Sparkling at the Door Ch. 7

CHAPTER 7~

*Author's Note: I do not own the song lightning crashes by live*

It had been only a mere few days and Optimus was already starting to fall for the sparkling but didn't show it. I mean come on, who wouldn't fall for a cute sparkling like that? As the days went by, StarChaser was soon accepted as one of their own but had yet to truly be taken as: OPTIMUS PRIME'S DAUGHTER.

Everyone was sitting in the recreation room. StarRacer had just gotten the hang of being an "earth kid". She had already been taught lots of things by none other than Sari and Bumblebee. She had learned how to do lots of things; play hockey, , baseball, soccer and her most favorite thing… videogames. But the one thing she loved the most about Earth customs… was music. She loved it all; hip-hop, rap, slow rock, heavy rock, country, indie, orchestra, alternative rock, the blues, jazz, everything. Often times you could find her in the rec. room listening to the music channel. Optimus didn't much care for music, but in a sense found it interesting. He walked into the rec. room and StarChaser was listening to a song. It's lyrics slowly drifted through Optimus' processor, every word sinking in:

'lightning crashes, a new mother cries
her placenta falls to the floor
the angel opens her eyes
the confusion sets in
before the doctor can even close the door

lightning crashes, an old mother dies
her intentions fall to the floor
the angel closes her eyes
the confusion that was hers
belongs now, to the baby down the hall

oh now feel it comin' back again
like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
forces pullin' from the center of the earth again
I can feel it.

lightning crashes, a new mother cries
this moment she's been waiting for
the angel opens her eyes
pale blue colored iris,
presents the circle
and puts the glory out to hide, hide…'

The music continued to play softly as StarChaser sat in silence. Optimus slowly walked into the room trying not to startle the child. As he slowly approached, he could see the StarChaser was lying on the couch holding a very large blue teddy bear that Sari had given her. A slow stream of energon tears ran down her face plate. Optimus slowly approached and rested his shoulders on the back of the couch.

"StarChaser?"

The child whom was lying on her side rolled over and looked up at Optimus. The stains from crying still quite visible. He came around to the front of the couch and leaned down in front of the child whose eyes were fallowing him the whole time.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The child whipped the tears from her optics.

"I-I just miss my mom…that's all."

Optimus gently smiled down at the child and reached for a nearby towel. He used it to wipe the tears away as gingerly as possible. After the tears were gone he gave her a reassuring smile. The child looked down and away for a moment or two before leaning forward to rest her head on his chest plate. Optimus being a bit shocked at this sudden action flinched a bit but relaxed and softened at the sound of small whimpers coming from the child. He pulled the child away from his chest plate and leaned down to her optic level.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe now…"

StarChaser smiled and looked up into Optimus' optics.

"Optimus?"

Optimus sat on the floor next to StarChaser.

"What?"

StarChaser started playing with her thumbs before looking back up at him.

"Do I look like my mom?"

Optimus looked at StarChaser before smiling.

"Yes, you do look like your mother. Why do you ask?"

She looked away giggling.

"Because momma always said to me that I looked and acted more like you."

Optimus looked down at StarChaser with curiosity.

"Really?"

Again the sparkling giggled making Optimus laugh slightly.

Optimus looked off into space then back at the sparkling.

"Why did you come looking for me, I mean there has to be plenty of femmes on Cybertron who would take in a cute sparkling like you."

He looked down at her smiling who in turn smiled back.

"I guess because deep down, all I've ever wanted was…" She looked up at him smiling shyly. "…my daddy."

Optimus' sense of mech-hood and leadership for a split nano-click seemed to just fade away. An almost warm sensation seemed to take over his spark. But soon Optimus came back to reality.

He shook his head slightly to regain consciousness.

"Uh, um, it's uh, it's getting late. Maybe you should go to power down."

StarChaser gets up on her stabilizing servos.

"Oh Optimus, do I have to?"

Optimus also rises to his stabilizing servos.

"Yes, you do."

StarChaser had realized she was beat, so slowly but surely, she made her way to her room.

Optimus yelled after StarChaser.

"StarChaser?"

She turns around.

"Yes Optimus?"

Optimus hesitates but eventually gives a warm smile.

"Good night."

She smiles in return.

"Good night…"

Optimus walks away as does StarChaser whispering.

"…..dad."

That night was hard for Optimus because pleasant dreams as well as nightmares haunted him the whole night. He didn't know what he was seeing, but somehow he got the feeling that what he saw was somehow the truth.

StarRacer was sitting in the apartment watching Cybertron going on about its normal routine when she looks down at her chest. She could feel as the child's sparks developed close to her own. It had been six giga-cycles since StarRacer had been told of the coming sparkling and was only one giga-cycle from delivering. In that time, StarRacer had looked high and low over Cybertron for Optimus but no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find "hide nor hair" of him. After 7 weeks straight of searching she eventually just gave up and worried about the more important things at hand. But as she sat by that window stroking her chest, she couldn't help but think about….him.

Chromia walks in the door carrying a case of axel grease.

"Hey! I didn't think I'd see you up and moving around. Whatever, it doesn't matter, listen, I've got some axel grease…you want some?"

StarRacer looks away from the window.

"Na, I'm fine…but thanks anyway."

Chromia sets the case of fuel down on a nearby table and pulls up a chair next to StarRacer.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?"

StarRacer looks at Chromia and smiles. "Yes, I feel just fine…it's just that…"

StarRacer looks back out the window in the direction towards the Academy.

Chromia rolls her optics.

"I know, I know…. You wish he could be here."

Later that night, StarRacer was tossing and turning in pain and discomfort until finally she just got up off her berth. She sat in the living room looking out at Cybertron City at night. But the pain kept getting worse. Chromia had gotten up out of bed to get a barrel of oil when she noticed StarRacer sitting up.

Chromia yawned and rubbed her optics.

"StarRacer?...What's the matter?"

StarRacer turned to Chromia with a worried and painful expression on her faceplate.

"Chromia,… it's time."

It was extremely early in the morning and StarRacer was screaming out in pain and agony. Both Chromia and StarRacer had gone to the nearest hospital as soon as StarRacer had said she was ready and now were in a room, only it was Chromia who was in pain because of listen to StarRacer complain.

StarRacer paced back and forth through the room with her hand on her chest crying out in pain.

"ARRRRGGGGHHHH, WHEN AM I GONNA BE ABLE TO GET RID OF THIS KID! IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY! OW,OW, OW,FRAGGIN OW!"

Chromia sat there reading a data pad obviously annoyed with both StarRacer and the medics, (but mostly the medics).

"Just be patient, the doctor will be here soon."

StarRacer just paced more through the room.

"WELL THEY BETTER HURRY UP 'CAUSE THIS KID'S GONNA BE COMING OUT ANY NANO-CLICK!"

Just then the medic walked in. Immediately Chromia was relieved.

"It's about time you show up, she's starting to drive me crazy!"

StarRacer growls. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one in labor here! And who the slag are you?"

The medic laughs. "My name is Wheeljack, and I'll be the one performing the delivery."

StarRacer asks worriedly. "Wait, what happened to Preceptor?"

The medic looks down at a data pad. "He's been called to service by Ultra Magnus himself, but don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

He walked over to a berth. "Now, can you please lie down, we need to do some scans on the sparkling."

StarRacer did she was told, she lied down on the berth and tried to relax but couldn't because of the growing pain.

"So doc, how long until we have a green light?"

Wheeljack observed the screens displaying the scans. Sighing he looked at StarRacer.

"You are not yet dilated enough; the child's spark is not yet far enough away from yours to perform surgery. If we did the surgery now, it could possibly kill your sparkling."

StarRacer sighed. "How long?"

As Wheeljack left the room. "I'm not sure exactly how long, but….soon."

He was right, it didn't take very long at all before the pain was too much to handle. Wheeljack had returned into the room to StarRacer with a small infant like protoform in his hands. He set it on a table close to StarRacer.

Wheeljack approached the berth and scanned StarRacer.

"It's ready to be sparked." he stated, earning a don't-you-think-we-already-know-that look from his patient and her friend.

"Now, StarRacer, I'm going to open your sparkchamber and reach in. And then I'll pull the spark out. Are you ready?"

StarRacer nodded her head. Chromia took StarRacer's hand in hers, and placed her other hand on her shoulder. Then Wheeljack opened the plates to her sparkchamber.

"Okay, on my mark. One, two, THREE!" then he reached his hand into StarRacer's sparkchamber and cupped the tiny spark within his palms. It was very painful for StarRacer, who practically crushed her friend's hand harder, crying out in pain.

Soon Wheeljack pulled his hand out and walked over to the table where he had the protoform body lying on. He opened the protoform's chestplates and placed the spark inside. There was a bright glow. Then he shut its chestplates.

After few seconds the protoform started to move. Little feet kicked and fists twitched open. Little whimpering and cries were heard.

Wheeljack scanned the sparkling before picking it up. Then he turned around to face StarRacer and Chromia with a smile on his face.

"Congratulations, StarRacer. You have a little femme."

StarRacer couldn't answer. She was in shock as well as awe at what she saw. It was a very tiny femme with red and blue armor with features similar to that of…her father. Wheeljack very carefully placed the newborn into StarRacer's shaking arms. How could she have given life to something so beautiful? The little femme lay in her mother's arms looking up at her with her with her father's eyes. Chromia slowly bent down next to StarRacer and the newborn.

"StarRacer, she's beautiful."

StarRacer smiles; not even looking away from her newborn daughter.

"I know…."

Wheeljack asks Chromia to accompany him to sign some data pads. After one more glance at StarRacer and the baby, she leaves.

StarRacer smiles at the sparkling and laughs quietly and whispers.

"If your daddy were here, he'd be in love."

Five thousand vorns had passed since that day, and StarRacer had gotten a job as a waitress at a local oil café. She made medium wage, you know, just enough to supply a 5,000 vorn old femme that made every solar cycle worth getting up for.

It was in the middle of the afternoon while she was serving customers when Chromia walked in holding an absolutely adorable red and blue sparkling with the cutest smile in the universe. Immediately the sparkling threw her arms up in the air and squealed "mommy!"

StarRacer yelled to the bots in the back that she was going on break as took her sparkling from Chromia's arms.

Chromia sighs. "She's been whining that she wants her mommy all day long."

StarRacer looks down at the little femme who was putting her hands on her mother's face giggling at her expressions.

The little sparkling just giggled with joy at her mother's playfulness and StarRacer laughed because the sparkling started laughing first.

"So has my baby girl been behaving for Chromia today?"

She just giggled and cuddled into her mother's chest plate. StarRacer sighs. "I'll take that as a no." She looks up at Chromia.

"Ah, you know kids…some days they're too good to be true and other days they seem like little demons. But don't worry, she's just a little ornery today, that's all."

StarRacer cuddles closer to her sparkling. "Then I guess she's becoming more like me every day. Maybe I should-."

A voice in the back room is heard. "StarRacer! You're not paid to stand around!"

StarRacer yells back. "Okay! Okay, I'm going!" She sighs handing the sparkling back to Chromia. "You two will be okay, right?"

Chromia smiles taking the sparkling. "Yeah we'll be fine."

StarRacer puts her hands around the sparkling's face and puts her forehead against the sparkling's. "I love you, my little sweet spark…"

The sparkling giggles. "I wuv you too mommy."

The voice in the back room is again heard. "STARRACER!"

StarRacer yells back. "OKAY, I'M GOING!"

She turns back to the sparkling and Chromia. "Bye."

Chromia nods and walks away with the small sparkling waving good bye over her shoulder.

Later that evening on her way back to the apartment, StarRacer was passing Iacon when all at once there was a huge explosion. Dust and debris flew in all directions making it impossible to see. StarRacer for the longest time couldn't see but froze when she heard someone yelling for help. As the dust cleared, she noticed that there was a small residential building on fire, and in the building there was a young bot screaming for help.

Without thinking, StarRacer jumped through the window into the burning structure. She screamed through the fire and smoke. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

At first all StarRacer could hear was the cracking and breaking sounds of the building becoming more and more unstable. That's when she heard the voice. "Please, someone help me!"

StarRacer moved burning beams out of her path and moved through the smoke. "Keep talking to me!"

"I'm here! I'm here!" The voice screamed back.

StrarRacer weaved through winding hallways fallowing the voice until coming to a locked door. Without hesitating she kicked the door in but was violently thrown back by the back draft. The flames completely engulfed the room but the voice was definitely coming from inside. She jumped through the scorching flames and landed face first on the other side. There she found a terrified mech just a little older then her own sparkling. She crawled over to the petrified sparkling.

"It's going to be alright, I'm going to get you out of here."

She picked the sparkling up and turned around to once again face the wall of fire blocking the door. She looked down at the sparkling who was burying his face in her chest. She looked up from him and all at once threw herself through the flames. Once again emerging on the other side, she immediately looked for an exit. She tried to retrace her steps back out but the smoke was too thick. But then she saw a light at the end of the hallway. She could feel relief coming but soon thought otherwise when she heard another voice calling for help, by the sound of it, it was a femme. She put the little mech down and pointed towards the light.

"GO!"He turned around scared and confused."What about you?"

She turned to him obviously going the other way. "I'll come back as soon as I get her!" She pointed down the hall, and then ran towards the voice.

The mech obeyed her orders and got out. Many other bots had gathered at the sight of the fire. The mech's creator was outside crying but was relieved to see him come out of the smoke.

"Oh darling are you all right?"

But before the sparkling could answer his creator's question, there was another large explosion, so large that it made the ground they were standing on shake. Flying out of the inferno thus landing at the feet of the sparkling was a small shard of blue and black armor….

Optimus opens his optics abruptly. He sits up not understanding or believing what he's just seen. Did he really just see the birth of his daughter and the death of StarRacer? Just then he heard an "oil-curdling" scream. It was coming from StarChaser's room.