He's here.
He's really here.
It wasn't possible.
It had to be a dream.
That was the only reasonable explanation because Bumblebee was never outside of her dreams. Hell, even if he was and just so happened to be on Earth—in Southgate, Los Angeles no less—he definitely wouldn't be in her aunt and uncle's garage.
But here he was. Kneeling before her with her hand touching his face.
Alex threw herself against him, arms coming up to wrap around his neck in a hug so fierce she was sure her flesh would bruise. The silence in the garage broke as harsh ugly sobs ripped their way from her throat and were accompanied by an outpouring of tears.
And she couldn't stop.
Her cries sounded like the brays of a donkey because it was hard to take a proper breath and salty streaks were making an atrocious mess against his plates.
But she couldn't stop.
Not when there were five long years worth finally finding their release.
A little voice in her head echoed through the noise, chiding her in a tone that mimicked her own. How do you keep doing this to yourself? it asked with a drawl, as if there was no surprise behind the statement. You were so sure you'd never see him again because you listened to the doctors and the nurses and everyone else who knew about him and came to the same conclusion they did, remember? And it made them happy even though you struggled to share in it. At least you got the closest to being normal as you possibly could. But now… now you know you fucked up. Something is definitely wrong with you in the head. At the very least, you can stop sounding pathetic…
Alex squeezed her eyes shut against the venomous words she so easily aimed at herself and a long drawn out wail slipped past her lips. She felt as if whatever remnants of stable footing she'd made following her mother's death was gone; ripped out from under her and now she was spinning, over and over—
Alex jerked as something large and gentle pressed against her back, halting her racing thoughts as easily if she'd been plucked from the torrent waters of a bloated river. Her breath caught briefly as she recognized the pressure as being from one of Bumblebee's hands.
Holding her close… keeping her still.
She keened high in her throat at the gesture and buried her face into the crook of his neck as she was racked with refreshed sobs.
And Bee knelt there silently, giving her the time she needed. Letting her cling to him as she fought through her anguish.
His body was hard and unyielding as it pressed against the softness of her own and she was acutely aware of how different the sensation was compared to the touch of their dreamworld. Gone was that strange electrical current, the annoyingly constant reminder that her earthly form was separated from his by an unfathomable distance. Now there was substance and heat and everything that the green lines of code were not… and it was so different but so wonderful and she couldn't get enough.
She brushed her cheek against one of his plates, her breath puffing across its surface and mixing with an exotic scent that filled her nose.
He was here, with her.
Warm and comforting and…
And…
Bumblebee… was…. here.
"Oh my god!" Alex jerked back with a loud gasp and Bee's hand fell away. "Oh my god, you… you're, how can you—" Her eyes darted over him, scanning each and every inch as she struggled to piece together things that didn't make sense.
He wasn't a hallucination nor some fleeting figment of her imagination.
No.
He was physically present in front of her and her shock was every bit as intense as it was when she met him in stasis for the first time.
Only now, it was just so much more…
Bee's coloration alone had her reeling. She was so used to the green hues coloring the digital program, that there was no comparison to what she was seeing now. It was almost as if she had been watching him through a black-and-white TV all of this time and just switched to those wafer-thin versions playing Planet Earth at Best Buy.
He. Was. Gorgeous.
Greys dominated his body in more shades than she'd thought possible and they wove in and around sharply contrasting yellow and black plates that drew her gaze from one part to the next until they led her back to his face.
And his eyes…
His eyes were the most amazing blue she'd ever seen. Crystal clear and pure, reminding her of the lakes that lay far to the north where they ran deep and were fed by mountain glaciers. Truely a color she could very well lose herself in and probably would have were it not for the prickle of familiarity scratching away at her memories.
The yellow and black plates drew her attention again. She'd seen the color scheme before but where? And now that she thought about it, the shape of his armor was different from what she remembered from stasis but it too was familiar from a more recent time. On his chest he had what appeared to be a pair of headlights—one on each side—and a grill split into thirds. And then there was the small plus-shaped symbol right smack in the center…
It hit her like a ton of bricks.
"You're Sam's car?" she exclaimed.
Alex jerked around as if just remembering Sam was there, even though she'd torn across the yard after him not a moment earlier. He stood behind her, thumbs hooked into the pants of his mismatched outfit and a purple bruise the size of a fried egg covering a third of his face. The swelling made his eye squint at her while his brows were almost to his hairline as he watched the exchange. He looked as stupefied as she felt.
She blurted out high and shrill, "How do you know Bumblebee?"
"How do I—how do you know him?" Sam spun the question back at her so rapidly she almost found herself apologizing for it. "I mean, Bee gave me the cliff notes version but the Autobots are your voices?"
Autobots—
"Who else do you know about?" she practically shrieked, her voice cracking from the pitched strain.
"Wha—"
"You said 'Autobots'! Who else do you know about?" she demanded as her head started to ache. Just how many secrets did Sam have? "Howdo you know Bee? And the others? How?"
"Well... my grandfather kind of found Megatron."
Sweet baby Jesus, she literally felt her brain short circuit. A gurgled response was all she could muster.
"Huh"—Sam grimaced—"I guess that was a real doozy to lead with." He leaned against the workbench. "So… want the full story or—"
"All of it," she demanded, eyes darting to Bee who shifted into a seated position. So far he had remained quiet, leaving Sam and her to hash things out on their own.
Turning her attention back to Sam, she gave a little 'go ahead' nod and he began;
'The Autobots were searching for the Allspark… '
'Bumblebee took Mikaela and I to meet Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide, and Jazz... '
'The Cube's location was imprinted on my grandfather's glasses…'
'Sector Seven kept Megatron frozen in the basement of the Hoover Dam…'
'We fought the Decepticons in Mission City…'
'I killed Megatron…'
Alex felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her by the time Sam finished. Everything he'd recounted was insane enough as it was but the fact that it had happened only a state or two away from her… She balked at the thought that out of the entire freaking galaxy, the final showdown of Cybertron's Great War occurred within a day's drive from her house.
And she hadn't been aware of it at all.
"The news reported a tornado was responsible for the destruction…" she said, her voice raw. She'd come down with a miserable cold that day so she'd stayed home from school to nurse herself back to health with buckets of Benylin and chicken noodle soup. The television had been playing since she'd taken up semi-permanent residence on the couch and a good majority of channels prattled on about some natural disaster taking place near Mission City. It wasn't until the next day when there came reports about a massive category F-3 tornado—maybe even an F-4 as speculated by some—tearing Mission City's downtown asunder. The damage was so severe that even the military was assisting with relief efforts, giving reprieve to overwhelmed first responders.
She shook her head in disbelief. "My class had a fundraiser and everything."
"So did mine," Sam replied. "It's a bit scary isn't it? What can be covered up?"
They both looked at Bumblebee.
"Listen," Sam continued, "how about we move this somewhere less confining? There's a place we can go just outside of town."
Alex nodded even though she wasn't sure just where a sixteen foot alien wouldn't be noticed. But—seeing how Bee hummed in agreement—who was she to argue.
Sam motioned toward the house. "Good. I'll go grab my stuff and we can head out."
He left the two of them alone and silence descended over the garage.
Alex looked at Bee from under her lashes. There were so many things she had wanted to say to him over the time they were apart and now that she had the chance, she was drawing a blank.
It was strange. She never had trouble speaking her mind before around him. Then again, four years had passed and she wasn't the little kid he knew anymore.
"I'm so sorry about Jazz," she finally said. Sam's recount of the Lieutenant's death had cut deeply. "I know you two were close."
"Thank you." Bee's gaze dropped to the ground where his digit scratched at the thick mats covering the concrete. "I never mentioned this to you before but Jazz wasn't scared of death. Rather, it was the means of dying that worried him." He whirred, a sorrowful sound to her ears even though his face lifted in a smile. "He always joked that after all his years of service, it would be his luck to be scrapped in a ship explosion or turned to rust after getting marooned on a barren planet somewhere. He absolutely loathed the idea of a meaningless death and I think that's why he flung himself into every battle with the Cons that he could. Dying while fighting for his home, protecting those he cared about. Against Megatron no less… It's what he always wanted."
"It still doesn't lessen the pain."
"No," he sighed. "No it does not."
There was another moment of silence between them, their thoughts lingering on the fallen. Even though she'd never met Jazz, the picture Bee had painted of him in his stories made her feel as if she knew him on a personal level.
She tensed at Bee's next statement.
"My deepest sympathies for your mother."
Silently chastised herself for being caught off guard, she gave him a tight smile. Of course he knew about what happened to her mom. Sam would have told him. After all, it was the reason she was in Southgate in the first place. Her throat felt tight. "Thanks," she whispered.
She was about to say more—something sentimental about her mom just as he had with Jazz—but then a blush heated her cheeks and her eyes grew wide as she remembered.
Bee was already apologizing as he caught the change in her expression. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to spy on you that day."
Her first day.
When she'd sought privacy in the garage. Only it hadn't been as private as she thought.
"Seeing you like that, mourning your loss,"—he whirred softly—"I wish I could have done something to comfort you… somehow." His shoulders slumped. "But I wasn't even sure it was you then. Not until I saw your scars…"
At their mention, she automatically reached for a long sleeve to pull at, even though this morning she'd chosen a t-shirt. After all, the plan had been to remain in bed for the day. Not to go outside and definitely not to have a surprise reunion with Bumblebee.
"That's alright, no harm done." She dismissed it as if it were nothing, even though her cheeks still burned. "Pretty sure I was going to cry that day anyway so I guess I'd rather it have been around you than a bunch of Judy and Ron's friends." At least she knew Bumblebee wouldn't whisper behind her back about how much harder it would be for her given her situation.
Alex motioned toward the door. "Sam's going to be back soon. I should probably get ready as well before we go." Her clothes were heavily creased from wearing them overnight and even though she had yet to look in a mirror, she knew her face was a smudged mess from yesterday's makeup she hadn't bothered to remove. Besides, maybe gussying herself up a bit would make her feel a little more… prepared.
Without waiting for an answer she turned to leave.
"Alex."
She stopped, suppressing a grimace at the concerned tone of his voice.
Please don't let him know.
The air in the garage shifted ever so subtly as Bee changed his position again, moving closer to her. For someone so large, he was surprisingly quiet.
Try as she might, she couldn't stop looking up into his eyes. Their brilliant color was piercing, as if he could see through her flesh and into her very soul; past the many barricades she'd built up over the years. Alex felt herself crumpling inward.
He knew.
"Yes?" she asked as nonchalantly as possible.
"Why didn't you tell me our visits were hurting you?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Your health. Your education. Sam said they were suffering because of—"
"Sam tends to overreact," she said.
"But—"
"Bee, it's fine." She forced another smile. "You don't have to worry because there's nothing to worry about. So yes, maybe I went through a few rough patches here and there but everyone my age does. Trust me, it had nothing to do with you. The time we spent together was amazing. Every. Single. Night. And if I had the choice, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat."
The tiny electrical parts composing the blue of his eyes rotated—clockwise, counterclockwise, and back—as he stared at her. The expression he bore was familiar; he wasn't sure he believed her.
She went to him and touched his face again gently, still marveling how it was even possible. "I promise."
Finally he nodded, "Alright."
She opened the door only to pause and look back as a horrible thought entered her mind.
"Don't worry," Bumblebee reassured her as if she'd voiced the thought out loud. "I'll still be here when you return. I'm not going anywhere."
0-0-0-0-0
True to his word, Bee was waiting for her when she exited the house. Alex slowed to a halt, head angling up, as she took in the scene before her.
Bee stood at his full height by the open mouth of the garage, chatting up a storm with Sam who lounged by his feet. The size of Cybertronians had never failed to impress her all those years ago but even now—after putting on half a foot herself—the sight of him dwarfing everything in the yard was certainly something to behold.
Her heart responded by fluttering about in her chest like a trapped butterfly even though she was armed with a fresh face, new outfit and more self assurance than she'd had just twenty minutes ago. Everything was still so surreal—knowing he was this close—that she fully expected to wake at any moment and find herself staring up at the ceiling from her bed.
She shuddered at the thought. If that happened, it just might be the thing that finally broke her.
An amused electronic trill startled her and she quickly dropped her gaze, realizing she'd been caught staring.
Sam—following Bee's line of sight—drew further attention to her awkwardness by asking, "How long have you been standing there?"
Thanks for that, Sammie. "Not long," she muttered as she crossed the yard to his side. Bee loomed even further overhead.
"We should get going," she said, clutching the strap of her purse tighter.
"Yeah, we should," Sam echoed. "Bee?"
Bee nodded to the unspoken request and stepped back, allowing himself some room.
Now, in all honesty, Alex really hadn't given the whole Camaro thing much thought beyond the initial shock that Bee's armor plating shared the resemblance with Sam's car. And, even though Sam had literally confirmed Bee was his car, she still hadn't made the connection of how it was even possible. But now—as a rapid series of low pitched pulses sounded from within the Autobot—she realized there was nothing that could have been said to prepare her for what happened next.
Alex's mouth dropped open as Bee's body began to change before her eyes. His chest split and pushed upward as the plates on his helm swept back and his head disappeared behind what was rapidly becoming the hood of the car. The greys of his body became hidden by yellow and black as his torso contracted, bending forward, his limbs folding in on themselves and panels sliding down into their place. Within a span of a few seconds, her friend was gone and sitting in his place was the pristine Camaro.
Sam, obviously unaffected by the mind boggling scene, hopped into the driver's seat without a moment's hesitation. It was only when the passenger door swung open in invitation did Alex find her footing and approach and—when Sam gestured at her—to climb in.
The door shut and the seat belt clipped into place all on their own accord. "How…?" she breathed as the engine rumbled to life with an empty ignition. Even when they pulled out of the driveway—Sam not having lifted a single finger to make that happen—she noticed the usual jostling of a car ride was heavily subdued, almost as if they were just skimming the road. Only the gentle pull of inertia and the passing scenery gave away they were moving.
With a sickening feeling, Alex realized the bumps and shakes she'd felt on prior trips as well as Sam's "driving" had all just been a ruse.
One played for her…
Sam, noticing her still awestruck expression, cocked a brow. "Did you not know they could do this?"
She shook her head, while trying to maintain a stiff posture in the seat. How did one properly sit in a Cybertronian anyway?
"Um… no…"
The radio clicked to life and she jumped as Bee's voice floated through the speakers.
"If I gave away all of our secrets, we wouldn't be robots in disguise, now would we?" He chuckled in reply to Sam's question and then, continuing with an amused tone, said to her, "You can relax, Angel. It's just like being in an ordinary car."
Except that it's you… "Are you sure?" she asked, even as she sank a little into the seat at his insistence.
"Positive."
Her fingers rested lightly on the leather beneath her, making small circles against its softness. "So, can you feel us… er… sitting here?"
"Yes. And I can feel what you're doing with your hand right now."
Her movements stilled. The touch had just barely grazed him so it was surprising how sensitive he was. "And we aren't hurting you?"
"Not at all."
Curiosity was rapidly replacing her shock. Her hand moved up to the door. "Are you able to feel this?" She drew a long line across the trim where the leather gave way to molded plastic.
"Yes."
"And what about this?" She pressed her index finger against the window, noticing how she didn't leave behind a print.
"Can you stop feeling up my car?"
Sam's comment made her snatch her hand away, her cheeks burning. The followup glare she threw at him only made the idiotic grin on his face grow wider. "I'm not." She huffed. "I'm just… curious. Why, weren't you?"
"Of course I was, but when I first found out Bee was… well… Bee, things were moving pretty fast in the rush to get to the Cube. Never really had much time to think about it then and when things did settle down, everything just seemed normal by that point."
Alex looked around the interior. Nothing about this was normal…
"Feel free to ask your questions, Angel," Bee said, obviously recalling how she grilled him endlessly during their time together. "I don't mind."
Why does it feel so strange being around you right now? She sighed inwardly, shoving the thought aside and instead asked, "Is everything in here a part of you?"
"Pretty much."
She picked something at random. "Are the floor mats you?"
"Yep," Bee replied. "You wouldn't be able to remove them if you tried."
Now it was Sam's turn to look surprised. "Really?" He lifted up a foot. "Huh, I guess they are really clean to just be floor mats."
The air freshener and disco ball dangling below the rearview mirror caught her attention. She pointed at them. "And those?"
"Not me."
Sam held up his hands as she looked his way. "He already had those when I met him."
"They're momentos," Bee explained.
"Of what?" she asked.
"My arrival on Earth. I landed in a backwoods part of Virginia and the first structure I came across was a roadside kiosk selling tourist trinkets. The disco ball caught my attention and—considering I would probably be their most far-traveled visitor ever—I acquired it."
She quirked a brow. "When you say acquired…"
"No way." Sam laughed, obviously never having heard the story before. "I can't believe that's a hot disco ball."
"He means stolen," Alex clarified at Bee's questioning whir.
"Ah, well I was still figuring out the currency at the time." Bee defended himself. "But yes, technically it would have been considered stolen, at least for the year it took for me to travel to the west coast and back."
"Wait, you returned to the kiosk just so you could pay?" Sam asked.
"And to see what became of my landing site, which actually was my first introduction to Sector Seven." Bee replied with a huff. "Anyway, I stopped by to drop off a fifty dollar bill I'd found in Louisiana and to my surprise, there was the bumblebee air freshener. Of course I had to have it too but this time, it was fully paid for."
"The clerk didn't have a problem with a giant alien swinging by his shop?"
"He was asleep both times; the empty liquor bottles next to him probably had something to do with it," Bee explained before humming in thought. "Although, he did have a couple of Area-51 items on my second trip around so maybe he wasn't as unconscious as I had initially thought."
As Sam chuckled Alex remained quiet, dwelling on what had just been said.
'...the year it took for me to travel to the west coast and back…'
"Is that how long you've been on Earth?" she asked, keeping a light tone even though bitterness fought to taint the words. "One year?"
There was a brief pause before Bee replied, "Ah, two, actually."
"And a couple months," Sam piped up.
"And a couple of months…" Bee echoed, the subtle change in his tone not going unnoticed by her.
Over two years— Her throat felt tight as she did the math, piecing together the timeline. He had been here all along and yet—
"There's Mikaela!" Sam interrupted her train of thought. Alex looked out the windshield to see Sam's girlfriend waving at them from the entrance of a gated parking lot. The store attached to it had Mike's Custom Cycles printed across its front in big red flaming letters.
Sam leapt out of Bumblebee the moment they stopped and greeted her with a quick kiss before giving her casted arm a thorough once over. Mikaela appeared to brush off his fussing with a roll of her eyes but the smile she wore gave away that she appreciated the concern.
Alex withheld another sigh as her fingers ghosted over her own injury, the stiff plastic threads poking against her skin. Try as she might, she couldn't deny the hard fact that if there hadn't been the accident, she would still be in the dark about Bumblebee's presence right under her very nose.
"Does your head hurt?"
Bee's question made her startle even though she definitely hadn't forgotten where she was currently sitting. "Yes, a bit," she confirmed, figuring it wouldn't do any good to say otherwise as he would see right through her words. "It's not as bad as it was though." And it's not just my head that hurts, she added silently.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," he said. A low hum vibrated through the interior. "I was worried about you."
"There's no need to worry, Bee. I really am okay," she said, placing her hands on her lap. The white scars on her forearm stood out against the surrounding skin, which the strong California sun had started to tint a warm honey color. She focused on the one curving across her wrist; the one she'd first matched to the wall of symbols Optimus challenged her with. "Besides, I've survived worse."
"I know…"
Alex nibbled on her bottom lip as a question she'd been dwelling on threatened to bubble over. Don't do it, the little voice in her head returned. Don't do it. There's probably a good explanation so just let it be— "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"In all of the time you've been on Earth, did you—"
"Hey! Sorry that we took so long." Sam apologized, holding open the door for Mikaela who slid into the back.
Realizing her question would have to wait for another time—or maybe not be asked at all—Alex fell quiet in her seat.
Mikaela leaned forward over the center console and flashed a dazzling smile at the dash. "Good morning, Bee."
"Morning, Mikaela. How's the arm?" Bee asked.
"Missing a couple of signatures," she replied, holding up her cast, which already had a few names scribbled over the plaster. "How's the side?"
"Never better."
Sam jumped in and as Bumblebee peeled out onto the road, Mikaela turned a slightly subdued but still kind smile toward Alex.
"I'm glad they finally told you," she said. "It didn't feel right pretending like that."
"We didn't really have a choice at the time." Sam pointed out. "Hell, even given the situation now, we're still going to be in the doghouse with Mathews."
"Who's Mathews?" Alex asked.
"An armed forces corporal stationed in the house next door," Bee explained. "She and I were assigned surveillance duty over the Witwicky household just in case there was Decepticon retaliation."
"Yeah but now the government isn't too worried about that anymore so Bee's being shipped to some island half-way around the world."
Feeling as if she'd been punched in the gut, Alex exclaimed, "Wait, you're leaving?"
"You know, there was a tactful way of letting her know about the transfer, Sam," Mikaela huffed with annoyance. "And that wasn't it."
"Hey, I thought we were done dancing around the truth," he replied, tossing a challenging look her way. "And we're talking days left. Now really is as good of a time as any and sugar coating it isn't going to change the fact that it fucking blows."
When his little outburst was met with dead silence, he pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled loudly . "Alright, so maybe I'm holding onto a little more anger about this than I thought."
"We're all upset about it," Mikaela said, earning a confirmatory hum from Bee. "But we decided to deal with it the best we could. And who knows, maybe things will change. Maybe Bee won't have to go to Diego Garcia. I mean, the whole reason he was going was that they were worried Alex would find out about him. Not that they had much to worry about in the first place considering she already knew him."
Alex cast a critical look Sam's way. Obviously the information he was privy to that morning regarding her stasis visits had been passed onto Mikaela. But even though she wanted to, she couldn't really fault him for it, considering it was natural that Mikaela would want to know why Bee revealed himself.
"We'll see what happens," Bee said. "I've already updated Optimus about the turn of events but he hasn't gotten back to me yet."
"I take that as a positive," Mikaela replied, settling back into her seat, the grin on her face wide and confident. "It means they don't have an answer yet, which implies it's up for discussion."
Bee chuckled. "If only everyone had your optimism, Mikaela, the universe would be a much brighter place."
0-0-0-0-0
After a good hour's drive from the city, they arrived at a clearing nestled deep within the Angeles National Forest. The sunny area they came to a stop in was beautiful and lush, speckled with bright wildflowers amid long sweeping grasses that banked dirt trails weaving throughout the growth in no particular pattern.
As Alex looked around—noting the carefully placed logs, rope, and metal sheets obviously added by busy hands—she couldn't help but wonder how many days the three of them had spent together in their slice of sanctuary from the outside world.
Probably a lot... she thought, given the plethora of evidence around her.
"Impressive, huh?" Sam boasted, gesturing grandly at the sprawling course on his exit from the Camaro.
"Very," Alex replied, Mikaela and her joining him. Sam continued, lapsing into a verbal tour—obviously proud of the work they'd done—but Alex's attention was torn away by the sound of Bumblebee transforming back into the form she was familiar with. She stared up at him, knowing her expression blatantly reflected the amazement she felt. "I'm never going to get used to that."
"You should see them do it when they're in motion," Mikaela perched on a large nearby boulder, scored with chalky Tic-Tac-Toe and Hangman drawings. "There was this one time when Hide used his cannons to propel himself into a front flip during Mission City. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen."
"Yeah, he's pretty nimble for a big guy," Sam added, earning a chuckle from Bee.
Alex assumed they were referring to Ironhide. He had come up in several conversations with Bee before and from the way Bee described the weapon's specialist—a massive imposing force in both build and character—she couldn't picture the scene Mikaela described.
Actually, she couldn't picture a Cybertronian in general doing aerial flips with ease.
The strange feeling she'd had earlier returned as Mikaela and Sam listed off several other transformation feats they'd witnessed in their time with the Autobots.
"So… is Ironhide a car too?" she asked.
"Nope." Sam shook his head. "Big black truck."
"GMC TopKick to be more precise," Mikaela said, holding up fingers as she listed off the rest. "Ratchet chose a search and rescue Hummer H2 as his alt form and Optimus a Peterbilt 379 transport." She gave a melancholy smile Bee's way. "And Jazz was a silver Pontiac Solstice."
Itching to know but hating herself for putting the two in the same conversation, Alex asked, "And what about Megatron? Was he a police car or something?"
"No," Sam snorted, "That asshole award goes to Barricade. Megatron was some kind of fighter jet." He looked to Mikaela for answers but she shrugged.
"His alt-mode was a Cybertronian interstellar jet, C-81 class. The only of its kind actually," Bee said. "And even though Megatron wasn't a triple-changer—a bot with programming for two alt-modes—he did have the ability to adopt a form similar to a Cybertronian heavy artillery tank for ground-to-ground assaults."
Sam shivered beside her, receiving a worried look from the three of them.
"You okay?" Mikaela reached out her hand toward him, which he took, letting her pull him onto the boulder with her.
"Yeah, I just—" he grimaced, the muscles in his neck tensing—"I can still hear his voice. Calling me 'boy'," Sam practically spat. He paused, his gaze wandering over to the trees where colorful cans dangled from their branches like low hanging fruit. "You know, let's just talk about something else."
"You won't get an argument from me," Bee said, his attention fully on his distraught charge.
Way to go, Alex thought, her heart sinking. Sam obviously was still living through the aftermath of his confrontation with the Decepticon leader. Threatened with slavery. Almost falling to his death. Taking a life even though it meant others would keep theirs.
"You know," Mikalea directed a meaningful look at her, "how about we give you guys some time to catch up. Bee could show you around the place. Meanwhile "—she addressed Sam— "I believe the last time we were here, you wanted to challenge my position as the supreme leader of Connect Four." Her hand patted the stone beneath her.
The challenge worked to ease some of the worry lines from Sam's face and there was the beginning of a smirk on his lips.
"Oh you're going down," he promised, sliding off his seat to grab a small dusty colored rock at its base. Ten horizontal and vertical lines joined their fellows on one side of the boulder.
"Winner gets to decide what we watch on movie nights," she told Alex. "Last one was The Notebook, which"—she held up a finger as Sam groaned— "you both enjoyed."
"Yeah, but you want to see Elf next. It's not even December yet!" Sam laughed. "She's one of those Christmas nuts, Alex. She must be stopped."
"I've already gotten my Charlie Brown tree down from the attic."
Sam gestured wildly at Mikaela as if telling Alex 'see' before placing his first marking on the chalky white playing field.
Bee moved further into the course, motioning for Alex to follow him, but before she did, she caught Mikaela's gaze briefly and mouthed a simple but deeply profound thank you. She wasn't sure if it had been her expression or the tension radiating from Sam and Bee that spurred Mikaela to rapidly turn the conversation to a positive direction, but whatever it was, Alex wanted her to know she was appreciative for it all the same.
Mikaela smiled knowingly and then turned her attention to defending her coveted title.
0-0-0-0-0
The tour of the obstacle course ended in the shade of the forest at the base of a rocky outcrop leading deeper into the undergrowth. The surface was smooth and charcoal colored where they stopped, making it a perfect easel for more of the soft white sketches. The one highest up obviously was Bee's. Alex squinted at it.
"It's supposed to be Mojo," Bee said, catching the focus of her gaze and creased brow.
"Oh… Yes, of course," she replied as familiar heat started up her neck and only worsened at his chuckle.
"These aren't exactly the best materials to work with." Bee nudged one of the worn down drawing stones with the tip of his foot.
"I wasn't going to say anything," Alex replied, a teasing lit to her voice
Bee's smile was contagious. "What did you think it was?"
"A mouse… or maybe an elephant."
"Must be the ears."
"Must be," she echoed before picking up a stone of her own and writing out her name in bubbled letters on the rock face. Simplistic but at least it couldn't be warped into whatever ailed her other drawings.
"Sam mentioned you kept up with your art."
She hummed in confirmation, shading in the text. It wasn't too hard to guess what Bee was going to say next but it was hard to decipher if it was out of politeness or nostalgia.
"I would love to see some of your work."
The chalky rock hesitated its back and forth movement across the 'e'. Vacant faces skewered by twisting coils and landscapes suffocating under harsh black lines came to mind and Alex knew there was no way in hell she would ever let those pieces see the light of day. "I have one picture I can show you." She turned to Bee with a smile that she wished touched more than her lips. "It's of you, actually. Your car form."
He made a pleased sound and she made a mental note to do some touch-ups to it beforehand.
A moment of silence fell over them. Birds chirped in the surrounding trees and she added a few scattered stars around her name.
"Hey, Bee?"
"Hm?" She could feel his eyes on her.
"Why is Sam upset about your transfer?" Finished with her little project, she dropped the rock back to the earth and brushed her hands free of the grit it left behind. "I mean, you leaving is definitely something I don't even want to think about right now but… he seems really angry about it." A cold shiver went up her spine. Even though Sam had left out much of the detail regarding Bee's captivity at Hoover Dam, her imagination was doing an amazing job of filling in the blanks. "Is there something else going on? Are you in trouble?"
Bee picked up on the tremble in her voice and he sank down to one knee in front of her. "I'm not in any danger, Angel, if that's what worries you."
She nodded.
"Diego Garcia is simply the new operations site for N.E.S.T. I'll be with the other Autobots and the human soldiers we'll be working with have been good to us."
"So, Sam's angry because…?"
"He believes there's a lack of recognition for our part in stopping the Decepticons. He feels we're owed something, if not some time to recover from the losses we've endured over the years of fighting."
"You spoke to him about the war?"
"A fair amount, yes. After Mission City, when we were all restricted to the outpost in Nevada, I was limited to my bunk due to my injuries and Sam spent a lot of time at my side." Bee chuckled. "If you asked him, he would swear it was to keep me from dying of boredom but I'm pretty sure avoiding his mother played some part of it."
There it was again. The strange feeling that seemed to be forming a pit somewhere inside of her; only this time Alex was beginning to understand its source.
Bee continued. "I wasn't feeling the greatest at that time, as you can imagine. Having him there really helped and I think it benefited him as well. It also reminded me a lot of our stasis visits."
"But you never really brought up the war with me."
"And I'm glad I didn't. That wasn't what our time together was for."
He said it with such conviction that Alex knew this was as far as she would allow the conversation to go. Continuing down the path it was taking could expose her shallowness.
Mistaking her sullen expression as continued fretting over the Diego Garcia move, Bee stood. "I think we should stop thinking about the future for right now and just enjoy the present." His head slanted in the direction they had come. "If you want to head back, I have an idea you might like. We should also probably save Sam from Mikaela."
"Yeah, she seems pretty good at handling herself." Alex fell in pace beside Bee, several of her strides equaling one of his. "And my cousin isn't great at those games to begin with so he's likely getting creamed."
0-0-0-0-0
Alex smoothed a few wayward strays of hair back into place as her heart still raced in her chest. They had spent the majority of the day participating in the thrills of the obstacle course and that meant a good chunk of time in Bee's alt form as he raced, jumped and swerved about the playing field with a speed that had Alex squealing in the driver's seat. Whatever dampeners were used during the ride over had certainly been turned off for the number Bee did on the track as every spin, lift and drop had her stomach doing happy little somersaults.
Now, as the bright afternoon light crept into the longer rays of the early evening and with the growing gnaws of hunger pains in the teenagers, the group elected to head on home to the Witwicky residence in search of free sustinence.
"I just don't get it…"
Alex grinned from her place in the back, catching the disbelief on Sam's face in the rearview mirror.
"No one is that good at Connect Four and Battleship."
"And Tic-Tac-Toe," Mikaela piped up, chin in the air as she directed a very satisfied and cheeky smile at her boyfriend.
He sighed wistfully. "I'm never going to be able to show you the greatness that is Billy Madison."
"I think I saw all I needed to within the first five minutes of that movie before I turned it off," Mikaela replied. "But tell you what. If you splurge for Chinese food from that place I like on East Avenue, we can watch your boy crush go back to school."
"I don't have a boy crush."
"You totally have a boy crush," Alex and Mikaela said simultaneously followed by a lapse of giggles and Mikaela beating Alex with a "jinx".
"You owe me a beer," Mikaela told her with a wink.
Alex leaned over the front seat and poked a finger in Sam's shoulder. "Does Uncle Ron still keep his beer in that Elvis mini-fridge in the basement?"
"Yes and I'm pretty sure he counts those things daily. The frequency seems to keep going up the closer I get to twenty-one."
She hummed in thought. "I haven't stolen liquor from a parent since I was fifteen but I'm pretty sure it's like riding a bicycle. Hope you like Pabst Blue Ribbon."
"Not my first choice but it'll do," Mikaela replied. "Get me one tonight?"
"Sure thing."
"Stop!" Sam yelped at the idea of one of his dad's precious craft beers mysteriously disappearing. "You're going to get me in trouble! My dad loves those damn things and I—I… you're fucking with me, aren't you?" He finally caught on, spying the barely concealed grins.
"Of course we are. You know I wouldn't do something like that," Alex said.
"Oh god," Sam leaned his head back and groaned loudly with dismay. "Don't tell me I'll now have both of you trying to get a rise out of me. Mikalea's already made it a favorite pastime of hers for whatever reason, I'll never understand."
"It's because you get all cute when you're flustered." Mikaela pinched his chin in her fingers and he half-heartedly brushed her hand away.
"Least I have Bee on my side," he grumbled.
An amused whir echoed about the interior. "I like to think I'm on everyone's side."
Mikaela laughed, giving the dash a pat. "How very diplomatic of you."
As Sam continued to mutter in his seat, Alex found herself wishing Bee's answer had been more favorable toward her. The corners of her mouth twitched up as the silly little thought danced about in her head like a tiny comforting flame. Technically, it made the most sense considering they'd known each other the longest.
But again, their time apart had changed things.
She leaned back in her seat and watched the buildings outside her window rush by. A variable mix of the familiar from older times and the unknown from the ever updating world.
How very poetic of you. She withheld a snort, noticing she was on the verge of making a similarity between the passing cityscape and her current situation. Next you'll be comparing yourself to an antique or some other stupid woe-is-me-metaphor.
Still… the day had been long and the past twenty-four hours had certainly left her drained so maybe there was a smidgen of validity to her inner ramblings. Especially as no average person could possibly process everything that had been flung her way within that time frame.
Just hopefully there wasn't anything else waiting for her in the immediate future.
Bee slowed, turning into the Witwicky driveway and as they rounded the bend to the backyard, two figures came into view.
Oh good… looks like I spoke too soon…
Her aunt stood on the back deck with a silvery-haired woman dressed in a tailored suit. While Judy wore a welcoming smile, the stranger's expression could only be described as stern disapproval.
Sam hissed out a breath. "Well… I guess our conversation with Mathews is going to be sooner than I'd hoped."
"She doesn't look very happy, does she?" Mikaela said.
So that's Mathews...
The three piled out of Bee as he came to a stop and they all stood there awkwardly under the scrutinizing gaze of the Corporal.
Judy was the first to speak.
"I'm so glad to see you all getting out of the house." She planted a quick peck on Sam's reddened cheek and then swept Alex and then Mikaela up into a tight hug. "After yesterday, the sunlight and fresh air is especially important." She gingerly touched Mikaela's cast. "How is your arm, sweetheart? Remember, if you need anything at all…"
As Mikaela soaked up the motherly doting, Alex noticed Mathew's eyes were trained solely on her. She met them briefly but dropped her gaze after only a moment. There was no doubt they were in trouble. It was just a question of how much.
The sound of Bee transforming drew Mathew's attention and Alex could practically hear the woman's exasperation, almost as if the last nail had entered the coffin.
Judy flittered over the Bee, completely at ease in his presence. "Oh honey, that crash was absolutely horrid! I'm so sorry you went through that. Are you feeling alright?"
Alex couldn't help but gape as her aunt fussed over the alien robot. Did… did she just use a name of endearment with Bee?
Strange couldn't even begin to describe the feeling it gave her. After all, Sam and his parents were literal carbon copies of each other when it came to overblown reactions so seeing Judy cooing over a scuffed area on Bee's leg like she would a child with a skinned knee…
I wonder if Ron is like this—wait— Alex halted any further musings about her uncle as her eye twitched hard enough to where she was surprised no one noticed.
Mathews cleared her throat, commanding everyone's attention. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Witwicky, but I really must address some pressing matters with Bumblebee and the children."
"Oh, yes of course." Judy fluttered her fingers in a wave, starting off down the long driveway. "I'll go pick up some milk from the corner store while you have your little meeting and then we can all have a pot of tea and the lasagna I made yesterday."
"That really isn't necessary, Mrs. Wit—" Mathews stopped as Judy was already gone, happily off in her own little world at the thought of a casual dinner gathering.
"Your mother is always trying to feed me…" she mumbled to Sam, who had joined her side. He merely shrugged.
"Yeah… and one of these days, you're going to have to accept."
"That's really not my purpose for—I mean—I can't be preoccupied when—" She huffed and rubbed at a temple. "We're getting off track here." One finger pointedly jabbed in the direction of the garage. "Okay, as this pertains to everyone here and as I assume Bumblebee wishes to be present as he is—I'm correct in that, yes?"
"This form is as good as any," he replied.
"Right, then let's move this inside before something else happens and we have another incident like what happened with the pizza delivery person."
Mikalea leaned in to Alex. "It wasn't that big of a deal when he saw Bee," she whispered through a smile. "He was really high."
This earned her a scathing look from Mathews, who pointed again. "Garage. Now."
With an expression as if she were trying to herd a bunch of cats, Mathews ushered the four forward. Sam brushed close to Alex as he passed and she felt him press something into her hand as he did.
"I'm sorry," he said in a hushed tone and Alex recognized the cylindrical form of her pill bottle. She quickly palmed it and glanced in the direction of the others.
Thankfully, no one noticed the exchange.
"You know…" Her steps slowed and then halted. "I'm actually going to go to my room for a bit. My head is starting to hurt. But don't worry"—she added hastily as Bee turned to her with concern etched across his face—"it's just a bit of a headache, I"ll be fine. I just need some rest…"
"Ms. Taylor, this greatly concerns you as well," Mathews said.
"And I understand but just… not… right now." Alex fumbled through her excuse, leaving behind several confused expressions as she deviated to the back door of the house.
She was a few steps inside when Mathews caught up to her.
"Ms. Taylor, a moment."
Alex swallowed her immediate response to demand the other woman just leave her be and instead opted for what she hoped was a fairly nonchalant expression.
"Please, I'm really tired—"
"This won't take long." Mathews said before launching into a well rehearsed script of what Alex could only tell was some type of legal jargon.
"—and I have received a security indoctrination concerning the nature and protection of classified information, including the procedures to be followed in asserting whether—"
"Hold on," Alex pleaded, stopping the confusing speal. "I'm not going to remember any of this."
Mathews grumbled, "I knew I should have brought over the video," and then heaved a sigh and looked Alex over as if she were trying to figure out what to do with her.
They stared at each other.
"..."
"..."
"... I don't see what the big deal is," Alex mumbled.
"Big dea— you have an alien in your backyard."
"I know."
"And I know you know." Mathews leaned in close. "What I don't want is for other people to know."
"I can keep a secret."
"This isn't merely a secret, Ms. Taylor—"
"Alex."
Mathews harrumphed. "This isn't just a secret. We are talking about an alien. First contact. What do you think would happen if the general public found out?" She held up a finger cutting off Alex's initial reply, "And remember, we're talking about the same people who still think the Earth is flat and only two thousand years old."
"Yeah, but not everyone is like that—"
"No," Mathews interrupted again, "but all it takes are a few individuals to create panic in a group and when people are scared, that little part of the brain that controls rational thought goes right out the window." She moved over to the screen door and tilted her head in the direction of the garage. "And every time someone finds out about something as big as our friend out there—both figuratively and literally—the risk of that happening increases exponentially."
It was almost insulting at what Mathews was implying. Alex had guarded her secrets about Bee and the Autobots from everyone—save for her mother that one time and a few medical professionals when she hadn't been in her right mind—and now some uppity military corporal she just met was acting as if she were some great threat. "It's not like part of a city got destroyed…" she muttered, only to draw Mathews in close again.
The other woman was quiet until Alex's gaze lifted to meet her piercing one. "Your point just reinforces the importance of what I'm trying to tell you. We're still hemorrhaging money and manpower trying to contain the events of MIssion City. We can't afford any more breaches in security right now."
"Well, you don't have to worry," Alex replied, her voice wavering just the slightest. "Your so-called 'risk' or whatever, is the same today as it was yesterday because I've known about Bee and the Autobots since I was twelve."
"So I've heard."
And there it was.
Her story had circled through military channels to end back where it started in less than a day. This time though, keeping silent wouldn't stop curious minds from information she didn't want them to know. This was the government after all, and privacy acts only extended so far. She swallowed hard. "What else have you heard about me?"
"Very little—" Mathews' gaze dropped to the hand that still clenched the medication bottle—"which is why I'm still worried."
"Can I please go now?" Alex whispered.
Mathews stared at her as if considering pressing the matter. Maybe it was Alex's plea or maybe she remembered there were others waiting for, but whatever it was, she finally relented with a nod.
"Have a pleasant day, Ms. Taylor."
Alex couldn't get out of there fast enough.
The door practically slammed behind her as she took refuge in the upstairs bathroom, which just happened to be in the further part of the house away from the garage and thus, away from the corporal.
The pill bottle was still digging into her palm and she looked at its label for a long time.
Lorazepam.
"It will help her anxiety," the voice of Dr. Benson whispered from her memories. "Help to engage her in real, meaningful relationships."
She set the bottle on the vanity and retrieved four more from the medicine cabinet, lining them up together in a neat little row. Each one a gift from her physicians to help her fight against the symptoms of schizophrenia; an illness that everyone claimed she had, over and over...
Pills to stop her so-called hallucinations.
Pills to help her fit in.
Pills to make her forget…
She grabbed the bottles and lunged at the toilet, her hands shaking as she ripped off their safety caps and dumped the contents into the cold water of the bowl; the tablets and capsules creating little swirls of color where they began to dissolve. A few wayward ones clinked against the rim and fell to the floor and she fumbled for them with numb fingers to throw them into their grave with the rest.
Hatred burned in her chest. All of the appointments, the treatments, the hours and hours of pain…
A snarl tore from her throat as the last cap wouldn't release even though she twisted it with enough force to hear a crack in the plastic, and she threw it at the wall with a yell. The bottle broke open, pills flying about the bathroom in all directions.
Alex stumbled back, connecting with the shower door behind her and she crumpled to the ground in a mess of tears.
0-0-0-0-0
A/N: I am beyond sorry for the massive delay in updating this story. I'll admit I was pulled away from Transformers by other things I adore; WoW Shadowlands, Skyrim, and the Mass Effect Remaster to name a few. The Covid era also upped my stress and fatigue to the point I just couldn't concentrate enough to be productive in certain areas, such as writing, and I'm sure many, if not all of you, have been through the same. I can't express how much love I have for all of my readers and I sincerely hope everyone continues to enjoy Awake. Thank you kindly and stay safe out there.