Family Picnic

"You ready?" Mason asked, hand hovering over the door. Audrey took a deep breath, then nodded.

"Yeah."

Mason knocked.

Audrey couldn't get over how big the house was. It wasn't anything like the little one-story she had grown up in. It was nice to see her parents were being treated well, at least. She knew they hadn't wanted to give her over. However, neither of them were very assertive. It was a matter of intimidation, not bribery.

There was a faint shuffling of footsteps behind the huge door. The deadbolt clicked, and Audrey took another deep breath.

The door swung open just enough to reveal a thin, pale woman behind. She was older, maybe in her early sixties. But Audrey recognized her.

"Mom…"

The woman's eyes filled with tears. Speechless, she looked to Mason.

"It's her, Mom." He assured her.

Still too shocked for words, Emile reached out and touched her daughter's face. So grown up. Audrey smiled, Putting her hand on top of her mother's. Tears rolled down Emile's pale cheeks.

"I thought I would never see you again," She whispered.

Audrey hugged her, wrapping her arms tight around her mother's frail form.

"I love you, mommy."

xxx

Composing herself, Emile brought them inside. Audrey couldn't help but stare. The house wasn't as big as she had expected, but certainly luxurious. Family portraits and old photos lined the walls, leading all the way into the next room. A fine plush couch with wooden legs faced a dusty flat screen TV in the living room, next to it a small table held…

"My phone!" She exclaimed, instantly recognizing the old-fashioned pink landline. Emile chuckled.

"I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it." She said as her daughter ran to examine it. "You loved it so much."

Audrey shook her head. "Why in the world would you let me have this thing? It's hideous!"

"That's what everyone else thought." Mason said, plopping down on the couch. "But you insisted that we get it."

"Oh!" Emile gasped, "I have to call your father. He'll come right home when he hears you're at the house!"

"Oh, don't make him leave the clinic, mom," Audrey said. "We all know how much he loves that place. Besides, it's only an hour or so from closing time. We can make dinner or something while we wait!"

Emile shook her head, picking up the wireless phone from the stand by the door. "He doesn't love the clinic more than you, dear." She told her. "I'm calling him and he's going to come home right now."

As she waited for him to pick up, Audrey sighed. She knew better than to argue with her mother. Especially now that she had just gotten home.

"Are you going to tell them about everyone else?" She asked. Mason shrugged, butting his arms behind his head and kicking up his feet.

"Eventually. " He said. "Just enjoy the moment, will ya?"

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Sure. 'oh, by the way, mom and dad, we invited a few 30-foot-tall friends over for dinner. Hope you don't mind!'"

"They won't." Mason assured her. "Have you seen the size of the backyard?"

"Your father's on his way." Emile reported, putting down the phone. "He'll be a few minutes, so I want you to tell me all about what's been going on these past three years. We all thought you were dead!"

"Yeah, Audrey," Mason smirked, "Why don't you tell us?"

"Shut up," Audrey said playfully, eyeing him. Turning back to her mother, she sighed. "It's a really long story…"

xxx

Philip arrived in a matter of minutes. Audrey was far from finished telling her mother about all that had happened the past few years. She had barely reached the part where Soundwave had rescued her from Knockout when her father rushed in.

"Audrey!" He cried, she ran and embraced him.

"I'm home, daddy," She said into his shoulder.

"You certainly are!" He exclaimed, pulling away. "Look at you!"

She grinned, "I guess it's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

"More than a while," Her father sighed. "It's been too long since I saw my little girl."

They hugged again, and went to join the others.

"Audrey was just telling me about what's been going on all this time." Emile informed her husband. "She's been through a lot, so go easy on her. She just got here, after all."

Philip chuckled. "I'll be good, Emi."

Audrey sighed. "I'm a little tired, though," She said. "Plus, I haven't had a decent shower in the past three years, and I was hoping I could take one here…"

"Oh, of course, dear!" Her mother replied, "I'll take you right up. I'll even fill up the tub, if you like."

Audrey smiled. "Thanks, mom."

"What about me?" Philip asked. "Don't I get to spend some time with my daughter before the disappears again?"

"Sorry daddy," Audrey said, "... But you probably don't want me stinking at the dinner table. I promise I'll tell you the whole story… Besides, Mason has a few things to tell you, too."

She gave him a quick kiss, then followed her mother up the stairs to the master bathroom.

Philip sighed, watching them go.

"She's so grown up," He said. "I almost didn't recognize her!"

Mason chuckled. "You haven't got a clue how much she's grown."

"And what about you?" His father questioned. "She said you had something to tell us."

Mason grimaced. "Yeah… about that… do you still have that stash of Energon I brought up here a while back?"

"Yes, it's in the basement. Why?"

"Well… we invited a few friends…"

xxx

While the boys hauled Energon up from the basement, Audrey followed her mother through the upstairs hall into the master bedroom. At first, she mistook it for a second living room…

"This room is huge!" She exclaimed, gawking at the perfectly made bed. Beside it, a rocking chair was dwarfed next to the leather recliner. Both of which faced an old TV set, this one well used, unlike the one downstairs.

"Well, It's all been nothing without you." Emile sighed. "I still regret the day I allowed them to take you two."

Audrey shook her head. "I've told you before, mom, It wasn't your fault. They forced you, and it wasn't right. But we're here now, aren't we? Let's just enjoy that."

Emile smiled. Audrey had always been so positive. Little did she know of the hardships her optimistic daughter had faced in the past years.

The bathroom was equally impressive. Audrey didn't know that such large bathtubs existed!

"There's towels in the cupboard," Emile told her, starting the water. "You take your time, and I'll start dinner. I should have all the ingredients to make your favorite…"

"Thanks, mom," Audrey said, giving her a hug as she turned to leave. "Love you."

Emile smiled. "I love you too, dear."

xxx

After about an hour, Audrey forced herself to drain the tub and dry off. She found a hair dryer and comb in one of the drawers. It took a few minutes to tame her hair, as it hadn't been combed in over three years. After ripping out the worst knots, she decided it would do.

Mom probably won't mind if I borrow some old clothes, Audrey thought, eyeing her filthy jeans. She stepped into the bedroom and opened the closet. It didn't take long to find a new outfit. To her surprise, everything fit quite well.

Coming back down the stairs, she followed the smell of barbeque out the sliding glass door to the backyard patio.

"Wow!" She exclaimed, seeing the buffet that had been set out on the table.

"Feeling better, honey?" Her father asked, tending to the grill. "Your mother's been busy making everything."

"I hope there's enough," Emile said, adding a bowl of red jell-o to the spread.

"Enough!" Audrey laughed, "Mom, you must think enough is trying to feed an army!"

Mason chuckled. "Yeah. After all, it's just going to be the four of us."

Audrey stared at him. "Mason, didn't you tell them about…?"

"I did! I did!" He assured her. "We've got them covered."

He motioned to a pile of Energon cubes and canisters stacked beside the house.

"Good," Audrey sighed, "What time is it, anyway? They could be here any-"

At that very moment, a flash of green lit up the yard. Vibes was first to hop out of the bridge, beaming. Melody and Soundwave followed close behind, with little Orion in his mother's arms,

"Hi!" Vibes waved, Mason grinned.

"Hello, Vibes," Emile greeted. The twins had visited before, and it was nice to see they were alright, too.

Audrey and Mason morphed to greet their Cybertronian family.

"He's getting bigger every day!" Audrey exclaimed, fawning over the sparkling.

"You don't know the half of it," Melody sighed, "I've never heard a sparkling scream so loud!"

Audrey chuckled, "At least you have your own place now. He'd be keeping everyone awake on the ship!"

"Oh, Melody, darling!" Emile called, "Is that your little one?"

Audrey bent down and helped her mother up to see the sparkling.

"I named him after his father," Melody said. "Orion Pax."

"What a sweet child." She cooed. "How are you handling it? Being a mother, I mean."

"It's not easy, but Audrey and Mason and the others have been a real help."

Emile nodded. "Yes, I remember when I first had Mason I needed all the help I could get."

"Mom!" Mason cried. They laughed.

After catching up for a few minutes, everyone settled down to eat. Vibes and Melody sat in the grass with their Energon while Soundwave stood to the side, keeping an eye on Orion while his mother took a break.

"Audrey," Philip said quietly from across the table, "You still haven't introduced us to your other friend, there."

Audrey followed his gaze to Soundwave, surprised Mason hadn't already told him. She swallowed the piece of rib she had been chewing.

"That's Soundwave," She said. "Vibes and Melody's brother. He's the one that helped me while I was being held on the Decepticon ship."

"Well then," Her father chuckled, "He must be something special."

"What do you mean?" Audrey asked, confused. Her mother smiled.

"You were blushing, dear."

Meanwhile, Soundwave fought the urge to grin. Of course, he had heard the whole thing. It was hard for anything to slip past his audio receptors.

He looked down at Orion. His nephew.

It was a strange feeling, being an uncle. Knowing how his sisters had grown up in his absence. It was too bad, though, that Optimus had to go so soon. Things would have been better with him around.

"We've come a long way, haven't we?" He murmured, sitting down next to the sparkling. Orion turned over in his sleep, little servos searching for something to grasp. Soundwave offered his hand, watching fondly as the child's tiny fingers gripped his.

"What do you think of her?" He asked the sparkling. He glanced up at the table where the humans sat. "After all, she might be your aunt, someday."

Orion muttered some sparkling gibberish, sticking his free hand in his mouth.

Soundwave chuckled. "I'll take it that means you like her, too."

xxx

The picnic lasted well into the evening, and the group enjoyed a beautiful sunset together. As the twins got ready to return home, however, Soundwave took a moment to speak to Philip in private.

"I must thank you again for taking care of my daughter," Philip said to the mech. "I really don't know how to repay you."

"I only had one request…" Soundwave told him.

"Anything!" Philip insisted. "Whatever you want."

"Just your permission should do." Soundwave said.