While this fan fiction follows 'Download" it can be read alone. What if the All-Spark wanted a backup to Sam, but did not have a Cube? Humans live a short time compared to Cybertronians, but pass their genes on to their children... The story involves Sam and his family, of both races.
The face not in the mirror
Optimus reminded Jimmie, and Minnie of their promise to tell the Prime about Minnie, and why the leader of the Autobots never met her even though she was his granddaughter and Jimmie's daughter. When Jimmie visited Sam and told him about the promise, Sam laughed and arranged an evening when all of them could gather near Sam's new quarters. "Really, Optimus, you'd think that I hid her from you on purpose, the way you're complaining," he told his Cybertronian friend.
"I sure it was just overlooked, but you can imagine my surprise when I see a young woman who looks so much like you, your grandchild, who I never knew existed. "
"It's complicated, "Jimmie admitted, relaxing over his drink. "Minnie was adopted, you see, so officially she's not related to me- to us- at all. Just biologically." Minnie giggled, when she saw the Prime's reaction.
Sam laughed. "Complicated is the word," he admitted. "Now, you realize this was right before Mikaela started getting sick." He spared a sad thought for his wife, dead of cancer for years now. He still missed her.
He thought again how easy it was to tell the truth the right way, and lie by inference. He did hide Minnie from the Prime, and for a good reason.
Minnie waited on the bench in front of the good restaurant. School had just ended, with graduation coming up, and she was not used to having time to just sit and eat. She blinked behind her glasses, wanting to take them off but not sure she would see the lady she was looking for. Bluestreak said she was white, with dark brown hair, and would be wearing nurse's clothes. Minnie tugged at the red pantsuit she agreed to wear because it ought to make her easier to see, and scanned the crowd. She was early, and it was just time, now, for the meeting. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she looked at it. Bluestreak had texted her: Poppy said she's at the place now, but she got off early and changed into a yellow outfit: He sent a picture. She looked around again, and this time she saw the woman in the picture. Minnie was instantly envious. Poppy looked like she knew what she was doing and like she was in charge. She also looked a little exasperated until Minnie approached and she looked down a little. "Minerva Harrison?" she asked.
The young girl-she could absolutely not be older than a teenager, could she, so tiny and slight and nervous?- nodded. "I just got a text from Bluestreak with your picture, so you must be Poppy Witwicky?" she said breathlessly. "I better let him know I met you so he doesn't worry he gets a little antsy if I don't reply quick," even as she spoke, still looking at Poppy, her fingers were moving over the phone. She glanced down, making sure the message was correct, "There that should do it."
"Let's go in," Poppy said, before Minnie could get started again. She visited this resturant before after a meeting. They went in, and Poppy ordered an appetizer with her drink for them to share. Minnie took off her glasses to reveal quite pretty blue eyes. She was attractive, but not truly pretty. Somewhere, Poppy got the idea that she met this young lady before, though why she could not fathom. The impulse to reach over and hug the child and tell her everything was going to be okay was almost overwhelming. Poppy wanted to stuff her mouth with food for two reasons. She was skinny, and she never seemed to stop talking. Bluestreak, she reflected, might have met his match in the chatter chatter department, sicne it looked like Minnie could talk and text at the same tim
Still, her background was impressive. While the information Poppy and Bluestreak found on the internet said Minnie recently celebrated her twentieth birthday, she would hold a bachelor's degree in physics and mechanical enworked part time at a factory while studying, and she discussed car engine design with Bluestreak regularly. Bots went to Bluestreak for ideas when they wanted to change alts or wanted to consider upgrades, and a lot of the ideas came from this little girl who looked like a strong wind would blow her over. Poppy looked at Minnie's hands. They were calloused and one fingernail still had a little black line if you looked hard. When Minnie saw her looking, she hid the hand under the table and stopped talking. "Mechanics always have oil somewhere," Poppy said, amused. The amusement died as Minnie looked up, because the pain there was real. "Bluestreak says that you're an engineer," she added quickly.
Her face fell. "I have the degree, and that's what I'd like to do," she said, slowly for once, "but my parents want me to go to graduate school."
"Where?" Poppy asked.
"I've been accepted at MIT," Minnie said, and looked down.
Poppy reached across the table, put a hand under Minnie's chin, and brought it up. "Bluestreak sent me to meet you for two reasons," she said, firmly but kindly. "He believed you were unhappy, and he thought you could help us. I think he's right. Why are you unhappy about being accepted at MIT?"
"I don't want to go!" she burst out. "I want to work with," she held her hands out, "these, I want to fix things, I want to use these, not just a computer and a design board. My parents just can't see that! They're college professors and they think if you work with your hands you just aren't-aren't- smart! And they think if you work with machines instead of ideas you're not smart, I just got a degree in one of the hardest majors in the school and they still wonder what's wrong with me. "She reached for her glass and gulped. "It's enough for me to wish that the stories about giant intelligent robots were true," she added dolefully. "They wouldn't think I was stupid 'cause I like to work with machines."
"So you like working with machines," Poppy said. "You want to keep working at a job like the one you have?"
"Well," Minnie admitted, "it's a little limiting right now, since I'm only part time. I mean, the machinery and everything is real established. I'd like something a little more," she groped for a word, "challenging. That's why I like the car design boards, they make you think. A lot of the people who talk on them, well, Bluestreak says they don't know how to think machine."
Poppy smiled. "But you do." Minnie giggled. The waitress came by and took their orders. "I don't really think machine, either. I'm a nurse, remember. "She was the head of the nursing department in a fairly large hospital, but she kept that to herself. "Bluestreak couldn't come, like he said. Maybe you'll be able to meet him later, though. I need to make a phone call, if you don't mind? I will be right back. "She trotted outside and sat in her car. "Bluestreak, you were right, and I'll call Dad, but no promises. You'll still be in trouble."
The car assured her that he could deal with that, at length. Poppy told him to shut up as she dialed a number.
Sam Witwicky sighed as he went over the energon production schedule. The lag played hell not only with the battery production, but with the bots. After going so long with limited fuel, they wanted the plants working at full capacity. Even with the stuff stockpiled- and right now they were using the stuff as fast as the plants produced it- they got antsy, because they never knew when the Decepticons would manage a raid and steal most of happened at least once a year. No matter how many times they moved the storage, the sentient enemy machines managed to get some. The problem was that they only had so many maintenance engineers, and they simply could not keep up. When there was a major breakdown, everything got behind. They needed to stockpile so they could upgrade the machines, too.
Worse, whoever worked with the energon plants needed to deal with the bots, and with cranky bots at times to boot. He almost threw the sonic ball he kept for self-defense at Prowl when the security bot wanted to work on the security at the plant, and kept getting in the way of his overworked personnel. It took Sam almost an hour to calm down Billy, the chief engineer/plant manager. Sam left Prowl to Optimus; no human, not even Sam Witwicky who was known to hold their precious Cube, could win an argument with a bot twice his size and four times his weight when he was literally smoking hot mad. Sam really, really needed another engineer, and he could not find one. Working at the energon plant took someone who was creative as well as willing to get their hands dirty. When he saw the phone call was from Poppy, he gladly put the forms down and answered. His daughter was not an engineer and would not whine at him.
After a moment he was not so sure. "Okay, what's the catch?"
"Huh?"
"What's the catch? He's-"
"She. That's part of the catch. She's young, she's tiny, and she'll talk your leg off if she's nervous. I get the feeling she slows down once she gets to know you."
"And the other catch?"
"She's been Bluestreak's internet friend for some time. That's how I found her. So I'll send you her info and you let me know if you're willing to chance it?"
"Bluestreak knows he's going to catch it from Optimus and Prowl, doesn't he? Regardless of how well things do or don't work out?"
"Yes, he knows, but she's really unhappy, Daddy, and I think this would be her dream job. She'll jump at the chance of seeing Bluestreak, and if she freaks out, we'll just do the usual." The usual being a shun shot from the bot and a trip to the hospital, where the victim discovered, usually with some relief, that they were hallucinating. "She told me she wished that the stories about the giant robots were true because they wouldn't think she was stupid just because she likes to work with machines."
"All right. I'm desperate, but no promises."
Poppy went back to find their meals waiting. While she waited for her phone to beep, she discovered that Minnie was quite intelligent and when she slowed down, an entertaining companion. She also discovered that Minnie was adopted by her folks when they were in their forties. They were almost through with dinner before she got the text. "Okay," she said, "What if I were to tell you I know of a job where you would need to be able to work with your hands and could do some designing? Some upgrades that might need some imagination, a lot like the ones you and Bluestreak talk about with the cars?" Minnie lit up like a light bulb. "Now, the problem is that you need to meet someone, tonight." It was May, and still light, but twilight would be falling soon. That was part of what Poppy was looking for. "I'd like for you to follow me to a park about twenty minutes away. We'll be in the parking lot, where there are plenty of lights. Do you have a camera phone?" Minnie nodded. "I'm asking you not to use it. If you agree, I'll send you the directions on your phone in case we get separated."
Minnie thought. "Who will I be meeting?"
"Bluestreak. But seeing him is going to be a shock. "Minnie's grin gave her the answer, and Poppy signaled the waitress for the bill.
Minnie's stomach was in knots. She had wanted to meet Bluestreak for years. She had no romantic inclinations, as he told her some time back that he was 'unavailable' by which she thought he had a partner, though he never mentioned one. She wondered if he was deformed, if he was in prison, everything up and down the limit of human experience. She saw one other car in the parking lot, a yellow stripped Camaro,that she was certain was an antique. She parked her car in the very spacious lot and went to where Poppy was getting out of hers. The dark-haired nurse took Minnie's arm and drew them back from her car, then said, "Okay, Blue, go for it." With that, the car came apart and put itself back together, rising up and up, turning into a tall bipedal form. Minnie watched, her eyes glued to the process. Then she took her glasses off, cleaned them on her shirt, and looked again.
"That liar. He told me there was no such thing as a giant robot." She walked closer, craned her head up, and shouted, "Sit down? How can I talk to you without getting a crick in my neck?" She did not hear the start of the apology, but she did hear the end as he squatted. She swarmed up his knee to better talk to him, taking off her glasses and shoving them in a pocket.
Across the parking lot, Sam and Mikaela Witwicky convulsed in laughter as they watched the girl climb up Bluestreak's leg to sit on his knee and talk with amazing animation. Beside them, Bumblebee said, "You and Optimus spent hours talking over the rules for introducing humans to us, and they just ignored every one of them. Why are you laughing?"
"I think I just found an engineer to work at the energon plants," Sam said, recovering. "Excuse me while I do an interview." He walked over the parking lot to the two friends talking up a storm. "Hey," he shouted, and both broke off to look down at him. "You need a job?" He could barely see her nod. "You got one, now get down and let's work out some details. " Bluestreak held out a hand and she jumped into it, hanging on to the outstretched thumb as he put her down. Mikaela was laughing again, hanging on to Bumblebee. Sam turned and waved.
"Come on, Bee." She started to walk over. It honked just as she got in front. She turned and swiftly kicked a tire. "Smart aleck. Now come on." The car turned into a bot and went toward Sam slowly as she trotted up to her daughter, who wore a smug grin. The two other humans turned to look at them, smiling. The harsh lights washed out the color in their faces, and in that context both women's look went from amusement to amazement. The two faces could be one looking into a mirror.
"So," Optimus said, "didn't Bumblebee make a report?"
"He did, but that was right when we had that trouble in Bangkok, remember? And right after the joke of the year."
"When the small 'cons found you at the energon plant?"
"Give me a break, Optimus, I found them..."
Sam introduced Minnie to Billy and went on an inspection of the plant while they talked. If she could not work with Billy, he would keep looking and put her in the motor pool; they needed a mechanic, too, just not quite as urgently. He enjoyed being alone. The energon plants were safe, being encased on the same kind of shielding the bots had put on his home, so he did not have to be guarded here. Sam had been captured once by Megatron. He barely survived the experience, and since then he was constantly guarded unless at home, at the base, or at the energon plants. He inspected the plant looking at the state of the machinery, the cleanliness of the place, and the state of the employee's lounge. The safety precautions all seemed to be in place and the "raw material" also known as garbage was confined to sealed units. Drones sorted the garbage for organic useable material and recyclable material. There was surprisingly little left. Sam poked behind the stacks to see how high the dust bunnies had gotten, and found something he did not expect. He backed up fast, reaching for his wristwatch with its alarm as a small Decepticon, about the size of Wheelie, shot from behind the container.
"Human!" he squealed, and grabbed at Sam's wrist. Seconds later, there were four more, each grabbing a limb. He yelled, and one punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind from him. This time he recognized the kind they were; several similar ones had grabbed him in Africa when he was captured before. He fought them, and they produced the twine used for wrapping bales and settling the energon storage tanks on the transports to tie his legs together and secure his arms to his chest. They used a cleaning rag to gag him. It smelled bad and tasted worse. He looked like a twine mummy by the time they were finished. Then they examined him. "Sam Witwicky," one squealed. "Megatron wants him. Alive, not hurt bad. Have to get him out. "With that they lifted him and carried him off.
They carried him all over the plant, from one bolt-hole to another, and Sam learned just how the Decepticons had managed their raids. The small 'cons had alt modes that mimicked storage machines. They came in some of the vents and then, when outside the protection domes and in the storage areas, they contacted their larger counterparts.
Somewhere in their search, one of them triggered his wrist alarm, which had a locator built into it. Alarms went off all over the building. The small 'cons squealed and headed for the closest hiding place and tried to haul Sam behind it. While Sam was still slightly underweight, as he had been most of his life, they could not get him in. When the security forces came into sight, they dropped him and either transformed or bolted behind the machinery.
The security forces, three ex-NEST soldiers, found Sam in the middle of the floor tied in shipping twine from his shoulders to his elbows and from his ankles to his knees, and gagged with a rag. They ran up, pulled the rag out of his mouth, and he gasped out, "Sonic balls, this one and behind the machines!" Sonic balls were standard issue for security, as they would force a Cybertronian to transform and put them in stasis lock. They grabbed and threw, then dragged Sam out of the way as the twine machine began to transform and there were weird grinding sounds from behind the machines. It took a few minutes to cut enough of the ropes to get Sam free. Sam explained as they chopped twine and stood him the uproar settled. Prowl headed out with the 'cons and maintenence started plugging the holes. When he was finally able to rejoin Minnie and Billy, he discovered that they had been so involved in going over the machinery at the plant and what it did that they never noticed how long he was gone. Both of them exclaimed over Sam's appearance, as he was filthy dirty from his close encounters with the floor and various hiding places. He called Mikaela and asked to bring Minnie home with him so he could change and both of them could eat lunch. Mikaela agreed to meet him; she approved of his policy to never be alone with a female employee. When they reached Bumblebee, Sam explained everything again, this time on a com unit that was linked to Prowl and Optimus. Reaching the house, Sam saw Mikaela getting out of Prowl's alt form, and the bots headed for the energon plant as soon as Sam and Minnie got out.
Mikaela noted that in the light of day, the resemblance between Sam and Minnie was diluted. Their coloring was different, as Minnie's eyes were bright blue and her hair a dirty blonde. The glasses helped. "You look like you've been rolled on the floor," she told her husband, who was covered with dust in odd places. "Come on, let's see if we can find something to eat while you tell me what happened. " They started inside and were met by Wheelie, who greeted Mikaela as though it had not seen her in years instead of just that morning. Sam looked at Minnie and rolled his eyes.
"You mind if I get a shower?" he asked, "before I start explanations?" Amused, Mikaela waved him off. She turned her attention to the tiny new employee. When Sam returned, sandwiches were on the table. "This has got to be the joke of the year," he began, and told her about the kidnapping gone sour. Soon she was snickering, and he laughed sheepishly. Sam got an idea as he looked at the ex-Decepticon. "Wheelie, come here," he said. When it obeyed, he pointed to the Decepticon emblem. "Okay, Minnie, see this?" She nodded. "If you see a bot with this, run or hide immediately, and call for help. This is a Decepticon emblem, and in most cases it means danger. Wheelie is an exception, because he decided to switch sides, but that's rare. "
"Yeah, I was tired of being a disposable Decepticon drone!"
Minnie giggled, then sobered. "So the rumors about the war aren't rumors, are they. " She looked at Sam and then at Mikaela.
"No," Sam said quietly. "We've been involved since the beginning, Mikaela and I. We were sixteen when it all started. The conflicts come and go, but the energon plants were built to supply the bots, in the beginning. The energon batteries are the outward product of the plants, but most of the product goes to the botsd. The Decepticons need it too, so they steal it from us. Today, we just found out how they do it. Which reminds me- Wheelie, we need you to go to the other energon plant and look for ways in for small bots like you. All four of the ones that came after me were your size."
"Guess I can manage. Warrior Goddess, will you come with me?"
She nodded, turning to Sam. "I think that would be a good idea, "she said seriously. "There might be more of them, and they might be smarter." She was not laughing. "They did get you once, and that was enough."
"They did?" Minnie said in a small voice.
"He had burns all over him, about this size," Mikaela said, showing a circle of her hand. "He had a dislocated shoulder, a broken leg, a concussion, and enough bruises to make him look like he'd rolled in purple paint. Sweetie, I'm telling you this for a reason. The energon plants are shielded, and the base is protected, so it's unlikely that you would be in danger, but that kind of danger does exist. We also lose our friends, bot and human, when there are fights."
Minnie thought about it, then thrust her chin out. "I want to help. " She stopped a moment. "It- it would mean something. Are you connected to the government at all?" she asked suddenly.
"We work with the government, but the company supports the bots," Sam answered. "They're considered to be a nation in exile, and that nation owns most of the company. We got the energon and solar battery storage ideas and designs from them, and we get a lot of material from their mining the asteroids. They insisted that we still have part of it," he smiled and took Mikaela's hand, "but the company really pays for the war and the support of the bots. Considering that the solar batteries and some energon batteries are the green power source of choice in most countries, we can do that without government funds." She nodded, and turned her attention to her sandwiches.
Minnie started work as soon as she graduated. Her parents were disappointed, but without having to pay for Minnie's school, they discovered they could put the money into their retirement instead. They also noticed that she was happier, full of talk about the plant and the people she worked with and within a few months the reproaches died. She moved to an apartment on base as soon as one opened up, but visited her parents regularly.
Minnie was happier than she had ever been, because she fit in at the plant and with the bots immediately. Bumblebee did report the human-robot rule violation, but the report got lost when a Decepticon raid in Bangkok took most of the bots there for several days. As Bumblebee, like most of the bots, found that Minnie blunted Bluestreak's need to talk somewhat, nothing more was done. They were too grateful.
"So the report was lost and no one spoke up because they were afraid that I would separate the two of them somehow and Bluestreak would keep spouting words like a fountain."
"I don't think the report was lost, I think it was buried so deep you never found it, and there were some others who had a reason to keep quiet..."
Minnie worked at the energon plants with Billy for months, getting the plant machines up to peak performance and helping with approval, she set up an auto shop, and when the engineering work was done, she worked on the more seriously damaged company cars. Bluestreak spent a lot of time with her there, and introduced her to other bots as well. They discussed alt forms at length, with Minnie using her laptop to demonstrate some of the better model designs. She could get her hands into some joints and get out stuck material, or smooth dents, and other small assists, and would do so if they were on a long list for minor repairs. Sometimes, especially in the case of the twins, there was a need to escape official attention. Minnie loved practical jokes, and demanded the story as she worked in those cases. However, if the injury was more than she could handle, she firmly sent them to the infirmary, and she would text Mikaela to expect them. Mikaela approved and visited to show her some of the simple repairs, and to go over signs of conditions that must be reported to Ratchet. She did not mention the matter to Ratchet, not considering it to be very important.
On afternoon a few months after he hired Minnie, Sam was in his office waiting for her and answering his unending e-mail while he waited. Mikaela warned him, time and again, that they had to do something, and soon. The rumors were flying, that Minnie was Sam's daughter. Sam had protested that it was better to leave it alone, that addressing the matter would make it worse. Minnie was already firmly established in the company. With her on board, the energon machines were working well. Billy and she were already working on improvements. Anyone looking at her record would not question her value as an employee. That did not change the fact that the rumors were flying, and that sooner or later there were going to be consequences. Minnie was encountering hostility with some of the human employees, including Sam's secretary Bernice.
However, Annabelle, Sam's second in command and the daughter of Will Lennox, had a different problem with Minnie. Minnie was an engineer and a mechanic, and while when she had to she could present a decently dressed exterior, she normally worked in jeans or coveralls and pulled her hair back in a careless ponytail. She frequently had dirt under her fingernails. Her carelessness, especially since she was one of the few higher level female employees in a male-dominated company, annoyed Annabelle, who was never less than professionally dressed and neatly groomed. The two struck sparks whenever they met. Annabelle usually left Minnie fuming, and Sam wondered when the insults would escalate into something more.
That morning he was exasperated at the size of his outbox. Bernice, while otherwise an excellent secretary, hated filing. He heard Annabelle saying, "Hello, chatterbox. Do you have an appointment?"
"Strangely enough I do," Minnie said, "but I'm early." Minnie was neatly if resentfully dressed on a neat pants suit-Sam had never seen her in a dress and suspected he never would- but he heard a note of meekness in her voice that he had already learned was a danger sign. That note was usually followed by Minnie's wickedly accurate barbs. Later, he thought that Annabelle should have known better.
"You can wait, then, "Annabelle purred. Sam heard feet padding on the floor. Annabelle tended to leave her shoes behind if she was only going after coffee. There was a scuffling noise for just a second, then feet padding back.
Sam had just opened the door when he heard Minnie say oh-so innocently,
"Interesting shoes you have there. Odd for office work, though, don't you think?"
That sent Sam out of the office quick, wondering just what the hell was going on. Minnie stood by the door, visibly quivering with laughter, as Annabelle stared at her own feet. Instead of the fashionable pumps she normally wore, she wore a set of hiking boots, dirty, ugly, and scuffed to pieces. She lifted her foot and tried to shake them off, and they would not come off. She lifted incredulous eyes to Minnie, then lunged. Minnie took off like a shot cannonball. Annabelle paused for just a moment to grab her monster coffee cup full of coffee before she sprinted after the fleeing engineer. Sam was on the phone immediately. "Security? Look for Annabelle and Minnie. Get the film. I'm going to want to see it later. "
Bernice was staring out of the door after the two women. "Which way did they go?" Sam asked. Bernice pointed left. "How much you want to bet Annabelle doesn't catch her?"
"You're on," she said instantly. "Lunch for Annabelle and me on you if I win."
"Okay, terms," he said. "If Annabelle catches Minnie or gets her with the coffee, you win, and I take the two of you to lunch. If Annabelle does not catch her or gives up, you file all the back paperwork. File all of it, doing nothing else, until it's done. Deal?"
"You got it." She slapped palms. Sam headed out, and went to the security station. Thus far they had managed to get the whole race on film.
"Any idea where she's going?" Barney asked.
"If she can make it, she'll head for the garage. She can crawl under the desk there," Sam said. He saw her do it when Arcee scared her. "Come with me, I need a witness, I have a bet riding on this. " They headed out. Barney commandeered a golf cart and they reached the garage just as Minnie, with Annabelle about twenty feet behind, raced into the garage. They got there just in time to see her rush past the head mechanic and slide under the desk without slowing down at all. Sam had his phone out, recording. Barney was wheezing by this time. Annabelle made the turn, got in, and started to skid to a halt, looking for her victim, and ran smack into the head mechanic, drenching him with what was by now only mildly warm coffee. His bellow filled the garage. Sam caught a glimpse of Minnie silently convulsed with laughter under the desk, and made a call. "All the paperwork, by tomorrow evening before you leave work," he said, as Annabelle and the sputtering mechanic walked out of the garage. Sam walked over to Minnie and pulled her out. She brushed the dust off of her pants and elbows and grinned. "I'll ask you how you got the holograms later," he said, "but what kept her shoes on?"
"Fast drying superglue," she said. Barney posted the video on YouTube that night, and when she stopped fuming Annabelle showed the little engineer a little more respect.
However, when Ratchet saw the video, the bot's medic figured out which human had helped the twins when they glued most of his wrenches on the walls like a weird artwork. Someone small, like a human, had to have gotten around the security cameras. Ratchet figured the holograms were the payment for helping out. Idly, the bot pointed a finger and asked who she was. Mikaela simply said she was the new engineer at the energon plant and Bluestreak's human friend. When the medic discovered that Minnie dared to deal with some medical problems-admittedly small, but still medical- without his supervision, Ratchet resolved to give that young human a piece of his mind, and headed over to the plant. To his surprise, the personnel there pointed to Minnie's 'garage' without blinking. Bluestreak was on the other side of the building in his alt mode, evidently waiting. Ratchet went in to the 'garage' and looked around.
"Hi there!" he heard, and looked down almost at his feet to see a child-sized human with glasses looking up at him. She looked oddly familiar. She wore a pair of coveralls, and except for the high voice, Ratchet would not have been certain of her gender. She waved down, and he bent, mentally altering his lecture. He did not expect a human this young. She was already reaching for some kind of tool when he got to her level. She came up to his knee talking. "Blue, I've got a bot here that has a dent, it shouldn't take but a moment, just hold up. Yes I know it's Sam we're going to see, but I'm up there at least once a week seeing Poppy anyway so just settle down, I know he said it was important but it's personal important. I've explained that, I'll tell you when I can. "As she talked she managed to get the dent out. Ratchet was surprised at the minor relief, as he had not really noticed it much. She began buffing as she said, "Sorry, Blue gets antsy sometimes, I can get this sanded smooth, but the other bots tell me that they'd rather do their own paint, that I can't see the colors like they can, at least he tells me that-"
"Uh," Ratchet began as she put the tool down.
"- it looks like that is done, would you do me a big favor and make sure the door is down tight when you leave or it jumps up by itself sometimes and scares the life out of me." She was pealing off the coverall to reveal jeans and a bright shirt. Ratchet winced a little at the colors. "Yeah, I know, it hurts your eyes, but I like the colors. " She was out of the door, and the last Ratchet heard was, "Damn, I forgot to get his name!"
"Ratchet looked at the sanded spot on his knee. Then he realized a chance at revenge.
Minnie never did find out who painted the garage in those neon bright colors. She thought it was cute, but the bots said the colors hurt their optics. It took two long nights to repaint the garage.
When Ironhide told Ratchet about Minnie's minor repairs, he expected a blowup. Instead, Ratchet said, "We've met. She's not like Bluestreak, she's worse. I said two words and I don't think she heard either one of them."
"But what about the repairs she does?"
"She's all right for little things like dents. Mikaela promised Minnie would send anything important to us." Ironhide wondered where the amusement the medic was radiating came from, but wisely did not ask.
"I never knew who did that!" Minnie exclaimed. "I blamed the twins and they never let me help them again!"
"Thank God!"
"Thank Primus! How did James find out that Minnie was his child?"
"I guessed as soon as I saw her, but we made sure anyway."
When Jimmie was fifteen, Poppy brought home a friend for a week. Beth was cute, about the same height as Poppy, and a combat soldier that had a reputation for recklessness. She had bright blue eyes and blond hair, and a figure models would kill for. Jimmie, like any normal teenaged boy, drooled. More than his sister or brother, Jimmie resembled his lovely mother. Beth initiated Jimmie into the joy of sex that week, before being sent overseas. He found out through Poppy later that Beth was in trouble, but did not know what kind until Poppy said Beth had miscarried. His father had found him in the meadow, upset, and managed to coax the story out of him. Dad had understood, but Jimmie felt the anger in him and hunched his shoulders. "It's not you I'm mad at," Sam told his older son, controlling himself with an effort. "Beth was in trouble because she wouldn't say who the father was. If she did, she'd have been in worse trouble. She's an adult, about Poppy's age, and you're underage. That's statutory rape. "He took a deep breath. "But Poppy said she lost the baby. That happens, son, and it's nothing to feel bad about." Jimmie mumbled something. "What's that?"
"I wondering if she got an abortion," he said miserably.
"I doubt it. Since the new birth control methods work so much better, babies to adopt are hard to find, and abortion's hard to get." Sam hugged Jimmie, who did feel much better. It was not until six years later that Poppy told him Beth had a miscarriage of one child, when she was carrying twins. The other child survived, and was given up for adoption. It was far too late for Jimmie to do anything about the matter.
When he saw Minnie for the first time, he was stunned. He was on his way to see Sam, and he asked about her as soon as he had greeted his father. "Yes, she's the right age," Sam said. "We've had a lot of rumors that I hired my illegitimate daughter, so I'm having to prove different. I don't see any reason why we can't do both tests at the same time." They made the arrangements. Sam and Mikaela had already met with Minnie to show her the negativre results of her test with Sam. Then they carefully broached the idea that they thought they did know who the father was but would she consent to the testing without meeting him? She agreed, and she was coming to see the results tonight. He had no idea when he had been more nervous. When he saw headlights, he left to get Poppy.
"Meet my famous younger brother," Poppy said, when she had given Minnie a hello hug. "Jimmie Banes Witwicky, meet Minnie Harrison, Dad's new engineer."
He smiled and shook her hand, and she started talking. She was adorable, he thought as she chattered. She talked about how much she liked her job. He got her to talking about the bots and then about cars, and they argued about which was the best luxury car. Dinner came up, and his parents showed up. Over dinner there was only small talk. Expectation hung over all of them. Finally dinner was over and cleaned up, and Jimmie asked Minnie to talk to him in the study. There, he showed her the paternity test, and explained.
"So it was a kind of rape," she said slowly. "Of you." She looked up.
"Poppy thinks she didn't really know how old I was," Jimmie said. "Now, with this part over with, we need to discuss something-but not here. Come with me." He led her out, and told his mother, "I'm taking her to the meadow. "
"Good," she said, and gave Minnie a wink. Minnie grinned back as they walked outside, past the swimming pool and into the woods behind the house. Past the woods was a meadow with a small pond.
"This is our quiet spot," Jimmie said, walking toward the patio where there were chairs. "We used to come here to look at the clouds and see shapes- the bots loved what we came up with- and to look at the stars. They had a lot of stories about planets and stuff too. Prowl knows some of the best ones. "He chose a chair and sat. "Now, did you wonder why I don't use my full name?" She shook her head. "It's for my safety, and indirectly, Dad's. Everyone else in this family lives around here, or did, and they're where the bots can protect them." She nodded. "Well, I'm not. I can't be, with the kind of career I have. Once, the Decepticons got hold of my grandparents, and Sam almost gave himself up to save them. I changed my name so they wouldn't come after me for the same reason." He looked at Minnie seriously. "So I'm asking you to keep this quiet to your adoptive parents and anyone not associated with the base or the bots. The bots know to keep quiet about me, so it's okay with them, and Dad's going to hint that he thinks you're some kind of relative."
"It's okay," she said. She laid her hand on Jimmie's arm. "Really, Jimmie, it's okay. I just wanted to know where I came from. And knowing I'm related to Sam and Mikaela and Poppy, well, that's wonderful. Like you said, they already act like my family. At the same time, I still have my folks, and I'm all they have, so it works out."
He smiled at her. "Don't think I'm going to forget you exist. We'll be in touch, as much as I can manage. Can we agree on that?" She nodded, smiling, and he hugged her. "Good. Tell me about..." They talked for over three hours, and no one disturbed them.
"I do not understand what adoption means," Optimus said.
"But that's what you guys have done with the sparklings," Minnie said. "None of you are the parents, and all of you are taking care of them, right?"
"Not quite, Minnie," Sam said, seeing Optimus' confusion. "Speaking of sparklings, who has them tonight?"
"Bumblebee." Taking care of the sparklings was a rotating duty with the bots.
"He's doing pretty well; I haven't heard them all night. What did he do, put them in stasis?"
"Ratchet would not approve." That, Sam thought, had to be the kindest way of saying that Ratchet would off-line any bot who skimped on the sparkling's care. The bots were more overprotective of the sparklings than they were of Sam. Ratchet and Ironhide were the worst. "I believe they are playing in what used to be the obstacle course. "
"They do love to hide. They drove the troops crazy that way. It was my one entertainment." Then his face got a strained look that all of them knew too well. He was remembering his time with the Decepticons. Minnie spoke up hastily.
"I'll explain it the way I told Bluestreak. Maybe that'll help."
"Explain then," Optimus said, relived that she had distracted Sam.
"Well, sometimes a woman gets pregnant and for whatever reason she can't deal with a baby. At the same time, sometimes people can't have children, like my folks. There's a legal process where the childless couple can agree to take care of a baby that the birth mother can't take care of. When my mother found out she was pregnant, she knew the father had to be Jimmie. "
"She knew she'd be dealing with me," Sam said. Jimmie and Minnie were surprised at the grim note in his voice. "When I looked into how she managed to get a private adoption without contacting us, I found out she claimed rape. Otherwise she would have been legally obligated to contact the father, and as Jimmie was underage, that meant Mikaela and me. By the time you spoke to me, Jimmie, she's already provided proof that she'd lost the baby and resigned NEST. I thought that was the end of it, though," he smiled at Minnie, "I'm glad I was wrong."
"But why keep the matter quiet?"
Minnie answered, "Because the word might get out that Jimmie Banes was Samuel Witwicky's son, and the Decepticons might use him as a hostage the way they did his parents, back in the beginning. "
"For the same reason he took that name when he left home, "Sam said.
Optimus winced inwardly. That was an incident he preferred to forget. From the time Sam accepted that his life would be entwined with the bots, Optimus and the others tried hard to strike a balance between giving Sam the freedom to have a human life, and the constant vigilance the holder of the Cube/ suspected All-Spark needed. At first Sam was in college, and the matter was not so difficult. For the next few years, when the Decepticons were stronger, the company still building and more in the hands of Sam's father Ronnie, and the negotiations with the governments had been constant, the protection was necessary. Then, as the company and the war became stable, Ronnie Witwicky retired, and Poppy arrived, the matter became more difficult, but manageable.
With the arrival of the two youngest children, however, matters began to be a little more strained. Sam's parents could not care for them as they helped care for Poppy. Mikaela cut her hours with Ratchet to spend more time at home. Sam spent more time with the children. Poppy was a teenager, and began to demand more freedom of her own. They understood that children grew up and replaced the adults that died, and they looked with fresh eyes at Sam's children, wondering which of them would take his place. Poppy would not, that was clear; her impulsive compassion and need to care for others marked her for the medical field, and her fiery temper meant she would not be any kind of diplomat. As time went on and the younger children matured, Optimus wondered. Jimmie was bright and outgoing, loving to deal with people, but with a good grasp of common sense. Optimus thought that this child was the one who would follow Sam.
Then Jimmie won a scholarship to a college far away and declared his intention of pursuing a career in acting, and the battle was joined.
And for the first time in decades, Sam and Optimus were on a different side.