We're back everyone. I TRIED to get this chapter out by Valentines Day. But then my computer took a nosedive, and it took a while to get it usable again. I have a new one arriving soon.

Anyway, here's a chapter full of fluff and love to give you diabeetus. Fair warning, there is some implied but nondescript sexual content in this chapter that happens off screen as well as implied 'nudity' on par with chapter one. In addition, I do NOT own the rights to the song used in this chapter, or the ones mentioned. Anyway, please enjoy.

On the berth in his quarters, Jack Darby gave a light sigh through his nose. Looking at the clock he noticed that it was nearly midnight. This meant that he should be expecting his nightly visitor at any moment now. Closing his eyes, he heard the quiet hiss of the electronic door and quiet footsteps creeping up to his berth. Opening his right eye, he could just make out Mikos' form in the darkness.

"Hey jackrabbit." She whispered tiredly, giving a small wave.

"Back again Pretty Bird?" He asked with a smile. Ever since they'd returned from Japan, Miko had had horrific nightmares about her time in her parents' captivity. The first couple of nights back, she had awoken the entire base when she woke up screaming. The primary reason that had stopped was because Miko had started sneaking into his room and sleeping in the same berth as him. The vividity of her dreams seemed to lessen when she was close to him.

"Yep." Miko whispered as Jack shifted back and lifted his blanket up. Giving her boyfriend a smile she climbed into bed with him and snuggled in close. She couldn't help giggling a little as Jack planted a kiss on the base of her neck before giving a sigh of comfort and drifting into a fitful sleep.

Nuzzling into his girlfriend, Jack couldn't help but feel the slight twitches of her body. The trauma of being vivisected had left its' mark on her and Jack couldn't help feeling helpless about it. The poor girl just hadn't been herself lately.

"Sleep tight Miko." Jack whispered as he began to drift to sleep. "I'll help keep the nightmares away."

The next morning at breakfast, the two made sure to enter with a few seconds between them to keep the fact that they slept in the same bed a secret. As the two of them sat down, the conversation that was ongoing around them caught up to them.

"Vinnie and I are definitely going." Sierra giggled as she nudged her blushing boyfriends' shoulder. "What about you Allie? Got a certain dino you want to invite?"

"I'd like to." Allison grumbled. "But Slash has been ducking me ever since I let slip that I was sixteen."

"She's probably a little surprised at how young you are." Arcee supplied as she took a drink from her mug of milk. Ever since becoming technorganic, she found she enjoyed being able to enjoy the same kinds of foods the other Maximals did. "I mean, she is the same age as Goldbug."

"Well, I'm not exactly crawling around on the floor and pooping my pants!" Allison exclaimed.

"Eww, image!" Raf replied in disgust from where he and Enrique were talking. Leaning back towards his brother, Raf whispered. "You really think there's something between them?" He asked.

"I'm sure of it." Enrique replied. "The way she talks about him is not the way you'd talk about 'just a friend'."

"Well, I know Goldbug has been acting a bit strange around her." Raf commented.

"You mean agent Watson?" Arcee asked, looking at them. "Goldbug told me about her a couple of times." She snorted. "He wouldn't shut up about her the first time. Judging by what Enrique said, it might be mutual."

"So, what were you talking about Sierra?" Jack asked, wanting to get the conversation off Goldbugs' potential relationship with agent Watson.

"Oh, right." Sierra exclaimed wide eyed. "Swerve is hosting a party in his bar tonight. Vinnie and I thought it'd be a great date night idea." She side eyed her boyfriend. "Especially since we haven't been on an actual date outside of movie nights." She added pointedly.

"Like I was going to say no." Vince rebutted. Despite his bad boy reputation, he never got invited to a party like this. And the one time he'd snuck into a bar, he'd gotten thrown out in less than five minutes.

"If the kids are going, I am too." June added. She didn't quite trust Swerve not to serve the young Maximals the hard stuff like Engex.

"Optimus was going to chaperone in any case, but a second set of eyes might be a good idea too." Arcee commented, enjoying how Junes' face reddened slightly. Maybe she could talk to Swerve and help try to set those two up.

Trying to take her mind off the idea of Optimus and her in a bar, June turned to Jack and Miko. "What about you two?" She asked. Hopefully a party might be just the thing to help them forget what they went through. Particularly Miko.

"Hmm?" Miko responded, drawn out of her own thoughts. "Oh, yeah, sure." She added distractedly, drawing looks of concern from everyone else at the table. Under normal circumstances Miko would be thrilled to hit the 'alien party scene'. "I'm going to hit the refresher." Miko said before getting up and leaving the kitchen.

After they watched her go, the other Maximals looked at each other.

"She's still really hurting, isn't she?" Sierra asked, still looking at where Miko vanished.

"She's sleeping a bit better now that she's been sneaking into Jacks room." June replied, causing Jack to inadvertently inhale his orange juice. Rolling her eyes as Jack coughed, she explained. "Oh, come on, I've stayed up worrying about all of you at one point or another, and I sensed the vibrations in the floor the last few nights."

"You mean you're not?" Jack began, finally clearing his windpipe.

"Mad, no." June answered her son. "Jack, I trust you to be responsible. Besides, that poor girl needs the comfort."

"How do we help her though?" Jack asked. "I can't even-." He was cut off by an unexpected visitor.

"She feels broken after her parents' betrayal." Rung interrupted. Normally he wouldn't violate patient privilege, but for the sake of his patient he'd make an exception. "She needs help to remember that she can rise above what's happened to her."

There was a moment of silence before Heinrad spoke up.

"I may have an idea about that." He began. "Miko, in our timeline, wrote a song that I think could fit her situation now." He'd stumbled across it before the cons destroyed Fortress Maximus and had kept it close ever since as a reminder of his mother. If it could help her now, all the better. "It has the actual music and the lyrics; it just needs the vocals." He turned to look at his father as he finished speaking.

There were a few moments of silence before Jack realized Heinrad meant him. Part of him wanted to argue that his singing was as bad as his dance moves, but the memory of Mikos face made the decision for him. Closing his eyes, he gave a nod.

"Alright, if you can rig up the music, I'll start practicing." Jack replied. "I just hope it's ready by tonight."

"Just come with me to see Blaster Jack." Vince supplied. "We'll record you singing, and he can run it through a synthesizer, so it'll sound professional."

Part of Jack was wary about having his usually terrible singing voice recorded but nodded.

"Let's do it."

Down in the Autobots' memorial room, Sideswipe was staring at the holographic bust of his deceased twin. He still felt a dull ache in his chest at the loss of Sunstreaker and he could swear he could hear his voice.

"Maybe because you can after a fashion." Sunstreaker laughed at his living twin's annoyance.

"Sunny." Sideswipe groaned. "Are you just going to haunt me the rest of my life?" Maybe he was going crazy, but he swore that Sunstreaker was still talking to him from the afterspark.

"No." Sunstreaker argued. "I'll move on after one bit of unfinished business."

"What? Driving me insane?"

"Nope, setting you up."

"What?"

"Sideswipe?" The mech in question jumped as Strongarm walked up to him. "Are you alright? I heard you talking to someone." Realizing just what Sunstreaker meant now, Sideswipe grimaced a bit.

"Yeah." He replied. "Just saying goodbye to Sunny." Hopefully she bought it, and he could leave it at that.

"I understand." Strongarm nodded. "Losing your twin must be painful."

"Yeah."

"Ask her to the party dummy." Sunstreaker growled.

"Party?" Sideswipe asked.

"Oh, you heard about that." Strongarm replied. "I considered it, but I've never been a party girl myself."

"You've never been?"

"Never invited." The femme answered. "Besides, I was more engrossed in studying."

"Now's your chance Swiper." Sunstreaker coached. "You won't get another chance this good.

Sideswipes' brow twitched a bit at his twins' words. But the more he thought about it, the more the idea grew on him. He didn't want to admit it, but the femme had grown on him during their time on the Ark before it was destroyed. Maybe Sunnys' unfinished business, was to make sure Sideswipe would be happy even with him gone.

What the Pit?

"Strongarm." He began. "I think I'm going to go to that party tonight to take my mind off things." Sideswipe held his hand out. "Would you care to join me?"

Strongarm looked at him with wide optics. Did the Autobots' resident bad boy just ask her out?

"S-sure." She answered. "Just a fair warning though, I can't dance very well."

"No sweat." Sideswipe replied. "I can show you how to bust a move without busting yourself too." Strongarm gave him an amused look.

"I'll see you there.

Nautica rubbed at her optics as she strode down the hallway. She and the girls had joined Project: Cerebros only a few days ago and while they'd made some strides at restoring Fortress Maximus, there was still the fact that the bot wouldn't be able to fight for very long without potentially risking the life of his human partner Blackrock. The sheer mental strain would ultimately end up killing him. Hopefully Velocity could figure something out.

As she passed the ship hangar, she heard someone working. Looking inside the hangar, she saw Brainstorm working on the half-disassembled Deaths' Head ship. Nearby, several parts from the Crucible had been removed and were sitting nearby. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the control panels had been lowered to Maximal height. However, what caught her optic was the large pitcher of Engex on a table next to what looked like a martini glass. Giggling a bit at the sight, she caught the scientists' attention.

"Quite a project Brainy." Nautica called and fought to suppress another giggle as Brainstorm jumped and hit his head on the underside of the console he was rewiring. "Although I never took you for a mech to drink and science." she added to the quietly cursing scientist.

"Yeah." Brainstorm groused as he rubbed the top of his head. "Since our current project is at a slow place, I decided to work on a side project of mine." He pointed his thumb at the ship. "I wanted to give the Maximals their own ship in case of an attack or an evacuation."

"So, you turned the bounty hunters' ship into a Maximal friendly one." She finished.

"I even kept the Transwarp drive Lockdown was installing." Brainstorm continued. "And let me tell you, the things one could do with such a device." He sounded downright giddy. Before he even began working on it, he copied the schematics to install on other ships.

"I can imagine." Nautica replied. Glancing at the pitcher and glass again, she smirked. "So, would you care for a lab partner, or a drinking buddy?"

"I get some good ideas when I'm buzzed." Brainstorm shrugged. "Either way, if you wanna join me, go ahead." Giving a laugh, Nautica removed her wrench from her hip and from a compartment pulled a collapsable mug that she placed next to his martini glass.

"Alright." She answered. "It's a date." Brainstorms' optics widened at the words before he smiled.

"Looks like it." He replied before the two got to work.

"Okay boys, I expect the two of you to behave." Agent Charlie Watson called as she straightened out her black skirt. She'd decided to wear a simple white blouse and black skirt for her evening out. The Esquivel brothers had opted not to go to the party at Swerves', opting instead to enjoy the evening playing video games.

"It's not like we're going to destroy an entire city." Raf called back as Enrique nodded in agreement.

"Yeah Watson, we're good. Go have fun on your date." Charlie shot her ward with an unamused look.

"I told you boys to call me Charlie when I'm off duty." She replied. "And this isn't a date, I'm just catching up with an old friend." She and Goldbug had agreed to go out on a drive to catch up after so many years apart.

"Right." Enrique teased the older woman. "And my little brother isn't taller than I can ever hope to be."

"And you didn't spend over an hour on hair and makeup." Raf added, causing said agent to blush.

Charlies' response was cut off by a car horn outside the door.

"Oops, that's Goldbug." She exclaimed, taking one last glance in the mirror. "I'll see you boys in the morning." As Charlie left, Raf turned to Enrique.

"You were right." He whispered as he saw Charlie enter Goldbugs' driver seat. "It's more than friendship." Honestly, he had similar vibes around Jack and Miko when they were human.

"Think they're gonna hook up?" Enrique asked.

"Eww, image." Raf complained. Silently though, he hoped that Goldbug managed to find some kind of happiness with her. Whatever form it may take.

Later that night, the party was in full swing. Swerve and Blaster had agreed on a mostly 80's themed playlist and various bots were dancing to upbeat music. Looking out at the dance floor as Footloose played, June wasn't quite sure who was the bigger threat. It could've been Vince and Sierra who were spinning around and dancing wildly. Or maybe it was Whirl who in addition to waving his arms erratically, was transforming every time the song said footloose. Although the winner would probably be Strongarm and Sideswipe swinging each other around the dance floor.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she searched the bar for her son and honorary daughter. In the corner, she spotted the two of them curled up together. Miko had barely touched her food or drink since they'd arrived and hadn't hit the dance floor once. She knew that Jack had recorded the song they'd discussed earlier in the day and was waiting for the right moment to play it.

"Miko is strong June." Came a voice from behind her, making her jump. Turning around, she saw Optimus had snuck up in his Maximal body and sat on the bar stool right next to hers. "She will recover from this, and I think young Jacksons' plan just might help her."

"How do you know about that?" June asked.

"I heard him recording the song. It wasn't hard to figure out why." Optimus answered. "Despite what he says, his singing voice isn't that bad." June snorted.

"Should've heard him in the shower when his voice was cracking." She chuckled fondly while looking at her son again. Those memories felt like a lifetime ago. Looking up, she saw Arcee at the other end of the bar giving her a knowing look. Giving her a confused look in response, her sister rolled her eyes and gave her another look that said, 'go for it'.

Eyes wide, June shook her head. Shaking her head, Arcee got up and walked over to Blasters' DJ booth. Seeing her whisper into the communications officers' ear, June felt her stomach drop as the DJ nodded. Arcee walked back to her stool as the song ended, giving June a smirk as she sat down. A few seconds later, she heard the opening to Huey Louis and the News' The Power of Love. Arcee gave June a smug look and mouthed two words to her.

"Do it."

Shooting Arcee a glare and steeling her resolve, June downed the rest of her coffee in one swallow. She knew it would hit her system all at once, but for this, she didn't care. Looking a confused Optimus in the eye, finally spoke.

"Could I have this dance?"

From their table in the corner of Swerves', Jack and Miko watched as June led Optimus onto the dance floor.

"Okay." Jack began. "This is a surprise." Miko snorted.

"You haven't seen how she looks at Optimus." She retorted. "Besides, she wore heels and everything." Jack groaned at the reference, causing Miko to giggle.

"I never should've told you that."

"Oh, come on." Miko argued with a smile. "Optimus would make a great stepdad." She continued, her smile turning to a wicked grin. "Besides, why wouldn't he be interested? Our friendly Maximal Spider-Mom is a total Spider-MILF."

"MIKO!" Jack exclaimed as Miko burst out laughing. As much as the subject embarrassed him, it was good to see her really laugh again. Turning to watch Optimus and his mom on the dance floor, Jack couldn't help but see how June was helping Optimus find his rhythm for the song. Watching Optimus' face, Jack could see the signs of happiness begin to show as he danced with his mother.

Maybe his mom being with Optimus would be a good thing.

On the roof of Fortress Maximus, Slash the Dinobot was contemplating some of the decisions she's made of late.

Agreeing to help Grimlock by helping the other Dinobots combine with him was a decision all of them regretted because their commander now refused to even speak to any of them. To say nothing of Volcanicus' rampage giving Lockdown the opportunity to kidnap several people. Then come to find out she'd been flirting with someone who was only.

Slash was drawn out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps. Drawing her pistols, she trained them on whoever had followed her to scare them off only to see the object of her crush holding her hands up in surrender.

"Uhm." Allison began. "Don't tase me?" She asked timidly.

"Allie?" Slash asked. "Primus blast it, don't sneak up on me like that."

"Well, considering you've been avoiding me for the last few days." Allison snarked. "Sneaking up on you was the only way I could get to talk to you." She strode forward and looked her crush in the eye. "Is it because of my age? Because ever since I mentioned I was sixteen, you've been avoiding me."

Knowing she was caught out; Slash gave a sigh.

"Allie." She began. "How old do you think I am?"

Allison cocked her head a bit at the question. It seemed like an odd one to ask.

"You can't be that much older than I am."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Slash replied with a snort. "I'm about two million years old Allie."

Allisons' jaw dropped in shock. She thought Slash couldn't be more than nineteen at the most.

"See." Slash continued, indicating her expression. "In Cybertronian terms, you and the other Maximals, June included, wouldn't be old enough to live on your own yet."

"Wait, how does that work?" She asked.

"When a bot was born from the well or a hot spot, they'd be registered in the planets' database then adopted by an older bot to act as a parent." Slash explained offhandedly. "But that's not the point. Yes, I like you, but I'd be considered what you humans call a 'cradle robber' if I-."

"SO, WHAT!" Allison exclaimed, surprising Slash. "Humans are born, grow to a 'ripe old age' and die of old age in the span of a century or less. What takes millennia for you only takes a couple decades for us." She continued, breathing heavily.

"Allie." Slash whispered softly, but she wasn't done.

"And don't forget, I'm only part Cybertronian." She added, remembering what Ratchet had taught all the Maximals. "Yeah, I'm only sixteen physically, but mentally, I'm just. Like. You." She finished.

"Allie, I-I."

"I'll live to be as old as you all can." She added in a whisper, tears beginning to run down her face. "I, I just thought I actually found someone who'd be interested in me like this." Allison gestured to her Maximal body before looking at her feet. "It's hard enough being a human Lesbian, but-" She was cut off as Slash put a hand on either shoulder.

"Allie, look at me." Slash commanded. Allison looked up at Slash's' face to find an expression of understanding and tenderness. "Do you really feel that way about me?" She asked.

"I know it's unconventional." Allison began, blushing madly. "But, yes, I, I think I love you." Slash smiled brightly, causing her to gasp. "You mean?"

"I'm still intimidated by our age gap Allie," Slash began bringing her face closer to Allisons. "But yes, I love you too." Hoping that her instincts were correct, Slash placed her lips against Allisons' in what humans called a kiss. The contact created a small jolt of electricity that sent a wave of joy between the two of them.

"Wow." Slash whispered in awe of the sensation.

"Technorganic Maximal power." Allison smirked at the dopey look on Slash's face. "Better get used to it. Hey, do you want to go down to Swerves'?" She asked.

"Actually." Slash replied. "I think I'd like to split the bottle of Engex I brought up here and teach my...I think the term is girlfriend?" She asked, causing Allie to blush and nod her head vigorously. "Girlfriend, about Cybertronian constellations." She finished indicating the nighttime sky.

"I'd like that very much." Allison replied as she embraced her new girlfriend.

About thirty miles outside of Jasper Nevada, Charlie and Goldbug were laughing as Goldbug caught his friend up on the last couple decades.

"Did that girl have ANY self-preservation whatsoever?" Charlie laughed as Goldbug told her about Mikos' habit of following them through the groundbridge.

"I wondered that a couple times myself." Goldbug answered shaking his head. "I mean, yeah, we found out the reason for her behavior later but before that we had to keep assigning 'Miko watch' whenever we went on missions." This caused Charlie to keep giggling.

"That's almost as funny as what you said about Bulkhead causing a blackout."

"I did tell him to watch where he was going when he walked into those power lines." Goldbug laughed. "Never saw a bot dance like that." Charlies' laughter subsided after that.

"We've really come a long way since eighty-seven." She sighed. Memories of watching a yellow VW transform and later being chased by Skywarp and Thundercracker played out in her mind.

"Yeah." Goldbug grinned behind his mask. "So, what about you Charlie? Did you ever find someone and settle down?" It'd been over a quarter century, it could've happened.

"No." Charlie answered simply. "I tried a couple of times, but they just never lived up to my expectations." She snorted. "Nor could they handle being with a government agent."

"I meant to ask; how did you end up working for Sector Seven?"

"Honestly?" Charlie asked, looking up at him. "I got involved hoping to keep you safe, if not meet you again."

"What?"

"I kept giving Simmons false leads whenever I saw footage of you or any other Autobot." Charlie explained. "Apparently the two seekers who came after you pretended that they were law enforcement to move about freely. From then until your official first contact with the government it was see a bot, shoot a bot."

"Wow." Goldbug whispered. His first human friend had turned out to be a guardian angel. Then something she said crept up in his mind. "Wait, you wanted to see me again?"

"Yes." Charlie answered, looking a little embarrassed. "Knowing you changed my life, helped me find a purpose in my own life again." She mumbled something else under her breath.

"Wait, what?" Goldbug asked. He couldn't've heard that right.

"Fine." Charlie muttered to herself. Those boys were never going to let her live it down. "After we said goodbye at the Golden Gate bridge, I figured out I had a crush on you. At first, I thought I just had some wires crossed in my brain from the adrenaline rush of all we went through, but the feelings never faded."

Goldbug was stunned. True, every time he thought of Charlie over the years he'd get a warm feeling in his spark, but he never thought his friend carried a torch for him. Thinking back, the only other person who came close to having a similar connection was Raf. And he saw him as a brother rather than anything else. But the more he thought about the prospect, the more it appealed to him, but he had to explain something to her.

"Charlie." Goldbug began. "It's been a long time, I'm not really Bumblebee anymore." Kneeling, he looked her in the eye. "I've been through a lot, I've died, been resurrected, been disfigured."

"Look." Charlie interrupted, raising a hand to Goldbugs' mask, she watched as it retracted to reveal the horrific burn scars on his face.

She didn't even flinch.

"You can change your name color and face." Charlie began hugging his chest as best she could. "But you're still Bumblebee to me." Gently lifting her with one arm, Goldbug returned the gesture.

"Alright." He whispered. "We'll make it work."

Not too far away from them, Raf and Enrique were spying on the couple.

"Told ya." Enrique whispered to his brother.

"Alright you win." Raf admitted. He gave Goldbug a smile before transforming. "Let's go before we get caught." After climbing onto his brothers' back, Enrique activated the 'borrowed' cloaker on Rafs' horn to turn both invisible. They'd just have to sneak it back into Brainstorms' laboratory later, but first they had to make it back to Autobot City undetected.

"Now we just need to set you up with someone." Enrique teased his brother as he ran.

"Don't push it."

Watching Optimus and his mom back at the bar, Jack couldn't help but smile at how close the two now appeared. Prime was telling her some kind of story and she was laughing on a semiregular basis. Seeing that one of the ladies in his life was happy, he decided it was time to help the other. Looking over at Heinrad on the other side of the bar, he gave a nod. Heinrad in turn signaled Rattrap who then gave Blaster his cue.

"Femmes and Gentlemechs." Blaster began. "We have a special dedication tonight." He paused as the various partygoers cheered and whooped. "Not only did a certain young mech request this song, but he also recorded it to play for the femme he dedicated it to." The DJ was cut off as a loud "AWWW" filled the bar.

"Alright, alright, enough embarrassing them." Blaster laughed. "This song is dedicated to Miko Nakadai, from Jack Darby." The crowd cheered as Miko looked at Jack with wide eyes and Jack tried (and failed) to not look embarrassed.

"Jack?" Miko asked breathlessly. She never thought her boyfriend would do something like this for her. No one else in her life ever had.

However, before she could question him further, the first beats of rock music erupted over the speakers. Next, came a voice that had definitely been remixed a little bit, but it could still be recognized as Jack. She listened closely to the lyrics.

Sometimes when your hopes have all been shattered
And there's nowhere to turn
You wonder how you keep going (going)
Think of all the things that really mattered
And the chances you've earned
The fire in your heart is growing (growing)
You can fly, if you try, leaving the past behind
Heaven only knows what you might find

Part way through the verse, Jack got up from their table and offered a hand to her. "May I have this dance, pretty bird?" He asked, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

Grinning from ear to ear, Miko happily took the offered hand and allowed Jack to lead her onto the dance floor as several partiers made way for them. As the song began to pick up the tempo again, the two let the rhythm guide their dance moves.

Dare, dare to believe you can survive
You hold the future in your hand
Dare, dare to keep all of your dreams alive
It's time to take a stand
And you can win, if you dare

As the music died down, Miko brought Jack closer to her. Despite his assurances to the contrary, he wasn't that bad a dancer. As she listened to the next verse of the song, she realized exactly why Jack chose it for her.

Everybody's trying to break your spirit
Keeping you down
Seems like it's been forever (ever), oh
But there's another voice if you'll just hear it
Saying it's the last round
Looks like it's now or never (never)
Out of the darkness you stumble into the light
Fighting for the things you know are right

Giving her boyfriend a quick kiss, Miko allowed the beat of the song to guide them both around the dance floor. Everything else seemed to melt away as the two danced in a world that was just the two of them, and the music.

Dare, dare to believe you can survive
The power is there at your command
Dare, dare to keep all of your dreams alive
It's time to take a stand
And you can win, if you dare

As the song settled into an instrumental solo, Miko and Jack simply held each other while looking into each other's eyes.

"You like your surprise?" Jack asked with a smile.

"I love it!" Miko laughed. This was the happiest she'd felt since before being kidnapped. "You know, you didn't have to do this for me."

"Yes, I did." Jack whispered in her ear, causing the girl to blush. "You're worth it, Miko. Every. Single. Time."

Dare, dare to believe you can survive
You hold the future in your hand
Dare, dare to keep all of your dreams alive
The power is there at your command, oh
Dare, dare to keep all your love alive
Dare to be all you can be
Dare, there is a place where dreams survive
And it's calling you on to victory
Dare, dare.

When the song ended, Miko pulled Jack into a deep kiss in the middle of the dance floor to a round of applause and cheers from everyone else in the bar. As the two red-faced Maximals broke apart, Miko gave Jack a sly look.

"Wanna get out of here?"

"Sure." Jack answered with a smile of his own.

Taking his hand, Miko led Jack across the dance floor and out of the bar.

"Let's hear it for the happy couple everyone." Blaster called as they left.

"I think Miko will be all right June." Optimus commented after watching the couple leave. After a moment of silence, he turned to the Maximal in question. "June?" He was surprised to see her passed out on the bar with several empty coffee cups around her. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Swerve answered as he came over to them. "I just kept giving her fresh coffee while you were chatting."

"That's the problem." Arcee answered, silently kicking herself for forgetting. "Something in her spider DNA causes her to get intoxicated when she drinks coffee. It's like Engex to her."

"I will take her to her quarters." Optimus volunteered. Picking her up in his arms, he turned to leave the bar. "Hopefully she will sleep off any side effects of her drinks." Watching her commander leave with her sister in her arms, Arcee couldn't help but give a low whistle.

"That's one way to do it."

Miko led Jack back to her quarters, bypassing Goldbug dropping agent Watson back off at her own quarters as well as Allison and Slash sneaking by while trying to pretend that they weren't buzzed. She'd have to ask them about that later.

Closing the door, Miko promptly pinned Jack to the wall and kissed him passionately. Poking her tongue out past her lips and Jacks' parted lips into his mouth. Getting the idea, Jack returned the favor, slipping his tongue into her mouth and wrapping his arms around her. Miko then surprised him by moving his hands to her rear, the surprise causing him to break the kiss.

"Woah." He breathed. "Miko, you don't have to." Jack was silenced by another kiss as his girlfriend pulled him over to the berth and on top of her, barely catching himself with his hands on either sid of her head. Breaking the kiss again, Miko looked at Jack.

"Jack." She panted, looking into his eyes with a loving expression. "When I was being cut open on that operating table, the thing that helped me through it the most was thinking of you." Miko began. "And then you made that song for me, which is the nicest thing anyone has ever done."

"I got it from Heinrad." Jack admitted. "According to him, you wrote it in his timeline."

"You still sang it and I know you only did it because of me." She replied with a knowing look that made him look away blushing. Putting a hand on his cheek, she turned his face back towards her. "I know for sure now how much you love me. Now though, I want to show you how much I love you." With a shiver, Miko felt some of her body plating shift around.

"Woah." Jack whispered, taking in his girlfriend's fully exposed form. "Miko? Are you sur-" His question was cut off by a shiver of his own as he felt his own plating reposition itself. Miko stared a bit at Jacks' own exposed body before looking at him with a determined expression.

"Bring it on, Jackrabbit." She answered, wrapping her arms around him. The couple kissed again and from that kiss, they were both lost to their passions.

Optimus gently placed June down on the berth in her quarters. Despite being asleep, he could genuinely appreciate how beautiful she looked. Unfortunately, the feelings that came with that appreciation clashed with his sense of duty to the Autobots. And besides that, there was both the fear of the Decepticons trying to get to him through her and possibly losing her the way he lost Elita. While technically he knew it wasn't his fault she died, he couldn't help feeling that if he'd handled Megatron differently at that fateful meeting with the Senate, he wouldn't have launched his terror campaign, and Elita wouldn't have died when Six Lasers over Cybertron burned.

As he turned to leave, Optimus felt June grab his hand.

"Don't go." She muttered blearily.

"June, you are intoxicated." He informed her. "You need to sleep off your caffeine intoxication."

"You mean you don't want this?" She slurred, striking a seductive pose. June held it for a minute before falling flat on her back. "Or you don't want me?"

Optimus frowned and knelt next to the berth, taking her hand in both of his.

"I would be lying if I said I didn't." Optimus admitted. "But right now, I have my duty to the Autobots and your planet." She looked away from him but didn't pull her hand back.

"However." He continued. "If I am reading the signs right, the war may be over sooner rather than later." June looked back at him. "And afterwards, my duty would be complete."

"You think we will win?" June asked.

"I cannot be certain." Optimus admitted. "But I do have feelings towards you June. Once the war ends and if we both survive it, I would like to pursue a relationship with you."

"That's one heck of a rain check." June sighed. "Okay, but fair warning, if we survive this war, I am SO going to rock your world."

"I look forward to it." Optimus answered, not knowing exactly what her expression meant. Placing her hand down on her chest, he turned to leave and was pleased to hear Junes' light snores before he even made it to the door. He left the room with something that he didn't come in with.

Hope for a happy future.

Jack smiled as he drew the blanket over a slumbering Miko. She looked so contented now as opposed to the restlessness she'd had been in the days before. This had been both their first time and they both found that their new bodies reacted much like their original human ones. The sheer ecstasy that they'd both felt at the height of their lovemaking was indescribable.

Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead which made her smile in her sleep and checking to make sure his plating was back where it belonged, Jack slipped silently out of Mikos' room. He'd have to speak with both his mom and Optimus about the two of them possibly moving into shared quarters soon. The thought of it made his spark flare at the idea.

While he hoped he'd find love in his life outside of his mother, he had to say he didn't expect to fall for such a vivacious girl like Miko Nakadai. At first glance, the two couldn't've been more opposing in nature. Upon closer inspection, however, their personalities both tempered and enhanced one another. He genuinely loved this woman and he really had been an idiot not to notice her crush before.

Not this time though.

Coming to a decision, he changed direction. Heading away from the Maximal quarters, he headed back towards Swerves' bar to find the party winding down. Upon entering, he noticed that Vince and Sierra had disappeared as had Optimus and his mom. However, the couple he was looking for were still there, albeit getting ready to leave.

"Rewind, Chromedome?" Jack asked as the former helped the latter down from his barstool. While he couldn't get on and off them on his own, Rewind enjoyed sitting on a barstool so he could be at optic level with Chromedome.

"Oh, hey Jack." Rewind greeted as his Conjunx set him down. "What's up?"

"Could I talk to you two for a bit, in private?" Jack asked a little nervously.

"Sure, we're just around the corner from here." Chromedome answered. Jack followed the two out of the bar and back to their hab suite. Unlike most of the spartan ones he'd been in, this one was nicely decorated and cozy looking. Perhaps a sign of a well lived life together.

"Now." Rewind said, turning to look at the Maximal commander. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to ask you two about this since you're the only bots I know who are." Jack began, his nerves starting to get the better of him. "I know that it's probably different for Cybertronians than humans, but I figured that you two would know if it's even possible that." He stopped as Chromedome put a hand on one of Jacks shoulders.

"Jack, take a breath." The taller bot began. "You're babbling." Rewind put a hand on the Maximals' hand.

"Just think about what you want to ask in the simplest terms and say it." Rewind added.

Taking a deep breath, Jack put what he wanted to ask into a simple question that could change the path of his life.

"Chromedome, Rewind, how does a Conjunx Ritus work?"

A/N: And there we have it. That wasn't so bad, was it? And I don't think Jack and Mikos' intimacy was too explicit.

Sorry if I offended anyone by using Dare by Stan Bush in a romantic context. It just seemed to fit from my prespective.

To be honest, I had some trouble with this chapter. Usually, I try to spread the romance throughout the story as opposed to clumps of it. I couldn't help foreshadowing at the end there although it won't happen until towards the end of the story. Next time, we're back into the action because.

Next Time: Vegas goes Bust!

Until then, fav, follow, and review.