Disclaimers in previous chapters.
Chapter 14: Drift Free; Country True
Hannah was having a blast as she held on tight to part of Strafe's back as he flew through the air, giving her a ride. "Ya-hoo!" she cheered as he spun in the air and did all kinds of tricks. The smile on the teen's face couldn't have gotten any bigger than it already was.
Jason and Charlotte came outside and saw Drift and Crosshairs watching the sky. "Drift? Crosshairs? Have you seen Hannah?" asked Charlotte.
They chuckled. "Don't worry, Miss. Charlotte. Strafe is simply giving Hannah a ride," said Drift, indicating upward where the two-headed pterodactyl Dinobot flew by and they heard Hannah's excited yells of joy.
Then Strafe landed gently and curled his tail to lay beside him and straightened up a bit, allowing Hannah to slide down his back and tail safely to the ground. Landing on her feet, but then falling back into the grass, Hannah breathed hard for a moment and then laughed in delight.
"That was awesome!" she said, still laughing as she stood up, but looked a bit unsteady as she started to fall back again.
"Whoa, easy there, Hana," said Shiftquick as he helped her to regain her balance. She smiled dizzily.
"Totally worth it," she said.
"What? Losing your balance?" asked Jason in a slight teasing tone.
"No, Uncle Jason. Riding a Dinobot," said Hannah. "How many girls can say that they've ridden a giant two-headed pterodactyl that transforms into a huge robot? I'm so the luckiest girl on this planet."
The Autobots all chuckled. "That you are, kiddo," said Crosshairs with a smile.
Jason then cleared his throat. "Hannah, I was wondering. Do you want to stay here?" he asked.
She looked at him. "Of course I do," she said. "I feel like I belong here. I never belonged in Cleveland. But here, I do. Why?"
Charlotte came over and the sunlight caught a gold band on the black woman's left hand. Hannah's jaw dropped.
"You're going to get married!?" she asked. "That's awesome!"
"Yes," said Jason. "But we were wondering if you wanted to stay here because we want to adopt you."
Hannah froze at that. "You want to adopt me?" she asked in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
They nodded. "Yes," said Charlotte. "What do you think, honey girl?"
"You want to adopt me? The bots can stay with us? I'll never go back to those…people again?" Hannah asked, still in a stunned state.
"Yes, yes, and no, in that order," said Jason. "So, what is your answer?"
She blinked for a moment. "One more question," she said and looked at both her uncle Jason and Charlotte. "Can I call you guys Mom and Dad?"
Both smiled and nodded and Hannah let out the happiest squeal they had ever heard come from her. "YES!" she said, happily.
"Yes to what?" Charlotte teased lightly.
"To being adopted!" said Hannah. "My wish came true! Just like you said it would, Mama Charlotte."
"So it did," she said.
Hannah hugged them both. "Thank you so much!" she said and turned to the others. "Isn't this great?" she asked excitedly.
"It is indeed," said Drift.
"Sure is, kiddo," said Crosshairs.
The cassettes gathered around happily and the others cheered in celebration of Jason and Charlotte's upcoming wedding and Hannah's adoption as Blaster played his radio loud and clear, Journey, The Eagles, Diamond Rio, Rascal Flatts, and Alan Jackson all ringing through the air as the celebration went on late into the night.
Next chapter is the epilogue.
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