Hey everyone! This will most likely be the final chapter in this story, unless another plot bunny bites me. If anyone has any ideas they want to share to further my story, I am only too glad to listen. I am really excited about this chapter. The surprise I hinted about a few chapters ago will be revealed in this chapter! I hope you all like it! There will be song lyrics used in this chapter, but I don't own them! On with the story! By the way, :: speaking:: indicates talking on comlink.
It had been three days since Optimus had been released from medbay. He had spent much of the first day recharging, as he was still exhausted from the last battle and his injuries. Elita stayed right beside him, bringing him energon, snuggling with him (he didn't want to let her go!); and even giving him a sponge bath of sorts, since he was still so tired and so very dirty from the battlefield.
Ironhide had been standing guard at their door, steadfast in his duty to see that they weren't disturbed, and to make sure Optimus didn't sneak out and try to go to his office! A few bots had tried to visit the couple, but when faced with 'Hide's cannons, quickly changed their processors! The only one allowed into Prime's quarters was Ratchet. He had gone to check on Optimus the day after he was released, only to find him engrossed in a data pad. Quickly grabbing his favorite wrench from his subspace, he held it in his servo, ready to whack Optimus.
"I thought I told you NO WORKING!" Ratchet bellowed. "You are supposed to be resting. Nothing more!" He moved to hit Optimus with the wrench, but a slender pink servo stopped him cold. He turned to see Elita; her normally bright blue optics now tinted red in the corners! Her other servo was holding her Ion pistol, finger on the trigger.
"Never, and I mean NEVER threaten my mech, Ratchet, unless you want me to improve your ventilation system with a few extra holes in your chassis! Elita snarled.
"Elita, love, please calm down. Ratchet only wants to make sure I am resting." He said softly, reaching up and removing the pistol from her servo and taking her small hand in his large one and squeezing gently. "Ratchet, I am reading a holonovel that Elita downloaded from the humans' internet."
Ratchet subspaced his wrench and stepped away from Optimus. Elita's optics had since returned to their usual bright blue, but he wasn't taking any chances! He knew the femme was a force to be reckoned with, and even Sunstreaker, as battle crazed as he could get, wouldn't go near her when she was angry! "All right you two, I'm finished for now. I'll be back to check on Optimus tomorrow. Remember, you two need to bond regularly. Don't look at me like that, Optimus! I know you are tired, but it will help you. Bonding actually strengthens your spark, and a strong spark will help you regain your strength quicker." Ratchet turned to leave, and found Ironhide snickering in the hallway.
"What's so funny, you old bucket of bolts?" He grumbled.
"Ah heard evr'thang Ratchet. Ya oughta be ashamed, letting a lil' femme like that scare ya!" Ironhide said, chuckling.
"Shut up, Ironhide, before I reformat you into a toaster!" Ratchet said, morphing his servo into a blowtorch.
"All right, ya old grouch, get outta here an' lemme do mah job!" 'Hide groused.
Ratchet morphed the blowtorch back into a servo, and headed back to the peace and quiet of his medbay. Ironhide leaned against the door and shuttered his optics, readying for a quick stasis nap. Any bot that thought he was asleep and tried to sneak past him would have a rude awakening, indeed! His systems were very sensitive, and picked up on the softest of sounds and the slightest movement. He had trained himself to be aware of everything around him, and that was the reason he was so deadly on the battlefield. Any 'Con that tried to sneak up on him was quickly detected and dispatched.
The rest of the week passed by relatively quickly, and Optimus found himself back to his old routine, but with one small difference. He had his spark mate back, and the other mechs saw the difference in him because of it. He smiled more, and was even going to the rec room to relax with the other mechs, instead of just grabbing a cube of energon and hiding in his office. His favorite times were when Elita would come to his office to keep him company when she didn't have any work to do herself. More often than not, he wouldn't get much work done. He would instead, pull Elita into his lap and cuddle with her, or nuzzle her neck, and sometimes he'd just kiss her passionately until they both were breathless! Optimus hadn't been this happy since before he left Cybertron. Now, if only the stupid war with the Decepticons would just end, he would be the happiest mech on Earth AND Cybertron!
Once Optimus was cleared for duty, Elita threw herself into her role as femme commander, even though she was the only femme currently on base. She fulfilled her duty by helping Optimus in any way she could, whether it be training, discipline, or just kicking 'Con skid plate! She remembered on one occasion not too long ago she had to assume command after she and Prowl had to discipline Optimus for a prank he helped the twins pull on Ratchet! As funny as that had been, (and it was hysterical!) she knew she couldn't let him get away with it since he was always disciplining the twins for their pranks. Optimus knew this as well, and gladly took his punishment, which was three hours in the brig, per Prowl's request. He didn't regret pulling the prank. It had been fun, and made him feel like a young bot again. Having Elita around was truly bringing out his mischievous side, but he still kept it under control. He had to keep order, after all.
The two lovebirds were currently in their now shared quarters, snuggling on the couch, sipping some high grade. Optimus had convinced Wheeljack to make some energon candy foe Elita and he was now feeding them to her, reveling in the feel of her soft lips on his fingers. Every so often, he would sneak a kiss, and he loved tasting the energon candy on her glossa. On one occasion, he kissed her while she still had a piece of candy in her mouth, and they passed it back and forth between them as they kissed, until the piece was gone. Optimus noticed Elita would rub her chest plate, over her spark. She didn't seem to even notice she was doing it.
"Elita, sweetspark, is everything ok? I have been noticing you rubbing your chest plate, over your spark, are you in pain, my love?" He rumbled softly.
"Nothing is wrong, love. I think I'm just reacting to all the love you've been sending through our bond, sweetspark." Elita said. She leaned up and kissed him softly on the jaw, and he turned and caught her mouth with his, pulling her in for a long, deep kiss. After awhile, he pulled away, reluctantly. Scooping her up and cradling her in his arms, he carried her to their berth. They continued to kiss and snuggle, whispering soft endearments to each other until they both fell into recharge.
Elita woke the next morning, and set about fixing their morning energon. She had warmed the energon and was bringing Optimus his cube when a sharp pain hit her.
"Ahh! Optimus!" She shrieked, dropping the cubes and clutching her chest plates. Optimus leapt out of the berth and ran to Elita.
"What is it, sweetspark? What's wrong?" He asked, fear in his optics.
"Spark…hurts…" She gasped.
Optimus scooped her up and ran with her to Ratchet's medbay. Bursting through the door, he yelled for Ratchet, while gently laying Elita on a nearby berth. Elita kept a death grip on his servo, squeezing painfully. Ratchet came running to see what was wrong.
"What's going on, Optimus? Why have you brought Elita here?" Ratchet asked.
"Elita's having pain in her spark. What's wrong with her, Ratchet? Please help her!" Optimus cried, nearing hysterics.
"Calm down, or I'll make you leave, Optimus. I will take good care of her, but I don't need you losing control. Elita needs you right now, so pull yourself together, Prime! Now Elita, tell me what happened." Ratchet said.
"I w-was bringing Optimus some e-energon, and out of nowhere I felt a sharp pain in m-my s-spark" Elita gasped. "AAAH! Ratchet, it hurts! She screamed, squeezing Optimus' servo painfully.
Ratchet began hooking her up to an energon drip just to be safe, and proceeded to grab his scanner from subspace. He moved it over her spark chamber, and watched the screen intently. Suddenly, the machine beeped, and Ratchet looked even closer. His optics widened at what he saw. "Scrap!" He grumbled under his breath.
"What's wrong with her, Ratchet?" Optimus asked. "Is there something wrong with her spark?"
"No, Optimus, there is nothing wrong with her spark. I know what's wrong with her, but I need Wheeljack's help, quickly! Let me com him and I'll explain everything." Ratchet quickly commed Wheeljack before Optimus could say anything more.
::Wheeljack, are you there?::
::I'm here Ratchet. What's going on?::
::I need you in Medbay NOW!::
::Whoa, no need to yell, Ratchet! What can I do you for?::
::How fast can you put together a protoform?::
::About an hour, as long as I have no interruptions. What do you need a protoform for, anyway?::
::Elita's expecting a sparkling, you idiot!::
::A sparkling? That's great! But why do you need the protoform now? We should still have a couple of weeks until the little one arrives.::
::The sparkling is coming NOW you dolt!::
::WHAT? Why didn't you say so? I'm on my way now. Wheeljack out!::
Ratchet turned off his comlink and faced Optimus. "As, I said before, I know what's causing Elita such pain." he said. "Congratulations are in order. Elita, you are carrying a sparkling!" he said with a smile on his faceplates. He looked over at Optimus, and saw his optics flickering and he was wavering on his pedes. He looked like he might crash at any moment. Ratchet quickly grabbed Optimus and sat him in a chair next to Elita and was lightly slapping his cheek plates. "No glitching on me Optimus! Leave that to Prowl!"
Optimus quickly recovered and looked over at Elita, energon tears shining in both of their optics. "A sparkling! Elita, we are going to have a sparkling!" He leaned over to kiss her lips gently. "You've made me the happiest mech alive, my love." He said softly. "Ratchet, how long till our little one arrives?" He asked
"I'd say about an hour or so, just as soon as Wheeljack finishes the protoform. He's working on it now." Ratchet said, calmly.
About an hour later, Wheeljack burst into the medbay with a tiny protoform shell in his servos. He gently set it on a small berth next to Elita. Ratchet walked over and grabbed a pair of tongs with a scoop on the end.
"It's time, Elita. I need you to open your chest plates for me. This will be a bit painful for you, my dear. I'm sorry, but I can't give you anything for the pain because it will affect the sparkling. Optimus, stand buy her helm and hold her servo. Just talk to her and encourage her. I will work as quickly as I can." Ratchet said.
Elita concentrated hard, and her chest plates began to open slowly. "AAAAH! It hurts!" She cried.
"You are doing wonderful, my love. It won't be long, now. Just hold on to me. I'm right here." Optimus said softly, stroking Elita's helm.
As soon as her chest plates were open all the way, Ratchet reached in with the tongs and scooped up the little spark hiding near Elita's spark. As soon as the spark was removed, her chest plates snapped closed, and Ratchet lowered the new little spark into the tiny spark chamber in the protoform. Almost instantly, a tiny pair of cobalt optics came online, and the little sparkling began to wail.
"Congratulations, you two! You have a little femme!" Ratchet said, tears in his own optics. He gently picked up the wailing little femme and handed her to her father. "Do you two have a name for her?" he asked.
Optimus and Elita looked at each other for a moment, and their optics dimmed for a moment. They seemed to stop at the exact same time and knew they had found the perfect name for their little femme.
"Her name will be Adora. It means Beloved One in the Latin Earth language." Optimus rumbled softly. After all, both of our names have Latin meanings. Why not our little femme?" Optimus looked down at his little femme and cradled her gently to his chest plates directly over his spark, and he began to sing to his little one; a song he found while searching the web one day.
Come stop your crying For one so small, 'Cause you'll be in my spark
It will be all right
Just take my hand Hold it tight
I will protect you
From all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry
You seem so strong
My arms will hold you
Keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you cry
Yes, you'll be in my spark
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in my spark
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart, always
As he stood there singing to Adora, he looked back upon all that had transpired over the last few months, and all that he and Elita had been through, and he knew he'd do it all again if it meant being right here, right now, with his beautiful Elita sleeping peacefully on the berth next to him, and his precious Adora in his arms.
I hope you all enjoyed my story! I forgot to thank all my reviewers in the beginning. You guys are great! Please let me know what you all think of my last chapter. I love reviews!