Moving on chapter 2
It was no surprise to Sideways that his former team had caused destruction like this. He hated to see everything that was going on; rescue workers comforting children whose parents were missing, one father struggling not to cry as he identified his son, several humans blaming both Autobots and Decepticons for their pain and so much more. He was watching the goings on from a parking garage and was in robot mode and playing with his daughters; he felt fortunate that he was still able to have Abby and Crystal as well as Peaches still alive and yet he couldn't help but feel sorry.
If he could have one wish, it would have been to go back in time to prevent Sentinel from making that deal in the first place but then, how many things would that affect? What if he wouldn't get to be with Peaches because of it? That would have happened along with the following: Crystal wouldn't exist, Abby would be dead, and Ashley would have committed suicide after dealing with cyber bullying for so long. Also, he would probably be rotting in the Pit if anything and not have gotten a 2nd chance to live. Sideways thought of these things and realized that all of them would be true. Still, it didn't change how horrible he had felt about all of this and the fact that all of the pain that Cybertronians and humans alike had been needless.
The ex-Decepticon looked at his two clueless toddlers; both were laughing and hugging their stuffed animals. He had to smile a little; time would go on, everyone would learn to be happy again and Chicago would be restored to its former glory but it would take a very long time. He did hope though that Crystal and Abby would not have to see their mother being constantly sad over the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, that same evening, Peaches had seen Wheelie and Brains awaken and the two kept hugging her and thanking her for getting them out of the river. Ratchet put a stop to it, telling the two drones that they needed their rest and the Pretender left them and started walking to where Sideways had taken the two sparklings.
Most didn't think much about walking except if they encountered someone who couldn't. Peaches didn't mind this so much since she sometimes felt that she was a burden to the other Autobots as they had vehicle modes and she had a human form. If she had been still in D.C., she would wait for the time when she was off of her shift and, providing that it wasn't closed, would ride the Washington Metrorail system to another part of the city and then walk to the museums or would go onto the Washington Mall and look at the landmarks around the area before riding the rail system back to the station nearest to NEST base then walking back into base to eat and recharge. When she did that, it gave her a sense of comfort and familiarity as she had ridden the DC Metro numerous times with her parents and had seen most of the Smithsonian museums with them. Sometimes, she would stop at the Pentagon Metro station, ride the escalator up to the outside, and then walk over to the September 11th memorial and to contemplate the mass casualty incidents that happened in her lifetime. Of course, the fatalities on the Metro system did not stop her from riding it since she had always felt safe and knew that the chances of those types of events happening were very small. Yet when they did happen, she couldn't help but feel terrible and not want to talk to anyone as well as sit in her room and cry and then gorge herself on human junk food, much to Ratchet's chagrin.
It especially saddened Peaches when children had died; it was one reason why she wanted so badly to help kids who were in a bad home situation, had been abandoned, or had to deal with the loss of everything as Aaron had. Whether the orange and red femme would be allowed to adopt another human child was another matter entirely and would involve a lot of paperwork. The Pretender sighed sadly as she walked into the parking garage and went back over to her family to talk with them to get her mind off of everything…
3 days later, Peaches was feeling only slightly better; she had given away most of her stuffed animals to kids, had passed food out to volunteers, and had briefly chatted with Wheelie and Brains. Today was the day when the funeral for the fallen Autobots was to be held. Optimus Prime told her that she could tell her own stories after the formal eulogy was given.
She was sobbing sadly and in her robot mode as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker stood beside her to give her comfort. The orange and red femme was surprised that the latter was not complaining about his paint job for once but wasn't thinking of that.
Peaches got up to say what she wanted to say after Optimus Prime and Colonel Lennox had finished speaking. She said "I know just as well as everyone else that there are things about each of these individuals that we would say we're not going to miss; the explosions from Wheeljack's lab, Skids and Mudflap's stupidity, Ironhide showing off his cannons and so much more. As fellow Autobots and sentient beings, I will miss them. Especially Ironhide since he taught me everything he knows and was the one who gave me most of my training when I first joined NEST."
She then continued with her favorite memories of her teammates. The Pretender then felt the need to say something else, something she'd never thought she'd say. "Even though Sentinel was a jerk and a turncoat, I still feel the need to say something about him that's good. He did teach Optimus Prime everything he knows and I think this song would be the best way to describe him."
Peaches started singing Linkin Park's "Leave out all the rest" to the surprise and tears of many of her human and Cybertronian teammates. When she was done, she politely excused herself and walked back to the warehouse where she, Sideways and their daughters had been sleeping to sit and think. It was now getting to be the evening and the sun was going down. She looked up, a bit surprised at what she saw.
The faces of Jolt, her parents, her human cousin, Ironhide, Wheeljack, and the Chevy twins seemed to have formed from the stars that were coming out. If that were possible, Peaches could have sworn she saw them smiling again and heard a familiar voice saying "Thank you Peaches."
"Sentinel, if it's possible for me to forgive you, it's still not going to be until I'm ready to let go of all of this." The orange and red femme sighed and was convinced she was really hearing his voice. "Maybe I'm crazy but what I'm saying is true."
"Peaches, I still love you if you're crazy." Sideways said as he walked in, carrying a recharging Crystal in his arms.
"Thanks; where's Abby?" she asked, suddenly worried.
"She's right here."
Sam had followed Sideways and was holding the human toddler in his arms. Abby then said "Up, Mommy!"
"Shush, your sister's sleeping." Peaches said, trying not to laugh as she took her oldest daughter from the human man who had once been a college student. "Thanks Sam for not giving up on us and for making sure that my daughter is safe and sound."
"You're welcome Peach." He replied, not sure if she really meant it. Sam then called Carly in and the British woman introduced herself to the Pretender.
"So, you're from the place where 'pants' was once considered a dirty word, color, favorite and other words are spelled with Us and you have to wear uniforms to public school?" Peaches asked.
"There's more to it than just those things." Carly replied, slightly offended at the orange and red femme's question.
"I know, I know, sorry!" Peaches quickly said. "Can you tell me a little bit about it and whether you actually like or hate America?"
Carly calmed down long enough to do so, and as she told about her life on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Abby fell asleep, Sideways took his oldest daughter and laid her down next to his youngest daughter on a blanket, and Peaches began to focus more on the story rather than what had recently happened.
Later when Carly and Sam had bid them good night and found their own sleeping spaces on the concrete floor, Sideways and Peaches settled down next to each other.
"You know, she's not that bad; you just got to be careful about what you say around her." Sideways pointed out the obvious
"Yeah, Mikaela wasn't as easily offended by anything." Peaches sighed sadly, wondering what had happened to her after she and Sam had unexpectedly broken up.
The orange and red femme then started thinking about Aaron and what was going to happen to him. She knew it wasn't likely that she'd get to raise a second human child but she remembered that she and Sideways could deal with it. When she asked him, the ex-Decepticon replied "I just want him to get a good home and only the best; same with everyone else who has been affected by what's happened."
"You're right but still, he likes me and doesn't want me to go away when I have to end my visits with him and the other humans who are recovering from injuries they received from the Decepticon invasion." Peaches replied. "I don't want to leave him either…I'll have to ask Optimus though."
She recharged that night, slightly confused as to what choice she should make and wondering what would become of the boy who had thought of her as an "angel".
Author's note: This was going to be longer but I have to stop here so that it won't be too long. Hope you enjoyed it and can wait for a while before I post the next chapter.