Nine Months Alone

Chapter Six

Partners Forever

Why are you at my side?
How can I be any use to you now?
Give me a chance and I'll let you see how
Nothing has changed

Deep in my heart I'm concealing
Things that I'm longing to say
Scared to confess what I'm feeling
Frightened you'll slip away

You must love me
You must love me…

- You Must Love Me - from the musical 'Evita'

"You know, we've known each other for a long time."

The Nevada sun was just about to dive into the horizon, the autumn evening coming to a close. Arcee and Jack were on top of the roof base. While pregnant, this was one of the chances Arcee had to go out of the base and spend time with Jack. He was starting his last year of high school. Spending time with him before his schedule got out of hand and her being too busy with the baby was a good reason to hang out together.

"Yeah... we have."

"I still remember the time when I picked you up in front of the burger place where you worked at," began Arcee, a chuckle about to ignite. "The look on your face..."

A look of embarrassment flushed over the youth as he timidly glanced towards the ground.

"About that..." an uneasy laugh left him. "That's when I met you and the rest of the Autobots. Life was never the same after that, believe me...! Still, it... makes me wonder what would have happened if me, Raf and Miko never found you guys."

"... We'd still be at war with the Decepticons if we hadn't met you," mused Arcee, but cut the topic off shortly once she mentioned the former enemy. "We'd probably would still be frustrated with Earth, heh... Ratchet always hated human technology. Earth would be in peril... We'd get into lot of more mistakes if we hadn't met you guys and we wouldn't be... friends."

The uneasy smile on Jack turned serious, and the two couldn't comprehend the possibility of what Arcee just said. The somber pause froze the atmosphere around the two.

"On second thought..." began Jack, a warm smile was soon across his lips. "Complicating my life wasn't so bad after all."

"For a human... I'm glad that I got to be your guardian. At times, it seemed that you were guarding me more than I was protecting you."

"Me protecting you?" Jack seemed perplexed.

"When we first dealt with Airachnid on Earth... I was so scared I was going to lose you. At first I was uneasy opening up that part of my life to you, but then you found out. Not many really understood what I went through and how I felt, but then you came along... I'd thought you leave, but you never left my side. No matter how bad things got. You're one of the few who knows me and understands me... better than I do. And I'm so... so grateful for that."

Arcee noticed Jack's eyes watering, but the excess moist was gone, and the smile was still on his face. First it was Cliffjumper... Then Knock Out. Now all she had left were Jack and Breakdown. She hoped they both lived long lives so they wouldn't leave her so soon.

"About you and... Knock Out. I... I never... resented you for that."

Out of all the secrets she kept from anyone, her relationship with Knock Out was larger than both the moons of Cybertron combined. Forgiveness was completely out of the question. And now she was hearing Jack, her closest human friend, telling her he forgave her.

"You... you do?"

When the human found out her relationship, she thought she would be forsaken the minute he heard the news. But he was still with her. After Airachnid. After learning she was in love with a Decepticon... He really could endure the worst. She felt his tiny frame embracing her arm.

"You're my first motorcycle... I'm not giving you up that easily."

"... thank you... thank you so much...! I'm so sorry... for everything."

She could feel her optics growing heavy from tear drops, yet she was so happy... Jack was a credit to his species.

"What's there to be sorry for?"

The sun sank deeper into the horizon, indicating that the evening was turning into night. Mild stars began to glisten in the darker skies. The two of them would have to call it a day soon, and they both had to be ready for the next day. Despite the day ending, Arcee enjoyed her time with Jack very much and hoped he would come and see her again.

The Autobot then broke the silence.

"Once you're done school, what are you thinking of doing as -what you humans call, a career?"

"Well, I had some thought on it, and I might consider going into auto mechanics... I know a few places where they have good apprenticeships, though they're out of town."

"How far out?"

"They're within Nevada. It's only a few miles out from Jasper. Heh... It's a good opportunity to get out of town, though."

Her systems just about sank inside of her. Only one more year of school for him... Then it was his apprenticeship and he was considering studying out of town. She knew that there was always the Ground Bridge and they could stop by at one another's location. Yet, something inside of her was telling her the young boy in front of her was changing. He wasn't that sixteen year old boy she literally picked up in front of the food place anymore. He was growing up. And once the year was over and he was off studying else where, there was not going to be much time to see him. And he would be a full fledged man. Humans age so fast.

Jack must have picked up on her sudden change of mood. A look of sympathy was on his face, a glance of reassurance.

"But... it's not going to stop me from seeing you again."

The words from the human youth warmed her spark. She felt herself smiling. Their bond survived through fire and ice... Nothing could break them. Her pregnancy hormones must have kicked in when her mood fluctuated when Jack first brought up him moving out of Jasper. She concluded the unstable moods to be the downside of being pregnant. That was one of the things she wouldn't miss when the sparkling was born.

"Partners forever?"

Jack smiled, fist proudly in the air.

"Forever and ever."

Out of the corner of her eye, a playful smirk came across her face. Jack deserved a little payback.

"So how are things with you and Sierra?" the expecting mother teased. "Planning to -what you humans say...?- 'ask her out'?"

"What, Arcee? You're worse than my mother...!"