Crash and Burn

Chapter 6-Concession

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara. I am merely taking them for a short spin.

Leo yawned, grabbed a bagel. Maybe Bumblebee would haul him to Starbuck's? Leo was facing a day mostly devoid of human contact because Sam had gone with his parents to Las Vegas to pick up his grandparents at the airport. Not that a day alone with Bumblebee and Arcee was a bad thing. Maybe he could call Miles and hang out with him? Now that Sam's other friend knew about the Autobots, they could talk, and he could introduce Miles to Arcee. Because she was smaller and female, she would be less intimidating to the other boy. Not that Leo was intimidated by any of the Autobots, not anymore. Except for Ironhide and Ratchet sometimes, and Optimus Prime, but that was only in the beginning.

He walked outside, skirting the edge of the pool, let himself into the garage. Bumblebee was sitting on the floor, Arcee was also transformed, and the two were having a rapid-fire conversation in Cybertronian. The two Autobots stopped when they sensed Leo's presence.

"One of you two want to get out of here for a while?" Leo asked.

The two Autbots exchanged a glance.

"The weather forecast is predicting rain this morning, so you should take Bumblebee wherever you wish to go," Arcee said.

"Whatever," Leo said. "Doesn't matter to me, although don't think you can use this as an opportunity to sneak around, Arcee."

The femme gave him an innocent look. "I wouldn't think of doing something so. . ."

"Sneaky?" Leo offered. "You've been stuck in the middle of the Indian Ocean for two years and haven't had much chance to see the rest of the planet. We've been over this before, in our chats, remember? Two words, Arcee--national security."

But he winked at her when he said it. Arcee fired back one more comment at Bumblebee in Cybertronian. He shrugged, transformed, opened a door for Leo to get in. Arcee opened the garage door and watched her friends drive away. She was going to have a look around town, but not until after dark.

--

Miles was almost afraid to touch the car that wasn't a car. He'd ridden plenty of times in that Camaro, but he hadn't known then it wasn't a car. Gleaming in the sunlight, the Camaro was catching looks from the neighbors and his sisters, who were watching him from the porch, amused. But he got over his fear, opened the door and scrambled inside.

"Thanks for calling," Miles said. "Although this thing better not like decide to do any experiments. I'm not going to be an alien lab rat."

"Sam's already done that," Miles said. "But it wasn't Bumblebee. I thought Sam explained all this to you--Bumblebee is his guardian, his protector. He won't let anything happen to you, will you, Bumblebee?"

"I stand in front of you I'll take the force of the blow Protection. . ." played the radio.

"What, can't you talk?" Miles asked.

"I can," Bumblebee said. "It's. . .difficult sometimes. . .still need repairs."

"Huh?" Miles asked.

"Had his throat ripped out in battle a long time ago, that's what I was told," Leo said. Bumblebee didn't contradict him. "He got repaired a couple of years ago, but it's still hard for him to talk, so he uses the radio to express himself."

"That is correct," Bumblebee said. "Short sentences are. . .easier."

"I can't believe Sam didn't tell me about you guys sooner," Mile said, petting the dashboard like he would a person's shoulder, then pulled his hand back when he realized what he was doing. "Sorry. . ."

"It's all right," Bumblebee said.

"OK," Miles said. "So like. . .how did you two meet?"

"Us?" Leo asked. "It's a long story. Let's go get something more to eat than a bagel and I'll tell you all about it."

-----

Diego Garcia

Graham was the picture of calm as he stood off to the side from where Optimus Prime and Ratchet were having what they were calling a "discussion" with Ironhide. As the acting human commander of NEST, he was there offering Optimus Prime moral support for what he was about to do, although Graham knew what backing he could offer wasn't much. He was there to help ensure Ironhide got the message he was about to hear. And as expected, it was not going well.

"You're what?" Ironhide said, suddenly onlining his cannons.

Medic and leader shared a glance before centering their attention on the now angry weapons specialist.

"You heard me," Ratchet said. "No more active duty until that sparkling is born. Are we clear?"

"You can't take me off active duty," Ironhide said.

"You should have thought of that before proceeding with the activity that resulted in your present condition," Ratchet said.

"I didn't think I'd be the one in *this* condition," Ironhide retorted.

"Just because you're bonded to a female doesn't necessarily mean she'll be the one who ends up carrying," Ratchet said. "In Chromia's current configuration, it's not ideal. . ."

"And you're saying I am?" Ironhide said.

Optimus decided it was time for him to step in.

"Ironhide, be grateful the two of you have produced an offspring," Optimus said. "New life, a new beginning for our people. It doesn't matter who is carrying it."

"Easy for you to say," Ironhide muttered. "Wait until it's your turn. . .but you're right."

"Just because you're off the mission roster doesn't mean you can't still help," Optimus said. "Your expertise is still needed--planning, training. . ."

"Busting heads," Ratchet offered helpfully.

"I can still fight," Ironhide said. "I won't be hindered by my condition."

Graham jumped into the fray.

"You might not be, but others might," Graham said. "What about your fellow Autobots? Might they be tempted to protect you in battle instead of concentrating on their own duties?"

"Let me explain it in terms you can understand, Ironhide," Ratchet said. "Ever heard of the word 'liability?'"

Ironhide's optics flared brightly for an instant, and fearing the worst, Graham closed his eyes. But instead of hearing the whine of weapons fire, he was greeted by the sound of Ironhide offlining his weapons. The human opened his eyes.

"I'll accept your decision," Ironhide said. "But I expect to keep busy until this sparkling is born."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Optimus said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Unless of course, Ratchet declares otherwise. My friend, you have no idea how happy I am for you and Chromia."

"Optimus, thank you," Ironhide said.

Prime clapped his friend on the shoulder, leaving Ironhide with Ratchet.

"That went well," Graham muttered, following the Autobot leader from the hangar.

"We were lucky," Optimus said, once they were out of earshot.

"I suppose," Graham said. "Although did you know the others are already taking bets on whether Ironhide and Chromia's offspring will be male or female? And the other day I swore I saw Moonracer high-fiving Chromia when they found out Ironhide was indeed. . .expecting."

"You weren't seeing things," Optimus said. "And thank you for telling me about the bets. I'm sure Sideswipe is running the pool, as usual. Except if his brother is one of the Autobots coming with Prowl, Sunstreaker will certainly take over. . ."

"You're looking forward to Prowl's arrival, aren't you?" Graham asked.

"Very much," Optimus said. "And not just for my sake."

"Bluestreak, eh?" Graham said.

He was greeted by a resigned sigh from the Autobot leader.

"I think I'll go have that talk with Blue now, Optimus," Graham said.

-----

Leo sat in the Witwicky living room, watching TV with Miles. They had eaten breakfast, drove around town while Leo and Bumblebee took turns telling Miles how they met. Then they'd introduced Miles to Arcee. His meeting with the female Autobot had gone much smoother than his introduction to Bumblebee. Now, though, Leo was content to just hang out, enjoy some down time away from school and the chance to try "normal" for a few days. School was normal, sort of, but with Sam as a roommate, normal had ceased to exist. If anything, his experiences with the Autobots and Decepticons had helped him realize that he was going to try and never take anything for granted again. Family, friends, alien robots, school, life in general. It could all end in an instant. But he was off for Christmas and what was Miles asking?

". . .so like Arcee is a girl, and you've been spending a lot of time talking to her the past few months, so do you like her or what?" Miles asked.

Leo shot Miles a look.

"Of course I like Arcee," Leo said. "She's my friend."

"I think you like her like her," Mile said. "But maybe that's just me misinterpreting what I've been hearing."

"You are so off base it's not funny," Leo said, throwing a cushion at Miles.

"Just calling it as I see it," Miles said, throwing the cushion back, shrugging.