(Please see all previous disclaimers, m preg mentioned)
A couple more months had passed and now Optimus was struggling with his balance in his bipedal mode. The sparkling bump he was sporting had shifted his center of gravity quite a bit. He had ended up on the floor a few times, but so far, he hadn't been injured nor had the sparklings been harmed. Optimus knew that because each time he had ended up on the floor, Aquaformer had commed Ratchet to check the sparked Prime out. Optimus knew his mate was trying her best, but it didn't feel like enough even though he knew when she was sparked, he hadn't even given her this much attention thanks to the war that was now over. Optimus sighed. He hoped that soon, he could spark the little ones.
Aquaformer was busy in med bay and the sparklings they had were elsewhere. Optimus found himself wandering the hallways, as he was bored with staying in their quarters. It reminded him of the time he had banned his mate from leaving the quarters to try and keep her safe. Only now did he see that that had been a really bad idea. Optimus didn't know it, but his wandering was leading him out of the base. He had so much on his mind. Feeling a need to do so, Optimus transformed and headed out, his systems barely able to transform thanks to the little ones.
In the med bay, Aquaformer worked hard. She was happy to use her skills and be allowed back in the med bay to do what she loved to do. As she was working, Spike and Carly came running into the med bay. She spotted the pair instantly. "Where's the emergency? Is something wrong?" Aquaformer asked, feeling like she needed to know.
"Yeah, Optimus just headed out on his own" Spike stated, having seen it.
"He is free to leave if he wishes" Aquaformer answered, getting a bad feeling.
"But he looked very distracted" Carly added, seeming to know Aquaformer sensed more was going on.
"Tell you what, I am finished here in a few minutes. Let me finish up and then I will go after our Prime" Aquaformer offered up, knowing why her mate may have left.
"But…but" Spike started to say.
"Leave it to Aquaformer, Spike. She knows what to do" Carly stated, butting in and then dragged Spike out of the med bay.
After the human pair left, Ratchet approached Aquaformer. "You shift is over, why not leave now?" Ratchet asked.
"Optimus' systems have been acting up during this sparking. I want him to have some time before I go after him. I want him to feel like he has a choice, not feel like he is forced to return" Aquaformer explained and Ratchet nodded. A few minutes later, Aquaformer transformed into her grounder mode and drove after her mate. She just hoped he hadn't gone too far in his sparked state.