It takes a few tense days, but the lockdown eventually begins to cease.

Ellie's not sure whether it's because of her prayers or just sheer luck, but no one's come to her home asking if she's seen any alienesque activity. Not yet, at least, but she only continues to hope and pray that it won't happen. There's still controversy floating around, mostly about the rumors that Cemetery Wind had been spotted being aided by a suspiciously sentient-like supercar, but as it would seem any and all footage of the James River docks incident had been compromised. Ellie hasn't found anything pertaining to a black Lamborghini in the N.E.S.T. files either.

Out of simple curiosity Ellie goes back to the website that still miraculously has the decrypted Autobot profiles. She searches through them until she finds a name she's had in her mind since Crosshairs had cried in her arms.

She finds Bluestreak's profile easily enough.

A gray Autobot with big, eager eyes stares back at her. His dimensions reveal that he was actually a little smaller than most Autobots. One of his most defining features for Ellie, however, are the door-shaped wings on his back. She only found three other Autobots on record with a similar feature.

Extremely talkative, is practically written all over his information. Ellie smiles a little. It's not hard to see that he was on the younger side, possibly with a mouth that ran faster than his mind. Her smile falters when she remembers that this innocent Autobot fell victim to DC, along with so many others.

The couch dips beside her. She looks over to see Crosshairs sitting down and glance at her screen. The look on his face is hard to decipher.

"I was just... curious," Ellie says, unsure if he's just been made upset again. But Crosshairs just tilts his head curiously, "Leaked files, eh?"

"Yeah, um," Scooting over, Ellie lets him have a better look at her laptop, "I guess right after DC, someone released everything N.E.S.T. had into the open internet. It was never determined who did it, though."

"N.E.S.T. operative, probably."

Ellie frowns, "You think someone from N.E.S.T. did it?"

Crosshairs shrugs, "N.E.S.T. had nothin' to hide. Leakin' everything'll only prove we never had a second agenda. Always used to get accused of that slag."

She nods. That does make sense. The best way N.E.S.T. could have proved its innocence was to give up everything it had. Leak all evidence before it could get destroyed and let the public see who the real threat is.

"Seems to be working. There's a lot of articles debating if N.E.S.T. really did attack, seeing as their files don't have any terrorist-like information." Ellie glances at him hopefully, "Who knows, maybe it'll be enough to put a stop to the Autobot manhunt."

Crosshairs huffs, "Doubt it."

"Don't give up hope. You never know," she says, reaching over and squeezing his forearm gently. He glances down, then looks over at her laptop again. He nods to it, "Blue's profile?"

Ellie nods, "Like I said, I was curious. You want a look?"

Crosshairs takes her laptop when she offers it. It's a little peculiar, knowing that he can just as easily tap into it all in his head, but Ellie figures that it simply isn't something he's willing to do on his own. After he skims through Bluestreak's profile he snorts, "Yeah. Kid did used to talk a lot."

"He didn't sound all that bad to me."

"Nah, he wasn't," there's a longing in his voice that makes Ellie's heart hurt. Crosshairs adds, "Never blamed the kid. He survived his home city gettin' destroyed by 'Cons, back on our planet."

Ellie's eyes widen, "What, really?"

Crosshairs nods. He points at the odd wing-like doors on Bluestreak's back that she'd noticed before, "See those doorwings? Means he's Praxian. When war broke out on Cybertron, the 'Cons targeted a city called Praxis. Killed thousands of Praxians. Bluestreak somehow survived, 'long with some others."

Ellie shakes her head, "That's awful. I can't imagine how terrifying that must have been."

Crosshairs nods slowly, "We figured that's why the kid talked so much. Talkin' kept him from thinkin' about Praxis."

Sensing his mood steadily dropping due to the subject, Ellie clears her throat and throws him a small smile, "It's got your profile here, too. Wanna see?"

He nods after a moment, so she clicks out of Bluestreak's profile and finds his own. Crosshairs scans over it with a thoughtful expression.

"You know, they said you're super snarky. And cocky. And generally just... kinda mean," Ellie remarks, "Doesn't sound like you at all, honestly."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you've never really come across as 'snarky' to me. Or cocky. And you're so good with my kids," she shakes her head in disbelief, "It's like N.E.S.T. mixed up your profile or completely misjudged you, or something. This Autobot here definitely isn't the one sitting next to me."

Crosshairs stares at her for a moment, and then looks back to his own profile. After a moment he murmurs, "That was me. Before DC I wasn't exactly the... nicest 'Bot on base. Never really was of a social mech."

"I can see that," Ellie nods in understanding, "All caught up in your occupation, right? Didn't have time for anyone or anything other than your guns and the mission?"

"Somethin' like that," he nods. Handing her laptop back to her he goes on in a low voice, "Guess I just... changed. Ain't really anythin' to be snarky or cocky 'bout when everyone's dead."

She frowns as she takes it back. Crosshairs turns to the television with bored interest, and Ellie decides to leave the conversation at that.


"So guess what?"

"What?"

"I've got a surprise for you this Christmas," Jenny's voice is suspiciously cryptic over the phone, causing Ellie to raise a brow while she does the dishes, "Oh, really? And you're not going to tell me what it is, are you?"

"Nope," her sister says smugly.

"Not even a hint?" Ellie takes her phone and tucks it between her shoulder and chin so that she can use both hands to wash a pan. Jenny snorts in reply, "No! That would take the surprise out of it! You'll like it though, I promise."

"Why do I feel like you're gonna send me something either really nice or super weird?" Ellie mutters.

"Guess you'll have to wait until Christmas to find out."

Ellie shakes her head, hearing the back door open behind her. She glances behind her, knowing who it is already but certainly not expecting what she sees, "You really are the worst Jen-"

Words fail on her immediately and in an embarrassing moment she simultaneously drops the dish in her hand and her phone in her shock. Clumsily her hands frantically try to catch both, all while her eyes are still glued to the completely unexpected image of Crosshairs's holoform. Shirtless.

Why in the world the Autobot is missing an article of clothing she has no idea. That's about as far as her thought process goes before she's openly gaping like a fish at Crosshairs's bare chest, toned arms and firm abdomen. It was never lost on her that Crosshairs is good looking, but she has to admit that whoever designed his human body... Good Lord.

"Jesus, what..." she starts, but whatever she tries to say dies on her tongue and she's simply gaping at him again.

Crosshairs stands there awkwardly for a moment, then loosely gestures towards the cabinets beneath the sink, "Need a... trash bag. Or two."

"Oh-" quickly moseying off to the side Ellie snatches her phone and the dish off of the floor and turns away to desperately hide the furious blush on her face. She brings her phone back to her ear in time to hear her sister demanding, "Hello? Ellie? Did you just, like, die or something?"

She sneaks a subtle glance at Crosshairs as he pulls a bag out of the box and closes the cabinet. Pretty much.

"N-no. I just, uh, dropped my phone. Sorry," she babbles, forcing out a short laugh, "It slipped. I'm washing the dishes, so..."

"Uh huh..." Jenny replies suspiciously. Ellie watches as Crosshairs leaves the house and releases a breath she doesn't realize she's been holding in. "Why'd your voice get really husky?"

"Oh, I am kind of catching a cold," Ellie answers quickly, clearing her throat, "Sorry about that."

Again Jenny utters an unconvinced hum, making Ellie bite her lip and hope her sister doesn't pry. Unfortunately she isn't so lucky and Jenny's next question nearly has Ellie dropping her dish again, "Wait. It's a guy, isn't it?"

"W-what? No-"

"Oh my God, you stuttered. It's totally a guy!" Jenny exclaims, "There's a man in the house, isn't there? That's why you won't move here, it all makes sense!"

Ellie sputters, "Jenny, please-!"

"Dude, is he hot? He's kid-friendly, right? Why didn't you tell me you started dating again? What's his name-?"

"Jen, for God's sake, I am not dating anyone!" Ellie protests, glad for once that Jenny isn't around to see her flushed face, "There's no guy here, I haven't started dating, end of story. Goodness."

"Fine, I'll just sign you up for FarmersOnly then."

"You better not!" Ellie hisses.

Her sister just laughs, "Seriously though El, you've got to put yourself out there eventually. I know the whole Thomas thing screwed you over, and it shouldn't have, but that prick is out of your life now, for the most part."

"Jenny..."

"Don't be afraid, El," Jenny says, "They're not all like that."

Ellie's suddenly reminded of the morning she awoke in Crosshairs's arms. She remembers his piercing eyes staring into her own and his hand on her face as she sits on the counter. Don't be afraid.

"...I know, Jen," she says, glancing at the back door, "I know they're not all like that."

"Good. One complete asshole shouldn't get to ruin the rest of your life. Don't let him, Ellie. You're stronger than that," Jenny pauses then, and Ellie can hear Alex's voice in the background, "Hey listen, the hubby's calling for me so I've gotta split. I just wanted to call and tell you about our little Christmas surprise for you."

"And by telling me you mean, casually mention it but refuse to say anything about it," Ellie says teasingly.

Jenny scoffs, "Again, any hints will ruin it. Be patient! Anyways, I've gotta go."

"Tell Alex I said hi!"

"I will. Love you, sis," Jenny says, then adds in a sing-song voice, "And remember, 'you don't have to be lonely, at FarmersOnly-'"

Ellie promptly hangs up before her sister can finish that God-awful song. Smiling to herself she sends Jenny a text.

I literally hate you sometimes.

:) You know you love me sis. Ttyl!

Sighing softly she stuffs her phone into her back pocket and washes the last of the dishes. With her curiosity getting the better of her Ellie turns to the back door and takes a deep breath, mostly to brace herself mentally for the sight she was just graced with earlier. Crosshairs is apparently up to something in the garage and she wants to find out what. And probably warn him to not do that shirtless business when the kids are home.

It's a little chilly outside, which really only makes Ellie wonder even more why Crosshairs had decided to ditch half of his clothing. The answer, however, becomes a little more clear when she enters the garage. Almost instantly she's hit by a heat wave. The garage feels twenty degrees hotter than it does outside.

She finds Crosshairs's holoform leaned into the open hood of... himself. He's still very shirtless and Ellie can feel herself becoming very flustered again already. It's an odd sight, though. To anyone else it looks like a man casually working on his car, but Ellie knows that something more than that is going on, if Crosshairs's frowning face is anything to go by.

"My goodness, it feels like the sun is in here," Ellie says, coming closer.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Crosshairs mumbles. He pushes himself out from his exposed components under the hood, pliers in hand, holding a gnarly piece of shrapnel. He promptly stuffs it into the trash bag he'd gotten earlier and turns back to his task, "Still some fraggin' shrapnel in me, under my armor. Couldn't get 'em out in bipedal form, so had to do this."

"Oh, okay. That doesn't really explain why it's super hot in here."

"Heat's from me," he says simply half his holoform's body still under the hood. Ellie frowns in confusion, decides to touch him, and pulls her hand back when his fender nearly burns her. It's as if he'd been left in a hot parking lot all day, "Oh, ouch! Why are you so freaking hot? Is this normal? Are you okay? Do I need-?"

Springing out from under his hood Crosshairs waves his greasy, oily hand to quell her questions, "Easy, doll. 'M fine, just regulatin' my core temperature, too. 'S normal for Cybertronians, we gotta do it sometimes since we ain't accustomed to Earth's weather changin' all the time. 'M just expellin' heat."

"Oh..." Ellie breathes a sigh, "Sorry for freaking out, I was just worried that you were, I don't know, malfunctioning?"

Crosshairs barks a laugh, which surprises her. She doesn't think she's heard him laugh so genuinely before. He grabs the roll of blue heavy duty paper towels on the floor nearby to wipe his holoform's hands and arms. Then he saunters over to her, still wiping his hands and sporting a completely sinful smirk. Ellie suddenly feels like she's in some sort of weird and cheesy film featuring a ridiculously handsome mechanic.

Her back grows very warm, but she's more focused on Crosshairs meandering closer until he's simply smiling down at her with an expression she's never seen on him before. She gets the sudden notion that this, right here, is a touch of how he was before DC.

"You're a sweet thing, you know that?" He says in a smooth tone. Then he grabs her arm and pulls her closer, making her squeak a little. She almost bumps into his chest. Crosshairs just grins, "Shouldn't lean on me right now. Wouldn't want you to get burned."

Ellie's palm pats her back, not having realized she'd even backed into him, "O-oh, yeah. Heh..."

A thumb brushes her cheek, "Look a little red there, doll. You good?"

"Yeah no, I'm fine, I just..." Ellie waves a finger at his holoform, "This... whole thing going on here just threw me off."

"Why's that?" He asks, genuinely curious.

"You don't have a freaking shirt on, for one!"

"Yeah, so?" Crosshairs tosses the used paper towel into the trash bag, "It's hot as the pit in here. Was startin' to sweat."

"...Your holoform sweats?"

Crosshairs wipes his brow and shrugs, "Apparently."

Ellie watches him return to his upturned hood. He yanks out another piece of shrapnel, turns back to her and says, "'M sorry, by the way. For uh, scarin' you in the house."

She shakes her head, "You didn't scare me Crosshairs, just... once again I was not mentally prepared for... seeing you like that."

"What's wrong with it, thought a lot of human males take their shirt off," Crosshairs muses. He looks vaguely amused at her visible discomfort.

"What? No, men don't just take their shirts off-" Ellie pauses, thinks over her words and sighs, "Well -okay, yes they'll do it when they're working on something. Sometimes."

"Right so, what's the problem, doll?" He says with a smirk. At this point Ellie's well aware that the Autobot is teasing her. It's impossible that he's not aware that his image is distracting. He may be alien, but he's still very much a male. And she's very much a flustered female.

"...Nothing, nothing, forget it," Ellie waves her hands.

Crosshairs raises a brow, "Hold on-"

"-Oh, look it's almost three o' clock," Ellie pulls out her phone and shows it to him, "Looks like I've got to pick the kids up. Which, by the way, please put something on when they're home, will you?"

"I'll do that," Giving up the topic Crosshairs smirks and returns to his task, calling out while she leaves, "I'll be here."

Ellie smiles and rolls her eyes.


After making sure both Charlie and Maddie have their homework done and helping them through it, both children practically leap from the living room and dash towards the back door.

"We're gonna hang out with Crosshairs!" Maddie calls.

"Hey, don't pester him too much, you two!" Ellie says and signs before they can take off to the Autobot in the garage, "He's working on... himself, so, give him space. You understand?"

Both of them nod. Then they give her a hug and thank her before her kids race each other through the backyard. Crossing her arms she smiles at them. If there's one thing she can appreciate about Crosshairs it's his never-ending patience with Charlie and Maddie. It's still bizarre to her that in N.E.S.T. he was hardly even tolerant of most humans, but now she's seen him let her kids touch him, ride in him, even hug him even though he has yet to reciprocate to those.

Ellie decides to do the mundane tasks while she's alone in the house. Laundry, vacuuming, bills, and she even calls up her job to see what the status report on that is. As it would seem, though, since the lockdown is still in place she won't be working anytime soon. Thank goodness for Thomas's hefty checks.

She's folding clothes in the living room and watching some live talk show when she hears a knock at the door.

Carefully getting up and approaching her front door Ellie tries to see through the window, but at the angle it's at she can't see very well. Only the vague shape of the person on the other side. She glances back, making sure Crosshairs hasn't snuck in like he sometimes does, and answers the door. The sight of a police uniform makes her breath hitch immediately.

"Good evening, ma'am," the policeman says, nodding in greeting. He's an older gentleman, with a beard and graying hair and just a little bit of a belly. Nothing about him screams 'suspicious' right away, but that doesn't ease Ellie's nerves any.

"I apologize for the disturbance. I'm Officer Dan Jenkins, local MPD," he shows her his badge and then goes on, "I'm here to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

"Questions...?" She squeaks.

He nods, "DC's recent lockdown has put you on edge, I'm sure. I'm simply here to inquire about anything pertaining to the Autobots. We are going door to door, trying to collect any information. In fact, I have some things that I would like to show you."

Ellie eyes the folder in his grasp. She then looks up at him and the officer asks, "May I come in?"

"I..." she glances behind her again, knowing very well what can happen in this situation. But refusing would shoot his own suspicions sky high. Swallowing the lump in her throat she puts on a smile and opens the door fully. "Y-yes, of course..."

This is bad, Ellie, this is really bad, she thinks to herself over and over. She hopes that she can get him in and out before any potential incident. She runs her hand through her hair and forces her breathing to be level, looking as inconspicuous as she possibly can. Don't panic. Don't panic.

"Would you like a cup of coffee, sir?" She asks politely, "I have a warm pot in the kitchen."

Officer Dan smiles, "I'd love one, thank you."

Ellie leads him to the kitchen and grabs the pot, her eyes darting to the little window above the sink. The garage is closed up, thank goodness. As she pours the coffee into a cup he asks, "Have you seen anything unusual as of late, ma'am? Any vehicles you've come across that have behaved strangely?"

"No, no I haven't," she answers, keeping her voice calm and level. With a polite smile she sets the steaming cup on the island in front him and holds her hands together in front of her.

Officer Dan thanks her and takes the cup. He looks around, "Anyone else live here?"

"Yes. My two kids and..." Ellie hesitates, debating on if she should say anymore. Before she can think up an answer the back door opens and in comes her aforementioned kids, "Hey, Mom! We-"

Maddie as soon as she sees the policeman, her face falls instantly. Charlie comes in a moment later, pulling on the hand of the one Ellie had hoped wouldn't come back in. Had Officer Dan not been here, she would have been deeply touched and amused at the sight of her little boy holding Crosshairs's large hand. Instead, however, she's filled with dread as the Autobot lands eyes on the officer and stiffens.

For a moment no one says anything. Ellie sees Crosshairs's demeanor switch in seconds, going from passive to defensive in stance. It's so subtle that Officer Dan clearly doesn't notice, but Ellie sees that guarded brace of his shoulders, the slight clench of his jaw, and his sharp eyes zeroing in on the policeman. To anyone else he would simply look like a man wary of enforcement in his home. To her, he's a seasoned soldier identifying a threat and determining what he's going to in the next couple of minutes.

"Evening, sir," Officer Dan inclines his head civilly, "I'm just here to ask a few questions, if you don't mind."

"Questions 'bout what?" Crosshairs says. His voice is a whole octave lower and laced with a dangerous tone that only Ellie hears. Glancing between them nervously she gestures at Maddie, her daughter quickly slipping to her side. Charlie tries to move, but Crosshairs pushes him behind, shielding him and making it very clear that he's ready to protect her son.

Still oblivious to Crosshairs and his subtle hostility, Officer Dan sips on his coffee and looks between them, "Are you two...?"

"We're dating!" Ellie says immediately, "This is my... boyfriend."

"I see," the policeman nods and looks to Crosshairs again, "What's your name, son?"

Crosshairs doesn't reply right away, as is expected. He glances at Ellie, watches her lips as she mouths a name, and then answers in a tense voice, "Chris. Name's Chris... Harrison."

"Officer Dan Jenkins, local MPD," he extends his hand, which Crosshairs very hesitantly shakes with a weak smile. He then looks down at Charlie, who's clutching at Crosshairs's hand and partially hiding behind his long legs. The little boy knows something is clearly wrong and looks to his mother for help when the officer addresses him.

"Oh, he's deaf," Ellie says, signing as well, "He can't hear you. He's my son, Charlie."

"Ah," Officer Dan stands back up offering her son a small wave instead. Charlie only tucks himself further behind Crosshairs. He turns around to address the girls and Ellie holds her daughter's shoulders, "I'm Ellie Bowens. This is my daughter, Madison."

Maddie waves timidly, "Hi..."

"Pleased to meet all of you," taking one last sip before putting his coffee down Officer Dan takes the folder out from under his shoulder and places it on the island, "Again, I apologize for taking up your time, but I have a few pictures here. I just want you to tell me if you've seen any of these vehicles."

Ellie nods. Crosshairs looks like the human definition of a tight spring ready to snap, so she asks the officer while retaining her pleasant smile, "Okay. Do you mind if we settle the kids upstairs first before we do that?"

Officer Dan nods, "Of course."

"Thank you. We'll be right back," Ellie gently steers Maddie to the stairs and Crosshairs follows, Charlie's little hand still in his own. They all clamber up the stairs and as soon as they take her children to Maddie's room at the end of the hallway she whips around with big eyes, "Mom, why's he here? What-?"

"Shh, shh, it's okay. Just stay up here with Charlie, okay? We're just going to... answer some questions for the policeman," Ellie soothes, stroking Maddie's hair. She places a kiss on her forehead and then bends down to Charlie who's still glued to Crosshairs. She briefly signs the situation as simply as she can and kisses him, too, before coaxing him away from the Autobot and directing him into his sister's arms.

Once she exits the room she hears Crosshairs mumble tersely behind her, "Ellie..."

"Hey, look at me," turning to him she places her hands on his shoulders and runs them up and down, whispering, "You need to relax. Looking tense the whole time is not going to help."

He growls softly, "I told you this would happen-"

"It's a local police officer, Crosshairs, not the damn CIA!" Ellie hisses, then stops before she grows too loud. Taking a deep breath she takes his hand and squeezes it, "He just wants to ask some questions. That's not too hard for you, is it?"

He shakes his head.

"Good, then let's go. Just follow my lead and stay calm. Everything will be fine."

She tugs, urging the reluctant Autobot to follow her downstairs and back into the kitchen where Officer Dan is standing patiently and finishing his coffee. Ellie puts on her polite smile again, "Sorry that took so long. My son didn't really understand what was happening."

"It's all right, ma'am," he says. She notices his eyes glance at their conjoined hands and hopes it looks convincing enough. Crosshairs seems to have noticed it too, because he lets go of her hand and instead places his palm on her lower back in what would look like an affectionate action. Ellie smiles up at him briefly and he smiles back, although it's a tentative one. But at least he's following her lead.

"As you both probably already know, we've had suspicious activity surrounding DC ever since the incident with N.E.S.T," Officer Dan explains while pulling open the folder, "There have been some reports of Autobot sightings within the last few weeks, and we're required to forward that information to the higher ups. These there are some photos of Autobots in their vehicle forms. We've cross referenced them with sighting descriptions."

Crosshairs shifts his weight. Ellie watches as the policeman takes out a couple images that she recognizes from the leaked Autobot profiles.

"So you're saying that... there's Autobots who escaped the base?" Ellie asks, genuinely curious. She glances at Crosshairs and sees that he, too, is surprised by what the officer had said.

"A fair number of them, yes. A couple of which have seen spotted in the area still. These are the Autobots who best fit the descriptions of suspicious vehicles that have been reported. Let's start with this one," Officer Dan pushes the first photo across the island towards them and Ellie takes it, "Have you seen this vehicle anywhere?"

It's a bright red Ferrari. Ellie's shakes her head right away, "Oh, definitely not. I barely see sports cars in this area, let alone an exotic."

Crosshairs pushes it back, "Nah. Haven't seen it."

He takes the imagine back and nods, handing them another, "How about this one?"

The next one is a light green Hummer. Ellie vaguely recalls the Autobot with that vehicle mode having a knack for throwing wrenches.

"Um, no I don't think I've seen this one either," Ellie says, handing it back. Crosshairs shakes his head as well.

"All right. Here's another one for you," he hands her the third photo and Ellie feels her breath leave her lungs for a moment. The next photo is of a pure white Nissan GTR.

"Thank you..."

"Dre. I'm Dre."

"Ellie..." she feels a nudge on her shoulder and snaps into the present. She glances between Crosshairs, the picture, and the officer standing expectantly. She blinks and passes the picture back a little too quickly, "Sorry, no. Haven't seen it."

Officer Dan quirks a brow, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just... was trying to think if I've seen a white Nissan like that but," she throws her hands up and purses her lips, "Nope. Nothing comes to mind."

"What about you, Mr. Harrison?" He turns to Crosshairs, showing him the image one last time.

Crosshairs hums a negative, "Don't recall anythin' like that."

Officer Dan examines each of them for a short moment. Then he grunts and takes out the last photo. Ellie takes it almost eagerly, ready to deny it so that the policeman will leave. But she sees the red and blue color scheme and frowns right away. Sure enough, it's an older model Corvette. They know that Crosshairs has escaped.

"Weird colors for a car like that," she remarks, hoping the touch of humor will help keep the officer derailed. She hears Crosshairs suppress an offended snort while she shakes her head once again and slides the photo back, "Going to be another negative from us, officer. We haven't seen any of those cars."

"It's quite all right, ma'am. We don't expect everyone to. From what we understand about Cybertronians, they're very adaptable creatures," Officer Dan looks between them, "They're good at blending in."

"Crazy thing to think about, right?" Ellie lets out a curt laugh, but the more Officer Dan stares at Crosshairs, the more her nerves wear thin. With his eyes still on the Autobot's holoform he picks up the folder containing the pictures, "Well, in any case, thank you both for your time. And thank you for the coffee."

"You're welcome," Ellie takes the cup and places it in the sink. She sees Officer Dan walk to the front door and exchanges a relieved look with Crosshairs, who's shoulders gradually loosen as he relaxes. Scampering after the policeman, she's ready to send him off when he turns around.

"By the way, I'm curious. What year's that old 'Vette in your garage, Ms. Bowens?"

Ellie's blood turns cold, "O-oh, that old thing? I think it's, um..."

"It's a '94," Crosshairs says behind her. As they both turn to him he goes on in a surprisingly convincing tone, "Yeah, bought it in pieces as my own personal project. 'S got some kinks in it but I've got it runnin' for the most part."

"Yeah, Chris here has a knack for those classic cars. Right, hon?" Ellie smiles up at him, "That thing was just a wreck when you first got it."

Crosshairs attempts to smile back but it looks more forced than anything else. Luckily the policeman doesn't seem to notice it. He nods slowly and backs away to his car, "I see. Have a good night, you two."

Ellie waves and closes the door as Officer Dan drives away, bringing her forehead to the door with a light thud. She releases the breath she's been holding in and turns to Crosshairs, "You opened the garage so he can see you?"

"I didn't fraggin' know he was here," Crosshairs hisses back. His eyes dart to the door with a troubled look, "Frag, if I hadn't changed my paint..."

"The paint may not be enough," she remarks, remembering what Officer Dan had asked her, "If only you could change your model, too."

Crosshairs's eyes brighten right away at her comment. Whatever is on his tongue is put on hold, though, when he's suddenly bombarded with small arms around his waist. Charlie looks up at the Autobot with his big brown eyes full of worry. Bringing up one hand he signs, 'Gone?'

Smiling slightly, Crosshairs nods, 'Gone.'

When Charlie breaks away he's quickly replaced by Maddie. She's never hugged him before, so it's a surprise for everyone when her daughter embraces him. With one side of her face pressed against his stomach she says, "I was so scared that you were gonna be taken away!"

He crouches down so that he's at Maddie's level and tucks a strand of light brown hair behind her ear. It's the most affectionate action Ellie's seen him perform towards one of her children. Her pleasantly surprised smile grows even more when he signs what he says for Charlie, "Don't have to worry 'bout me. I ain't goin' anywhere."

Both of her kids beam. Ellie doesn't think she's seen them any happier than when they're with Crosshairs. He's so quickly become such an important figure in their lives that it's difficult to remember what it was like before him.

'Outside?' Charlie signs eagerly, and Crosshairs nods. Her little boy all but races to the back door. He turns to Ellie, frowns when he sees the tears and holds a finger to Maddie, murmuring, "One second."

Maddie nods and slips after her brother, leaving the two adults alone. Crosshairs grasps the woman's small shoulders and gently directs her to face him. He wipes a tear away, "What's wrong, doll?"

"Nothing, actually," Ellie chokes out out a chuckle and wipes her face, "It's just that... seeing you interact with my children. It makes me happy."

Crosshairs gazes at her unconvincingly, "You don't look happy."

"No trust me, I am. Tears of joy, I promise," she laughs again, then she looks up at him more seriously, "My kids have lived so long with no positive male figure, until now. You've been so good with them and they adore you and... again, it just makes me really happy. Thank you."

"'S no problem," he shrugs, his eyes averting to the back door with somewhat of a fond look, "They're good younglin's. Reminds me of... of how Blue was."

Ellie smiles sadly, and they stand there for and quiet moment until Crosshairs utters a strange noise and scrunches his face. Ellie raises a brow, "What was that all about?"

"...Charlie's huggin' my fender."

Ellie bursts into laugher with that image in mind. Tugging on his strong arms she inclines her head towards the back door, "Come on, then, before he starts climbing all over you."


Maddie wakes up that night to the sound of an engine. Climbing out from her bed she looks through her window to see a car slowly rolling down the driveway. Not just any car, though. She recognizes the dark shape and quietly slips downstairs as quickly as she can.

The cold night temperature bites at her delicate skin almost as soon as she opens the front door. It makes her shiver, so Maddie grabs the blanket hanging over the back of the couch and hastily wraps it around herself before she bolts outside. "Wait!"

Crosshairs slows to a stop as Maddie runs up to him. She frowns deeply and asks, "You're leaving us?"

The black Corvette reverses a little and Maddie reaches out to touch his window. It feels like he's humming beneath her fingers, and unlike a standard car he's warm to the touch.

"There's somethin' I've gotta do, darlin'," he says, his voice rumbling and low.

"But you'll come back, right?" Maddie says with hope in her voice. Clutching her blanket with her fist she takes takes a step closer to his purring frame, "Please tell me you'll come back."

Crosshairs replies with no hesitation, "I'll be back."

"Promise?"

"...I promise."

Smiling a little and trusting his word, Maddie drops her hand from his window as he eases forward again. "'S cold out here, younglin'. Go back inside, you hear?"

"I will," Maddie says with a small nod.

"Good girl," he says, and then Crosshairs drives. The cool breeze bites at Maddie's flushed face but she stands there until the Autobot's red taillights fade into the night. As she heads back inside the young girl tries to push her worries away. He won't leave them, will he? He promised that he would come back. Maybe he won't be gone for very long at all.

Maddie clings to that promise for the rest of the night.


And thus, we're approaching the turning point in this story. Also, dad!Crosshairs is best Crosshairs and nothing will convince me otherwise. One of the things I enjoy most about writing this particular story is exploring the more tender, quiet side of him. It may seem OOC, but even tough guys can grow soft, especially considering what Crosshairs is trying to cope with. :)

Thank you all again for all the favorites and follows and reviews!