I think that everyone enjoyed the last chapter and I did get some interesting feedback. I still haven't decided how to pursue the relationship between Ema and Jolt because I like the character Jolt and I don't want to betray him.

I hope that I didn't make Ironhide too unsettled. It's not that except that I always saw him very protective of Prime and I also wanted to show the importance of Optimus and Megatron needing to bond closer after a war of so many losses on both sides.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the story and please take a moment to review because I love to read them. Enjoy!

"Hide, a moment please!" Allie yelled as she rushed up to talk to him. Ironhide turned from his stride to allow her to catch up to him.

"Good morning my Lady Prime; I hope that all is well with you." Allie smiled as Optimus had announced that she was carrying again in the early morning meeting that they had just emerged from as she came to stand next to Ironhide.

"It is very well Ironhide. I wanted to talk to you a moment about the patrols. How is Emalia doing?" She asked her mate's friend.

"She is well. She seems a little subdued since the incident but other than that she has displayed no emotional outbursts." Ironhide said carefully. He knew that Jolt was having trouble trying to get close to the femme and Ironhide also knew that Jolt had gone to talk to Allie about it. He wondered why Allie was coming to him now.

"I wanted to make sure that she is doing fine. I am concerned about her mental welfare since the incidents." Allie had been calling the bombings incidents since she had found out who had orchestrated them.

"She seems well though quiet. I think she feels bad about what she has done. Bluestreak has been seeing her since Doc found out that he has a psychology background." Ironhide told the consort and she seemed satisfied. Ironhide looked at Allie as they continued to walk.

"Jolt came to me yesterday and I wanted to make sure that my advice was appropriate. I really think she is fighting a lost cause and that Jolt is the one for her." Allie said quietly. "I would appreciate you being supportive of Jolt in his endeavor to win Ema's spark."

"I hope that you are right and not just playing match making. The scandal concerning Waverly did not bode well for your femmes or for my mechs and I am concerned that this might be another one in the making." Ironhide truthfully told her.

"Hide I appreciate your concern and I will keep that in mind but Ema is different than Waverly. She is just more cautious and skittish than some of my other femmes. She was in a relationship long ago but it did not end well though no one, including me, knows why. It happened on one of the outposts in the outer quadrant and I have never interfered or tried to read her. It's just too private and it did not hurt her performance in her duties so I just let it go and watched her until I was sure that she was okay." Allie said this while looking over to her right. Ironhide turned to see Jolt heading their way.

"I'll talk to him if he says anything." Ironhide quickly said. "I promise you."

"Thank you for your time Ironhide." Allie said and left to walk over to Optimus on the far side of the terminal. Ironhide watch her join Optimus and he smiled. They were well suited for each other, always were, and Ironhide was glad that they could be reunited after such a long war.

"Ironhide, do you have a minute?" It seemed that everyone wanted to talk to him today. Ironhide turned and found Jolt waiting patiently for him to respond.

"Sure Jolt; what's on your CPU?" Ironhide asked yet knowing what Jolt was going to talk to him about. They walked over to one of the raptors that were being overhauled for new modifications and Ironhide suddenly stopped and looked at Jolt.

"Ironhide, I have been having trouble courting a femme." Jolt said.

"You are talking about Emalia." Ironhide stated and Jolt shook his helm in confirmation. "What do you want from me?" Ironhide asked as they watched the mechanic bots work on the raptor.

"I was wondering if you could help me since you are an older mech and have been bonded for a while." Jolt replied.

"Well if you are asking for experience then I will have to be honest. Mia and I had our share of problems in the beginning. We were both stubborn and impulsive in our younger days and it didn't always mesh with our personalities. Ema had seen friends hurt and she is very loyal to friends. It makes your work difficult Jolt. I am not going to lie about that. What have you been doing to show your interest?"

"I have been sitting with her in the rec room and we patrol together. I have made my interest known but she shies away from me." Jolt answered honestly.

"Have you tried gifts? Gifts were a way to show that a mech was serious about pursuing a relationship on Cybertron. It was common both among the upper class as well as the working class. I used it with Mia until she realized that I was not going to give up on her." Ironhide watched as the raptor was finished and then he turned towards Jolt. "Jolt I wouldn't pursue this unless you are very serious about wanting her in your life. We have only been here a little over a year and you are young and have plenty of time. Enjoy the chase but also respect her and her wishes."

"I do Ironhide but I also want a family. We have lost so much and I am the only one left of my family. If we are to have peace then I want to start a family." Jolt said earnestly.

"Jolt I am glad that you want that but you must make sure that she is the one." Ironhide looked at the younger mech. He had always felt an affinity for Jolt because despite his youth and impulsiveness at times he was a good responsible mech that always showed respect for his elders.

"I know she is the one. My spark aches just being near her Ironhide." Jolt said quietly as both suddenly turned to as they heard a squeal.

"Then pursue her and don't give up unless she chooses another." Ironhide replied.

Both mechs saw Allie stroking a large panther like creature. Its fur was smooth, sleek, and shiny as they watched Allie curve her body around the exotic animal. Ironhide watched Optimus roll his optics and Ironhide chuckled as he could tell the couple was discussing the black creature that was loudly purring as Allie stroked his fur.

"Optimus may have competition." Ironhide murmured and Jolt snickered.

"I think this shall be interesting to watch." Jolt said after a few chuckles.

"I think you may be right," Was Ironhide reply to his humored remark.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Allie we are not keeping him in our quarters!" Optimus stated and Prowl smirked at his Prime as he watched Prime's consort stroke and coo over the black sleek gato that was loudly purring as his mistress petted him. The animal just slinked in as the mechs gave him a wide berth so that he would not attack and he headed straight to Allie. She had let out a little mew of delight at seeing the creature as Optimus grimaced with distaste. Prowl, though a very stoic mech, thought the scene funny though he was careful not to let it show on his face plates.

"His home is here Optimus! Surely you wouldn't turn him away." Allie pouted up at her mate as she rubbed her head against the sleek dark fur of the panther like creature. He continued to purr as he looked up at Optimus as if challenging him to turn him away.

"Allie…" Optimus growled and Sunstreaker laughed over in the distance as he listened in on their conversation.

"…but Optimus…" Allie cried softly, "You can't turn him away. He loves sparklings and children. I know the mechlings would love him." She softly cried, her eyes looking so lost and doe like as she silently pleaded with her mate. Optimus expelled air from his vents. He knew he would give in but he wanted to choose his words carefully so that the animal would not take his place in the berth. He waited while he watched his mate pensively wait for his answer.

"Alright but he recharges on the rug at the foot of the berth." Optimus finally said and Allie smiled in gratitude.

"Well at least he will be in your quarters and not ours!" Sunstreaker said as he walked by laughing at his Prime. Optimus just shook his helm as Allie continued to stroke the gato.

"Allie what do you call him?" Jolt asked as he walked up to them.

"His name is Lumpy because that is what Shalon named him when he was found. He was in rough shape and looked like his back was shredded from a terrible fight. His fur was in lumps and that is why Shalon named him that." Allie stated as she smiled at Jolt.

"Oh…" was all Jolt could think of as he looked at the fiercely majestic animal and shook his helm just as Optimus had a moment ago. "Well that's nice." Jolt said and walked away. What a weird name for a beautiful creature but Jolt kept that to himself.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Cassie you are doing well. I see that you are in good health and I do want you to bring all of your family in for checkups before the end of the week." Doc gave her the okay as Cassie finished dressing. She hated checkups but she also knew that Doc or Ratchet would hunt her down and force her to the infirmary if she did not follow orders. "Are you thinking about having more sparklings?" Doc asked suddenly. Cassie thought about her question carefully.

"Soundwave would like more but having three at one time did place stress on our bond so I think that we may wait until they are older." She replied and Doc shook her head approvingly.

"I do think that it is wise and considering that you now have nine totaled it would help alleviate the stress of a large family. One point I would like to make is that if you did have more you would have the help of the older ones should you decide to go ahead and have more now." Doc pointed out and Cassie thought about it.

"I will ask Soundwave but I really would like to wait at least until Shadow, Isis, and Firefox are through their first upgrade." Cassie stated.

"Cassie, they are due next month for an upgrade." Doc said softly reminding her of their next appointment in a month.

"Oh, I forgot about it." In all honesty Cassie had because time had flown by so fast and she was enjoying them being small. The first upgrade they had would give them more language memory and then they would begin to talk in both Cybertronian as well as begin to learn other languages. They would also begin learning more complex algorithms and thus begin their schooling. It seemed too fast that the year and a half had gone by and Cassie sighed. She would miss them being so small but she was also eager to see their personalities shine through as they started the next phase of their lives.

"Well I want to do a final checkup on them this week so that I will be ready next month for their upgrades." Doc informed her and Cassie smiled.

"We will bring the whole family, even Soundwave, and we will have them ready for their first upgrade." Cassie said. This would be a family gathering and they would celebrate their upgrade so that the sparklings would adjust and be ready.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Later that evening Jolt walked into the rec room. Emalia was sitting at her usual place near the corner of the rec room watching Stargazer and Bumblebee play video games against Rumble and Frenzy.

"Hey." Jolt said softly.

"Hey." Emalia returned just as softly and smiling up at Jolt.

"May I join you?" Jolt asked.

"I was going to walk to my quarters since I have early patrol tomorrow." Emalia said and then stood. "Jolt I don't think it would be a good idea for us to continue this friendship."

"May I walk with you so that we can discuss this?" Jolt asked. He was trying not to panic but he felt that Emalia was going to end things before he had a chance to prove himself.

Emalia looked at him intensely careful not to touch him as she thought about him walking her to her quarters. She needed to let him know that she was not interested and that she did not want him to pursue her. She knew she was running but she was too afraid to look deep within her spark to see why she was so stubborn and unyielding to give him a chance.

"Okay Jolt, it is not far from here." She said and Jolt fell in step next to her. They walk in silence out of the rec room. Jolt did not want to talk and be overheard by any gossips. When they had walked out and then into the hallway he slowed their pace though he could tell that Emalia was reluctant.

"Ema, we need to talk." He started.

"There is nothing to say Jolt. I want to be released from our friendship." She countered.

"I think we do need to talk." Jolt reiterated. He turned her and she started to pull away but Jolt wouldn't let her.

"There is something between us Ema. I know because I feel it and I think you feel it too." Jolt told her as she shook her head in denial. "I think, no I know that you feel it or you wouldn't be trying to run."

"Jolt please this is not something I want to engage in or talk about. I told you that I don't want a relationship." Emalia stated.

"Why?" Jolt asked the simple on word question as he looked at her intently. Emalia began to shake from reaction as she tried to think of a way to get him from pressuring her. Emalia couldn't think of any good reason and so once against she tried to pull away. His nearness made her spark flutter and she couldn't think. "Emalia, please talk to me. Why are you so scared?" He asked softly careful not to scare her. He could sense her fear and that was not his intention. He backed away letting her go and she turned and walked quickly towards her quarters.

"Ema wait!" Jolt cried out as he followed her.

"No…I can't deal with this!" She harshly said as she started to run from Jolt.

"You can't deal or won't!" He growled losing his patience with her as he caught her by the arm and turned her toward him so that she was facing him directly in front of him. She tried to get away but Jolt backed her into the wall of the corridor as he cornered her.

"Jolt please, you are scaring me." She finally said but still had not answered his question.

"No I want to scare you because you have led me around and flirted with me but when I want to pursue you tell me no. I am tired of being nice." He closed in on her and she whimpered at his touch as she tried to flatten herself against the wall. She could feel his EM field enveloping them and she knew that he was going to kiss her but as she watched his helm come closer she couldn't move her limbs to try and stop him.

His lip plates were soft and very gentle against hers and she sighed as she felt her body melt against his. He moved his hands into her brown wavy flowing hair and she gasped as his glossa came out to taste her mouth. Emalia moaned as he gently held her and his glossa probed her mouth. She felt herself melting and her CPU became hazy as she tried to think. Her spark hammered as she felt the warmth flowing from his spark but then fear set in and she pushed him away suddenly as her eyes looked large and lost as she tried to focus and get her bearing back.

"Jolt please…" was all she said as she ran from him. Jolt just looked on with shock. She had responded and that was all he needed to make sure that she was the one.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Optimus please, why are you being so stubborn?" Allie asked as she was curled up with the gato around her.

"Because I have a right to my mate and family and you my dear are trying my patience with you." He said as he glared at the creature and he looked like he was smirking back at him challenging him to try and remove him from his mistress. This was not the agreement. The gato could recharge on the rug by the berth not curl up on the couch with Allie.

"He will go to berth soon and I will make him recharge on the rug. I promise Optimus. He only wants the reassurance that he is still loved." Allie told him.

"It will be very soon my lady. I work hard and I expect to spend my evenings with you." Optimus said gravely and Allie understood what was expected of her.