It has been two days since the incident with Airachnid, and Azura's illness has not shown any signs of going away. Azura has become a mess as she has been coughing and sneezing multiple elements each day. She's set off the sprinkler systems multiple times unintentionally, she's caused burns to Optimus's arms and chassis, and she has also burned some of Ratchet's equipment. All of which has not been under her control unfortunately. On top of that, the heat around her crystal hasn't gone away either, and her whole system was now hot to the point she has been soaking in icy water just to cool her system down.
Optimus has already lost a lot of recharge due to this. And it hurt him. He and Ratchet had a stern word with Arcee about her irresponsible judgement that put both Azura and Jack in danger of Airachnid. Arcee was no longer trusted to keep an eye on Azura moving forward for a while. At least, not on her own. Arcee accepted the consequences of her actions, and she's apologized profusely multiple times. But as Azura has been so sick, Optimus really didn't want to focus on what happened, but rather that he wanted to be by Azura's side.
Holding her gently as Azura grasped a bucket, purging violently into it, Optimus rubbed Azura's back gently as she struggled with purging. That was the next issue. She has been purging a lot, and it has made getting her to ingest medicine hard. Plus, she now has to deal with diarrhoea on top of that, which Ratchet was less than pleased with when Azura woke up a mess she hadn't expected, and Optimus had to show the medic the new symptom. It was just a downside of having a slightly different system to them where toileting was a normal and necessary thing for Azura.
Because of this, they had to figure out how to manage it, and now Azura was made to essentially wear a diaper. She felt it was undignified, but it wasn't exactly something she could disagree with either. She was an infant Cybertronian after all, though she still disliked wearing one. Nonetheless, it just added to the responsibility that Optimus had to endure while she was so sick. Even if he didn't particularly enjoy that fact, he did not complain at all.
Azura groaned, leaning back as she took deep intakes, feeling awful that she has been very sick for the last couple days. "I wish this would go away…I feel so horrible…" Azura turned her head, looking up at Optimus with a sad expression. "I'm sorry that I'm keeping you from recharge. I don't mean to wake up and be sick…I'm just so sore and hot…"
Optimus smiled at her as he rubbed his thumb along her back gently. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Azura. Being sick is not your fault. It will get better, it's just an unfortunate situation." Azura sighed as she really still felt guilty for being sick. "I know you are just as tired as I am, if not more. You haven't recharged much either. And your body is fighting an infection, and we only can wait until it wins. And, as your system is weak, I wish I knew how long it would take. Not even Ratchet knows."
Azura knew she was in for being sick for a long time, given that Ratchet has been monitoring the infection during this whole time. She sighed, looking down at the diaper she was wearing. It was not a regular human diaper, but Ratchet had managed to create something rather quickly. It was still bothersome to Azura, since she knew she hasn't worn one since her was much younger.
"I wish I didn't have to wear this though. It's embarrassing…I stopped wearing these when I was so much younger…" Azura knew that Optimus did not have any complaint when she needed a change, but she still hated it. "My tank really is gurgling though…even though I haven't had any water or ingested much energon." She let out a light whimper and looked at the bucket again. "I don't think I'm going to be purging again for a while…hopefully…" She flinched as he grabbed the bucket and placed a new, clean bucket by her instead. "Ugh…" She let out a yawn and rubbed her optics as she was still so very tired from lack of sleep and just being terribly sick.
Optimus smiled at her as he slid off his berth to take the bucket to clean it. Azura's complaints was completely reasonable. He did not blame her for feeling that way at all. There was little he could do. They could only do what they could, even if it hurt to see Azura struggling like this. Optimus rubbed the side of his head as he felt very weary from the lack of recharge. He has only gotten four hours in the last forty-eight hours, so he was rather tired. But he endured it for the sake of his daughter.
He finished cleaning the bucket and placed it on a stand before grabbing another as he knew she would likely need one soon. He turned again and saw Azura was holding the bucket he left her with, but she had actually fallen into recharge. He could not help but smile as he knew she also struggled to stay awake. He did not blame her at all. He hummed softly as he knew he could take this chance at recharging himself.
He gently picked her up and opened his chassis to place her inside. He has already had to clean purge within his chassis multiple times, as Azura is often half awake when she purges, and that had resulted in her getting more baths. He did make sure to check if she needed a change, but she did not. Jack did explain to them that diarrhoea can last for at least two days, as long as it's not extremely bad. They were hoping that would be the case so Azura can be more comfortable. But she also wasn't human, so that might not apply to her. It would be nice if it did end after another twelve hours, but Optimus did not have his hopes up.
He rubbed his chassis thoughtfully and he worried that this illness was going to set back the procedure necessary for her system. Ratchet did not believe so, but Optimus was still worried about that. He really wanted her to be well, and he feared that the lack of all of her systems would also be a reason why the infection will last longer. Optimus recalls the many times he has witnessed Cybertronian parents tend to their sick sparklings. He remembered especially when the sparklings were infected with the Cybonic Plague. Now that was one memory Optimus hated. After all, these sparklings wouldn't have suffered if it weren't for Megatron.
"Optimus." Optimus flinched as he heard Ratchet over his com link. But he would not without reason, so Optimus simply listened politely out of duty and curiosity. "I am sorry to bother you if you are tending to Azura, but Fowler has dropped in. He wishes to speak to you directly in regards to something. I am not sure what it is, but he seems to believe it is something that you must listen to."
Optimus exhales deeply as he was lightly irritated that he could not get some recharge, but he would see what Fowler wanted. Standing from his berth, Optimus left his room and made his way towards the lobby as he pondered on what could have possibly been so important that Agent Fowler had to drop by and speak to him about. He felt it could have waited, but the human probably wasn't aware of Azura's condition yet. At least the children were here, and they probably already told him about it.
Optimus soon entered the lobby, looking over at the platform to see Jack was glaring at Fowler with his arms folded. Miko stood beside him the same way. "Come on, Fowler," The boy said in a blunt tone. "Couldn't you just give him the information, rather than ask him to leave the base was while Azura needs him? I don't know what exactly you need to tell him, but…"
"This will be discussed with Optimus, Jack. I don't appreciate the tone you are taking with me, young man." Fowler turned his head and smiled upon seeing the leader autobot, but Optimus did not reciprocate as he simply approached him for an explanation. "And perfect timing."
"Oh, are you for real?!" Miko snapped angrily. "We are all upset, because Azura is severely sick. I think it is understandable that we are upset. Poor Optimus has not had much recharge because of it."
Fowler just ignored the girl and looked at Optimus. "So…I'm going to not ask how bad she is, as Ratchet and the children have informed me about it…" Ratchet rolled his optics in irritation, as he too was irritated with Fowler. "Anyway…I kind of do need to inform you of something."
"It would be best if you tell us why you are here, Agent Fowler," Optimus responded in a weary voice that made Fowler raise an eyebrow. "I am hoping to get some recharge while Azura is in recharge herself, so I hope it is important enough for me to ignore that need."
"Uh…yes, kind of…" Optimus frowned as he did not like that answer. "I figured that you will want to know that an outpost laboratory detected decepticon activity within the location. It seems they might have found an energon source, but we are currently relocating the sensitive information within the building itself."
Optimus listened to the man quietly as he pondered on what he was saying. "I suspect you have evidence and coordinates of this activity." Fowler nodded as he walked over to a computer, plugged in a USB into it and brought up the images of the decepticons and the location of their activity. "Hmm…it does seem like they are looking for something, and it might not be energon."
"It could be something that we should know about," Arcee said thoughtfully and she looked at Optimus. "Did you want us to prepare and take care of this?"
Optimus pondered on the response to this action as he knew that the decepticons were clearly up to something. "It would seem that we should take concern with this. Arcee, you may go and observe them with Bulkhead and Bumblebee. It is best that you do not go alone, in case your presence is discovered."
"You aren't going?" Fowler questioned the bot with a curious frown. "You normally take the lead in something like this, Prime."
"Under normal circumstances, sure, but Optimus has had at least four hours of recharge these past forty-eight hours," Ratchet responded to the man in a blunt tone. "I am afraid Optimus's priorities right now does not involve leaving the base over something like this. It might be something serious, it might not. When Azura starts to improve, things might change. But until then, Optimus will remain here."
"I see…it is worse than I thought…" Fowler seemed guilty as he understood that Optimus was not in the position to leave right now. "Hmm…I guess I have no further information. I am mostly concerned by the close proximity of the decepticons to a research lab, so that is mostly why I came here. I wish I hadn't, but I also didn't have a choice."
"We understand that you have to follow a chain of command like we do, Agent Fowler," Optimus reassured the man with a smile. "While the current circumstances is something that I do wish to be different, I am afraid there is nothing more we can do but wait. Azura's illness is too severe for me to leave her."
"I know. Being a parent is probably one of the hardest jobs in the world. And watching a child fall sick, it makes you feel bad and helpless." Optimus nodded as that is what he felt. He was happy Fowler understood. "I wish I did have to interrupt you, and I know I could have just told you over the com link, but I did want to come in to see how she was. And I see that it is as bad as you said it was. Hopefully she feels better soon."
"We are all hoping for that as well, Agent Fowler. But unfortunately, it might take at least a week before the symptoms start to lessen…" Optimus glanced at Ratchet as he was aware of that fact, though knowing that was the least amount of time for Azura to possibly recover from the illness bothered him. Ratchet warned him it could last much longer. "And Optimus needs to be here for her. As much as he would like to be out on the field, he is no good to the team when he himself has not had the rest necessary to keep up with the other autobots. I am sure you understand. At the very moment, it is like Azura is a new born sparkling…to a point."
Fowler nodded as he did understand and became curious. "The kids did mention her having diarrhoea and you had put her in a diaper. How did that go down?" Ratchet and Optimus glanced at each other as they knew how upset Azura was when that had to happen. "Azura probably hasn't had one on since she was much smaller, so I imagine it must be a bit mortifying for her."
"It is. I am surprised Ratchet was even prepared…" Jack paused for a moment before looking at the medic. "Why did you even have them prepared? It seems awfully strange to me."
Ratchet sighed deeply as he knew that question was going to get asked. "If you must know, then it is because of the procedure that I intend on Optimus and Azura to go through for her to get her full system. Unfortunately, the process may cause her mind to regress and her system as well…and as Azura is built differently to the rest of us, her waste system is not likely to go away. And I will not remove it, as doing that probably would do more harm than good. So she will probably need them after the procedure is finished."
"I see…" Jack had not realized that was likely to happen, though Fowler was extremely confused as he has not heard of this procedure yet. "I guess that makes sense…and kind of something for poor Optimus to look forward to…" Optimus smirked slightly as he was fully aware of this himself. "Though it will benefit. I wish we could be of help."
"You have been a great help just by being there, Jack," Arcee said to him gently with a smile. "You've probably done more than you think. You were there when we weren't for three years…" Optimus flinched when the femme mentioned the three years Azura had been gone. He had chosen to not think about those years deliberately. "And you have been kind of like a sibling, in a way."
Jack shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess it is because I have been taught to be responsible. After all, it's just me and my mother, and I've grown up knowing that she can't do it on her own. So I learned to be responsible, and that is why I have a job and focus on school…and I guess that extended to Azura." He smiled a little as he was glad that they saw he was responsible. "I never really thought of myself like a brother. I am sure that Azura see's Bumblebee like a brother."
"She does, and I am sure she sees you as a very close friend, it is just an observation that we have regarding you both," Bulkhead said with a big smile. He glanced at Fowler for a moment and glanced at Optimus. "In regard to the decepticon activity, do you want us to go now?"
Optimus did not respond as he looked at Fowler. "Have all the personal at the laboratory been evacuated, Fowler? I won't have my autobots investigate unless your people are safe from harm. Especially as a simple recon can turn into a fight. I do not want innocent humans to get caught in between."
"Not yet. But I will keep in touch. It should not be too much longer, as they started evacuating as soon as the decepticons were detected, and I made sure that I gave the order myself." Fowler observed as Optimus simply nodded, though his shoulders slump slightly and the man could see he was exhausted. "Listen, Prime, if your bots have the okay to go when it is clear, you should be confident that they will listen to your orders and go in with the intention of observing the enemy. You can go and power down for as long as you can while Azura is resting herself."
"I think Fowler is right on this one, Optimus. You need to recharge to keep your strength up." Ratchet walked over to his leader and placed his arm around his shoulders with a smile. "You have my word that I will make sure that Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee understand your orders. I may only be a medic, but I stand by your word."
Optimus appreciated that they wanted him to go and recharge. He did trust them. It was still his responsibility, but Azura was high on his priority. Being unable to recharge would do a disservice to her as well. He intakes heavily and nods. "Very well. I will leave command in your hands, Ratchet. I trust that you will fulfil the duty as promised. I do not wish this to go down badly while I am in recharge."
"I will not fail you, Optimus. If I do, I am sure the children will inform you." Jack, Miko and Raf glance at each other as they knew that they would, even if they would be there witnessing what is happening. "The most important thing for you right now is to focus on you and Azura, Optimus. You might be a Prime, but even you have a limit. And I am more than willing to takeover occasionally for you if you need additional recharge."
"I can't ask you to forsake your recharge as well, Ratchet," Optimus responded in surprise to the bot's offer. "I need you well to help tend to Azura when needed, Ratchet. You are our medic, and the only one who can help. So far, the medicine is not taking hold of Azura's system."
"I am aware. And I am adjusting some other medicines so her system can take a direct injection without causing an overload. I had hoped her purging would have stopped now, but we can only be patient." Ratchet rubbed the bot's shoulders as he knew that Optimus was worried that Azura would starve from lack of energon. Ratchet did not believe so. "Now go back to your room and get on that berth to get into recharge, Optimus. Azura tends to only have thirty minutes to two hours of recharge at a time right now. She's just as tired, if not more than you."
Optimus was still a bit unsure, but he trusted Ratchet and he nodded. "Very well. Make sure to inform me of the mission when I wake up." The medic nodded affirmatively, and Optimus turned to make his way back to his room. "Do expect me to tend to Azura when I wake from recharge though. She will need another cold bath."
"Hmm…the core temperatures needs a cooling down." Ratchet shook his head as he softened his expression. "Her system isn't able to do that on its own right now. And it's sad and worrying."
Optimus did not respond to Ratchet as he agreed with him. But they were unable to do anything right now. He placed his hand on his chassis again, hoping that his sparkling would recover soon. Her discomfort made him feel helpless. He did know she was strong though. Stronger than any Cybertronian he has known. After all, she survived the journey to this planet when he was forced to part with her when she was just a new spark. He only hoped that same strength was still within her.
Once he returned to his room, he took a step inside, only to hear Azura whimpering in her recharge and coughing. He opened his chassis and reached in to gently take her out, watching her writhe and nearly push the bucket off his hand. She was intaking quickly as well, and her spark's pulse was rather quick. He was glad it was not erratic, or he would be immediately concerned. He watched as she writhed in his hand for a moment before she relaxed. He guessed she was having a nightmare or something.
He walked over to the berth and laid down on it, careful to not wake Azura as she could wake at any time. But she did not open her optics, and he was able to feel comfortable enough to place her back into his chassis. Making sure she was comfortable, and placing the bucket by her again just in case, he covered her in the blankets he had placed within his chassis, and has had to change and clean due to her purging over them. But he knew she appreciated the blankets.
With that, he closed his chassis again and relaxed on his berth, staring at the ceiling while he considered what would happen in the future. He knew that Azura would get through this illness, there was no doubt about it. He still wondered what her destiny was. Optimus knew that his was always to be a Prime, even when he didn't know at the time. But Azura's future was still a mystery. He did wonder if she would somehow be able to revive the planet that dragons once lived on. But he doubted she had that power, though he did not know. After all, the dragon she was related to probably had abilities that the Primes did not know about.
He was just glad he was going to be there as part of her journey. He once believed that it was not his destiny to be by her side. Once he had sent the pod away to save her, and the years would go by, Optimus had accepted that he would not get to be in his sparkling's life. And he did hope to find her when they arrived on Earth, but when he did not find signs, he did not believe he would ever see her again. And it hurt so much.
Optimus was glad that the hurt he had felt for a long time was gone. Sometimes it came back, but only when he thought about it, and only when he also felt guilty. There was so much he had to make up for, and he knew that there will never be enough to amount to making up for what he has done. Plus, he did not know if she would be his only sparkling going forward. If they were able to revive Cybertron, repairing it and protecting it would be his main objective. Finding a sparkmate, and having another sparkling was not really on his list of things to do.
Regardless, Optimus was more than happy with it just being him and his daughter. As much as he hated to admit it, he did have to thank Megatron for creating the habloid spark pulse machine. Despite the fact it was of evil intent, Optimus was able to save his spark from destruction, and the fate of being used to cause his demise. It was honestly ironic in his mind to think of it that way. Though Megatron was not here to ever see nor touch his daughter. He did not even know what Megatron would do if he were still alive, and knew that she existed. He most likely will want her to try and twisted her mind for his own desires.
Closing his optics, Optimus focused on clearing his mind to try and have a restful recharge. He did not want to think of his guilt, nor did he want to think of the issue Fowler had just dropped today. He wanted only to recharge, and to be here for Azura when she wakes up. And hoped for a little longer than an hour, but he knew that depended on Azura. His body quickly relaxed, and his system slows down while he fell into a deep state of recharge. But not deep enough to not feel or be awakened by his daughter when she needs him.