225

I wasn't sure when, but I had fallen asleep. When I had awoken, Optimus's Holoform was gone. My mind felt like it was filled with cotton balls, and my eyes felt sandy and gritty.

Rubbing my eyes, I sighed.

Optimus deserved to rest, after keeping the Holoform up for so long.

Placing my hands, gently, on my stomach, I stared exhaustedly at the ceiling. I felt a little overheated and I felt an aching sensation in the back of my skull. I grimaced, the early stages of the migraine bothering me intensely.

I wasn't able to get out of bed, under Ratchet's orders, and I knew that I couldn't just call for him to come by and help me ease the slowly increasing pain in my head and the (possible) temperature that I was enduring.

Optimus POV

The Prime had rested for a little bit, before his processors woke him up. His mind whirled with worry and fear with how Desirée was doing. He was greatly bothered, but slightly reassured, about her condition. Ratchet had said she was improving, even if it meant her temperature had gone down even a little, but he was worried that her condition could suddenly worsen and he'd lose his Sparkmate and his unborn Sparkling.

Driving to the backyard of the Yeager home, he transformed, giving his true form an opportunity to stretch and move around. Using the Holoform so frequently was tiring and not transforming as much as he would like was also tiring.

"Optimus?" a voice called out.

Optimus turned around and saw Elita standing behind him, looking almost hesitantly. She wrung her hands in front of her, looking uncertain in what to do or say.

The Prime looked at the femme closely.

"Is something wrong, Elita?" he asked carefully.

"You look tired," she exclaimed, walking toward him. Her blue optics shone bright with worry, her hands at her sides, clenched into fists.

"I am tired." Optimus turned to face her fully, frowning slightly.

Elita's mouth set into an uncertain smile. "Why don't you recharge? You shouldn't be online if you're..."

"Desirée is sick," Optimus responded. "I've been worried out of my processors for her."

"Why is she so important?" The harshness in Elita's voice cause Optimus's shoulders to stiffen slightly. "She's a human. Why is she so important?"

Optimus looked at Elita with a slight, angered frown.

"She can't possibly love you as much as I do!" she exclaimed. "I've loved you for centuries, Optimus! Before you even became Prime, I loved you! She can't understand you like I do! She didn't know you when you were Orion. I loved you as Orion! As Optimus, too."

Optimus's blue optics lit up a fiery blue. He couldn't even comprehend what Elita, his former love, was telling him. Was she jealous of his relationship with Desirée? Or was she just trying to wedge her way into their relationship, to try and tear them apart? It angered him deeply - his Energon boiling in rage.

"Elita-1, you will listen to me right now," Optimus snarled. Elita flinched at his tone, her optics widening slightly. "What we shared in the past is in the past. I've moved on. I have three Sparklings. I have a beautiful Sparkmate. There is nothing in this entire universe that will cease my love for her. Desirée is a human, yes, but I see nothing wrong with that."

"You've bred outside of your species," Elita exclaimed, looking exasperated. "Those 'Sparklings'? They'll never be accepted anywhere!"

Optimus gave a fierce growl. "They'll be accepted here!" Elita tensed. "My Sparklings will always be surrounded by people who will accept their heritage. If there are humans who don't like my Sparklings, for whatever reason, I will handle them myself! I can handle my family and any problems that come our way!"

Elita looked at Optimus in a way that made the Prime very uncomfortable. His Spark whirled in discomfort.

Nodding her head slowly, Elita transformed and went back to her usual spot in front of the house. Optimus stood there for a moment longer, still infuriated by her words. She doubted his parenting skills; she doubted how Desirée was as a Sparkmate and as the mother of their Sparklings. Elita's behavior was unacceptable. Especially in Desirée's current condition, Elita talking down to her because of her being human was...

Optimus took an intake of air.

He wouldn't allow himself to get upset over Elita's pettiness. Optimus knew down to the very fiber of his being that he'd always love Desirée. Elita can be stuck over their past relationship all she wanted, but Desirée and his Sparklings would always be the first in his Spark.

Desirée POV

The migraine pulsed painfully in my head. It hurt to do just about anything.

I considered getting Cade or Tessa and asking them to get Ratchet, but he'd been working restlessly on figuring out how to get me to feel better and he deserved a rest. Certainly I'd be able to live with a little migraine, right?

Migraines were a common thing with me now! I couldn't let that sour my mood...no matter how painful they were.

I grimaced a little.

Saoirse and Eden had been kept a good distance from me. I missed them a lot. I hoped they weren't being too much trouble for the others, it would make me feel awful if they weren't on their best behavior.

Just distract yourself from the pain...it'll go away soon! Then you'll be able to rest and relax and finally get rid of this wretched infection. Hopefully the remainder of the pregnancy will be easier; I can't handle another of these infections! Being pregnant again is hard enough...

It felt like my head was splitting in two. I couldn't handle the pain. It felt like with every little thought I had, the pain got worse. Every little movement, every time I breathed, every minute thing I tried to do seemed to have intensified the migraine and it felt terrible!

I didn't want to wake Optimus or Ratchet from their sleep. I would feel terrible to just wake them up to ask for some pain relievers. A little rest wouldn't be so bad, right? Just sleeping off the migraine from hell...

Closing my eyes, I tried my hardest to sleep off the pain in my skull.

QUICKY A/N:

SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET AN UPDATE FOR THIS STORY. TODAY WAS A SUPER BAD DAY! ESPECIALLY AT SCHOOL. SOMEONE DECIDED TO POST A "HIT LIST" OF A BUNCH OF FRESHMEN THAT THEY'D LIKE TO "KILL" ON SOCIAL MEDIA. IT WAS ACTUALLY A REALLY DISTURBING PRANK SET UP BY SOMEONE AT MY SCHOOL AND I AM VERY MUCH SO IN A BAD MOOD.

PRETTY MUCH EVERY STUDENT IN THE SCHOOL LEFT BECAUSE THEY FELT UNSAFE, AND THE POLICE AND SHERIFFS WERE ALL OVER THE SCHOOL, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO DID IT.

ANYWHO, ENOUGH OF MY RAMBLINGS. I'M SORRY IF THIS UPDATE WASN'T GOOD. JUST TELL ME WHAT I CAN FIX AND I'LL DO JUST THAT.

STAY SNAPPY.

THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL.

READ, REVIEW, ENJOY!

YOURS TRULY,

~SMITHY