A/N: Happy Holidays! Here's my gift to you. It's kinda sad so it doesn't really fit the season, but hey, I'm updating.

Thanks to Khalthar for editing it. You went above and beyond and really helped me out.

Twin Times the Fun
Hannah

She was dying. She knew she was dying, because she wasn't shivering anymore, even though it was freezing outside. Frost had settled on the ground and even in her hair. Her chest was tight. It hurt to breath. Her movements were slow, at least the ones she could make. Her lips were parted and chapped; she closed her eyes.

How pathetic was she. She hadn't moved from this spot in an entire day, even more. She had lost track of time, but she watched the sunset from this spot, she had watched it rise and set again. It was utterly pathetic. But then, it was to be expected from her.

She sighed. She had been doing that a lot lately. She was bored laying here while at the same time she wasn't motivated to do anything else. Even if she wanted to at this point she couldn't. She had sung random songs softly to herself, but she always reverted back to "Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine" because she wanted to force herself to remember the words so she could do her grandma proud. She almost had all of them.

"Hannah!"

Her eyes peeled open, glassy and distant. She frowned. Did someone just call her name? She attempted to roll over to peer over her shoulder, but she was literally frozen to the ground and too weak to hold herself in that position. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the many flashlights, but she didn't voice her location. She had been waiting here a long time to die. She wanted to die, because she knew that she deserved it. She was surprised there were even people looking for her.

Well, if they wanted to find her, they could do it without her help. Letting herself go limp, she waited. Her body was wet and coated in thin frost with her breath coming out in long, shallow puffs while she waited. She waited to be found, she waited to be left alone, whatever came first. Whatever happened would happen.

"Hannah James!"

There were so many voices calling her name, none of which she recognized. She sighed yet again, but it sounded more like choking. For crying out loud, was she really that hard to find? Was she so covered in frost that she blended in with the environment?

"Where is she?" a man asked.

"Will!" a voice shouted distantly. "To your right. She should be right around there."

"Han—! Oh, my…SIDESWIPE! Ratchet! I found her!"

Her brown eyes widened considerably. Sideswipe? But Sideswipe was dead, and she had caused it.

She felt herself being rolled over gently. Her wrist screamed in protest, but she didn't make a sound. She stared up into the light colored eyes of a worried man in his mid-thirties. She supposed he had to be Will. He had civilian clothing on, but he was obviously a soldier from his appearance and build. But he had a kind aura, one that let her know that he was here to help her, not hurt her. He looked like he cared. He shouldn't. No one should.

"Hannah?" he said softly. "Can you hear me?"

Fingers were pressed to her neck, checking her pulse. She was breathing wasn't she? She could see her breath, but better safe than sorry she supposed. She didn't answer his question, even though it would probably be for her own benefit to admit who she was but she was more focused on what he had said before. He said 'Sideswipe'. Was he alive? Was he here?

She could hear the running footsteps, swift and steady. They skidded to a halt in the dirt behind the man that was holding her. "Oh, no," the voice pleaded, desperately, as he got closer. It was the voice of an angel. "Please, no. Hannah? No, no, no! Is she…"

"She's alive," a new voice said. "But she's suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, exhaustion, and exposure. She's in very critical condition." The voice was grave and sympathetic. She felt a warm hand on her broken wrist. "Her wrist is broken."

There was a gentle hand on her forehead, smoothing back her greasy, dirty hair. She wanted to tell them not to touch her. She was filthy and she didn't want to get them dirty either, but the hand was so soothing that the words died in her throat. It would be all right if she was a little selfish, wouldn't it?

The hand felt so familiar. Her glassy eyes shifted ever so slightly to the face of the owner of the hand. It was an angel alright. A weak smile came to her face and she watched as he responded in turn with a relieved smile himself.

"Sides," she tried to say, but it came out in a choked whisper that was hardly understandable.

"We need to get her to a hospital," Will said somberly.

He moved to pick her up but Hannah whimpered and grabbed Side's shirt with her unwounded hand. Sides face was in agony as he gently took her from the ground and cradled her far too skinny form to his body. Hannah's dirty fingers clenched into his shirt tightly as she hid her face, her body shivering against the cold with this new source of heat to keep her warm. Sideswipe's arms were secure around her tiny shoulders and under her thin legs. She couldn't help but smile. He was alive. He was okay. She didn't kill him after all.

But her smile would fall when Sides' body went rigid. There were footsteps coming towards them, light on the ground and still confident. The crowd didn't utter a peep as the footsteps came to a stop before them. She felt everyone staring. She didn't like it, so she tried to hide deeper into Sides' chest. Surely he'd protect her from their stares even though she was responsible for getting him hurt.

"Happy?" Sides asked.

"I didn't mean for this to happen and you know it."

Hannah's eyes opened in enlightenment as well as fear. Oh, no.

"You didn't? I figured you wouldn't have cared if she lived of died. That's why you left her out here alone."

"N-No," Hannah whimpered. Her hand went to Sideswipe's face. Taking his chin securely, she tried to pull it down so he'd look at her, but she was unable to. It was Sides who turned his eyes towards her in the end, seeing her intent. "It's okay. It's okay, Sides."

"No, Hannah," he growled. "It's not."

Sunny looked down at the girl he had abandoned, seeing her practically a skeleton in his brother's arms. She looked at him cautiously out of the corner of her brown eyes. It was difficult to see him in the dark, but he could see her so clearly. She was skinnier than before, like he said, practically all bone, and she had been an unhealthy weight to start with. He cringed. She was filthy, covered in dirt and she was soaking wet as well, but he wasn't disgusted so much as he was yeilding under the onslaught of guilt. They way she looked at him was out of fear and, shockingly, concern. It was like she didn't want him to feel guilty about what he had done. It made him feel worse. He had done this to his brother's ward.

He took a cautious step forward, even as Sides cringed back, his hands tightening protectively around her. "Hannah…"

"S'okay," she repeated. "I deserved it."

Sides gasped and Sunny felt horrid. Hannah didn't seemed to be affected by their reactions. She sank back against Sideswipe's chest, just seeming to be content there for the time being, her broken wrist resting limply on her chest. He had done that. When he dropped her, his sensitive audio was able to detect the vicious crack when she landed. It would seem he found a loophole in Optimus's protocol. He couldn't say he was overjoyed with this knowledge. Not while he was seeing the results of what he had done.

Sideswipe couldn't look at his brother anymore. He was angry and the only thing that was keeping him from outright attacking his brother was the fact that he held Hannah. He walked around him, intently trying to make it back to his real body. Hannah needed to be taken to a hospital.

The girl was unusually quiet now. The only indications that she was alive were her slow heartbeat and shallow breathing. Her head was tucked under his chin, her face hidden in his neck. Making it back to his body, the door popped open and he set her inside, immediately starting the engine and turning on the heat full blast. Hannah looked around her familiar surroundings. The fine leather bucket seat was also warming up. She realized that she was getting it dirty and attempted to climb out, whining softly when Sideswipe held her in place.

"No, Hannah, stop," he said. "You're safe now."

"I'm dirty," she stated, looking disgustedly at her hands. "I'm getting you dirty."

Sides sighed and pushed her mused hair from her face. "You're fine. Just relax. We'll get you better."

As if on cue, Ratchet's hologram was standing there, looking very much like a doctor. Sides got out of his way. Kneeling down, Ratchet didn't have to touch Hannah in order to examine her, his scans were enough. The only thing that required contact was her wrist. Hannah didn't make a peep as she watched him work, casting worried glances at Sideswipe every so often.

"She needs medical attention now, Sideswipe," he said. "I believe she should ride with me back to base."

Sides went rigid, but didn't argue, Hannah did that. "No, I'm okay. I want to stay with Sides," she stated.

"Hannah," Ratchet said gently. "You shouldn't even be conscious right now. The sooner we have you on fluids the better. I want to combat any kind of infection now and I want to mend your wrist."

Still the girl shook her head wildly.

Sides took Ratchet's place and took her uninjured hand. "I'll be right behind you, Hannah. We'll keep the radio open so I can talk to you, alright? You need to go with Ratchet."

Hannah was nearly in tears. Her breaths were bordering on panicking. She looked absolutely terrified at the prospect of behind separated from him. Sunny watched from a distance, stoically. Internally, he was writhing in guilt. His connection to his brother was allowing him to feel everything his brother was feeling from rage at what Sunny had done to terror that Hannah wasn't going to cooperate and, in the worst case scenario, die. He didn't say anything as Hannah argued with both Sides and Ratchet, her uninjured hand clinging to Sides' shirt at the same time as she tried to hide within the car, curling up in a pathetic attempt to shrink away.

He didn't look at Optimus when he stepped up beside him, just whispered a simple sentence. "I didn't think it would be this bad."

"What did you expect?" Optimus asked, equally as soft. "Detective Johnson provided me with her records. Did you know that when Hannah was born she went through withdraws because of the illegal substances her mother had taken?"

Sunny finally looked at his commander, but he was confused at to what he meant. "Withdraws?"

"Hannah was born already addicted to an illegal substance called cocaine. Her mother is an addict. Hannah nearly died as a child. I suspect that's why she's so thin." The commander sent him a dark look. "She is very frail and fragile, both mentally and physically. How could you not expect something so drastic from an abused child?"

Sunny tried to control his expression as he looked back to Hannah. He knew all about Hannah's upbringing. She lived in an abusive household with a lunatic, doped out mother and left as soon as she was able to. Hannah had gotten the short end of the stick on life and he had made it worse. From the looks of it, she had finally cracked.

Cautiously, he approached. Hannah was the first one to notice him and immediately fell silent, her tears stopping like someone flicked a switch and she just stared at him. She quickly averted her eyes, however, curling up on herself again. Sideswipe, confused about her sudden change in emotion tried to get her to speak, but she was quiet, occasionally risking glances at Sunstreaker. Sides spun around quickly, his face already in an expression of rage. Ratchet was poised to stop Sides if he went in for the strike.

"Sunstreaker," the medic said, "back off."

Sunny ignored both of them. "Hannah, I'm sorry."

Hannah shifted in her seat, her big brown eyes flickering up hesitantly. "S'okay."

"No, it's not," Sunny stated. "What I did was wrong and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you here. I shouldn't have tried to keep where I left you a secret."

But Hannah continued to shake her head. "I'm not mad."

"But you should be!" Sunny stated fiercely. "Get mad. For once, get mad at someone who did you wrong. Get mad at me."

"I don't want to."

Sunny sighed. Sideswipe watched him cautiously as he drew closer and spoke again. "Hannah, don't forgive me yet. Don't forgive me until you really consider what I've done."

But she still shook her head. "I don't want to be mad at you."

"But I want you to."

She looked up, clearly surprised.

"In our race, we have this state of guardianship," Sunny explained taking another step closer towards her. "Being a guardian means that your spark, or soul, has chosen someone to protect for the rest of your life and you become what the one your protecting chooses you to be; a bodyguard, a friend, a sibling, whatever your ward needs you to be." He looked at his brother. "Sideswipe's spark chose you, but I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that someone would have the power to take my brother away."

Sideswipe, of course, wanted to reassure him. "Sunny, I would never—"

Sunny held up a hand. "I know you would never ditch me, bro. But still. I was afraid." He looked back at Hannah. "I recognized this even before Sides did, but I didn't want to acknowledge it. Acknowledging it would've been acceptance. I recognized it because we're twins. Our sparks are connected and how he felt for you was rubbing off on me. I didn't want that to happen."

Hannah nodded. "I can go away."

"No," Sunny said. He knelt down before her, happy to see she wasn't cringing from him like he thought she would. "You can't go away. That will kill Sides and I'll have to be the one to deal with him after that." The teasing got an eye roll out of Sides and a small laugh out of Hannah. "I was wrong, Hannah, and I don't usually admit to something like this so don't get used to it." He sighed again. "It wasn't your fault what happened to Sides. I blamed you because I hated you and was angry at the way you were coming between us. But I have to accept that you're going to be around for a while now."

"Do you still hate me?" she asked softly, almost afraid to.

"No, I don't hate you. I just need time to get used to you," Sunny admitted. "Can you give me that?"

So he was compromising. He still didn't like what Hannah would be doing, but he couldn't stand in the way. It would be better for all three of him if he just stood back and let whatever would happen, happen. Hannah seemed to accept his terms. A small smile came to her face.

But then Ratchet shouted.

Hannah's eyes rolled back into her head and she fell forward.

Sunny caught her and Sides cried her name.

Ratchet pushed Sunny out of the way and gently laid Hannah on the ground. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. One of the AEAC field members came forward with various medical supplies, including an air bag, a container of vials holding various medications and a portable defibrillator. Ratchet had already started chest compressions. Sunny grabbed Sides and hauled him back to keep him out of the way.

"No, no, no!" Sides cried. "Sunny, she can't…she can't!"

Sunny didn't say anything as he held his brother back. Already he could feel the repercussions of what was happening in his spark. While Hannah faded, Sides was cracking. So Sunny silently encouraged Hannah to wake up, to live, at least for his brother's sake. Every time they shocked Hannah Sides would jump, his hologram would flicker. After a few tries, Sunny was beginning to think that they were too late, but Ratchet didn't want to give up, even when the human medical personelle seemed ready to do just that.

"Come on, Hannah," Ratchet encouraged.

But it wasn't working. Hannah's pulse never returned and her face had grown even more pale that before, practically white. Ratchet sat back and stared down at her, seeming shocked by what had happened so quickly.

Everyone was silent.

Sides was shaking, his entire body shivering uncontrollably. Sunny cringed under the assault of grief that was being fed to him in Sideswipe's anguish. He was like a zombie, staring at Hannah's body and her alone like no one else was there. He had failed her as a guardian and just as Sunny suspected, he would never recover from it.

But then he whispered something. "What have you done?"

Sunny knew it was directed towards him. Before Sideswipe could begin his onslaught, Prime and Ironhide were there to haul him back. Sunny could see the hate in his brother's eyes and it tore him apart. What had he done? Sides screamed angrily as he fought, waiting to tear Sunstreaker apart and Sunny didn't blame him. While Optimus and Ironhide tried to control the grief stricken young warrior, Sunstreaker focused on Hannah, suddenly angry at the girl for dying, even when he was partly to blame.

He ignored Ratchet's confused question as he knelt on the ground next to Hannah and gently picked her up. Sideswipe lost it entirely, becoming so aggressive that he couldn't even fathom the idea of returning to his real body and crushing Sunny for real. Attacking a hologram wouldn't do that much damage. So Sunny ignored him and leaned down towards Hannah's ear. Not even Ratchet could hear what Sunny had whispered, even though he could see his lips moving. With that said Sunny leaned back and stared down at her for a moment, seeming to wait.

And then Ratchet heard it.

It was a light thump, like the lightest tap on a drum, slow, weak and short, but he knew what it was. Slowly, but surely, it increased in speed and volume and he saw Hannah's chest rising with a slow but deep breath. Sideswipe was silent. Hannah didn't awaken, but she was alive. Sunstreaker actually grinned, triumphantly would be the only way to describe it as he looked at Ratchet's shocked expression before his brother's.

Hannah was immediately placed on a stretched, pumped full of antibiotics and even intubated. She was loaded into Ratchet where he could keep an eye on her. Sunny watched as he drove off, lights flashing, Sideswipe in hot pursuit.

"What did you say to her?"

Sunny turned to see Optimus standing before him. "What makes you think I said something?"

"I may be old, but I'm not a fool," Optimus stated.

Sunny merely grinned and looked as though he wanted to argue it, but refrained. "I told her that she better live. I didn't want to have to deal with Sides if she died and Sides would be destroyed without her, dying slowly inside a little bit at a time. Then I asked her if she really wanted to do that to him."

Optimus actually grinned a little. "I see."

"It worked," Sunny shrugged. "Now, Sides can't say I never did do anything nice for her."

"We still have your punishment to consider."

Sunstreaker openly groaned. "Are you serious?"

Optimus crossed his arms. "Very."

Sunny sighed and nodded in acceptance to his fate.

A/N: So I hope the wait was worth it. I know I built up to finding Hannah and I hope you liked it. So, once again, Happy Holidays! Thanks for reading!

Please Review! It can be my present!! XD