OMG! I've never gotten so many death threats! I've stated repeatedly that this story is part of a trilogy involving Kaceystar so of course I'm not going to kill her. That does give me free reign to do whatever I want to her as she is my creation. However, I have to admit that all the threats made me change what I had planned for this chapter. So, I hope you can all appreciate I pulled this chapter from my aft just to make you all happy!

All kidding aside. I do appreciate each of the reviews and I was glad the previous chapter had the desired effect. I hope this one does too.

Also, I find it amusing when someone mentions a character has been MIA for a bit in the story because I always plan to have that particular character start the next chapter.

So on we go with the chapter. We start with Nitro to get a child's point of view on what's happening on the base. As a treat for those who read Hope's Journey I extended Kacey's birth scene with an Elita flashback. For those who didn't read it and would like to just read that particular chapter or want a refresher, its chapter ten called Hope is Born.

Nitro

Mother told me to watch my little brother. I always obey my mother. Only today was different. I was worried about Kacey. I couldn't stand idle by and wait. Firestar understood. She didn't hesitate to watch my brother for me as long as I kept her posted on Kacey's condition.

So it was with worry and fear that I made my way to the Med Bay. Worry about my best friend. Fear my parents wouldn't understand my desire to be there. The silence on the base did nothing to take away my worry or fear.

Normally, mechs and femmes strolled through the halls going to and fro. Many chatted happily along the way. This morning I didn't see anyone as I exited the living quarter section of the base.

It didn't take me long to find where everyone was at. Those not on duty were standing or sitting in the hallway outside the Med Bay. I did my best to not disturb them as I meandered through them all. Most were praying to Primus. A few gave me a smile. Others pat me on the head, calling be a brave little mech for showing up.

I wasn't as brave as Kacey. Not yet anyway. I still had a lot of growing to do. But she is my friend. Father and mother taught me the value of friendship. I've witnessed it often myself.

There's the twins and Bee; the best of friends who grew up together. The friendship between my mother and Elita is one of the closest I've seen, they're like sisters always talking and laughing with each other on or off the training field. I've seen the strong bonds of friendship between my father, Prowl, Ratchet, and Bumblebee even though my father teases him all the time.

Most importantly, I've seen how our leader, Optimus Prime is friends to all no matter how old or young we are. He often drops by the classroom to check on the younglings and sometimes tells us stories. And he always listens to what we have to say when he visits us.

I can only imagine how his spark must be aching at the moment. I know how deeply he loves Kacey. She's my best friend and I love her too. As her friend, I will honor her by being there to hear what news is delivered whether it be good or bad.

Outside the Med Bay door, Hound stares thoughtfully down at me. He nods slowly and indicates I can go in. I take a deep breath then march in not knowing what I'm going to face.

I see Bumblebee sitting quietly in the far corner with Sam, Mikaela, and their families. Kacey told me the US Government is still working on relocating the family. Apparently, Sam's father insists that they be given their real names back since Megatron can find them anyway. So it's caused a delay in getting the families situated. Kacey said that Sam's dad drives a hard bargain.

Prowl stood leaning against an exam table. He looked really worried. I don't think I've ever seen him so worried before. But then I'm not allowed in the command center. I do know Kacey considers him one of her surrogate uncles. She wouldn't have said such a thing if he didn't have feelings for her or her for him.

Outside the surgery room was Wheeljack. He was just standing there, tears rolling down his faceplates. I was confused why he wasn't in with Ratchet.

Perhaps things are worse than I heard.

"Nitro, what are you doing here?" mother asked quietly, moving across the room towards me.

"I had to come," I told her in earnest. "Kacey's my best friend. I wanted to be here for her. Just like you and father are always there for Optimus or Elita."

Mother sighed. She didn't argue with me. Instead, she took me into her arms, holding me close.

"Ratchet's still operating on her," she whispered. "It's going to be a long wait."

"I'll wait as long as I have to, mother."

She smiled, kissing me on the forehead.

"You're a good little mech. Come on, you can sit with me. Your father is needed with Optimus right now."

Together my mother and I sat on one of the med bay beds, her arms wrapped around me, rocking me gently. We said nothing. No one in the room talked. Each bot seemed lost in their own thoughts. Me included.

In fact, one memory recall of Kacey made me giggle. Everyone's optics locked on me in dismay.

"I remembered one of Kacey's pranks she played on Ratchet," I quickly explained. "It was right here, by this bed. It was the best prank ever and I was glad to play along with it."

I smiled thinking about it.

"Tell us," mother told me.

The others came over. Even the humans that were comforting Bumblebee.

"First of all, Kacey is crazy. Where she gets these ideas is beyond me. But they're so much fun. We were supposed to be outside with the other younglings but Kacey didn't feel like playing with them that day. She was going to go read or study. I told her she was being a geek. Of course that didn't go well. She tackled me and pinned me to the ground until I took it back."

"Anyway, she changed her mind about what she was going to do. She grabbed my arm and dragged me to Wheeljack's lab. You weren't there at the time, Wheeljack. Kacey always made sure you weren't around when she was doing something for a prank. She never wanted you to get in trouble with Optimus."

"I'm going to have to thank her for that…I think," he chuckled.

"What did she do?" Bumblebee asked.

"Kacey made a replica of her right arm. It looked perfect. The prank was for me to carry the fake arm and we'd walk calmly into the med bay. There we'd ask Ratchet to help Kacey. Meanwhile, Kacey was able to alter the transformation of her arm so it appeared like she didn't have one. We even smeared this mixture she made that looked like energon."

I paused laughing so hard at the memory.

"The stuff smelled bad. Really bad. But that didn't stop Kacey from smearing as much of it on as possible. She'd do anything for a prank. So we get to the med bay, cloaked of course, so no one sees us. Oh, yeah…Kacey figured out how to extend her cloak field to fit one person in it."

"Lucky you," Prowl scoffed, rolling his optics.

"So we uncloak as soon as the coast is clear. Ratchet has his back turned to us. Kacey walks up behind him and calmly says, 'I have a slight problem, Ratchet. I thought you fixed my arm. It just fell off.' Primus, the horrified look on Ratchet's face when he turned around to see me holding her arm and her standing there without a limb. It took everything I had to not smile. And Kacey, she could pull it off with such ease. She looked totally serious."

"So Ratchet takes the arm, trying not to panic then wham! The arm starts wiggling then the hand grabbed hold of him. He shrieked like a femme! Primus that was so funny! I couldn't help it. I laughed my aft off! Kacey started laughing too. Once Ratchet realized it was a joke he grabbed the arm and took a swing at Kacey with it."

"Of course she ducked. He missed so badly that he lost his balance, slipped on the smelly stuff that had dripped on the floor, and then fell on his aft. I never knew faceplates can turn that deep shade of red! Kacey shouted for me to run. I had never run so fast in my entire life! My sides ached so much from laughing that day."

They all laughed. My spark seemed to lift out of the gloom just to hear them laugh. Kacey told me once that we honor those who've passed by remembering how they lived, not how they died. Even though she's not dead, and I sincerely hope she doesn't cease to function, I think it still fitting to remember how she lived.

"Do any of you have a story about Kacey?" I eagerly asked.

Wheeljack

"I have one," I answered. "We were both working on getting the right mix of explosive for those exploding snowballs of hers. It was the day after my maintenance checkup with Ratchet. I had to lay there and listen to him complain for an hour about Kacey's pranks. He listed each one of them to me."

"It got me thinking. I'm normally not one for doing such things but I had an idea and couldn't resist. I knew Kacey wouldn't suspect me in any way. Of course, I told no one. I didn't want to get in trouble with Optimus. And I didn't want Ratchet coming around and ruining because he was dying to get back at her."

"This was a week after we blew up the lab, mind you. So we were both being extra careful. On this day she was working on the activation device. I had already planted the prank snowball on the table before she showed up. She gets there and we're ready for the test."

"It's supposed to be a dud snowball. We didn't want to blow up the lab again. Right away, Kacey notices the weight is different. So she asks me if I grabbed a dud or a live snowball. Of course, I told her that I thought she grabbed it. We debate about it, going over what each one did the day before. At that point she doesn't remember if she did or didn't. As planned, the snowball's activation light suddenly came on!"

"Kacey shouts, 'OH FRAG! TAKE COVER!' She drops the snowball on the table and we both dive over the protective shield we made for such instances. Nothing happens. She blinks at me a few times in confusion. I told her that maybe it was a dud. She agrees. But neither of us moves from our position."

"She tells me to go check it out. I tell her to go check it out. We debate back and forth until I finally point out that she's the only one who knows how to deactivate it since it was her design. I knew she'd be brave enough to go for it. And she did."

"At this point I'm about to burst with laughter and somehow manage to contain it. She turns to me with the device in her hand. 'I think it is a dud,' she said then pushed the button to deactivate it."

"SPLAT! It exploded. Kacey had pink goo all over her face, over her optics, in her mouth. It was dipping of her nose. I fell over laughing. Now you all know…"

"Kacey can't stand the color pink," Prowl laughed.

"Yeah! She grabbed a blow torch and chased me around the lab," I laughed. "But after a few minutes she was laughing with me. She gave me credit for doing a good gag on her. I promised her I'd never do one again if she didn't retaliate. To this day she has never once played a gag on me."

Bumblebee

"Come on, Bee," Sam smiled. "I know you've got to have a good story about Kacey. You've told me a few already. Tell us about a racing one!"

"Racing?" Prowl asked with an optic ridge raised.

"Prowl, stand down for once," Chromia chided him. "Go on, Bumblebee. Tells us one of your favorites."

They were all my favorites. But I couldn't tell them that. I couldn't tell anyone how much I loved her. However, I could tell them about her style and grace when she raced. Every mech and femme knew how Kaceystar could handle the road with the best of them. But I don't think they knew just how well.

"Ok, Prowl, you have to promise not to throw me, Sunny or Sides in the brig for this one. And you can't tell Optimus or Elita. I'd be disassemble by both for what I'm about to tell you."

Chromia gave Prowl a long hard look. One that usually preceded her plasma rifle being aimed at a mech's face or more sensitive areas.

"I promise," he sighed in defeat.

"This was last summer. We headed to our usual spot to do our racing…"

"And this usual spot would be where?" Prowl interrupted.

"I'm not gonna tell," I smirked back at him. "Anyway, as usual Kacey kept a look out for a while. Then the little speed demon couldn't help herself and just joined in. You thought she was fast at 11 years old, you should see her now."

"Focus Bee," Chromia told me.

"Right, we were cruising pretty fast. Kacey was in the lead. Don't worry, I tell her not to get too far ahead of us. She never strays too far from us. So we're cruising when out of nowhere this Highway Patrol car slides onto the road ahead of me and right on Kacey's aft! I mean he was right on it, sirens blaring, speaker as loud as can be telling her to pull over."

"Of course, Kacey was not going to comply. I warned her to not pull away as that would be my first instinct too."

"Gee, I wonder why," Prowl commented giving me that look like my aft was in trouble.

"Prowl, put a socket in it and let Bee finish."

"Thanks Chromia," I smiled. "The patrol car tapped Kacey's rear bumper a few times to get her to pull over. Primus almighty she was fragging pissed off! So she started toying with him. She's speed up faster, he'd follow. She slow down abruptly, he'd slam on the breaks. Finally, Kacey had enough. Sunny, Sides and I were really starting to get worried. We didn't want anything to happen to her."

"Kacey pulls away. Not too far. She's says hang back and she'll take care of the patrol car without harming the human inside. She was laughing too. More like giggling out of control. I was about to ask her what was so funny when her vehicle form suddenly lifted into the air. Primus, it was a thing of beauty and grace! She did a complete three hundred and sixty back flip in her vehicle form and landed perfectly on all four tires right behind the patrol car."

"Then she tapped his bumper a few times. That guy blasted out of there as we slowed down. The four of us about died laughing. The entire way home Sunny was begging Kacey to teach him how to do that trick. It was pathetic! He actually got on his knees at one point. Sides kicked him in the aft saying he looked ridiculous."

I paused recalling how she shrugged her shoulders at me when I asked how she did it. She didn't think about what she did, she just did it.

"What Kacey does out there on the road…you can't teach," I seriously said. "She does it naturally."

Prowl

I sighed. It was true. Kacey was a natural at many things. It was in her genetic coding to be a leader, to be compassionate, intelligent, passionate, and a hard as nails femme. And yes, she had beauty, style and grace, the most deadly combination for a femme.

"What about you Prowl?" Bumblebee questioned.

"I don't have any stories as exciting as yours or as funny as Wheeljack's or Nitro," I smiled. "I will say this…I've never met a femme or mech more dedicated or proud of being an Autobot. Kacey was right. She was born to be one."

"You have to have some story," Nitro whined.

"Yeah, spill it Prowl," Chromia insisted. "What do you and Kacey do for hours at a time in your office? I know it's not always conference calls with the Pentagon."

"You'll think it's kind of boring," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Just tell us," she persisted.

"We play strategy games to keep our processors sharp and focused. Kacey found an Earth game called Chess. We play for hours. Kacey has never beaten me yet. Well, one time I felt bad and let her win. Primus, she got pissed off at me. She let me have it"

"She give you the femme speech too," Wheeljack muttered.

"No," I answered honestly. "She pointed out that if she was to be Prime one day that nothing was going to be easy for her. She would have to earn everyone's respect. She would have to learn her way. Kacey understands her position and is willing to do what she must now so that later she is prepared. That was one of my proudest moments with her."

I laughed to myself receiving baffled looks.

"Another one was the first time she beat me at Poker," I told them.

"You play Poker with her?!" Sam asked in disbelief.

"What's Poker?" Bumblebee questioned.

"It's a gambling game, one kids shouldn't be playing," Sam answered.

"It is a game of chance," I corrected. "You play the odds. More importantly you play the player across from you. It's more a mind game really. Am I bluffing or not? Kacey has gotten very good at bluffing and can beat me on a regular basis now. She even beat Ironhide at it and he's quite good at bluffing too."

"Whoa, Ironhide's gambling?" Chromia glared at me.

"We play for fun," I chuckled. "No gambling involved. Besides we'd all be working the graveyard shifts since no one can beat Optimus, even with Leo on his lap as a distraction. Kacey's made it her personal goal to beat her father at least once at a game of Poker. But please, don't tell Elita. She doesn't know about it and we only get together once every other week to play."

"Prowl, I'm surprised at you," she smirked. "But I won't tell Elita. As long as you leave Bumblebee, Sunny and Sides alone."

"Ok, you got a deal," I laughed.

An awkward silence filled the room. I frowned, glancing back at the door to the sterile room where Ratchet was operating on Kacey. My thoughts of worry returned to me.

"We all love her too," Chromia smiled to me, giving me a hug.

Suddenly the very door I'd been staring at opened. Ratchet came out in a rush. He didn't even glance our way and head straight for the private room where Optimus and Elita were.

I honestly couldn't read his face. For everyone's sake on the base, mine included, I hope he had good news for Optimus and Elita.

Elita

Primus she had a grip on my finger. Her little arms and legs twitched with life now then her form suddenly grew still. I gasped as her optic covers opened for the first time to reveal the bluest optics I had ever seen. The looked up at me with such intensity that a chill went up my spine. It was a look I'd seen in my Optimus' brilliant orbs many, many times.

I suddenly giggled from an overload of pure joy.

Optimus' little Kaceystar was alive!

I couldn't believe it!

I nearly thought I lost our daughter there a moment ago. How could I have ever doubted such a thing? She's Optimus' daughter. Her spark has his strength. I've felt that from the moment of her tiny sparks formation, throughout the entire pregnancy and can still feel it now.

"You can pick her up," Trion smiled at me.

"I'm just a little overwhelmed…sorry," I replied, taking in a couple of deep breaths.

"It's quite alright. Here's a blanket. And I'll be back with a bottle for her."

"Feed her already? Really?"

"Yes, it takes a bit of energy for their little sparks to give their protoform life. She will eat then sleep for a full day at least."

Kaceystar did not cry as I had expected. She laid there, her tiny blue orbs locked intently on me as I wrapped her in the blanket. My arms trembled slightly as I lifted my daughter up for the first time. I cradled her as closely as I could without harming her, feeling the warmth of her form.

Once again I was over come and my tears fell. Once again I missed Optimus desperately. It felt wrong to not have him here for the birth of his daughter he so aptly named.

"You're father would be so proud right now," I whispered to her. "He would love you as deeply as I do. I just know it my little Kaceystar. That's right, that's your name. Kaceystar. It was Optimus who named you. And your father was right. You are a beautiful light in my life right now. And I know you will be a beautiful light in his."

My little sparkling smiled in response and my spark fluttered within its chamber. She was the most beautiful sparkling ever to me. I vowed that I would do whatever I must to protect something so precious. I would give my own life if it meant saving hers.

Optimus said nothing when I broke down and started sobbing. He simply held me close, caressing my back, kissing the top of my head.

"I was thinking of the day she was born," I finally said, looking up at him. "She didn't cry. Her first emotional response was a smile. Trion said she was the calmest sparkling he'd ever seen born as she drank her first bottle."

"I watched her recharge the entire day. I just couldn't take my optics off our little sparkling. I didn't want to miss her waking up. I was so glad I did."

I laughed softly, caressing his face.

"How I wish you could have been there to see her wake up for the first time. She had the biggest grin and her entire face just lit up when she looked up at me. Her little arms and legs moved about so excitedly. She recognized I was her mother. Primus, I could feel how much love she already had for me."

"Because you loved her so much already," he whispered to me. "You risked everything to keep our daughter safe because of how much you loved her…how much you loved me."

I smiled at him, leaning into his chest, feeling his warmth and love for me.

"She was such a vocal little sparkling," I laughed softly. "Chirping, warbling, beeping, or whistling for hours at a time. I'd lay there listening to her until she finally fell into recharge. Then I'd wake up in the morning to hear she was already awake and making her sparkling noises again."

I broke down again.

"Optimus, I can't lose my sparkling," I managed to say between my sobs.

"Neither can I, my love," he wept, pressing his forehead against mine, holding me close. "Neither can I."

I turned my head, leaning into him, wanting to be as close to him as possible for whatever comfort he could provide for me. I noticed Ironhide, who'd been faithfully at our side the entire time, slowly making his way to the door.

He was such a good friend to Optimus. Hide had the good sense to know when we needed our private time even though he infuriated me from time to time by butting in on some of my most intimate moments with Optimus. I thought shooting him a once might make his stop. It never did.

The door suddenly opened causing Ironhide to jump back slightly in surprise. My spark clenched in fear.

Ratchet came in.

I trembled, clinging to Optimus. I was afraid. I know I couldn't handle any bad news about my daughter. Not after what I felt in my spark earlier. I could literally feel my daughter's presence fading within me. I didn't want to feel her die so I blocked my spark from hers but continually sent her my love. I'm not as strong as Optimus believes me to be. I cannot bear to lose those I love.

"How's my daughter?" Optimus asked, his arms tightening around me a bit too hard.

Ratchet came over, tears rolling down his face plates as he rested a hand on Optimus' shoulder. I felt my love's body tense up. My own did the same. My tears came flooding from my optics.

"You both have one tough little femme," he smiled, sighing in relief. "She's going to be fine. She gave me a scare there. I nearly lost her a couple of times. But her energy levels are stable. The crack has been repair. I don't see any foreseeable problems with her chamber in the future as she continues to grow. I will monitor it of course and…"

"Can we see her?" I pleaded, interrupting him.

"Of course."

"If you two don't mind, I'll tell the others," Ironhide anxiously requested.

"Please do," Optimus smiled, his body finally relaxing.

I could feel the pure relief from his spark. I shared it.

As we headed for the sterile room I heard the others' relief and excitement upon hearing the news of my daughter. I'm sure the entire base will be relieved. Ironhide told me how they were outside the Med Bay praying, waiting for any news about Kacey.

"I still have some repairs to make," Ratchet explained as we neared the table where my daughter lay. She was covered up with a thermal blanket, lying on her stomach, her head turned to one side. "Her back has multiple fractures, all easy to repair. No permanent damage was done. I'm just waiting for her energy levels to get up a little higher before proceeding with the operation. After that she'll need about a week or so of nothing but rest, under my supervision of course. To make sure everything's ok I'm insisting she stay in the Med Bay."

"Whatever you think is best for Kacey," I smiled at him.

"Why is she still in her alt form? She usually transforms into her protoform when injured," Optimus noticed, his hand resting on Kacey's head.

"It's like with all of us when our spark chamber is damaged. Our transformation systems go offline. You see, Kacey was in the middle of a transformation sequence when she crashed to the ground. Part of her own armor pierced through her protoform and hit her spark chamber. It's really a one and million chance of something like that occurring."

"Thank you Ratchet, you're a miracle worker," Optimus smiled warmly.

"I can't take all the credit this time. Kacey's a fighter. That spark of hers is one of the strongest I've ever come across. Her spark struggled to sustain its energy long enough for me to get enough power into her main systems and prevented her from going into terminal stasis."

"It just terrified us…when…."

I couldn't say the words. My vocal processor suddenly stopped working.

"I know exactly what you mean," Ratchet spoke softly to me, resting his hand on my shoulder. "I did my best so that neither of you would feel what that was like…to lose a precious life so close to you."

"Ratchet, I…"

"Optimus, you don't have to say anything. And you still don't get it do you, lugnut. It doesn't matter how close of friends we are or that you're my commander and leader. A part of me will never forget the little youngling who'd cry himself into recharge in my arms. I'm always there for you Optimus…no matter what you need of me. And that includes any of those four sparklings and your bonded sparkmate. All are as precious to me as my own."

"So you're not such a cranky mech after all," I smirked at him.

"No, but don't tell anyone else. I have a reputation to uphold. Oh…one sec…Red wants to know if one of you would be present when taking your sparklings out of stasis. It is important for them to come out of it and feel the bond of their parent beside them."

"I'll go."

"Optimus, I'll go."

"No, Elita. You stay with Kacey for now," he smiled at me, caressing my face. "Just…be with her. I know it's what you want right now."

I sighed. Yes. It was what I needed right now. I desperately needed to be near by little Kacey. How my arms ached to hold her as I did the day she was born.

I nodded. After a reassuring hug, Optimus followed Ratchet leaving me alone with my daughter. For the longest time I just stood there, caressing her relaxed faceplates. I had often watched her recharge when she was a little sparkling. At times I couldn't believe she was real and that Optimus and I had created such a beautiful sparkling.

"My beautiful Kacey," I whispered. "You are so much like your father. Honorable, brave. Never caring of yourself. Always putting everyone else's needs before your own. Never hesitating to stand up for a friend. Never hesitating to put your life at risk in order to save one that you care so much about."

"I wonder do you even know how you affect everyone on the base? They all love you. I see how you interact with them. You have such charisma, my daughter. And thank Primus you got it from your father. I certainly don't have what he has. Yet, it's nice to see you got your femmes are not wimps attitude from me. So at least I've done one thing right in raising you."

"I'm so very proud of you Kacey," I spoke, kissing her cheek.

"Elita, they want to see her."

I turned to see Optimus with all three of our sparklings in his arms. Orion and Ariel looked concerned as they saw Kacey. Leo was in tears as before. I could feel him calling for me to hold him within my spark. I didn't hesitate to take his trembling form into my arms.

"Did Ratchet fix Kacey?" Orion quietly asked.

"Yes, he did," Optimus answered, moving closer to Kacey. "She's still hurt. But will be better soon. Remember to send her your love so she knows you're here."

"Will it help her get better, daddy?" Ariel asked.

"Of course, my angel," he smiled, rubbing his nose against hers.

"What about you Leo?" I questioned him.

He looked back at me with sorrowful optics. Tears streaming down his tiny face plates.

"I sorry," he suddenly wailed.

His cries were spark wrenching. Leo was a very intelligent little sparkling. He understood more than we gave him credit for. He just wasn't able to vocalize everything in a way we could understand yet.

But as I held him close I knew he was blaming himself. I could feel he truly was sorry for Kacey getting hurt. Only a sparkling and he was just like his father.

"It wasn't your fault, my baby. Kacey needs you to be strong Leo," I gently told him, wiping his tears away. "Can you be strong for her?"

He nodded as he shuddered and hiccupped.

"It's ok Leo," Ariel smiled, reaching over and patting him on the back. "Kacey loves you."

"She loves all of you," I told them. "She will always love you, no matter what. Can you remember that my sparklings?"

"Yes, mommy," Orion answered.

I leaned over, kissing him and Ariel. Orion was always the vocal one between the two. And as much as he liked to torture Leo by taking his toys away, he was the first to protect his little brother and twin sister whenever they needed it. Which was usually from Kacey chasing them around making them all shriek and giggle loudly.

I sighed thinking how quiet it was going to be in our quarters as Kacey remained in the Med Bay during her recovery. I already knew Optimus wasn't going to be spending much time there. He would very rarely leave Kacey's side whenever she was in the Med Bay.

He has never forgiven himself for leaving Kacey to do his duty when she was in the Med Bay and needed him after a nightmare. I've never tried to convince him differently. I love him for who he is and have no desire to change the mech he has become.

All those years ago…I never would have guessed he'd be the wonderful father he is today. I never would have guessed that together we'd create four beautiful sparklings. I never imagined myself a parent when I was a young femme. Not even after I fell in love with Optimus. What a dumb aft I was for thinking that way. My only excuse was that I was young and naïve.

I look down at Kacey. I see a bright future for her. She will not make the same mistakes I made. She is already a much smarter femme than I was. She merely lacks experience. And I thank Primus I'm going to get the chance to be witness to those experiences.

Up next: Kacey wakes up after her surgery.