9

Oh it's such a perfect day,

I'm glad I spent it with you,

Oh such a perfect day,

You just keep me hanging on,

You just keep me hanging on...

~Perfect Day; by Lou Reed

No One's POV

The days seemed to roll by slowly. Optimus's absence still hung heavily on his daughters and wife, though they tried their best not to let it bother them. Optimus Prime had duties to attend to, they—Desirée more so—knew that. Not to mention that there were other things they needed to focus on. With Saoirse and Eden going to school, it kept them occupied for a little while, distracting them from their father's absence. And with Desirée working on Bee's plans to revive the fallen Autobots, she seemed equally as distracted. But at the end of the day, the Prime's absence hit them at full force and then they'd feel very...empty.

But they knew that had to keep going.

"Mama, conferences are coming up," Saoirse said, sitting at the dining room table. Saoirse had her head resting on her hands, looking at her homework with disinterest. Desirée had spent most of her day talking with Daniel, discussing how he'd be of use to the revival plan. Because Desirée didn't want to come across as rude with the obvious lack of one of Daniel's arms, she mostly let him do the talking and quietly agreed to what he came up with. She didn't want to interrupt and say something offensive. Daniel seemed fully aware of his disposition, and that didn't seem to stop him from doing what he wanted.

"Really?" Desirée looked over at her eldest daughter and gave a small smile.

Saoirse nodded. "Mrs. O'Hara says that there's a lot she needs to talk about with me."

"Nothing bad, I hope."

Saoirse shrugged.

"What about you, Eden?" Desirée looked at Eden with a small smile. "What's up with school?"

Eden shrugged.

"You've barely said a word since you got home." Desirée's brows furrowed. "Are you feeling sick?"

"Tired."

A chuckle. "Well, I'll talk to Ironhide—he's been keeping you up late every time he comes to visit."

"How's Aunt Mya doing?" Saoirse asked. "Is she still sick?"

"Guess so," Desirée shrugged. "Apparently, it's some kind of stomach bug. She's throwing up all the time."

Eden's nose scrunched up.

When Orion let out a noise, Eden and Saoirse watched as their mother picked him up from his play area and put him in his high chair.

"If Saoirse's having conferences, that means you are too, right, Eden?"

Eden shrugged.

"Please don't do this, sweetie. Just talk to me. Please."

Eden nodded.

"Thank you."

There was a silence that hung between them that felt very heavy. Saoirse was still looking at her homework with disinterest, Eden was looking at nothing in particular, their mother was picking at her fingernails, and Orion was happily sitting in his high chair.

"Are you guys at least...adjusting OK?" Desirée asked.

Saoirse and Eden shrugged.

"Your father will come back, you know that, right?" Desirée murmured.

Saoirse and Eden nodded.

"Guys, c'mon, don't be like that."

"Like what?" Eden asked.

"This." Eden and Saoirse watched as their mother approached them. "Your father doesn't want you feeling sad, he'd want you to be strong and happy." Their eyes looked down. "Everything will be just fine, OK?"

Eden and Saoirse couldn't understand how their mother could be so strong and try and be so uplifting despite Optimus not being there, but they'd do what she said—they couldn't keep pouting until Optimus came back.

They had a big family who would support them no matter what.

They had grudgingly finished their homework, their mother having walked off to go talk to Cade and Ratchet about their plans. Orion had been put down for a nap, so everything was quiet.

"Maybe we could talk about what Daddy told us before he left..." Eden suggested, the end of her sentence cutting off as a question.

Saoirse looked over at her sister, her blue eyes darkening a little.

"I don't really understand a lot of it," Eden went on. "Maybe...we can just talk about it?"

"What about it don't you get?" Saoirse asked.

"I guess that whole Prime stuff doesn't make much sense."

Saoirse's eyes went down for a moment. She kinda understood what their father was trying to say, but he spoke about it in a way that was hard to understand. Maybe it would've made more sense if they were a little older.

"Daddy says it's some kind of important thing."

"Where he's from?" Eden asked.

Saoirse thought it over before nodding.

"I still don't understand..." Eden muttered.

"Daddy and all his friends are aliens," Saoirse interrupted. "Daddy met Mama and had us. Everyone's telling us that we're special and unique and different—they keep saying we're important because of what Daddy is."

"We are pretty different if you think about it." Eden looked at Saoirse with a frown. "Nothing about us makes much sense."

"And that's supposed to be good?" Saoirse muttered.

"Daddy says it's important that we understand the differences in ourselves and everything around us." Eden rested her chin on her hand, resting her elbow on the table. "'We're above violence', 'Protect anyone who can't protect themselves', 'Primes are destined to help anyone who can't help themselves'. I don't get it sometimes."

Saoirse's brows furrowed for a moment. "Maybe that's why Daddy left."

Eden scowled.

"Think about it!" Saoirse exclaimed. "Daddy's doing all this stuff to make sure everyone's OK. He says Primes are important and need to help people—that's why he left. It's his job to make sure we're all alive. Whatever he had to do out there, it means we'll be safe here."

Eden shrugged. "You could be right."

"Mama does the same thing."

"But she's not like Daddy."

"She's strong like him. She protects everyone like him."

Eden didn't say anything for a moment. What Saoirse was saying made sense, but she wasn't too sure. Their parents were strong, protective, and both stubborn in their own way. Desirée and Optimus wanted their children growing up knowing the importance of humanity and Cybertronians. Optimus wanted them to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, Desirée wanted them to understand that no matter what, they'd have a family who'd support them and that any problem would work itself out. But with their father not being human and their mother being a human with strange powers, what would that mean for them? Eden was already demonstrating the early stages of some kind of power—what about Orion and Saoirse? Would they experience something similar? Orion was still a baby, and even though Saoirse was the oldest, she wasn't showing anything out-of-the-ordinary.

"I'm gonna go talk to Uncle Cade," Eden said, standing up from the table.

"You're just going to leave?" Saoirse said confusedly.

"I'd talk to Ironhide, but he's not here." Eden threw a slightly determined look her sister's way. "If Mama asks where I am, I'll be with Uncle Cade."

"Uncle Cade's probably with Ratchet."

"Then I'll wait 'till they're done."

"I'll ask Tessie if she could get him."

"No." Eden shook her head, her ashy blonde hair bouncing around her face. "I need to talk to Uncle Cade and I don't need Tessie getting all curious. Thanks for talking to me."

Saoirse watched as her sister left, a bubble of confusion forming in her gut.

QUICKY A/N:

HEY-YO! I'M SO, SO, SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN SO LONG! I'D LIKE TO GIVE A BELATED HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU! HOPEFULLY YOUR 2016 HAS BEEN GOING WONDERFULLY SO FAR. I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAD A SPLENDID 2015.

ANYWAY, ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT I WAS GOING BETWEEN WORK AND SCHOOL SINCE THE LAST TIME I UPDATED, I WAS FEELING DOWN FOR A WHILE AND I COULDN'T REALLY FIND THE MOTIVATION TO UPDATE A NEW CH. HOPEFULLY YOU'RE ALL SLTILL INTERESTED IN THE STORY. I HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN GETTING ANY REVIEWS, SO I CAN'T SAY FOR SURE IF ANYONE'S STILL INTERESTED. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK stormrunner74 FOR BEING SUCH A TROOPER AND HELPING ME.

I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO'S REVIEWED ON THE LAST UPDATE! IF YOU'VE GOT ANY IDEAS ON HOW TO IMPROVE THE STORY, LET ME KNOW!

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK!

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR!

STAY SNAPPY.

THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL!

READ, REVIEW, ENJOY!

YOURS TRULY,

~SMITHY