10 Chapter 10: Empathy

The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground as the trio stopped in the middle of Jasper's desert. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tint in the sky, making the red desert sand more vibrant.

The datapad pinged at them, signaling that they had arrived. The two Cybertronians nodded at each other, and Firespark pressed the blinking circle on the tablet. It flashed twice before disappearing off the screen. Anxiety hung thickly in the air before a groundbridge swirled to life in front of them.

Three frames exited the portal and stood in front of the trio. Optimus nodded toward the pink femme, "Firespark,"

The said femme nodded her helm at the Prime, "Optimus," then her orange optics observed the two others and smiled, "Hello Arcee, Bee,"

"As much as I love seeing you, what are you doing here?" Arcee asked, walking up to Firespark, "And who's the partner?"

"Our home's been raided due to my careless mistake. We have nowhere to go. I fear that it would be unsafe to try and make it liveable again if someone knows the location," Firespark answered.

Optimus nodded in agreement, "If the Decepticons have indeed found your location, while not on purpose, you and your family may rest with us until further notice."

Solarflare uncrossed his arms, "Thank you, sir,"

The groundbridge swirled to life again, and all Cybertronians walked through before snapping closed.

The Autobot base remained the same since the last time she was there. Dusty concrete flooring and walls, large terminals, and a small med-bay.

Ratchet turned around once the groundbridge was closed and his blue optics widened, "By the Allspark, it can't be,"

Firespark smiled at the medic, "Long time no see, huh Uncle Ratchet,"

The medic sputtered before saying, "Don't call me that, and anyway, what are you doing here?"

Optimus placed a servo on the pink femme's shoulder, "The Decepticons have found the location of her hideout. She's come to us for help."

Ratchet nodded before locking his attention on the sparkling in Solarflare's arms, "How old is he?"

The red and orange mech shrugged his shoulders, "Not sure, I found him in an escape pod,"

"Nevermind that, come with me to the medical bay," Ratchet stated while walking in the direction of the said room.

Firespark nodded to Solaflare, who looked at her for confirmation. Once he left, her orange gaze saw a glimpse of a navy blue frame, "Midnight?"

The femme stopped in from of her, "Firespark, it's good to see you again. I've heard what happened, and I'm sorry,"

Firespark smiled sadly at her, "It's okay and good to see you too. How's your arm doing?"

Midnight lifted her arm to show her, "Still functioning, all thanks to you. Ratchet was impressed." Her blue optics flickered over toward the medical room, "So, who's the mech. You must really like him if you already had a sparkling."

Firespark blushed bright blue, "That's Solarflare, and, no, that's not our sparkling. He found it in an escape pod. I found Solarflare a day after you left."

Midnight nodded, still giving her a look, "So, you didn't answer my question. Do you like him?"

Firespark glared at her, "You never asked that question." When Midnight wouldn't stop staring, she sighed, "Yes, I like him, what does it matter,"

Midnight snapped her digits, "Good answer; otherwise, I would've taken him from you,"

Firespark noticed Arcee standing in the corner, smirking at them, "How much did you hear?"

Arcee laughed, "Oh, not much, only the good parts," When Firespark groaned in embarrassment, the blue warrior walked to her side, "It's hard to believe that you're not a sparkling anymore. I still remember when you fell asleep in my arms and now look at you, you're taller than me,"

Firespark laughed, "Yeah, well, I'm still young, maybe too young to take care of a sparkling, but I've learned to adapt."

Midnight looked between the two femmes in shock, and Firespark mouthed, 'I'll tell you later,'

Solarflare returned with Thunderstrike in his arms, wide awake, "Hope I'm not interrupting anything,"

Arcee glared at the approaching mech, "No, in fact, I was just leaving,"

The mech stared in bewilderment as the blue femme strolled past him before looking at Firespark. "Did I do something wrong?"

Firespark shook her helm, "No, remember how I said I had close relations with the Autobots." When he nodded, she continued, "Arcee was like a carrier figure to me also Ratchet was pretty close to me as well, hence the title Uncle,"

"Huh, is that why he was interrogating me with questions about you? Most of them were about our relationship,"

Firespark sighed, "Yeah, that's probably why,"

Night settled in, and the base fell into a peaceful state as everyone refueled on Energon. Thankfully, Ratchet had sparkling formula on hand, which allowed a newspark to process much more smoothly. This energon held the proper nutrients for a growing sparklet and had a sweeter taste. Thunderstrike, at first, was unsure of the new product, but once he had a taste of it, the whole bottle was gone in a few minutes.

Optimus approached the trio, "There is an extra sleeping quarter down the hall if that is where you wish to recharge."

Solarflare stood, "Thank you, sir, for the offer. Are you sure no one will mind?"

A warm smile crossed the Prime's features as he nodded at him, "My team and I don't mind your presence here. We will come up with a plan according to your preferences. You may stay here and join the Autobot cause, or if you wish to remain out of this war, there is a place that you can go."

The couple looked at each other, silently conversing before nodding at each other. Firespark's orange optics locked with the tall mech, "We'd like to start a new life, somewhere away from the war."

Optimus nodded, "Very well, I will contact the place you speak of, and tomorrow you may go,"

The pair smiled and bid the Prime goodnight and walked toward their sleeping quarters. Tomorrow would be a new chapter for their journey.