CHAPTER 49
Philosiphy and Painful Words

When Prowl got, as the humans would call it "buzzed", one of two things typically happened. The first of which was that he would actually become inherently even more authoritative. And the second? Well, to say the least, Sideswipe was learning quite quickly why most mech's warned not to give Prowl mroe than one high grade. He wasn't sure how long Prowl had been working the femme behind the counter quite yet, but he was certain of one thing that disturbed him: it was working.

To say the least, the fact that when Prowl got really drunk he acted like a youngling was hysterical. Between the terrible jokes, the teasing, and the hitting on anything attractive, he could hardly contain himself. "If I had known you would get this way, I would have videotaped the whole thing." Prowl turned to him with a frown "Give your son blackmail on you for life." He added.

"You're a punk, y'know that?" Prowl questioned, slamming a cube of high grade back onto the counter "The last thing that my youngling needs is blackmail against me too." They both laughed heartily "Besides, what happens at the bar, stays at the bar, we agreed on that, remember?" He questioned "If Prime knew I was overloaded right now he'd scold me." He added.

"If your everyday self knew you were, you'd scold you." Sideswipe snorted.

Prowl gently shoved the mech, his optics becoming cross as he stood to his feet. Clearly, he had had enough, and even drunk, Prowl could acknowledge that. "C'mon, this has been fun, but we have a duty to uphold." Prowl chuckled "Primus almighty, Arcee will tan your aft when you walk in here drunk after this news." He noted.

"Eh, she's mad at me ten times a day." Sideswipe chuckled "What else is new?"

As the two stepped out into the New Chicago streets, Prowl sighed evenly. He was thankful for the night of unloading, but he was also thankful it had not been when Jeff was there. Inside, the rational and logical half of him scolded himself and reminded himself not to get in this habit, though he never did. "Primus, I have made a fool of myself tonight." Prowl muttered to himself "How did I ever let you talk me into this again?"

Sideswipe smirked, feeling a bit of pride at that. This no doubt gave him bragging rights no matter what method he had used. Shrugging his shoulders, and placing an arm around Prowl's shoulders, he grinned. "Prowl, you needed this, we needed this." He added "If I could convince Ratchet he needed it, he would be out here too." He then added "We all love Jeff, but having him with us has brought it's own stresses." He added.

Prowl nodded in agreement, it was not the easiest thing in the world, without a doubt. Unlike other bases equipped for younglings to be on-base, they really had to be careful with some things in their day-to-day life. They weren't equipped for a child to be living there, but they definitely would be soon, especially with Arcee's sparkling on the way as well. "It remids me of when Bumblebee first came to the Iacon base." Prowl admitted "Except at least Jeff is a little older." He noted.

"You're telling me, if you though Bee got crazy, imagine a five year old HUMAN child on base."

Both of them had a feeling that would have been a nightmare of epic proportions. Prowl sighed, his optics staring up at the stars as he thought off Iacon. It was odd, but he didn't miss Cybertron as much as he had used to, not now that he had Jeff. He knew the reason too, had he still been on his home planet who knew what would have become of Jeff. He may have led a more normal life, with both of his parents...

Or, it could have been even worse. War or not. After all, his father had still died, and his mother, though she no doubt loved him would likely have given him up as is. "Somtimes, I must wonder with all that has happened in the last few months..." Prowl was silent a moment, then resumed "Why were we brought here? What is our purpose here?" He shook his head.

"You get philosophical when you're overloaded too, eh?"

Prowl rolled his optics, though he knew that was probably true. It was also true that he often did ask this same question of himself. Yet, he also knew that continuing to let his thoughts linger on such dark subjects did nothing but sink his spark into depression. "Sideswipe... I never thought I'd ask this." Prowl spoke up "But you need to walk me to the base." He noted.

"Why?"

The answer was a purge of Prowl's tanks that imediately disgusted Sideswipe. Though the younger mech couldn't help but break into a torrent of giggles, to which the second-in-command simply glared at him. "Yep, philisophical and goofy drunk." Sideswipe laughed "Ooohh I so own you now." He noted.

"If you recorded any part of this night I will put you in the brig for the next five centuries."

As Sideswipe helped Prowl's arm around his shoulders, and chuckled nervously, he inwardly told himself to delete the footage once he was home.

...

Jeff really felt out of place the next morning. Though he knew that it was okay to be different, being the only non-military brat on base did have it's awkward moments. He quickly learned that Diego Garcia, as a military base, was no place for Autobots that intended to have children, it was too dangerous. And as such, none of the Autobots there really had a strong relationship with the kids.

That being said, they all seemed to welcome him with open arms. Jeff had to inwardly wonder if it may have partly been because Smokescreen was with him, or that his foster parent was their second-in-command. Most of Prowl's position was kind to him, as they knew him from his last visit. But a few other divisions seemed to give him a sideways glance as Smokescreen introduced him as his nephew. Jeff had an honest feeling that some Autobots saw themselves as above humans, but wrote it off, as humans had prejudice towards the Cybertronians as well.

It wasn't until Jeff was alone that he heard the words that stung through his heart like a sword. "I mean, I like the humans just as much as the next guy. They're great friends." A younger Autobot who passed unknowingly by his position spoke "But I don't get the 'Bots that adopt them. It's just weird, and ugh..." He scoffed "Can you believe that Prowl is adopting that one little brat, Jeff?" He noted.

"He must be desparate or something." Another mech chuckled "I mean, come on, him? On the main base? He's a disgrace to Prime and to Prowl!" He then added "Liable to end up in jail by the end of his life cycle too." He added "What with that big mouth of his." He then added "At least go for one that isn't broken already."

When their voices drowned out, Jeff chewed his lip lightly. Perhaps that was what the sideways looks were about. He didn't deny he could still be a smart-ass, he couldn't deny that. But he also didn't want to be looked down upon it, especially not when he was working on it. It gave him something to question too, was Prowl desparate? For a kid? For more family? It had always seemed weird to him at the start that Prowl would want anything to do with him after all.

He turned his head as Smokescreen made his way back to him. The mech had gone to get something from his office, but Jeff almost wished he hadn't now. Something told him if the mech had heard him being talked about that way he would have ripped the mech's a new one. "What's wrong?" Smokescreen noticed right away "You were smiling when I left you." He noted.

Jeff knew he couldn't tell him now, not without proof. He was just a kid, and had done stuff for attention before. It was likely Smokescreen would simply write it off and believe the others, who would no doubt lie. Slowly, he forced a smile upon his face, and looked up at the mech. "Nothing, I was just thinking." Jeff replied "Do you know how to play volleyball? I hear it's fun."

Smokescreen could tell there was something more going on. But he also knew that Jeff was typically a stubborn boy and wouldn't tell him what it was about even if he did poke and prod. He could see the pain in Jeff's eyes though as well, something he rarely saw out of the young man before. It worried him, and without a doubt it would have worried Prowl even more should he have been there. "Yeah, I know a little bit about it." Smokescreen finally replied "We can go in a minute but..." He then questioned "Are you sure you're okay?"

Jeff almost shook his head, but heald it back. He would not start drama with his uncles, not when they were already on such good terms. He forced the smile on his face again, and nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm fine, let's just go play, okay? I want to head to the beach." He then added "You know, before dinner." He added.

As Jeff jogged off before Smokescreen could insist again, his worry did not go away for one second. Quietly, he made a note to himself to inform Prowl about his behavior that night as he quickly jogged off after him.

...

A/N: I figured it would be logical that not ALL of the Autobots would agree with the adoption of Jeff or other orphans. So I felt that last bit was needed. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Reviews make my day!