I am enjoying the reviews on this story. They are certainly interesting. If I can I may keep this as a running day to day story with just a few skips in time to let the sparklings be born. I haven't decided for definite, but I do want them to resolve their differences and become one as a race again.

Please, please, please take a moment to review. I do respond personally to all of my reviews and I love them and I even check my completed stories so take the time to press the little button at the bottom of each chapter. Enjoy!

"Prime do you have a minute?" Knock out asked looking around to see that no one else overheard or saw him.

Optimus turned as he took in the hesitant features flitting across the mech's face plates.

"I have a situation that is quite sensitive and I was wondering if I could talk to you about it." Knockout said still looking around. He didn't want to be caught by any of the other cons talking to Optimus like this.

Optimus picked up on the mech's nervousness and immediately looked too. "Knockout, walk with me. We will use Allie's office to talk." Optimus turned and proceeded to climb the stairs toward the upper level to Allie's office. They climbed the stairs and walked to Allie's office in silence Optimus held the door for Knockout and then closed it before going over to the lookout window and pinging the shade so that no one could see in.

"Knockout, what is on your processor?" Prime asked.

"I have a situation and I don't know how to handle it." Knockout looked at Prime expecting him to sneer or say he didn't have time. It was what Knockout was used to but instead Optimus Prime looked like he was genuinely listening and ready to respond. It was so different from what Knockout was used to.

"I have been seeing a femme, but now she is resisting and I don't want to hurt her but I don't understand why when we are so good together." He told Prime everything and how he had pushed for just a kiss but then he had gone back to apologize and she still would have nothing to do with him. Prime listened carefully to the mech. He wished that Allie was here because he did not know enough about this Saraphina except that she had a reputation of killing any mech that tried to get close but Prime had a feeling that it wasn't necessarily her fault.

"Knockout, do you mind if I ask Allie to join us?" Optimus asked suddenly. She is Saraphina's friend and maybe she could shed some light on your problem.

Knockout thought about it for a moment. "She won't say anything to Sara?"

"No, Allie will honor you with her discretion, besides she is my mate and I can't hide my thoughts and feeling from her." Optimus replied.

"Then I guess it would be alright." He answered. A moment later Allie walked in.

"Optimus, what is… it?" Allie realized why she had been summoned as her eyes landed on Knockout. "Is everything alright?" She asked suddenly concerned.

"Knockout was talking to me about a concern of his." Optimus sent the mental file to her and Allie nodded in understanding.

"Knockout, Saraphina is a very difficult femme. She is also one of the few that I can't easily read. I do know that she keeps her cards close to her spark so to speak but that has to do with her job. Knockout I don't recommend pursuing this unless you are absolutely sure that she is the one."

Knockout thought about the information that Allie had supplied though it wasn't much. He looked down at his hands and wondered if this was worth it, but then he also remembered that every night when he went to his berth she was on his CPU and when he rebooted from recharge she was the first thing he thought of.

"Allie I want to pursue this. I can feel it in my spark." Knockout told her and she felt it from her spark that he was being sincere.

"You do realize that Sara and I are close friends." Allie stated but wanted to make sure that Knockout knew as well.

"She has told me about some of your activities together, yes."

"Good. I don't want you to think that I will run to her or influence her. I do believe that our sparks interact with each other before we ever spark bond. It is a way that we can determine whether we are meant to be together. I feel that Sara is running but what you need to understand is that she had good reasons. Her job is very complicated to the point that if she makes a wrong move it could cost her life. Even now she has spent too much time here on base which compromises her position in the field." Allie looked pointedly at Knockout. "The only way for either of you to have a chance is for her to give up her work and I right now, honestly, I need here in the position she's in. Her Intel is direct and has never been wrong." Allie expelled a forced sigh as she got up and walked over to Knockout and leaned against the desk. "Knockout if you were to bond with her I am afraid you may not like how she receives her Intel."

Knockout thought about what Allie was implying as realization dawned on him. He stood up and back away as air rapidly expelled from his vents to control the heat of anger flowing through him. "She's not… she couldn't… I mean why?"

"The peace treaty we have with the Jung ho is very tentative at best. There are war lords who would be very willing to break it because it would mean an attempt at acquiring more territory. I need her in the position that she is in, but if you are serious and can overlook her methods she would be a wonderful partner for you and you would have my blessing because I feel that you are one of the few people in her life that could make her truly happy." Allie sent a soothing waves of comfort for the distraught mech through her telepathy. It seemed to work as he calmed down but she could tell he had one more question.

"Do you approve of her methods?"

Allie thought about his question carefully. "Knockout, she is not bonded and it is her decision. I know that I couldn't do it but whoever she has her hold on I do know that he is high ranking and to try to form a spark bond could get her killed." Allie left it at that.

"But if she can interface with someone she hates why she can't with me." He whispered.

"Because she may be fighting her own feelings. Has any of the bonded cons said anything to you about the differences bonding is with us in these bodies?" Allie asked him gently.

"I know that Thundercracker bonded to Aura before she even realized it but he hasn't told anyone details." Knockout said. Allie felt Optimus' interest pick up with the topic they were discussing.

"I bring it up because in these bodies we do not have the extra protection for our spark casings like you do in your form. I don't know if you noticed but when we did the rescue mission our armor covers key vital parts very well and this includes our chests. In fact, our chest are so heavily armored that when in full armor our enemies can't even tell our gender."

"What does this have to do with your sparks?" Knockout asked.

"I'm telling you this because when we care deeply, our sparks react and we don't have the extra protection that you have. You have to unlock your chest plates we have nothing to protect our sparks." Allie looked at Optimus remembering the first time they had merged when she was in this body. The shock still unsettled her at times but she would never deny her mate after learning that they had been bonded for millions of years. "Knockout if she is trying to keep a distance it could be that she is afraid that her spark could get involved. Sara has been around to see a lot of things and I suspect that includes quite a few years on Cybertron." Allis stopped for a moment. "You need to talk to her like I am talking to you. You can use me as an escape goat if you want because I can take her anger and I know she will get over it."

"She will be mad at what you implied…about her job I mean." He said slowly.

"Yes and she will be upset, but she may be relieved that you understand."

"But I don't, not really. How can I condone her going to another mech's berth when I want her in mine?" Knockout stood up and paced back and forth. Allie felt sorry for the situation but her hands were tied.

"Knockout, I didn't directly say how she was receiving her Intel but you need to understand her position and that she has to do what it takes to stay alive and still be able to do her job. She is a dark beauty in the Realm where blondes are common. I'm sorry but I have to speak the truth if you are truly serious about her. You can't stay angry for someone wanting to survive." Allie told him with conviction. "You would do the same if it meant your job or your life."

Knockout looked at Allie then at Prime. He had asked for advice and as much as he hated the reality of Sara's situation he had to agree with Allie. "I do understand but I don't have to like it." He finally said as he nodded to the Prime and to his mated with a heavy spark. Knockout turned and walked out.

"I had to tell him what he was up against. It wouldn't have been fair because I know Saraphina. She won't talk about her work or what she has to put with just to get her Intel." Allie turned to focus on Optimus and what he saw broke his spark. Allie wasn't just talking about Saraphina, but she was talking about that dark place that she wouldn't let him see. She was talking about missions and events that she had to endure to keep her teams alive and she was suddenly asking him for forgiveness.

"Allie, you don't have to do this." He said quietly in that rich baritone voice that always seemed to sooth her but just now it was breaking her spark.

"I couldn't let him think that she was so cold that she could just turn on and off her emotions." Allie said sadly. She had been in Sara's shoes and now Optimus finally understood why she didn't let him see it. She was embarrassed and humiliated and it was a time in her life that she wasn't proud of. She made a choice and it was to save her teams; to keep them from injury or death and if faced with the choice again she wouldn't change it.

"Optimus I am not proud of those choices. Please understand. I had to save them and to do that I had to compromise my integrity." She turned pleading eyes to her mate. "You are the only thing that matters to me." She whispered to her mate.

"I don't like that some other mech touched you, but I do understand and in your shoes I would have made the same choice. It is not my place to judge and I regret that I wasn't there to protect you." He said as he walked around and pulled her into his arms.

"I am so sorry. I know you warned me that there were things that you weren't proud of, but I am glad that you have at least opened up and told me about it even if you still don't feel comfortable showing me those images yet." Optimus held her for the longest moment until there was a knock on the door. Allie pulled apart and wiped her eyes as Optimus still held her within arms' reach.

"Come in." Allie said. Megatron walked in.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked as he took in the obvious trail of tears on Allie's face to the way that Optimus was holding her.

"No, we are finished. I was conversing with Knockout a moment ago and it opened up some old memories." Allie said as she once again took her seat. "What's up?"

"Comm. had finished the communications board you requested. Soundwave went home, but he will be back and is bringing Ravage." Megatron folded his hands in his lap. "You have a reason for wanting to see Ravage's abilities?" He asked.

"I do. I have a feeling that I may need to pull a femme out of the field. The problem is she has difficulty emoting emotions and she is a high level telepath which makes it difficult for me to read her without her knowing."

"You're are talking about Saraphina." Megatron stated.

"Yes. Knockout intends to pursue her but her level of infiltration could be compromised and her killed." Allie sighed as she looked at Megatron. "Unfortunately, I don't see you liking to deal with these types of problems."

"No, you're right. Is this one of those times that I will be glad that we work together?" He asked his optics taking a definite gleam as he unhooked his fingers and placing them on his knee plates.

"Yes, this will be one of those times. Mechs don't see you as an advice columnist as a human might characterize it but Optimus being Prime does emote those feelings. This is definitely a situation that we would all need to work together to solve." Allie informed them.

"I agree. Megatron you are wonderfully talented with tactical and you have a presence that inspires mechs to follow orders, though in the past I wouldn't necessarily agree with some of your motives, but if we learn to work together we can become a force that outsiders would hesitate to try and aggravate or attack. Unfortunately as much as I want peace I am not so naive as to believe that there are other races that would pose a threat to the families that are forming here in the Realm." Optimus stated as he stood to walk to the end of the office near the tinted window.

"Optimus is right. This with Saraphina is only the beginning. If her desire to have a mate interferes with her job, then we can't keep her in the field. They have met and whether she goes back without taking a chance on a relationship or not will affect her either way." Megatron stated. "I know. In the beginning I would not allow mechs to bond. What happened is that they hid it from me. I didn't even bond with Chelsea because I was emphatically against it and I later discovered that it wouldn't have taken because she was never meant for me. My point is that if they are meant to be then at some time the call of their sparks are going to wear their resistance down. It is only a matter of time." Megatron told them but Allie suspected that there was more behind it and it had to do with Shalon.

"Megatron is right. Already Knockout is feeling the effect and I intend to corner Sara and feel her out though I may have to that on the training floor. She is not easy to get anything of a personal nature out and we may end up in the infirmary before she might give me a hint of what she is feeling." What Allie didn't tell them was that she was looking forward to a good honest match against another femme that could closely meet her on the training floor but Optimus smirked behind his mask as he picked up on her feelings.

"Then we are in agreement about training Ravage. I need someone who can infiltrate someone small and very good at not getting caught. In the later years I know that the Autobots were able to find Ravage's hiding spots but he was still good at getting a great deal of Intel and I feel that he might be the best one for the job." Allie said as she folded her hands and rested her chin on them with her elbows supporting her on her desk.

"There is also another possibility." Megatron said reflectively. "We always sent both Ravage and Laserbeak because if one was caught then the other was successful."

"That's not a bad idea. On retrieval assignments I always team my femmes in pairs if it involves reconnaissance. Why should I send Ravage by himself? I makes sense to let him work with a partner and it increases his chance of a successful mission." Allie thought out loud to herself but she also wanted the mechs to hear her thoughts.

"I agree. Even with my teams, I very seldom sent them out alone although did have a few exceptions but those were rare." Optimus said as he looked at Megatron. "I like your idea and I think Soundwave needs to be brought in on what we are talking about but no one else so that nothing leaks past this office."

"I agree with Optimus. With that said, I so need to go check on Shalon. She was tired from the morning meetings and then the trip we took to the city today." Megatron rose and nodded to Optimus and Allie as he started to turn. "I will send a message to Soundwave to report to us tomorrow and to make sure that Laserbeak also comes with him and Ravage. I think they like going home every night to their mate and carrier."

"I don't doubt it. Chelsea told me that Cassie called her to get an oil cake recipe." Allie laughed. "Do you know how long any of us have made an oil cake?"

"Well, you are the one wanting a sparkling so I guess you had better start practicing your baking skills." Optimus said and Allie could tell her was trying not to laugh under his battle mask.

"Does Shalon know how to bake?" Allie laughed at Megatron's question.

"Believe it or not she does. I taught her when she was a youngling and staying with me up at my mountain home." Allie said. She stood to see Megatron out the door and Optimus walked with her.

"Megatron, I'm glad that everything is going so well for you." Optimus said as he saw him to the door.

"Yes, and I am going to be the proud sire of a little femmling." He added to Optimus' statement.

"Oh, congratulations. I hope that Shalon is doing well." Allie said.

"Yes, my best wishes and blessings from Primus." Optimus added as they walked Megatron out the door.

"We will see you later?" Allie asked.

"Probably. I know that Shalon wanted to spend some time with you this evening before we retired." Megatron answered.

"I will try to make time to be there. Give Shalon my best wishes on the femme." Allie told him as she bid him good day. She turned to Optimus and wrapped her arms around him.

"Have I told you that I love you today?"

"You say it every chance you get as I do as well. I love you too."

I wrote this in one sitting because I felt I needed my readers to understand that Saraphina is a complicated femme and she had to make choices that would make any normal woman cringe. She not only does it but she manages not to let it drive her insane which is why she is the way she is because to allow even one person, be it a mech or a femme into her life, would probably destroy her sanity.