Hi everyone! Sorry for the long delay, but it's been a busy week. However, I am on the move! The song I used in this chapter was, "Tin Man," by Animal Kingdom. The song didn't come out in or before 2007, but oh well! It was too prefect to pass up! Hope you all enjoy! Please review and tell me what you think! You all rule!
As always, I own nothing!
~Mel

It was about half an hour after Alise had returned. In an attempt to keep her awake, Bee had placed her on his shoulder, making her sit up straight. However, despite their efforts, Alise couldn't help but lean into the side of his neck for support. It took a great effort for Alise to stay awake, but she knew she needed to. At the moment she was tracing those comforting circles once more on his metal.

Lennox, Epps, and the rest of the shoulders had continued forward, while the rest of the small party stayed behind. This consisted of Bee, Alise, Mikaela, Ironhide, Ratchet, and now Jazz, or at this point, what was left of him. About twenty minutes ago, Ironhide had come back carrying Jazz, who was split in two. Apparently he had gone off and ran into Megatron himself, who showed him no mercy. Ratchet had immediately started to try and save him, but it was no use. He was offline by the time he got to him.

The Autobots had taken the death of their great comrade hard, and were mourning him in their own ways, mostly through silence. Alise had also mourned the bot. She didn't know him well, but tears still came to her eyes when Ironhide had come back with his body in his arms. Bee hadn't spoken a word since. He looked very deep in thought. Alise understood why, but she was growing worried.

"Are you okay, Bee?" she asked quietly. She took her hand that was tracing the circles and she brushed them lightly against his cheek. He looked over at her for a moment and sighed. He took his hand and gently traced the side of her body with one of his large fingers. The feeling sent chills down her spine and it contrasted greatly to the pain still coming from her back.

"I've been thin-nking," he said quietly, as he continued to make the fluid motion against her side. Alise noticed that the more he talked, the more mechanical his voice sounded. She knew he needed to stop talking soon or he could damage it more, but she let him continue. "About Jazz." He paused. "And Sam."

Alise looked up at him. Did he already assume Sam was dead? she wondered to herself. She saw Mikaela glance up towards them for a moment, but then she turned her head away again, and walked towards Ironhide and Ratchet. She didn't want to hear any bad news Bee might say. Alise stopped tracing the circles for a moment.

"He's coming back, Bee," she said soothingly to him, giving him a comforting look. He stopped tracing her side. Bee held his hand out to her and she gingerly climbed on and she took a seat on the edge of his palm. She bit her lip to keep from making any noise as she moved, her newly stitched protesting against the movement. She looked up at him and him down at her.

"I hope so, belle," he said softly. He paused moment before continuing. "If we get ou-ut of this, I think I'll need to stay with him. I can't just leave him unprotected after all this." He gestured to the scene around them. His eyes landed on Jazz's body with Ratchet and he turned away and looked back towards Alise. "I want to stay with him."

She smiled. "He's grown on you," she said simply. He let out a small breath of air and smiled also.

"He has. He's like a door to Earth with his hum-man agenda and habits. He's just... him." Bee stopped. He turned his head for a moment and seemed to be thinking about something. He chuckled to himself, obviously remembering someone about the boy that amused him, but then after a moment, his smile faded. Alise became confused.

"But what's wrong?" she asked him. He turned to face her again. He didn't respond right away, but he just continued to look into her eyes. He then slowly pressed his forehead to hers.

"I want to stay with you too, belle."

Alise paused for a long moment. She felt her heart swell up at his words and it started to beat fondly for her Bee. He wants to stay with me? she thought to herself. The thought of him staying with her made her soul sing. She knew that her life wouldn't be the same after the Autobots, after any of them, not just him. Either way, she didn't want him to leave her after all this. But as much as his words were music to her ears, his statement also confused her.

"Bee..." she started to say softly, and she placed her hand once more on his large chin. "Bee, as much as I would love for you to stay with me... why?"

Bee stared for her for a moment. He lifted his head from hers, but never broke eye contact from her. A couple of times, he looked as if he was going to say something, but he always stopped himself at the last moment. He looked like he didn't know what to do. Suddenly, a look of eureka came to his face.

A soft noise started to come from Bee. As it grew louder Alise recognized it as music. Then she listened as a man's voice came out. Whatever Bee was voicing, it was a song and her eyes widened as she listened to the lyrics.

"I got no arms, I got no legs. Got no shoulders, but I got a head. I got a head that tells me stupid things to do. But I got heart, and I got hard, and it was slowly pulling me apart. 'Cause I'll never feel the same as you. So tell me if it's love, 'cause baby I'm a tin man. Tell me if it's love, wanna be a real word."

There was a short paused in the words as the music continued to play, and then the lyrics resumed.

"And is this love? Is this pain? Got a feeling I cannot mend, slowly changing every part of me. I know you think I'm just a toy, but I wanna be a real boy. Only want to feel the same as you. So tell me if it's love, 'cause baby I'm a tin man. Tell me if it's love, wanna be a real word. Tell me if it's love, 'cause baby I'm a tin man. Since you took my heart. I've gotta missing part."

The voice and music then stopped after the last words were spoken, and Bee was silent as he continued to look at her with a soft look in his eyes.

Alise's breathing had stopped. As the force of the words he voiced to her hit her, her heart felt as though it would burst from her chest. She never before felt so much affection towards the bot, and she knew that even if he had to leave her, she wouldn't just let him go. Because wherever they were, they would always find some way to be together. She was sure of it.

She reached out her hand towards his face and he quickly bent down towards her. Their foreheads made contact once more, and Alise took in a deep breath.

"Bee..." she exhaled. She touched his cheek and then moved her hand over to his mouth. She gently traced under his lips for a moment, and then she slowly leaned forward and kissed them.

It was an awkward feeling because his lips were so much larger than hers and because all he did was stay completely still, but it was prefect. It told him everything she wanted to say. That she felt the same way, that she wanted to be with him, that she wanted him to stay. She buried her face into his cheek, the feeling of safety and security wrapping around her.

Bee was silently reacting to the touches she gave him. Every time she made some kind of contact with him, electricity seemed to pulse through his veins. And when she... kissed him, his Spark leapt out, wanting to swallow her and never let her go. Such contact wasn't something that was normally done on Cybertron, but Bee was hardly protesting. He knew that it was an action of human affection and it made his Spark pulse. The feeling of her lips on his metal skin sent chills down his spine. He loved the feeling.

He knew that he would never be able to leave her easily. He had grown attached to the femme, and it seemed as if she had done the same with him. He knew that the feelings he felt for her were much more than friendship, even a deep one. She had touched his Spark and found herself inside it, and he would do anything to keep her there. His Spark had claimed her as his, and even if she didn't return his feelings, he would protect her and keep her safe. There was not a doubt in his mind.

With her face still pressed against his cheek, Bee traced Alise's form gently with his thumb. He felt her tremble slightly against his touch, and he stopped, thinking he was hurting her. When he did, she looked up at him, and he saw that there was a single tear sliding down her face. He tensed and let out a saddened chirp, believing his confession had upset her.

"I'm sorry, belle!" he said quickly with an underlying sadness. His Spark felt as if it was ripped in two, but he tried to maintain his composure. However, he was visibly saddened. "I shouldn't have... I'll just-"

"No, no, Bee," Alise said just as quickly. She wiped the tear from her face and smiled up at him. "I..." She paused for a moment, and her voiced dropped to a whisper. A small blush crossed her face. "I feel the same way."

Bee felt as though fireworks had been lit inside of him. His Spark was pounding furiously with affection and a touch of disbelief towards the girl. She feels the same way! he was inwardly rejoicing to himself. He smiled widely down at her and quickly cupped her to his cheek with his other hand, giving her the closest thing he could to a hug. She smiled and laughed as he did this, and he looked back down at her with a grin.

"Then why are you upset?" he asked her softly. Her smiled faded, and she looked down. It was a moment before she answered. Another tear was threatening to come to the surface and started to brim at her eye.

"Because even though I would miss you horribly," she said quietly, "you need to stay with Sam."

Bee's face dropped. His expression turned confused and despairing.

"Alise, I can-"

"No, Bee," she told him sternly. She wiped away the second tear and looked at him with all the courage she could muster. "Bee, if we get out of his, Sam's going to be in danger. He's Archibald's descendant. If you don't stay with him, there's going to be an entire alien race on his back and he's not going to be able to protect himself. You need to stay with him." She tried to use as much conviction as she could, but her voice cracked when she said the last word. Bee looked down at her with a saddened expression.

"And wha-at are you going to do?" he asked her fiercely. She shrugged sluggishly.

"I don't know, but I'll figure something out. We will." She touched his cheek again. He placed one of his fingertips over her hand gently. "But you can't worry about me. I will be okay. He may not."

Bee didn't take his eyes off of her, but stayed silent. She gave him a half-hearted smirk.

"You know I'm right, Bee."

Bee did. However, the thought of them being apart made his Spark ache. But all in all, she had a point. No matter where Sam went from this point in time, he'd be a target, and Bee knew it was his duty to protect him, as his Guardian, and friend. But to leave her, his Alise, unprotected from the world…would he be able to go? What would he do? And where would she go? There was no way in hell he was letting her back to Arizona alone. She would be crucified the second she step foot on the land. And what they would do to her… His mind was drowning in questions.

Alise knew he was going over the possibilities of what was to come in his mind. She traced a gently his nose with one of her fingers.

"We'll figure something out, Bee," she said determinedly. "We will."

The tone of her voice was unyielding and it gave Bee a sense of hope and strength for them. It said that she was just going to give them up, and he wasn't about to either.

Bee let out a sigh and smiled down at her.

"Okay, belle," he said to her. "We'll make it work."

Alise gave him an elated smiled and hugged his neck, nuzzling her face and against his massive chin. Bee felt as though his Spark would leave his chest, and he cupped her to him once more, wanting to keep her there forever. His body warmed at her touch, and he felt complete, as if nothing could break him. And as long as they were together, nothing would.

However, their moment was cut short.

There was suddenly a large explosion that boomed through the air. They couldn't see where it was coming from, but knew the general direction. Bee instinctively raised his hand over Alise to keep her guarded, even though he knew the blast was far away. He and the remaining Autobots exchanged a look.

"We need to move," Ironhide said gruffly. He picked up Jazz's body and stood up. Bee nodded to him, and he looked down at Alise. She nodded once also.

Mikaela ran back to the tow truck and started to turn it on again. When she started it up, she started to drive in the direction of the blast, Bee and Alise still in the back, and Ratchet and Ironhide following on foot closely behind. After turning the corner of one of the roads, Mikaela abruptly hit the brakes.

"Oh my god!" she yelled from inside the truck and she quickly got out and looked into the distance. "SAM!"

Alise and Bee who were facing the other direction turned around quickly. Ironhide and Ratchet looked up also. On top of a white marble building was Sam, the cube still seeming to be in his hands. They were still a few blocks away from the building, but it was easy to tell it was him. He was hastily running to the edge of the building, and the group suddenly saw why. Closely following him was Megatron himself, leaving wreckage in his path.

Bee let out a wild, distressed chirp as he witnessed the scene. He didn't know what he would be able to do, however. By the time he would have reached them, it may already be too late. He watched in horror as Sam started to climb out on the edge and hang onto one of the statues for support. Mikaela was crying out his name, and tears were flooding her face as he started to lose his grip. Megatron looked as if he was telling Sam something, but they couldn't hear him from their distance. Sam seemed to respond, but Megatron obviously didn't like the answer. He raised his canon towards the edge of the building Sam was standing on, and fired.

"SAM!" the group cried out as he went flying into the air, the cube still in his arms. He sailed for a moment, and then started to flail his arms. Mikaela let out a sob and Bee an angry, high pitched chirp. Ratchet and Ironhide made loud gasps and Alise let out a cry also, mourning the fate of her new friend. She thought it was the end of him, but suddenly something caught him. It was a large arm with a blue paintjob with red flames. It was Optimus.

The whole group let out an audible sigh of complete relief. They couldn't see Optimus's body, but they knew if he had caught Sam, he would be safe for the time being. The group exchange elated looks with one another.

"We better keep moving," Ironhide said, and the group agreed. They needed to get to there fast.