Author's Notes: Many thanks to Marinelife37, Clifjumpersfangirl, laureas, Arabis, Phoenix13, 1Timberwolf, Gixxer Pilot, RK-Striker-JK-5, and Jessie07 for the reviews! WOW! :) I regret to inform you that this is the last chapter on this fic for a while. HOWEVER, Sarah's friendship with the Autobots is just beginning. You haven't seen the last of her, not by a long shot. :D

TIE IN: This chapter ties in to The Daily Buzz. It contains references to TDB's Chapter 4 (Celebration), and sets up chapter 5. It also sets up the fic "Bright Spot." (Yes, this fanon is complicated!) :)

Two months after Will was released from the hospital, I waited almost anxiously in the Autobot hangar for the last piece of the puzzle to arrive. I'd met all of the Autobots except one – the enigmatic scout, the one who had hunted down the All Spark, who singly-handedly protected the boy until Optimus and the others could arrive, the one who even now was on his own, solo mission to keep his charges safe. We hadn't met because, until today, he'd been on the other side of the globe. But Ratchet wanted to give him a check-up and see if he could do something about a stubborn war injury, so NEST had flown the scout here. And his charges, of course.

I'd imagined him being like Ironhide and Arcee – warriors through and through, tough cookies who nonetheless made a place for us primitive organics in their steely sparks. The last thing I was expecting was yellow. Bright, playful, sunny yellow. With racing stripes.

The alt-form scout pulled into the hangar and the boy and his girlfriend got out. My husband went to greet the humans while the yellow Autobot transformed. Just watching the rowdy way he interacted with the others reminded me of Arcee's description of the scout – one sparky little 'bot. Though size was really no indication, the way he mock-punched the others or the way they affectionately cuffed his head made me think he was young for their kind. Not a child – Optimus wouldn't have sent a child on such a risky mission – but not a hardened veteran like Ironhide or Ratchet. Maybe hanging out with human teenagers was more comfortable for him than I'd have thought.

Optimus turned and saw me standing by myself. Waving me closer, he said, "Spitfire, this is Bumblebee."

Will had warned me that the scout's throat had been damaged and he couldn't speak. Others could translate for me, or he might speak through sound bites. A familiar cowboy's drawl said, "Well howdy there, little lady." John Wayne.

I grinned. Someone must have told him I owned a ranch. "Hello, Bumblebee. It's good to finally meet you."

He made a strange, two-syllable hum. Likewise? Thank you?

"Hey Sarah!"

I turned automatically when Will called my name, and then glanced back at Bumblebee. He waved good-bye to me, an amiable expression on his face, and then went to rejoin his friends.

Trotting over, I joined Will, the boy, and his girlfriend. For some odd reason, the Autobots insisted on waiting until we were face-to-face to tell me the names of the scout and his humans. "Sarah," Will said, "this is Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Baines. Sam, Mikaela, this is my wife Sarah."

"A pleasure," I said, shaking hands with them both.

"Ratchet had a few questions for Sam," Will said, clapping the boy on the shoulder, "so, Sarah, I was wondering if you could help Mikaela feel at home for a few minutes."

"Sure," I answered nonchalantly. I was technically just a guest here myself, so why would Will entrust me with keeping an eye on Mikaela? Something was up, I could feel it, but I wasn't about to give my husband away, whatever he was doing.

Will and Sam headed over toward the med bay, while Mikaela and I wandered toward the other Autobots. "Do you know everyone?" I asked, gesturing toward them.

Her smile was almost sly. "I guess you could say I do. I've only met Optimus, Ironhide, and Ratchet face-to-face, though."

I knew just who to introduce her to first. "Hey, Arcee!"

She came zipping over, anticipation bright in her eyes. "Hi, Spitfire." Turning to the girl beside me, she said, "You must be Mikaela, Bumblebee's BFF."

Mikaela grinned widely. "And you must be the original biker chick."

Arcee giggled like it was some kind of inside joke and transformed into her tripartite alt-form. Her holoform flickered into existence on her pink bike, and she grinned widely at the two of us. "Care to go for a spin?"

I exchanged a glance with Mikaela – who seemed to be taking the holoform in stride much more than I had – and she dove for the purple motorcycle. "Are you freaking kidding?!"

That left me the blue bike. Appropriate that I would be riding Arcee's Chromia component.

When I'd finally gotten up the courage to ask about her three pieces, Arcee explained that, when she got her upgrade to the tripartite form, she'd deliberately modeled the other two bikes after her sisters. To her, it was sort of like carrying their pictures around – she had a constant reminder of them. Especially after the Decepticon second-in-command killed Elita-1, she wanted the reminder. Of course, Arcee would have to do something about her coloring if and when Chromia showed up. But until then….

"You know I'm still new at this," I nervously said, gripping the blue bike's handles for dear life. While I trusted Arcee, whether she was driving in her holoform or giving me lessons on her pink component, I was none too confident of her ability to safely pilot all three parts of herself independently.

"Coward," Mikaela shot at me, clearly enjoying herself.

"Come at your own pace," Arcee answered me, her smirk replaced with a gentle smile for once. "I won't let you crash." She turned to Mikaela, though she was still speaking to me. "This young one needs to be taken down a notch or two."

Mikaela grinned almost evilly. "Bring it, biker chick."

Arcee's smirk was back. "You're on, friend. I'm cutting the purple one loose. Ready. Set. Go!"

The two shot out of the hangar like a 'con out of the Pit was after them. I followed more slowly, but still fast enough for the wind to sing in my ears and flow over my skin like water, my hair streaming out behind me. I was increasingly beginning to appreciate the sheer pleasure of speed.

"Be careful!" I heard Ironhide bellow at our retreating backs, and I grinned. Overgrown mother hen.

Arcee and Mikaela rocketed down the base run-way, and I could almost imagine the heat Optimus would take for their reckless display. Arcee beat Mikaela to one of the directional lines, which was apparently the finish line because they both circled around almost leisurely and pulled up beside me. "So, Spitfire, where to now?"

"Someplace we can talk."

"Better stay on base," Arcee mused. "I know just the place. Come on, femmes." She rocketed away again, and Mikaela fell in behind her. I kept pace with them this time; now that they weren't racing, I was sure Arcee wouldn't let me wreck.

Arcee brought us to the commissary and, after purchasing Fat Boys for all three of us, led us to a small park. It was late August, which in the Indian Ocean means early summer, but it was still blazing hot. Mikaela and I were appropriately (read: skimpily) dressed, but Arcee was still in her usual fitted jeans, boots, and leather riding jacket.

Sitting down on a picnic table in the shade, I said, "Um, Arcee?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to shed that coat in the interest of blending in."

She paused for a beat and then shrugged. "One of the perks of being a fembot is that fashion can come before function. Usually."

"Yeah, well, I'm sweating just looking at you."

She smirked. "You and every mech on the planet."

I barked out a laugh. "Except Ironhide, you mean. I've still got my Black Magic when it comes to him."

Mikaela smacked her palm to her forehead, shaking her head in disbelief. "I cannot believe you just said that." She looked from Arcee to me. "Either of you. I mean, aren't you a mom and everything, Sarah?"

Arcee laughed at the girl's expression. "I just broke the second commandment, didn't I?"

"Second commandment?" They obviously weren't talking about the usual ten.

Mikaela shot Arcee a downright dirty look. I mean, venomous. And suddenly it clicked - Mikaela's evasive answer when I asked if she knew the Autobots, her feisty attitude with Arcee, the inside jokes. "You know each other already. You're friends."

"Way to go, Arcee," Mikaela muttered, but the fembot just shrugged.

"How?" I stammered. "We were already here on the island before Arcee arrived. How do you know each other?"

But Mikaela was still arguing with the fembot. "You know how hard I worked at this, what it means to 'Bee. You think they'll let it slide?"

"Spitfire is an honorary Autobot," Arcee answered. "She deserves to know."

At this Mikaela positively bristled. "An honorary Autobot? Just how does one become an honorary Autobot?"

"Easy," she smirked again. "Kill a Decepticon."

"Sam killed Megatron!" the girl burst out. "But you guys didn't even want him in on it!"

"That wasn't my call. I'm just saying that Spitfire has earned a place in the circle."

But Mikaela wasn't ready to let it go. "Bee couldn't have taken down Brawl without me, but no one's mentioned this honorary Autobot thing to me. How many are there?"

"Just Iron Will - Major Lennox to you - and Spitfire here."

Mikaela sized me up doubtfully. "You killed a Decepticon?"

Arcee came to my defense. "Her bond-mate did. But she earned her place all on her own."

"Oh, so there's another way to become an honorary Autobot?"

The fembot shrugged again and, walking to her pink motorcycle, rolled it toward us. Turning on the headlight, she projected a two-foot-tall hologram of me and Will. I recognized it as the night I first met Ironhide. It was an odd sensation to see a miniature version of me look up with fire in her eyes and declare, "Then listen here, Ironhide, and you listen well. If you let anything happen to my husband I will personally rip out your sparkplugs, shove a live round up your aft and scrap whatever's left. Got it?"

Arcee shut the hologram down. "This was her reaction to Ironhide. If you can threaten him like that on your first meeting and mean it, you get into the club."

Mikaela still scowled. "They'll shut us down."

"Optimus will let no such thing happen. We're all enjoying it too much. Have a little faith in the big guy." Arcee gingerly rested her hand on Mikaela's shoulder. Autobots rarely touched each other and, when they did, it was usually rough-housing. I hoped Mikaela appreciated what a significant gesture Arcee was making. "Worst case scenario, we migrate the site to a new host ISP. But I really think Spitfire should be brought into the secret."

Mikaela eyed me again. "What is your function here?" she abruptly asked. "You're Major Lennox's wife, obviously, but why are you thick as thieves with the Autobots?"

I looked uncertainly at Arcee. I'd asked myself that question numerous times and hadn't figured out a satisfactory answer as to why the Autobots liked me so much. She smiled. "You're our...den-mother is the term Epps used, I believe. That side of you comes out most with Ironhide, but through him, we all get a glimpse. Even in the military, many of the humans we interact with are deeply suspicious of us, but from the hour you met Ironhide, you trusted him with your mate's life. And when he kept his promise, you treated him like a friend. That kind of courage and amity doesn't go unnoticed or unappreciated." Arcee looked from me to the girl. "As for Mikaela here, she's Bumblebee's best friend in many ways. The scout's mission is to protect Sam, so there are things he can't confide in the boy. Besides being cool under fire, Mikaela helps him keep his sanity and helps all of us keep in touch."

"Can't you do the internal comm thing?" I interrupted.

"Yes, but there are limits of distance and time. Mikaela, brilliant girl that she is, helped us figure out a way around that. She's so brilliant, in fact, that Ratchet let her do Bumblebee's last tune up."

I gaped at the girl for a moment and then glanced up at Arcee. "I'm with Mikaela. If Ratchet trusts her to tinker under the scout's hood, then she has every bit as much right as me to be an honorary Autobot."

Arcee grinned. "I'll take it up with the others." She looked expectantly at Mikaela. "It's not my secret to share."

"Yeah, right," she grumbled. Eyeing me warily, she said, "Bumblebee has a blog."

"Bumblebee. Has. A. Blog. An Autobot has a blog?" I stared at her incredulously, certain that this had to be a joke. Even I knew that an Autobot blog was flaunting every principle of security. Really, what were they thinking?

"Before you blow a gasket," Arcee said, "we've been covert about it. It's an encrypted, by-invitation-only site. We all have non-incriminating user names and refer to ourselves as a family and to humans as our friends. All pictures are strictly alt-form, and we keep the discussions as human-sounding as possible. Even if some random person ended up reading it, they wouldn't have a clue."

I looked doubtful, and a faint smile tugged at Mikaela's lips. "They'd certainly be confused," the girl allowed, "and nothing about it screams 'alien robot'. We don't exactly pass for human, though."

"Which is why we need you," Arcee added. "More humans getting involved will help us sound more human. And the more human we can act, the more likely it is that we'll be accepted by your people. We've sorely missed Jazz in that regard."

"You've thought this all out," Mikaela accused.

"Not on my own. Optimus and Bumblebee both agreed we should at least broach the subject with you."

While Mikaela tried to think of a comeback to that one, I said, "I can't keep this from Will."

"You have to!" the girl exclaimed at the same time that Arcee said, "I wouldn't expect you to." The two glared at each other.

"What part of 'they'll shut us down' do you not understand, femme?" Mikaela positively growled.

"The part where it's inevitable," Arcee shot back. "You want to be an honorary Autobot? Spitfire trusts Optimus with the father of her child. You can't trust him with a blog?"

"Optimus can't control what the government security freaks do. He isn't God."

Arcee chuckled with grim humor. "You think I don't know that, that Spitfire doesn't know that? I'll have Bumblebee make a backup of the site, oh ye of little faith, and then we'll tell Will and the others. This will work out, most likely for the best. Trust me."

"People who have to say 'trust me' aren't trustworthy."

Arcee looked at me. "Do you trust me?"

I did. It was almost a shock to realize just how deeply. "Yes." I turned to the girl, realizing that she'd been on the other side of the globe from the Autobots and didn't know how strong the connection was between the NEST members. "Mikaela? I don't have a whole lot of clout, but Will does, and I promise you he and I will both throw everything we have into supporting you and Bumblebee."

She grimaced. "I don't have a choice, do I."

"Of course you do," Arcee answered. "It's just becoming painfully obvious what the right choice is."

Mikaela sat for a minute or two, her arms defiantly crossed, while she processed everything we'd said. Finally, she met Arcee's gaze with an expression that was a little less hostile. "Bumblebee wants to out the blog?"

"He wanted to expand it to include Spitfire and Iron Will, yes, even knowing there's a risk of getting shut down."

Mikaela stood and stepped almost toe-to-toe with Arcee. "I love him like…like a brother. You'd better know what you're doing, or I'll one-up Spitfire and follow through with my threat to kill you."

Arcee's eyes flashed. "I love Bumblebee, too, and once it was as more than just a brother."

Both Mikaela's and my eyes widened.

"Without breaking the second commandment," Arcee went on, "suffice it to say, I have a bright spot in my spark for him. One way or another, we'll make sure he's okay."

A little stunned, Mikaela nodded.

Arcee seemed a little uncertain. Shy almost. "He and I…it's a secret that I share with you two alone, as something just between femmes. Okay? Don't even speak of it to Bumblebee."

I numbly nodded, as did Mikaela.

"Now come on," Arcee said, straddling her pink component, "before they send a hunting party out after us."

It wasn't until we were racing in formation back across the base that I realized what Arcee had done. With me on her Chromia component and Mikaela on Elita-1's, Arcee was rebuilding her team of femmes. She had sisters again.

I couldn't begrudge her that, even if there was some friction between Mikaela and me. For Arcee, I would make an effort to like her. Especially knowing how protective Mikaela was of Bumblebee. If the girl shared such a deep amity with him, then she was an honorary Autobot already.

Author's End-Notes:

1) Before you pull your energon swords out of subspace and slice-and-dice me for killing Elita, it wasn't my idea! I'm using the IDW movieverse comics for canon, and in "The Reign of Starscream," Starscream killed Elita-1 (and Arcee avenged her). And if you've read my fic in other fandoms, you'll know I'm a nut for staying true to canon. (Admittedly, that's a challenge in TF.) :)

2) Bumblebee's blog can be found at www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5409772/1/The_Daily_Buzz Hope you enjoy! :)