Azura sniffled as she finally was able to stop crying enough to relax. Optimus was still holding her against his shoulder, letting her cry out the tears that she had let out. He did not know why she had been crying, but it did not matter to him one bit. Something had upset her. He assumed it could have been a bad dream, though he wasn't entirely sure if that was accurate. However, he would not push her to tell him if she did not want to say what had upset her.
"Do you feel better?" Optimus asked gently as he felt her slowly relax in his hands and against his shoulder. He felt her nod and heard her sniffle loudly. He smiled, rubbing her back gently. "Do you need a little more time, or would you like us to make you some breakfast?"
Azura leaned back from Optimus's shoulder and looked up at him with tear eyes. "I am okay...I will just need to wash my face and I'll come out to the lobby...unless you are okay with waiting for me to come out of the bathroom. I...I kind of want company."
Optimus smiled kindly at her, hearing her need for company warmed his spark as he could tell she was sad about something. "I will gladly wait for you, Azura. You have no need worry about me. My patience will never wilt for you." She raised an eyebrow at him though she said nothing as he lowered her to the ground. "If I could, I would have grabbed the damp cloth to clean your face for you. But my arms are just too big to fit through that door."
She smiled slightly at Optimus and walked towards the bathroom again. "It is okay. I am old enough to do things for myself. Plus, I did have to learn how to do a lot of things for myself without any help, so I do enjoy being independent." He did not respond or react as he listened to the girl. "You don't need to feel like you need to do a lot for me."
"That might be true, however since you are under our care, you are a responsibility for us," Optimus said gently as the girl entered the bathroom and he heard her run the water. "And as you already know, we have adopted you. Even if it is not considered official in the eyes of human law, so to an extent, doing things for you is nothing that we will complain about."
Azura knew that might be the case. She knew Optimus would do these things with her so that she could feel better. And she did not mind the idea, but she still did not know how she felt. Being hugged by Optimus before made her feel like she was at home, with her parent. She knew it could be because the autobots have added her into their family, and have made it clear she was part of it. But considering she has dreamt of this autobot and felt drawn to him ever since she met the autobots, she still did not know. Though the dream had her questioning a lot of things.
"But I am a human, Optimus. There are just some things you won't be able to do for me." Azura splashed her face with water and dried her skin with a paper towel. "But that is okay. It is like I won't be able to do things for you, Optimus. But we can find things to do."
Optimus knew what she was saying was half true. He heard her walk back to the door and he saw the tears were gone from her eyes. "Um...Azura..." She looked at him curiously as she heard nervousness in his tone. "I...uh...have..." She listened intently, waiting for Optimus to tell her what he wanted to say. "I have something to..." He grimaced and looked away from her briefly before looking back at her. "Since today is the last day before you go to school tomorrow, did you want to go into town to get anything? I know you went for a drive yesterday, but now that you no longer need the wheelchair, you might want to go shopping properly."
Azura had a suspicion that Optimus was going to tell her something else, but his nerves got to him. She had a feeling that was rather unusual for him, but she decided to overlook that for the time being. She pondered Optimus's question thoughtfully and smiled at him. "That actually sounds like a good idea. It would help me take my mind off some things, and I could use another drive."
"Would it be okay if I accompany you?" He lowered his hand to Azura as she stepped into his palm. "Or would you prefer if Cliff or Bee take you into town? I know the three of you have become rather fast friends, so I would imagine you prefer to go with them."
Azura didn't expect that question. "Um...how about I have breakfast first? I don't know what I would want to do in town first, so I need to ponder over breakfast." He nodded as he stood up and walked out of the room towards the lobby. "Although...since you have asked, I will probably ask you to take me, Optimus. I think it would be rather impolite if I went and asked Cliff to go with me instead. I would feel bad by doing that to you."
Optimus's shoulders relax slightly as he was happy she would let him take her into town to buy some things. He knew it might not necessarily be essential, but that was fine. "Would it be possible for you to tell me why you were crying?" Azura looked away from Optimus as soon as he said that. "Was it...a nightmare? Or maybe...maybe you were feeling lonely?"
Azura did not really know how to answer his question. She didn't really know what to say, mostly because she didn't know if telling him her dream or feelings was even a good idea. "I...I would rather not talk about it, Optimus. Thanks for your concern...but I don't want to talk about it...not right now."
Optimus did not press for any further information. However, he was happy that she might open up about what made her upset either on the way to town, or some other time. He would be happy to keep it between him and Azura if she wished for that to be the case. He had no intention of causing any ill will towards her, especially since hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do. Though Optimus feared that it was inevitable when he, Arcee and Ratchet tell her more about the story regarding his lost sparkling.
"Hmm...I believe, from memory, Fowler gave us the ingredients and recipe for chocolate chip and vanilla pancakes," Optimus said thoughtfully and Azura looked up at him in surprise. "Would that maybe help make you feel better?" She thought about it and smiled at him. "I know it probably is not the healthiest of human foods...from what I understand, but I have read that sweet foods can make you feel a whole lot better."
She nodded in agreement. "That is true...I guess that means I'll have a sugar rush from it...I might just add in a little ingredient addon. I would add banana into those pancakes, or at least have some sliced up with them. I've had banana pancakes before with vanilla and chocolate sauce...mmm, mmm, that was good...but that was over a year ago when I had enough to eat some breakfast after Miss Honey decided I wasn't eating for a whole week."
Optimus widened his optics in shock. "She did? Why?"
Azura shrugged and shook her head. "She was angry that the white sheets for her bed were brown. And that was because there was an issue with the town water supply at the time and people were advised to not drink it because the water was bad. And also advised to use rainwater for cleaning clothes if possible. But Miss Honey must have thought that the orphanage was free from such atrocity, and her white sheets turned out brown. And because I was in charge of the laundry, I wasn't allow to eat breakfast or dinner for a whole week. Thankfully, I had lunch at school, but I was still hungry."
Optimus stared in disbelief. Someone had prevented Azura from eating for a whole week. "How often did this Miss Honey prevent you and the other children from eating? Was it a regular punishment?" Azura nodded, while lifting her hand and moving it to show it was more a fifty-fifty kind of punishment. "I have to admit, I am angry that she would do that to you."
"To be honest, she was doing it regularly enough that I go used to it," Azura said softly with a shrug. "Plus the...metal ruler across the back was the worst. I preferred starving than to feel that. Although, I was kind of clever when I was much younger. I worked out how to have food without being caught, and I continued to do that so no kid would starve that much."
"How did you have food?" Optimus asked curiously.
Azura smiled. "Well...on the weekends, Miss Honey often made us go into the forest behind the orphanage since it was somewhat out of town. Mostly because she invited men over, and she wasn't allowed by law...but she did it anyway." Optimus did not like the sound of this, though he was intrigued and glanced up briefly as he got closer to the lobby. "And I actually silently thank Miss Honey doing that. I learned how to identify edible plants in the forest. And I began to teach that to the others. We actually began to forage food for ourselves, and we were able to hide a stash very well. We found edible mushrooms, berries, roots, flowers and sometimes we came across wild honey and there was a stream not far either. It had perches in the water that we would sometimes catch and cook."
Optimus smiled as he listened to her. "So you have turned out to be resilient. And not just with being able to create work for yourself." She nodded her head proudly as she was happy that she was able to be self sufficient enough. "I guess you weren't always able to do it."
She shook head. "Nah...Miss Honey didn't always make us go into the forest. And when she noticed we would return to the orphanage in good moods, she actually stopped us from going out all together. That was about three years ago, just after I turned eleven."
"And you were practically forced to use the money you earned for additional food when you felt you needed it." She nodded at Optimus's comment and sighed, bringing up her knees to hug. "At least you will never have to go hungry again, Azura. I imagine you are still even adjusting to that."
"Yeah, I am actually. Not being hungry...it is weird to me." Azura felt her stomach growling, though she did not pay much attention to it. "And having choices of what I can eat, instead of the same thing everyday...that is not something I am used to. I feel like I am living in luxury at the moment. I am sure I will take it for granted, but I hope I don't. Because I want to appreciate what I did not have before."
"And a good mindset to have, Azura. I do believe learning to appreciate what we have is one of the most important things in our lives. I know that my autobots and I have needed to do that. Especially after needing to flee Cybertron for safety." Optimus walked into the lobby and paused when the large, round lob was thrown across the room. Cliff caught it and threw it towards Bulkhead. "Ah, and I see that Bulkhead, Cliff and Bee have decided to lob right now."
"Lob?"
"It is a pass time for Cybertronians," Optimus explained quickly. "Though...probably not the safest for you to be around. Sometimes they don't always catch." Azura did not say anything as she watched the round, metal object being thrown around. "Do you three mind stopping your lobbing for the time being? I do not wish Azura to be harmed."
Bulkhead caught the lob, his feet skid across the ground from the impact and looked at Optimus with a smile. "She is safe with you is she not?" Optimus gave him a stern expression without saying anything. "Alright, boss. I won't throw it until you say it is safe." Prime was pleased and walked by him and Bulkhead glanced at Azura. "I hope you had a good sleep last night, Azura."
"It was fine," She said quickly before smiling at Arcee. "I would like some pancakes for breakfast! I can help you make them, I am actually rather good at making pancakes. I never really had them at the orphanage, but I did have some really nice ones once."
Arcee was a bit surprised by the request. "Hmm, I didn't think you would want something sweet...if I remember reading correctly about pancakes." Azura giggled softly as the femme thought about it. "Why not something like eggs?"
"I walked into Azura's room and discovered she was crying," Optimus explained, Arcee widened her optics as she listened quietly. "And I believe a little sugar will not hurt her. The chocolate chip vanilla pancake recipe that Fowler gave us might do. Though she would like to add banana to that recipe." Ratchet looked up from where he was working at his desk with a surprised expression. "And I guess that is why she wants to help."
"Well...we are still learning about cooking food, so I could use the additional hand." Arcee walked over to Optimus and gently took Azura from him and placed her on the ground. "Since I now know sweet stuff can help you feel better, I think that kind of pancake is fine. But we are certainly not going to make that everyday."
Azura smiled and ran to the kitchen area that the autobots had made. It wasn't the best kind of kitchen, though Azura actually did not mind. She was able to use it herself and she already knew she would be involved in most of the cooking. Arcee followed the girl and Optimus followed the two of them. He wanted to watch and learn himself, even though Arcee was better at doing this than he was given her size.
He watched as Azura was lifted onto the counter and ran to the fridge to grab out some eggs, milk, chocolate chips, a banana and butter for the recipe before grabbing self-raising flour, vanilla essence and sugar while Arcee grabbed out a mixing bowl and mixer. Azura quickly began to tell Arcee how to begin making the pancakes by first sifting the flour into the bowl and whisking the vanilla, eggs and milk together in a separate bowl. Arcee took charge of the mixing of the wet ingredients while Azura added the sugar before peeling and mashing the banana in a separate bowl.
She made a well in the flour and Arcee slowly poured the wet mixture into the flour and sugar while Azura mixed it before adding in the banana. She was very excited and they added the chocolate chips in last as she was mixed the mixture together. Arcee prepared the fry pan and stove and watched as Azura brought the mixture over and used a spoon to carefully spoon out the mixture to make up three pancakes. Arcee was rather impressed by how this came out and now they just had to cook the pancakes.
"Do you have any plans for today?" Arcee asked curiously as Azura sat on the counter by the stove, watching the pancakes quietly. "Do you plan on wrestling with Cliff again? Or do you just want to have a quiet day as you relax before school tomorrow?"
"Actually, Optimus offered to take me into town." The femme looked at her and smiled, liking the sound of the idea. "Now that I have no need of a wheelchair, I can go around the shops without any hassle. And I kind of want to see about getting some more clothes...though I am not entirely sure yet."
"That sounds like a rather nice plan," Arcee commented as she flipped the pancakes, smiling to see they were cooked perfectly on one side. "Kind of sounds like you'll figure it out when you get into town. At least you can have enough clothes without needing to wash them during the week."
"True, though I will probably do a load in a few days. The hamper's getting full and I'll need clean underwear anyway." Azura figured she could pick up a few other important things while she was in town. The autobots have offered to wash her clothes, but she opted to do that herself. She was lucky that Fowler assisted in installing a washing machine and dryer into the base for her to use. "And I kind of want some hair accessories. I never got to have any, but I've always loved the bows and headbands other kids wear."
"And I have no doubt you will look really pretty and cute in them, kid." Azura smiled when she saw Cliff walking over with a grin. "So I hear you and Optimus plan on heading into town. I'm surprised that ya didn't invite me to come along with ya, kid. But I guess the boss offered to take ya on the drive." She nodded, though she seemed to not be bothered by that. "At least you can show me what ya buy today. I would very much like to see what you get."
"I will be sure to show you, Cliff," Azura giggled at him for his keen interest in what she might get. "Although, not everything I might get will be that interesting to you. So I hope you don't have too big of an expectation." She looked at Arcee as the femme moved the cooked pancakes onto a plate and Azura smiled. "Mmm..." She stood up and walked over to the cupboard to grab out the chocolate sauce. "I really am going to have a sugar high I think."
Optimus was tempted to stop her, but decided against it. Azura will likely regret having this much sugar first thing in the morning, but he did give her the idea. He glanced at Arcee as she began to make more. "Why are you making more?"
"Because we are not going to waste this batter," Arcee responded. "There's only enough for three more anyway, so Azura can have these ones later if she wants after dinner." Azura seemed to like the idea, though she wasn't paying much attention as she poured the chocolate sauce over the pancakes and Optimus offered his hand to her to move her back to the lobby where she could eat at the table. Azura took the opportunity and held onto the plate carefully. "I will clean this up while you have your breakfast, Azura."
Azura nodded, even though she did feel bad that Arcee would clean up the mess. Though she wasn't going to argue as Optimus brought her back to the lobby and moved her to the platform where the table and chairs were. She sat down and began to dig into the pancakes, enjoying them thoroughly as they were very light, fluffy and sweet.
"I dare hope that it was a good idea to even let Azura have that much sugar," Ratchet comments with a light chuckle. "I read somewhere that too much sugar can result in a stomach ache. If that happens, since you are heading into town, you might have to pick up something. Especially since you aren't exactly used to eating s heap of sweet food like this, Azura."
Azura smiled at Ratchet. She understood his concern. "I will try not to make myself have a stomach ache. If I were to eat the pancakes quickly, I would likely get a stomach ache. And I do have some stuff in my room, some I am fine."
"I am curious why you were upset this morning though." Azura groaned and looked away from Ratchet to keep her eyes on the plate in front of her and to keep eating. "But I think that'll be something you will tell another time. The pancakes are just a brief remedy."
Ratchet was right. Once the pancakes were gone, she might end up thinking about the dream again. She did not know what to tell the autobots, and figured she might as well keep it to herself for the time being. She felt that they would not understand. Especially since Primus was in her dream, and basically telling her he knew her parents and would not tell her who they were. Along with having some kind of amazing destiny, she really did not know how to tell them that.
"It is best that we do not push the subject, Ratchet. She's already upset that we keep on mentioning it. Azura and I will be heading into town afterwards so she can do a bit of shopping." Ratchet smiled and nodded, glad to hear that Optimus was going to do that for her. "I am sure we will end up talking about something else on the road."
"Good." Ratchet turned and walked back to his desk where he had been working. "I do have something good to announce. I think I have developed a better system for the base to reduce the amount of energon that is consumed."
Azura looked at Ratchet in surprise. "I thought everything in here is run by electricity."
"Not everything, Azura. The ground bridge is definitely one of the things here that requires energon to run, as electricity is too weak to support such a feat of engineering." Ratchet looked at her as she listened curiously. "And our main sensors also run on energon, as we need the power in order to detect either decepticon activity or locating more energon."
That made sense. Electricity must look rather weak to the autobots compared to energon. She did not know how much power it has. And it still interested her that they used energon for power and consumption. She herself had wondered what energon tastes like, even though she had a feeling that energon was not meant for human consumption. But she has been curious.
Azura ate the first pancake and proceeded to eat the second. She thought about what she would do in town, aside from shopping. She still did not have a clue, but she was willing to just figure it out when she got there. She only knew she would buy additional clothes and underwear, but anything else, she was not sure.
Azura soon finished eating the pancakes and she felt satisfied. She was not used to eating a lot, so she was likely to skip lunch today because of it, but that was okay. She wanted to ease herself into getting used to eating regular three meals a day. She certainly wasn't used to it before, and even if she had three meals a day, they were never enough. Now she had enough.
She did insist on cleaning her plate and utensils before Optimus took her back to her room so she could get changed out of her pyjamas for the day. None of the autobots argued with her as Azura did not want to burden them with the simple stuff, like cleaning and cooking, as they had more to worry about than that. Even though there has not been anything regarding the decepticons, as far as she knew, they should still be keeping an eye on that rather than simple things she would need.
As Optimus carried her back to her room, Azura was feeling much happier now. "You know, the one thing I've always liked were dresses. I was never allowed to really wear them...or Miss Honey just couldn't be bothered getting us them. But I suppose Cheyenne is in a very cold place. But now I am somewhere warmer, I think I might get a few dresses."
Optimus smiled at her as he approached the door to her room. "I think that sounds wonderful. I imagine being able to buy the things you want is new. Especially since the card Fowler gave you is something you can use."
"Yeah, I am definitely getting used to that. Though I guess he was able to do that since I am technically a victim of that fight and need protection." Azura then thought about something else for a moment. "Do you think someday you can take me to see the ocean? I've only ever seen it in pictures and on TV, but I have never gone to a beach. I'd really like to."
The commander was thrilled when Azura asked him to take her to see the ocean. He knew she would not have experienced much where she was living, especially the conditions she was living under. "I would be delighted to give you that opportunity, Azura. I could also bring you to a natural spring lake, a forest...or maybe even an island. At least on an island, I won't need to be in disguise."
She could not help but giggle as Optimus entered her room and lowered her to the ground. She skipped over to one of her drawers to grab out a pink shirt and denim shorts. "I would love that, Optimus. I definitely would...if we were able to find an island with a reef around to snorkel and see the different fish, coral and other ocean creatures...now that would be magical..."
Hearing her desire to do these things made Optimus keep those places listed in his mind. He wanted her to enjoy her life as much as possible. Even though Optimus had yet to reveal some truths she needed to hear, but he was actually too unsure on how to approach her with the information. Ratchet will likely ask him later if he has told her, but he really was just happy spending time with her like this at this time. Because he didn't know how long he could if she rejects the information given to her by him. And he feared that she would.
He watched her run into the bathroom to get changed and Optimus remained kneeling as he waited for her. "Are there any other places you would like to go to? Or maybe you want to do something that you weren't able to do before. Maybe we can do something like that."
"Uhh...well...like everyone, I've always wanted to go to Disney World," Azura responded thoughtfully. "Though you would not be able to come with me, and I'm actually too young to go without an adult. But I would like to go to a county fair to enjoy the sideshow rides and food at some point. I also have never seen a movie in a theatre before, so if I see something that I might want to see, I may ask to go." Optimus smiled as he listened to her quietly. "And...well, the day I was found was considered my birthday, but I've never had a birthday party. I'd love to celebrate my birthday like anyone else would...and same with Easter, Christmas, Halloween...and any other holidays I've never got to enjoy." Azura paused as she thought about those times and walked out of the bathroom with sad eyes. "You know, I used to walk the streets on Christmas Day. I would stop and look through the windows of different houses and I would see families laughing, cheering, eating and opening presents...I never got to do that. My present was always shoveling the snow from the driveway."
Optimus's expression softened as the girl walked over to him after grabbing her bag and he picked her up to take her back out of the room. "If those are some of the things you wish to do, I am sure we will be able to help make those days the best that they can be. Especially your sparkday...uh, sorry, I mean birthday."
Azura blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Sparkday? Is that like your version of birthday?" Optimus nodded and she smiled. "Wow, that's kind of cool...I don't mind if you refer to my birthday as sparkday. I like that sound of that better honestly." And she didn't know why sparkday sounded more correct than birthday to her, but she did not think too hard on that to be honest.
Optimus, however, was happy that she wanted him to refer to her birthday as sparkday. "Very well. I promise we will make your sparkday good. You'll just have to let us the date your sparkday is on and we can get onto preparing."
Azura smile widened. "Well...my birthday is in September on the eighteenth...that's the day I was found and it would make sense it is my birthday...uh, sparkday. I am really going to have to get used to saying that, but I don't mind." She giggled as Optimus walked into the lobby. "Aside from my sparkday..." Ratchet and Arcee look towards Optimus with smiles while Cliff and Bee look over in confusion. "There is still Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas...so many other things to celebrate."
"Why did you say sparkday?" Cliff asked the girl curiously with a frown.
"Oh, Optimus accidently said the name when I was telling him about the things I'd like to do now that I am able to," Azura explained happily. "And I just happened to mention having to celebrate my birthday, and he accidently said sparkday, and he explained that it's basically your name for birthday. To be honest, I quite prefer the name sparkday over birthday. So I don't mind using either name."
Ratchet placed his hands on his hips, glancing at Optimus with questioning optics. "Mmm...so it was just by chance."
Optimus nodded, as did Azura. She noticed that Ratchet was giving Optimus a strange look. "We should head into town, Optimus before the day gets too late." He nodded and walked towards the driveway. "Uh, shouldn't you put me down first to transform?"
Optimus looked at her curiously. "Would you prefer that?" She nodded and he smiled at her. "I guess that is okay. I would rather you not be sick from the sudden changes, on top of you having a lot of sugar for breakfast." Azura giggled again as he lowered her to the ground before he transformed into the peterbilt and opened the door for her to jump in. "Let's roll."
She climbed up into the cab and closed the door before she put the seatbelt on. Optimus drove away and Cliff watched them leave curiously before he turned to face Ratchet. "What the frag was that before, Ratchet?" The medic looked at him in surprise. "Why did you act weird? Azura even noticed."
"It is like you were expecting something else," Bumblebee added curiously. He glanced at Bulkhead who seemed to be uncertain about it all as he rubbed the back of his right hand. "Do you know anything about what is going on?"
"Don't blame Bulkhead, Bee," Arcee said gently, receiving both optics from Bee and Cliff. "You know the story about how Optimus lost his sparkling." They both nod. "Well...we have suspected Azura's story...might not be as what she thinks." The bots frown slightly as they listened her. "And...Ratchet found out, last night, that our suspicions were correct."
"What do ya mean?" Cliff demanded bluntly, placing his hands on his hips. "What are ya trying to even say? That the kid is Optimus's sparkling?"
"Yes." The red bot's optics widen his shock at Ratchet's blunt reply. "The blood samples that the doctors took from Azura were passed to me. I was able to discover she had CNA, not human DNA in her body. And I match her CNA with Optimus's, and it is a perfect match. She is, by all accounts, Optimus's sparkling."
Bee and Cliff were left speechless. They had no idea what to say as they processed everything. "But...how is that possible? Azura is a human. She eats food, she has blood and she...she does not look like she can even transform! How...I don't understand."
"I agree, Bee. This has to be...a mistake!" Cliff rubbed the back of his head in disbelief. "If she is indeed Optimus's daughter, how the frag is that possible?"
"I believe it has a lot to do with the power of the Matrix within her and the crystal she carries," Ratchet explained calmly. "My guess is when the pod arrived on the planet, it scanned and found the dominant species on this planet. Humans, and I believe the power of the Matrix might have altered the sparkling as...the development she would have reached before being put into stasis would have been the size of a new born human. So...whatever the Matrix did to...basically, make it so she can survive on this world without any suspicion, it has worked. And while she has not ingested energon, I do believe she can survive on either human food or energon. And her blood is still energon, it just matches the color of human blood."
Cliff and Bee were in disbelief. "And how did you find out about it, Bulk?" Cliff asked, looking at the wrecker curiously. "Was it by accident?" Bulk nodded silently. "Oh, Primus...I know Azura had thought that the story you told about the sparkling was about her...and you all said it wasn't..."
"We were not sure, Cliff. We had to be certain, as we did not want to tell Azura the truth until we knew that truth." Arcee stepped closer to Cliff and placed a hand on his shoulder with a sympathetic expression. "And now we need to tell her. I know, I know...it is not going to be easy. We are expecting a lot of tears. She is fourteen in human years, which still makes her an infant in Cybertronian. But...I think Optimus is...understandably, fearful of the reaction."
"As he should be." Cliff was feeling extremely sorry for the girl. "Well...if he won't tell her..."
"Cliff, this is not something that is yours to tell!" Ratchet interrupts the bot bluntly. "I am sorry, as much as you probably want to tell her and try to make things easy, this is something must tell. She is his, and we all simply need to be there to support the both of them." Cliff just frowned and looked away. "I understand, it is not easy. Especially since that girl's gone through her whole life believing she was abandoned, when in fact she was saved...she might not see it that way though. And Optimus is...as much as he keeps his emotions in check, this is something is pulling at his spark. He's in pain too, Cliff. We need to be patient and understanding. If we do anything rash, things are not going to go well."
Cliff took deep intakes and sighed deeply. "Fine...I understand...but I do not know how I am going to keep this a secret if Optimus will not say anything. I don't know what it is like to lose a sparkling...but I will do my best."
"Me too...Cliff and I will try and just be the support posts for the both of them," Bee said gently, turning his head to look at the driveway sadly. "I do hope Optimus takes this opportunity to tell her...she needs to know."