Reunions

Author's Note: Repaying a dedication with a little nod to Straya's post-'86 movie fic, Second Chances ) This is unfolding as I go along so I don't know yet how long it will be. This departs from the way I wrote my previous movie fics and kicks off my own development for the movieverse. I'm touch and go on the dialogue, trying to ease the TFs into using contractions. Personally, I like their formal manner of speaking and I think they would stay that way until influence from prolonged exposure began to sink in.

Another planetfall was scheduled for that night but Ironhide would not be attending. He was already parked three states away from the designated landing point. The United States government had worked with the Autobots to time their arrivals with meteor showers and out of the way landing zones. Very few people knew that six more robotic aliens had joined the ones that had previously taken up residence several months ago.

Ironhide was all for welcoming old comrades. But the previous two landings had served as a reminder of all the comrades he would never see again, and so he chose to keep his pre-arranged meeting with Captain Lennox. The two had been visiting regularly to discuss weapons development in case other Decepticons found their way to Earth.

Ratchet kept sending him updates, anyway. "They are half-past Saturn." was the most recent one. He mentioned it to Lennox as they sat in the field near the captain's house, concealed from the road by an old barn. They both leaned against the side as if there was no difference between them; Lennox merely happened to have climbed onto a stack of hay bales, ignoring the stray pieces that he had collected on his sweater and jeans on the way.

"I bet we could see the entry from here," Will said. "Normal meteor showers are pretty cool -- because at least I know they aren't something I have to duck and cover from."

"Their trajectory won't take them this far," Ironhide replied, shaking his head.

Lennox grinned. "Where are you hiding them all, anyway?"

"Wherever we feel like," Ironhide joked. "Not much is going to stand in the way, after all."

"Should I expect any to show up on base?"

"We have been trying to stay with civilian vehicles, but it is up to the individual which form they prefer."

"Government sanctioned, too, I bet."

"Yes. It would be much to our advantage if we could gain some military forms."

"From an inventory standpoint I can understand it. Besides, you guys seem pretty good at mounting big guns on something ordinary." Lennox grinned again, motioning to Ironhide's left arm.

"I was thinking in terms of soldier placement. Having a few of our men already amongst yours would be an advantage to both."

Lennox shifted to lay on his back. "Yeah, I can see your point. If it was up to me, I'd say yes. But, of course, it isn't." He caught a flicker of red light in the sky and hastily sat up again. "Are you sure we won't see them from here?" He pointed when Ironhide looked at him questioningly, but the red flare was gone. "Huh. Guess I was seeing things."

"A man such as you?" Ironhide stood up and looked around at the sky, turning left and right while scanning.

"I appreciate the confidence, but I'm still only human. I can be at one-hundred percent and still have a speck of dust get in my line of sight." To prove his point, Lennox rubbed at one eye and glanced skyward again.

Ironhide kept scanning. He then abruptly scooped the human into his hands. To his credit, Lennox only silently grabbed for the nearest mechanical digit to steady himself. "Where, exactly?" Lennox regained his balance and stood up on the Autobot's right palm, being careful to double check before pointing again. Ironhide lifted his head in the indicated direction, his optics brightening then shifting to a reddish-violet as he zoomed in and tried to scan farther.

One of the untranslated but increasingly familiar Cybertronian sounds rumbled out from the warrior. Lennox made a mental note to ask what it was supposed to mean. "Trace elements," Ironhide announced as he set the human down on the hay bales. "I can't identify them. Too far away."

"Elements of what?"

"An unknown metal. If it is one of ours and not an actual meteor, they may have picked up armor from another planet."

Since the Autobot didn't seem too disturbed by it, Lennox relaxed. Inside he hoped that other races of robotic aliens weren't going to start making a habit of dropping in. It would be strange when the number of sentient vehicles began to outnumber the native ones. He then berated himself for thinking when instead of if.

Ironhide radioed Ratchet about the possible discovery. The medic responded that their incoming mechs were still too far out for it to have been one of them.

"I guess it was just some space junk. Maybe something one of your previous guys shed before entry and it got caught up in an orbit, and it finally decayed?"

Ironhide didn't look convinced. He kept checking the sky, waiting for another sign to manifest itself.

Lennox pondered the mech's expression. Then something else occurred to him. "Please don't tell me you're thinking it could have been a Decepticon."

Ironhide nodded gravely. "We must take it into account."

"Great." Lennox ran his hand over his hair, sucking in a breath. "Should I put in a call? I'm not sure how well a false alarm will go over."

"But there is a chance it could be a Decepticon. It is worth the time and effort to find out!" Ironhide's cannons slid into ready position at his agitation.

"Time tends to change things for humans," Lennox said, a little dejected. "We like to be prepared, but sometimes complacency looks better to the budget."

Ironhide glared at him, but knowing it wasn't Lennox's personal fault, turned his gaze to the ground. "Foolish. The one who makes such decisions should have one of us near for council."

"He does -- one of your tactical and defense boys is stationed down there. The problem is that the head honchos like to think they're above being ordered around by aliens. Our planet, our rules, and things like that."

"Ridiculous," the Autobot grumbled, not commenting on the fact he hadn't been told of someone assigned to DC. He peered toward the western horizon. "How soon can you be ready to set out?"

"You can't be serious! At least check with the conservatory network," Lennox amended when another glare fell his way. "Someone might have identified it already."

"I'll check on the way. C'mon." Ironhide stepped away from the wall and transformed. Lennox made his way off the hay bales. "Can I at least tell my wife, first?"

"You can do that on the way as well."

Will sighed, taking his cell phone from his pocket. He brought up the house number as he opened the truck's passenger side door. "Hi, honey. I just got a call -- don't worry, it's just something local, shouldn't be a big deal. But don't wait up, okay? I'm with Arcstrom." The message conveyed to her that the call was Autobot business, not military.

"All right," came her slightly worried reply. "Be careful."

"Always. Love you." He climbed into the truck and barely had his seat belt on when Ironhide drove off in the general direction of the light. "This thing better not be hours away. I would be better off having an idea where we're headed so I can contact someone closer," he hinted.

"We are close enough," Ironhide said. "Its trajectory puts it in the next county."

"You could tell that from here without even seeing it yourself?"

"I track missiles for a living."

"Right."

Ironhide's radio suddenly crackled and Ratchet's voice invaded the cab. "Ironhide! There is something headed your way! I cannot get an I.D.!"

"Already on it. I estimated its impact point. Lennox and I are en route."

Ratchet's next comment was in Cybertronian. "He's with you? That could be dangerous."

The reply was also encoded. "I can protect him."

The medic then warned, "Just remember, no one is around to back you up. If things look bad, retreat."

"Noted. Ironhide out."

If Lennox had been able to understand the exchange, he would have known with his own certainty that Ironhide had no intention of retreating.

They reached the end of the field and pulled onto the highway. Ironhide hit the speed limit and maintained it for the next fifteen miles. He only slowed when they came to an exit that lead off into a wooded campground. Lennox let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. The campground was closed this time of year and far enough out of the way that things might stay contained. Barring a forest fire. "This place is highly flammable."

"Noted," Ironhide replied, hearing the warning in the human's voice. He shut off his lights and crept further down the road before scanning the area. Deeming it safe enough for the moment, he let Lennox out and then transformed. As always, he had his cannons armed in seconds. He began a more thorough scan, walking slowly through the trees while Lennox peered around from beside the mech's foot, keeping pace as Ironhide moved. Lennox knew it would do little good against a Decepticon but having a handgun with him made him feel better.

Ironhide's internal comm crackled this time, preventing eavesdropping, but the concern in Ratchet's voice had increased threefold. "A second unknown is headed your way! It's coming in fast -- it went right past our other incoming. Optimus gives the order for you to recon only. Do not engage. Do you hear me?"

"Calm down, Ratch. I haven't even found anything yet." Ironhide glanced skyward for a sign of the second fake meteor. "No visuals on the second. I'll keep in touch." As soon as he disconnected a bright light filled the sky. The 'meteor' had come into visual range all right...and they were in its potential path. Ironhide pointed westward. "Run!" Lennox took off, the memory of how dangerous Scorponok had been lending more speed to his feet. He made it across the open ground to an old stone wall. He threw himself to the ground behind it, rolling back up until he was right up against the stones.

A few seconds later Ironhide made a similar bid for cover, except the wall was no where near adequate. The ditch a few feet in helped, though. Ironhide managed to flatten himself against the ground, one hand braced on the dirt and the other arm holding a cannon just above the edge of the wall.

Lennox cautiously looked over the top of the stones. The fiery blot in the sky was getting bigger. "I think I'm going to eat my words about meteor showers being cool."

Ironhide didn't respond. He visibly tensed, the barrel on his left cannon shifting around rapidly. Lennox shuffled farther away. As one used to engaging in firefights, he braced himself knowing the meteor would hit at any moment.

The sound was spectacular, the impact teeth-rattling, the scrape and clatter of metal frightening.

The thing had landed and transformed all in the same burst of momentum. It came up on one knee, the opposite arm already forming into a weapon. Lennox drew in a breath. It looked to be as tall as Ironhide, and even though it was plain of armor and had no distinguishing features like the Autobot, it looked twice as mean.

Ironhide seemed to be stunned, too. He lowered his head, whispering to Lennox, "Protoforms do not usually come in armed. This is...irregular."

The newcomer didn't look in their direction, instead turning eastward, standing as it did, since nothing threatened it from the previous direction. The end of its cannon-arm glowed blue as it began to move in a circle. Ironhide's head went up. "It's after the other one. Stay here."

"What--" Lennox made a grab at Ironhide's near horn but missed. He sighed and ducked down again.

Ironhide took a single step out from the treeline and emitted a noise Lennox could swear he had once heard from the furnace in his basement. The newcomer responded in higher-pitched but still familiar modulated tones of the Autobot's language. Lennox relaxed as it turned into a calm, if patchy dialogue -- Ironhide gestured even when he made no sound, leaving the human to assume more went on beyond his hearing range.

He was so caught up in the exchange that he didn't hear the crackle of foliage behind him as something moved up the path.

But he did hear the clatter of that something transforming. He spun around, leveling his gun on it. It wasn't big -- well, as far as the two mechs he had been watching went -- but it looked like it was taller than him -- if it was even standing up straight. Red optics shown from a figure that blended with the other shadows. He heard a shriek behind him and the whine of a weapon charging. He hoped the newcomer had really good aim.

"No!" Ironhide cried in English. He moved in front of the barrel as a shot was fired. He grunted from the impact, but it did little more than sting and knock him off balance for a moment. He knew it would have severely burned if not vaporized Lennox.

The shadowy Decepticon took the opportune distraction and grabbed Lennox with a four-fingered hand, two closing on either side like a vise.

The newcomer shrieked again. Ironhide let out a bellow. Then they were lost amidst the trees as the Decepticon carried Lennox off the path. Will struggled to get enough air in so he could think. When he did, the first thought was wishing he had been able to keep some Sabot rounds on him. The second was that he needed to do something fast before this menace got into the civilian areas. Fortunately, it seemed to prefer the shadows, in turn working in Lennox's favor because he had no idea what to do. He would have tried shooting it but he couldn't see enough of it to find a weak spot.

They burst out into a clearing, the Decepticon hissing and putting its other arm in front of its face, blocking Lennox's view of its head. He had no idea why it was doing so. He did try to make out some of its details. Its armor seemed to be a deep purplish color with some brown here and there. He tried to shift around to get a better look at the thing's back. He spotted two large projections against its shoulders that looked like they could unfold.

The Decepticon hissed again and pulled Lennox against its chest as if aware of his analysis. The move was just what Will needed to get a better view -- and find a place to shoot at. Its chest was perfectly covered straight up along its neck to its jaw. He saw openings in its cheeks; he stoppped looking. He twisted sideways and quickly reached up, firing semi-blindly at the slots.

His captor uttered a sound that echoed back on itself and increased in pitch until it was too much for Lennox's ears to take. He screamed in the hopes of alerting Ironhide, dropping his gun to clap his hands over his ears.

The sound cut off abruptly. In a grating voice that sounded like sandpaper scratching over metal, the Decepticon hissed, "Next time you will lose your auditory sensors. Efforts to escape will only lead to physical harm."

Lennox shook his head to clear it, a ringing in his ears that was certain to last. He ignored the warning and twisted himself again to see if Ironhide was anywhere in pursuit. He began to worry that the protoform had been a trick and really was another Decepticon. If so, this was going to be a really tough one to get out of. He had already figured he was going to be used as a hostage, since the Decepticon hadn't killed him for shooting at it. Or, they might want information from him seeing as he was a close ally -- they might have been monitoring him and knew about which subjects he and Ironhide regularly discussed.

He caught a flash of light through the trees but after a few seconds there was no sign of a missile. The Decepticon plowed back into the foliage, allowing stray branches to whip into Lennox. He put his arms up to protect his face, clenching his teeth against sting after sting of small branches leaving narrow slices in their wake. He hoped he wasn't imagining things when he heard an engine rev up ahead.

The Decepticon burst into the next clearing and slammed right into something grayish-blue. For a moment its grip on Lennox went loose, and the human prepared himself to slip free -- but then the vise-like talons closed on him again. Lennox was glad he hadn't jumped. They might have caught his arm or leg instead and broken the limb.

The grayish-blue object was a four-door SUV with a rounded top and back. If this was any other situation, Lennox could also have noted that it was a Chevrolet HHR. The situation, of course, instead lead to the SUV rearranging itself into a tall, imposing figure whose left arm formed into a canon barrel. A no-nonsense female voice demanded, "Ratbat, release the human now!"

"What for?" the Decepticon taunted. "You hunted me all the way here, do you not want to find out why?"

Metal fingers grabbed the hand holding Lennox and yanked. Ratbat's arm came free of its socket. As the Decepticon screeched and flailed, Ironhide pried the talons apart. "How about no." Once Lennox was safely balanced on his right hand, Ironhide aimed his left cannon at Ratbat.

The female Autobot stepped forward. "If I could have the honors--" She ended with a word in Cybertronian.

"Of course." Ironhide grinned and moved back, looking down at Lennox. "Are you badly injured?"

The human's reply was drowned out by a shriek from Ratbat. It didn't reach the damaging volume as before but it was followed up by the clatter of Ratbat transforming. A large metallic bat flew upwards and away. A few pulse blasts followed, one scoring a wing, but with a burst of propulsion the Decepticon escaped their range.

The sound of metal rearranging itself came from the newcomer Autobot -- not to alt mode, but into a propulsion backpack. She began to race across the clearing in the direction Ratbat had flown, the three engines flaring.

"Chromia, wait!" Ironhide called. "We need to alert Optimus!"

She snorted. "You and I can handle the likes of him by ourselves. Follow on the ground."

Lennox rapped on Ironhide's palm to get his attention. "I can tell you which roads to take that go in the direction we need to follow. If we've got a chance to kill another of those creeps, let's take it."

Ironhide nodded, setting him down then transforming. Lennox climbed into the passenger side, belting in as Ironhide peeled out. Chromia had already taken off.

"Follow my signal," her voice crackled from the radio.

"I will never lose sight of it again," Ironhide promised evenly. There was no reply -- that Lennox could hear. Ironhide then addressed him. "She is going east."

"Take the road there, then make a left at the first turn." Lennox replied, meanwhile fishing through his pockets. He took out a sanitizing wipe and began patting his scratches, ignoring the urge to hiss a couple of times. He could recall grazes from bullets that hurt less. "So," he said, in an attempt to distract himself, "That's her, huh?"

"Yup," Ironhide responded with a voice brimming with pride. "She has not changed a bit."

Lennox couldn't think of a reply other than, "Uh-huh..." Another five hundred feet of dirt road passed before he started instructing again. "Take this right, then go straight, and take the second right."

"And if she turns north?"

"Take the first left."

They continued for a minute and a half longer. Suddenly a half-transformed Ratbat plunged through the trees in front of them. Stunned, neither Ironhide nor Lennox said a word while the Decepticon uttered a pained, weak screech. The truck began to back up so he could transform.

However, Ratbat flipped himself up, completed his transformation, and grabbed the front of the Topkick. Ironhide tried to floor it backwards but the Decepticon was lifting his front tires and holding him fast. A warbling shriek came from the bat, increasing in volume. Ironhide could turn off his audio receptors, but Lennox knew he couldn't withstand another assault. He debated jumping out. He stopped just as he grabbed the door handle. A vibration ran through the truck. "Eeaargh... Will...brace yourself!"

Lennox scrambled into the back seat, expecting the windshield to shatter. He hunkered down behind the passenger side seat, arms over his head, waiting to hear the glass.

Instead there was an ominous creak. Then Ironhide let out a protesting bellow as Ratbat pulled off his grill, damaging his hood on the way. The bellow turned into a groan when the attacker turned attention to the wheel wells. The back door opened. "Will -- run--!"

Lennox grabbed the door frame and tucked his head down, rolling free a hair's breadth before Ironhide transformed. Sparks flew from his shoulders and chest, but at least the move dislodged Ratbat. The Decepticon stopped his noise and made to take off.

Chromia slammed down on top of him, her cannon barrel forcing his head down. Smoke trailed from her backpack. "You will pay for that with your own armor."

"You are welcome to it!" Ratbat shifted, throwing her off. He then shook rapidly, sending metal plating flying. He jumped up and his feet became drills which he plowed into the ground. In seconds he disappeared down a narrow hole.

Lennox disentangled himself from the pachysandra he had landed in. He walked over and peered down the hole. "Well, that explains the name."

Chromia's arm shifted back to a normal forearm and hand, her back pack rearranging itself into armor. "We will let him go for now. He is already badly injured if he took that form." She put one arm behind Ironhide and placed her other hand on his chest. "Think you can make it?"

"Of course," he grumbled, trying to shift away from her attention. The right-side half of his bumper promptly clanged to the ground. Chromia put her hands on her hips while he bent to retrieve it and his mangled grill. He attempted to fit the bumper back into place but the grill was difficult in his current state.

"Do you require assistance?" Chromia asked in what sounded much like a teasing voice. Lennox watched them both with interest, curious about how the spark dynamic Ironhide had once mentioned worked.

Ironhide muttered an, "Affirmative," and eased back into truck mode. Chromia knelt and examined his front and repositioned the right side of his bumper then inspected the grill. "Too damaged. You will have to get Ratchet to straighten it out -- I assume Ratchet is still with you?" she added cautiously.

"Yes. But it's a long drive, just so you know. Put it in my bed."

She did so, then transformed and opened her passenger side door to Lennox. "Would you care to accompany me? Just tell me which road to take and I will bring you to your dwelling."

Lennox glanced at Ironhide, unsure how Chromia would react to a human passenger. The Topkick flicked its headlights briefly as if to encourage him. With a shrug, Will sat down and shut the door. "Sure. I appreciate it." He directed her to the highway, Ironhide following close behind. After a few minutes Lennox shifted a little in his seat, clearing his throat. He knew he should say something but couldn't decide on just one thing.

She solved the issue for him. "So, has the old codger been giving you humans much trouble? If so, I will straighten him out for you." She chuckled.

"Oh, he's been...great." Will laughed awkwardly. He wasn't sure how she would respond to any given answer; he had already seen what happened when she was angry. He decided to keep quiet with military stoicism.

"Talk, human. I want to know what it is that made Optimus Prime call us here."

Taken aback, Lennox summoned up words. "I think he called you here because this is where the Allspark landed, and it seemed like a good place to start over. I'm not sure how the general public will react, but I'm glad you all are here. Knowing there are more Decepticons out there, it's reassuring to know we have the Autobots on our side."

"Smart lad." The air over the driver's seat shimmered and the image of a woman in her late thirties appeared, wearing jeans, a faded red shirt, and a denim jacket with a matching baseball cap over her frizzy red hair. The hologram looked over at Lennox and blew a bubble of pinkish gum, letting it pop in his general direction. "Your World Wide Web is amusing, by the way."

Lennox laughed, imagining such a woman standing next to Ironhide's holographic driver.

"I amuse you? Well, I suppose that is good."

"No offense meant. I was just picturing this driver beside Ironhide's. You, ah, make a nice couple."

"Couple, hmm?" Chromia accessed the Internet again. She went silent for a good ten minutes, within which Lennox gave the last directions to his house. They were coming up on the driveway when she spoke again. "You humans do some strange things all just to procreate."

"Well, not all of us do those things." Lennox rubbed his temples, wondering who was going to have to explain the sort of things she must have stumbled across.

"I see that it is a taboo subject. I apologize."

"Hey, better me than someone...less familiar with it." Lennox put a hand to the back of his head and laughed again.

"I think I will keep my curiosity to myself from now on, until I have a chance to study the cultural issues further. I have moved from world to world so quickly that such things were not of consequence before."

"So your team just did surveillance instead of thorough searches?"

"We did when there still was a team. I am the only one left."

"I -- I'm sorry..." Lennox bowed his head respectfully.

"This is war Captain Lennox. You get used to it."

He shook his head. "It isn't something you should get used to."

"Hmm. Tell yourself that after a half-functional teammate sacrifices himself so you can have the propulsion necessary to get off planet." Her tone was neither harsh nor bitter. Accepting best described it.

A car horn sounded from behind them. Chromia swung the passenger side door open. "Impatient old codger."

Lennox hopped out. "I think he was translating for my wife." Sarah stood in the doorway with her arms crossed in the concerned way she always took when she knew he had been endangering himself off the clock. "It was nice to meet you, Chromia. You're welcome to visit here again. Ironhide comes by every so often when I'm home."

"Why, thank you, Captain Lennox. I probably will see you again."

He shut the door and waved goodbye to both her and Ironhide. He then turned and jogged up to the front door, picking straw and twigs from his clothes. Sarah held the screen door open. "What happened to you? Come on, get in here. I'll get the bacitracin and bandaids."

"Nothing out of the ordinary, as usual." Will followed her, grinning now that the danger had passed.

"I'm sure," she replied sarcastically but quietly. "Who was that you were driving with?"

"Mrs. Arcstrom. I finally got to meet her. She's a very nice lady."

"Is she anything like Mr. Arcstrom?"

"Exactly like him."

"That figures." Sarah guided him to an armchair. "Now let me patch up the paintball war wounds."

One hundred and fifty miles to the east the ground within an abandoned construction site ruptured into a fountain of soil and small rocks. There was only one witness, an imposing, silent gray and silver mech who stood amidst a haphazard stack of rusted girders. He watched the mechanical rodent that emerged from the hole, waiting for him to make the first move.

Ratbat bowed as soon as he was clear of the dirt. "My apologies, my lord. The target was protected by two Autobots. They overwhelmed me before I could escape with the human."

"Did you retain battle data?"

"Yes, I did. If you will allow me, I will be more prepared next time."

"See to your repairs. I will extract the data later."

"Yes, my lord." Ratbat slunk into the shadows of the bare structure's half-finished basement. He glanced back on the way, emitting a low batlike screech as his optics flared briefly.

Ironhide's bumper fell off twice more during their trek, once in a dark spot and the other right under a streetlight. He ran into it the second time and pushed it to the side, where he and Chromia waited until the trickle of traffic subsided long enough for her to transform and toss it into his bed. Then they continued on, Ironhide leading and Chromia staying the appropriate car length behind. They didn't talk much, other than Ironhide grumbling about the bumper and hoping no one in the oncoming lane noticed how symmetrical the break was.

He was mulling over his feelings and trying to find the words to say to her. Of course he was happy to see her, more than happy -- and that did not seem enough to say. He couldn't think of anything in either Cybertronian or an Earth language to express himself. The rush he had experienced from the encounter with an enemy and the concern for Lennox were fading now that it was over, leaving him with just the ache of knowing Chromia was so close. There was too much he wanted to say, it could take a century to say it all.

Meanwhile, similar thoughts were running through Chromia's processor. However, she decided to voice the next thing that came to her, using a secure line. "Ironhide, will you marry me?"

The Topkick's engine sputtered. "What??"

"It is a ritual that humans use to consecrate their partnership."

Of all the things to say, that one had not occurred to him. Ironhide rolled to stop, hearing her brake behind him. After a few seconds he turned toward the shoulder and drove right onto the grass, heading upward along a hill. She followed, although unsure of what he was up to. He stopped at the top of the hill. There was no sign of anyone else in the area, and the late hour provided for no other vehicles on the road.

Ironhide transformed, letting his grill and half-bumper fall to the grass. He winced a little, but ignored any pain as he watched Chromia pull up and transform as well. He walked over to her and took one of her hands in his. A blueish glow came from behind the armor of his chest. In a few seconds, an answering glow came from the same spot on Chromia. She smiled at him, placing her other hand on top of his. They both lifted their heads to look at the stars, in time shuttering their optics. The two glowing spots began to pulse slowly, at first separately then synching up. Unshuttering their optics, they lowered their heads and gazed at one another.

Ironhide slipped his hands free and wrapped one arm around Chromia, drawing her close. She rested her head over his spark case, the light within still pulsing in time with hers. He rested his other hand on the back of her head.

The road home would no longer feel lonely.

To Be Continued