Here we are with chapter 4! Thank you so so much to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favourited the story! I am so grateful to you all :)
Millie
Shrugging off the darkness of her dreamless sleep, Millie blinked her eyes open. She looked around the interior of the car wearily as she push herself up slowly, wincing as her arms shook slightly. Her stomach growled loudly and she was forced to fight back a hungry groan. Leaning against the door of the car, Millie wrapped her arms around her abdomen and curled up into a comfortable position.
Glancing down, Millie's eyes widened to see a clean white bandage wrapped neatly around her lower thigh. Trailing her fingers over the material, she could feel the small bumps indicating four neat stitches.
"I did the best I could, I hope they're okay..."
Looking up quickly, Millie saw Bumblebee's holoform perched comfortable in the driver's seat, watching her with apprehension in his eyes as his sandy hair fell messily across his forehead.
"Oh Bee..." She murmured softly, a relieved smile forming on her lips as she trailed her fingers over the stitches again. "You really didn't have to. Thank you so much."
Bumblebee smiled brightly at her thanks, nodding slightly before he reached into the footwell behind him and lifted a bag into his lap. Millie watched him silently as he removed a huge pile of chocolate, pop tarts, sandwiches, water and energy drinks.
"I wasn't sure how much humans eat - or if you had any preferences - so I just got everything."
Millie's mouth dropped open in shock as Bumblebee offered the pile of food to her. He pushed a bottle of water and a sandwich into her hands, watching her expectantly as she started at them.
"Bee..." Millie trailed off softly. Nobody had ever shown her such kindness, let alone an alien robot whom she'd only know for the best part of a day. "Why are you doing all this for me?"
Bumblebee shrugged slightly, a sly smile forming on his face.
"You passed out last night. It wouldn't have been good if I'd saved you from the bullets and then you died from hunger and dehydration."
Millie stared at him for a moment, before she chuckled lightly and began to open the sandwich, taking a drink from the water as she did so.
"I got you some different clothes too." Bumblebee continued, reaching further into the bag to reveal some cotton tracksuit bottoms, a Yankees sweatshirt and a matching baseball cap. "Those people will probably be searching for you... I thought it would be best if you changed your clothes so they don't start hunting down every person in khakis."
Millie glance down at her khakis, noting the large bloodstain covering one of the legs.
"Ruined khakis at that." She added offhandedly, causing Bumblebee to snort slightly in amusement.
The two fell silent as Millie continued to eat. She savoured the flavour of the sandwich, having been restricted by the monitored diet of the facility for so many years. Bumblebee glanced at the radio and quickly flicked to a small station playing smooth classics.
"Pachebel's Cannon in D." Millie noted, listening to the familiar music as Bumblebee watched her. "Good choice Bee."
A small round of applause rippled from the speakers again as Bumblebee smiled brightly, causing Millie to laugh and then choke on her mouthful.
Spluttering, Millie drank some water to help the food material go down as Bumblebee continued to laugh at her.
"It that necessary?" She asked after a moment to catch her breath, her voice hoarse from the choking.
Bumblebee smiled innocently as the sound of Bart Simpson's voice came through the radio:
"I didn't do it!"
Millie snorted again, shaking her head disdainfully as a teasing smile formed on her lips.
The comfortable silence blossomed once again as Millie finished her sandwich. She watched Bumblebee carefully as his eyes turned to the road, watching where the camero was driving them.
"How do you do that?" She asked curiously as Bumblebee looked at her once again.
"Do what?"
"Have a conversation with me and still know where you're driving without using the wheel."
"I've got multiple processors running." Bumblebee shrugged nonchalantly. "I can concentrate on any one of them when I wish. For example I'm currently concentrating on the holoform so I can feel everything it feels. However if I concentrate on my true form-" the holoform seemed to lose any form of personality and sat silently in its seat as a small light blossomed in the radio, "-then... I'm in here, honey."
The holoform began to become aware once again as Bumblebee regained control: a broad smile spread on his face as he saw Millie's fascination.
"That's amazing." She said, causing Bumblebee's smile to widen further. She chuckled again and shook her head in amusement. "To think that humans thought we were the only sentient beings in the universe."
"There's surprisingly more than you think." Bumblebee agreed glancing at the road once again. Millie followed his line of sight to see that they were approaching a small town.
"What's going to happen now?" Millie asked suddenly, looking across at Bumblebee. "You can't keep looking after me when you have a much more important task at hand."
"But Millie-"
"But nothing." She cut off, surprised that Bumblebee seemed so protective of her. "You didn't come to this planet to save my life: you came to find the All Spark. I am of course very grateful for all that you have done for me and I owe you my life, but..."
Millie trailed off, unsure of how to continue. She readily admitted didn't really want to leave Bumblebee, but she didn't want to act as a hindrance either.
Bumblebee himself was in turmoil as well: how could he feel so protective of this small human femme he'd only known for such a short period of time?
"Bumblebee..." Millie said sadly, a sudden realisation hitting her as she thought back to the facility and the events of the previous. "Those people you saved me from will want to find me. When they find me, they'll want to kill me. They will be hunting for a yellow 1977 camero right now; they'll be hunting for you."
The brakes of the camero suddenly locked as the car came to a skidding halt in the middle of the dusty road. Millie clutched onto the dashboard to stabilise herself as the holoform disappeared from existence and Bumblebee rolled to a stop, dust and stones flying up around him. The passenger side door snapped open and Millie took this as a gesture to leave the car. She clambered out quickly, being careful to favour her good leg, and turned to see Bumblebee hastily transforming into his bipedal form.
It truly was sight for Millie to see him transform for the first time. The camero seemed to shatter into thousands of pieces, but they twisted and coiled amongst themselves in impossible combinations to take an entirely new form. The bumper of the camero acted as Bumblebee's chest plates while the doors rested on his back in a likeness to a pair of wings.
"Wow..." Millie breathed, limping back a few paces to take in Bumblebee's whole form. The splattering of yellow metal seemed to spread evenly across his form, complementing the darker metals perfectly. Millie estimated that he stood at around seventeen feet tall.
Bumblebee watched her carefully with his bright blue optics as she took in his bipedal form. Crouching down slowly, his head came level with Millie and he let out a soft whining sound from his vocal processors. Millie smiled sadly up at him and reached out slowly, trailing her fingers over his face plates. She was quite surprised that the metal beneath her fingers was comfortably warm.
"You know it's the right thing to do, Bee." Millie said as she let her hand drop to her side.
Bumblebee shrugged slightly, a series of protesting whines and clicks escaping from his vocal processors as a played a sound byte:
"Do you have to go?"
"It's the best thing to do, Bee." Millie repeated. She began limping backwards and forwards in front of the bot, thinking carefully as she glance sideways at him.
"They will know that I am injured so will assume I'll stay with you." Millie said carefully after a few moments of thinking. She paused her uneven pacing to turn and look at Bumblebee. "The best thing to do is be unpredictable. They'll believe that I'll stay with you as it's the safest place for me-"
"That's true... So you... Stay!" Bumblebee cut in, nodding his head firmly.
"But," Millie continued, raising her hand to pause Bumblebee's protest. "They will not expect me to leave you. Heck, I don't want to leave having made a friend out of a seventeen foot Autobot."
Bumblebee watched Millie sadly as she began to pace once again. Her limp was obvious - especially as the bandage around her thigh was clearly visible - but Millie seemed to pay it no heed. Instead, she turned to look at Bumblebee once again with a spark of renewed determination burning in her eyes.
"I have to go, Bee, and that's final."
Instead of protesting this time, Bumblebee remain quiet and watched Millie carefully: her sudden determination had ignited a small feeling of confidence in his spark.
"You and I will meet again, Bee." Millie said firmly, stepping closer to the Autobot with a grim smile. "I owe you my life. I am in your debt, and when the time comes I will do all that is in my power to repay you."
Unsure of what sound byte would best suit the situation, Bumblebee transformed back into the camero quickly and onlined his holoform. He climbed from the driver's side door and quickly strode around the front of the car towards Millie. She watched Bumbleebee silently as him came to a stop before her, resting a hand on her arm.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He questioned worriedly, glancing down at her bandage again. "I am not worried about those people attacking us: we would easily be able to outrun them - and out gun them."
"It is not your capabilities I am worried about, Bee," Millie smiled softly, "it's the fact you didn't come to this planet to look after me. As I said before: you came for the All Spark and that's what you need to focus on. When the time is right I'll find you again and repay my debt, but right now we need to lay low and drop off Zada's radar."
"Zada?" Bumblebee questioned suddenly, his blue eyes darkening as his expression hardened. "That's the name of the man who did this to you?"
"Bee..." Millie trailed off, her voice suddenly sounding very weary. Bumblebee watched her worriedly as she cast her eyes downwards. "Please don't concern yourself with him. He is my problem, and you already have a lot on your plate to deal with."
Bumblebee raised a single eyebrow as he looked down at Millie sceptically. Millie looked up to see his concern and raised an eyebrow of her own.
"Bee..." She said with a warning tone.
Releasing a frustrated sigh, Bumblebee looked away from Millie and have a single, sharp nod.
"Very well. I'll do as you ask."
"Thank you."
Turning away from Millie, Bumblebee strode back around to the driver's side door. If he was going to be leaving Millie to fend for herself, then by Primus he would make sure that she had enough resources to look after herself for now.
"Get in." He commanded although his voice held a gentle tone. "I'm going to take you into town before we go our separate ways: it is the least I can do."
A broad smile formed on Millie's lips as she moved forward and climbed into the camero, the passenger door already open and waiting for her. As soon as she was seated, the safety belt slid comfortably around her body and amid a cloud of dust, Bumblebee began speeding down the road once again.
We are getting close to Transformera 1 now, yay! I must apologise if this takes me a while to write sometimes... My computer has died so ive been writing all of this in the notes of my iPhone :')
Reviews are greatly appreciated!
Til all are one.
Shakalakaboomboom