Hold On Before It's Too Late

by optimus prime 007

An action packed love story between Bumblebee and Kaceystar, the daughter of Optimus and Elita. It's not going to be so easy for Bee to win Kacey's spark.BeexOC Ch 12 pt 1: Mechs and femmes start settling in.

4. ch 4 The Party's Over

//In this farewell. There's no blood. There's no alibi. 'Cause I've drawn regret. From the truth of a thousand lies.\\

//So let mercy come and wash away. What I've done. I've faced myself. To cross out what I've become. Erase myself. And let go of what I've done.\\

//Put to rest. What you thought of me. While I clean this slate. With the hands of uncertainty.\\

//So let mercy come and wash away. What I've done. I've faced myself. To cross out what I've become. Erase myself. And let go of what I've done.\\

//For what I've done. I start again. And whatever pain may come. Today this ends. I'm forgiving what I've done.\\

What I've Done – Linkin Park

Sorry for the delay. My muse was rebelling and being a brat. I think she just needed a break. Thanks to Bunnylass for tolerating my bitching and moaning while my muse was AWOL. Also, thanks to her for the edits! You rock girl!

Also, for those interested, there is an eleventh Kacey AU fic called She Will Be Loved by ice around the moon. It's a Kacey x Bee fic and the link is on my profile page. Also, for those interest the Kacey x Jetfire fic by plenoptic has been update! Woohoo, I shameless…yeah, I begged her to update it! And, there's another picture of Kacey! It's a chibi Kacey by lubableKnegi. The picture link is on my profile page as well.

Lastly, thanks for all those who voted on the poll. Looks like longer chapters it is. I will try not to make them way too long. Of course this chapter ended up being longer than the others! lol

One final newsworthy note: TF3! Will be released July 1, 2011!!! Mark your calendars!

Author's notes: '…' denotes bond talk, italics denote comlink talk, //…\\ denotes music playing

Song list: I Try, by Macy Gray, Catch the Tears, by Russell Watson

---

Prowl

I laid there on my side, propped up on an elbow, staring up at the stars, half listening to Jazz recharging, half listening to the music playing from Kacey's party. Lazily, my processor wandered, reminiscing about such times like this with Jazz back on Cybertron. Because of the war, such quiet times like this were rare and precious moments that I've always held them close to my spark.

I frowned, missing my home for a moment.

Even after some twenty-six years on this Earth, the sky still seemed so alien to me. It's a constant reminder that we are not on Cybertron, that we have in fact lost our home. I like many had held out hope that our home planet would be restored. For me, such hope was shattered when I received Optimus' message that the All Spark had been destroyed.

I'd stopped during my journey and wept in the darkness of some unknown rock floating in space. It had been most difficult to get up and continue on. In fact, only two things kept me going on my long journey to Earth. The data disc I had to deliver to Optimus and my chance to be reunited with Jazz. Mainly setting my optics on Jazz and feeling him in my arms were what kept me going. Without him…

//…My world crumbles when you are not near. Goodbye and I choke. I try to walk away and I stumble. Though I try to hide it, it's clear. My world crumbles when you are not near.\\

I smiled. How fitting that my audio receptors tuned into the song. It kind of described my emotions about Jazz perfectly. Even Jazz said so when he played it for me while making Kacey's play list.

//I may appear to be free. But I'm just a prison of your love. I may seem alright and smile when you leave. But my smiles are just a front. I play it off but I'm dreaming of you. I'll keep my cool but I'm feelin'.\\

//I try to say goodbye and I choke. I try to walk away and I stumble. Though I tried to hide it, it's clear. My world crumbles when you are not near. Goodbye and I choke. I try to walk away and I stumble. Though I try to hide it, it's clear. My world crumbles when you are not near.\\

My Jazz…he always knew me so well.

//Here is my confession, may I be your possession. Boy I need your touch, your love kisses and such. With all my might I try but this I can't deny, deny.\\

//I play it off but I'm dreaming of you. But I'm dreaming of you babe. I'll keep my cool by I'm feelin'. I try to say goodbye and I choke. I try to walk away and I stumble. Though I tried to hide it, it's clear. My world crumbles when you are not near. Goodbye and I choke. I try to walk away and I stumble. Though I try to hide it, it's clear. My world crumbles when you are not near.\\

With a content sigh, I looked down at my love, gently caressing his chest. He responded instantly with a soft purr of his engine, making me smile fondly. I sighed again, gazing with so much affection upon my lover and my best friend…my everything.

Leaning down, I kissed him softly on the forehead, shuttering my optics.

There were times when I still couldn't believe he was back in my life or really there and in my arms. Sometimes I'd even wake in a panic from a dream where he was taken away from me again. My emotions at such times were usually so intense that they'd linger over our bond and would either wake Jazz up or cause him to leave his post to come check up on me.

Earlier this evening was just one of those intense emotional moments for me that needed to be released. Although, I'm not sure what possessed me to be so bold as to interface with Jazz some fifty yards from Kacey's party! I'm usually much more reserved than that! But I'm glad we did. The need to keep quiet for fear of being caught while interfacing seemed to intensify our overloads.

"Prowl, turn some music on," he murmured, snuggling against my chest.

It was then that I suddenly noticed the music from Kacey's party had stopped. Curious, I coaxed Jazz out of my arms and rose to my feet.

"Prowl?"

"I'll be right back. Just need to check on things."

"Ok. Don't take too long. I need you to warm my precious bod. It's kind of cold out here."

"I'll do my best," I whispered over my shoulder as my optics zoomed in on the party.

It looked like it was finally dying down. Orion and Leo were passed out, neatly covered with thermal blankets presumably by Kacey. Galen and Ariel looked passed out as well snuggled in each others arms. I wonder if Optimus actually knows they're interfacing or not. It's not like him to turn a blind optic to that when it concerns his daughters. Of course, Kacey and Ratchet have been running interference so it's possible he's still clueless about the young couple's intimacies.

Shifting my gaze I found Nitro and Firestar kissing rather passionately, barely moving to hide behind some trees. I chuckled softly. Fragging young mech ended up being just like his father after all. Doesn't care when or where he's interfacing with his femme. Although, I doubt anyone's really paying attention to them anyway.

Rox and Starbreeze were…were at least modest enough to move away from the campsite and interface…no they were arguing. Pfft, youth, they think they know everything. I spotted them some ten yards from the party between some trees. Hawk, and Sockets looked like they passed with their drinks still some what full as the high grade was trickling down the sides of their tilted cups. Saberon and Dozer were passed out with their femmes in their arms. The other young femmes in attendance were also passed out.

"Where's Kacey?" I questioned softly even as I moved to my left the see around the tree better.

There she was. Sitting alone, staring at the ground near her feet nursing her high grade. At first she seemed fine. Then when she tried to take another drink I could tell she was totally wasted as she spilled her drink down her chest and just stared at it, cursing. Surprisingly she flung the cup into the darkness and rested her face in her hands. I couldn't tell if she was crying or not but she did seem upset.

"Don't worry Kacey, you'll find what you're looking for," I whispered.

Quite suddenly Derail was right beside her, startling her. My optics narrowed as I recognized that lustful look in the mech's optics. I couldn't hear but I gather from the pissed look on Kacey's face she told him to frag off. The mech didn't take the hint so Kacey rose up to her feet and staggered away, nearly as bad as I've seen Ironhide stagger. Derail was quick to follow her and my optics widened when I saw him grab her aft.

Kacey's doorwings arched high, trembling with restrained rage. I growled, resisting the urge to run down there to help her. I knew Kacey could handle herself. Elita and Optimus were very thorough in teaching their femmes how to deal with unruly mechs. But this was the first time I saw an Autobot dare to do such an inappropriate gesture towards Kacey.

I knew that if Derail was sober he'd never dare to touch Kacey in that manner. Plus, he looked even more drunk than Kacey at the moment which made me wonder how he was even able to stand. Not that being drunk was an excuse. I didn't tolerate such behavior at all.

Again, Kacey walked away after a few heated words. This time Derail appeared to have gotten the hint. I felt my doorwings relax not realizing they had tensed up like Kacey's. I was about to go back to Jazz's side when Derail suddenly lunged for Kacey, knocking her to the ground with his full weight upon her.

"JAZZ! TROUBLE!" I called, as I took off running, keeping my optics on Kacey as best as I could while running down the slope.

Derail had her pinned down good and was trying to force her legs apart. Just like I taught her, Kacey continually struggled, thrashing about, clawing at the dirt. Then he smashed one of her doorwings repeatedly. Having experienced such a violent act myself I know it would temporarily blind Kacey, making her more compliant.

Frag, it did too! He flipped her over, bearing down on her with his chest against her, while trying to press his lips against her face. Kacey turned her head back and forth, continually struggling. He rammed his forehead against her managing to bash the side of her head. She continually fought back, managing to knock him off with a knee to his groin.

Derail growled, shaking off the pain and then jumped on Kacey again.

"YOU FRAGGER!" Orion shouted charging at Derail.

Orion didn't have a chance even though he was bigger. Derail was an experienced soldier. Orion has barely had weapons training and no hand to hand combat. They collided violently. Orion crumpled to the ground unconscious. Derail turned to deal with Kacey once again. Only Kacey was now on her feet.

'JAZZ!' I called over our bond wondering where the frag he was.

'What the frag's going on?! I just saw Derail take out Orion!'

'Get Ratchet…Magnus…oh shit!'

I raced, breaking through into the clearing. Kacey and Derail were viscously going at each other. Kacey managed to kick him away. Next, I saw her reaching for her weapon and I launched myself straight at her her!

The weapon discharged harmlessly, hitting a tree. Shouts and cries sounded in the confusion. The music suddenly came blaring on drowning out some of the screaming and shouting. Then as abruptly as it started it stopped.

Out of the corner of my optic I saw him and Nitro tackling Derail to the ground. Next something slammed into the side of my head. I reacted in time to knock the gun out of Kacey's hand before she aimed it at me.

'Prowl!' Jazz called in a panic over our bond.

'Worry about getting them off Derail before they kill him! I can handle Kacey!'

'What's going on?!'

'Just do it!'

I had a brief flash back to that time aboard the shuttle when Kacey woke up from a nightmare after being the 'Con's prisoner. At the time and still to this day I only have a good idea about what had happened to her while held captive. Like that time, I saw no recognition of who I was to her in her optics. Instead, I saw desperation and fear…and anger.

"Kacey! It's me Prowl!"

Kacey's mask and visor locked in to place, covering her face. She let out a guttural roar much like I've heard Megatron do whenever he and Optimus clash on the battlefield.

"Oh slag," I muttered as she lunged for me.

Frag it all the way to vector sigma! I'd never sparred with Kacey in hand to hand combat before. To say she had quick reflexes and the power to back up her punches was an understatement! Kacey was fast and strong for a femme! Luckily for me I was quick and agile enough to defend myself. I didn't dare go on the offensive since the last thing I wanted to do was hurt Kacey.

"AAHH!!" I cried out when she suddenly grabbed hold of my doorwing and yanked on it hard.

Slag, Magnus trained her well in knowing her opponents' weaknesses! And that's what my doorwings were when damaged. I felt their connecting circuits snapped as the top part of the wing separated from my back. And instant later, her knee shot up ramming into my crotch plate.

I blacked out for the briefest of moments only to find myself face first on the ground in agony. My fragging interface rod was still over sensitized from interfacing with Jazz earlier. And it hurt like pit right now!

While laying there grabbing myself, in an instant I saw Jazz get knocked to the ground unconscious. Frag! The two young mechs quickly went back to wailing on Derail once Jazz was out of the way. Several of the mechs were now up too and trying to pry the two enraged mechs off Derail.

"Magnus this is Prowl!"

"Go ah…"

Something suddenly slammed against the side of my head and my communicator crackled statically, cutting Magnus off. I managed to look up and called out Kacey's name, hoping to reach her before she hit me again with the butt of her cannon.

I knew why she attacked Derail the way she did, why she attacked me the way she did. It wasn't all her fault. I've seen it before where a mech or femme loses control to their emotions of a particularly traumatic experience. Most times its harmless crying. Other times…it's violent outbursts. Depends on what sets off the emotion.

"Kacey! You're safe! You're on Earth! It's me Prowl!" I shouted, arms rose in surrender even as I lay at her mercy on the ground.

"Oh slag! Prowl," she gasped. Her visor and mask retracted to reveal the horrified look on her face. She knelt beside me, crying. "Frag…I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"It's ok…I understand," was all I was able to say before the rolling wrecking ball of Rox, Nitro and Derail came my way. An inadvertent foot kicking me in the head was the last thing I saw before I was knocked out.

---

Magnus

It was almost three in the morning. So far so good. There was nothing eventful to report except for a ruptured pipe in one of the crew quarters. One of Wheeljack's over night technicians handled it with ease and turned in their report detailing what the repairs entailed.

I relaxed, settling into the second half of my shift, thinking ahead to the next week or so. It was going to be hectic for Akima and me as Optimus gave me the responsibility to see that every mech and femme got shipped out of this base in an orderly and timely fashion.

Much of the officers, myself included, had already started moving their belongings to their new assigned quarters of our new base, dubbed Autobot City. I suppose from the humans stand point the base is as big as one of their small city. For us it's more a glorified base that will have a military section and civilian section.

Thanks to Marshall's detailed list, Prowl, Hound, Jazz, and I were able to assign quarters to all the officers and military personnel, Earth and Axalon, with relative ease. Even offices and labs were easy to assign to the officers and key personnel.

The neutrals or Cybertronian civilians proved to be difficult because we didn't want them to feel like they were under military control even though the base was constructed for their protection. So it was decided to allow them to chose and give them one week to settle upon a permanent domicile. A civilian has already been selected to represent them which should make things go smoothly upon arrival.

Despite the processor aches, the upcoming move and the arrival of the Axalon have everyone excited and a few of us on edge. The Decepticons are a constant threat that have attributed to many delays in the construction of Autobot city. At least some of us can rest easier now, mainly Optimus and Prowl, as the base's defense systems are now online and functioning smoothly.

So, with tonight being peaceful and calm, I've allowed myself the chance to enjoy it for ever how long it lasted. Alas, it wasn't to be very long. I should have anticipated that Kacey's party would get out of control. She and her friends were long over due for a wild party!

"Magnus, get you aft out here now! We've got trouble!" Jazz's voice suddenly sounded over a private comlink.

"What kind of trouble?" I quickly replied, rising up out of the command chair, knowing right away by Jazz's tone that this could not be good.

"The fighting kind! Derail just took out Orion. Not sure why. But Prowl says for you to get out here and get Ratchet too."

"On my way," I said without further questions. Prowl and Jazz never messed around. And if they called for back up then there was trouble. "Hot Shot!"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Up for some party crashing?"

"Sir?"

"Have your stun gun handy?"

"Always," he smirked, pulling it out and showing me. "Never know when I'm going to get some target practice!"

"Let's go," I said, opening a private comlink with Ratchet. I pinged him first to wake him before I spoke. "Ratchet, this is Magnus. We have a situation, Orion's been injured and we need your help."

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he growled, not sounding too happy.

"As a matter of fact I do. But that has nothing to do with the fact that one of Optimus' younglings is injured. Hot Shot and I are heading out to the alcove."

"Oh Primus, what those younglings do now?"

"We knew they'd make their last party there memorable."

"Well, they're all going to get rather uncomfortable maintenance exams next visit to my med bay for waking me up in the middle of the fraggin night!"

"Understood, Magnus out," I chuckled. Ratchet was the worst mech on the base to wake the middle of the night. And always followed through on his threats of an uncomfortable maintenance exam.

"Let's go, Hot Shot."

The two of us quickly left the command center, meeting up with Ratchet along the way. He was still bitching and moaning about being woken up. I took it in stride having heard it all before. But I couldn't help but smile each time Hot Shot winced when Ratchet cursed.

"Anything new?" Ratchet asked when we reached the start of the trail.

"Nothing more from Prowl or Jazz," I replied, wondering if I should contact them. They were both capable mechs. If they required more assistance than what they'd asked for they would have communicated to me.

"Magnus this is Prowl!"

"Go ahead Prowl!" I responded, but suddenly got an audio receptor full of static. "Prowl? Jazz!"

"What is it?" Ratchet intuitively asked.

"Prowl's communicator just cut out as I was contacting him. Neither he nor Jazz are responding to hails."

"Then we'd better hurry!" Hot Shot exclaimed, sprinting now instead of running.

When we arrived at the party site…it was total chaos! Jazz didn't say I needed reinforcements! I only brought one mech with me and Ratchet. No way three of us could control this. But now I understand why Jazz wasn't responding to my hails. He was unconscious on the ground in the middle of an all out brawl.

"Frag! They'll all overenergized we wont be able to control them!" I growled.

Next I saw Orion lying on his side, energon trickling from a deep would on his forehead. Then to my disbelief I saw Kacey hovering over an unconscious Prowl with her gun in her hand! I didn't hesitate and shot a stun bolt hitting her right between the doorwings, forcing her into a form of stasis. She fell to the ground in an instant.

"Right, best to stun them down, let them sober up and sort it out later," Hot Shot suggested, taking a shot at Nitro and another at Rox.

"Agreed," I said, aiming my weapon at Derail who was struggling to his feet.

"This is too easy!" Hot Shot laughed, having shot down Sockets, Galen and even Leo.

"Having a little fun, Hot Shot?"

"They're all a bit cocky and need to be put in their place every so often, Sir."

I passed on stunning a couple of the femmes. They simply looked confused and a little scared. Ariel appeared to by trying to administer first aid to Orion so I passed on her. But Firestar had a temper and had to be stunned just like the mechs!

"All clear, Ratchet," I announced.

"What the frag happened?"

I turned to see Bumblebee's worried face.

"Fight broke out. Jazz called for back up. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I just got back from a drive and saw you guys running towards the alcove."

"Well, since you're here, I could use your help. We'll take them to the brig and then let them sober up. Hopefully Jazz or Prowl will be online to let us know what happened."

Bumblebee nodded.

"They're not coming online anytime soon," Ratchet grumbled. "Prowl and Derail need emergency surgery. Jazz and Orion have concussions. They'll be out for a while."

"Magnus, Sir, I was just talking to a couple of the femmes."

"Did they see what happened?" I asked Hot Shot.

"I'm not sure if it makes sense, Sir," he explained. "They didn't see the start of it but the saw Nitro and Rox take out Jazz who was trying to break them apart or something. And…"

"And what?" I demanded when he hesitated.

"They saw Kacey…beating Prowl in the head with her weapon."

"That can't be," Bumblebee interjected. "Kacey would never attack Prowl. She looks up to him, loves him and Jazz."

"I'm only telling you what they said they saw," Hot Shot countered.

"And Kacey's blue paint is on Prowl's armor," Ratchet frowned.

"That doesn't make sense!"

"Bee, I know it doesn't," I explained, trying to calm the young mech down. He was always very protective of Kacey, something Optimus found admirable. "We all know Kacey would never attack one of us without a reason. But she was over energized, they all were. Anything could have happened."

Bumblebee frowned, narrowing his optics. He wasn't satisfied. Neither was I for I agreed with him. It didn't make any sense.

"After we get them back to base, you can help me with the questioning," I said to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

The young scout relaxed and nodded.

"Good, Ratchet…"

"Red's on his way to help with my patients. I'll try to get Jazz up as soon as possible. But Prowl needs repairs before I bring him back online."

"Thank you," I replied. "I'm going to hold off waking Optimus for now. Primus knows the mech needs his rest with all he's dealing with at Autobot City and having to deal with a pregnant sparkmate."

"Are you sure you and Akima want sparklings?" Ratchet teased. "Optimus was hiding in the medical bay from Elita the other day."

"Once things are settled at the new base, yes Akima and are will still want a sparkling," I smiled.

With that, I left Ratchet to his work and called in for reinforcements to help. It took a couple of hours to get them all locked up into the brig, including Kacey. Currently she was passed out from energon consumption and excessive use of energy. Many of them were. So Bumblebee and I interrogated those that work up first.

"How are you doing, Leo?" I asked, walking into his cell.

"I'm never drinking again," he groaned, grabbing his head as he sat on the edge of the berth.

"I've heard that before," I commented, chuckling softly. Then I got serious, wanting to get to the bottom of what had happened. "I need to know what happened out there. Can you tell me anything?"

"I don't know," he replied, looking up at me. I could see in his optics he was just as confused as we were. "I got kicked or something and came out of recharge. I saw Orion on the ground. My first thought was to go help him. Then as I was getting up…I think it was Dozer who was trying to punch me. I was still kind of groggy from the recharge and high grade. I didn't hit him. I just dodged the punch and pushed him out of the way. Then I got stunned and now I'm here."

"That was it, nothing else?"

"That's it," he replied and I was inclined to believe him.

"You're free to go."

"What about Orion and Kacey?"

"Kacey is still recharging in her cell. Orion's in the medical bay."

Leo looked shocked and worried, as any good brother would be.

"May I…"

"Go check on your brother," I smiled, patting him on the head. "And Kacey is fine. I want those in the fight to recharge a bit until the high grade wears off."

"Understood," he frowned. "Thank you, Magnus."

"You're welcome," I said, following him out of the cell.

I watched him go for a moment before I turned to see Bumblebee and Hot Shot heading for me but they stopped in front of Kacey's cell. Frag, I really didn't want to give Optimus bad news about his daughter at this time in the morning.

"How's Leo?" Bumblebee asked.

"Typical hangover," I smiled. "He's young. He'll endure it just fine. Anything to report."

"I talked to Sockets," Bumblebee answered, folding his arms across his chest. To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen him so serious before. Maybe he's just focusing because it's late and he hasn't had any recharge. "He and Hawk woke to see Rox and Nitro beating the slag out of Derail. Jazz was trying to break them up but got walloped by them."

"And by the time they got there to help, Jazz was down so they tried to pull Rox and Nitro off Derail," Hot Shot continued. "Hawk said he doesn't know why they were beating up Derail."

"Socket's told me that Derail was getting too fresh with Kacey earlier before the party and that Rox took it personally," Bumblebee said and I noticed how he balled his fists up.

"So, even if Derail did something to Kacey and they felt she needed protection, why was Kacey beating the slag out of Prowl?" I said, thinking out loud.

"Magnus, did Ratchet get a look at Kacey before she was brought here?" Bumblebee asked.

"He gave her and several others a quick scan to make sure nothing vital was damaged. His main priority was Prowl and Derail because of their injuries. Red arrived and tended to Jazz and Orion, relieving Ariel because she still had high grade in her systems. But Ratchet reported the others had minor dings and dents that could wait with little or no discomfort. Kacey was the first taken back to base by the time Red arrived. She was standing up just fine before I stunned her. So I didn't think anything of it."

Bumblebee gave me an extremely worried look before he opened Kacey's cell and entered. Hot Shot and I followed to see what the scout was doing. I was worried now. Worried I might have rushed getting Kacey to the brig. My only excuse was to get her and the others inside as quickly as possible incase the Decepticons decided to attack.

"What are you doing?" Hot Shot questioned when Bumblebee gently rolled Kacey onto her side.

"She's covered in a lot of dirt…frag, Magnus one of her doorwings is badly dislocated!"

"What?!"

"It's ok Magnus, it's easy to over look if you don't have doorwings," Bee replied calmly. "But I think we should take her to the medical bay. She might not be recharging properly if her doorwing is too damage."

"Frag," I grumbled to myself. "Do it Bee. I'm going to wake Optimus. Hot Shot, keep Rox and Nitro here for now. Continue to question and release the others as they come out of recharge."

"Yes, Sir."

I frowned watching Bumblebee gently lifting Kacey into his arms.

Frag! I should have checked myself. I hope Elita's not awake for this as I have a feeling Optimus is not going to be too happy with me.

"Magnus, what's going on with Kacey?"

Oh slag, it was Optimus!

---

Leo

I left the brig, quickly making my way through the base towards the medical bay. I wasn't thinking about what happened to cause the fight to break out. I wasn't even thinking about the dull processor ache I felt coming on. No, I was thinking about how I fragged up.

I let my brother and sisters down by getting over energized, passing out, and not being there for them. I truly felt bad because my brother got hurt and Kacey got sent to the brig. I should have been there for them! Well that wont ever happen again. I'll never get that inebriated that I pass out cold and neglect to protect or help out my siblings.

"Ariel!" I called when I saw her turn the corner heading my direction. First thing I did was rush to her and hug her. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I wasn't even involved in the fight. Nor did I see what happened to cause it so Magnus let me go with Orion to the medical bay. Now I was just on my way to see Galen. Magnus had him and the others taken to the brig to until things were sorted things out."

"Oh slag. Well, I'm sure he'll release Galen soon enough. So, you didn't see what happened either?"

"No," she frowned. "Galen and I were recharging when the fight broke out. He was just trying to help me get to Orion."

"I'm on my way to see him now. How is he?"

"He's awake now and was asking about you. Said he had something to tell you."

I frowned again, feeling terrible that my brother got hurt. It didn't matter that he was older than me or even bigger than me. Orion wasn't a fighter like I was. Kacey even said it was hers and mine responsibility to make sure Orion and Ariel were always safe from harm.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Leo. There wasn't anything you could have done."

"You don't know that," I firmly stated. "I might have been able to keep him out of the way."

"What's done is done," she seriously countered, reminding me of mother when I got a lecture. "No sense dwelling on the 'what ifs'. Just go see what Orion wants now."

"Very well," I sighed.

"Just like what dad tells Kacey or what mom tells dad, 'you can't protect us every astrosecond of everyday'," she smiled.

"It can't hurt to try," I smiled back at her. Then I hugged her close again. "Love you."

"Love you to, now get going."

With that said, I hugged my sister one more time before continuing on my way. I could feel a dull ache in my processor steadily growing worse. Fragging hangovers! If I could call it that. I still had high grade in my system, although not so much to incapacitate me as before. Still, I never felt so glad to see the medical bay when it came into view. Maybe Ratchet could give me something for my processor ache.

Inside, I saw Derail and Jazz. Both appeared to be recharging comfortably on medical berths on one side of the medical bay. Orion was sitting on his own berth on the opposite side of the room, glaring. That was odd. I've never know Orion to get so mad at anything.

Ratchet and Red Alert were busy with Prowl so my entrance went unnoticed by them. Orion didn't even acknowledge my presence when I arrived at his side.

"Orion?" I questioned, softly touching his forearm.

This time I felt his anger as he shifted his gaze towards me. I was surprised. Orion almost never got mad, even at me when I was being an aft towards him.

"Don't be too hard on yourself," I smiled warmly, thinking he was upset with himself for getting hurt. "You're not a fighter. I don't want you to be because I wouldn't want you to get hurt. You're an important mech like father. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to help you."

"I wasn't the one who needed protecting," he growled in a low tone, his anger more potent than before. And I suddenly realized he wasn't angry at himself. "That fragger attacked Kacey! He was hurting her!"

"Who?"

"Derail," he spat quietly.

My hand curled into a fist. My own anger began to swell within.

"Are you sure?" I asked, my optics narrowing at Derail.

"Leo, he was hurting our sister! He had her pinned on the ground and was trying to force himself on her," he whispered.

I turned to see the look in his optics. He was telling the truth.

"Stay here," I ordered, my optics glancing towards Ratchet and Red Alert.

"That's it," Ratchet announced. Both his and Red's backs were to me so I made my way across the room, listening to them. "His internal repairs will finish up the rest. Just leave him here for now. Jazz should be waking any moment. I'll be in my office working on my report if he has any questions about Prowl."

"When do you want me to release Orion?" Red Alert asked as I arrived at Derail's side.

"I want him here for a few more hours for observation," Ratchet answered. "I'll help you with Derail after I'm done with this report.

Ratchet disappeared into his office. Red was still with Prowl. I glanced over to see that Jazz was still recharging. I didn't have much time. I looked at Derail. He had numerous dents. I grabbed hold of a particularly deep one on his shoulder and squeezed hard.

The mech's optics jolted on and his optic covers shot open. A pained expression fell upon his face as he groaned.

"Hurts, doesn't it," I growled into his audio receptor so only he'd hear.

"Get your hands off me!" he threatened in a low voice, grabbing my wrist.

"You keep your fragging hands off my sister or next time I'll…"

"You'll what?" he challenged, narrowing his optics at me. "You're a fragging runt! You can't do…"

I snapped and threw a punch at his face, shutting him up. He was up and threw a wild fist at me. I ducked and dove at him, driving him into side of the medical berth, knocking it over. I landed a several blows to his abdomen plating.

Shouts sounded. Someone grabbed my arm before I could throw another punch. Not looking or caring, I turned and shoved the mech away. He crashed into another medical berth. I barely registered him cursing when he fell over with it.

"Don't you ever touch her again!" I shouted, knocking Derail to the floor. I quickly followed up with a hard knee to his stomach while leveling my forearm at his face.

"Orion!" someone shouted just as my brother arrived at my side, throwing his own punches at Derail.

The mech stopped fighting back and instead covered his face with his arms. So Orion and I started hitting his chest or wherever we could connect. At the same time we were both constantly, struggling to keep someone off our backs.

And then I felt a sharp stinging sensation in the side of my neck.

"HEY YOU FRAGGER!" I screamed turning on Ratchet.

Only before I could even make a step in his direction, I collapsed into a forced recharge. It was probably for the best. I was ready to tear anyone a new aft!

---

Jazz

When I woke I could barely feel Prowl on the other end of my sparklink. It was just a brief irrational panicked moment that made me quickly sit up. All my fears were for nothing. My optics spotted my bondmate recharging peacefully on a medical berth in the center of the medical bay. And once my grogginess wore off I sensed him more strongly over our bond.

Prowl's presence was always a constant, steady, welcomed warmth on one end to the sparklink. Something I never wanted to be without ever again. Because when I had left him behind on Cybertron I wasn't prepared for the spark ache I felt when we were separated.

But it was more than just his love I missed feeling on a regular basis. He was also my combat buddy. He was always there to back me up and vice versa. And then when I went up against Megatron…solo…I knew I was fragged because Prowl wasn't at my side. No matter how bad the situation as long as the two of us were together we always found a way through it.

Unfortunately, my attention was so focused on Prowl that it took me a few moments to realize that Leo had just attacked Derail. I shouted and reacted quickly, leaping off the medical berth and trying to pull him off. Only the young mech shoved me aside like I was nothing.

Then suddenly Orion was there. Neither Red Alert nor I could pull the angered mechs off Derail. And the two of us ended up on our afts with Ratchet saving us by knocking out Prime's mechs with a couple of sedatives to the neck!

"You ok?" Ratchet asked, while scanning Derail's unconscious form.

"I'm fine, Ratchet," I grumbled, getting to my feet and feeling a little humiliated after getting knocked down like that. But frag, what was that all about by Optimus' mechs?! "Leo's fragging stronger than he looks!"

"Surprisingly, so is Orion," Ratchet retorted, as he and Red Alert moved Orion's forced recharge form back to his berth.

"Wonder why they attacked Derail?" Red Alert queried.

"I don't know but I sus…"

"What happened?" Optimus interrupted as he and Magnus rushed into the medical bay. "We heard the commotions from down the hallway."

"Seems more than just Rox and Nitro have it in for Derail tonight," I responded.

"Leo and Orion just attacked Derail out of the blue!" Ratchet exclaimed while he and Red bent down to lift up Leo. "I had to knock both of them out with heavy sedatives before they killed the mech!"

"Are you sure you're talking about my sons?"

"Hate to break it to you, boss but it was like they were in a frenzy. Something got them pumped up. We couldn't stop them," I told Optimus who didn't look very happy. "I wish Prowl was online. I'm sure he knows why everyone's gunning for Derail."

"I'm afraid Bumblebee might have discovered a possible reason why," he frowned just as the scout entered the medical bay with Kacey in his arms.

"I'm guessing it has to do with why four mechs, who usually need a lot to be provoked into a fight, were all out to beat the slag out of one particular mech," I commented.

"And perhaps explain why Kacey went after Prowl," Magnus added, as Bumblebee gently laid Kacey down on her side on a medical berth. The scout was telling Ratchet of her injuries but I was more interested in defending my sparkmate.

"Prowl didn't touch Kacey, he was defending himself from what I saw!"

"We know Jazz. But Kacey had to have been provoked," Magnus said.

"I don't care how drunk Kacey is. My daughter doesn't attack without a good reason."

"She was attacked."

"Prowl!" I exclaimed, rushing over to his berth that he was trying to get off of. Relief flooded over my systems and flowed over our bond. "Just sit there until Ratchet gives you the all clear."

"I'm ok, Jazz," he smiled politely, taking hold of my hand.

I chided him over our bond and he relented by remaining seated.

"Tell me what you saw, Prowl," Optimus solemnly said.

"The party was basically over. Those that weren't passed out already were very close to it. Kacey and Derail were both very over energized. Neither could barely stand. Kacey was alone when Derail came over. There was a verbal exchange. Kacey turned to leave but Derail wouldn't let it go. He…touched her in an inappropriate spot. Kacey took offense and spoke to him again. I was too far away and couldn't hear but since he didn't follow her I assumed he finally got the message to leave her alone. Only…he didn't stop there. He jumped her from behind, knocked her down, and…he…"

I swallowed hard, feeling the sheer sorrow my bond mate felt at having to tell Optimus what I now know had happened. A part of me flamed with rage. I noticed even Bumblebee and Magnus looked pissed. No wonder Prime's mechs and Kacey's friends were so adamant about beating the slag out of Derail. I wanted to too at the moment!

"Prowl…"

"He tried to force himself on her, Optimus. But Kacey fought back. Derail attacked Orion when he tried to help his sister. And Kacey…I believe a combination of such emotions and the high grade, caused her to briefly regress back to what'd happened on Mars. I stopped her from shooting Derail. Then she turned on me because I attacked her next. I saw no recognition in her optics of who I was. So I did my best to reach her without harming her."

He paused, then added with a little chuckle and small smile.

"I will never underestimate Kacey's strength ever again. And I clearly need more training to keep up with the likes of her! She handed my aft to me, Sir."

"That's because you spend too much time behind your desk," I smiled, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Thank you Prowl," Optimus kind of smiled. I could tell his thoughts were already on Kacey as his optics quickly glanced at her form. "Magnus, keep Nitro and Rox in the brig. And please take my sons there as well. I will talk to each of them about the consequences of what they had done. As for Derail, Prowl I leave it to you to punish him. I fear I may let my emotions get the better of me."

"As you wish, Prime," he replied.

For a moment I watched as Optimus headed over to Ratchet before focusing my attention on Prowl.

"Come on Prowl, you need to lie back down," I said, trying to get him to lie back down on the medical berth.

"Yes, Prowl, do as Jazz tells you," Red Alert added. "Your repair systems will finish up but only if you rest."

Prowl frowned. He wasn't happy about doing nothing. The mech was a workaholic…when I wasn't distracting him. But such distractions were necessary, even Prowl admitted to it. They did help him to clear his process and relax enough to be more efficient while working.

That's my Prowl, figuring out he could be more efficient at his job after a good frag!

"No one's going anywhere, babe," I seriously told him. "Derail is in custody. Kacey is safe. You did your job for now by telling Optimus about what happened."

For once he complied without complaint. Not even a hint of dissatisfaction flickered over our bond. That alone made me suddenly worry.

"I'm fine Jazz," he sighed, settling on his side, one hand reaching for mine. "Don't be mad at Kacey for what she did to me. Ok?"

"I'm not mad at Kacey. Well…I was at first but only for an instant. I mean I suspected she had a flashback or something. That femme really cares about you. I'm mad at Derail for doing that to her. No mech or femme deserves to be treated that way."

"Just…don't get to emotional around Kacey right now. She's going to be upset enough as it is."

"Ok, Prowler," I sighed, understanding what he meant.

This wasn't the first time we've experience these kind of instances. I seemed to remember after one incident where Ironhide went berserk, blasting holes in the walls and nearly in some of us, Ratchet made the rule to take down a mechanisms weapon systems while in his medical bay.

"Rest," I cooed, affectionately caressing the red chevron on his forehead, knowing it would distract him from his worried thoughts.

It didn't take long for his optic covers to flutter slightly before they closed as he fell back into recharge. Once he did, I managed to squeeze myself onto the berth with him and fell into recharge myself.

---

Ratchet

Optimus was hovering, and growling, too much. I thought he was going to attack me at one moment when Kacey whimpered as I repaired her doorwing. So I decide to have Red take him to my office while I took Kacey to a private exam room.

It didn't bother me so much that the mech was there. He'd often watch me repair Kacey's injuries or even Elita's injuries. However, the last thing I needed was for his feelings of anger and worry to trickle over his bond with Elita and bring the femme down here. A pregnant femme in full on protective mode of their offspring was a scary experience, one I wanted to avoid.

Besides, no parent should have to stand there wondering exactly how that dent or scrape got there during an assault on their youngling. Personally, I hated these kinds of exams myself. It sickened me to think that some mechanisms would stoop to such a level. Even worse, this mech was an Autobot! Oh I know we're not all martyrs and saints. I just don't understand what goes through some mechs' minds that make them think they can take advantage of a femme or even a mech.

The very thought turns my tank and makes me want to march over there and reformat Derail into a toaster and then toss it up for Ironhide to blast! Frag that! I'll blast him myself!

"Fragger," I muttered under my breath not realizing that Kacey had regained consciousness.

"Are you mad at me?"

Kacey's soft voice startled me. I hadn't realized how much of my anger had reached the surface. She looked a bit frightened and worse…ashamed.

"No, I'm not mad at you," I smiled, smoothing a hand over hear helm. "I'm mad at the fragger that did this to you."

The femme didn't answer. Instead, she turned her face away from me.

"I'm done with your repairs," I continued, keeping my tone kind and warm. "Just a few scraps and minor dents. Your right doorwing has some bruising and will be sore for at least six or more hours, the way your healing rate goes. I was about to do one last scan for my report."

"How's Prowl?" she asked.

"He's fine," I replied, leaning slightly over to see that she was crying. "I'm going to release him in a couple of hours."

"Can I see him?" she pleaded, finally looking up at me, lips trembling. "I wish to apologize to him."

"No apology is necessary. He understands. We all understand."

Again Kacey turned her face away. This time she curled up on her side and wept. The father in me rolled her back and held her in my arms. I know there wasn't much I could do to comfort her. Every victim had to deal with it in their own way. I prayed my own daughter never has to experience this kind of pain ever. And I prayed Kacey makes a full recovery like she did after Mars.

"We can skip the scan," I sighed, listening to her sobs. Fingers gripped hold of my armor. "Shh," I soothed, rubbing her back between the doorwing joints. From what Prowl told me it can be rather relaxing and have a calming effect. "I did an initial exam…"

"He didn't do anything for your scan to pick up," she sniffled.

"I know."

"Father's worried. I can feel him nearby. He knows, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he's in my office waiting for me to finish up your repairs."

"Then please…go tell him," she insisted, gently extracting herself from my arms. "I need to talk with Prowl."

"I moved him to the private room next to yours."

Kacey nodded and then slid off the medical berth.

"Thank you," she said, looking up at me, grabbing hold of my hand.

"You are going to be fine, Kaceystar. Remember that," I smiled confidently while wiping her tears away. "And you are very welcome."

A small smiled flashed. It was brief. Not enough to quell the ache in my spark I felt for her. Or for Optimus. His entire frame and face radiated with worry. He spotted me quickly as I entered my office.

"Ratchet, how is she?" he asked, rising from the chair he'd been sitting in.

"A few scrapes and bruises but otherwise, physically, she's perfectly healthy. She just needs a few hours of rest for her injuries to fully heal. As for her mental health, you and I know an old wound has been re-opened. Now she has to deal with the emotions of what happened on Mars and what happened here on Earth. But now at least you and Elita are experienced enough to help Kacey get over this incident."

"Incident," he repeated, almost spitting the word out with disgust. "This kind of incident should never have happened!"

"Optimus, I agree with you. But you and I know that not every mech is good. There are a few low lifes out there. And getting over energized can bring out the worst in a mech, especially when his target is a beautiful femme like Kacey."

"What, so now it's her fault for being as beautiful as she is?!" he roared, bearing down on me.

"No, of course not! Don't get pissed off at me!" I snapped back at him, pushing him away. "Control your temper Optimus. You will only hurt Kacey! Or do I need to remind you what happened last time you lost control of your temper!"

Upon mentioning her name and bringing up how he lost control before, he instantly calmed down and backed away. I thought that might. I was still mad at him for losing control like that. Poor Kacey's spark couldn't handle all her emotions at the time and those emotions of her enraged father.

"I apologize," he said to me.

"Don't worry about it. We're all angry. We just need to be careful. Kacey's very sensitive to our feelings about this. Last thing we want is for her to think this is her fault."

"But she already feels that way, Ratch," he replied dejectedly. "I can feel how ashamed she is right now. She's trying to hold it back. She's even very hesitant to reach to me for comfort, afraid of what I'll think of her. All I keep doing is giving her my love."

"And that's all you can do at this point. She'll be fine, Optimus. She made it through this before she will again."

The mech frowned, nodding his head.

"At least this time it didn't progress as far as it did when she was a prisoner," I continued.

"Did she tell you what happened on Mars?"

"Not in so many words. But I've done far too many exams of femmes or mechs that have experience far worse than what Kacey has. Not that hers wasn't traumatic. The important thing is that Kacey was trained well. She fought back and in both instances it spared her from being raped. Keep telling her that when you talk with her."

"I will. But I'm afraid I may never understand why the victim doesn't see themselves that way. She ashamed, just like she was before. She has no reason to feel that way."

"Then it's your job to keep reminding her. Now, give her a few minutes. She wanted to talk to Prowl. Then you can take her to your quarters. I suggest you tell Elita before you bring her."

"I've already talked with Elita. Ariel and Galen had to chase her down. She was on her way to go beat the slag out of Derail. I've called in Chromia and Ironhide as back up to keep Elita under control until I return to our quarters."

"Wise choice. Now, if you excuse me, my own sparkmate wants an answer as to why our son was in the brig!"

---

Kacey

I stood outside the door of Prowl's private room of the medical bay. Feelings of guilt and shame filled me. I made sure to keep them to myself as best as I could. I didn't want to upset father or mother any more than they already were. They were both mad. I felt it briefly before they closed their feelings off to me.

I suppose that was for the best. I needed to deal with my own emotions at the moment.

My hand trembled when I reached for the door's buzzer. I balled it up into a fist, willing it to stop shaking. I could clearly remember every punch I landed on Prowl with this fist. The very thought of my actions inflicting pain on a mech I considered a close friend made my tank churn. I had to swallow hard to keep its contents from rising.

"You've nothing to fear, Kacey."

I turned slightly to see Red Alert standing beside me. When did he get there? Had I been so consumed by my feelings that I didn't notice him approach?

"You had plenty of mechs to protect you this time," he smiled. "Rox, Nitro, Leo, and even Orion. They did what many of us wanted to do when we found out. Ratchet actually had to sedate your brothers before they killed the mech."

My guilt just grew exponentially.

"Where are my brothers…and my friends?" I managed to ask.

"The brig for now. But I suspect they won't be spending much time there," he smiled. "So go on. You can just go in. Prowl and Jazz are expecting you."

I frowned, wondering if Jazz was mad at me for beating up Prowl. They were both such dear friends to me. They were almost like a second set of parents the way Jazz doted on me like a mother hen whenever father and mother were off base. I never wanted to do anything to risk damaging that friendship…the closeness we shared. They were an extension of my family in my optics.

"Go on," Red smiled, giving me one final nudge through the now open door.

"Kacey, come in," Jazz smiled warmly, rushing to my side, wrapping an arm around my waist. "We've got her Red."

Tears filled my optics as Jazz led me closer to where Prowl was resting. I couldn't even lift my gaze to look at him. All I could think about was how I hurt him when all he was trying to do was help me.

"Prowl, Kacey's here."

"Oh, good…Kacey, please don't cry."

Two black hands cupped my face lifting it up slowly. Through my tears I saw nothing but kind faces and warm smiles. They only made me sob harder.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, hey now, you're nothing to be sorry about," Jazz spoke softly, his hand rubbing my back between my doorwings.

"That's right, Kacey, there is no need to apologize," Prowl added.

"You mean…you're not mad at me?"

"Primus no! What happened wasn't your fault," Prowl told me.

"What about what I did to you? That was a direct result of my actions and therefore my fault."

"You weren't in the right frame of mind."

"But that's no excuse! I attacked a superior officer, I should be punished!"

"You did nothing wrong," Prowl firmly said.

"Are you sure? I must have done something for him to come after me like that," I argued.

"Kacey, I saw what Derail did to you," Prowl continued. "You said no and he didn't stop. He attacked you. You are the victim. Not me, not anyone. Only you."

"I should still be punished for what I did to you, Prowl," I mumbled, staring through my tears at the floor.

I felt Prowl's arms wrap around me which only made me cried harder.

"Kaceystar, in my optics you did nothing wrong and you will not be punished. I will not press charges, you will not be sent to the brig. This will not reflect badly on your record."

"I feel like I should," I wept.

"It wasn't your fault that he attacked you or that you lost control."

"Slag like that happens," Jazz added. "The point is you stopped, you regained control, Kacey."

I continued to cry, leaning against Prowl.

"Jazz, get Optimus," he whispered while comforting me.

"I'm sorry," I wept.

"It's going to be alright, Kacey. I promise. After a long rest and a good long talk with your parents, you're going to feel better. And in the days to come, you'll get even better. You are strong. You will move on. You've done it before. You can do it again and again. I know it."

"How can you know it?"

"Because I've watched you grow up Kacey. I've seen you face adversity and conquer challenges most mature femmes or mechs never have to deal with. In short, you are your father and mother's daughter: strong, brave…resilient."

"Kacey?"

Upon hearing my father's voice, all new tears sprang up. I didn't feel so strong or brave as my spark called to him for comfort. Thankfully, my father knew this and lifted me up into his arms, carrying me like a sparkling. I hid my face in the crook of his neck. I didn't want anyone to see the look of shame on my face.

I failed them. I failed them all.

---

Optimus

Thankfully all physical injuries of each mechanism involved were repaired with ease and no lasting effects. Even Derail's despite the rough treatment my own two sons dealt him. As a precaution, I had the mech moved to a cell and his injuries treated there. Under the circumstances I don't want my sons to be tempted again to beat the slag out of a mech that hurt their sister.

It was enough that I wanted to do the very thing. Hence my putting Prowl in charge of Derail's punishment. I know for a fact that neither Elita nor I would be objective on the matter. That goes if it had happened to any of our younglings. My love and I do tend to be over protective of them at times, and they let us know it, but in my belief it is warranted.

They are the offspring of a Prime and have a high probability rate of being targets for abduction or worse from the Decepticons. Megatron has proven that he would do anything to get to me in the past. I see no reason why he wouldn't do the same in the future.

However, while I have prepared my sparklings for such threats from our enemy, I'm afraid I've neglected to protect them from any threats from my fellow Autobots. My flaw was that I believed we all had the potential for goodness and sometimes I over look the fact that we Autobots are not infallible to temptation.

A mistake I will never make again. One I hope has not cost my daughter's psyche. Her confidence has been shaken. I can feel it and I can see it as I casually peer into the open door to the private room Prowl's occupying.

I sighed, watching as my daughter broke down into tears. Such feelings of guilt and shame from her tore at my very core. It took every ounce of will to not rush in there and take her into my arms to comfort her. Not that I really needed to. Prowl and Jazz were taking care of my sparkling as if she were their own.

Still, I had my own feelings of guilt now to contend with. I failed to protect my child.

'Optimus?' Elita gently called over our bond.

'It's ok. I'll be bringing Kacey to our quarters shortly.'

'Are you ok?'

'I will be fine,' I sighed.

'It wasn't your fault this happened.'

'Wasn't it? I'm Prime, I'm her father.'

'Optimus, you cannot know the secret desires of every mech or femme under your command. And…not that I condone the fragger's actions…but he was drunk. We all do things we regret when we're over energized.'

'Still, the last thing you expect to do is prepare yourself from an assault from one of your own…from a friend. Kacey wasn't prepared for that!'

'Optimus, give our daughter some credit. She is strong enough to move past this with our help.'

'What are we going to do, Elita? This is breaking my spark.'

'Shh, be calm, my love,' she cooed. 'We'll do the same thing we did before. Just be there for Kacey as she needs us and give her our love and guidance. Have you seen her yet? How's she taking it so far?'

'From what I can see…she's taking it as she always takes these things.'

'Like you, I wish some things didn't have to be so difficult for her. But you and I know Kacey will persevere. It's up to us to convince her, make her believe in herself. She always has these doubts about herself and her role in life. Just as you used to do when you were her age.'

'And I still do from time to time no matter what you tell me.'

'If I recall when I accepted my position as femme commander, you told me that a good leader will always have some doubts. It's how you handle those doubts that separate the bad leaders from the good leaders.'

'I love you to, Elita. What would I ever do without you?'

'Silly, you'll never be without me. Now bring me my daughter.'

'Yes, Ma'am. Oh, Jazz is coming over now. We'll be there soon.'

"Jazz?"

"I think its time you take Kacey home now," he frowned worriedly. "She could use the rest and the love only family can give her."

"Oh, I don't know. You and Prowl seemed to be doing just fine," I smiled.

"True, we tend to think of her like a daughter. I wish I'd been around when she was a little youngling," he smirked. "I would have tried to take her and raise her as my own."

I raised an optic ridge at him.

"Just teasing ya, boss," he grinned brightly. "She's a good femme with a good spark. You did well raising her. But now I know she needs her father and mother more than Prowl and I."

"Yes, as we need her as well. Elita is getting anxious. And I just want what's best for Kacey."

"Then go get her. Prowl's said what he had to, now its up to you and Elita."

With that said, I entered the room and called my daughter.

Spark wrenching tears streamed down her faceplates and for the first time I felt her reaching out for comfort over our bond. I gladly gave her my love and warmth, willing to do anything to put an end to the suffering she was enduring. Even while on our way to our family quarters, I reached to Elita to do the same to Kacey.

"Let's get her cleaned up," Elita said when we finally reached our destination.

"Ratchet already cleaned her up some," I countered.

Elita just gave me a look. I quickly complied, heading into our room where Elita and I had our own shower rack. It was large enough to accommodate the three of us. Although, my spark saddened as we cleaned her up. Elita and I often took our younglings into the shower with us when they were little sparklings. Except for Kacey because I was never there for her when she was a sparkling. This was the first time we ever did this for Kacey.

'Optimus…'

'Sorry, love,' I responded, quickly quashing any feelings of being inadequate as a father.

"Are you cold?" I asked Kacey as she stood there, trembling under the hot solvent.

She didn't answer but stood there, head hung low as she continued to cry. I didn't hesitate to pull her close, massaging her back for comfort, being very careful of her sensitive doorwings. I turned the solvent temperature up just a little more for her even though I knew it wasn't the reason why she was shaking.

"There we go," Elita smiled. "All done. Does that feel better sweetspark?"

Kacey slowly nodded her head as we started to dry her off. After that we were silent. The only sound was the soft, gently noises the towels made when they rubbed against our armor. And, only once we were all dried off and sitting on the bed did I dare speak.

"Kacey? Would you like to talk to me? Perhaps tell me what happened," I gently said.

There it was again. The sudden wave of guilt and shame. Only this time I could feel a hint of anger.

"Talk to me," I spoke softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Tell me what happened."

"I lost control," she whispered, looking at her hands on her lap as they fidgeted. "Derail…he…he jumped me from behind. He…I fought against him. Then…" She paused taking in a shuddering inhale. A strong tremor passed through her. "Then I had flash backs of what had happened to me on Mars. All I saw was that fragging Decepticon who tried to…have his way with me. I fought back. I just kept fighting back. I didn't want to experience that again! And…I didn't even realize it was Prowl I was fighting. Not until he was defenseless on the ground. Father…I was going to kill him thinking he was Skyshadow."

I held her tight as she wept.

"I told him I was sorry," she continued, clinging to me. "He said it wasn't my fault and that he understood. He said I was to not be punished. But I should be! I attacked him. He's my friend and I hurt him. I'm so sorry, father!"

"Kacey…"

"NO!" she yelled, pushing off me and jumping to her feet. "It's my fault! It's even my fault my friends and my own brothers are being punished! Why am I not being punished?!"

"Because you were the victim, Kacey," Elita firmly stated.

"It was Derail who attacked you, not the other way around, my child."

"Stop saying that! I'm not a child!"

"KACEY!" I shouted, worry coursing through my systems when she rushed for the door.

Elita and I were up, desperately following her out into the hallway.

"I can't father! I need some air!" she exclaimed, coming to a stop.

"Ok, then…just stay close to the base. That's all I ask of you," I spoke gently, resting my hands on her shoulders as she stood with her back to me.

"Optimus," Elita hissed at me.

'She will come to us when she's ready,' I told her over our bond. 'She's not mad at us. I can feel that.'

"Kacey, before you go, please know that we love you very much. We are here for you whenever you need us."

"Yes, father," she sighed, turning around to face us. "I've always known that I could come to you and mother whenever I need you. I…I just feel so weak…like everything that happened was all my fault."

"Such feelings are normal," Elita said, putting an arm around Kacey's shoulders. "All these feelings are normal. It's our job to remind you that you were the victim Kacey. You did nothing wrong."

Kacey cast her vision downwards. Fresh tears fell. As her father, I knew I had to let her go for now. Like my other younglings, Kacey too was struggling to gain her independence from her mother and me. It's been difficult because of our confined base. All that will change once we move to our new base.

"I'm going to have a talk with your brothers, Nitro and Rox," I said, lifting her face up to gaze into those pained blue orbs. A kind, loving smiled spread across my face. "They will be released without further punishment. No mark will reflect on their records."

My child actually looked surprised.

"You are right, Kacey," I continued. "By our conduct code you should have been punished. But since Prowl refuses to set charges against you, then I must do the same with those four mechs so that all is fair."

"Thank you father," she said, wrapping her arms around my waist. "Tell them I appreciate what they did…I just wish it never happened."

"As do I," I whispered to myself, kissing the top of my helm. "I'm only giving you and hour outside. Ratchet wants you to get your rest still. Understood?"

"Yes, father."

"You are not the monster you are trying to make yourself out to be, my sweetspark. You were the victim. Try to remember that," Elita reiterated.

Again, Kacey nodded and we let her go on her way.

"Are we doing the right thing?" Elita asked.

"Yes. I feel Kacey is trying her best to not rely on us so much. She feels as if she's a mature enough mechanism that she should be strong enough to handle some of this on her own now."

"And what of those mechs. I'm glad they actually beat the slag out of Derail."

"A part of me is as well. However, they are all still very young. They will learn to control their emotions instead of their emotions controlling them. Revenge is not our way. I must make them see that. And you must rest now for the little one's sake."

Elita rolled her optics. I merely chuckled, kissing her affectionately on the cheek, one hand sliding over her belly. Then I felt her arms slip around me, pulling me close. Of course, I obliged, wrapping my arms around her, enjoying the feel of her against me.

"We still haven't come up with a name for her," she whispered, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"We have time. Leo is very adamant that he has a name but wants to wait until she's born to say it. He has this irrational fear that something might happen to the little spark if he says her name before she's born."

"Hm, I wonder where he gets these irrational fears from."

"My dear, Elita, I don't know what you mean," I teased, getting a hard poke to the ribs for it.

"Aft."

"Sexy femme."

"Are you implying something?"

"Merely stating the obvious," I smiled brightly. She continually smirked at me. "Love you. I'll see you later."

"Hopefully not too much later," she winked and then sauntered back into our room.

Once again, I was force to go against my will. Only the desire of my sparkmate was a much harder temptation to resist! Not sure if I was in my right mind to resist during that moment!

---

Bumblebee

I stood perfectly still while my spark raged like a violent storm within its chamber. I couldn't help it. The more I glared at the mech the angrier I felt. Prowl's words tumbled over and over through my processor about what Derail did to Kacey. No femme or mech should ever be treated that way! Not by the Decepticons and certainly not by an Autobot!

It goes against everything I was taught about how to treat other mechanisms with respect, even if it was an enemy. And especially the femmes, they're to be treated with dignity and honor.

"Whoever you are, if you're going to beat the slag out of me then do it, otherwise frag off," Derail sighed, resting way too comfortably on the berth in his cell, not even bothering to look at me.

My rage sky rocketed. I punched the cells force shield override code and charged in, yanking Derail up by his chest armor. He yelped when I slammed him hard into the wall.

"How dare you!" I growled, putting my face right in his, seeing the fear in his optics. My grip tightened, making him grimace. "You're an Autobot! How dare you even touch her that way!"

"Bumblebee! Back off him!" Hot Shot shouted for the cell door.

"Leave Hot Shot! I'll take care of this piece of slag!" I snarled, driving Derail into the wall again, attempting to make him a permanent fixture upon it.

"Come on! This isn't like you!" Hot Shot persisted, this time, running in and trying to pry my hands off my captive. "Leave him alone! He's going to be punished for what he did to Kacey!"

"What he did was unforgivable!" I shouted, with swiftness and agility, I transferred one hand to Derail's throat continually pinning him against the wall while my other hand shoved back Hot Shot in the face.

The yellow and red young mech foolishly charged at me, latching onto me, yelling, "I'm not saying it wasn't. I agree with you but you're not the executioner of his punishment!"

"Frag off!" I growled, wresting him around.

"I won't let you do this!" he grunted.

"STAND DOWN! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

We instantly released each other at the sound of Optimus Prime's orders. Suddenly I felt like I was five and small standing before him with my optics cast down at the floor. Optimus always had a way of making me feel that way whenever he caught me doing something I wasn't supposed to.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"Nothing, Sir. Bumblebee and I were just making sure the prisoner was secure," Hot Shot answered, giving me a sideways glance.

"By fighting with each other?"

"We were debating about it, Sir," Hot Shot replied without hesitation.

"Magnus!" Optimus called, not taking his optics off us.

I finally looked up, expecting to be taken to my own cell. Only I was to be disappointed.

"Yes, Optimus?" Magnus questioned, quizzically looking into Derail's cell.

"Post two guards outside Derail's cell and another two on the monitors," Optimus ordered. "No one is to touch him. Prowl will decide upon his punishment."

"Understood, Sir."

"Hot Shot, come forward. You will be part of the first shift to guard the cell," Optimus said. "While it is admirable to stand up for your friends, it is against regulations to lie to a superior officer. Don't let it happen again."

"Yes, Sir," Hot Shot saluted.

"Bumblebee, come with me."

I gave Hot Shot a quick nod as I exited the cell, thanking him and apologizing to him for getting stuck with guard duty. Then I quickly followed my Prime. My own guilt growing in leaps and bounds with every step as I followed Optimus to his office. There he shut the door and locked it.

"Sit down, Bumblebee," he spoke softly. I did so and watched as he sat down with a tired sigh. "I'm sorry to…but I'm a little disappointed in you."

My doorwings drooped, laying flat on my back. I wasn't even unable to make optic contact after such a statement. In all the time I've known Optimus, disappointing him was the last thing I ever wanted to do.

"Yet…a part of me was glad you did it what a mech in my position could not."

Surprised and confused I looked up. Optimus chuckled at me.

"I'm not infallible," he smiled. "Being Prime does not mean I'm able to resisted my urges to beat the slag out of someone. You of all mechs saw that when I killed Starscream. My only excuse is that I'm a mech too. I take things personally especially when it comes to the welfare of my family. And if I'd been out there and saw with my own optics what had happened to my daughter I can assure you no one would have been able to hold me back."

"However, as Prime and your mentor, I do not condone what you did. You are an officer in the Autobot army. I made you on officer because of the control you possess when put under duress. You, unlike Sunny and Sides, have the ability to restrain your wild side and be responsible for your actions. You fully understand the consequences of things you do. Did you understand the consequences of your actions today?"

"I didn't think about them, Sir. I just wanted to hurt him because of what he did to Kacey."

"And in doing so, you will hurt Kacey as well."

I frowned with such sadness at the thought. I honestly didn't think about how she'd feel.

"My daughter is already deeply troubled by this experience. And she is upset that her brothers and friends felt like they had to act on their feelings because of what happened. I know she will be equally upset once she finds out what you did as well."

"I'm sorry, Sir…I…"

Words failed me. I felt horrible, literally sick to my tank. Tears actually filled my optics and rolled down my faceplates. My vision blurred. I loved Kacey. I never wanted her to suffer in anyway. Especially if I could prevent it!

"Bumblebee," he rumbled softly and suddenly I realized he'd gotten up and was now sitting beside me, his hand now rubbing the top of my helm much like he used to do when I was a youngling and upset. "I've always thought of you as…well as like a son when you were a youngling. One I'm so proud of even to this day. You've come so far from that tiny frightened youngling who crawled onto my hand and could only fall into recharge if I was holding him during your first week at the base. You've matured into a fine mech with a good spark, my friend."

"Thank you, Sir," I smiled, sitting up tall. "But I can't take all the credit. I had a good roll model."

"You really think I'm a good roll model?"

"Of course."

"Well, it's nice to hear that," he frowned.

"Sir?"

"Sometimes I feel like it doesn't matter how good a father I am to my younglings. Because there are times like it seems like I can never do enough to keep them from getting hurt or I can't take their pain away."

"You mean with Kacey."

"Yes," he sighed. "She's at an age where she's trying to gain her full independence from Elita and me. It's the hardest thing in the universe when you have to stand aside and let your child attempt to deal with such a horrific experience alone. As her father I must respect her decision. But, as Elita would often point out, it doesn't necessarily mean I stop being her father. You are a good friend to Kacey. I'm asking you to be just that now and see if you can get her to feel better, to stop blaming herself for what happened."

"Of course, Sir. You can always count on me," I smiled.

"Yes, I know you are one of only a few mechs that I can blindly trust with my life and the life of my family."

My spark twisted with guilt within. Would he be so trusting of me if he knew how much I loved his daughter?

"She's outside. Probably on her perch where she loves to look at the landscape," he said, rising to his feet. "Go to her now, my friend."

"Yes, Sir," I replied, my guilt from earlier growing exponentially.

I had always felt some form of guilt for harboring feelings for Optimus' daughter. He was like a father to me when I was a youngling. Then as a young mech on the verge of maturing he became my mentor, teaching me the Autobot ways. He made sure I had the best training by assigning Jazz to be my teacher.

Jazz told me once that I held a special place in Optimus' spark. It made sense looking back now. I was the only youngling to survive the attack on youth sector seven. And I seemed to only feel safest whenever Optimus was around because of how big he was. That and he seemed to know how to calm me down after a bad dream. I recall him humming lullabies to me. The same ones I've heard him hum to Kacey and her siblings.

And now…frag it. Am I betraying his trust in me my loving his daughter? Am I betraying my friendship with Kacey by not confessing to her how I feel about her?

Of course, now would be the worst time ever to reveal all my feelings for her. She was just almost raped for pits sake. I would be as bad a monster as Derail for trying to take advantage of her in her current emotional state.

Frag, I'm such an AFTHEAD!

"Bumblebee?"

I stopped in my tracks, startled to see Kacey a few feet from me. I was so focused on berating myself that I hadn't realized I was already outside. It looked like she was heading back to the base already judging from the way she was facing.

"Oh, hi Kacey. I was just coming out to see if you were ok?" I smiled warmly. "You know, to see if you needed anything."

"Did my father send you to dry my tears?" she growled, narrowing her optics.

"He just wants to make sure you're ok. Are you mad at me?"

"What?! No Bee, I'm not mad at you. I mad at myself for being so weak!"

"Kacey, you are not weak."

"Am I? Tell me, what you would have done if you were assaulted! Would you have lost control? Would you have allowed your friends and family to fight your battles for you?"

"To be honest, yes, I would lose control. I would be glad that my family and friends were there to stand up for me, to protect me when I had a moment of weakness."

"I'm the future Prime! I'm not allowed to have moments of weakness! I'm not allowed to lose control!"

"Kacey, is that why you're so upset?"

All her anger vanished in an instant. Feelings of remorse showed on her faceplates.

"I hurt Prowl. I love that mech and his bondmate. And the last thing I ever wanted was for them to get hurt because of me."

"Kacey, Derail attacked you…"

"Exactly! He attacked me. I don't know if I was doing something to lead him on or what. If I did, I didn't mean to. If I didn't…the problem still remains. He attacked me and in doing so set about a chain of events that caused two very dear friends to get hurt, that caused two more to react violently on their desire to protect me, and even worse, caused my own brothers to react on their emotions to take their revenge for me as well. So you see? Everyone got hurt or did something because of me!"

I chuckled receiving a puzzled look from her.

"You are just like your father, you know that?"

"What?" she questioned, looking even more confused.

"Kacey, you are only thirty-five and already you are ready to bear the responsibility of having the universe on your shoulders. Just like your father. Optimus takes everything personally. He always feels that when something goes wrong, it's his fault, that he could have made a better decision. And you're doing the same thing right now. You are trying to assume blame for something that was completely out of your hands."

"Bee, I…"

"Answer me this," I interrupted. "Did you know that Derail was going to attack you?"

"No. I doubt anyone did. But…"

"No one knew he was going to attack you. No one. If no one knew, how could you have prepared yourself…had some control over what took place? You couldn't. It just happened and there was nothing you could do to prevent it."

"I still lost control…"

"We all did! You were drunk! Nitro and Rox were drunk. We all do things we regret when we're drunk. I know I have. I've gotten out of control. I don't like it. But I accept and try not to put myself in that situation again."

"But what about my brothers? They were in the medical bay when they attacked Derail. They were hung over, not drunk."

"I'm going to be honest with you Kacey and don't get upset. The simplest and truthful answer I can give you is that we're mechs protecting a femme. It's a natural instinct for us. Leo and Orion love you more than anything. You are their big sister. You've always been there for them whenever they needed you. And in their minds, you needed them and they reacted accordingly. Once it settles in, they'll feel bad about it, knowing it upset you. I admit I'm not proud of the fact that I too acted on my feelings."

"You…too?" she questioned, looking on the verge of tears.

"Yes, Kacey. You know I'd do anything to protect you. And like Leo and Orion, I love you and felt that I needed to do something for you. Luckily Hot Shot stopped me and Optimus showed up to show me the error of what I was doing. The love we have for our family or our friends can make us do some amazing things and even some terrifying things. But I take the good with the bad. I know I will do it again. Only next time, I hope I'm there to stop you from getting hurt."

This time she broke down into tears and I didn't hesitate to hold her close. I shuttered my optics as my senses took in how her body trembled, how her intakes hitched. I could even feel she was a little overheated from the emotions she was going through. More importantly, I made mental note of how comfortable she was in my arms and me in hers.

Just another way Primus saw fit to torture me over the years. Kacey matured into a beautiful femme that was like the other piece of a puzzle. We molded perfectly together in each others arms. No awkwardness, no restraint in our hug. Just the familiarity of each other.

"I love you too, Bee," she whispered, her mouth so close to my audio receptor that I could feel the heat expelling from her lips. My spark fluttered, temptation was taking over. I pulled my face back so my optics could take in her lovely face. Slow tears rolled down her gently cheeks. Her softly curved lips were so inviting I knew at any moment I was going to capture them with my own. I leaned closer with the full attention of kissing her. Only I stopped when she spoke again. Such sincerity filled her intensely blue optics as they held my gaze. "You are such a wonderful friend to me, Bumblebee. The best friend a femme could ever want. You've always been there when I needed you. I love you for that. I really do."

Kacey smiled, kissing me on the cheek and my spark deflated within upon hearing that word…friend.

It was a simple word. One not used lightly by my kind. Yet, for me it was a cruel, torturous word. Yes, Kaceystar was my friend. And I was honored to be her friend. Truly honored. However, for her to call me friend, meant that she still didn't see me as anything more than that.

My beautiful friend smiled, bidding me to have a good day and that she needed to get inside to rest. I heard her and somehow managed to even tell her to rest well. It was hard to watch her go. I loved her. Only she didn't have the same kind of love for me.

I gazed up at the morning sun, praying to Primus for the strength to endure these deep emotions just a little while longer. Once again, I transformed and went for a drive. The local radio play a song that just made my spark sink even further.

//…to you…I'm just a friend. That's where it ends. To you. That's who I am. Someone that you can come to. When somebody breaks your heart, to talk to. Someone who always cares. Your heart's with someone else. But who's always there.\\

//Who's always there to catch the tears when they fall? Who do you run to? Who do you always call? Who's there with a shoulder, when you're feeling sad? When will you see me as more than that?\\

//Who's always there to catch the tears?\\

//To me…you're everything, you're all I need. To me…that's who I see, someone I love to run to. To hold in my hands at night, to come to. Someone to share my life. Your heart's with someone else. But who's there standing by. Who's standing by?\\

//Who's always there to catch the tears when they fall? Who do you run to? Who do you always call? Who's there with a shoulder, when you're feeling sad? When will you see me as more than that?\\

//Who's always there to catch the tears?\\

//Oh, I wish you would see me as more than just a friend…\\

---

Up next: We'll go aboard the Axalon and meet Bumblebee's competition for Kacey's spark! Hehe. I told you I wasn't going to make it easy for Bee!

Again, sorry for taking so long to update! Writer's block sucks!