparklings couldn't process waste as well as adults could but there was nothing that could change that. Adult transformers had to get rid of their waste too but not as often and they could do it in a much more dignified way. Unless of course there was an internal problem and the waste built up, this could be very dangerous.

But with their excellent facilities here on Earth, that wasn't much of a concern.

As he lightly stroked Spike, he thought back to his conversation with Elita. During the course of their talk, they'd decided that it would be nice if Spike could interact with other Younglings. As the only Sparkling on Earth, the little Mech would soon yearn for playmates his own age.

Well, the Dinobots were certainly his age but they weren't the most suitable of playmates. Due in no small amount to the fact they were so much bigger than him. No, Spike needed some friends he could rough and tumble without fear for his safety. And that's where these Younglings would come in.

These Younglings had relatives on Earth so it wouldn't look too suspicious to Megatron and his Decepticons that was the theory anyway. Although frankly it wouldn't matter if Optimus was only receiving a data pad from Cybertron if Megatron found out he'd want to know who it was from and why.

Primus, was that Mech paranoid, he always suspected Optimus of being up to something, no matter how small. Optimus sighed, unlike the grey gunformer, his entire life did not revolve around his Nemesis. Well, to a certain extent it did, but he was capable of having a break and thinking of stuff other than the War.

He shook his head, he didn't really want to be thinking about Megatron at the moment. He was meant to be settling down, once Spike had properly drifted off to sleep.

Spike mumbled and started to squirm a bit so Optimus gently stroked his back, murmuring softly. And thankfully, this was enough to settle the little Sparkling and he drifted off into a proper recharge.

With a smile, Optimus lay back on his own berth, and a short while later, had also fallen asleep.

Laserbeak's POV

The stream lined robotic bird glided through the air towards her usual target, the Ark. She sighed as air currents lifted her a bit higher up. She didn't mind spying for her master but it did get so dull sometimes. Usually, there wasn't much to report, just Autobots training, drinking, talking, associating with fleshies, etc.

And she somehow doubted she'd find out anything new today.

Still, orders were orders and at least she could stretch her wings out here in the fresh air. Being a Cassette, she didn't really suffer from claustrophobia like the Seekers but she still appreciated open air and space. Especially as today was calm and sunny with a lovely warmth playing across her back.

She was now getting closer to the base and couldn't afford to indulge in ramblings. She needed to concentrate on the task ahead. She started to fly lower and lower as the base came into sight, her systems dampening down any signals that might alert the Autobots to her presence.

As always, it was ridiculously easy to swoop into the base and quickly soar through the corridors. She decided to head to the Rec Room, Glossia's tended to be a lot looser there. Perhaps she could pick up a little titbit of information which would make this trip worthwhile.

So she snuck into the Autobots social place and took her usual spot in the rafters so that she could peer down at what was happening. Sadly, there were only a couple of bots about drinking Energon and definitely not talking about anything important. She sighed, this was going to be a long cycle.

However, about half an hour later, the Rec Room door opened and the Autobot Saboteur Jazz and Ravage's favourite chew toy Bumblebee. She increased her audio receptors, hoping to hear something good.

"When's it going to be my turn to look after him?" Bumblebee said with a heavy sigh.

"Trailblazer's getting him after Optimus, then its Hound, and then Prowl."

"Aw, don't worry, you'll get a turn at looking after the little guy," Jazz assured him with a grin.

"And I bet the two of you will have a lot of fun."

"Yeah," Bumblebee said with a small smile. "I can't wait, I've never looked after a Sparkling before."

"Sparkling?" Laserbeak mentally repeated. What's this?

"Heh, it's hard work, that's for sure," Jazz said with a chuckle. "But it is worth it, especially when they laugh. May be corny but it sure lights up your day."

"I can imagine," Bumblebee said with awe. "And your right, he's so happy, I never realised Sparklings could be like that."

"They can but wait until you see them grousing, not such a pretty sight," Jazz laughed as the two headed to the Energon Dispenser.

But Laserbeak had heard all she needed to.

She hopped along the beam before gliding down and landing near the ventilation. With all the microbes floating around this damp world, the Autobots needed to have these, which were mostly redundant on Cybertron.

She deftly lifted the cover and hopped him before quickly making her way along. She could not believe what she had heard, the Autobots had a Sparkling. Where had it come from? She didn't know the answer to this but she was going to try and find out. First though, she wanted a look at it, perhaps she could take a picture of it to take back to her master.

She paused at the whenever she came to a part that opened out into a room but didn't see the Sparkling. She frowned, the Saboteur had said the Sparkling was with the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. So he might be in his office with the Sparkling.

So that's where she headed to.

To her delight, when she peered into his office, she found he was indeed there. He seemed to be going over data pads. She frowned again, was the Sparkling here? Or had he entrusted it to another?

But then she heard a chirp and the Prime smiled down at something she couldn't quite see.

"How are you doing, little one?"

Another chirp and the Prime laughed.

"I thought you were taking a nice little nap but it seems you're wide awake and ready for action now."

There was a lot more chirping and also some giggling. Prime reached down and then straightened to reveal a beautiful looking Sparkling. Laserbeak felt her Spark give an odd jolt, what she wouldn't give to have her own fledglings. Alas, there was no mate for her here on this world and it wasn't likely she'd be meeting one any time soon on Cybertron.

But looking at this lovely Sparkling, she felt her desire for one grow.

"Come on, let's go out into the sunshine," Prime now said, winking at the beaming Sparkling as he said.

"I'll leave these for another time."

And with that, he left.

In a flash, Laserbeak was shooting down the vent, determined to get outside before they did. She burst out into the open air and soared upwards. Swooping around the Ark once, she then dived, heading for the lip of the Arks entrance. She landed and waited expectantly.

A short time later, Optimus Prime emerged out into the sunlight, carrying the chirping Sparkling. The Autobot leader walked a little from the Ark before sitting down on a large boulder. He then set the Sparkling on the ground.

"That's grounds all dusty and crawling with organic insects," Laserbeak thought, outraged.

"You have a little play in the sand," Prime said as the Sparkling eagerly looked around.

And with this encouragement, stuck his hands into the filthy, gritty sand.

Laserbeak was utterly appalled, she'd never allow any of her young to do that. They'd be kept in a nice, clean nest away from such dirt. They would know only the cleanness of the air and never have to go grubbing about in the dirt.

Clearly, someone needed to step in and do something.

She aimed a small rocket at a place behind the Autobot leader and fired. It went sailing through the air before exploding in a shower of sparks and smoke. As she'd predicated, the Prime leapt to his feet, looking wildly around, trying to see what had happened.

But she was already speeding through the air, right at the Sparkling who saw her coming and squealed in surprise. As Prime turned back, Laserbeak's clawed feet had reached out and seized him around the middle, lifting him into the air.

"Laserbeak," Prime roared, trying to catch her but she was too swift for him.

He was left standing there as she soared away, her prize clutched firmly in her claws. The Sparklings wailed at being carried like this, and she felt her Spark ache with sadness. But they wouldn't be flying for long, she just had to get away from the Autobots.

She knew they would follow, in fact she was pretty sure Optimus Prime already was so she had to find a good hiding place. Luckily, this place was littered with canyons and rocky hills, perfect for hiding.

She flew to one that had a nice little cave that opened out onto a ledge. It was surprisingly clean of dust and debris which made it even better. She carefully laid the now bawling Sparkling on the ground before landing beside him.

"I'm sorry little one," she cooed, nuzzling him gently. "But that foolish Autobot was letting you crawl around in the dirt of this filthy planet and it's just not on."

Of course, he couldn't understand her chirping, only her siblings and her master could. But he stopped crying and was now looking at her tearfully. She nuzzled him again and began to clean his face of tears.

"There, there," she chirped. "I'm going to look after you, little one, my little fledgling."

Spike simply stared at her in shock, his mouth wide open.

Author's note. What's going to happen now that Spike's with Laserbeak? Can the Autobots get him back? Find out next time, until then.