KatieMae77, who owns Katie, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)

Transformers G1 belongs to Hasbro. I own nothing.

A Daddy's Love Stretches Farther Than The Horizon

Katie giggled as Optimus gently twirled her as they danced on the dance floor, the seven-year-old holding onto her father's hands and standing on his holoform feet as he swayed to the song playing on the radio about a father and daughter.

Elita, who was watching them nearby, felt a little jealous as she watched them. Prowl noticed and smiled a little. "Miss Elita, are you alright?" He asked her politely.

She nodded. "Just...maybe feeling a bit like...my daughter spends more time with her father than she does me," she admitted before sighing. "Though, she did bond with Optimus first and she was a bit shy around me for a little bit."

Prowl nodded. "It took Katie a bit to see Optimus as her father," he said gently. "But after she had been turned into a baby, her first word was 'Daddy'."

The rose-colored femme was surprised. "Really?" She asked. "She didn't think of him as her father when she first met him?"

"No," the Praxian said, his tone still gentle. "She had just lost her parents when she met her sister and then both girls met us after the Decepticons came after them. They were unsure of us for a bit until we showed them we meant no harm, but even then, it took time for the girls to fully trust us."

Elita looked at Katie, who was giggling again as Optimus twirled her again, smiling at her. She smiled. "I knew Optimus would be a good father when I bonded to him," she said before looking sad. "We just never had the chance to have a sparkling before...before Katie came along."

Prowl nodded. "Katie does think the world of you, Elita," he said. "She wouldn't stop talking about how much fun you both had on Mother's Day. She's very happy to have two parents who love her as much as her birth parents did."

The femme nodded. "She's been through so much at such a tender age," she said, feeling the small bit of jealousy disappear as she watched her husband and daughter. "Optimus and I truly are blessed to have Katie as our daughter."

"And she is blessed to have you and Optimus as her parents," the Praxian said kindly. "She'll always love both of you."

As the song ended, Optimus and Katie posed before the little girl giggled. "Can we do another song, Daddy?" She asked hopefully.

Blaster, who had been playing the song that had just ended, found another good father-daughter song and began playing it, to which the two started dancing again. Ironhide, who was nearby, smiled. "A father-daughter dance to celebrate Father's Day," he said, chuckling.

Elita looked at him, curious. "Father's Day?" She asked.

He nodded. "Just as there was a Mother's Day last month, this month, there's a Father's Day," he said. "Spike was telling us about it earlier."

The rose-colored femme was intrigued. "So just as there is a special day for mothers, there's one for fathers too?" She asked.

"That's right," the red-colored mech said, still smiling.

Elita looked up some information about Father's Day and smiled, seeing that the Sunday coming up was Father's Day and she recalled how everyone had pitched in to give her the day off to spend with her daughter. She nodded before perking up. "Ironhide. Prowl," she said.

"Yes, ma'am?" Prowl responded.

"I think Optimus deserves the weekend off to spend time with Katie," she said. "He has been working hard lately and could use a vacation."

"He has been wanting to take Katie camping too," Ironhide said.

Elita smiled. "Perfect," she said. "If he's given the weekend off, they can do that."

"I can ask a few of the others if they'll be willing to do a few extra shifts," Prowl said.

The rose-colored femme nodded and looked at Ironhide. "Ironhide, I believe you should go camping with my sparkmate and daughter too," she said. "One, to make sure Optimus enjoys himself and two, just in case...well, in case of Decepticons."

The red mech nodded. "I'll do that," he said.

She then looked pensive. "Is it true some of the 'Cons...care about my daughter?" She asked.

"To the point that they have risked their own sparks to keep her safe," Prowl said without hesitation. "From what we know, there's about ten Decepticons that care about her and wouldn't dare harm her and would protect her, even if it meant going against Megatron's orders."

Elita let out a small sigh. "I'm not sure if I like that Katie is friends with some of them, but...at least we know that some of them truly do have good sparks."

"They do, Elita," Ironhide said reassuringly. "They'd rather have their own limbs broken before harming her."

She nodded before perking up. "Well, perhaps we can...get a message to them about perhaps...keeping Megatron from disturbing the camping trip?" She asked.

It didn't take long to contact Thundercracker, who was out enjoying the day and once he heard the proposal, he agreed before looking at them. "Megatron is looking for a device in Africa right now," he said. "I'm not sure what, but it sounds powerful."

"Thank you," Prowl said with a nod.

Thundercracker nodded. "Give my love to Katie," he said before leaving.

Elita smiled at seeing how the 'Con did care about her daughter. "Okay," she said. "Now...let's get the shifts organized."

When the others heard about the camping trip and how it was for Father's Day, they immediately agreed to help and take extra shifts. "He hasn't been able to spend a lot of time with Katie lately," Sunstreaker said.

"And he could use a vacation," Sideswipe said.

Skyfire nodded. "For Optimus and Katie," he said.

Once the shifts were arranged, Elita went to inform her mate about the schedule.

Optimus was in his office as he had some paperwork to look over while Katie was with Bumblebee and the Aerialbots at the park. "Hmm, everything looks good for right now," he said to himself.

"Optimus, my love," he heard the sweet voice of his sparkmate call to him and he looked up to find her standing in the doorway. Smiling, he motioned her inside and stood up to greet her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. She kissed him back before smiling. "I have some good news, my love," she said.

"You do?" He asked, curious.

She nodded. "You and Ironhide both have this weekend off," she said. "Everyone's taken extra shifts so that you can take Katie camping for Father's Day."

Optimus looked surprised before smiling. "Why do I have a feeling you arranged that?" He asked.

She giggled. "Well, Prowl helped out," she said. "As did Ironhide. He's going to go with you and Katie to make sure you both have fun and...well, in case Megatron tries anything stupid."

He smiled again. "Well then, I best tell our little one that we'll be going camping this weekend. She's been looking forward to it," he said.

When Katie heard that she, Optimus, and Ironhide were going camping for Father's Day, she was practically bouncing off the wall in excitement, looking forward to the weekend, which was just one day away.

Friday morning came and the three were heading away from the base to a campsite that was in the woods and boasted to be a good spot for watching the sunrises and sunsets and was not only beautiful, but peaceful and quiet. Only the sounds of nature dwelled there.

When they arrived, they found that what had been said about the place was true and Ironhide insisted that Katie and Optimus go exploring while he pitched the tent and set up camp. The father and daughter headed into the woods and Katie held onto her father's hand as the terrain was a bit rough, but she didn't mind. The woods were calm and peaceful, something Optimus was happy about as they walked. "Your mother was right. I did need a vacation," he said, making his daughter giggle.

"Mommy's always right," she said.

"That she is," Optimus chuckled.

Over the next two days, the three of them went swimming, exploring, and enjoyed food cooked over a campfire, especially the s'mores, which were Katie's favorite camping dessert. The nights were even clear, so they could stargaze. Ironhide pointed out some constellations and Katie even found a couple that she recognized.

"There's the Big Dipper," she said. "It's part of a bigger constellation called...um...the big bear."

"Ursa Major?" Optimus supplied helpfully.

"Yeah, that," Katie said with a nod.

"And right about it is the Little Dipper," Ironhide said. "If I remember right, that's part of Ursa Minor, the little bear."

Optimus smiled before spotting another one. "There's Cetus the whale," he said. "And Scorpio."

Katie was amazed as she traced the shapes with her finger and her eyes. "I like stars," she said. "Because there's so many of them. Just like there's so many bots in our family."

"That's right, Katie," Ironhide said, smiling at his goddaughter.

The little girl snuggled into her father's embrace. "Happy Father's Day, Daddy," she said.

"Thank you, my little one," Optimus said with a smile, kissing her forehead in affection.

On Monday morning, they all pitched in to fold up the tent and pack everything up to head back home, making sure to leave the campsite the way they found it before hitting the road.

Elita greeted them at the entryway to the base, smiling as Katie rushed out to hug her. "Did you, Daddy, and big brother Ironhide have fun?" She asked.

"Uh-huh!" She said happily before looking hopeful. "Mommy, can you, me, and big sister Chromia go camping sometime too?"

The rose-colored femme smiled. "That sounds like a plan," she said. "But right now, there's many Autobots who would love hugs from you."

As Ironhide headed inside to find Chromia and to put away the camping stuff, Optimus scooped his mate up into his arms, hugging her and kissing her soundly. "I'm the luckiest mech in the universes to have such a wonderful, beautiful femme as my mate and the most beautiful sparkling as my daughter," he said.

Elita giggled and returned the kiss. "I'm glad you had fun, handsome," she said.

Katie, who was greeting everyone with hugs, was happy too, because her father had proved to her once again through his love for her that a father's love stretched farther than the horizon and never failed.

She was happy to have such a wonderful father in her life.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there! :)

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GoldGuardian2418