"She's beautiful." Arcee looked at her tiny daughter, amazed that this new little life came from her.

"You are both beautiful." Optimus would never tire of looking at his mate or his new daughter. The sparkling looked just like her mother, but her blue coloring was closer to his shade than Arcee's. She had only briefly opened her optics, but he had seen that they were crystal blue, like his.

"And they both need to rest." Ratchet attempted to get Optimus to leave the medbay, but the commander wasn't going anywhere.

"I will watch over them while you rest as well." Optimus wasn't about to leave Arcee's side. He didn't want to miss a moment with her or their daughter.

"Very well. But Arcee must rest. In a few hours, the others will arrive and realize what's happened. Then there will be visitors for the rest of the day." Ratchet turned to leave the new family alone in the medbay, then looked back to ask one question. "Have you decided on a name?"

The couple looked into each others optics for a long moment, then back at the doctor.

"Her name is Hope."

Optimus took the sparkling from Arcee's arms and sat beside her in the medbay. "You heard Ratchet. You need to rest."

"Are you sure you'll be ok?"

"If I'm not, I'll call Ratchet." He was not nervous about being the only one awake with his new daughter, but he could tell that Arcee was nervous about leaving him that way.

"Or wake me." she said, then closed her optics. Soon she was fast asleep.

Optimus sat holding his newborn sparkling, still amazed that she even existed. She was so tiny - fitting in just one of his hands. Over the last several months, he had made multiple promises to himself. Now, he made them to her. He promised her love, happiness, protection. He wished that he could promise her peace, but he knew that promise would be broken. She was born into the middle of a war. She would likely be following him into battle sooner than he wanted her to, even if he forbade it. She was her mother's daughter after all, and his, too.

Hope opened her optics and stared up at her father. She reached out with one tiny hand, and he gave her a finger to grab. He smiled through the tears of happines in his optics. "I love you" he whispered softly to her.

Several hours later, Ratchet peeked into the medbay to check on his charges. Arcee and Hope were sleeping; Optimus was staring at the sparkling, deep in thought. He left them that way for now.

Roaring engines and squealing tires signaled the return of the children and their guardians to the base. The noise woke Arcee. Optimus handed Hope to her, then walked into the command center to greet the new arrivals.

"How's Arcee?" was Jack's immediate question, just as it had been every day for the past several months. Today, the answer was different though.

"Come and see" said Optimus.

Jack followed Optimus into the medbay, while Ratchet stopped Miko & Raf from going as well. The new father lifted him onto the berth, then stepped back while he walked up to his guardian.

"Wow." was all Jack could say as he stared at the tiny sparkling.

"That's pretty much how I feel too," said Arcee as she smiled at him.

"What's her name?"

"Hope."

"That is a great name for her."

"Thanks." Hope snuggled closer to Arcee, rubbing her optics before opening them to stare at her mother. Arcee smiled, losing herself in her sparkling's optics, so much like her father's.

"When you're ready," said Jack, "the others would like to meet her too."

Arcee looked at Optimus, who had positioned himself near the door to ensure his family wasn't disturbed. "Bumblebee should be next."

"Can I tell Miko and Raf about her?" asked Jack.

"Yes. They'll be able to come in and meet her later today."

Bumblebee's optics were wide as he walked into the medbay. Optimus took the sparkling from Arcee and placed her in Bumblebee's arms. "Her name is Hope."

Bumblebee clicked Hello softly to Hope, then Congratulations to Arcee. "Thank you" she said with a smile. He handed her back to her father, then ran to tell Raf all about the new sparkling.

Optimus looked after him. "I think he's happy not to be the youngest of the group anymore."

"I think you may be right."

One by one, each friend visited the new family and met Hope. They expressed congratulations, learned her name, and talked about how cute she was.

At the end of the day, after the children had left for home with their guardians, Arcee looked at Ratchet. "Please let us sleep in our own quarters tonight."

"All right," he said, "but only if you promise to call me if you need anything."

"We promise," Optimus answered. He helped Arcee off the berth, then took his daugher from Ratchet and brought his family home

Optimus and Arcee lay across from each other on their bed, with Hope lying between them. She made soft noises and waved her hands around, eventually ending up holding one of her mother's fingers in one hand, and her father's in the other. Her parents stared into each others optics, sharing feelings of love and happiness across their bond.

Once the sparkling had settled into sleep, Arcee picked her up and moved her into a crib attached to the side of the bed. As she laid back down in her mate's arms - her favorite place to sleep - she looked up at him. "Optimus?"

"Yes?"

"You were right. Despite how she was created, this is pretty close to perfect."

I won't declare it done - I've learned my lesson there. But this one doesn't have another chapter yet. This chapter was very difficult to write, with the next chapter of Someday screaming at me to do it first :)