Optimus invited his friend and his family to come over for dinner. Megatron agreed and took them there. He sat on the couch and stared blankly as Ashley spoke with Elita and held the baby. He watched his family and his heart fell as it broke. Steeljaw was eating as he swung his feet and talked to Bulkhead. He was smiling. Megatron watched him as tears filled his eyes. There was so much pain in his home.

But here they were happy and could eat without worry. He looked at his wife and saw her smiling while the baby laughed happily. Megatron stared at his hands and choked back a sob as he thought. He knew what he had to do but didn't like it. Yet if he didn't they would die and his guilt would kill him.

He felt conflicted and jumped when something touched his leg. He looked down and saw little Arcee. She looked up at him as she sucked her thumb and smiled. The one year old squealed happily and tried to stand as she gripped his leg. He smiled a little as Steeljaw ran over and tried to get on his father's lap. He picked him up and hugged him tightly.

"Remember that I love you." He whispered quietly and kissed his forehead. "No matter what... Daddy loves you." He muttered as a tear fell down his face.

"Daddy... why you sad?" Steeljaw asked as he looked up at him. The small boy gasped and gripped his father's face. "No tear. Bad tear." He pouted cutely and wiped them away. Megatron smiled a little then hugged him tightly. He loved his family so much. He had to do this.

Once they got home and put the children to bed, Megatron sat on the couch and stared blankly at the wall. There was a knock on the door and he slowly went to answer it. A woman stood there and folded her arms.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm having a party tonight." She said. "I don't want your family disturbing me." She muttered bitterly.

"I promise we won't." He said without any emotion. "I'm quite busy Mrs Johnson." He said seriously and went to close the door.

"Listen..." she whispered and he stopped suddenly. "You've been a good neighbor, for the most part. I'm moving out of this wretched building and into a nice neighborhood. You're welcome to-" She stopped suddenly as she heard his children coughing violently in the background.

"What's wrong? Are they sick?" She asked quickly and lookedat him. Megatron sighed shakily and nodded slowly.

"Yes... I... I can't take them to the hospital..." he mumbled. "I can't afford to pay-"

"What kind of father are you?!" She snapped angrily and glared at him. He blinked in surprise and looked at her.

"I... I'm still-"

"Do you think love will heal them?!" She screamed. "How could you be so selfish and let them die? If you were a good person you would send them somewhere to get help." She spat. He just stared at her blankly as her words cut him like knives.

"But you clearly aren't as good of a man as you claim." She growled lowly and walked away. He just stood there and watched her go then slowly closed the door. He heard the baby cough and start to cry. Was he really as bad as she said?

He looked at the table at a bunch of mail then picked up a notice. They were being evicted and he had a week. He set it down and fought back tears of pain. He saw a rat run into the kitchen and he snapped. He picked up a chair and threw it at the creature.

"No! I won't let you make them sicker!" He shouted angrily as he tried to kill the animal. "You won't touch them!" He yelled as he beat it with the broken chair.

He slowly stopped as he realized he killed it. He panted quietly and jumped when something touched his shoulder. He looked up and saw Ashley. He dropped his weapon then hugged her tightly as he sobbed uncontrollably. She was surprised to see her warrior suddenly break down. She hugged him and looked away from the mess.

He gained control of himself a few minutes later. He sighed shakily and thought about what the woman said. He looked at Ashley then gently gripped her face.

"I want you to know something... I love you... no matter what. I've always loved you and I won't stop." He said.

"Sweetie... you've been saying that to me and the boys all night... what's going on?" She whispered. "You're scaring me..." she rasped as tears filled her eyes. He fought back his own tears and rested his forehead against hers.

"I... I want you... to leave me..." he whispered though she could tell it was hard for him to say. "Winter is coming and we're losing the house... go to your parents and..." he trailed off as his heart broke. He rested his head against her shoulder and sobbed silently.

"No... I won't leave you...." she said and hugged him tightly. "I won't leave you..." she insisted.

"You have to... I'm killing this family..." he rasped. "At least if you left you would be free... I'm doing this because I love you..." he said.

"No... I... Megatron please... I can't leave you... I love you with all my heart and we promised to stay together no matter what." She responded. He looked at her and smiled sadly as he gripped her face.

"Ashley... you are more than I could have asked for... but I won't watch you die with me..." he whispered and gently kissed her. "Please... take them and go to your parents home... anything... just.... just go..." he begged. She burst into tears and nodded as she hugged him tightly. She didn't want to leave him. She loved him too much.

A few days later he gave Ashley the car and the rest of his money. He gave her everything then hugged his family and said goodbye. He watched them leave and went back into the apartment before sobbing again. He hated to cry but found himself doing so more than he had his entire life. He was a failure.

He curled up on his bed and stared blankly at the wall. He didn't know what to do and knew he had no where else to go. He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep, not expecting to wake up again. He woke up to pain and opened his eyes. He shouted in anger as he saw a few rats crawling on him and biting him. He yelled angrily as he killed the wretched beasts. The man panted quietly and looked around a little. There was a knock on the door and he slowly answered it to see the landlord.

"Why are you still here? I told you to get out!" He shouted and shoved him back.

"Watch it. I'm still an officer." He growled lowly and grabbed his backpack with what he had left.

"Right. Then you can remove yourself from this property." He sneered. Megatron glared at him then walked out of the room. He stopped at the exit and saw it was snowing. He sighed forcefully and hung his head as he started walking.

He didn't know where to go and at this point didn't care. He made his way down the street and shook from the pain. He blinked in surprise as he found himself in a fimailar neighborhood. He hesitated then slowly made his way to the house. He stared at the door for a long time then hesitantly knocked. A few minutes later a woman opened the door and stared at him in surprise.

"Hi mom..." he said as he smiled a little though it faded quickly as his father came to the door.

"Why are you crawling back to our doorstep?" He growled lowly.

"I'm not... I'm walking.... I... need help... please... just a place to stay until-"

"No. I'm not bailing you out of this." His father said as he narrowed his eyes. "You have to live with your failure!" He shouted and slammed the door. Megatron just stared at the door then narrowed his eyes and walked away.

He made his way to the park and tried to sleep on the bench. He then went under the bridge and slept there as he shivered from the cold. He coughed weakly and hardly slept. He eventually gave up and went to the station where he got ready and went to work.

When his friends asked how he was doing he put on a mask and smiled to say he was fine. A few days went by and he was getting sick. The chief told him to stay home but he refused. Though on his way back he didn't make it far. He was in too much pain and shivering violently. He wandered down an alleyway and collapsed against the wall. He slid to the cold pavement and hugged himself as he sat with his back against the stone wall.

Megatron stared blankly with half closed eyes at nothing in particular. He knew this was truly the end of his miserable life. He thought about how he got here and felt depressed. His father was right when he said he wouldn't amount to anything. His eyes lids grew heavy and he tried to stay awake as the snow fell and covered him. His mind flashed back to when he was in high school as he remembered something. To him it was odd that this memory came now.

~

When he was sixteen his mother was excited because she was finally having a second child. His parents were thrilled because they knew it was hard for his mother to have children. Megatron was excited and bragged to all his friends telling them he would be the best big brother.

Though as his mother got closer to the delivery date, there were complications and the doctors said the baby wasn't going to live long. They talked about abortion and Megatron begged them to give the baby a chance to live.

When the baby was born his parents were too heart broken to even name it. The baby was a little girl and born almost two months early. His mother cried and sobbed as her husband held her. She was too upset to even look at the baby that would die soon. Megatron went to his sisters side and looked at her. He smiled sadly and gently kissed her forehead.

"Hello little angel..." he whispered quietly as tears filled his eyes. She made a small noise and gripped his finger with her tiny hand.

"Hope... no... I'll name you Mirabelle Angel...." he whispered quietly and chuckled sadly. "I'm not very good with names... but... Mirabelle is French for incredible beauty and Angel is... obvious..." he said and his smile faded. He watched the baby then looked at the nurse.

"Can... can I hold her... please?" He asked quietly and she smiled sadly.

"Yes... did... did your parents want to name her?" She asked and he hesitated as he glanced towards the other room.

"Yes... we... we decided on Mirabelle Angel." He said as he looked at her again. The nurse nodded slowly and carefully handed him the baby then went to get the birth certificate.

Megatron smiled as he held his sister and hoped she felt loved. He took her to his parents and after a short argument with his father he gave the baby to him. Telling him she needed to know her father loved her. The man didn't hold her long and gave her to her mother. When they found out about Megatron naming her they weren't too happy.

"That's a stupid name." His father snapped angrily and glared at him. "Why did you name her? That wasn't your responsibility." He seethed.

"You didn't want to name her." the young man shot back. "You gave up on her before she even took her first breath." He said sadly. The father didn't say anything and walked out of the room.

Megatron held his sister the most and she opened her eyes while in his arms. She stared at him then smiled before closing her eyes again. His sister lived for forty-eight hours and he enjoyed being a brother for that long.

~

Megatron slowly opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. It was warm and the pain was gone. He heard beeping and he furrowed his brow. The young officer stared at a heart monitor then looked around.

"Oh good, you're awake." He looked to the voice and smiled a little.

"Hello Ratchet..." he rasped weakly then frowned at his voice. It was scratchy and hoarse. "Why... am I here?" He asked as he looked at him again.

"Seriously?" The doctor scoffed and raised an eyebrow. "Do I  really have to tell you why you're here?" He grumbled. Megatron stared at him then rolled his eyes.

"Alright then. I'm awake now you can let me go home." He muttered.

"Oh is that so?" The doctor asked as he folded his arms and glared. "To what home Megatron? According to my resources you don't have a home right now. You were bit by rodents and you've been sleeping in the cold!" He snapped. Megatron didn't respond and looked away from him.

"Calm down old friend." Optimus said seriously as he furrowed his brow and walked in.

"Calm down? Calm down?! I'll have you know that I don’t approve of the two of you going around being stupid!" He shouted. He glanced between them then shook his head and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Megatron asked as he furrowed his brow.

"To build something or do some advanced algebra or advanced calculus. Anything that distracts me from the stupidity I'm forced to be around." He said as he threw his hands in the air and walked off. The other two watched him go then looked at each other before smiling a little. Megatron chuckled softly and shook his head.

"Ratchet is..."

"Special... in a good way." Optimus finished as he smiled a little.

"And that's why we love him." The other man said as he chuckled again. They fell silent and the officer walked over and sat by his friend.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Optimus asked hesitantly.

"Optimus I didn't want..." he trailed off and looked away. "I... was going... to fix this on my own..." he rasped. His friend stared at him blankly for a while then furrowed his brow.

"Why can't you see your pride is becoming your own downfall?" He asked and his friend looked at him. "Megatron... we have an extra room in the basement. Come stay with us until you get back on your feet." He said as he smiled slightly.

"Thank you brother." Megatron said though his tears. "But I-"

"There is no need to argue. Nor do you have room to do so." He said seriously and Megatron smiled a little. They talked for a moment as Optimus put him at ease and arranged for him to be at the home. A few days later as they were talking, a nurse came in with some paperwork.

"Sir... um... Megatron, I was told to give you this to sign." She said quietly and handed him the envelope. He furrowed his brow and looked at it. After a few minutes he opened it and stared blankly then looked at his friend.

"Ashley.... she... she wants a divorce..." he rasped as he fought back tears. Optimus looked at the paperwork and furrowed his brow at the letter she wrote. She was begging him to let her go so she could be happy with someone else.

"We've only been apart for a month." He choked and buried his face in his hands. "I was trying desperately to fix everything so she could come back... so I could see my boys again..." he mumbled and fought back tears as he gripped his chest. "Why would she do this to me?!" He shouted and looked at his friend. "I thought she loved me..." he rasped.

Optimus again didn't know what to say and hung his head. He hated not knowing the answer.