chapter nineteen

Silence reigned among the Autobots as they shot down the highway. For once, Optimus found himself grateful for his chosen alt mode. Semis were less likely to be pulled over for speeding so long as he wasn't too much over the limit, and there was no way he was going sixty. He kept scanning ahead, searching for the blip on his radar that would indicate Mirage's presence. He knew the Autobot warrior would be cloaked. Mirage really had no love of any planet other than Cybertron, so very unlike the other spies that worked for Optimus. Bumblebee and Jazz had taken to Earth quickly – especially Bumblebee. At first, Optimus hadn't quite understood what the young spy had found so fascinating about the stuttering human teenager called Sam.

Now he thought he understood.

He hadn't realized Sing was picking up on his meandering thoughts until the soldier said, quite offhandedly, "I'm not a stuttering teenager, you know."

Optimus couldn't help but laugh. "I'm very well aware of it." he teased. Sing chuckled, but it was short-lived. Optimus hesitated, but continued to speak. "Mirage is one of my best spies. He will come through for us."

Sing grinned. "I'm not surprised. I'm kinda curious about these other guys though – Maggie and Glenn. Who are they?"

Optimus couldn't exactly smile in alt mode, but Sing could feel his mirth anyway. "I believe the human term is hackers. Maggie is a signal analyst. She's worked for the NSA for the past twenty-five years, while Glenn has, ah, backed her."

Sing chuckled at that. "Are they an item?"

"Pardon?"

"Together. Dating. Or even married, but somehow I doubt that." Sing shrugged. "Glenn doesn't strike me as the type to settle down and have a family."

"He's not." Optimus agreed. "I believe the term you would use is dating." He hesitated, unsure. "You have strange ways of identifying relationships."

Sing laughed, understanding the implied question. "I always thought so. Dating is like courting – you find someone you like, you go out places together, get to know each other. Decide if you want to spend the rest of your life with them. If you do, then the guy usually asks the girl to marry him. If she says yes, then they're engaged. When they finally hold the wedding, then they're husband and wife, and completely off-limits to anyone else." He shrugged. "We've got I-don't-know-how-many odd names for it. You'd have to do a search to see them all, and I'm not sure if that would be –" He cut himself off, and Optimus felt the alarm wash through him. "What the pit was that?!"

Prime checked his sensors and almost laughed. "That would be Mirage."

"I can't see him, but I know he's there." Sing shivered a little. "That is really creepy."

Optimus opened the comm. links with Mirage. "Have you set up a place?" he asked. Sing leaned forward a little, listening in. Mirage sent affirmative.

"There is a locale thirty miles west of our present location." Mirage informed him. "Prime, my sensors detect the presence of humans with you and Ratchet."

Optimus sighed. This was not a conversation he wanted to get into now. "I'll explain when we're all safe." he assured his soldier. Mirage once again sent affirmative. "Guide us out to this location. The sooner we get underground, the better." Mirage transmitted the Cybertronian equivalent of 'follow me', and shut down the comm. link. Sing frowned.

"Somehow, I get the feeling that was rather rude." he said.

"It was." Optimus said calmly. "Mirage is a little like Cliffjumper, just not nearly as impulsive. He doesn't care much for inferior races." Sing made a face, but he didn't get the chance to comment. A black GMC Topkick came flying around them, narrowly missing where an invisible Mirage was leading them to the nearest exit , followed quickly by a police cruiser with flashing lights and a wailing siren. Optimus was about to contact Ironhide and demand just how he managed to get caught by the humans already when the unthinkable happened.

The back window slid open. Anna stuck her head out, bringing her M40A3 to bear on the police cruiser. Instead of aiming for the driver's side of the windshield, like she should have been to take out a human driver, she took aim at the grille on the front of the car. She was aiming for the engine. She fired off a round and shot off the grille. The police cruiser swerved a little before lining up and ramming Ironhide from behind. Optimus' engine growled, but a comm. link from Sideswipe stopped him.

"Let them alone! Sunny and I are coming from the south, and Jazz is coming in from the east. Show us where we need to go, Prime. Let the trigger-happies deal with Barricade."

Sing gripped the seat tightly. "That's my commander, Optimus."

"And my bodyguard." Optimus reminded him gently. He turned down the exit with Mirage, the others following his lead. He heard a few more shots from the highway, and Sing flinched. "It's all right. They'll be with us soon enough. Sing!" His sharp voice got the soldier's attention. "They're buying us the time we need to get away."

"I know." He reached out and touched the dash briefly. "I'm sorry."

"Bumblebee reporting!" The frantic comm. link came to all of them. Optimus considered reminding them that they were supposed to be maintaining radio silence, but the fear in the yellow spy's voice had him paying close attention. "Ratchet, Stringer, we need help!"

"What's going on, Bee?" Stringer's voice, calm as ever. No wonder why she was the medic.

"Mikaela's gone into labor. Stringer, I don't know what to do!"

There was a brief pause. "How far along is she?"

"Six months."

Now there was several curses before Stringer spoke again. "Not good, not good at all. Ratchet, I think you're about to get a crash-course in modern natal care."

"Oh joy." came the sarcastic response. Optimus wished he could roll his optics.

Mirage finally turned off the main road and parked inside an underground chamber. "It's not much, but it will do for now." he announced. Optimus pulled in behind him, followed quickly by Ratchet, Hound, Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, and Bumblebee. In a flash, Stringer was out of Ratchet and over to Bumblebee, helping Sam get Mikaela out of the passenger's seat. James was quickly out as well. An anxious Bumblebee quickly ran a scan on the place, then ran through a list of curses he had picked up from Ironhide when he realized there was no room to transform. He wanted so badly to be able to touch Sam, to comfort him as he watched his human family in distress.

Stringer glanced around. The place had obviously been chosen with Autobots in mind. It was the underground level of a parking garage – out of the way of human satellites and prying eyes. Unfortunately, there was nothing to let a woman in labor lay against, much less anything to help with the actual delivery. She didn't say anything to Mirage about that. "Ratchet, you wouldn't mind-"

"Not at all." He opened the back doors, and Sam and Stringer got Mikaela laying on her back in the open space in the back of the rescue Hummer. Mikaela was panting by now, her eyes squeezed closed. Sam quickly got in behind her, resting Mikaela's head in his lap. Stringer immediately turned to Sing, who nodded.

"Water, towels, anything else I can scrounge up." he listed off.

Stringer grinned. "And scissors, please." At Sing's blank look, she added, "For cutting the umbilical cord." Sing nodded and turned away, muttering something Stringer couldn't quite catch. She couldn't help but laugh at him.

"All right. Now, Mikaela, I want you to take deep breaths and focus on me."

/----/

Lennox cursed as Barricade once again avoided her bullets. Then that curse turned into a yelp of surprise as what looked suspiciously like a laser beam shot out from under the front bumper. "What the pit? I thought he was trying to keep a low profile!" she shouted, ducking back down inside the cab of the truck. Will twisted around, trying to see out the back window. His eyes were dark with anger. He hated being at the mercy of someone else's gun, even if that gun did belong to his daughter. He knew Ironhide had to feel the same.

But if the weapons specialist was worried at all about the situation, he didn't show it. "Anna, you really need to calm down." he said quietly. "You're not thinking clearly." Lennox shot the dash a look, and that's when Will saw it. It was the first time he had gotten a clear view of his daughter's face since she and Ironhide had retrieved him from the ranch. It wasn't the dark emotions that flickered across her face that disturbed him, even though he recognized them. It was the color of her eyes.

For some reason, her human blue eyes had changed. They were brighter now, more intense. Colored more like optics than eyes. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, studying her intently. "What happened?"

Lennox tried to shove him off. "Dad, this isn't the time – "

"What happened?"

Lennox snapped. "Which part? Where our own government betrayed us, where we pledged allegiance to Optimus, or the fact that Ironhide and I are bonded? Take your pick – I don't have time to explain!"

At that moment, Ironhide spoke up. "Barricade is retreating and the Twins and Jazz have made it safely to the shelter." he announced. "We can return now." Will looked between Ironhide and Lennox, who was now finally starting to calm down. His eyes were wide.

"You mean to tell me," he said incredulously, "that you spark bonded with an Autobot? I didn't think that was possible."

"It is." Lennox said quietly. "It just works a bit differently since I'm human."

"Anna and I are bondmates now." Ironhide said, his voice even quieter than before when he was calming Lennox. "Is that a problem, Will?"

He was seeking approval, Will knew. After all, they had been friends for most of Ironhide's stay on Earth. They respected each other's opinions, even if those opinions didn't exactly change the facts. Will sighed and released Lennox's arm.

"It's fine, 'Hide." he said, never taking his gaze from Lennox. "Trust me, she couldn't have done much better. Just give me a bit to wrap my mind around this. Most fathers have some sort of warning before their daughters up and marry on them."

Lennox smiled, and it was a true smile. "Thanks, Dad."

/----/

AN: Next chapter – conflict, declarations, and a new arrival! Review, please!

Oh, I was going to put in the actual birth, but considering that I know nothing about it (and don't ever plan on it), I decided to cut to the battle scene. Sorry!