Jasmine took a deep breath as she stood up, looking over the twins slowly. They were incredibly well behaved, quiet and sweet. Of course, most babies were during the first week or so, sleeping more often than not. She hoped it would stay that way, but even if it didn’t, their father would have the patience to comfort them and love them, no matter how frustrating she became with them.

Their father . . . Her mate and her lover . . . It had been two days . . .

Jasmine had kept her promise to take her time to recover. But he hadn’t made her say a thing about waiting around and twiddling her thumbs, waiting for him to come home. She just wasn’t that kind of girl, and Optimus knew as much. He ought to know as much. If he didn’t, she’d have to beat some sense into him after he was safe at home and fully recovered.

Oh, he was coming home tonight, she was sure of that.

“Are you sure about this?” Angel questioned, looking Jasmine over, the taller woman pulling her auburn hair back into a firm ponytail. “You just gave birth yesterday. You might be superhuman, but you aren’t invincible, Jazz. Please, just think this through.”

Jasmine sighed, lacing up her shoes, getting herself ready to depart. “I’m sure, Angel. I’m not going to leave Optimus out there. Especially not by himself. Well, maybe he wasn’t by himself. He was with whoever had taken him from her.

And they were going to pay.

“Jasmine, please-.”

Jasmine turned to look at Angel intently, the intensity of her gaze cutting off Angel’s words. For a moment, they stood in a silence that enveloped the room, thick enough to cut with a knife. “Watch my babies carefully, Ang. I’ll be back. And I won’t be alone.” She didn’t give Angel an opportunity to respond before Jasmine strode from the room, brushing past Angel on her way out, one thought consuming her mind: to find the man who’d father her children and been there for her from day one. Through the transformation, through the training and the battles, through her moments of faux traitorism, he’d always believed in her and stood up for her.

She was about to show him exactly how much that meant to her.

~~~

Jasmine had started her trek shortly after sunrise, and the sun was lowering against the horizon, casting long shadows. She’d decided to travel by foot today, supplies secured in the pack that rested over her shoulder and against her back. It had crossed her mind to take the car, but if she did that, it’d be much harder to focus on the feel of the bond. Walking left her mind the freedom to focus its energies elsewhere.

And she’d been getting closer and closer. She couldn’t quite pinpoint where he was, but she could feel when she was getting closer. It was like one end of a magnet drawing the other to it, and as long as Optimus stayed conscious, even if he simply fell asleep, she’d be just fine finding him.

“I’m coming, Sweetspark,” she murmured, recalling the nickname he’d used for her so many times when they’d been Cybertronian. “We’re going home.” Her thoughts rested on their children for a few short moments: Ashton, Scarlett, and even their adopted daughter, Sunny. Their children needed, deserved a father. Every child did. Not every child had a father, she knew that.

No. Every child had a biological father. Not every child had a dad. That title was earned. And if any man or mech deserved that title, it was Optimus. He’d been more than welcoming to the idea of children, of sparklings since the first time. He adored the concept, and had been so excited the first time, the second time.

“Your babies need you . . .” She took a deep inhale, closing her eyes for a moment. The concept itself still startled her a bit, but a part of her was so in love with it she wouldn’t change it for the world. “Our babies need you . . .”

Jasmine kept an even pace, her spark leading her in straight path to him now, leading her towards what seemed to be a hybrid of a large hill and a small mountain. It was rugged and rocky, looking a tad barren aside from the pines and other rough foliage that grew there. She could spot crevices in the rugged terrain and what looked like small blemishes. Small caves, and plenty of them.

Jasmine didn’t start running until the bond was cut off again.

~~~

Jasmine yelped in pain as a rock gave way under the grip of her fingers and nails, falling down the steep slope, nearly taking it with her. She gripped tightly to the side of the raised ground, quickly fighting to find another hold to replace the one she’d lost so suddenly, her eyes closing in the fear that she would soon find herself tumbling down the side of sloped earth. Her fingertips protested with the shocks of pain that shot through her worn skin.

When the tumbling of small rocks and clumps of solid earth became quiet again, Jasmine reluctantly opened her eyes. She was still okay.

With a groan, Jasmine forced herself to focus. Optimus was still up here somewhere. She’d be forced to make the rest of the way without the aid of the bond, but she would definitely manage to make it. Steeling herself for unsteady earth, Jasmine continued her climb, sweat and dirt coating her face unevenly. Every time she gripped a new hold, her nails dug into the dense soil and rock, bits of both wedging themselves under her nails, pushing against the nail bed itself, the pain a fresh kind of excruciating.

She stopped herself from yelping as her foot slipped on it’s hold, silently threatening her with a very long fall to the unforgiving earth below.

Jasmine wasn’t about to make that fall. Not today. Not now. Not under these conditions. Optimus was here. Somewhere. Waiting for her. Patiently awaiting her arrival. She’d promised him she was coming for him, and the bond had led her here. That wasn’t some mistake. That wasn’t just some fluke. He was here. Somewhere. And she’d be damned if she didn’t find him.

She ground her teeth together, determined to keep going. She wouldn’t be going home empty-handed. Her babies would have their father, their dad, that was certain. It didn’t matter how long it took, how far in the sky the moon rose or how many times Jasmine nearly had a spark attack when her handholds and footholds gave way and it took all her strength to keep herself latched onto the 110° cliffside.

“Keep going, slag it, keep going . . .” Her breath came heavy in her chest through every inhale and exhale, her body aching both from today’s extended walk, the climb, and yesterday’s own physical trial. “I’m going to find you, Optimus, I promise you that . . .” Her breath flew from her body as a few more rocks tumbled, her nails scraping against rock as she fought to keep herself steady. “Come on . . . Keep going . . .” She muttered, trying her best to ignore the her age-old fear of heights. That didn’t matter right now. Nothing mattered aside from finding Optimus. That was all she had to tell herself to keep pushing through.

And it worked. When Jasmine reached the next ledge, she knew exactly where Optimus had to be.

Because she could see Megatron’s true form lingering in the shadows of the nearby trees, low to the ground, his dark grey and silver paint job blending in quite well with the cloudy night sky. Jasmine frowned, a low growl rumbling from her throat. “You’ll regret this,” she warned in a low voice, not two seconds before she activated the strings, her body burning with the anger that had been building since early yesterday.

Megatron was snagged in the silver strands, his true form being thrown down the cliffside, with a bit of a struggle on Jasmine’s part to shift that much weight, but he tumbled down the cliffside, metal denting over and over, miniscule wounds.

But he hadn’t fought her, which made Jasmine realize a critical piece of information: he wasn’t focused on his true form’s input and output. He had to have a holoform. And where she’d find the holoform, she’d find Optimus.

Though her muscles gave plenty of protests, Jasmine took off, searching the crevices she saw as she dashed along the ledge, waiting for some sound or sight that would catch her attention. Biting her lip, she reached the end of the ledge and promptly turned back around, re-inspecting each and every cave, paying a bit more attention to the contents of each. Bats, bugs, birds . . . No Optimus.

The worry was eating her alive as she continued looking inside each one. This was where Megatron’s true form had been posted, they had to be around somewhere. This had to be where Optimus was being kept.

Then, a flicker came through the bond, a small, candle-like light in the darkness. Jasmine could feel him for that split moment, and she was going to find him immediately. Just back a few feet and to the left into a small opening. It was barely large enough for two people to slip through, but it seemed right. Large enough for a hostage and his captor.

Jasmine’s energon boiled in her veins as she forced her way through the opening, following the passage a good thirty feet into darkness before light began to hit her eyes again. “Optimus . . .” She murmured, her fists clenching as she ran. She ached plenty, but now wasn’t the time to stop what she’d tried so hard for.

When she saw Megatron’s holoform, she launched herself at him, tackling the silver-haired man to the ground, her fists immediately coming to his face. “Slag it, Femme!” He shouted, pushing her back. Her aching muscles caused her to roll off and stagger slightly as she rushed for him again, fury blinding her to everything that wasn’t revolving around Megatron and how badly she’d make him pay for taking Optimus from her.

Her nails, though raw and painful, raked across Megatron’s cheek, tearing the skin with ease, a trickle of blood and energon mingling as they rolled down his cheek. Megatron yelled in pain, growling as she made another move for him, his large hands gripping her wrists as he attempted to pull her up short. “Slag it, would you just-!”

She didn’t listen to him. Jasmine hardly heard  a word the former Decepticon warlord or her spark mate yelled to her. All she could see was how much she needed to make him pay for taking Optimus away from her. And he would certainly pay for what he’d done, if it was the last thing she’d do.

The only noises Jasmine made were animalistic and anger-fueled. She twisted her wrists away, swiftly delivering an elbow to his rib cage, causing the man she was facing to hold a hand to the quickly developing bruise. Jasmine could see his lips moving in frustration, she could see how he wasn’t fighting back. But all she registered was that he was an immediate threat to be neutralized and managed so that he never returned to be the threat he was now.

Megatron’s gaze flicked to behind Jasmine, but she hardly noticed. She was hell-bent on destroying him. And she’d have succeeded if Optimus hadn’t intervened.

Jasmine fist flew towards Megatron, making a sturdy contact with the bridge of his nose, enough so that she swore she heard some sort of ‘crunch’ under her hand. Quickly, she drew the knife she had strapped and concealed to her waist, tripping Megatron as he stumbled a couple steps, forcing him to fall down with a harsh impact. Jasmine pinned him to the cave floor, the knife ready to be forced down into the Decepticon’s chest, perhaps his neck. Jasmine wasn't sure, all she knew was that he would die.

Until she felt an overwhelming surge from the bond, two strong hands grabbing her wrists, keeping the weapon from being brought down to end Megatron’s life.

Optimus held her steady and true, forcing her eyes to lock into his, even though her eyes were burning, her breathing heavy and shallow. “Maiden, release the weapon, let Megatron go. This isn’t as it appears.”

A frown crossed her face, and though she relaxed in her attempts to drive the knife through Megatron’s body, she couldn’t let go. “He took you from me,” she spat. “He has to pay for everything he’s done! For all the times he terrorized and hurt and killed!”

“Maiden,” Optimus spoke gently, refusing to feed the storm that was building inside her. “I realize you’re upset, but there’s a logical explanation for this . . . misunderstanding . . . All right? Is that quite all right, Maiden? I know you’ve been scared and in pain, but I am all right. Everything shall be all right.”

Seeing the fading bruise on Optimus’s cheek, Jasmine wasn’t sure she believed that. “You’re lying,” she muttered, her frown deepening.

Optimus shook his head gently. “I promise I’m all right, Maiden, and you’ll be all right, too. We’ll go back to the children tonight. Everything will be as it should be.”

“Then why the bloody hell did he take you in the first place if he’s going to let you just waltz out of here like nothing happened? I oughta flay him alive for kidnapping you! I’d gladly cut this asshole up into shreds and-!”

“I wished to know the Prime’s secret to the happiness he so often possesses, and how he managed to find a home life as he has now after all the vorns of war,” Megatron explained from the ground, interrupting her fury.

That made Jasmine pause, and her adrenaline began to die down the slightest amount. Her eyes widened a bit as she looked down at him, blinking. “What . . . ?” Slowly, she shifted her weight, sliding away from him, trying to process his claim. Optimus held her close where they sat as the former gladiator moved from lying to sitting, and explained.

“After everything we have done to each other, after everything that has occurred, the Prime has somehow managed to find genuine . . . happiness . . . After all the war and death, he still rejoices in the life that remains, and that practice puzzled me. So, I wished to speak to him. And when that did not go quite as planned . . . I removed him from where he was to speak with him in a more private setting . . . I apologize for the misunderstanding. I simply desired to know how he could manage to move forward after the past that haunts so many of us so thoroughly . . . He was a definitive help in aiding me to get a hold on myself. I thank your husband, your bond mate, from the bottom of my spark, Maiden.”

Jasmine blinked, wondering what exactly had driven Megatron to become desperate, or perhaps wise, enough to seek out Optimus after all the death that had been littered between them. “You . . . You kidnapped my husband to use as a life coach? You’re a nut!” She exclaimed, digging too deeply into the situation to think very rationally.

“He only wanted to have what we have, Maiden . . .” Optimus said in a lowered voice, kissing her cheek, taking the situation for the core of what it was. “The bruise was an accident, though. I promise you that.”

With a slow nod, Jasmine affirmed that she understood what he meant. “Sorry for . . . you know . . . almost killing you . . . I was kind of freaking out . . . With my husband and bond mate being gone and all . . . Oh! The babies! Optimus, you have to come see them! They’re so adorable and wonderful and I love them so much, and you’re going to love them too, and ohmyAllSpark, come on!” Optimus smiled gently, though his eyes flicked over to Megatron, his face solemn as he kept his gaze down. “I, um . . .” Jasmine rubbed the back of her neck. “Do you want to come see them, too, Megatron . . . ? Not like it would hurt anything . . .”

Slowly, the former Decepticon lord looked back up at the happy couple, his spark aching a bit at the sight of their joy, at the thought of what other joy awaited them, but he gave a nod, if only in the hopes that perhaps he would be able to take cues from them and be able to grasp a bit of that for his own.

He was sick of always fighting and breaking. The past was dark, and he wished to leave the shadows behind.