Once they returned to the lobby, Ratchet returned to work on the Jack Hammer while the other bots watch Bee dance with Jack, Miko and Raf. Optimus smiled as he saw that they were having a rather good time. The whole day has been filled with fun, and Optimus was happy that Azura was happy. He glanced at the hallway as he knew she should be on her way back to the lobby now. He doubted she would take very long. Though he guessed she could get distracted with her fish tanks, as he knew she had not thought about the fish when she woke up from recharge that morning.

While they waited, Ratchet was annoyed by the music that echoed in the lobby from the guitar. He didn't try to stop the children from having fun, but he was still annoyed. Wheeljack enjoyed the music and he just moved his body a little in time with the music. But he would stop when he heard the patter of small feet running to the lobby. Wheeljack knew it was Azura and he smiled when he saw her blue optics in the shadow of the hallway.

"And there she is!" Wheeljack said enthusiastically. She giggled and ran over to the wrecker and Wheeljack picked her up. "Just in time too! They're playing their final song for the night!"

She nodded with a big smile. "Oh, I know! But today has been a good day!"

"Now comes the time for you to be winding down that excitement of yours, Azura," Wheeljack said gently and Azura just frowned a little. "Don't be so surprised, youngling. I would have thought you would be put to berth right now."

"But I…I am not tired!" Azura retorted with a shake of her head. "I still want to just run and go crazy."

"Wheeljack is correct, Azura." She looked at Optimus as he spoke to her in a calm, but authoritative tone. "You need to relax and wind yourself down. I know you have been excited all day, and you and Wheeljack are already friends, but it is almost time for you to go into recharge. We do not need you to make us chase you all over the base."

Azura understood and she would do as he told. "I would do what he says…" Wheeljack whispered to her and she looked at him curiously. "The last time I disobeyed my carrier when I was a little sparkling, I had accidentally caused a flood of a gooey substance we used to have as sparklings. It was something we used to mould and build things with, and I had knocked a whole barrel full because my little brother was chasing me. But when my carrier went to punish me for it, she got a whole glob of slime smacking her backside so hard she fell back on it and bounced twice that it caused a mini earthquake."

Azura covered her mouth as she tried to keep herself from laughing so hard, mostly because Optimus heard what Wheeljack had whispered to her and he was not impressed. She did her best to keep herself from laughing too hard while Wheeljack raised his hand to show he would not tell her anything else that Optimus would deem inappropriate. Bulkhead covered his mouth with his hand to also keep himself from laughing loudly as he also overheard it. Ratchet did not since he was too distracted.

"I guess I should watch what I say," Wheeljack commented sarcastically.

"Indeed." Optimus looked at Azura and smiled. "Though I do hope that this story you will tell about the races before she falls into recharge will be fine."

"Of course, it will. It might have a bit of detail about clashing metal together on the track, but that's nothing to worry about. I am sure that she has seen the races on this planet." Azura nodded as she had seen car and horse racing on the TV sometimes, so she was well aware of that. "She won't have nightmares."

Bulkhead smiled at Wheeljack. "Seems good to me. And now that you are part of Team Prime, we need to pick out a vehicle mode for you. I have some ideas, and maybe Azura can come along and give you ideas too."

Azura nodded excitedly in agreement with Bulkhead. Wheeljack did not seem to be excited though as his expression softened. "Uh…about that, Bulk…" He glanced down at Azura as her smile quickly faded. "Now that my ship's almost repaired, I'm itching to know what else I might find out there." She immediately felt upset as that meant Wheeljack wanted to leave the base.

"Wait, you're leaving?!" Miko had overheard Wheeljack speak to Bulkhead and she was very surprised and upset as well that he would be leaving so soon. "Why?"

Wheeljack didn't want to upset the young humans, or the sparkling too much, but he needed to tell the truth. "Well…" He glanced up when Bulkhead began to say. "Because some bots never change."

Wheeljack smiled knowing that Bulkhead understood. Optimus himself accepted that Wheeljack had another path that he wanted to take. "Wheeljack, know that you always have a haven here. And I have no doubt that Azura will enjoy hearing about your space adventures when you return."

Azura nodded, even though she was still upset. Bulkhead walked closer and placed his arm around Wheeljack's shoulders. "Jackie never stays, but he always comes back." He glanced down at the sparkling who was not smiling. "You can have that confidence knowing that, Azura. He'll be back."

Azura understood, but she was upset still. "Okay…um…" She turned to look at Optimus. "I think I want to go to recharge now."

Optimus nodded and Wheeljack passed the sparkling to him. "I have no doubt you want more low-grade energon. I'll give you a bath first, and Wheeljack can tell you the story he promised to you before you recharge."

Azura nodded as she grabbed the Stitch toy and held it before gasping. "Oh! We also forgot to feed the fish!"

Optimus smiled at her as he turned to walk out of the lobby. "And we shall make sure that they do not go hungry." He looked at Wheeljack and gestured for him to follow. "Come, Wheeljack. You don't want to miss out telling your story."

The wrecker smiled and followed Optimus out of the lobby. He did not want to be the bearer of bad news, but he knew it was better than letting the kids wonder where he had run off to. He could see Azura holding the metal toy and she was staring at it. He did not know what was going through her head, but he had no doubt that she was just very sad that he had to go already. Wheeljack would come back, he knew it, but he wouldn't be able to tell her when.

Upon arriving in the nursery, Optimus walked over to the three fish tanks first and lowered Azura to the ground before he walked into the bathroom to get the bath ready for her. Wheeljack looked at the tanks curiously as he had not yet seen them. And he has not yet seen fish, so he was curious. He watched the small animals swim around in the tank and he was extremely curious as Azura fed the fish tiny flakes. And the fish seemed to go very nuts over the food with how quickly they went after it.

"These little creatures are very interesting." Azura nodded as she heard Wheeljack while she checked on the fish themselves. He turned his head as he had noticed the fourth tank and looked back at her. "Do you plan to use that other tank?"

"No, three is enough." Azura seemed happy with the tanks as she turned away from them and walked towards the bathroom. "But now is the time for a bath."

"You seem to have them regularly."

"Yeah…I don't need them now I don't have my outer…membrane…but I enjoy having a bath. It gets my mind ready for recharge." Azura began to yawn a little and she noticed she was starting to feel tired. "Hmm…I guess I am tired…"

Wheeljack chuckled softly as he followed her into the bathroom. He looked around curiously as he had not really seen one before. He firstly noticed the toilet and he couldn't help but think it was just weird that Azura needed to use one. The story Optimus had told him earlier about her made sense though. He looked at the raised tub in the middle of the room. He saw it was full with warm water with white bubbles. Azura let Optimus put the Stitch toy within his chassis before he placed her in the way.

The sparkling smiled once she was in the water and relaxed. "That feels nice…after exerting so much energy, there is nothing like a warm, bubble bath to soothe the soul."

Optimus smiled at her in amusement. "I am in full understanding. Unfortunately, I do not have that luxury. We do have showers that we use from time to time, but there is no room for a bath of our own. Although…when you have an oil bath, you may never come back to regular baths."

Azura chuckled softly and shrugged. "I guess we won't know until I try it." She moved her hands around, cupping the bubbles in her hands as Optimus gently cleaned her body. "But I highly doubt that you could have bubbles in an oil bath. That isn't as nice as this."

"That might be true, but oil baths are really good for your body," Optimus said with an amused expression. "But this is the closest you will get. And I promise, if we do get back to Cybertron, you can have the choice between an oil bath and a bubble bath."

"Sounds like a plan." Azura looked at Wheeljack and saw he was just leaning against the wall listening quietly. "Do you think you can start telling the story?"

Wheeljack smirked at her and shrugged. "Well…I could…but the idea of telling you the story would be when you are either cradled in Optimus's arms while you drink your low-grade, or you are laying in that comfortable, looking, berth you have in this room of yours as you will likely fall in recharge. Though I might be mistaken, you might have fallen into recharge in the bath before, though you don't look like it."

Azura giggled softly and nodded. "Yeah…I have…" She glanced at Optimus for a moment. "Daddy has had to carry me to berth a few times…I have been in recharge when he has bathed me. But…that was a while ago…"

The wrecker chuckled softly. "Sparklings are so cute…" Azura turned away from Wheeljack shyly, making the wrecker chuckle even more. "It is a shame I never got the chance to have one of my own." He looked at Optimus as the leader began to gently wash Azura's hair. "You know…despite the beginning, you are very lucky, Optimus."

"I am aware. Azura is the last sparkling born at this time…as far as we know…" She looked up at Optimus as she listened to his response to Wheeljack. "I am also fully aware that…that I now cannot see my life without her anymore." She smiled at him and lifted her arms to hug his right wrist as he washed her hair gently. "It was destiny and fate that she exists."

"I could not agree more." Wheeljack walked over to the tub with a smile. "And now I hope that the next time I might see you, you will be…" He lifts his hands with a thoughtful hum. Azura looked at him as she watched him move his hands. "You're this tall now…but I hope you will be this tall next time."

She giggled when she saw how high Wheeljack raised his hand in the hopes she would be that tall. "I am afraid I cannot promise that. I think I will be small overall."

"Perhaps…but you have many years of growing to do, and for all you know, you could get as tall as your carrier." It was wishful thinking to Azura, though it would certainly be nice to image. "Do you think Azura will be wearing her first coverings next time I show up?"

Optimus looked at Wheeljack in surprise and he pondered on the question. "That will depend on exactly the length of time it takes for you to return, Wheeljack. I am afraid I cannot give you a proper answer."

"Right, right…I guess I can only imagine." Wheeljack chuckled a little and watched as Optimus finished washing Azura's hair and rinsed it out gently. "Maybe next time I see you, you can show me how good you are with your abilities."

Azura frowned a little as she didn't like how he was speaking. "Why are you speaking as if we won't see each other tomorrow?"

"Well…I plan on leaving as soon as my ship is repaired, Azura." She whimpered a little as her optics fill with tears. "And…given how much you did today, I think you will probably still be in recharge when I leave."

"Why can't you stay long enough for me to say good-bye? I don't want…" She sniffled a little and looked away. "I had hoped you would stay. We lost a good friend not so long ago…and I messed up our last interaction with him…" Optimus hummed gently as he lifts Azura from the bath and wrapped her in a towel, rubbing her back gently as he knew she was talking about Cliffjumper. "And it hurts…" She looked at Wheeljack just as Optimus tightened the towel around her. Wheeljack was a little overcome by the cuteness as she was completely bundled within that towel, only leaving her head out of it. But he kept his composure as he listened to her. "He…he was like a brother…and now you're leaving…"

"Hey, hey, hey…" Wheeljack stepped closer as she sniffled and let out some tears. "I think I know who you are talking about. But I want you to know that it might not happen the way you think." She just shrugged and looked up at Optimus and glanced towards the panel on his chassis for the fuel line. Optimus opened it to bring out the fuel line while Wheeljack continued to talk to Azura. "I understand you have been through a lot. Ratchet and Optimus have both informed me of that, but you need not worry. I am a lot stronger than you think."

"That's what Cliffjumper said."

Wheeljack sighed for a moment and shrugged. "Well…he was quite the racer back on Cybertron." She looked at Wheeljack in surprise when it seemed like Wheeljack knew Cliffjumper. "You are definitely going to love the story I have for you. You see, back on Cybertron, we had these extremely, intense races. You might think we would race in our alternate forms, but when the races were created, it was forbidden. So we had to build our own machines." That was interesting. Azura did not know that they had to build their own vehicles for racing. "And believe me, these things had be something we had to build. We could not go and just buy them."

"I see…that's cool." Azura turned her head when Optimus offered the fuel line to her. She smiled at him and looked at Wheeljack. "Were you able to build multiple machines, or could you only have one?" She opened her mouth to accept the fuel line and waited for the line to fill with low-grade while she looked at Wheeljack.

Wheeljack and Optimus moved out of the bathroom into the bedroom so it would be more comfortable for Azura. "I did have two…in fact, my ship is named after one of the machines I built. But this is about Cliffjumper. He and I used to race against each other back in the day." She smiled as she was happy that Wheeljack knew who Cliffjumper is. "I can tell you weren't expecting me to know him, but I do. He used to have that saying You Mess with Cliffjumper, You Get the Horns, it was kind of ridiculous and funny at the same time."

Azura knew that line. He said that more than a few times. It was definitely a line that pretty much screamed a lot about Cliffjumper's personality. But she had no idea he was racer. It kind of made sense though. He never spoke about that side of him, though she would have loved to hear him tell her those stories. She was certain they would be crazy. Though she couldn't help but think of the Pod Racing from Star Wars by the description of how the machines were built, but she doubted their vehicles looked anything remotely like those pod racers.

"Cliffjumper and I...we weren't the best racers, but we were fierce. He and I were both rivals and friends. Rivals on the track, friends outside the track. I hope that makes sense." Azura nodded and she began to drink the low-grade is it filled the line. "But this is about a time when I wasn't on the track. It was way back when the two of us were just rookies, and Cliffjumper's beast of a machine was ready to give the track a good blazing. I had seen him driving the machine around on the practice tracks, and by Primus, it was a beast! It was also very…mmm…very…" Wheeljack paused as he thought of the right word to use. "Well, it was a cluster mess as well, but Cliff was extremely proud of it. He built it on his own, so he wanted to show the world what he had. So he entered a race where all rookies take part in to show the world what they got. I did race it myself, and it was just as dangerous as the intermediate tracks."

"I agree. I remember watching those races being transmitted live across Cybertron." Optimus shook his head as he remembered them. "I never once considered joining those races. The way you race is…it was just crazy."

Wheeljack chuckled at Optimus in amusement. "Yep! That is why only certain bots would even take part in the races. Anyway…Cliff's beast of a machine was very streamlined; despite that it was big. He brought the thing to the track proudly, and I thankfully got to witness the race myself. He and the other nine rookies got their vehicles ready and made sure their pit teams knew what to do. Though…Cliff's team was…questionable at the time." He shrugged a little with a light huff of amusement. "Anyway, the big rookie races are always fun to watch. As they started their engines, I noticed that one of the engines on Cliff's vehicle was not working. I was going to go and warn him, but the race had started, so he sped off on the track with the others. To be honest, I thought things were going to go fine."

Azura drank the low-grade slowly as she listened to Wheeljack. It was very intriguing to know that Wheeljack saw Cliff's first race. She also guessed that this was one of those times where Cliff had almost died. She still hated to think that he had been killed by the decepticons, though it was interesting to hear about any other close calls he might have had. She did hope she would not feel upset by the end of the story though.

"The track itself is at least two hundred miles long with multiple obstacles in the way. Racers can get a bit heated with each other, but that's pretty normal. With Cliffjumper, when he left the starting line, he was in fifth place and needed to work his way up to first. Though since there are three laps, he would be in no hurry. But…" Wheeljack's smile widened a little. "Cliffjumper was not always the most patient autobot. He really pushed his vehicle to get around the fourth and third racer very quickly in the first quarter of the track on the first lap. At the time, I thought he would do fine since he could be patient and get to know the track first before attempting to take the lead. Yep, I was totally wrong!"

Optimus was intrigued by the story as well as Cliff did not speak much about his past on Cybertron. Though there was a chance he told a lot to Arcee, since the two of them were very close. He had no idea Cliff was a racer until now, and it was actually really nice to know that Cliff and Wheeljack had been friends. It was just too bad that the two of them weren't able to reconnect given what has happened to Cliffjumper.

"Cliffjumper managed to cut off the racer who was second in place, drifting around a rather large, dangerous cliff that moves closer as the racers move by it. I don't know if he miscalculated or something, but he hit one of the spikes sticking out of the wall. The poor bot went flying and crashed into the side of the track." Azura widened her eyes as she imagined what had happened to Cliff. "And his vehicle…well…it was scrapped. The poor bot didn't even get to finish the first lap. Though it isn't too surprising that he did lose. Mostly because most rookies will not finish the race. He had only damaged a few fingers and a horn, but he didn't have serious injures." Wheeljack then let out a chuckle. "But his rage was caught on camera. He smashed that vehicle into scrap metal like it was a decepticon. He did beat the race the second time with is newer vehicle, but that was how he started racing."

"That sounds very interesting…he definitely sounds as though he had less self control than he had when I knew him." Wheeljack nodded affirmatively as Cliffjumper would take risks more when he was younger. Optimus intakes heavy and smiled politely at Wheeljack. "Thank you for that story. It is nice to know Cliff had another friend."

"Yeah…I just wish I saw him again before Scream killed him." Wheeljack shrugged a little and his smile softened. "But there isn't much that I can do really. I can only remember the good times before the war. We didn't really see each other since then, so…I wouldn't know how much he has changed." He looked at Azura as he heard her sniffling and saw tears falling from her optics. "Hmm…listen to me, Azura." She looked at him when he spoke to her. "I know in my spark that Cliff would be proud of you. You might feel guilty for words and actions from the past, but you need to forgive yourself for it. There's no way to go back. He would be disappointed if he knew you still felt bad. Knowing Cliff, he would tell you to move on and stop worrying."

"I do agree he would say that. But…" Optimus gently rubbed Azura's head with his thumb. "You know it will take a lot of time for her."

"Yeah, I know." Wheeljack smiled at her and looked at the berth, noticing all the other stuffed toys sitting in there. "Wow, this quite the collection you have." He walked over to it, looking into the berth and eyeing the different toys. "I see you really like the human toys." He reached in and picked up the unicorn, and felt how soft it was. "I see why though. I don't know what this is made from, but it is very pretty. "He placed the toy back down and looked at the blanket and pillow. He did not know what they were, but given they were there, he guess Azura slept with them. "What are these?"

"Those are blankets. Azura is able to keep warm with them." The wrecker hummed as he listened to Optimus, seemingly happy about that. "And that is a pillow. It is a soft place for her to rest her head. It is a human thing, but Azura likes it, and it brings her comfort."

"I can tell." He looked at Azura as she pulled her hand out from the towel and gestured for Optimus to stop the flow. "Full already? I expected her to want to have more."

Azura waited until the fuel stopped and she looked at Wheeljack. "Actually, I want to hug you…" Wheeljack smiled and Optimus passed her to him. She was quick to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her cheek on his shoulder. "You…you will come back…right?"

"I would not be able to stay away, Azura. Bulkhead is here, and by far the cutest sparkling I have ever seen is here, so I will definitely come back." Wheeljack rubbed her back gently as she sniffled a little. "There, there, all you need to do when you are thinking about me is to look up at the stars. One of those stars is a galaxy or a planet that I am exploring. You don't need to worry, there aren't a lot of decepticons out there. I think most of them are here on the planet, to be honest."

Azura knew she wouldn't be convinced until he did return. So she could only take his word for it. "Alright…I'll miss you." She saw the surprise in his optics as she smiled at him. "Makeshift was not your fault…we could have had a week of fun, if not for him." She widened her smile and kissed his cheek. "But I am happy to meet you, Jackie…" The wrecker's smile widened when she called him Jackie like Bulkhead. "And…come back soon."

"And I will be sure to bring you a gift." He gently tapped her nose with his finger, making her giggle softly. "Now it is time for you to finish up your feeding and get to berth." He glanced at Optimus as the leader still had the fuel line out for her. "Um…you are hungry, right?"

"I am still…but I wanted to…well…" She grabbed a couple strands of her hair to play with anxiously. "I just wanted to hug you…you said you might be gone when I wake…even though I want to see you leave. But…I guess you are just too eager to leave."

Wheeljack gently passed Azura back to Optimus. She grabbed the fuel line and placed it in her mouth as the wrecker chuckled softly. "You are right, kiddo. But know it isn't because I am rushing to get out because of you. I just don't like staying in one place for too long. I hope you understand." She nodded and he noticed her optics seemed to be quivering, which was a sign she would fall into recharge soon. "I hope you have some good dreams tonight. May they be fun!" He turned around so he could leave the room. "I need to spend a little bit of time with just Bulkhead now. I will see you later, Optimus."

Optimus just nodded as the wrecker left him alone with his daughter. He looked down as he heard her sniffling again and wiped the tears from her cheeks. He was still very intrigued at how hungry she was. She really was eating a lot more than she had before. He knew it could just be the fact she used a lot of energy today. But if she showed she was still eating a lot over the next few days, he would certainly think she was in the throes of a growth spurt. Azura eventually fell asleep while she was feeding and he smiled. He unwrapped the towel from around her body and placed her in her berth, and placed the Stitch toy beside her. She did end up reaching out and grabbing the toy in her sleep, which was very adorable. Optimus looked forward to the days ahead when he can watch her progress in her training with her abilities, and learning to read Cybertronian.