It took all but a few days for Sam to recover—physically, that is. Captain Will had visited and asked Sam if he wanted to stay with him for awhile. Sam had stared into space for a moment before nodding. He was discharged the next day. Ironhide stopped by Sam's house to allow the boy to pick up some clothes and his dog, but Bumblebee insisted on taking Sam. Ironhide was all too glad to let Bee drive Sam and 'the rodent', and after Sam was safely strapped in his passenger side, Bee activated a hologram form and followed Ironhide and Will to the Lennox household.
Sam was reasonably quiet the whole way there. He just stared out the window, hardly blinking at all and clutching his bag of clothes close to his chest. Bumblebee wanted so badly to say something, but what was there to say, he wondered. He was afraid to talk via radio, or even in English, for that matter, for fear of scaring Sam, or setting him off. Even Mojo was silent, as though sensing his master was in mental agony. The Chihuahua just curled up in a tiny ball in the backseat and remained motionless and silent.
After what seemed like an eternity of driving in the outskirts of anywhere, the Lennox house came into view, and Bee's hologram form let out a silent sigh of relief. "We're here, Sam," he said softly, barely more than a whisper. Sam nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt when Bumblebee came to a halt. Will stood a small distance away to give Sam some space as he got out of the Camaro.
Sarah Lennox came out of the house, a worried smile on her face. Sam walked over to the couple and gave them the most pleasant smile he could muster. "Um…" he said slowly. "…Thank you for letting me stay here…"
Sarah smiled and put a hand gently on his shoulder. "You're always welcome here," she said. "Come on, I'll show you to the guest room." Sam let her lead him into the house, where a baby Annabelle was playing with—Sam found to no surprise—a black toy truck. He had to smile at that. Sarah noticed. "She's fascinated with Ironhide," she said, smiling. "Sometimes I see her poking at that truck, trying to get it to transform."
Sam let out a snort of poorly restrained laughter, the first time in over a week. He followed Sarah up the stairs to a small bedroom for him. She let him look around for a bit. "Just let me know if you need anything," she said, turning to leave.
"Thank you," Sam said, giving her a smile. She smiled back and went back downstairs. Sam went over to the window and saw Ironhide and Bumblebee transform. Sarah came out a moment later with Annabelle in her arms. He smiled when he saw the one-and-a-half year-old hold her arms out to Ironhide and scream "'Hide! 'Hide!" happily.
After watching Will and his family for a minute, Sam felt a small pain in his heart. He unconsciously rubbed his chest through his shirt, but it didn't go away. He figured it was just the happy sight, so he turned away to unpack his clothes and put them away in the small dresser drawers. When that was done, he turned to the bed to take a nap. Just as he laid down, a sharp pain ran from his heart to his navel in one quick flash, then was gone just as fast. It didn't stop him from crying out, though. He breathed heavily, waiting for it to happen again, but it didn't. He pegged it off as a side-effect of the medication he just got off of, and laid down to sleep.
PBSam found that living at the Lennoxes was a lot more calming than home. Sarah was a fan of big family meals, and he quickly became a fan of her cooking. Will spent a lot of his time on the computer, with Annabelle, or Ironhide. Sometimes, all three at once. Sam discovered Ironhide's weakness for the little girl, as he would spend hours watching her while she played outside. The weapons specialist seemed to have developed a sixth sense for trouble, because he was always there a split second before Annabelle would fall or do something remotely hazardous to her health.
Two days after arriving, Sam and Will made a fun day of washing and waxing their respective guardians. As the day progressed, Sam felt that he was coming out of whatever hole he had crawled in; cured, in a sense. It was fun to chase the vehicles around with the hose, and it was funny that Ironhide was uncomfortable around the upholstery vacuum.
One of the things Sam was most grateful for was that the 'incident' was never mentioned. Sarah, Will, Ironhide, and Bumblebee just gave him care and love—Sam was amused at the 'Ironhide caring and loving' part—and that alone made him feel healed.
It all seemed to end too soon. Spring Break was coming to an end, and Sam would have to go home and tell his parents about what happened. Just the thought of it made him very quiet at the dinner table. Sarah noticed right away.
"Are you alright, Sam?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. Sam didn't know whether to nod or shake his head.
"I'm just thinking of what I'm going to tell my parents," he said softly. He heard Will put his silverware down. "I mean, what do I tell them? That a robot did this to me?" He sighed and put his head in his hands. "It was bad enough, telling them about Bumblebee; this is going to ensure that I'll never be able to see the Autobots again! They'll think they're dangerous or something!" His eyes shot open. "Oh, God…" he choked. "What if they make me get rid of Bumblebee!?"
Sarah got out of her seat and gently put her arms around Sam, who didn't even flinch. "No one can make you get rid of Bumblebee," she said soothingly. "If you want, we'll be there with you to let your parents know you've been taken good care of."
Sam sniffed and nodded. "Could you do that?" he asked, looking at Will. Will nodded.
"Of course," he said. Sam felt a lot better now. But the worst was still yet to come. He could feel it.
PBThe day to go home came, and Sam was dreading every minute of it the whole ride home. He had called home to let his parents know he'd been at a friend's place the whole time, and that he had something important to tell them.
He finally found himself in his driveway, and his heart seemed to go a million miles a minute. Holding Mojo close to him and making sure the Lennoxes were behind him to back him up, he went inside.
"Sam! You're home!" his mother said, walking over to hug him. He cautiously hugged her back. "You look pale," she suddenly said, holding his face in her hands. "Are you okay? You said you had something important to tell us."
Sam swallowed hard and opened his mouth to say something, but then Mikaela poked her head in through the no-quite-closed front door. "Oh!" she said, her face reddening. "Am…I interrupting…?"
Sam shook his head and beckoned her in with a hand gesture. "Come on in, Mikaela," he said flatly. "I think I'm gong to need your help with what I have to tell them." Mikaela instantly knew what he was talking about, and her face paled. She stepped in the house and shut the door behind her.
"Sam, what's going on?" his dad said, looking worried. Sam sighed and swallowed again, feeling the urge to puke. He looked at the Lennoxes, then Mikaela, and then at the black and yellow cars out front.
"…You guys might want to sit down for this," he said.
PBSilence. Dead, screaming silence echoed through Sam's ears as he registered the expressions on his parents' faces. His father's face was void of any emotion, and his mother looked too pale for her health. Will and Sarah looked grim, and Annabelle, sensing the tension in the room, stayed silent in Sarah's arms. Mikaela looked about ready to burst into tears again.
His mother was the first to speak. "…W…what…?" she said, her voice wavering. Sam bit his lip and clenched his hands together tightly, his long sleeves hiding the marks from the restraints.
"I…I was…raped…over the vacation…." he choked out once more, feeling more than ever like throwing up. As soon as he said it again, Mikaela burst out crying into her hands. His mother's hands slowly covered her mouth as tears formed in her eyes. His father still said and did nothing.
"B-but…how…!?" his mother gasped. Sam covered a face with one hand.
"I don't think I have to explain the diagnostics to you!" he snapped, feeling like he was crawling back into his little hole. He forced himself to calm down enough to speak again. "I was…raped…and then taken to the hospital. I'm…okay now…and Will and Sarah let me stay with them until you got back…They've been really good to me, and I'm…I think I'm getting better now…"
More silence.
"Who was it?" His father decided to speak. Sam paled and decided that telling them the whole truth would be a big mistake.
"I don't know," he said softly. "I was just abducted…it was dark, so I…didn't see…" He paused. "Mikaela and the others found me and took me to the hospital…and I'm going to be okay…"
"How are you going to be okay, Sam!?" his father yelled, tears in his own eyes. "You were raped for God's sake! How can you just say you're going to be okay!?"
Mikaela let out another sob before running right out of the house. Sam stared after her, his panic levels rising. He felt a sharp pain in his chest again, much like the one back at Will's house.
"You don't need to keep telling me!" he shouted, trying to keep the panic down. "I was fucking there!"
His father rounded on Will. "Where were you when this happened?!" he demanded. Sam shot up out of his seat.
"Don't you dare blame him for anything!" Sam screamed. "None of it was his fault! He was kind enough to let me stay with him, so don't even—!" He broke off with a howl of pain as his chest—more accurately, his heart—flashed with pain that ran to his navel again. He gasped in pain and fell to his knees, one hand on his heart and the other arm around his waist. He vaguely heard panicked voices before promptly falling out of consciousness.
Mmm…Red Bull…Oh! That chapter done already…? Huh….