Acceptance

A week had passed since the Mission City battle. Bumblebee was now living in the Witwicky garage. Sam had thought it was very sweet that his father had cleaned out garage for the Autobot. That was until he realized that only reason why Ron did that was to keep Bumblebee as far from the house as possible. No matter how hard Sam tried he couldn't get his parents to connect with the Autobot. Then one memorable day Ron finally took to Bumblebee.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and Ron was in the backyard barbequing. Sam was resting in a chair and Judy was in the kitchen preparing food. Bumblebee had emerged from the garage and was standing near the edge of the lawn. He had learned that Ron was very protective of his lawn and did not dare to step upon it. Ron in turn would not remove his eyes from the Autobot, following his every little move, frowning as he did so. Bumblebee's metal shoulders sagged, clearly disappointed that the majority of his human charges did not trust him.

Sam couldn't handle seeing Bumblebee upset. He got out of his chair and walked over to the giant Autobot, took a giant metal finger and wrapped his fingers around it.

"Come on, 'Bee," he said. "Come join the party."

"What?" Bumblebee and Ron said at the same time. Sam merely pulled on Bumblebee's hand. After gazing hesitantly at Sam, Bumblebee allowed the boy to steer him to where Ron was standing. Bumblebee stepped tentatively on the grass, doing his best to avoid causing damage to the lawn. Ron paled and winced at every step that the Autobot took. After checking to make sure that his precious lawn hadn't been maimed Ron returned to watching Bumblebee.

Sam returned to his chair and was now observing the strange staring match between his father and his guardian. He knew that it was impossible to try to get them to talk to each other but Sam thought it was a good sign that Ron was not screaming in terror at the sight of Bumblebee. Perhaps there was hope for their relationship.

Judy emerged out of the house smiling and announcing that the hamburgers were ready for cooking. She froze when she realized Bumblebee was standing a few feet away from her. Edging slowly towards Ron, she didn't remove her gaze from the Autobot. She practically threw the hamburger patties at Ron when she got close enough, then ran back into the house. Sighing, Sam followed her.

"Mom, are you ok?" he asked. "I've told you, Bumblebee is a friend. You shouldn't be scared of him."

"I know. It's just crazy to see a giant alien standing in my backyard. I still want to go out there and kick his ass."

Sam groaned. "Well, don't do that. You've got to be the only person in the world who would take on a giant robot willingly."

"It's because I am protective of my little Sammy," Judy replied, hugging her son. "You left your father out there alone," she said accusingly.

Sam gasped. "You're right! I shouldn't have done that to 'Bee!" Judy raised an eyebrow. "I mean to dad," Sam added hastily. He hurried back outside and was greeted with one of the strangest sights that he would ever see.

Ron was busy cooking the hamburger patties and Bumblebee was kneeling down, fixated on what the human was doing. Ron would flip a patty with a spatula and Bumblebee would follow its progress through the air, his head bobbing up and down. Ron seemed to be enjoying the attention. He was smiling and was closely watching Bumblebee's reactions. After a particularly fine flip, Bumblebee chirped in amazement. Ron positively beamed.

"You see, Bumblebee, cooking is an art. Some people just don't possess the inner chef. Do you know what I mean?" Bumblebee nodded, even though he clearly didn't understand, seeing how he didn't eat food. "Let me show you my finest work." Ron tossed a patty high into the air and twirled around. He caught it on the spatula just before it collided with the grill. Bumblebee broke into applause. "Thank you, thank you!" Ron cried, bowing.

"Are you two having fun?" Sam asked, smiling in amusement.

"You were right, Sam. This guy is alright," Ron said, motioning to Bumblebee. The Autobot seemed to glow in happiness.

"Are you showing off, Ron? Can't you ever not show off your "cooking" skills?" Judy asked, following Sam into the backyard.

"You're just jealous," Ron replied. Judy scowled. "I mean, yes dear." Sam laughed.

Before Sam could grab his food, Bumblebee pulled him aside.

"Thank you, Sam. Thank you for allowing me into your family and trying to get us all to connect. I… it means a lot to me."

Sam gazed into blue optics. "Well, I, uh, you're welcome, you are a part, uh… I'm not good at this kind of stuff… this is more Mikaela's area..."

"I know what you mean," Bumblebee replied. Sam smiled. They stood there until Ron started yelling for Sam to get his food before it became cold. A smiling Sam returned to his parents with Bumblebee at his side.