As always, a billion thanks to my dear Betas and readers, once again, anything you recognize I don't own, nor do I profit from it.
This is simply for a bit of amusement.
Chapter 51 - Daddy Banes
"CAL!?" General Moreshower shouted in a shocked tone, "fucking little wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn Cal Banes!? You're his daughter!?" the general turned to stare at me. "No wonder you pulled off jacking that damned plane!"
(MPOV)
"You stole a plane? New bar kiddo," Dad grinned at me as the soldiers stared at us in shock. "What'd you get?"
"Raptor," I grumbled, "in my defence they crashed it."
Dad looked out at the clouds and frowned.
"Your lot are going to need to stick around for a bit, I'll not let my daughter get on a 17 with shrapnel in her shoulder." Dad stated flatly. "The children are off for the weekend, you can stay here if you want. Get in out the rain." He turned and limped into the depths of the shop, throwing on the lights.
"You know her father!?" Lennox asked in a shocked tone as Optimus' holoform carried me in. Epps was grinning for some reason as he looked around.
"Apparently," Chris laughed, walking beside Optimus. "Wow."
"Thank you," I said gravely, looking at my home. The warehouse was enormous, tools sat perfectly in their places, and the muted smells of gasoline, oil and cleaning solvents comforting.
"Mr. Banes-" Optimus began.
"Cal!" Dad shouted from across the garage, moving one of the bikes to the wall.
"Where can I put Mikaela down?" he asked politely. Dad pointed to the sitting area, and Optimus promptly carried me to the couch.
"Let's get these vehicles in out the wet!" Dad shouted. "No use lettin' em rust!"
"Thank you," Ironhide rumbled loudly, offlining his holoform.
"That's a trick," Dad laughed.
"I will be right back," Optimus rumbled quietly, laying me on the couch and touching my cheek. I nodded and the holoform offlined.
Autobots began carefully rolling in, parking close together and cutting out.
"Kae!" Dad shouted, "Bumblebee's burning his oil again!"
"I knew it!" I shouted. "Bumblebee! Why the hell are you burning your oil!?"
"So you'll change it for me," Bee's holoform grinned beside me.
"The real reason Bee," I said firmly.
"You mind?" Dad called out. Bee looked over at him warily.
"Bee, you can trust him," I said with a weak laugh, "he's forgotten more about your engine than I'll ever learn."
"The Banes don't forget," dad growled, gently opening Bee's hood. "Yep, you got a hairliner. That's got to be affecting your power and sound."
Bee cranked his engine and roared to life, revving up to prove his worth.
"Yeah yeah, you sound fine," Dad growled, "but you still got a hairliner, right here, you feel that? I ain't gonna weld you, you're alive aint'cha? Let 'er heal."
I rose to my feet and staggered over to Bee, running a gentle hand over the engine.
"Right there crik," Dad murmured, I frowned at the fissure.
"You should have said something before Bee," I grumbled, calling a bit of energon to my fingertips and running them along the crack. Bee began coughing as Ratchet onlined his holoform beside me.
"You found the fissure in his vocal processors by touch?" Ratchet rumbled in shock, looking at dad.
"TT triple S, Kae's usually better at it than me, got the right touch. I'm surprised at you girl, you usually find those before I even know to look!"
"It's Bumblebee," I murmured gently, "sometimes he hides these things for his own reasons."
"I don't like gettin' fixed," Bee's holoform grumbled. "Now I'm gonna be waiting months for you to change my oil big sister!"
I laughed gently and cupped his cheek.
"But if I'm not always changing your oil it'll give me more time to wax and polish your armour..." I told him teasingly.
He perked up enormously then looked at my shoulder.
"RATCHET!" he bellowed. I looked down to find an enormous red stain on the dressings. Two more holoforms were beside us in moments.
"Kae I told you to stop using that arm!" Ratchet snarled as Optimus deftly picked me up, carrying me back toward the couch.
Dad followed and carefully removed the bandages.
".45 sniper, I'm surprised it's in your left Crik." Dad stated calmly.
"Marked it," I grunted.
"That's my girl," he growled, he caught my chin with his thumb and forefinger, holding my eyes, "now do as your uncle taught you."
I nodded and sighed, relaxing my muscles one by one as dad walked toward the back rooms, quickly emerging with the kit and some fresh clothes.
"You follow his orders just fine," Optimus rumbled in my ear with amusement.
"Any of you lot a doctor?" Dad asked calmly. "I can take care of my baby girl, but Sho was always better at the first aid thing." he looked up at Optimus as the holoform continued to cradle me.
"I will," Ratchet stated dryly.
"Has she followed even one of your orders?" dad asked in amusement as Optimus set me down. I didn't have to look to know when Optimus frowned in surprise. "You're a leader, it's in your eyes," Dad stated calmly. "Has my baby girl followed your orders at all?"
"Daad," I groaned, struggling to unzip my dress. Dad lightly knocked my hand out of the way and did it for me.
"Yes, she has," Optimus rumbled.
"Then you're a good leader, welcome to our home," Dad nodded, carefully sliding a comfortable pair of pants over my legs. "That's an interesting tattoo Crick," he added with a puzzled look on his face, eyeing my chest before he delicately wrapped a strapless top around my breasts for modesty sake. "What's it mean?"
"This one," I smiled, "is my own mark, my auto-bot name: Archangel. And this one is Optimus'-"
"Which designates him as her guardian," Arcee stated calmly.
"Guardian how?" Dad asked with his usual intensity, narrowing his eyes at Arcee.
"Guardian in that if anything happens to Kae, he'll tear the universe apart to find her, protect her or annihilate whomever hurt her," Arcee smiled.
"I like the tattoo, never thought I'd say that," Dad smirked at me, I couldn't help but laugh. That was my dad.
"Mr. Banes?" Ratchet asked curiously.
"Cal, you're Ratchet." Dad stated calmly, he looked up at the group of soldiers, general and holoforms standing awkwardly around the couch. "You're Major Lennox, General Moreshower, Lieutenant Jacobs, Lieutenant Chance, Sargent Epps, Ironhide, Optimus Prime, Lieutenant Graham, a Brit, gotta like the brits, you get shit done. Bumblebee, nice to see you again son." He grinned at Bee, my little brother beamed at my dad. "The rest of your names haven't been spoken loud enough for me to hear 'em yet." He turned and picked up my dress, folding it automatically. "No sense messing up that pretty dress of yours." he added offhandedly.
"I've missed you too, Dad," I smiled.
"May I have permission to repair your daughter," Ratchet stated formally.
"Surprised you haven't already," Dad grinned.
"Everyone, may I introduce you to Captain-"
"Former Captain," Dad growled.
"Former Captain Calvin Banes," General Moreshower acceded.
"Former?" Jacobs asked curiously.
"Had to keep them safe," Dad growled, "Former. I don't do the military no more. And I don't do my stories. You boys don't have a rotten apple among you, or you'd'a never got near this shop. Dishonourable discharge. With all due respect, that's the end of that discussion."
"That dishonourable is bullshit," Moreshower grumbled.
"Can't argue with the paperwork," Dad shrugged.
I couldn't help the smile that broke out onto my face.
"Kae your dad's intense!" Chance shouted suddenly.
"And he does brilliant pizza and hotwings if you want to ride out the rain here," I added with a laugh as Ratchet scowled at my shoulder for a second before grabbing a pair of forceps from the kit, reaching in and quickly grabbing a splinter of metal.
Dad grinned.
"And I brew a hell of a lot better coffee than Chris ever managed," he shot at the General, "they still using his socks?"
"No, we started using your socks when you told General Lewis to fuck off and die," the General told him with a smirk. Dad barked a laugh.
"Right, all you lot who are just gonna get in Ratchet's way can come help me set up the place to feed you." Dad grinned.
"He's for real?" Epps asked in shock, looking at me.
"You honestly have enough food to feed a dozen soldiers," Lennox stated in shock.
"Those cinderblock doors double as a bunker, we're set to survive twenty years in here, or five with an army." I shrugged, wincing as Ratchet pulled another splinter out of my arm.
"So if you can trust an ex-captain, we'll fire up the wood oven and the deep-fryer." Dad grinned. I let out a small cheer.
"You fixed that bastard?" I demanded with a grin.
"Bastard didn't need fixing, you're just too afraid of singeing your damn hair to light the fryer," Dad shot back at me with a smirk, turning toward the back room again. "I'll do it."
"I happen to like my eyebrows!" I called after him with a snort.
"Prissygirl!" he replied cheerfully.
I scowled after him as he limped toward the kitchen. Chris Moreshower following him a moment later with a parting.
"I should have known he was your dad," he grinned at me, "Only a Banes will tear your head off one second, insult you without your noticing it and then feed you."
"Pizza, pasta or to the lions," I grinned, closing my eyes. The couch sank slightly as the weight of different people settled down. "So. that's my dad." I added.
"Your sire is intense," Ironhide chortled.
"Oh!" I laughed "Wait for it!"
We sat in silence for a second.
"Goddamn bastard fryer!" Dad's voice shouted out of the kitchen. "Mikaela! Where the hell did you put the C4?" he poked his head out of the door, his hair a bit singed.
"It's in the pantry between the beans and the pickled carrots!" I called back with a laugh. "Where the hell else do I ever put it?"
"Oh, right," Dad snorted.
The soldiers were staring at us.
"The bonus of being a Captain," Dad grinned at them. "Did you know that C4 makes great cooking fuel-?" he turned back into the kitchen again.
"Where the hell did you get C4?" Lennox demanded of me.
"You know that complete pyro I mentioned? As it turns out, prison has a fireworks technicians course. Not that dad needed it, but there you go..." I snorted.
"Victory!" Dad's voice shouted from the kitchen.
"I'll be damned, he got it lit," I stated mildly.
Ratchet snorted and pulled another splinter out of my shoulder, it made a light clinking sound as he dropped it into the jar that Chance was holding.
"C4?" Lennox asked weakly again.
"What? It's great stuff, remarkably stable, you can use it for cooking fuel in a pinch, cut down a tree with it..." I smirked. "Bet even Ironhide didn't notice that our driveway has two trees wired with C4, we can topple them with three buttons, instant barricade – well... mostly instant, it takes seven tenths of a second for the signal to reach the blasting caps, and another three or so seconds for the trees to fall..." I winced as Ratchet dug deep and pulled another splinter out of my shoulder.
"That's the lot of them," Ratchet grumbled, "the nanites can take care of healing it up." he began taping my shoulder closed, laying clean gauze and taping a new bandage over it. "You use that arm and I may just cut it off for you." he added.
"Good luck with that," Dad stated with a laugh, "'Mon Crik, there's work to be done."
I grinned and stood up, slipping on the enormous shoes dad had tossed toward my feet, Dad turned to look at the holoforms.
"Dunno what you lot eat, I've got southern comfort, diesel, moonshine, 82 and 98 if you don't want pizza, beer and wings."
Ironhide fairly flew toward dad.
"Which refinery on the 98?"
"Texas," Dad grinned.
"Kae, your sire is a generous man," Ironhide stated with a broad grin.
"We will gladly recompense you," Optimus rumbled with a grin of his own.
"Bah, a host feeds his guests." Dad stated firmly. "You're the Peterbilt. 'magine you're gonna want a top up on your coolants. Good engine, but you run hot, 'specially when you're pulling a load."
"He's always run hot," Ratchet snorted.
"Comes in handy for space travel though, don't it?" Dad asked curiously.
"Oh it really, really does," Arcee giggled.
I grinned and left them to chat, walking toward the kitchens and immediately surveying the progress, snagging a bag of flour and dumping it into the mixer. Scoop of yeast, sugar and water went into a bucket. Sausage meat into the frying pan, and rounds of meat beside the slicer. I pulled out a couple of bricks of cheese and glared at them.
"Wait! You run this stuff!?" Lennox asked me in shock.
"What did you think I've been doing?" I asked with a laugh, "sitting on my ass? I've had jobs in the kitchen, waitressing, you name it. There's nothing wrong with me, why would I sit around?"
(OPOV)
"She follows your orders," Optimus rumbled, watching Kae walk toward the kitchen.
"When it suits her," Cal laughed. "Never be fooled by that girl, she'll put on a rebel face and snarl with the best of them. But when she knows you're right she don't say one damn word. Except maybe to to remind you you're right. Or cared for."
"How..." Ratchet asked in shock.
"Here, c'mon, can you walk out of line of sight?" Cal asked with a grin. Optimus nodded and followed the upright, limping man after his daughter.
"She kept up the shop," Cal stated in a proud tone, leaning against one of the walls, "I told her to sell this place, instead she worked her ass off for five years. Kept up the utilities and taxes. Tell her to keep herself free and she refuses to co-operate." Cal shook his head and glared at his daughter.
"We aren't arguing about this again," Mikaela stated in a level tone, opening the first block of cheese with one hand.
"You shouldn't'a had to sacrifice your own life to fix my mistakes," Cal growled.
"We've been over that," she growled right back, "I ain't gonna let y'all rot."
"It's a fools errand to save every soul," Cal growled.
"I've been a fool for far worse," Mikaela snapped, turning and gesturing with the knife in her hand, "and I don't know why you're going to argue with me about that now. You were right about the sniper, but you sure as hell aren't right about this one, I'm not going to sit idle when there's work to be done!"
"See?" Cal grinned at Optimus. "That's her mother and her grandmother right there." Optimus snorted as Kae rolled her eyes. "You lot want to stay the night? We'll fire up the projector."
"Baby pictures?" Lennox grinned, Cal barked a laugh.
"Nah, but a movie wouldn't hurt, or we could make Crik read to us." Cal snorted, "you did good on that speech baby girl, kept it tight. That speechwriter help you out?"
"She did it entirely by instinct," Optimus rumbled with a grin. Mikaela looked up at him in surprise.
"You didn't notice me reading Galloway's speech over your shoulder." he grinned at the girl, "point for point, I watched the skies, you watched the crowds."
"It's always nice to have someone trustworthy at your back," Mikaela shot a grin at him as she struggled to cut up that block of cheese. A large group of men came in bearing armloads of wood as Ratchet delicately took the knife from her.
"Thank you," she laughed, "They just need to be small enough to fit into that little hatch there," she pointed to a mechanical grater before directing the men to set the wood there, and stating that a resident boyscout could start the fire in the bottom part of the oven there, moved to a mixer, dumped a bucket of water into the bowl and firing it up too. "You have the red sauce done up dad?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder.
"Not spiced yet," Cal grunted, sitting at the table with General Moreshower, Major Lennox and a half dozen of the men as she bustled off. Optimus hovered in confusion, Cal glanced at him and laughed. "If you think that's intense you should have seen her five years ago, she could singlehandedly – literally – feed an army in this kitchen. Hey! Don't look at me boyo, this is her kitchen. Has bin since her mom passed away."
"But if you're looking for something to do the three of you can heft that bowl up to the table here," Mikaela added with a smile, whacking the off button on the bowl. Optimus strode over as she unlatched the bowl into the soldiers's hands. "Dump it out on the butcher block there, thanks, Optimus could you open these and pour them into that bowl there?"
Cal burst out laughing at the bemused look on the holoform's face.
"It don't matter if you're an ensign or an admiral, if you're standing you help," Cal chortled. Optimus grinned before glowering at the jar again.
"How?" he asked curiously, holding up the jar.
Mikaela glanced over at him and smiled, walking over and grasping the top of the jar, "Hold tight," she commanded with a grin, and twisted the top slightly.
"I knew that one," he rumbled with a snort. "However I do not know the precise strengths that are required to open it without breaking it."
"Mkay," Kae frowned. "Flip it upside down, concave bottom facing me." Optimus obeyed curiously. "Hold tight," she hit it sharply. Beneath his hands, the jar popped. Kae grinned at him.
"Kinetic energy causes so much force against the butt of the lid it breaks the seal," Ratchet murmured musingly. Kae looked at her mentor with a laugh.
"We now sit in anticipation of the sheer amount of calculations Ratchet runs through to figure out the precise forces-"
"As well as the precise placement of bones and muscles required to produce the same amount of force." Ratchet added grumpily as Ironhide laughed. "Which took the same amount of time as your sentence, I might add." he shot at Kae, piping the calculations over the primary and smirking as the soldiers laughed.
"Got it," Optimus rumbled with a snort, pouring the red sludge into the bowl and opening the rest of the jars. Kae pressed against his side as she began dumping leaves, powders and things that smelled absolutely incredible into the sauce.
"This place is intense," Epps stated expansively, "why the hell do you have a wood fired pizza oven in a motorcycle shop?"
"We stayed neutral, but there were a few biker gangs that I didn't mind having over, we used to host a no-man's-land rally. Beer, Pizza, Wings and absolutely no weapons allowed." Cal grinned, "not so much as a broken beer bottle."
"God those were fun," Mikaela laughed. "you remember when that little weaselly guy tried to start shit the second time we hosted?" She glanced over her shoulder at her dad.
Cal frowned for a second before bursting into laughter.
"Old Wolf picked that guy up, carried him over his head, hell, over over everyone's heads and set him down on his feet outside the shop." Mikaela chuckled.
"He said 'This is no-man's-land, and will remain that way, you want to start shit you leave.' and walked right back to the table. Then Paddy just sort of looked at Old Wolf for a moment, gave him a shit-eating grin and poured him a pint on the house!" Cal howled as the soldiers laughed. Optimus couldn't help the grin that crossed his face.
"This is neutral territory son," Cal told him with a grin, "anyone who can smile is welcome here."
There was a roar of engines pulling up to the shop. Cal rose and walked to the entrance. Optimus followed curiously.
"Speak of the devil and he shows his face! Ho Wolf!" Cal bellowed.
"Cal! Saw your little girl on the television! Knew she was going far!" a man with an enormous white beard bellowed back.
"Get the hell out the rain! We got the kitchen fired up!" Cal shouted. A dozen men in leathers taxied bikes in and parked, cutting their engines. The man with the white beard dismounted and caught Cal's forearm with a broad grin.
"That the wood fire I smell?" he grinned.
"That it is, we got a right no-man's-land going on tonight!" Cal grinned, "Ol' Wolf..." he turned to Optimus, "you know we never really met proper."
"Your daughter was bleeding, introductions could easily wait until she was repaired," Optimus rumbled. "Optimus Prime." he extended his hand as Cal offered his left arm. Optimus couldn't help the grin that crossed his face as he threaded his arm into Cal's as Mikaela walked to stand beside him.
"Tradition dictates that the strength you pull back with is the amount of trust you have that he won't straighten his arm to fire on you." Mikaela put in calmly. Optimus' grin broadened as Cal pulled back strongly.
"Like that one," Cal grinned, grabbing Optimus' hand. Optimus grasped Cal's hand and watched as the man narrowed his eyes. "My daughter taught you," Cal murmured.
"She did," Optimus rumbled, nodding firmly. He turned to Old Wolf.
"Elijah White," the man rasped, grasping Optimus' hand, "A friend of Cal is a friend of ours. You watch over our Kae?"
"For so long as she allows me," Optimus rumbled firmly, "and probably beyond that."
"Probably, she takes some taking care of," Wolf laughed, holding out his arms to Kae. She laughed and walked into a hug, still cradling her arm somewhat. "So who shot you this time? Do I have to send a hit out?"
"Sniper, and no, I think the military has the hit out already." Mikaela stated wryly.
"The order went out five minutes after," Optimus rumbled with a deep frown, "and if it had not I would have hunted the creature down myself."
"That's some intense hate on," Wolf grinned.
"Nobody shoots Kae and hopes to live," Optimus glowered, the more he thought about it the more he wanted to go back and pick up the trail.
"Optimus," Kae's voice murmured gently, her hand rested lightly on his forearm. ΩI'd much rather have you here.Ω
He started back to the present to look down at her with a smile. "Only you would stop me from destroying one who would kill you," he replied with a low laugh.
"I'm supposed to be your Ambassador remember?" she laughed, "and your Ambassador needs to get back to the kitchen. Play nice."
"Me play nice!?" Optimus rumbled in shock, staring after her retreating back, "you get shot, verbally kick Director Galloway in the teeth in front of the world whilst still bleeding and you tell me to play nice!? I didn't even step on the roses this time!"
"You're forgetting something," she grinned over her shoulder.
"And that is?" he rumbled indignantly.
"She's tiny and adorable, she doesn't have to play nice," Wolf laughed.
"True." Optimus rumbled with a broad grin, watching as she made a rude gesture over her shoulder.
"So you wanted pineapple on your pizzas right?" she shouted.
"BLASPHEMY!" Wolf roared, she laughed brightly and disappeared.
"While we're at it, let's go do the introductions properly." Cal grinned, "Get your wet off and hanging and we'll set up for a proper night."
"Should I get the instruments?" one of the younger men asked with a grin.
"Do it," Wolf smirked. The man got on his bike again.
Optimus frowned at the rain.
"Where you going?" Ironhide rumbled, winking his holoform to stand beside him. "You're on an open vehicle, and it's raining.
"It's only a ten minute ride," the man shrugged.
"I'll take you," Ironhide rumbled, winking the holoform out and pulling toward the man.
"No offence, but you have an open box," the man stated with a frown.
Optimus burst out laughing as Ironhide snorted, extending a cover over his box.
"That. Is so cool!" the man shouted.
"Hop in, you give the directions," Ironhide grinned.