Play With Me, Papa--A TFP Story

Summary: Lily wishes for Optimus to spend more time with her, but she learns having a father for a Prime is not all it’s cracked up to be.

TFP © Hasbro

Lily © Me

~Play With Me, Papa~

    Autobot Lily laid curled up on her papa’s berth, fast asleep, cuddling her teddy bear. She had a nightmare the night before and begged Optimus Prime to let her sleep with him for the night, and she managed to make another restful night with no bad dreams running it, falling asleep to her papa’s warmth and spark beat.

    However, this morning, she woke up to none of that. As she emerged from recharge and opened her optics, she saw that the other side of the berth was empty. Lily sat up, rubbed the sleep from her optics and checked again, thinking she was maybe seeing things. But the berth was still empty. Her pigtails drooped as she sighed sadly. Optimus was no doubt already on a mission with the others. Did he even tell her goodbye while she was sleeping?

    Lily hopped down from the berth, left the room and entered the main hangar, where Ratchet and their human companions—Jack, Miko, and Raf—were gathered. She forced a smile on her face when they wished her good morning, but they already knew she was feeling down.

    “You okay?” Raf asked.

    Lily nodded, “Yes, I’m okay. Uncle Ratchet? Is Papa gone already?”

    “Yes,” Ratchet said, not taking his eyes off of the monitor. “Another Energon spike. They left half an hour ago.”

    “Oh...”

    “Why do you ask?”

    “Nothing...Just wondering...” Then Lily sulked off down the hall to the refuel lounge to get herself an Energon cube. It was just as she thought. It certainly wasn’t the first this had happened, but it still made her spark ache. She understood that he was a Prime and he had a lot of responsibilities, but he was also her papa, and the only time they were together was when they stood in the same room or whenever she had a nightmare. She wished she was older so she could accompany her papa and the other bots on missions, so she could spend more time with Optimus.

    The humans looked to Ratchet when he suddenly sighed and shook his head. “What’s up, Ratchet?” Jack asked.

    “Is it Lily?” said Raf.

    “She’s always upset when Optimus leaves,” Ratchet muttered.

    “Because she can’t tag along? I know how that feels,” Miko pouted.

    “Not just that,” Ratchet told her. “Even when he is here, she still feels down.”

    “Why is that?” said Jack.

    “Because,” Ratchet answered, “she feels he never spends time with her.”

    A couple hours later, while the human children were playing video games, Ratchet was in his lab, and Lily lounged around in the main hangar, a message from Optimus for a groundbridge came. Lily’s pigtails perked up a little as Ratchet headed for the groundbridge controls. Since it was only a search for an Energon spike, maybe Optimus would have some free time and play with her. She knew her papa was not much of a game player, but she had other activities planned.

    The bridge opened, and a moment later, the Autobots came in carrying a small amount of Energon cubes; but any amount counted, for their own supply was dwindling. Bee was injured. His left door wing was bent in an awkward position and twitched as he walked into the main hangar. Jack, Miko, and Raf went to greet their guardians, and Lily went to greet her papa by leaping up and clinging to his leg.

    “Are you okay, Bee?” Raf asked worriedly. The scout bleeped in high-pitch and nodded. “Oh, that’s a relief.”

    “How was the Energon hunt?” Miko asked. “How many Decepticon butts did you kick?”

    “Over a hundred!” Bulkhead gloated. “We sent them running!”

    “Yeah, with the rest of the Energon,” Arcee pointed out. “I saw the warship heading east. Didn’t you say another Energon reading was in that direction, Ratchet?”

    “Yes, but a small vein,” Ratchet replied. “I’ll keep an eye on it in case any of it surfaces. If it does, I’ll bridge you there.”

    Then, Bumblebee bleeped something as he was sat down on a berth and Ratchet examined his injured wing. “Bee’s right,” said Arcee. “Why not bridge there now before the Decepticons take it for themselves? It may not be much, but any amount counts, right?”

    “I suppose...What do you think, Optimus?” Ratchet asked.

    Optimus pried Lily off and thought for a moment. “With our reserves at low supply, it is crucial we do not let the Decepticons use it for their dark purposes.”

    “I will take that as a yes, then,” Ratchet clarified and locked onto the Energon signature’s coordinates and activated the bridge.

    “What? But, you just got back!” Lily exclaimed. “Can’t you stay for a little while, Papa?”

    “We must go, Lily,” Optimus told her. He saw the disappointed look on her face and sighed. “We won’t be gone for very long. I promise. But, why don’t you play with Bumblebee until we return to keep yourself occupied?”

    Lily’s pigtails drooped until they hung limp over her shoulders as she watched Optimus, Arcee and Bulkhead disappear through the groundbridge. “But...” she whimpered, “I wanna play with you, Papa...” With a faint sniffle, she went to her room and waited for her papa’s return, hoping he would have time to play.

    To her disappointment, he was gone longer than anticipated, and when she asked him if they could play together, he told her he was busy loading fresh Energon into the storage. Then, when he finished, he left for patrol, not seeming to hear Lily crying.

    ~~~

    Luckily, Optimus Prime wasn’t gone for very long on patrol and returned to base within a few hours. However, he claimed he was exhausted and was going to rest. When he entered his quarters, he saw Lily there, sitting up with her bear in her lap, as though she was waiting for him. “Lily? What are you doing?” he asked.

    “I want to sleep with you tonight,” she told him.

    Optimus sighed. “Lily, you know you have a room and a berth of your own. Plus, you slept with me last night.”

    “I had a bad dream and I was scared,” Lily said innocently, “and when I slept with you the bad dreams went away. I don’t wanna have bad dreams again, Papa...”

    Optimus sighed a second time; she did make a good point. When she slept with him at night she didn’t have any nightmares, but he didn’t want this to become a habit. Lily was becoming a big girl and he didn’t want her still sleeping with him by the time she was in her final youngling years. He went and sat beside her on his berth. “How would you know if you’re going to have a bad dream tonight?” he asked her. “You won’t know unless you try, Lily.”

    “But...”

    “No buts, Lily. Go on to your own bed.”

    “...Will you tuck me in?”

    “You don’t need to be tucked in, Lily. Plus I am very tired.”

    Lily tried to still her quivering lip as she climbed down off the berth and headed for the door. “Night, Papa...” she said, trying not to whimper.

    “Good night,” Optimus answered, then powered down into recharge.

    Lily shuddered a sigh, her pigtails drooping again, as she left his room for her own, curling up on her berth and crying herself to sleep, shedding tears of anger, sadness, and loneliness. And when she woke up the next morning to see him, he was gone again.

    ~~~

    A few weeks later, Lily woke up feeling sick and weak.

    Ratchet carried her to the sickbay, laid her down on the berth in a comfortable position, and scanned her body for any foreign invaders. “Well, luckily there is no infection. It seems to be that annual sickness you’ve been getting,” Ratchet confirmed. The Autobots sighed of relief, pleased to hear that it wasn’t anything too serious.

    “Annual sickness?” Jack said. “What does that mean?”

    “For the past three years, once a year, Lily’s body deteriorates so it can get stronger as she grows,” Arcee explained. “It’s a result of when she swapped her human body for this Autobot body.”

    “Is it threatening?” Raf asked.

    “No, it’s not,” Ratchet answered. “The only serious symptom she’s faced is purging.”

    “Puking? Yuck!” Miko exclaimed in disgust.

    “What is her current condition, Ratchet?” Optimus asked.

    “So far, she’s only overheating and her reserves are being used excessively, so they are low,” Ratchet told him. “If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”

    They jumped at the violent sound of gagging and turned to see Lily leaning over the side of the berth, retching and heaving. Optimus went to her and rubbed her back. Miko cringed and backed away many, many steps. When she finished, Lily hung limp and started to cry. She hated purging, especially when someone was watching. It was humiliating, even though the others didn’t mind.

    “Well, now her reserves are even lower,” Ratchet sighed as he cleaned up the mess. Lily sniffled and whined. “Aw, don’t cry. I’m just kidding. You’ll be fine,” he said and petted her head. “Just stay still and rest.”

    Lily sniffled and laid on her back, closing her eyes and shivering from overheating. She looked up to Optimus with weak, pleading eyes. “Papa...can you hold me...?” she asked.

    Optimus shook his head. “I don’t want to move you, Lily,” he told her. “You need to stay still like Ratchet directed...” He trailed when he saw tears spill down her face. He sighed and only apologized, kissed her helm, and walked off. Then, a communication was coming through, and he answered.

    “PRIME!” came Agent Fowler’s voice from the monitor.

    “What is it, Agent Fowler?” Optimus asked.

    “What do you think? CONS! They’ve broken into one of our laboratories and got away with some high tech, no doubt to try and build another spacebridge!” Agent Fowler explained. “I need you bots to get it back!”

    “I’ve got their coordinates,” Ratchet said as he managed to track the signals of the stolen tech.

    “Autobots, prepare to roll out,” Optimus ordered and started to walk away, but stopped when a weak, frail voice called out to him.

    “Don’t leave, Papa...” Lily croaked, breathing jaggedly. Optimus turned to her and saw her face was stained with tears. “Please don’t leave me...I’m scared...”

    “I am sorry, Lily,” Optimus told her, shaking his head, “but I must go.”

    “Please, Papa...!”

    “I will be back soon,” he promised. “In the mean time, you rest and do what Ratchet tells you.” He then walked off, but stopped again at the sound of Lily’s voice.

    “M-My human Papa would never leave me...” she said, glaring and propping herself up on her elbow. “H-He would stay right by me until I was all better...! He would also hold me when I was sick...!”

    “Your father was not a Prime, Lily,” Optimus said, keeping his back to her. “He did not have the responsibilities I have.”

    “It shouldn’t matter!” Lily exclaimed hoarsely, sitting up completely and ignoring Ratchet’s orders to lay back down. “You may be a Prime, but you’re also my papa! But you seem to be more concerned about your duties in the field!”

    “That isn’t true...!” Optimus said, turning to her. “You do not understand...”

    “Yes, I do!” she retaliated, starting to cry as her dulled, teary optics glared harshly at him. “You care about being a Prime more than about me! You don’t want me sleeping with you because I’m a baby, right?!”

    “Lily...”

    “You always seem to have time for everything else but never for me! You never play with me! You probably don’t play because you think it’ll make you look weak! I bet you never wanted to be my papa, did you?! You only said you would because you felt sorry for me!”

    “Lily, that is enough—!”

    “WELL, FINE!!! IF YOU DON’T WANNA BE MY PAPA, THEN I DON’T WANNA BE YOUR DAUGHTER ANYMORE!!!”

    Her words silenced everyone, humans and Autobots—including Optimus. He stood there with widened optics as he struggled to absorb what she had just said to him. He could only stand there and watch her lay back down to cry. He felt a sharp throbbing pain in his spark through their bond, knowing it was coming from Lily. He did not know what to do.

    Ratchet stepped in between them and led Optimus out. “You go on, Optimus,” he said. “I will keep an eye on her. And don’t think for a second that what she said is true.”

    Optimus shifted his gaze from Ratchet to his crying daughter. A force wanted to stay, but he knew he had to deal with this matter quickly. He sighed and led his Autobots through the groundbridge.

    Ratchet shook his head, went to the crying femme, and scanned her. “You’re continuing to overheat,” he said. “You need to settle down, Lily, or your condition will continue to worsen. Your crying isn’t helping.” But she only continued to cry, her weakened body shaking with each sob and hiccup. Seeing she wouldn’t stop, he went and got her some medicine. “Here, drink this,” he instructed. “It will help you sleep so your body can recuperate. I’m going to be in my lab for a while. I expect that medicine to be gone and you knocked out by the time I return.” He petted her helm and left for his lab, sighing heavily. “I have no idea what drove her into saying those things,” he murmured to himself. “If only she knew...”

    After an hour or so of tinkering, he decided to check on Lily and see if she had taken the medicine like he ordered her to. His fuel tank did flip-flops when he saw the medicine was untouched, and the berth was empty.

    ~End of Part One~