I was glad that everyone liked the gatos. We have a twenty pounder here at home and I use the Spanish name for him when I call him. That's where I got the word gato if anyone is wondering. Shalon, of course, is the one who loves them all; but I think that all the femmes have a soft spot for the animals. That's why they are popular in the Hall. I love implementing them because it gives the story a little dry humor.
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. I just love how everyone likes Sentinel and Shayla. I also like how everyone is enjoying Jolt's story. Please take a moment to leave a review because I love to read them and they are very important to me. Enjoy!
Allie woke to lying on top of her mate. In the distance she could hear Lumpy's growly purr deep in recharge and she smiled as she listened to the contented feeling of her mates spark and the gato's purr. She crossed her arms beneath her chin as she watched her mate deep in recharge. He had been most amorous last night because of her constant teasing and she had paid dearly and would be sore this morning. She wouldn't be able to recharge like this in a few weeks with her carrying a sparkling but she did love to recharge on her mate when he didn't mind. She could feel Optimus starting to boot up and she smiled as she listened to his systems boot up.
"Good morning my darling." He told her softly as he groaned and Allie laughed.
"Did I cause you some aches my lord?" She teasingly asked him and he smiled at her.
"Only the usual but I will never complain." Optimus replied. "Did you rest well?" He asked as he cradled her against his chassis.
"I did though it will not be much longer that I can do this." She replied to his question.
"I know my darling. Everyone was thrilled that you are carrying again. I could feel their elation throughout the room." Optimus said happiness radiating through their bond. Allie was happy that he was so excited about this sparkling. She knew he loved his sons but he wanted a little daughter that would capture his spark like Storm had done with her sire. It was not early since Prowl had the early morning shift but Optimus groaned as he realized that he needed to get up so that he could get to work. Allie sensed that her mate needed to be let up and gently rolled off so that he could rise and get his morning ration of energon.
"Do you have to go to the colony today?" Allie asked as Optimus slowly placed each piece of his armor on.
"Yes unfortunately. I hope that we will be back in time for dinner." Optimus said as he stood and walked into the living area and headed for the energon dispenser. He poured himself a cube and then filled one for Allie. He walked back and gave Allie her cube. She took it as Optimus fluffed the pillows and Allie leaned against the headboard thankful for her mate's tender attention.
"Will Megatron be gong with you?" Allie asked as she drank her energon.
"No, I need Megatron here since Sentinel and Shayla are still staying at the Hall. Megatron is better at handling Sentinel. I will take Sideswipe, Bumblebee, and Starscream with me. Starscream will be checking their generator and I need Sideswipe because he is good at negotiating as well as wheeling and dealing." Optimus took her empty cube and disposed of the container. Allie felt better though her tanks were churning which made her feel queasy.
"Thank you my love." She told him and he slowly helped her to her feet. In reality she was not that far along but Optimus was treating her as if she was in her third stage of carrying and right now with her feeling queasy it wasn't a bad thing to make her feel so loved and pampered.
"Will you be okay left alone?" Optimus asked.
"I will be fine. Cassie and the cassettes are coming today as well as Shalon who always checks on me." Allie replied and smiled. She was tired already and she hadn't even gotten the twins up from recharge. She was glad that Cassie would be with her today.
"Good, I love you." Optimus said as he leant down and kissed her.
"I love you too my lord." She softly replied.
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"Waverly, how do you do it?" Emalia asked. They were in the atrium with several other carriers and their sparklings eating breakfast as they waited for Allie.
"How do I do what?" Waverly asked back. She stopped to look at Emalia as they watched Cassie's triplets toddle around and Little Jazz click and coo at Storm.
"How do you keep pretending that you love him?" Emalia asked.
"I don't pretend. I do love him. The bond wouldn't have taken if there was no connection between us and Ema look at what I have gained." Waverly said as she gestured to her little Ruby. Ruby smiled at Emalia and she couldn't help but instantly love her little godchild. "Emalia, why are you asking me this?" Waverly knew that Emalia had been on punitive duties recently though she was not told why, in fact very few knew the reason other than the officers that were in charge. Waverly had never asked her friend and Emalia being a secretive person, had never divulged information either.
"I just wanted to know why you seem so happy when this was not what you wanted." Emalia replied.
"Ema, I had to grow up." Waverly softly said as the love for her little Ruby shown in her eyes. Emalia looked at her and saw the sincerity in her body language and knew she was speaking the truth.
"I guess we all do but do you love him?" Emalia asked again.
"I do. It was not easy at first and I made a lot of mistakes but he is good to me and I have Ruby. That's all that matters." Waverly said. They watched Ruby coo and click at the other sparklings and then Emalia spoke so quietly that Waverly had to strain to hear her.
"Jolt kissed me." Waverly heard her quietly spoken words. "He kissed me and I ran. I didn't know what to do so I pushed him away." Emalia looked down as if in shame and Waverly felt sorry for her.
"Ema, why are you running? If you can't face yourself then it must be because you are afraid but what is causing the fear?" Waverly asked her. Emalia looked down as she thought about what Waverly was asking. What was she afraid of? Was it Jolt or was it her? Emalia wanted to blame Jolt but deep down she knew it was the feelings that she felt when she was with him. He was starting to push her. He had sought her out the very next day but she was careful not to find herself alone with him on the hallways or corridors.
"Waverly I don't want to be trapped in a bond where I have to submit to a mech. You are always compromising with Cliffjumper while he spouts on and on about how he is the dominant partner in the bond." Emalia said to her. The sparklings continued to play oblivious to their conversation as other femmes wondered around or past the two femmes while they talked.
"Ema, Cliffjumper is usually a lot of hot air. He likes to show off but when we are alone he is very attentive to me. Most of the mechs don't take him seriously. They know he likes to boast." Waverly stated as she watched Emalia's reaction.
"I didn't know." She said softly more to herself than to Waverly. She was such a fool and now she was making things more and more difficult on her and could be jeopardizing her future. "What should I do Waverly?"
"I can't tell you what to choose Ema. If I did and it was the wrong choice you would hate me. You must decide for yourself, look into your spark, and then you can choose for yourself what is best." Waverly looked at Emalia in the optics. "Take a chance Ema. If you don't, you will always wonder if you lost that chance."
Emalia still was scared but she would think about her friend's words.
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"If it is a femling what will you call her?" Cassie asked Allie as they were getting their rather large group of sparklings ready.
"I don't know. Optimus and I really don't think much about designations until the last few weeks when the feelings are stronger between us and the sparkling." Allie stated. She shifted Roddy on her hip as she pulled Orion in the sparkling carrier that Wheeljack made for them. She locked the tires in place and placed Roddy next to his brother as he clicked at Orion in delight to be next to his twin. Cassie already had her triplets, Shadow, Isis, and Firefox, and they were ready to go to the atrium. Allie was late getting the group moving since she had stayed late in berth until she was sure that they queasy feeling would pass. The nutrients were staying down but taking the midgrade energon was testing her nerves and making her irritable. She would eventually have to talk to Ratchet or Doc about it but she hoped that it would pass soon.
"Are you ready Cassie? Where are the cassettes?" Allie asked.
"I sent them ahead so they wouldn't get under our feet." Cassie said with a grimace. "I dearly love them but they can get under my skin sometimes."
"I don't blame you and they have seen so much being exposed and forced to survive through a war." Allie stated. "They are just making up so their lost sparkling-hood. You should dote on them some."
"I do. I make oil cakes and all kinds of energon treats. I even learned how to make rust sticks. Speaking of rust sticks, you craved them when you were carrying the twins. Do you want me to make some since you are carrying again?" Cassie asked her as they rolled the sparklings out of the door and headed for the atrium.
"If you don't mind, they take the edge off of my cravings but right now I am okay. I am concentrating on keeping my daily energon down as well as the medical grade that I am required to drink." Allie talked as they passed a few mechs that waved at them and Allie smiled back while not breaking stride in their conversation.
"I will make some then and send them to your quarters." Cassie said as they waved and wished passerby's good morning. They entered the atrium and saw that Waverly and Emalia had Ruby at the sparkling swing while Little Jazz and Stronghide were playing in the sand box. Nighthawke was building with blocks while Storm practiced tearing them down by smashing them with her fists. Shalon had Galvatron in the jumping seat and Tia and Shayla was busy watching Brightspark and Fallingstar while Aura and Thundercracker worked. Even Doc was about since Knockout was on duty and she had First Aid with her as he toddled toward the other sparkling swing. Raynie was talking to Kiki as they watched their little ones, Sunshine and Starburst, play together and Stargazer listened as she sat between the two femmes as if a fifth wheel.
"I think that everyone had the same idea that we had today." Cassie commented as she watched all the carriers and sparklings sitting and playing in the atrium.
"Well it is a nice day for the Hall. The fog is even light today over the moor and the atrium is always a moderate temperature year round. It is why we built it." Allie said responding to Cassie spoken words. The two femmes looked at each other and laughed and quickly found a spot for their sparklings.
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"I am so glad that this meeting is over. I don't think I will ever adjust to that pompous aft governor who thinks he is better than us." Optimus huffed as he, Starscream and Bumblebee sat in the transport. Sideswipe was navigating the lift as Hound piloted.
"I don't think I will ever get used to seeing this side of you, Optimus." Starscream commented as he listened to the Prime complain about the political meetings that were held in the colony today.
"Yes well you haven't been around me long enough. I am amazed at your patience Starscream. You have never struck me as the type that would be so supportive in a negotiation." Starscream preened at Prime's compliment.
"Megatron and I have never seen optic to optic so I do come across as impatient and aggressive but I have my uses in political meetings and negotiations. I just don't show it often." Starscream replied and Bumblebee laughed.
"Yeah you are not telling us anything that we don't know. It was just a surprise to see you so different, respected." Bumblebee stated.
"I agree. I hope that you enjoyed being with us today. I appreciated your support and strength regardless of how you feel and you are always welcome to be a part of our team." Optimus told Starscream. Starscream looked at Prime wondering when the other ped would fall. He was so used to being put down and now here he was on a team that made him feel welcomed and strong. It was such a strange feeling.
Maybe this peace was a good thing and not just because they wanted a family.
