Authors Note: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. My intention was to get it posted by last weekend, but then an evil virus got into my computer and killed it. I had to rebuild my entire system. I lost the first half of chapter 4 and had to rewrite it. Of course, it's nothing like the one I wrote before, but it still works. It turned out to be much longer than I thought, so I broke it into two different parts. This one has the meeting, the next one has the conversation between them. It's not as sad as the first chapters were, so I hope you enjoy it. I even add some comedy. Don't worry, the explaination about the Oreos is coming. Also, as requested by a reader, I'm not going to have Barricade come in and kill Celene. If that happened, Ella would have to go into the foster care system and she wouldn't get to see Ratchet ever again. Now that wouldn't be a fun story, now would it. Don't worry though, I was always planning on keeping her to a minimum in the story because it is about Ella. Plus, she's not the best guardian in the world. Anyway, should shut up.

Authors Note part 2: This chapter is dedicated to the memory of my great uncle Bob. He died last weekend at the age of 90. I hope he's watching over me, but I hope he doesn't think my writing is too weird. Still, I love him dearly and wish him a wonderful afterlife in heaven.

Authors Note part 3: Please don't bother the author of "Iron and Grace" to put out a new chapter right now. She's going through a rough patch and probably doesn't have the time. Just thought I'd speak in her honor.

Title: First Meetings Are Tough.

7 months earlier

"Well kids, what do you think? Pretty nice, huh?" This was the first time Greg had been able to bring his children out to the new house for a visit. Since he had the three for the day without his beloved Ailita, he thought it would be a good idea to let them become familiar with their new home.

"Another country house? Daddy, why can't we move into the city for once? You know, by the mall or at least some of my friends," Grace complained, typing in a message on her cell phone as she jumped out of their yellow vehicle. Greg had to take a deep breath and remind himself that teenagers were always whiny.

"All I know is that after this year, I'm gone. Might as well just grin and bear it." Oliver wasn't much better. He hadn't grown out of his rebellious phase where he dreamed of the day that he was able to live on his own.

"That's enough out of both of you," Greg rolled his eyes. He heard the final door close and looked to his youngest. Her blue eyes grew wide at the first look of their new house.

"Wow, this place is way bigger!" At least one of the kids appreciated it. Ella gave her dad a hug. "You and Mom picked out a good one. Can we get a trampoline? It looks like we have enough room." It sounded like she was speaking a mile a minute. Greg just laughed at his daughter.

"We'll see, sweetheart."

"Ella! Come pick your room so we can make sure you don't get the good one!" Her sister was beckoning.

"No hitting this time," Greg called out as Ella ran toward the house and up the front porch stairs. "And drop that NERF gun!" He heard a faint clank as the toy gun flew off the porch and onto the ground.

"They seem less that enthusiastic about your new headquarters," Ratchet spoke up, his hologram flickering to life. Greg shrugged.

"I don't have kids right now. I have an eating machine, a spoiled brat, and one that thinks she's a mercenary with squishy ammo."

"Odd, I still seem human adolescents. Do they turn into such creatures when I am not aware?" Ratchet furrowed his brow, just raising it above a pair of rimless glasses. Greg had to hold back a laugh.

"Don't worry; they confuse me as much as they confuse you. That is weird because I'm actually the same species as them." He ran a hand through his hair. Just through the windows, he could see two figures run into one room. "It's a huge property, Ratch. Much bigger than the last one, without neighbors for miles. You'll be able to transform and stretch out whenever you feel like it."

"That would be most wonderful, but I will still take care not to alert the children to my presence."

"Well, they've already seen the hologram. Well, Ollie and Gracie have. Maybe it couldn't hurt to let, maybe, one of them catch on. Probably Oliver before he leaves for college next year," Greg said, leaning against Ratchets hood.

"That might be most unwise," Ratchet scanned the house and watched the three heat signatures move about. He saw one shove a smaller one. Gracie and Ella. "The boy is unpleasant. He is the one that suggested that he and his comrades throw unfertilized chicken embryos on me on that holiday you call Halloween."

"Oh crap, he really did do that? He's grounded until he's fifty for that one. We couldn't get that crap off of you for days." Greg had never been told about this. Ratchet shrugged.

"I did not want to cause conflict within the family unit. My studies with that subject have been finished for years."

Inside the house, Ella had finally shaken off her siblings. She stood alone in the room that would be hers in a few months time, right after school got out and her birthday. She had always wanted a room on a second story. It would make her safer against break in. It felt quite stuffy as she crossed the room to open the window. It took a struggle, but she managed to get it open slightly.

"What about Gracie? She's pretty good with keeping a secret." She heard her dad say.

"Huh?" She looked out the window. Her father was standing with a stranger. Judging from the yellow shirt, jeans, and black boots, he must have been someone that lived around the area.

"I will have to consult my leader about such an issue. I was told that the fewer humans that know, the better." The mans' face looked stern.

"Oh yeah, that. I'm sure Optimus won't mind." Ella thought for a moment.

"What's a Optimus?" she wondered. She continued to eavesdrop.

"Prime thinks that it is a good thing that no human child knows about us at this point. Ironhide has had a hard time keeping himself hidden from little Grace Lennox. She is the same age as your Eleanor when I first came here." Ella gasped when she heard her name. How did this guy know her?

"Dad," She yelled out the window. The two men looked up, slightly startled. "I found my room, I'm coming down." She disappeared from the window.

"She saw you." Gregs face was a bit white.

"Yes," Ratchet said as the hologram disappeared. From the front of the house, Greg watched his daughter come running from the house. She was out of breath when she reached him.

"Who…was…that?" She hated running.

"Oh, that was just a friend that works on the plumbing," Greg lied. Ella looked around.

"Where did he go? How did he know my name," she asked, looking for footprints. Greg chuckled, ruffled Ellas hair and kissed her on top of her head.

"Oh you. You're imagination is just as big as Gracies was before she found out about technology." His fake smile seemed to fool her just a bit.

"But, I heard it. He called me Eleanor," She said, a little confused. Her dad put an arm around her shoulders and started to lead her back toward the house.

"Let me see which room you guys picked." He had changed the subject before she got an answer. She looked back at her dads' search and rescue vehicle with much curiosity.

"But I, I know I saw something." Her whisper didn't do unnoticed. Ratchets scanners watched her and her father as they disappeared into the house. It had been a close call, but he didn't mind. Maybe having a child know wouldn't be such a bad thing if they were as observant as Ella.

The house was quite throughout its many halls and rooms. Sunlight had finally given up its glow to the night hours before, and it was time for most normal humans to sleep. That is, except for Ella. She laid in her bed, her television giving off the only light in her bedroom. She hadn't experienced a truly silent night for six months, so this was a little strange for her. In the shadows, her wheelchair looked more like a torture device rather than the only way she could move about. As the TV changed from show to commercial, she picked her left hand up over her head and flexed it. She still couldn't make a full fist.

"Pathetic," she whispered, dropping her hand back down to the bed. She looked over at the clock. There were only five more minutes until her little plan would spring into action. She felt the butterflies flutter around in her stomach. She gazed over to the daffodils on her window seat, now held in a pretty vase. She wished dearly that she could look upon them with both eyes, but she would have to make do.

"Have you heard the latest news about former actress Lindsey Lohan? She had her kids taken away! What, her fiftieth time in rehab wasn't convincing enough?" Ella didn't know why she watched the late night talk shows. She didn't really understand what they were talking about most of the time, nor did she know who they were talking about.

"Wow, I so don't care." She flipped the TV off and looked back at the clock. Only about two minutes had passed. Not that she had much to worry about. Her aunt had checked on her hours ago. Now she was probably off in her little dreamland, aided by a sleep mask, a set of headphones, and a couple sleeping pills. Not even charging elephants could wake her up. Why would her parents chose Celine in the first place? She didn't know what she was doing.

"You have to love her, Ella. She's our only aunt," She remembered Gracie telling her when she was 10. She cursed her dearly departed grandparents for not having more children. Ella picked at her eye patch before looking back at the clock again. It was just turning midnight.

"Showtime," She breathed out. She pushed herself up and moved to the edge of the bed. On her chair, she had left out a sweatshirt to keep her from getting cold outside. It might be hot during the day, but California nights could freeze a person to death sometimes. She left it unzipped over her pajamas as she pulled on her fingerless gloves and climbed into her chair. Getting through the house at night with that think wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't going to stop her. She had to see him.

"Steady, steady," she said quietly as she made her way into the hall. Of course, she knew that being so careful wasn't going to make her aunt wake up, but if Celine had to do a late night pee, she was so screwed. By the light of the moon streaming in through the windows, she passed the kitchen where hours ago she had to explain to her aunt that the bag of Oreos just disappeared. As she passed the living room, an idea came to mind.

"It better be here." She wheeled into the room and started to rifle through the many bags Celine hadn't unpacked. After about a dozen teddy bears, hundreds of cards, and many notebooks filled with drawings of her rescuer, Ella finally came across her treasure.

"Bingo." She pulled the NERF gun onto her lap. If that thing didn't get her rescuers attention, she didn't know what would. She backed out of the living room and to the front door. Much to her dismay, Celine had actually used the chain lock. It was a little on the tall side for someone sitting down.

"Crap, this is going to hurt," she cursed, locking her wheels. Slowly, she tucked her only knee underneath her butt and began to push herself upward. As she reached the limit in her arm length, she began pushing her knee out as if she was going to stand on one leg. Standing on nothing but the stump of her leg, she quickly grabbed the chain. It came loose and fell just as the pain became too much. Ella was covered in a tiny layer of sweat as she massaged her knee.

"Not doing that again," she winced. She then opened the door, letting the cool breeze take the sweat away from her face. She wheeled herself out, shutting the door as she started to glide down the ramp. Picking up speed, she took a turn in the driveway and began to make her way to the area under her bedroom. Right where Ratchet was parked.

The closer she got, the more the butterflies spun in her stomach. Maybe this was a big mistake. She could have been wrong after all these months. She did have a little head injury. Yet, none of her afterthoughts made her stop. Only the fact that she was getting close enough to hit the car did. She sat there for a minute, staring at the front of the vehicle.

"Hello? Are you there?" She watched for any signs of life, but no movement came. The seventh grader cleared her throat and tried again. "I just want to talk." Still nothing. Maybe she had made a huge mistake in thinking that creature was her dads work car.

"This is crazy," she thought, backing up. She then looked down at the toy gun in her lap. With a wicked smile, she picked it up.

"This is your last chance, stranger. Talk or you get a windshield full of squishy ammo," she smiled as she began to take aim. The car didn't move an inch. "Okay, don't day I didn't warn you." With that, she fired off three shots, all hitting different parts of the hood. As the last one hit with a soft FUH, the car sprang to life. Ellas eye was blinded by the headlights, and her ears could barely take the revving of the engine. The tope lights were flashing wildly.

"Throw down your weapon," a voice from nowhere spoke. Ella, in her fear, dropped the toy to the side but didn't move. She closed her eye, shaking from head to knee.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me; I'm not a good fighter! All I can do is pull hair!" She kept her eye closed, afraid to watch. She knew that at any moment, she would be a road pancake to this large, seemingly angry vehicle. She held onto the arms of her chair as tightly as she could. Still, minutes passed with nothing. Then, the voice came again.

"I have no intention of harming you. Forgive me, but I was startled out of my stasis cycle by your weapon of choice." The voice sounded much kinder now. Ella opened her eye slowly, only to find a man standing in front of her.

"It's you!" This was the same man she had seen talking to her father so long ago. He had knelt down in front of her, looking her right in the eye. He was even wearing the same outfit from before. His blue eyes conveyed the same smile that was displayed across his face. She noticed a silver chain around his neck and followed it down to a pendant. It was the same symbol she had traced over and over again.

"Yes," he answered, standing up. He motioned to her. "Come, we have much to discuss."

"Wait, I thought you were a giant robot," she started. She looked him up and down. "Where you inside the robot when I was saved?" Ratchet smiled again. The hologram gave a flicker.

"You could say that," he answered. "Come with me. I know a better spot where we won't be seen." He motioned again for her to follow. As he did, the drivers side door swung open. He then looked up at the house, scanning the occupant.

"Don't worry about her," Ella spoke up as if she read his processor, "She's had her sleeping pills and is out cold. She won't be up until 9, tops."

"She seems quite warm to me." Ratchet looked back at the girl. He hadn't understood her figure of speech. She ignored this and wheeled over to the open door. She could already feel the warmth coming from inside and she shivered slightly. She didn't realize how chilly it was outside. As she reached for the handle, only to find it was out of reach, she looked around for the blue eyed man.

"A little help?" The man was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, the car tilted on its tires down to her. "Cool." She nodded and grasped the door handle with her bad hand as tightly as possible. The car lifted back into it normal position, pulling her inside. Out of habit, she traced the symbol in the middle of the steering wheel. The car seemed to shudder, like a dog that enjoyed being scratched behind the ear. She reached out to grab her chair, but the door closed. "Hey!"

"It will be an inconvenience where we are going. I will help you get anywhere you need to go once I let you out," a disembodied voice came from nowhere. It was the same metallic one she remembered from the horrible night. She felt the seatbelt slink across her body and heard a faint click at her side.

"If you say so, I trust you." She couldn't believe she was getting into a car on the request of a stranger.

"I know. I sense it," he replied. Without anymore discussion, Ratchet pulled away from the country home, leaving behind a trail of dust and Ellas empty wheelchair. Where they were going, only he knew. As Ella looked out the back window, she hoped that she was making the right choice. This thing had saved her life, so it couldn't really be evil. Could it?