Chapter 14

Two months later, Thanksgiving.

It was finally time for Thanksgiving Break and Sam was just ten miles from his home town of Tranquility, not to mention his fiancé. He had missed Mikaela, and worried about her every minute that he was away.

His worry had not abated, but only strengthened after he had had a run in with the Decepticon Barricade once again the month before. He had no doubt that Bumblebee would have been able to take out the Decepticon again without any trouble, but he had been grateful that the twins had been there to back them up. It had been the first time that Sam had seen the two fight together since they had been reunited, but he had quickly understood why they were two of the best hand to hand combatants that the Autobots had.

The two brothers were at the moment following behind Bumblebee and Sam, keeping at a safe distance so that they didn't appear as if they were following them, but close enough that they could make a difference if something were to happen.

As much as he was looking forward to seeing Mikaela again, he was feeling sick at the thought of meeting her father. The man, Sam knew from Mikaela's reassuring words, would not try to harm him. But that didn't stop Sam from feeling a sense of unease at meeting the man.

Her father had been released soon after the Battle in Mission City, or what Sam preferred to call it "D-Day", and Sam had yet to meet the man. It had been two years, and not once had they spoken or shaken hands, and Sam wondered if the man didn't think he was important enough to even acknowledge. At first it hadn't bothered him, for he really didn't feel comfortable with meeting his girlfriend's father. And it didn't have anything to do with the man having served time, no, it was that he just didn't want the man to say that he wasn't worthy of his daughter. Which in a small part of him he knew was true.

He had lucked out, basically won the figurative lottery so much lately that he thought that meeting the man would be the one thing that he would lose. It wasn't something that he looked forward to, and dodged at every opportunity given to him.

He sighed as he passed into the city limits of Tranquility. He had promised Mikaela that he would pick her up at the garage before going home. This meant that in only ten minutes his opportunities and luck would run dry.

His phone began to ring, that familiar ring that indicated that Mikaela was calling him. It was at times like these when talking on the phone in Bumblebee that he didn't have to worry about concentrating on his driving and could pay his full attention to his phone and the person on the other end.

He flipped the phone open and put the receiver to his ear. "Hey, how you doing?"

"Fine, just wondering where you are." Mikaela answered with a laugh.

"Just passing Bobby's, I should be there soon. You ready to go?" Sam asked turning his head to look at the dealership where he had bought Bumblebee.

"I will be in a few minutes….hold on a minute." Sam heard her call to someone in the shop "Yeah he's almost here dad. And no I don't know where you put the sparkplugs."

Sam laughed and needing to laugh more said. "I love it how you say sparkplugs, say it again."

Mikaela laughed, and in a quieter and sultry voice said once again. "Sparkplugs."

Sam smirked as he pulled into the parking lot of the garage that Mikaela worked at. Bumblebee in one of his many idea's of humor began to play a death march. "Yeah, yeah very funny Bee." Taking a deep breath Sam unbuckled himself and opened his door.

Slowly he walked into the garage and surprising Mikaela he placed a hand on her shoulder while she had her back turned to him. She jumped almost a foot off of the stool that she was sitting on and quickly turned around to yell at the one that had scared her. However upon noticing that it was Sam, broke into a smile and threw her arms around him. She lightly hit him in the back of the head. Pulling herself back after a minute she said "That is for scaring me." Then she kissed him. "And that's for being here."

"I take it you missed me?" Sam said raising an eyebrow.

"Just a little." Mikaela said with a smirk.

"Just a little huh?"

"Well maybe more, but not much." Mikaela said laughing lightly.

"So, you ready to leave yet?" Sam asked, and even though his tone was light he was hoping she would say yes.

"Not yet, as soon as I finish wielding this thing back together we can get going. Shouldn't take me more than ten or fifteen minutes. Why don't you talk with my father until then, bond a little." Mikaela said smirking when she noticed his face fall.

"You sure I can't maybe help you." Sam asked hopefully.

"No offense Sam, but you're not the best at this kind of thing."

"I'm not sure but I think that was an insult."

"Take it as you want, but you're not going to get out of meeting my father this time." Tilting her head towards the man at the far end of the garage that currently was attaching the wheels to a bike she said. "Go, say hi, and remember he's no Megatron."

"Yeah, you're right." Sam said and winced slightly when the man looked up at the two of them. "He's worse."

Sighing he turned and began to make his way to the muscular, balding man at the far end of the shop. He looked as if the past couple of years of his life hadn't been the easiest, yet, and though Sam hadn't known the man before he had gone to jail he looked like he was more alive than he had ever been.

His hands and shirt were covered in grease, the hair that he hadn't begun to lose yet was sticking to his head with sweat, and his muscles contracted and expanded with every turn he made on the wheels of the bike.

Mikaela's father looked up as Sam stopped just in front of him. The man stopped what he was doing, and pulling a handkerchief out of his back pocket began to wipe his hands clean. "Sam Wickity?"

"Witwicky dad." Mikaela yelled across the shop.

Mikaela's father looked past Sam and at Mikaela for a moment then back to Sam. "Witwicky. It's about time I got to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too sir." Sam said nervously.

Mikaela's father nodded. "So, I hear you're going to school at Princeton. What is it you're studying?"

"Astronomy, sir."

"That have anything to do with your friends?" the man asked as he stood, and Sam noticed that the man was maybe two, three inches taller than himself.

Sam shrugged awkwardly. "I guess sir. You could probably say that I'm just trying to relate with them more."

The man nodded, and Sam couldn't tell if he was pleased or displeased with his response. Then finally he had begun to do what Sam dreaded the most. He began to act like a father. "You haven't cheated on my daughter have you?"

"No sir. I never would." Sam said and behind him he could hear Mikaela sigh.

"You'd never hurt my daughter would you?" His voice was gruffer than it had been.

"Not in my dreams sir."

"Good, because I have no problem with going back to jail." The man's voice was rougher than it had been, and he had begun to crack his knuckles.

Sam heard metal scraping on pavement and suddenly he felt Mikaela's small and soft hands touch his shoulder. "Easy daddy. You don't have to worry with Sam."

Mr. Banes looked between the two and sighed. He had hoped to make the boy sweat some more, but it looked like his daughter wouldn't allow that anymore. Extending his hand for the first time the man said "My daughter likes you, and if that was all I knew about you it would be enough."

Sam let out a breath that he hadn't realized that he was holding and extended his own hand to shake the older mans. "Thank you sir."