Disclaimer: Although I wish I owned transformers I have to live with the fact that I do not...just Sparks

*thoughts*

Cybertronian

Personal Com Link

Promise..

"Alright big guy, you have to tell me what's going on here." Major Lennox had intercepted the Prime as he made his way to the med bay.

Optimus looked down at the man before him and was almost tempted to tell the major that it would have to wait; in the end though the respect that he held for the human won out. "Something happened out there, the driver of a truck similar to my alt mode was carrying liquid nitrogen and he also had his daughter –Sparks - with him. I didn't pay much attention to them as they were no threat. It wasn't until a large explosion occurred, destroying the tank and the truck that I scanned the area." The weary leader's optics dimmed at the fresh memories of the frightened sparkling.

"What did you find?" William was already making plans to visit the site in the morning to see if there was any evidence that would lead to the culprits of the attack.

"I saw two men running from the wreckage and the little sparkling that had been running through the field." Optimus hoped that the major wouldn't force him to give up the child; he felt that they needed each other somehow.

"Ok, Ironhide and I will head to the site in the morning to try and figure out what happened. In the mean time we'll have to keep Sparks a secret...at least from Galloway." Lennox gave the old bot a smile before heading off to the control room. "Oh and by the way, I think Sparks has Ratchet wrapped around her little finger and Ironhide is bearing the brunt of it."

The major's comment brought a smile to Optimus' unmasked face. He knew that the rough medic had a weakness for sparkling, Earth seemed to be no different than Cybertron; just human ones rather than little Autobots. Upon entering the medical bay, Optimus discovered that the sparkling had discovered a new play thing and it came in the form of a top pick. Chuckling at the sight of Ironhide being threatened by his medic, the Prime decided that it would be a good time to rescue the back mech; as amusing as the sight was.

"I see that my sparkling has made a couple of new friends."

Ironhide halted in the middle of what had to be his 30th transformation and looked over at the wrench wielding Ratchet. The two bots exchanged a look; they had both heard the possessive use of 'my' when Optimus spoke of the sparkling.

"Daddy!" Sparks squealed out in joy at the sight of her now gigantic dad. With her blanket still attached to her, Sparks reached out to the mech; wanting to be held.

Not one to deny any sparkling, Optimus reached out a hand and watched as the red head crawled on board. "Are you having fun Sparkling?"

Sitting flat on her bottom with legs stretched out, Sparks grinned up at the smiling bot. "Yup, Hide showed me how he turns into a truck and Watchet made my feet feel all better."

"Is that so." Optimus looked over to his two comrades. "Thank you for taking care of her, I have also informed Major Lennox of what happened."

"It was no trouble Prime, she's pretty easy to entertain; even if it cost me a few dents."

"And her injuries weren't as bad as they looked, though her feet will be sore for a few days." Ratchet reached out with a finger and tousled the little sparkling hair.

'At least you weren't the one transforming for her amusement.' Ironhides grumbling came to an end with a swift hit from a wrench; causing a few more grumbles to come from the mech. This made new giggles bubble up from Sparks.

"And Ironhide enjoyed spending time with Sparkling to make her comfortable...Right Hide." There was a threatening look coming from the medic that said 'I dare you to say otherwise' and Ironhide knew better than to say anything.

"Right, right. We had lots of fun."

Optimus had not missed Ratchet's 'look' and could not hold back the laughter. "I'm sure Sparks had fun."

"Hey boss bot! I got some stuff here for the little squirt." Epps, a very close friend of William Lennox had entered the bay carrying what looked like a camo colored t-shirt.

"Hello Robert Epps." Optimus bent down on one knee and lowered his hand. "I know it's not a pretty one like you have, but it's nice and clean." He gave Sparks a little nudge towards the new stranger.

"But I like the one I have." Sparks looked up at her daddy hoping that he would let her keep the dirty pink night gown.

"We can wash that for you squirt, this one is just for tonight...Will is going to contact Sam in the morning and get him to pick up some clothes especially for you." Epps gave the sparkling a smile as he handed the large shirt out for Sparks.

"Will it be Disney Princess?"

"I will let them know you want the pretty princesses. We can't have you running around here with no pretty clothes." The dark man gave Optimus a quick wink when Sparks took a hold of the shirt.

"Now why aren't the roads to the base nice like this one?" Ironhide questioned through the radio as he and Major Lennox headed towards the site of the attack.

"Oh, I don't know, something about the base needing to remain a 'secret'. It is a hidden base you know Hide." Will have the steering wheel he was behind a light hit.

"If you want to keep people away from the base, I am more than willing to sit out on the road and scare the slag out of anyone who comes near."

"Now that I would pay to see; there's just the problem of what Optimus said about keeping yourselves hidden from the general human population."

"Well I'm tired of hiding; we're the ones keeping you humans safe." Ironhide gave his engine a rev as his temper rose.

"I know, I know. But there are a lot of people who wouldn't even begin to understand any of it." Will could already see scraps of metal lying both in the ditch and on the road. "Careful Hide, there's lots of little pieces lying around."

"I see it; looks like the truck went a round with Megatron and lost." The black top pick swerved around a large piece of metal.

William couldn't say anything as they were now approaching the centre of the scene. The authorities were already there taking photos of all the damage and getting dead bodies ready to be sent off to the coroner. Ironhide came to a stop just behind one of the police cruisers and let the major out. As soon as Lennox had the door shut, one of the investigators approached him.

"This must be pretty serious if they are sending out the military."

"It is a little serious when a large explosion occurs near an old base." Will started to walk around all the debrie, looking for any sign of Sparks father. "Do you guys know who did this yet?"

"We're pretty sure it was eco terrorists; a group of them have been sending threatening letter to the company who owns the plant down this road." The officer flipped through a note pad that lay in his hand. "We have found three people that belong to the group dead about 200 yards from the blast site; we're still looking for the other two and the driver of the truck."

As soon as Will heard that they hadn't found the driver yet he began how own search in the tall grasses. A part of him wanted to find Sparks father while another part didn't want to find the man in the grass. Unfortunately this wasn't going to be his day as the memories of past battles came back to him at the sight of a severed right arm. "Dammit."

Whether it was the sound of his voice that caused the sudden rustle in a patch of grass ahead of him or if it was the will to live, but a ragged foot poked out of the grass. Will's thoughts that it really was someone were confirmed by the groan that came from the ground.

"Shit...hold on." William ran to the moving grass and found a man that he presumed was Sparks father staring up at him. He was missing both his right arm and leg and shards of metal were embedded in his body. Kneeling down, the major took a hold of the man's already cold greying hand. "It's ok, I'm here with you." William knew that there was no point in calling for the paramedics, the man wouldn't last long; all he could do was stay with him so he wouldn't be alone.

The glazed and unfocused eyes seemed to clear up as the injured man looked up at the stranger beside him. "Sparks?"

"Sparks is safe, she came across a good friend of mine and he has taken her in as his own." Will wasn't surprised that the father asked after his little baby girl.

"Who." Breathing was becoming difficult for the man now that he was talking.

"His name is Optimus Prime, and well...believe it or not he looks...well a lot like your Peterbilt." Will knew that he wasn't allowed to tell anyone about the bots but he felt that if it was his Anna then he would want to know.

The blue eyes that were staring up at him sharpened even more. "Miss...ion City..."

"Yeah, it happened. To make it quick, there are some really bad bots that are making trouble for not only us but some good bots as well. It's the leader of these good ones who found Sparks last night...his alter form just happens to be a blue Peterbilt semi with red flames on the side."

The dying man smiled at William, he knew that the incident at Mission City had really happened. He was also overjoyed that his Sparkling was safe and sound.

"The thing is is that Sparks is convinced that Optimus is you...Do you want us to tell her what happened to you?" The major could see that there was only moment s left before he would lose the man.

"If you feel...the need to...just let her know...that I love her.." The dying father gasped desperately for air, he had to finish before leaving this world. "Promise me...that Sparks will be kept...safe and happy."

Will tightened his grip on the mans hand, he knew that the mans death was near. "I swear it, and I can also tell you that Optimus will protect your little Sparks with his life."

The man's grip tightened in response before giving his last words. "Thank you."

Yes I know that this one has a very sad ending...but the next one might be happier...I think...Thanks to all my little gum drops for all the great reviews ^_^