AN: The title is a play on words of For Whom the Bell Tolls By Ernest Hemingway
Normal POV
Ratchet is confused seeing Snowdrift exit the bridge with Isabella sitting on her shoulder.
"Who are you? Why is Isabella on your shoulder?" Ratchet asks.
"Her name is Miss Snowdrift," Isabella says.
"I can tell all of you how I came to Earth after you assist Wheeljack's human partner." Snowdrift says.
Optimus' POV
I arrive back at the Ramirez residence walk into the kitchen and sit down at the table.
"Orion, what happened? Where are the children?" Addison asks.
"The children are safe. They are at my home. Some bad men tried to kidnap them. I felt they'd be safer there,' I reply.
"Who took them to your house?" Addison asks.
"Some of my friends came to assist me, and they took them to my residence," I say.
"Thank you, but why were the men kidnapping our children?" Mace asks.
"The men were the drivers of the cars you saw speeding down the street," Matias says.
"Did Tracy know those men? She was riding in one of the cars," Mace says.
"I can assure you that big green car the drivers is one of my friends," I say.
"What about the other two? They are colleges of my enemy Megatron," I say.
"Who is Megatron?" Addison asks.
"You two may want to sit down. What Orion is going to tell you is a lot to take in all at once," Mace says.
I start telling Addison and Mace the history of Cybertron, who I am and how I came to their planet.
"So, how did Tracy get involved?" Mace asks.
"She and her friends stopped in Jasper yesterday to get gas when they got attacked at the gas station by some Decepticons," Matias says.
"Did she get injured?" Addison asks.
"Her jumper's knee flared up," Matias says.
"Did anything else happen?" Mace asks.
"Yes, Ricky and she got kidnapped by the same Decepticons that attacked Malchai and Isabella," I say.
"Are they alright?" Addison asks.
"Yes, another member of my team, Wheeljack, along with Bulkhead rescued them," I say.
"Another Decepticon on the ship, Starscream did injury Tracy. She needed stitches but is going to be fine," Matais adds.
"So, can you take me to my children, please," Addison says.
"Of course," I reply.
We leave the house and walk out to my alt mode, Matais opens the passenger side door and everyone gets inside. Once everyone is buckled in, I start the engine and drive to a safe place to call for another ground bridge to get us to the base faster.
Normal POV
A few moments later, Optimus drives through the portal. He lets all his passengers out before transforming himself.
"Tracy, I gave you specific orders to not go into battle. How did you pop your stitches?" Ratchet scolds.
"Don't be mad at sissy, Mr. Ambulance robot, sir," Malachai says.
"Yeah, Cici was trying to protect us from the bad robots," Isabella adds.
"Malachai and Isabella are telling the truth, Ratchet," Matias says.
"Old friend, they are correct. You can't scold Tracy. She was merely acting off her protective instincts to keep her loved ones safe," Optimus adds.
"Fine," Ratchet sighs.
"I'm sorry for letting everyone down. Malachai and Isabella could have gotten taken to the deception warship. It seems like that happens later when I follow my heart or trust my instincts is something bad. I'm not ready to be on my own yet," Tracy sighs.
"Tracy, sweetheart, you have to stop beating yourself up like this. You've been through an incredible amount of stress over the past few days. You've handled it better than most adults twice your age," Addison says.
"Addison is right, sweetheart. For now, try to stop talking. You need to keep your heart rate down to stop you from losing any more blood," Mace says.
"Mace is right, Patricia. We need to get you to the medical bay - stat," Matias says.
"This time, I'll do it since whoever did it the first time didn't use the correct type for the injury," Mace adds as Tracy takes off the bandage and tries to use it to stop the blood.
as Wheeljack walks to the medical bay, "Daddy, is Sissy going to die?" Malachai asks.
"No. buddy, Tracy is going to be just fine," Mace says.
Matias' POV
After Mace fixes the stitches on Patricia's arm and wraps it up again, he notices the knee brace Patricia uses for her jumper's knee. It falls onto the floor as she hops down off the table.
"Patricia, when did your jumper's knee flare up again?" Mace asks.
"Yesterday, while I was chasing after a man who ran after a stray dog that stole his lunch. I could tell the poor thing had eaten in a while. I wanted to keep the animal safe. I was scared something bad might happen to it," Patricia lies.
"Patricia, Mace knows about how you got involved with the Autobots," I say.
"Yes, but you still did a good job coming up with a convincing lie." Mace smiles.
"Okay, so who is going to protect you, Aunt Addison and the twins from the cons?" Patricia asks.
"I'm sure Optimus will figure something out," I say.
"So, have you gotten the corticosteroid shot to help with the pain?" Mace asks, turning the conversation back to her.
"No, this is the third time this year my jumper's knee has flared up. I thought using it too much could cause a complete rupture of the tendon." Patricia says.
"What about rehab?" Mace asks.
"I just moved. I haven't found someplace in Amber Beach," Patricia says.
"I'm sure someone at Jasper Joint Journey Clinic would be happy to help you," Mace says.
"Plus, you should consider visiting someone at Caring Conversations to help with your anxiety. And, talking about the accident is a good idea too," I suggest.
"Look, I've tried talking to a therapist before about my anxiety back home in Michigan. The therapist I was seeing didn't listen to a single word. I wanted to stop going, but I knew mom and dad... I mean, Uncle Mace and Aunt Addison were playing for the sessions, so I stuck with it." Patricia says.
"Honey, you should have told us. We wouldn't have gotten mad. We could have found another therapist.," Mace says.
"It wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway. All of my teachers still would have kept making my anxiety worse," Patricia says.
"Patricia, what do you mean?" Mace asks.
"Well, they kept comparing me to you, so I felt if I wasn't meeting their expectations of me, I was letting them down, and you and mom...Aunt Addison, since I wasn't as smart as they thought I was," Patricia says.
Patricia grabs her crutches and tries to leave, but I motion to Ratchet. He picks her up and sets her back down on the bed.
"You need a new brace, " I say as I take a new knee brace out of the supply box near me.
"Plus, the reason why your knee is so inflamed is that you've been exacerbating it by walking on it as much as you have," Ratchet adds.
"I know," Patricia sighs.
"For now, rest up for a bit, okay?" I say, putting the brace on her knee.
Normal POV
An hour later, everyone leaves the medical bay. Snowdrift puts Isabella on the floor, and Bulkhead does the same with Malachai. The four-year-old's eyes lit up as soon as they see Tracy.
"CiCi," Isabella shouts.
"Sissy," Malachi exclaims.
The children tackle their cousin, and they give her a bear hug.
"Careful, you two," Addison says.
"Yes, Tracy doesn't need to have her stitches redone again," Ricky says.
"Malachi, Isabella, I know you're happy to see that I'm okay, but.." Tracy chuckles.
"But what Cici?" Isabella asks.
"You two need to loosen your grip a tad," Wheeljack says.
"Because, Izzy, Cici needs to breathe. You two are crushing my lungs," Tracy gasps.
"Sorry," the twins replied as they quickly release Tracy from their hug.
"Okay, you two, She and Richard, along with your uncle, need to have a grown-up discussion," Mace says.
"Are you going to tell her that you aren't aren't her daddy?" Malachai says.
The twins quickly back away from Tracy and sprint over to their parents when they see a mad face start to appear on Tracy's face.
"Wait, you thought Malachi and Isabella, two four-year-old children, were old enough to tell them that I'm not their sister, and you aren't my parents. You and Aunt Addison and Matais decided to wait until I watched my mom get killed by a drunk driver in front of me. Then you came to an agreement that I was finally old enough to be told that information," Tracy snaps.
"Patricia, sweetheart, any hatred, resentment or anger you're feeling right now is competently valid," Matias says.
"Yes, but please try to calm down," Mace adds.
"Ivan, I suggest that you take the twins to the Museum in Amber Beach, that way, I can avoid getting yelled at if some adult words are said," Tracy says.
"That is a good idea regardless of how this situation plays out," Addison says.
"I will act as Ivan's guardian," Optimus says.
"No offense Optimus, but your chosen vehicle mode isn't to covert in a museum parking lot," Ricky says.
"Optimus, if you take on this responsibility, wouldn't your duties here be hindered?" Ivan adds.
"I appreciate the concern, Ricky and Ivan, but if the Decepticons attacked the museum, your safety, as well as everyone who visits, is in question," Optimus says.
"Just stop arguing, please, and just get going," Tracy snaps.
Optimus transforms again, turns on his holoform, and assists Ivan as he helps Isabella and Malachi into the semi. Tracy waits until he is far enough away and tries to calm herself down.
"Dad, are you finally going to explain why you kept Tracy and me apart from each other our whole lives?" Ricky asks.
"Yes," Matias says.
"Ricky, our 'parents' separated us because they only wanted one child, not twins," Tracy says.
"Patricia, your mother and I dreamed of starting a family," Matias says, letting out a shaky sigh. "Your mother and I tried several times naturally, and did two IVF treatments and still couldn't conceive,"
"So, why couldn't you start a family?" Snowdrift asks.
"The doctor found out that my wife was unable to have children," Matias says.
"How were Tracy and Ricky born if your wife couldn't have a baby?" Wheeljack asks.
"There was one other option my wife and I considered - surrogacy," Matias replies.
"What is Surrogacy," The Autobots ask.
"That when another woman carries a baby or, in our case, babies for a couple who is unable to have children themselves," Addison says.
"Did you and mom want twins?" Ricky asks.
"Yes, but we wanted to ask Addison and Mace if they were okay with it since having twins this way has many complications," Matias says.
"Mace and I decided it was worth the risk since we knew how long your mom and Matias dreamed of having a family," Addison says.
"So, we never got a chance to grow up together since you and mom couldn't afford to raise us," Ricky snaps.
"Yeah, you two probably blew all the money for the treatment," Tracy adds, trying not to roll her eyes.
"You two, money was never an issue," Matias says.
"Then what was the problem?" The twins snap.
"The house wasn't big enough to raise the two of you," Matias says.
"Well, you and mom could have - I don't know- bought a new house." Ricky snaps sarcastically.
"We did, but there weren't any houses available at the time," Matias says.
"Here is another idea, you and mom could have - maybe converted an attic into a nursery?" Tracy snaps, mimicking her brother's tone of voice.
Ratchet sees tearing forming in the twins' eyes as a mixture of emotions course through their veins. Ricky clenches his fists while Tracy walks over to the hallway leading to the Autobots' bunks.
"Ricky, Tracy, you two need to try to calm down before you say something you'll regret," Ratchet says.
"Calm down, Ratchet, calm down! We never got a chance to be a family all because our 'parents' refused to muster up an ounce of creativity to keep us together," the twins snap.
"We did try, but the attic wasn't big enough," Matias says.
"Did you give Tracy away to Aunt Addison?" Ricky says.
"No, we didn't just give your sister away," Matias says.
"When you two were born, Mace and I fell in love with Tracy. We couldn't let her go," Addison says.
"So, even though Tracy wasn't your child, mom and dad just gave her to the two of you just because you couldn't give her to her real parents," Ricky snaps.
"Richard, your mom and I only agreed to let your Aunt and Uncle raise her until we were able to get a bigger home," Matias says.
Tracy's POV
I am not in the mood to hear anything more my 'father,' uncle Mace or Aunt Addison has to say. I also knew running on my knee was a terrible idea, but at some point, the rush of different emotions in my system must have triggered a rush of adrenaline. I drop my crutches and sprint down the hall.
"Patricia Maria Ramirez, this reaction is very juvenile," Mace shouts.
"I don't care. I need some time to process things alone," I snap back.
I'm not sure what emotion to express right now. The only thought on my mind is to find someplace to cry my eyes out I hope to calm down enough to attempt to rationalize my 'parents' decision to allow my aunt and Uncle to raise me, then forget about me once they found a bigger house. I make it out to Wheeljack's ship and head inside. I climb onto one of the seats, sit down, pull my knees to my chest, and let the tears stream down my face.
