Transformers Prime AU (Book 1) (Wattys 2017)

Chapter Twenty One

"No, no no no." He muttered and ran passed the caution tape.

Some firefighters stopped him and held him back. He stared at the open door as flames burned it. Tears filled his eyes and he tried to get free from their grasp. He had to go in. He had to find them. The men that held him back struggled to hold him. They kept talking to him but he didn't hear their words. He could only think about his children.

"Let me go!" He yelled as tears filled his eyes. They held on to him as he struggled. "Let me go.... my children." He choked as he stared at the flames. "My children...." he whispered again.

His struggling slowed and he sank to his knees as he watched his world burn. The firefighters patted his shoulders as he knelt there. They tried talking to him but he was unresponsive. He just stared. The father felt numb, too many emotions running through him all at once. He wanted to cry, scream, beat something, throw up, anything. Time seemed to slow and the world was silent. He had nothing left. As the shock started to settle he heard the sirens again, the roaring flames, and people talking. He continued to sit there not daring to move.

"Are you listening to me?!" Someone yelled behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Mrs Johnson. His expression blank as she glared at him.

"Do you see what you did?!" She shrieked as she pointed at the house. He felt dazed and as if he were moving under water. He looked back at the flames.

"Your children are dead because of you!" She said angrily. "And all because you were too selfish to let them have a better life!" He continued to stare as her words stabbed him like knives.

He buried his head in his hands and cried quietly. Everything he ever loved in life, was gone. He couldn't express how he felt, numb, empty, as if someone had just killed part of him. After a while, the father sat on the grass and folded his arms on top of his knees. He sat there and stared at the grass. Tears silently falling. The longer he sat there the emptier he became.

The fire was finally put out and the on lookers slowly dispersed. He didn't move, even when it got cold. A firefighter put a blanket over his shoulders and wanted to get him somewhere. He just stared. They left him alone for a moment. A cop car pulled up and the chief jumped out with Ultra Magnus. They crouched by him and said something, but he didn't hear them. They shook his shoulder gently trying to snap him out of it.

"....." he didn't hear what they said. The father closed his eyes as they shook his shoulder. He rested his head in his arms.

".....!" He ignored everything and thought of his children. His wife. His everything.

"Op.......!" He didn't want to go back to reality. There was nothing left for him. He was slowly sinking into despair. They stopped shaking him and fell silent.

A few minutes later, he felt a tiny hand touch his shoulder. He slowly pulled himself out of his misery and focused. Tiny arms wrapped around his neck and he heard little voices. He focused more. He could hear people talking and radios going off. But that's not what caught his attention.

"Daddy?" His favorite name. He looked up and saw four pairs of beautiful blue eyes staring at him. He choked back a sob and pulled them into a tight hug. He kissed their heads and held them close as he rocked slowly. Tears of relief fell down his face.

"Ow dad you're squishing me." Arcee complained. The children were confused by their fathers behavior, but gently returned the embrace. Ratchet crouched next to them and realized what had happened. He glanced at the smoldering house then at his friend.

"Optimus.... I'm so sorry we put you through that." He whispered as he set a hand on his shoulder.

The father simply rocked as he held his children. His shoulders shook as he cried with relief. Ratchet looked up at the officers and furrowed his brow. Silently asking for an explanation. The two men looked at each other, then at the house, and finally on the family.

"We need to find a safe place for them." Ultra Magnus said quietly. The chief only nodded as he silently watched.

After a few minutes he walked over and crouched by the small family. He watched as the father rocked his children, and held on to them for dear life. He thought about everything the man had been through. The chief gently set a hand on his shoulder.

"Optimus...." he said quietly. The father stopped rocking and looked up at him. "Do you have somewhere to stay for the night?" He asked.

"Yes." Ratchet answered immediately. The two men looked at him. "They have somewhere to stay." He muttered as he looked at his friend. The father simply smiled slightly.

"Dad..." Smokescreen said as he looked up. "Did I accidentally burn the house down?" His father half laughed and half sobbed. He kissed his sons forehead.

"No." He whispered quietly. "I don't think you did." The other three looked to the house.

"Are we homeless?" Arcee asked as she looked at him. The father smiled sadly and kissed her forehead but didn't answer.

"Not for long." Ultra Magnus said as he glanced at the chief. "We need to relocate your family." He said seriously.

"No I can't leave." Optimus said just as serious. "Not until Megatron is behind bars." His eyes narrowed and he held his children tighter.

"I understand." The chief muttered. Optimus glanced at Mrs Johnsons home and furrowed his brow. Was she right?

He looked at his children, and they could tell he was trying to make a hard decision. They tightened their grip on their father as tears filled their eyes. He stared at them and realized they weren't safe with him. Not with Megatron out there.

He stood up carefully and they held on to him tightly as he walked to the car. Bumblebee was on his back and he buried his face in his father's shirt. The two officers looked at each other then at the doctor who watched them leave. He glanced at the other two then followed.

Smokescreen glanced back at the house and shuddered a little. Bulkhead watched his father carefully, knowing he was in deep thought about something. Arcee kept staring at the house, it scared her. Optimus was quiet and didn't look back as he got to the car. He carefully set them in and closed the door. He just stood there as he watched them and stared into space.

Optimus didn't want to send them away but he felt torn between the decision. They would be safer away from him, right?