Hello Dear Readers! Sorry it took so long to get this one out, but I hope the chapter length is to your liking!
A big shout out to my wonderful reviewers; KayleeChiara, Akari. Wolf. Princess, and Geek By Nature. Thank you so much for sticking with me in this story!
Chapter 50
Seven years ago
56 surveyed the building in front of her through the bushes. It was a two-story stone mansion with an open paved courtyard. She and 55 were waiting among the plants that grew wild at the edges of the property. Next to them was a pathway that led to the staircase which descended to the property. In the agent's mind, having a staircase just to get to one's driveway was overkill.
There were several options for sneaking in. To the right was a four-car garage that led into the house. Getting in through there would be easy with a copied garage door opener. People seldom alarmed or even locked the door leading to their garage. However, the lights in the hall leading there were on and a shadow moved about. She guessed the broom closet she saw on the blueprints was used as a resting place for security guards. Since the pair was to avoid a fight, they'd have to find another way in.
The courtyard had four cameras, all focusing on the front windows and entrance. They could go past the cameras and use masking technology to hide their faces, but security would still be alerted to their presence.
If they went around back, only two cameras were pointing towards the back door opening. The second story landing seemed to be unsecured. Deciding that was their best bet, 56 signaled her sister to follow. 56 would get them in, while 55 would complete the job. That's what made them a good team.
Between the back of the mansion and the bushes was an open green space. No schematics showed any cameras pointing there but they could be seen by security guards, or worse, the three dogs that supposedly prowled the exterior at night.
Seeing no shining flashlight or the glimmering eyes of four-legged predators, 56 made a run for it, rushing around the house to the cabana at the edge of the lawn. There, she was able to see the entire back deck of the house, about 2000 square feet of it. Steam rolled around the pool, aglow thanks to underwater lights. The air there was humid and warm compared to the fall weather around them. Past the pool was the house with ten windows visible on the lower floor. All the lights there appeared to be out and 56 couldn't see any flashlights. Above the center entrance was the second-story patio.
They would be spotted through the cameras if they climbed up from below. They'd have to use the trellising rose bushes at the edge of the house and come over on the roof. Luckily the patio furniture gave better cover as the team made a break for the plants.
The white trellis was made of thick wood, plenty strong enough for two teenagers. 56 paused, staring at the climb before her. Her stomach started churning as the sensation of falling tickled at the back of her mind.
A tight but comforting grip squeezed her shoulder. For the first time in hours, 55 spoke. "I'm right behind you. I'll never let you fall." Her voice was huskier than 56's. It held confidence enough for them both.
Without any more hesitation, 56 climbed quickly. The thick gloves she wore protected her from the roses' thorns, but she still had to be careful not to get her clothes caught. Too much noise would give them away. From what 56 could extrapolate, it would take them six minutes to get from the target room to their escape ride. They were timed and ready for that. The pair could evade any security measures for at least ten. If they got caught early, it would leave them only four minutes to break in and kill the kid.
He wasn't much younger than they were, but fourteen was young in 56's mind. The assassins weren't told why someone would want the child dead. The reason could be retribution for the client, a maddened mother angered by losing custody of the child, or a simple lunatic with enough money and the right connections. His father was in the House of Lords so the reason could be political. The 'why' didn't matter and 56 did her best to block out any feelings of guilt over their actions. Just get the job done and get back alive.
The roof of the old home was steeply slanted, but the pair managed to hang on. Stone shingles gave them extra grip as they made their way to the landing. When they reached it, 55 held 56 by the arms and carefully lowered her down before dropping her the last three feet. 56 quickly evaluated her surroundings.
The patio was small, fitting two wrought iron chairs and a glass center table. To the left were a glass wine room and a door. The right side had the double doors that led to the target's room. Seeing no threats, 56 raised her arms to catch her twin as she jumped down.
Going to the door on the right, 56 pulled out her lockpicking kit. It only took her a few seconds to unlock it. 55 ran a radio-looking device around the edges of the door. When she reached the top corner it beeped, meaning the signal from the security alarm was blocked for thirty seconds. They opened the door and hurried in before gently closing it behind them.
The interior of the house was entirely different from the outside. The walls were bright white, in the night with the only light being the glow from the pool below. Shiny black artwork adorned the walls every few feet or sat on marble pedestals. 56 thought it looked futuristic.
The first door on the right of the hallway was what would lead to the target's room. 56 didn't know his name and never wanted to. She would stand guard outside while 55 finished the job. 56 was ready to fight off any guards that came their way to protect her sister.
55 tested the door handle and found it unlocked. Both girls saw no lights were coming from under the door. The boy was likely asleep, but even if he wasn't, it was too late for help to come should he scream. They were right on schedule.
55 gave her sister a long look. It was one they shared nearly every day. It spoke of trust, sympathy, regret, fear, and love. 56 nodded and focused on the hallway. She didn't want to accidentally catch a glimpse of the kid.
Silently, 55 slipped into the room and clicked the door closed. There would be less for 56 to hear that way. The silence screamed in the latter's ears. She wasn't frail. 56 was physically capable of killing, quite easily in fact. She had a mind for strategy and was even stronger than her twin. 55 claimed only one of them should have to dirty their hands. It was her way of protecting her sister. 56, being of weaker will, allowed 55 to coddle her. The guilt she felt was immense, but she was too scared of breaking the fragile cycle they had formed.
A low growl alerted 56 to danger. The dogs were close. But they'd been told the animals wouldn't come inside until sunrise. Pulling out her gun, she surveyed the hall and patio behind her. Nothing.
A series of barks sounded on the other side of the target's door, followed by a scream.
56 burst through the door and took in the massive bedroom. It was nearly pitch dark but she saw a king-size bed with a young boy curled up, blanket held protectively over his face. At the foot of the bed was a flash of fur, fangs, and a struggling body. Two dogs were pulling and shaking 55's arm and leg in their jaws while a third barked murderously at her face. 55 holstered her gun, unable to use it so close to her sister, and pulled out a baton. Without hesitating she jumped into the fray, beating at the canine's heads and shoving her weapon into one's open mouth to pry her sister away.
With the bloodied arm free, 55 grabbed her dropped gun and shot the dog holding her leg. The other two dogs jumped back in a moment of fear. Their wide eyes quickly narrowed as they growled warnings of another attack.
56 grabbed her sister by the uninjured arm and dragged her away to the exit. Pursued by the dogs, the agent managed to shove the door closed and dropped to her knees to catch her breath.
"We have to finish the job." 55 wheezed, already inspecting her wounds. Blood gushed from the punctures, shining in what little light they had.
56 looked at the door, imagining the boy on the other side. A bullet would be quick. With him hiding under a blanket she wouldn't even see his face. It would be easy, a couple of shots straight at the door would take out the dogs and give her free reign over the other human life.
But she couldn't.
"You can barely walk. Our timeline has moved; we have to go now." She argued, already swinging her sister's arm over her shoulder. They'd have to make a straight shot for the escape car, cameras and security cars be damned.
55 pulled on her sister's collar to force eye contact. "Sis." She pleaded.
Tears welled up in 56's eyes. "I can't." she choked out and looked away.
"Ok." 56 didn't glance at her sister when she said that. She couldn't. The thick emotion in her voice was already too much.
The teenager helped her sister to the landing. She'd have to drop the other off the side. When she did so, the blood made her grip slippery. She grabbed her sister's collar, nearly choking her as she tried to lower her carefully. When she did let go, 55 hit the ground hard. Footsteps warned 56 of the guards on her heels. Pushing aside her churning gut, she hopped over the railing and managed to distribute the force when landing. After the half-second of shock passed, she got to her feet and forced her sister to her feet. She practically carried her across the green space to their rendezvous point. Behind the pair was an ensemble of barking and shouting. Flashlights surveyed the property but never touched their backs.
The car was exactly where they expected. They jumped in and the Monitor assigned to them made their escape.
The agents fought for air, holding onto each other as they kneeled on the floor of the SUV. The knowledge of failure and fear of retribution hung in the air between them.
"Our-" 55 coughed, "our punishment will be severe this time."
56 pulled out a medical kit and got to work stopping her sister's bleeding. "It was my call. You shouldn't have to pay for that."
"Hey now," her twin argued back, "we're a package deal. That's how it is."
Gritting her teeth, 56 tightened the bandage, shock ran through her as if she were feeling to same pain as her sister. 55 was already injured, that was more than enough punishment. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
Still panting, 55 rested her forehead against 56's. "I'm not. It was my job to take out the target, you just needed to protect me, which you did. I'll stand by your decision, no matter what."
Hot tears streamed down the young agent's cheek. "I know."
Ratchet jumped at the emergency alert flashing on his HUD. It was coming from his sequencing equipment. When he whipped around, his optics were greeted by Que frantically pressing buttons, muttering, "Wrong one wrong one" to himself. So, not an emergency.
Standing from his seat, the medic's joints protested with rough grinding. It was coming to the point where his hip and shoulders would need replacement. Too bad that would have to wait. Ratchet would struggle to do the operation himself and no one else was trained for such a procedure. Besides, with the scarcity of Cybertanium, he would be forced to use inferior metals. The process for his nanites to convert the metals would put the medic's limbs out of commission for weeks. It wasn't a risk he could take when the Autobots only had one medic. Perhaps he should teach Que more about medical repairs, just in case.
Speaking of the scientist, Ratchet approached him to help shut off the racket. "Don't tell me you're going to make that explode too?" he asked, only half-serious.
"Oh, Ratchet!" Que chuckled nervously as he managed to reset the machine. "Don't worry, I've got it under control. Go back to recharge."
Ratchet hadn't meant to recharge in the first place. After pushing aside HUD alerts one too many times, his self-preservation systems took over. He wasn't a fan of recharging at his workstation, but onlining there certainly wasn't unfamiliar. "I'm already online, might as well do something useful." He stated, inspecting the sequencer and shutting off the alarm.
"Oh, in that case, the sample's done!" Que pointed at a screen showing lines of energon coding.
"About time." Ratchet grumbled and read the data.
The energon had been collected from Specialist Erin's wrist mount. Initial tests proved it was, in fact, energon. But Ratchet wanted to know its exact nature to gleam what method the All Spark used to produce it inside of a human body.
The results were confusing. There was CNA present as if it was pulled from a Cybertronian's lines. Specifically, CNA from multiple sources. He knew instantly it didn't belong to Sideswipe, though that would have been his first guess, considering their previous incident with his energon.
Ratchet mulled through his log of Cybertronian genetics. He had a record of every mech he'd ever treated, along with those gathered from fellow medics long past. A portion of the genetic material yielded three matches, one of which shouldn't be possible.
"I'm comming Prime." He stated, earning a confused glance from Que.
Prowl scanned through his datapad. It was mirrored to Agent 56's device. She hadn't used it much recently, only drawing one picture of an avian that was native to the island and creating a list in a document. The total time spent on the device in the past two cycles was fifteen breems. After checking the image for any hidden messages which she could send out, he moved on to the list. As he was scrutinizing it, Jazz entered his office.
"Hey Prowler, I'm here for your regular reminder to refuel." The mech chirped, vocalizations light and casual.
"My HUD already tells me that." Prowl replies dryly, not that saying such would ever dissuade his companion.
"And you ignore your HUD." The small mech argued back. "But I'm too charming to snub."
Despite the interruption, Prowl was comforted by his friend's recovery. He also felt a sort of sick satisfaction that Erin Brook was the one to befall Jazz's previous fate.
As usual, Prowl easily relented to Jazz's demands. "Fine, just give me one more moment."
The silver mech intended to accompany Prowl to the rec room, if only to make sure he refueled. So, Jazz sat on Prowl's desk to wait. "Whatcha looking at?" he asked, not seeming too concerned.
"56's datapad." Prowl replied. "This list she wrote is suspicious." He scrutinized it while running probabilities over whether any code was used. It didn't match any of her past communications with Division.
"Really?" Jazz asked with a surprised tone. Despite all evidence, the mech still trusted the human. He grabbed the datapad from Prowl's grasp, earning a twitch from the larger mech's wings. His faceplates were neutral as he looked over the screen. After a moment, his mouth set in a thin line and he read aloud, "Beachside, already done. Berthroom, wrong message. Rec room, nothing special, could be interrupted. Cove by running path, secluded but muddy." He looked back up to Prowl. "She's just trying to plan where to have her date with the twins."
"That… is very probable." Prowl admitted. Why hadn't he considered that? His processor should have picker it up.
"Not just probable, my mech. The kid and I talked it out yesterday. I know you like to pretend you don't like the femme," Jazz said, setting down the datapad, "but you gotta quit acting so paranoid. And her name is Erin, not 56."
"I don't see any faults with using caution. And I am not pretending to feel anything. My distrust of her is genuine." The mech reasoned. "There is a 73.45% probability she's going to betray us. I know Prime wants to believe she's trustworthy but the data says otherwise."
"The data only accounts for the values you put in." Jazz sighed. "Your processor is amazing and has kept us out of countless scrapes. But don't pretend it isn't influenced by your biases."
Prowl turned off the datapad but stayed seated. "That's why I'm looking for evidence to prove my calculations." He wished his friend would understand. Jazz was usually the one he depended on in such situations. When Prowl found a probability, it was the saboteur who always investigated to back up his friend.
"Come on, Prowler. Admit you just enjoy hunting for proof against the kid." The silver mech, though his tone was delicate, pointed an accusing digit at Prowl. "You were angry when you thought Adam was the spy because that would mean you lost the game."
"The security of the Autobots is not a game." Prowl replied evenly. Of course, he wasn't playing around. It seemed he was the only mech not participating in the femme's plot.
"You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me my mech." Jazz shook his helm. "I know you too well."
The SIC could see a circular argument when it presented itself. "Perhaps we should agree to disagree." He said lightly, to show there was no lingering frustration. Knowing he wouldn't get anywhere else, Prowl decided to get up from his seat and head to the door. "How about we get some fuel?"
"That's more like it!" the smaller mech jumped up from his seat and hurried past Prowl to open the door with a flourish. "After you."
The only sign of Prowl's amusement was the twitch of his door wings, which Jazz would notice. Still, he stepped out and found himself in front of Prime. The mech was heading down the hallway but paused in front of Prowl.
"Prowl, Jazz," the mech greeted with a nod, "Ratchet has news of Erin's condition. "Could you two accompany me to the med bay?"
Refueling would have to wait. Prowl didn't intend to miss any news regarding the All Spark. "Yes, sir."
Erin stretched her arm over her shoulders. The burn of her muscles was satisfying and the woman let out a sigh to show just how relaxed she was. As she felt a bump in Sunstreaker's gate, Erin immediately held back onto his shoulder with a death grip.
The mech, who was walking with Sideswipe next to him and Erin balanced on his broad shoulder, turned his helm to give Erin an amused smirk. "I've seen you fall from greater heights and land fine. What's so scary?"
"The falling part." She answered simply.
The mechs liked having her at eye level so she let them carry her around on rare occasions, but that didn't mean she was thrilled about the arrangement. She would have been perfectly fine running back to the Autobot hanger. Sure, she'd pushed herself hard during her workout, but the distance wasn't too far. However, Sunstreaker seemed all too happy to pick her up and Erin secretly reveled in him seeking contact with her.
Said 'bot hummed to himself, the grin still on his faceplates as he glanced forward. The mech had to be slow at turning his helm. If Erin was leaning in towards him, he could easily knock her off with his audio receptor.
"You can sit on my shoulder," Sideswipe offered, "I promise you won't fall." He gave her a sweet smile that was quickly shoved away by Sunstreaker's unoccupied arm.
"She's perfectly fine with me, fragger." The yellow mech huffed. He glanced around before rubbing Erin's leg with a digit. "Trust me?"
The woman felt herself blush at the gentle gesture. "Yes." She replied with complete honesty and- after checking for onlookers- kissed the mech's temple. She got a pleased rumble in response that vibrated her whole body.
She was motivated to do it again but noticed a human show up near the entrance to the hanger. "Looks like we aren't alone anymore." Erin said, not hiding her disappointment. While she was the one most insistent on keeping their relationship a secret- not wanting to create any kind of outrage among her fellow humans- she found it hard to keep things private at all time. It felt wrong limiting their relationship to a single room. If they weren't sequestered by the military, she'd tell anyone of rank to fuck off. Alas, the former spy had to play nice.
"What's he doing here?" Sideswipe muttered with uncharacteristic venom.
Erin looked back at the man and, to her surprise, recognized Franky. "What is he doing here?" she asked herself. "Sunstreaker, could you put me down?"
The mech was glaring at Franky but did as she requested.
Erin gave the pair questioning glances before looking back at the human, who awkwardly waved to her. She focused on the twins again. "What's wrong guys?"
"Nothing." Sideswipe blatantly lied.
Franky was far enough away that he likely wouldn't hear them so Erin pointed at the ground. "Get down here." She ordered. The twins, still staring at Franky, did as she told. Sunstreaker crouched while Sideswipe got on a knee, finally looking back at Erin. "Be honest," she gave them each a hard glare, "why are you bothered by him? He's just a friend." That was inaccurate, but calling the man an ally wouldn't make sense to the twins.
"Can't I just not like him?" Sideswipe asked with a quirk of his lip plates. The mech thought he was being funny.
"No." Erin replied flatly. "There's no reason to be jealous of him."
"We don't get jealous." Sunstreaker retorted, sounding more petulant than firm.
Erin couldn't help but smile. "Sure, you don't." She said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "In that case, there shouldn't be any issues. How about you two give us a minute to catch up. He probably just wants to hear how I'm doing."
She walked past the mechs who- to their credit- stayed back and allowed them some privacy. Once Erin was close enough, she could see the man, pale and looking nervously between her and the twins. Wimp.
She made sure they were out in the open, still in the twin's line of sight. If Prowl thought she was sneaking around with Franky, suspicions would be put on both of them.
"I heard you were awake." He said once she got close. "How're you doing?" The man fidgeted with his hands, clearly nervous. Whatever he came to say must have been important considering his fears.
"I'll recover." She replied with a shrug. It wasn't the time or place to tell him everything that was happening. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to know what's going on with you." Franky said earnestly.
Erin got the sense he wasn't asking about her health. "I'm sure you heard something about my condition already." She replied cryptically. The man might not be smart enough to know she was alluding to there being more to the story, but it was worth a shot.
"Yeah, energon exposure." He said predictably. "But what happened?"
"The 'bots want to keep it under wraps, but trust me when I say I'm fine." She emphasized her next words, praying the man would catch on. "Not everyone knows what's going on, but those who do are helping me."
Recognition crossed Franky's face and he nodded in understanding. Seems he caught the message. "And you're fine, medically?" he asked, for the first time focusing on her actual condition.
"There are some lasting effects." She shrugged. "The 'bots are keeping an eye on me to make sure I don't keel over and die."
"That's, uh," Franky gave her a horrified look, "good to hear."
Erin rolled her eyes. "Honestly, though, it's fine."
"And things with the twins are going well, after everything? Watching you pine after them was just sad."
Erin reeled back, "Wait, no, no, what?" She was lost for words.
Behind Erin, Sideswipe started laughing. His serious façade quickly diminished.
"Didn't I ask for some privacy?" she growled at the mech.
The mech wheeled back only a couple of meters. "Sorry sweetspark.!" He chirped.
"Whatever." Erin sighed. "You might as well come over."
Taking up the invitation, the twins came up behind her. Sideswipe kneeled next to her. Apparently, Franky knowing about their relationship made him seem like less of a threat to the silver mech. Though his smile was suddenly friendly, Franky shrank back.
"Franky," Erin called the man's attention back, "you have to keep that shit to yourself. I don't need any more drama with the military."
"C-copy that." He managed to stutter. "And, uh, things are still working out despite everything that's happened?"
"My condition is not the twins' fault." Erin replied tersely. The Autobots allowed the rumor that she was hurt due to the twins spread around. While it distracted from what Bluestreak did, Erin was still pissed her mechs had to deal with accusations. "The fight on the beach was an accident anyway."
Franky's brows furrowed and looked unsure about what he would say next. "Have you heard about the rumor going around?" he asked nervously.
"Bluestreak let slip he saw us kissing," Erin stated, "but it's been reduced to scuttlebutt."
"Well, it snowballed since then." Franky threw his arms up, face full of exasperation. "People are saying you've been sleeping with Autobots in exchange for your spot on Team Prime."
Sunstreaker was the first to react, his voice dripping with venom, "Who the frag is saying that about her?"
Erin didn't put much energy into befriending most of the humans on base, so it wasn't surprising something so salacious would be spread about her. Normally it wouldn't matter to her, but if anyone with rank got wind of that, she wouldn't be the only one suffering. It could severely damage the Autobots' standing. Sunstreaker probably wasn't thinking about that though.
"I don't know where it started." Franky flinched away from the yellow mech and shook his head. "It's just been whispered around. Of course, I've been calling B.S." He refocused on Erin, "It isn't helping that you've been staying here the whole time."
It's not like she had any control over that. "I was in a coma." She clarified.
"I know, but try telling that to the rumor mill." The man explained. "When are you getting back to the barracks?"
"I'm not." She answered simply.
Franky glanced up at the two mechs before returning his gaze to Erin. "Don't tell me you're staying with the twins." He said, already knowing the answer.
"The Autobots want to monitor me." Her choice of words had a double meaning, though it mattered little whether Franky understood.
"You can do that in the med bay." He responded. "That's not going to help rumors any bit."
Sunstreaker huffed at that. "If anyone gives her a problem, we'll deal with it."
"Alright." Franky put his hands up in a please-don't-fire gesture. "That's about all I wanted to say." He added quietly to Erin, "I'm gonna head out before your boyfriends step on me."
She managed to say, "take care" before the man scuttled around the side of the building. There was little she could do to communicate with Franky at the moment. It was best he stayed out of things anyway. In Erin's mind, he'd already done his part. She just had to play along with the 'cons and keep the Autobots satisfied.
"He called us your boyfriends." Sideswipe commented, pulling back Erin's attention.
She whipped her head around to see the mech, still crouching before her, with a shit-eating grin on his face. "And?" she prompted.
The mech shrugged, still smiling madly. "I thought you didn't care for those labels."
"It doesn't matter much to me," Erin explained, "as long as no one important finds out." Why would she care about the title of their relationship? All that mattered was that they were together.
"I kind of like it." Sideswipe explained. He reached out a servo to gently stroke Erin's cheek.
The woman was too enamored to check whether the coast was clear. Sunstreaker would take care of it. "What, being called my boyfriend?"
"Why?" Sunstreaker interjected. "It's a weird word."
"It means something in her culture." Sideswipe supplied with one of his shining smiles. "That's good."
"Ok if that's what you want." Erin said. She was being honest when she said it didn't matter to her. It wasn't like they had a normal relationship to begin with. If Erin calling Sideswipe her boyfriend made the mech happy, she'd do it. In private, of course.
"Thanks, sweetspark." Sideswipe beamed. He took back his servo, but before Erin could miss the contact, scooped her flush against his chassis and stood. "And it's my turn with you."
"Really?" she asked incredulously. The moment was ruined, torn to shreds in fact, as her stomach flipped several times. "I can walk on my own."
"But I like carrying you." The mech replied in a sing-song voice. "Now let's get you to the Hatchet before he blows a gasket."
Erin wasn't too excited for another checkup but the medbay was unavoidable. Besides, it was the only place in the hanger with human-sized showers and a bathroom.
What she didn't expect was, as Sideswipe loudly slid the door open, five pairs of optics zeroing in on the trio. Heat burned her face as she realized she was cradled in the mech's arms like a child.
"Please put me down already." She muttered, either to Sideswipe, God, or Primus- she wasn't sure.
Sideswipe, thinking she was talking about the floor, set her down. "What's up bossbot?" He asked, tone leaning towards serious.
Ratchet answered for the Prime, "I asked Optimus to come here as a consultant. As I've said before, our science doesn't entirely explain the All Spark, but Primes have their own knowledge of it. We were discussing theories regarding Ms. Brook's condition, but have nothing conclusive yet." He turned back to his leader. "Let's continue this discussion later."
The mech seemed to contemplate adding something else, but settled saying, "Very well, my friend."
The three mechs filed out, each giving Erin a long look before leaving. Optimus gave nothing away in his glance. Jazz seemed a combination of fascinated and concerned. Prowl just looked frustrated, as usual.
Erin turned back to Ratchet. "Shouldn't I know what you're talking about?" she asked while heading up to the berth.
The medic had his back turned to the trio as he reached about his desk. "As I said, we have yet to come to any conclusions." He added in a guarded tone, "I do not want to concern you with mere theories."
To Erin, it seemed Ratchet was the one to cut off any explanation they may have received from Optimus. Meaning the leader wasn't keeping her in the dark due to mistrust. Ratchet's choice irritated her, but she had no reason to have misgivings about the medic, so she let the subject drop for the moment.
Ratchet did the usual; scans, blood draws, and a myriad of questions regarding how she felt.
He checked the spiderweb scarring of metal on the side of her abdomen. She didn't feel any pain there, nor numbness. The thin metallic lines were as pliable as a normal scar.
The medic hummed to himself. "When I first inspected this injury, the metal was solid, like its source. But now, it's acting like the mesh melded with your cells. I'm going to take a biopsy to better study it.
"Hack away." Erin replied with a shrug.
"Hack?" Sideswipe flinched and stared at Ratchet in shock. "You can't just cut her up!"
"It will only be five millimeters." Ratchet explained, unconcerned with the mech's outburst. "After this, you will be free to go."
"It was just a joke, Sideswipe." Erin gave the silver 'bot a reassuring smile. "I won't even feel it."
"Lie back on the table." Ratchet said over his shoulder as he walked to a small sanitation station near his desk. Cybertronians didn't carry the same diseases humans did, but it wasn't uncommon for dust and energon to get on their servos.
Erin did as she was told and took her shirt off for good measure.
While Ratchet was busying himself, Sunstreaker took the opportunity to reach over and stroke Erin's bare side. She had a normal scar where he touched. It was a thick line that ran under her breast down to the back of her hip. The original wound had been shallow, but jagged. Along with a nasty infection and sand packing it before medical care could be administered, it healed horribly and was one of her worst scars. The rough pads of Sunstreaker's digits pulled slightly at the raised skin. Erin usually didn't care about her scars, but sometimes she felt uncharacteristically self-conscious around the pristine mech.
Her musings ended when Sunstreaker quickly pulled his servo back. "Does that bother you?" he asked.
"What?" she asked dumbly before her mind caught up. "Oh, no. I um-" As she struggled to find her words, Ratchet cut in between her and Sunstreaker to clean the operation area and give her an injection.
Sunstreaker moved around him so he could see Erin again. "You seemed upset." He supplied.
It was awkward talking about such things in front of Ratchet, but the older mech wasn't complaining. "Does it bother you?" she asked, doing well to hide her nervousness. Upon seeing the front liner's confusion, she clarified, "My scars."
"Of course not." The mech answered with conviction before adding, "Why would you be worried about that?"
"Oh, no reason." She tried to school her features. "I was just wondering."
There was a pause as Erin focused on what the medic was doing. Both he and Sideswipe were remarkably silent.
"Sideswipe looks good in silver or red." Sunstreaker started, surprising Erin. Ratchet paused his methodical movements for only a moment and continued as if he heard nothing. "I like those colors on him but I wouldn't wear them myself. Just because I don't want to look a certain way, doesn't mean I would be upset by someone else having that appearance. Your scars don't bother me, squishy."
That… made sense. The mech's explanation seemed to pull a weight off Erin's shoulders. Perhaps her appearance wouldn't be an issue for the 'bots. "Than-"
Her words were cut short as a sharp pain signaled Ratchet injecting her. "Some warning next time?" she snapped.
"It's best to do this when you are distracted." The mech replied unapologetically. "The area will be numb in a moment."
Erin thunked her head against the hard berth surface and sighed. "Gee, thanks." She almost added a petulant, 'Hatchet' but chose not to antagonize the one who had a knife in her skin.
"Careful." Ratchet added, "The last thing you need is another concussion."
Sideswipe, whose optics were scanning around anywhere besides her stomach, asked, "What's that?"
"A type of brain injury that can affect chemical balance and damage brain cells." Ratchet explained, "She's had five." He added to Erin, "It's not as easy putting humans back together, understand?"
"Yes." She responded, "I am, in fact, human."
"And you're not bleeding." Ratchet stated, surprise in his voice.
Erin gave him a confused look. "Ok?"
"Look." He said simply.
She glanced down. The incision he made was completely scabbed over. Erin ran her hand over the spot. It was still soft. "That was fast." She stated dumbly.
"You've gone through two hours of healing in seconds." Ratchet explained. He had a far-away long on his faceplates as if he was running through too many thoughts to contain. "Your blood samples showed no indication this could happen."
The alarm in Ratchet's tone was unnerving. Erin saw Sideswipe fidget uncertainly while Sunstreaker was stock still. "So what?" she questioned. "I heal quickly." It shouldn't have been an issue, but Ratchet made it feel like one.
"I am going to take some scans." Ratchet stated, not answering the woman's question.
Sunstreaker huffed and put a servo on the medic. "What's wrong?" He looked tense, though there was nothing to be angry about. Perhaps, Erin thought, Ratchet's dodging was making the mech nervous.
"The All Spark may be affecting her blood clotting." The medic said, "This might help explain how it healed her in the first place."
"Isn't fast healing a good thing?" Sideswipe asked.
"When it comes to her condition, I can't be sure." Ratchet explained. "Human biology can be sensitive to minor changes. Excessive clotting could lead to heart attacks or strokes." He faced Erin, knocking off Sunstreaker's servo. "Wait here five more minutes so I can do another scan." He instructed before turning to his desk.
"Ratchet be clear with us," Sunstreaker stepped in his way, "is this thing going to hurt her?"
Erin couldn't see the medic's expression, but the way he lowered his helm spoke volumes. "I don't know." He said, "I'm doing what I can though."
Sunstreaker frowned but stepped out of the way.
"Guys, I feel fine." Erin tried to appease the twins. "Ratchet's just being cautious. Nothing bad has happened so far." She sat up but left her shirt off for Ratchet.
A strained smile crossed Sideswipe's faceplates. "You're right, Rin. We shouldn't worry about a thing that hasn't happened yet."
Sunstreaker leaned against the berth with his arms crossed. "It's hard not to." His optics zeroed in on her metal scar.
"There's nothing to be done now." Erin explained. "And you two are going to be late for your shifts. I'm in good servos here."
"Will you be alright?" Sideswipe asked. He ran two of his digits over Erin's back in a soothing gesture. "Even Prowl would understand why we'd be late."
"Sideswipe," Erin pleaded, "the last thing I want is to worry about you two as well. Go, I'll see you tonight."
Sunstreaker pushed himself off the berth, arms still crossed. "Come on, Sides."
"But…" Sideswipe looked between his brother and Erin. His torn expression made Erin worry.
"We should trust our mate." Sunstreaker stated firmly.
Erin noticed Ratchet stand straighter at the mech's words. His glowing blue optics grazed over the trio before focusing back on his work.
Sideswipe blinked away his sad look and nodded. "Right." He turned to Erin, looking more confident. "Ironhide will pick you up here, so sit tight." He leaned in to kiss her forehead. "See you later tonight." He whispered against her skin.
Erin rubbed a hand on his chin affectionately. "Remember to meet me by the beach."
"Anything you want." He said, placing one last kiss before stepping back.
Silver was quickly replaced by yellow as Sunstreaker caressed Erin's cheek. "Don't be afraid to call us if anything happens, ok?"
Erin nodded and gave him a smile which she hoped was calming.
Sunstreaker's digit dipped under her chin to bring it up. His kiss was gentle but lasting. When he eventually backed off, Erin was left with a tingling sensation on her lips.
"See you tonight." She said, trying not to sound breathless.
Sunstreaker gave her a knowing smirk. "Tonight, squishy." He confirmed before moving to head out. When Sideswipe stood still to give Erin a long look, the yellow mech grabbed his arm and pulled him through the door.
Erin waited for a second after the door was slid shut to turn to the medic. "Now be honest, is there anything I should be concerned about?"
Ratchet had been doing a poor job of pretending not to watch Erin and the twins' goodbye. "Not right now." He stated slowly as if testing out his choice of words. "We are still gathering information. I've found nothing that would pose a direct risk to you."
Erin narrowed her eyes at his phrasing. "What about to others?"
"Thus far," he sighed, "there has been no sign of All Spark energy leaving your body. So, it should be safe interacting with others. Unless you've noticed any psychological symptoms, I don't think you'll react as Jazz did." Erin was about to drop her line of questioning when Ratchet added, "There is one concern, however."
"Which is?" Erin prompted.
Ratchet's ice blue optics focused on the screens in his servo, rather than Erin, as he awkwardly asked, "Have the twins tried exposing their sparks to you? Or proposed it?"
Erin paused. She knew of the spark and was curious at the thought of seeing what the twins had compared to a soul. The idea of such a thing being visible- whether their actual self or simply a glowing version of a human heart- intrigued her. "Um… no. From what I understand we aren't at that point in our relationship."
"Good." Ratchet added quickly, "The intimate use of sparks is sacred among our kind. But more than that, the All Spark- being it can both create and destroy sparks- should not come in direct contact with one."
Erin was surprised at how much it hurt to hear such a thing. There were more and more levels of separation between her and the twins. Would they hold that against her? Forcing herself to appear neutral, she said, "Right, stay away from their sparks. Got it."
Ratchet allowed himself to give her a sad look but said nothing else as Ironhide loudly opened the med bay door.
Poking his helm in, he asked, "Is the youngling free to go?" in his usual gruff tone.
Erin flinched when she felt Ratchet's deep scan move over her.
"Yes, for now." The medic responded, sounding slightly subdued before correcting his voice. "As always, if you notice anything different, inform me immediately."
"Yes, sir." Erin responded quietly, already descending the stairs, shirt halfway on.
Ironhide was on her heels in the hallway. "If I were you, I wouldn't be running out of checkups." He said with a rare hint of amusement.
"The appointment was over and I could feel Ratchet gearing up for his third rendition of 'the talk'." She lied, "You still think you'd stay?"
"Fair enough. Speaking of-" he added in an uncomfortable tone of voice.
"Everything's fine!" Erin responded a bit too loudly. "I promise." Her face must have been beet red, but she tried to angle it away from the mech's view.
Ironhide seemed all too ready to let the subject drop. When the pair reached the end of the hanger, he transformed and opened his door for her. Once Erin was seated in his alt, the mech continued with more confidence. "They're still treating you right?"
The concern in his words warmed Erin, and let her soothe over the sensation of embarrassment over the ancient mech bringing up her sex life. "Yes." She said with complete honesty. "I don't think I've ever felt this loved before."
"Good." The weapons specialist said with satisfaction as he started driving off. "Remember, the offer still stands to beat the ever-living slag out of them should they hurt you in ANY way."
"Noted." Erin said with a smirk. She was certain the mech would be good on his promise should something happen. But Erin had every intention of making things work with the twins. If it didn't, she'd still help the pair find a place to hide from the black Autobot's wrath. It was no secret how protective Ironhide could be of those he chose to keep in his inner circle.
The pair pulled up alongside a sparring field. The sight of it got Erin's heart beating faster. It had been a while since she was allowed to spar. Despite her heavy workout that morning, she felt she could run a marathon and a half.
Bluestreak was already waiting there. Erin had promised him and Ironhide she'd continue helping with the young mech's servo-on-servo combat training. Despite her previous injuries, Erin felt fitter than ever; probably thanks to her long rest while unconscious. She was itching to get back to things- if only to return to her comfort zone.
"Hey Blue, you ready?" She greeted while getting out of Ironhide's alt. The black mech transformed behind her.
"Yes, ma'am!" the youngling chirped in English.
The woman wasn't used to hearing the grey 'bot speak in her native language. He typically used Cybertronian honorifics when addressing her. Giving him an encouraging nod, she motioned for him to enter the sparring area. "We're going to work on reading your opponent." Erin beckoned Ironhide to stand in front of Bluestreak. "From what I understand, you are great with environmental analysis using your door wings."
"Yes, ma'am." He answered, already squaring up with the larger mech.
"That focuses mainly on your door wings. We are going to shift that attention to more visual data. Tell me what you see from Ironhide."
Bluestreak's optics scanned over his target. "He's larger, has cannons on each arm…"
"If he were to punch you, which arm would he lead with?" she prompted
"Er-"
Seeing the mech was stuck, she hinted, "Which pede is forward?"
"His left is forward, so he will punch with his right." The young mech replied with wavering confidence.
"Correct." Erin praised, "Now, where are his weak points?"
"His hips." Bluestreak stated. That was something they'd discussed before.
She nodded, continuing her quiz. "When's the best time for you to attack?"
"When he's stepping forward." The mech responded, sounding more self-assured, "He'll be off-balance."
"Excellent. Now show me what you've got." Erin said as she took serval steps back to avoid being crushed.
Ironhide clenched his right servo but scooted his left pede back. Bluestreak caught the switch and was ready when the weapons specialist tried to open-palm slap the youngling with his left servo. The grey mech ducked and maneuvered around Ironhide, kicking him in the bend of his leg and forcing the mech off balance. He fell to the ground, causing the Earth around Erin to shudder.
"That was great!" the woman praised, genuinely proud of the young mech.
Bluestreak beamed excitedly at her. "Thank you."
What the grey mech didn't see was Ironhide reaching out to grip the youngling's pede and pull it out from under him. "Don't get yourself distracted now." He groused while slowly getting back up.
The majority of the training focused on Bluestreak, but Erin still got a few good bouts in. She was unarmed, considering her medical leave, but could still get a workout by dodging. Erin found herself, again, with too much energy to burn off in the time they had. It was Bluestreak who apologetically ended the session, saying he needed to refuel before his shift. It was a reminder to Erin that the twins would be done soon as well.
After waving goodbye to Bluestreak and Ironhide taking a quick scan of Erin for Ratchet, the pair went off to the Lennox household. They had a few things to pick up.
"And thanks again for helping me today." Erin said.
"No need to thank me." Ironhide responded deeply. "Though I am concerned you recruited Jazz to help you plan your… outings with the twins. He and I go a while back and history has taught me that mech usually goes overboard."
Jazz was the one who had asked Ironhide for help in the first place. After going back and forth over where to have the date, Erin settled on the beachside where Sunstreaker had taken her before. It made sense to have their first real date there. Jazz was busy when Erin wanted to set things up, so he asked Ironhide to help.
"He recruited himself." Erin huffed. "I don't think I had much of a choice in the matter."
"Ha!" The mech's laugh shook him on his tires. "Now that is classic Jazz. Well, at least he's back to his old self."
"And he has the same constant need for entertainment as Sideswipe." Erin continued, an amused smile slipping through. If the pair collaborated, the base would go to hell.
"Jazz was the first mech to have mutual respect with the twins." Ironhide explained, seeming to reminisce with his memories. "They do tend to think alike in some ways. Though Jazz has more maturity and processing power than the two of them combined."
"Hey, the twins are smart." Erin felt the need to defend the pair, though the black mech's ribbing lacked any real bite. "They just have selective attention." She admitted.
"I won't argue with you on that point."
The Autobots seemed to prefer living in the here and now, and it wasn't often they spoke of their time on Cybertron. Taking advantage of Ironhide opening up, Erin asked, "How long have you known the twins?"
"I met them within a few solar cycles of them joining the Autobots." He said easily. "That was less than three vorns ago, right before we abandoned the planet. But I heard about them back when they were gladiators. As far as I know, they were the only ones working the pits that joined the Autobots."
That was something Erin was well aware of, but she hadn't heard the twins' story from another perspective. "Is that why everyone seems wary of them?" she prompted.
"Sometimes it's hard to separate the mech from their profession." He explained, "Especially since the pair were from Kaon."
"Not by choice." Erin added.
"No, that is no fault of their own." He admitted. "I didn't trust the twins much until recently. But they've come to prove themselves as loyal Autobots. I think that's one reason why they became so fond of you. Since you never saw them as Kaonian or gladiators."
She did see them that way. But the two words had different meanings in her mind. One was simply a place of creation, nothing she could put emotion to. The other was a career built out of necessity. Erin couldn't fault them for that either, considering her history. But she wouldn't admit that to the mech. Instead, she stated, "I don't trust anyone who claims to have a perfect past."
"You wouldn't, would you?" Ironhide chuckled just as she pulled up to the Lennox household.
Once Erin got to her feet, she saw Sarah Lennox at the base of the porch steps with Annabelle.
"Erwin!" the little girl squeaked as she ran up to the woman for a hug.
Erin froze in place, still not sure what to do with the kid.
"Iwonhide said you were sick!" Annabelle chirped worriedly.
"Um, I'm feeling better now." Erin replied, gently trying to pry the child from around her waist.
She let go easily enough and turned to chatter to Ironhide who knelt beside her.
"It's good to see you're up and about." Sarah said as she walked up to Erin.
Not knowing what to say to that, Erin rubbed the back of her neck. "I've been told I'm unusually resilient for a human."
The blonde woman chuckled and elbowed Erin playfully. "I'd figure you'd have to be if you've got the twins on each arm."
Erin paused. The implication was clear in Sarah's voice. "Don't tell me you believe that rumor."
"Don't bother, youngling," Ironhide piped up from behind, "she won the pool after Bluestreak ran his mouth."
"You were running bets?" Erin gawked.
Sarah at least had the forethought to look somewhat guilty. "It started innocent enough." She explained.
Erin narrowed her eyes. Here she was trying to hide the truth and they were going off making bets. "Who else?"
"Just Ratchet and Optimus." Ironhide replied casually.
"Fucking Prime was betting on whether we'd hook up?" she asked incredulously.
"Not whether, when." Ironhide amended. "Had you waited a couple of months I would have won."
"You're unbelievable." She told the mech with no real venom.
"Oh honey," Sarah cooed, "just know that all the Autobots support you three."
Her sweet words did little to calm the woman's frustration. "So, I take it Captain Lennox knows?" Erin asked, feeling defeated.
"He doesn't." She replied, "It's not my place to tell him. Especially since it could have implications for you three."
Erin thought the perfect marriage wouldn't have any secrets, but perhaps the pair had proven her wrong. "Thanks, Mrs. Lennox."
"Sarah, honey. You aren't even on duty right now. This month should be considered a vacation."
"Right, Sarah." She amended. "And thank you for clearing the twin's schedules. You didn't have to do that."
"It didn't cost me a thing. So don't worry." The blonde woman assured. "But with that out of the way, is there anything I can help you with today?"
Ironhide piped up again, "We're just picking up a few cubes of high grade for their date."
Sarah faced Erin again with shining eyes. "You're doing date night tonight?"
Unsure how to gauge her reaction, Erin hesitantly replied, "Yes?"
"That's great to hear." Sarah cheered, "What are you going to wear?"
Simply gesturing to herself, Erin shrugged and said, "This?"
The other woman's enthusiasm subdued. "You look like you just finished exercising." She stated with a hint of confusion.
"That's because I did."
"You don't want to dress up nice?" Sarah prompted, "I'm sure the twins would like it."
"I figured it wouldn't matter." Erin replied. Besides, Jazz was her self-appointed date planner and he said nothing about clothing. Well, he did say to polish up, but that didn't count in the former assassin's mind. "Beauty standards aren't exactly universal between us. What looks nice to us probably looks like a monkey with a sweater to them."
"I doubt the twins would ever think of you that way." Sarah added with a mutter, "Someone as vain as Sunstreaker falling for you should be all the proof you need."
Deciding not to poke the bee's nest that was Sunstreaker's proclivity to disregard anything he considered unclean, Erin explained, "It's not like they've commented on my appearance before."
"Ever?" Sarah asked with narrowed eyes. She glanced up over Erin's head, probably looking at Ironhide.
Erin didn't know what the mech would be able to confirm unless the twins had chatted with him about her. Which was very unlikely. "Sideswipe calls my hair fur and says he likes how soft it is. That's about it."
"They might at least appreciate the effort?" Sarah suggested. She almost sounded as if she was pleading.
"I don't own any good clothes, aside from a uniform." Erin explained. "And knowing the twins they'd be more into battle armor than anything I could find."
"Well, I don't have battle armor, but why don't you borrow one of my dresses?" The older woman suggested.
"Thanks, but we aren't the same size." Erin had six inches on the petit woman. And where Sarah was thin all around, Erin had an even layer of muscle.
"It'll be a bit tighter and shorter on you. That's sexy." Sarah stated. She put her hands on Erin's shoulders to steer her to the house entrance. "Now come on."
The woman ushered Erin into the house, despite her protests. They went to the second floor and into the master bedroom. It was homey and spotless like the rest of the house and Erin felt awkward being in her superior's room.
Sarah went straight to her walk-in closet, and called out, "Ironhide, what colors were in style on Cybertron?"
Said mech popped his helm up to the window. "Well, high caste mechs were usually green. Blue and silver were also popular."
"Is this really necessary?" Erin asked the black form in the window.
"You know as well as I do there's no point in arguing with Sarah once she's made up her mind." Ironhide supplied, "At least she's helping you. Once you're ready, I have the cubes."
"Right." Erin sighed, knowing all her protests had been defeated.
"How much time do you have?" Sarah asked from deep within the closet.
"About an hour. Why?"
"You can use my shower to clean up." The woman explained, "And why don't you wear your hair down?"
Erin awkwardly felt her bun. It made her look clean and presentable. "You think the twins would like something else?" she asked.
"Would it make you feel nice?" Sarah responded.
Thinking about it for a moment, Erin said, "Isn't this about this Sunstreaker and Sideswipe?"
"In my experience," the woman explained, "people are at their most attractive when they feel good about themselves."
That gave Erin pause. It made sense, in a way. She just had to think of the twins for comparison. Sideswipe almost always exuded self-assured energy; it was one of the things that made him so charming. As for Sunstreaker, just the thought of his knowing smirk made her shiver. Damnit, she had it bad. After some thought, she decided Sarah was right. "I wouldn't mind wearing it down tonight."
"Perfect! Oh, and how about this?" Sarah pulled out a metallic dress, just above knee length on her. It would be far shorter on Erin. The garment was blue and silver, sapphire reached down from the shoulders while icy silver crept from the hem. In the middle, the two colors churned around each other like an ocean current.
"It looks nice." Erin replied, not quite sure what else to say about it. Maybe the twins would like the metallic sheen? Sunstreaker would appreciate the design.
"The pencil dress style helps gals like us who have smaller hips." Sarah explained with a wink.
Erin looked down at herself. She was lacking in the curves most people would appreciate. She doubted biceps and calve muscles counted. Erin, admittingly, had no idea how to optimize the way she dressed. On the few occasions where her old job required it, an outfit was chosen for her. Other than that, Erin preferred her regular workout clothes.
"Ok, you can use my shower." Sara pointed at the open bathroom door as she set the dress down on the bed. Out the window, she called, "Ironhide, no peeking. 'Kay?"
The woman got a grunted response as she pulled the blinds.
Not one to be shy, Erin started changing but paused before pulling up her shirt. She almost forgot about the new scar. Letting go of her shirt, she walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. Only after checking to ensure Sarah wasn't looking, did she quickly peel off her clothes and jump in behind the curtain.
It was smart to clean up, considering she'd had two workouts that day. Erin- being herself- hadn't even thought of it. She washed up quickly, not wanting to take up too much of the woman's time, and dried herself briefly before putting the dress on- still damp. Finally taking a moment to look at herself in the mirror while drying her hair, Erin noticed the straps of her sports bra visible. Technically a faux pas, but there was little she could do. The twins wouldn't care.
Sarah was right about the shape suiting her. She might even venture to say she looked nice in a girly kind of way. That could have been the case if she didn't have scars on her forehead and arm. At the very least it would show the twins she was putting effort forward. They might not be physically attracted to her the way a human would, but they could still like the way she looked. With her hair passably groomed, she left the bathroom.
Instantly, she was greeted by a grating squeal of excitement. "You look so good!" Sarah gushed.
"Thanks for letting me borrow it." Erin ducked, not sure how to handle the sudden compliment without sounding impassive.
"No worries. I haven't worn it in years." Sarah assured her, "In fact, why don't you keep it?."
"I-"
"No arguments," she cut off Erin's protest. "I insist."
There was little room for argument in her tone, so Erin just gave a lame "Thanks." Her hands played with the fabric, feeling the silky texture.
"Now, let's fix your hair." Sarah said as she glided around Erin.
It took surprisingly long for Sarah to finish fiddling with her hair. It was nothing fancy, but she did use some kind of hair spray.
When Erin looked in the mirror again, she realized why Sarah wanted the change. Before, she looked like a businesswoman. The casual style of her hair made her appear not only her age, being only 23, but also like she was dressed for an actual date. Though the hair didn't cover her face scar, it pulled the eye away from it, something Erin appreciated. Perhaps she could get Sarah's help more often. Erin smiled, looking at herself in the mirror. She felt as if she was on the right track.
After thanking Sarah, Erin left the house to meet Ironhide, who seemed to have been pulled into an impromptu tea party. Deciding not to interrupt Annabelle's fun- and Erin's amusement, she hung back in the corner of the deck and watched the proceedings. It was extraordinary how good the weapons specialist was with the child.
Their 'tea-party had some kind of Cybertronian tradition mixed in, as Ironhide was required to give a cheer to Tarn every time he took a 'sip' from his 'cup'. Said receptacle was an empty energon cube with a plastic hoop around it, giving it a 'handle'. Meanwhile, Annabelle seemed to have her own little set for their little event.
Ironhide had certainly noticed Erin lurking in the corner but gave her no more than a shrug for acknowledgment.
While she waited, Erin pulled out her datapad and started sketching. She drew the tea set Annabelle was using, alongside Ironhide's cup. It was blue with small white flowers adorning it. Perfect for the child's happy-go-lucky personality. Eventually, though, it was nearing the end of the twins' shift. Erin wanted to set up their picnic before Sunstreaker and Sideswipe got there.
Ironhide didn't seem to need prompting as he informed Annabelle it was time for him to go. He promised to tell her a story at her bedtime and extracted himself from the quaint tea party.
"Not going to stick around for dessert?" Erin teased.
The mech grunted- neither embarrassed nor willing to entertain Erin's ribbing- and transformed. When Erin got in, she noticed a small box in the passenger seat.
"I thought you'd forget fuel for yourself, so I asked Sarah to make something." The mech explained.
"Ironhide, that's sweet." She said, genuinely touched. Erin was guilty of forgetting. It might have been nerves messing with her appetite as well. The twins were unlikely to judge her, but she still wanted the evening to go well. They deserve to feel cared for.
The spot above the beach was vacant, with no one else in sight. Ironhide did most of the work setting things up. He placed a tarp on the ground- for Sunstreaker of course- and laid out a pair of energon and high-grade cubes. Among the set-up, he placed Erin's dinner. Meanwhile, Erin fiddled with the projector.
"What's that?" The black mech asked.
"Prime's projector." She explained. "Jazz convinced him to loan it to me."
There was a pause. "I never thought I'd see Prime let it out of his sight." Ironhide said, voice sounding grave.
Erin stopped touching the small object and gave Ironhide a questioning look. "Is it valuable?"
With a nod of his helm, the mech explained, "It is one of the last mementos of his mate, Elita One."
Shoulder's dropping, Erin stared at the item in question. "He didn't say anything about that." She wouldn't have let Jazz ask for the projector in the first place had she known.
"I'd take it as a good sign." Ironhide quickly added. "Just, make sure nothing happens to it." His faceplates were hard to read as he stared at the small device.
A part of Erin wanted to march straight back to the Prime's office and hand it back. He had no good reason to let her borrow something that was supposedly special to the mech. She had previously suspected the projector was bugged, but given Ironhide's reaction, Erin doubted Optimus would do such a thing. So why loan it to her?
With no specific reason to change her plans, Erin nodded and started checking her data pad's connection with the projector. "Right."
"One last thing." Ironhide said as he grabbed a plastic bag from his subspace. "This is the indium."
Erin recognized the word from Jazz. That was the reason why the silver mech recruited Ironhide's help in the first place. He had some on hand. According to the silver mech, it could be added to energon for flavor. "Thank you." She took it and placed it among the rest of her set-up, which she gave an appraising eye. "This should work, right?"
Erin wasn't talking directly to Ironhide as much as herself. The mech chuckled in response. "I'm pretty sure it's been a long time since anyone has tried to set up something special for the twins. They'll appreciate whatever you do."
A part of Erin believed that- the logical side of course. But she couldn't shake the anxiety. What if the twins changed their minds about her? At the very least, Ironhide seemed to have her back. "Your help does mean a lot to me." Erin stated sincerely. "I know the twins aren't high on your approval list but-"
"I'm not helping for their sake. It's just good to see you excited for something." He ended that note by gently patting her head, careful not to mess up her hair. Erin wasn't sure how to reciprocate the display of affection, but Ironhide didn't give her time to. "Your mechs are here," he looked over to the pair of shining frames zipping toward them, "so I'll get out of your wires. Remember, if they ever upset you, you only need to ask and I'll knock their helms together."
"Noted. Have a nice night." Erin waved Ironhide off as he transformed and headed in the twins' direction.
For a moment, Erin worried he'd stop the mechs, but the pair passed him without incident. Right as the twins came to meet her, she told herself to take a breath. It was just Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Nothing to be nervous about.