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"Husband!" they exclaimed. I flinched. They looked at me in a stunned silence.
"You said your husband was in the military," Tessa exclaimed.
"He is." I shifted nervously on my feet.
In that moment, Lucas used the opportunity to try and run to call the authorities. Optimus lowered his gun slightly, causing Lucas to his hit head and fall on his back. I looked up at Optimus, frowning slightly.
"Easy, human," he rumbled.
Lucas slowly stood up, a red bump on his head where he hit it off Optimus's gun. I sighed softly.
"As much as I'd like to explain the situation, he's hurt." I motioned to Optimus. Their gazes shifted from me to the injured Autobot before them.
Cade hesitantly stepped forward. "He's not gonna hurt us," he said.
Optimus aimed his gun at Cade. "Weapons...systems...damaged," he said.
"A missile hit your engine," Cade said carefully.
I looked up at Optimus sadly. He looked almost terrified. His optics looking at the three humans angrily, almost fearfully. He took small steps back whenever Cade tried to come near him.
"We took it out of you," Cade continued. "You're hurt really bad. We're just trying to help you."
Optimus's optics went to me for a moment. I gave a single nod.
"You're in my home now, I'm an engineer. My name is Cade Yeager."
Lowering his gun hesitantly, Optimus wiped some dust off of his face with his free arm, his rage finally going away.
"Cade, I am in your debt," Optimus said defeatedly. Sparks flew from his chest, he looked too weak to stand. "My name is Optimus Prime." He paused momentarily. "My Autobots...they're in danger." Panic laced his voice. Before we could say or do anything, his legs gave out. A piece of Optimus's finial piece on his head fell. "We need to go," he stammered. "We need to go now."
"How far do you think you're gonna get?" Cade asked. "Tessa, come here. He needs our help."
"Optimus, he's going to fix you," I assured him. "I promise you, you'll be fine." Optimus glanced at me, trying to understand what was happening.
"What happened to you?" Cade asked.
"An ambush," Optimus rumbled, watching Cade and Tessa carefully. He carefully stood up. "A trap. Set by humans."
"Is that why your shoulder..." Tessa started, looking at me.
Cade and Optimus looked at me. I stiffened. "It doesn't matter what happened to me," I assured them. "I'm fine."
Optimus made a heaving motion, similar to a cough. Dust came from his mouth.
Tessa stood next to her father, looking at Optimus fearfully.
"We escaped, and I took this form," Optimus continued. The heaving continued.
"If you're on our side," Tessa said, "why would humans hurt you?"
"They were not alone. My Autobots can repair me." He held the wounded parts of himself.
"Yeah, if you can reach 'em," Cade said. Picking up the finial piece, he glanced at Optimus. "What about me?"
Optimus and I shared a glance. I nodded.
Cade asked Tessa to go back into the house to get a pen and paper. He said he needed a list of things in order to successfully repair Optimus.
As he wrote down what he needed, I felt a sharp, burning sensation in my shoulder. I hissed.
Optimus looked at me worriedly; Cade paused what he was doing to look at me. I shook the sensation off; I probably needed to change my bandages.
"Desirée..." Optimus began.
"I'm OK, big guy," I said through gritted teeth. "Don't worry about me."
"You're injured," Optimus said.
"Your condition is more important," I said firmly. "I'll live."
I watched as Cade and Lucas walked out of the barn, Cade murmuring something to his friend. Tessa stayed behind for a little bit.
"Tessa, can you get my stuff from the bathroom please?" I asked. "I'm gonna have to change my bandages."
Once Lucas was gone and Cade came back, Tessa had returned with my medical supplies. I lowered the shoulder of my shirt and took my old bandages off. It was slightly bloodied; the wounds looked a little infected.
Cade had started working on Optimus with what he had, but I could feel him and Optimus watching.
"They shot you?" Cade exclaimed.
"I'm fine," I swallowed thickly. "Just worry about Optimus, please." Saoirse and Eden watched, wide-eyed, as Tessa helped me clean and bandage my wounds.
"Desirée, why didn't you tell me?" Optimus rumbled.
"You were hurt." I slowly put my shirt on right. "We had enough problems going on, I didn't want to add another." My shoulder burned from the medicine I'd put on.
"Your health is important to me," Optimus rumbled. "Your life is important to me."
"So is yours," I said.
Tessa went back to the house. I thanked her for her trouble, she only nodded. Saoirse and Eden walked up to me, looking almost terrified.
"Mommy's OK," I kissed the tops of their heads. "Daddy's OK, too. I promised he would be."
"Mama, he was scary," Saoirse said.
I hugged them both. "He was scared," I murmured. "But everything's fine now."
"Promise?" Eden asked.
I nodded. "Promise."
As Cade continued working, a semi-comfortable silence hung in the air. Occasionally Cade would throw a question or two, try to start a conversation. It was showing he was trying, that he cared.
After finishing a part, he walked up to Optimus.
"Took one helluva hit, you know," he said. Optimus was kneeling, watching Cade as he approached. "Must've just missed your power source."
"We call it a Spark," Optimus said. His chest plates were open, revealing his Spark. Cade climbed up the ladder, stopping halfway to look at the Prime. "It contains our life force, and our memories."
"We call it a soul," Cade said. He applied the piece to the exposed Spark, being careful not to directly touch it. Optimus assisted a little, as well. As he climbed down the ladder, Cade glanced at me. "So, um, Desirée?" I looked at him. "Your girls? Are they, um..."
"They're Optimus's daughters too," I said. Eden had fallen asleep. Saoirse was watching it all carefully. She seemed mildly interested in how her father was being repaired.
Cade looked between Optimus and I, clearly confused.
"That's a story for another time," I said. "Shouldn't Lucas be coming back?"
"There was a lot of things I needed. He probably went to see someone about his head, too."
I looked at Optimus, who didn't seem too bothered that he injured someone. I gave a small smile and shook my head.
We fell back into a silence. The only noise was Cade's tools as he worked.
Optimus seems pretty OK with letting Cade work on him, I thought. He doesn't have much of a choice in the matter. I'd have to figure out a way to thank Cade and Tessa for being so generous. Didn't Tessa say something about needing money for college? I frowned slightly. I hadn't checked my bank account in five years. There was no doubt in my mind it had been blocked, probably removed. I told Cade I'd pay him for fixing my truck. Optimus was no truck. Now he's fixing my Autobot husband.
I fully expected Cemetery Wind to have been contacted. Lucas seemed quick to try and do so. Was he still willing to do so? He's helping Cade rebuild Optimus...but he could be using that opportunity to contact them.
I cursed silently.
"Cade? Why are you willing to help me?" Optimus asked, pulling bullet shells out. He looked at the human male carefully.
"Maybe cause you trust me to," Cade answered.
I felt myself feeling slightly shocked. Cade accepted the Autobot leader and fugitive in his home without a second thought. Maybe, just maybe, Cade was a human to be trusted.