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The past few days, Optimus had been going to Ratchet to see if he could help decipher the message he'd received. It was beginning to get a little frustrating, but I knew Optimus wanted the message figured out as soon as possible. If there was another Autobot survivor out there, then Optimus would want to reach them, tell them that there were other survivors, as well. But all they got was that the message was sent by a female survivor. I had felt a pang jealousy when I heard that, but pushed the nasty feeling down; I didn't need to be feeling something as insignificant as jealousy.

Other than that, my mind had been occupied on the restlessness of my stomach. It still felt queasy, jumping and fluttering all the time. It was worse in the morning, though I wouldn't throw up (even though I felt like I had to). I could barely eat anything without my stomach feeling worse; I would get a migraine sometimes. And it took Optimus almost a week to figure out I wasn't myself.

The Holoform had entered my room, where I had stayed in bed most of the day. I wasn't feeling well enough to get out of bed, and I wasn't in the mood to be dealing with the others. I wanted to spend time with the girls, but I had gotten so sick that Cade and Tessa were nice enough to play with them.

"Desirée?" Optimus said gently.

"What do you want?" I muttered bitterly. "I thought you'd be with Ratchet."

I felt the side of my bed dip, one of Optimus's hands gently stroking my back. I stiffened under his touch.

"There's nothing more he can do to help," he explained softly. "Cade told me of your condition. Maybe you should see Ratchet."

I shoved his hand off of me, pulling the covers over myself. "At least Cade had the decency to tell you," I snapped. "You wouldn't have noticed on your own!"

My stomach twisted and I felt bile rise in my throat. I pushed it down, trying not to overwork myself. I felt a pounding in my head, a migraine just beginning to spread.

"Desirée, I'm sorry," Optimus said. "I..."

"The girls haven't seen you in months and the first thing you do once we leave Sam's is push them aside," I growled, trying to calm down my jumping stomach. "The least you could do was spend some time with them! Cade and Tessa have been doing most of the work since I'm sick. Where have you been?"

There was a heavy silence between Optimus and I.

Turning my head slightly, I saw a look on Optimus's face. It looked almost heartbroken. His eyes were looking down, his face set in a deep frown. I felt guilty for what I had said.

"You're right," he murmured. "I'm not spending time with them. I keep saying I will, that I'll be a better father, but I can't do that right."

He placed a hand on my shoulder, his thumb gently stroking it. I didn't shove his hand away or stiffen under his touch. I felt him gently kiss my cheek, his lips lingering for a moment before he stood up from the bed.

"First, I want to make sure you're OK," he said solemnly. "I'll get Ratchet in here."

He left without another word.

Optimus POV

He felt like a slagging ass for not noticing Desirée's declining health sooner. Optimus had solely been thinking on the broken message he received. It was a femme's voice, that's all Ratchet had managed to figure out. The message was too broken to figure out.

Whoever sent the message must have known there were other survivors, and probably sent messages throughout the galaxy to find someone who'd respond.

But, because of Optimus's failure to notice anything, he hadn't noticed Desirée getting sicker and sicker. If Cade hadn't told him, he would have remained oblivious to it. And to the fact that his own daughters were missing his company. His Spark felt as if it were heavier. Guilt wracked its way though his body.

Hopefully Ratchet would figure out what's wrong with Desirée, so that way Optimus could at least nurse her back to health. He could have the girls help, as well. And he'd have to thank the Yeagers for being so kind to his family.

When he reached the medic, who was in the barn, looking over some of Cade's designs, his medic's Holoform's eyes looked up at him briefly before glancing at the blueprints.

"I've told you, Optimus, I can't figure out the message."

"It's not about that," Optimus responded. "Desirée is sick. Could you find out what's wrong with her?"

"How sick?" Ratchet asked, not looking up from the blueprints. Optimus could hear the faintest sound of curiosity and worry in the medic's voice.

"She's been bed ridden all day," he answered. "Cade said she looked as if she were about to vomit most days, or pass out other days."

Gently placing the papers down, Ratchet looked at Optimus wearily. The medical officer sighed.

"I'll run a scan on her," he said defeatedly.

Optimus thanked Ratchet before returning to the home.

Cade POV

Cade felt sad for Saoirse and Eden. Desirée had gotten ill, Optimus was too distracted with other business. It was as if the girls' parents couldn't find the time with them. Well, Desirée had found the time to be with Saoirse and Eden, even with her declining health. It was Optimus that made Cade worry. He seemed too distracted with the other Autobots to find the time to be with his girls.

Saoirse and Eden were sweet, intelligent girls. They were lucky to have such strong, inspirational parents. It was just sad that their parents seemed divided on the time they spent with their children.

Cade saw Optimus's Holoform walk by, glancing at the girls, he slowed. Saoirse and Eden looked at him, hesitating on what they wanted to do. Cade motioned the girls over, whispering that they could spend time with their father if they wanted to. The older male looked at Tessa, who seemed worried about how Saoirse and Eden were hesitating around their father.

The two Yeagers watched as Optimus knelt down and hugged his daughters close. When Ratchet came up beside Optimus, the two of them, the girls included, walked to where Desirée was resting.

Desirée POV

When I heard the door open again, I refrained myself from groaning. I didn't want to be bothered. I felt the bed move and when I looked, I saw Saoirse and Eden beside me. They looked at me worriedly.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound happy. "Sorry I haven't played with you guys today!"

"Mama, you look sick!" Saoirse exclaimed.

"Mama is sick," I said, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "But I'll get better. Pinkie promise." I held up my pinkie finger and gave them my best smile. Saoirse and Eden wrapped their pinkies around mine, a look of determination on their faces.

Ratchet walked up beside the bed, studying me closely. "I'll perform a scan to see if there's anything wrong," he informed me.

"Can the Holoform do that?" I asked tiredly.

He nodded. "The information will be processed and I'll tell you the results once it's finished."

Ratchet's eyes lit up and slowly scanned my body, Optimus made sure the girls were off the bed so they didn't interfere with the process.

When the scanning was done, Ratchet gave me a single nod and left the room. Optimus and the girls stayed. I allowed the girls to be on the bed, occasionally glancing at Optimus, who stood off to the side, looking almost painfully awkward and out of place.

"Why're you just standing there?" I asked.

Optimus flinched slightly at the question, his lips pursing into a thin line. "If you wish me to leave..."

"Get over here," I ordered. My stomach rumbled and flipped, my migraine worsening just a little. Optimus walked over, looking at me with a lost puppy expression. "We're going to spend time together - all of us. I don't want you standing there looking painfully awkward, I can't stand you looking like that."

A somewhat relieved look came over Optimus's face. I motioned him to sit on the bed, trying to start up a conversation between him and the girls. The conversation went to how Saoirse was doing in school, to how Eden was excited to be starting school soon.

It almost felt like we were a normal family. And that was a feeling I didn't want to end.

No One's POV

The femme Cybertronian had reached earth's galaxy, looking at the small planet with slight interest. Her message had reached something there, she felt it. She knew, down to her Spark, that there were survivors taking refuge on the dirt planet. The only thing left to do was investigate. She wasn't sure what inhabited the small planet, but she was certain to find out when she made her entrance.

Ever since Cybertron's destruction, she had been trying to find other survivors, trying to find a planet to take refuge on. In the early days of her wandering through space, she had companions. But they had perished. They believed they had found a planet they could live on, where there weren't any inhabitants. They were wrong.

She had chosen to keep searching, keep looking for other survivors! But there was one mech that was on her mind...one that she prayed was still alive.

This mech was going to Sparkbond with her before Megatron's betrayal, before she had become severely damaged during the war that was held over the All Spark. She had been repaired, thank Primus, and had regained enough energy to leave the ruins of Cybertron to find her potential Sparkmate.

Elita-1 knew that Optimus would wait for her! He always would.

QUICKY A/N:

HERE YOU GO, FRIENDS! LET ME KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES YOU'D LIKE ME TO FIX. ELITA-1 IS ON HER WAY TO EARTH, DESIRÉE IS SICK, AND THERE IS A LOT OF DRAMA THAT'S HAPPENING AND ABOUT TO HAPPEN! I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS UPDATE. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT UPDATING YESTERDAY, THE WEBSITE WASN'T WORKING FOR ME.

ANYWHO, I DON'T OWN ANYTHING IN THE TRANSFORMERS FRANCHISE, BLAH BLAH BLAH...I ALSO DO NOT OWN THE FOUR OC'S, WHO WILL ALSO BE PLAYING A BIG ROLE IN THE ELITA-1 ARC. AS WILL SAOIRSE AND EDEN. AND, PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE WHO'S INVOVLED IN DESIRÉE'S AND OPTIMUS'S LIFE RIGHT NOW.

I ONLY OWN MY CHARACTERS AND MY FILLERS.

THE ELITA-1 ARC WAS SUGGESTED BY A KIND REVIEWER. I'M ALWAYS OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT COULD BE ADDED TO THE STORY AND WHATNOT.

OH, AND DESIRÉE'S HEALTH WAS ALSO A SUGGESTION MADE BY ANOTHER KIND REVIEWER! SO, YOU GUYS WILL FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER SOON.

WELL, I HOPE YOU GUYS CAN LEAVE SOME AWESOME REVIEWS! EVERY REVIEW I'VE GOTTEN FOR THIS STORY HAS BEEN WONDERFUL! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!

STAY SNAPPY.

THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL.

READ, REVIEW, ENJOY!

YOURS TRULY,

~SMITHY