Author's Note (Eowyn77): Firstly, I know this will disappoint some people, but Annabelle doesn't end up romantically involved with any of the Autobots. Her relationship with them is friendship bordering on family. HOWEVER, twins will be twins. ;)
(I know there's no evidence of a movieverse Sunstreaker, but it's just inconceivable to have Sideswipe without his brother, so meh.)
Secondly, this chapter will be a lot more meaningful if you've read chapter 4 of Introductions: Sarah Lennox. Sarah recaps here what happens in that chapter, but there's so much more to her and Arcee's story! Please, please, please read it first! (And review, if you're so inclined. I'm a newbie to the fandom and very insecure.) :)
Thirdly, thank you to xJustAnotherDreamerx, aisarete, and Marinelife37 for the reviews and encouragement!
At my request, my fourteenth birthday party was a back-yard football game. Unfortunately, it also involved a very embarrassing surprise serenade of "Happy Birthday" by Sunny and Sides that ended with them each on one knee on both sides of me offering me a yellow and a silver-grey rose, respectively. I just about died from embarrassment, but the others thought this was hysterical, mostly because both Hyde and my dad were fit to be tied.
My fifteenth birthday was a lower-key affair. R.C. and Mia came over for a slumber party with me and my mom while Dad went to stay with Hyde. My present from R.C. was a set of four paint guns, and Mia's present was ammo (in copious quantities, true to her style). So after a nighttime round of team paintball (R.C. and I won), we went inside for birthday cake, ice cream straight from the carton, and a movie. It was an oldie called Miss Congeniality that we all laughed ourselves silly over. Then we gave each other pedicures and talked about nothing in particular until I passed out around 0200 hours. I have no idea how late the others stayed up. Around 1100 hours, we finally woke up enough for strawberry crepes and coffee. (It was a school day, but family tradition was that I got to stay home from school on my birthday.)
We were just finishing when Dad and Hyde came home. He and Hyde had both taken a half-day off work for my special day. "How's the birthday girl?" Dad asked, giving me a big hug.
"Groggy," I answered.
"After sleeping in 'til noon?" he teased.
R.C. and Mia both gave me hugs before quietly slipping out. Their shifts started at 1300. "See you soon," R.C. promised.
"See ya."
"So. Big day," Hyde said, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He looked almost nervous. He hadn't given me a present yet, and from his expression, I suspected it was a doozy.
"What did you do?" I demanded, expecting a mischievous grin to light up his face any second.
"Nothing."
"Um-hum. Riiight."
He shrugged, smiling just a little. Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he offered me a small, wrapped box.
"Go on," Dad encouraged. "Open it."
I went to the living room and sat down on the couch, tearing the paper off. Hyde sat beside me. Inside the box was a small, sleek, expensive-looking cell phone.
"Qwerty keyboard, 10 megapixel camera, and voice-to-text capabilities," Hyde bragged. "And all of our names and phone numbers already programmed in."
It wasn't what I was expecting – especially having the personal phone numbers of my Dad's co-workers – but it was a very sweet gift. A grown-up gift, I abruptly realized. I threw my arms around Hyde. "Thank you so much!"
He hugged me tightly. "Anything for you, Spitlet."
I groaned. "Please don't call me that."
His strong shoulders shook with laughter, and he let me go. "Alright. Annabelle. But that's not your only surprise today."
I looked at him expectantly, but he glanced up to Dad like he needed a little help.
"You'll have to go to the back yard to get it," Dad said. He looked a little apprehensive, too.
"Okay," I said uncertainly, standing up. My first thought was that maybe Hyde had bought me a car, but I was only fifteen and didn't even have a learner's permit. And why was everyone so nervous. "Do I need a blindfold?"
"No," Mom said, laughing a little and taking my hand. "Come on."
Hyde's Topkick was in the back yard. Mom paused on the back deck, her arm around me. Dad leaned against the railing facing me, while Hyde went down to stand in front of his truck. My father took a deep breath. "Annabelle, have you ever wondered what I do at work?"
I shrugged. "Sure, but it's all extremely top secret."
"Not anymore," he answered. "Not for you."
I looked from him to Hyde and back in surprise. "Huh?"
"You know the aliens that attacked Earth?"
"Yeah."
"Not all of them are bad. In fact, some are our friends." He turned and nodded to Hyde.
Hyde blinked out of existence.
My breath whooshed out like someone had punched me. He'd disappeared into thin air, right in front of me. "Where…?"
The hood of the truck split down the middle, and I watched in horror as the vehicle shifted and morphed into the shape of a robot.
NO! This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't.
"This is Ironhide," my dad was saying. "He's an Autobot and has spent your entire lifetime defending the whole of planet Earth from the Decepticons."
"No," I whispered.
"I'm afraid so," the thing with Hyde's voice said. "We wanted to tell you – "
A blood-curdling, horror-struck scream fell out of my mouth.
"Annabelle," Dad said sharply.
"No." I shook my head, stepping back. Mom's arm on me tightened just a little bit in support. I shook her off, taking another step back. This was Hyde?"NO!"
The robot held his arms out almost like he wanted a hug. "Please, Spitlet."
"NO!"I shrieked.
Dad grabbed my arm and said to the monster, "Excuse us a minute." Hauling me back into the kitchen, he got right in my face.
"Annabelle Marie Lennox, what is wrong with you? Ironhide has been your friend since you were a baby."
"No, my friends are human!"
Dad narrowed his eyes. "You know him. You know he won't harm you. You know he's one of the good guys."
"I don't know anything anymore!" I could feel my hands trembling. The monster in the backyard knelt down, looking worriedly in through the window.
"Look," Dad growled. "The first time I saw one of these things, it was tearing up Soccent, and the only reason I survived was that I kept a cool head. The day your mother met Ironhide, she threatened his life if he didn't bring me home safely – and he was in his robot form. You're our daughter and I expect you to show a little more backbone. You're shaming us both!"
Shaming them. I was having a freaking crisis and all he could care about was the impression I was making on his alien buddy.
"I hate you," I hissed. And then I bolted to my bedroom and locked the door. Throwing myself on my bed, I lay face down on my pillow and cried. They'd lied to me. Who else was an alien monster? My parents? R.C. and Mia? Bobby and Theresa Epps? Sunny and Sides? Who had known? Who had lied? I felt the answer to that last one: everyone. Everyone must have known. My whole life, everyone I'd ever trusted had lied.
A few minutes later, there was a light knock on my door. "Annabelle?" my mom said.
I just buried my head under my pillow.
After another minute or so, she softly began to sing. It was my favorite lullaby when I was little.
Sparkling laughter, sparkling strong,
Sparkling smile, sparkling song.
Sparkling weeping, sparkling bright,
Sparkling daughter, sparkling mine.
Sparkling gentle, sparkling sweet,
Sparkling welcome, mine to keep,
Sparkling growing, mine to love,
Sparkling little, sparkling safe.
When first your light filled me,
I wept to hold you near.
A part of me, yet all your own,
Mine until you're grown.
Sparkling laughter, sparkling song,
Sparkling smile, sparkling strong.
Sparkling weeping, sparkling bright,
Sparkling daughter, sparkling mine.
"R.C. taught me the English version of the song," Mom said. "It was a traditional lullaby on her world."
"Use her real name!" I snapped before I could stop myself.
"That is her real name, except if you look in your phone, it's spelled A-R-C-E-E."
When I didn't answer, she kept going in a soft voice, as if she was talking to herself. "She was first a teacher and then a scientist before the War that destroyed her world. She taught younglings, the equivalent of middle school, more or less." A pause, waiting for me to comment. After a few seconds, she went on. "Mia, or Chromia as most people call her, says that the younglings were the best preparation any civilian could have had for combat. Early on in the War, Arcee defended neutrals, people who hadn't joined either faction, because the Decepticons were killing indiscriminately. She was instrumental in winning a couple of crucial battles before coming here."
Another pause, and when Mom started talking again, she sounded nostalgic. "The first day I met her, Will was in the hospital on base because he'd been injured. At the time, I only had clearance to interact with Ironhide, but Optimus Prime made the decision to introduce me to everyone." Again she paused. "You were only a year old at the time. Arcee was so…in awe of you, Annabelle. They all were. Their children were all killed in the War. Every last one. You were a miracle in their eyes. And until little Danny Epps came along, you were the only child they could know. You were hope incarnate to them. Precious. A treasure."
Another pause, longer this time. She sighed before continuing. "They were all jealous that Arcee got the chance to hold you in her human holoform, so much so that Optimus brought it up with the liaison. It was feared that a young child would let the secret slip, so after much arguing with the Secretary of Defense, a compromise was reached. The Autobots could interact with you as long as they stayed in their holoforms and strictly acted human. It was decided that at the age of fifteen, we could let you in on the secret." A pause. "Ironhide and the femmes have chafed at needing to hide so much from you, but a deal was a deal. They've looked forward to this day for years. They want you to truly know them."
She paused a long while then, but I was still giving her the silent treatment.
"They love you, Annabelle. Ironhide loves you. Forget his exterior and look on his heart."
"He doesn't have a heart!" I snarled.
On the other side of the door, Mom chuckled once. "No. But he has a spark. It's the part of them that makes them unique. Their soul, I guess. It's a physical orb of light that a Cybertronian carries in his chest. Or her chest. When their spark is extinguished, they die. Remember the song? They call one of their babies a sparkling. The best translation would be 'dear heart.' Look on his soul, Annabelle, because he does have one, and you've loved his soul for as long as you can remember."
I didn't answer, and after a few minutes, her footsteps retreated down the hall.
Half an hour later, another, firmer knock rapped on my door. "Annabelle?" Dad asked. He sounded calmer, but I could hear he was nowhere near apologizing. When I didn't answer, he spoke again, sounding frustrated. (Good, I thought.) "Ironhide went back to the base. It's safe to come out, now."
He was so clueless that he didn't deserve an answer. After a minute, his footsteps retreated down the hall, too.
I stayed in my room all day, listening to music on my MP3 player. At about 1400 hours, I got a text message on my new phone from a contact labeled Ironhide. It simply said, "I'm sorry." I deleted the message. Mom came upstairs about 1800 hours to tell me dinner was ready, and after a couple of minutes, I decided I was hungry enough to endure a meal with them. Dad tried to make conversation like today was just another day, but Mom only gave him short answers and kept throwing him warning glances. I went back upstairs before dessert and stayed there the rest of the evening.
The next morning, I went downstairs for a silent breakfast in my pajamas and then went back up to my bedroom. A few minutes later, my mom knocked on the door and asked if I was going to school or not.
"Not," I answered. "I'm too sick."
She left without another word. I guess lying was easy for her. The next day was Saturday, and I spent the whole weekend like that, leaving my bedroom only to eat or shower. Every now and then I could hear my parents arguing, but I just turned up the volume on the player. On Monday morning after Dad left for the base, I got ready for school and silently stalked out to the garage. The minivan sat perfectly still. "Is it…?"
"No," Mom answered. "It's just a minivan. The only Autobots you know are Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia, and the other ones with weird nicknames."
"Epps?"
"No. His entire family is human."
That was a relief. At least I had a few human friends.
"And we won't throw any more of them at you until you're ready," Mom added solemnly, gauging my reaction. "But Ironhide is our guardian. When he's not on active duty, he'll still come here. Not in his human holoform or his robotic base mode, though. He'll just be in his alt-form, just your father's truck."
Just a truck – another lie. Looking away from my mom, I climbed into the front seat.