"What are you? How did my dad get you? Why did you try to protect me? Where are you from? Who built you?" Fina asked all of the questions one right after the other, and Bee couldn't answer any of them because she wouldn't know what he was saying.

When he remained silent, Fina banged on the dash (though not as hard as she might have), "Hey, I already know, so stop pretending you're not real and give me some straight answers."

{I can't!} Bumblebee exclaimed irritably, {I could say anything and you wouldn't understand a word of it. I'm an Autobot, your dad kidnapped me off the street, see first answer, Cybertron and I wish humans would stop asking that last question because it's insulting.}

"Hey, whoa, don't get mad. Do you have some kind of translator or something?" she leaned over and looked more closely at the radio, but saw only the usual buttons.

{No, I don't.}

"Okay, okay, just calm down," Fina said, "Geez, I finally get you talking and you sound like an angry wasp."

{Bee,} Bumblebee corrected automatically, {And I'm not angry. Just frustrated. You have no idea.}

"Well at least that sounded a little calmer. Are you calm?"

{WHY would I be calm?!} Bumblebee snapped.

"Hey, I'm just trying to have a conversation here. You don't have to get all annoyed about it," Fina said, "You know, as expressive as you are, you'd think you'd be able to talk."

{You'd think...} Bumblebee grumbled.

It was then that he remembered one brief time when he'd been trying to communicate with Jack. What was it he'd said, one honk for good news and two for bad? Something like that. He supposed maybe he could try a variant of that, but a honk in this garage would be a little loud.

"Okay, let's slow this down a bit," apparently Fina had had a similar thought, "I am right in thinking that button hurts you, yeah?"

Bumblebee, thinking quickly, issued two quick burrs as emphatically as he could.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Fina inquired, "On TV, it's usually one for yes and two for no."

Bumblebee hurriedly changed his answer, hoping she wouldn't mistake it for an answer to her other question, which was not of the 'yes or no' variety.

"Yes? One for yes," she said, and Bumblebee repeated the single buzz, "And my dad knows, doesn't he?" another single buzz, "And he's okay with that?" Bumblebee kind of thought so, but he wasn't really sure because the man had gone to some lengths to make sure Bumblebee wouldn't get repeatedly shocked, so he remained silent on the issue.

"Come on, it's not like it's not obvious. My dad and I aren't on the best of terms anyway, admitting he hurt you on purpose isn't really going to lower my opinion of him. I just can't believe he would ask me to do it without telling me. I mean, the only reason to hit it when you do your wasp noise is to keep you from talking to me. To hide what you are. From me," Fina sounded like she was about to cry or scream or something, but instead she just took a deep breath to calm herself.

{Yes, that's true. But he brought me here because he wanted to protect you. I don't understand much about humans, but I do understand this. He wants you safe, Fina. That's why he did this.}

Fina shook her head, "You sure talk a lot when you're not saying anything."

{You're infuriating,} Bumblebee said dryly.

"If we keep playing twenty questions, we'll be here until Christmas," Fina said, "Maybe longer. So I'll just ask the few really important ones. Were you really trying to protect me last night?" a single buzz, "I'll skip asking why because that would take too long. The other one I've got is this: do you want to be here?" when Bumblebee hesitated to answer, she rephrased, "I don't know if you're a government experiment or an alien or a ghost possessing a car or what, but you came from somewhere, right?" one buzz as confirmation, "So are you here against your will? Is that what the button is for, to keep you here and make you do whatever you're told?" Bumblebee still didn't answer.

He wasn't sure why, but he was reluctant to share that information, even though the answer was obviously a resounding YES! He didn't know what, if anything, Fina would do with that knowledge. She was vulnerable, hurting and alone even in the midst of her family. He didn't want to make her feel unwanted by saying he'd rather be literally anywhere on Earth but here. It struck him as almost funny how deeply he could care when he didn't even like this person.

"Fine, don't tell me," Fina sounded both annoyed and hurt now, "It's not like I'm the only person you can talk to," her eyes flashed as she said acidly, "Oh wait, that's exactly what I am. And, if you don't answer me, I'm going to go back in the house where it's actually warm and leave you here in the dark by yourself."

Sighing, Bumblebee did the only thing that seemed to make sense. He buzzed three times.

"Well that's real helpful," Fina told him, "But I guess I'll take what I can get."

{What are you complaining about? I'm the one so far from home it's not even worth talking about.}

As he said this, he finally understood something. That mansion on the hill might be where her family lived, the colored lights might be seasonally appropriate and maybe she had everything she'd ever wanted inside, but this place wasn't home to Fina, it was just a place to live.

If there was one thing Bumblebee understood, it was not having a home. When he had first come to Earth, Bumblebee had felt an ache inside that he didn't understand initially. It wasn't just that he was far from what had been his home on Cybertron, but far from the planet itself. And then that ache deepened as he realized his planet was dead. He would probably never see it again, and it certainly wouldn't be the home he'd left. Not only was he millions of miles away, but his home simply didn't exist. He could never, ever return to the place he'd left, the home he loved and would have given his life for. Much as he'd learned to love Earth, it just wasn't the same. It wasn't his home. He didn't have a home. Not anymore.

He didn't really know when that had changed, he supposed after he met Raf. Somehow, home for him was wherever the boy was. He was Raf's appointed guardian, but also his friend. He understood on some level that Fina didn't have anyone like that, even though she had parents, a brother, friends, a boyfriend and presumably all the normal human relations. She had so many people in her life, but she didn't have anything like what Bumblebee had with the other Autobots or Raf.

He wondered if she had become a terrible person because of the relationships she didn't have in her life, or if she didn't have those relationships because she was a terrible person.

Rather than ask another question, Fina climbed out and shut the door behind her, being careful not to slam it. She pulled her phone from her pocket, stood back as she aimed it at Bee and took a picture over his objections.

"I'm gonna pass this around, okay? Maybe somebody I know has some idea what you are and where you came from. I need answers, and this yes or no question thing isn't working for me," Bumblebee buzzed urgent protests, but she either didn't understand or was ignoring him, "Look, I'll be back after breakfast. Dad has a mechanic that can fix key scratches and minor dents easy."

Bumblebee objected to that idea too. One thing he did not need was a mechanic looking him over. One glance would be enough to prove to an expert that he was no ordinary car. It was one thing to have his picture taken, Raf was good at catching those and getting rid of them before too many people saw, but a mechanic would see instantly something was amiss, and it would get around pretty fast that there was something very strange about him. And that would be bad for the Autobots trying to keep a low profile. They were supposed to be secret, and taking one of them to a mechanic would blow it wide open.

"I'm gonna find out about you whether you like it or not," Fina's voice came from near the garage door, just before she turned out the lights and left Bumblebee in the dark.

Raf didn't know what to do when he got up the next morning. All his ability with tech, and he couldn't find a trace of Bumblebee. With all Bee had done for him, it seemed like Raf ought to be able to accomplish this one thing. How hard could it be to find a Cybertronian on Earth? Obviously the question was a stupid one. If a Cybertronian didn't want to be noticed on Earth, he wouldn't be. Presumably they were equally adept at keeping their prisoners secret as well.

After telling his mother he was going over to a friend's house, Raf convinced Ratchet to 'bridge him to the base. He just couldn't stand all the Christmas décor in the house, the music, the smells and everything when he knew that his best friend was somewhere out there alone, lost, scared, maybe even hurt.

At least at the Autobot base he didn't feel like he was participating in a celebration. It was strange, just a few days ago he'd have given anything to feel like he was a part of Christmas, and now he couldn't get far enough away from it.

No sooner had Raf settled in on the catwalk with his laptop then Bulkhead drove in and was met by Arcee.

"Any luck?" she asked, having just returned herself.

"Finally got hold of a 'Con and squeezed until I got something," Bulkhead said, but he shook his head miserably, "But not somethin' I wanted to hear."

"Tell me," Arcee demanded, her voice tinged with almost as much fear as ferocity.

"Vehicon said the 'Cons don't have him."

"You believe that?" Arcee asked, though it sounded like she already knew the answer.

"Since when have they ever lied when they had one of us in their claws?"

"Since never," Arcee answered with a sigh, "They're always so pleased with themselves they can barely contain their glee. Besides, it's not like Bee's got any intel to share, so they'd be using him as a hostage. A hostage isn't any good if we don't know they have him."

"We proved hostages are no good a long time ago," Bulkhead reminded her soberly, "Not only can't we trust them to keep their word, it's not worth the price we'd wind up paying."

Raf felt certain that Bumblebee's life was worth any price. But he also knew what Bee would have to say about that. Bee would rather die than see harm come Earth, humanity or his fellow Autobots. Whether he did so in battle or as a prisoner of the Decepticons wouldn't make any difference to him.

Besides, Bumblebee had once explained to Raf that, if the Decepticons found an advantage in taking hostages once, they would only do it again. And again. And again, until finally they'd gotten everything they wanted. To protect future potential hostages from being used in exchanges, and especially to protect them from being tortured or killed if and when the Decepticons went back on their end of the deal, some Autobots had made the ultimate sacrifice. Those bots had died, so that their brothers wouldn't have to. Even if they'd had nothing else to recommend them over Decepticons, the absolute loyalty of Autobots to their allies was sufficient reason to choose their side.

All that being true, if the Decepticons didn't have Bumblebee, then who did?

When the garage door opened a few hours later, Bumblebee expected to see Fina. He was surprised when it was Rick who stood behind the door as it rolled itself up. Rick walked over to Bumblebee, opened the driver's side door and slid into the seat.

"Alright, you piece of junk car, we're going for a drive. And we're not coming back."

Bumblebee didn't know where Rick wanted to go, or what he intended to do when he got there, but he didn't dare fight him. He could hear in the pitch of Rick's voice, and feel the way his hands gripped the wheel that he was angry. People did foolish, hurtful things when they were angry. Let alone, Bumblebee would have preferred to be nowhere near Rick when that anger finally burst forth in whatever form it was going to take. But he didn't want that anger to become directed at him.

Somewhat surprisingly, Rick didn't turn on the radio or plug in his phone so it could play music. He just hit the accelerator, realized he hadn't shifted gears yet, shifted into drive and then tried again. Bumblebee started forward, but caught sight of Fina running down the stairs from the mansion. She was barefoot and not dressed for the cold, and was clearly frantic to reach them.

Bumblebee let his tires slip on the icy concrete outside of the garage and failed to speed up at Rick's behest. If he had not, then Rick would have hit Fina for sure. Either she expected Bee to protect her again, or else she simply didn't care, because she darted out in front of the car and stood until Rick slammed the brakes, then she scrambled around to the driver's side and yanked it open.

"Ricky, you can't take him! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Fina, let go of the door!" Rick shouted back, trying to yank the door but unable to wrench it away from Fina, "I don't know why, but you've got some crazy ideas about this car. I'm gonna get rid of it before you completely embarrass yourself by letting the whole damned school know."

"You liar! You're not doing this for me, you're doing it because you can't stand that I've found something that matters to me when nothing matters to you at all!" she tried to pry the door open more, but Rick wasn't about to let her do that and held fast.

"Fina, look at yourself! This is just a car, it's not worth it!"

"Just let me have this! You ruin everything!"

"Hey, I didn't make you sleep with Mark," Rick snarled, "You did that for yourself."

"But you told Eddy, didn't you!?" Fina yelled back.

"So what if I did! He didn't believe me anyway!" they both froze and their eyes met, clearly in disbelief about what they were doing. Then they started wrestling for the door again.

"Let go!"

"You let go!"

"Stop it!"

"You stop it!"

In the end, Rick was stronger than Fina. He ripped the door from her hands, slammed it and hit the accelerator. Bumblebee wanted to ignore him, but he knew an electric jolt would blind and deafen him. On the slanted concrete driveway, it would be too easy for him to backslide or something and maybe hurt Fina, or even Rick if he crashed into the supports for the garage. Swallowing his pride, Bee obeyed Rick's idiotic directions and accelerated up the drive and out onto the street.

In his mirror, he saw Fina pursue, then give up. She stood helplessly in the driveway as Rick directed Bumblebee to go faster than was safe down the street, leaving her behind.

Rick's phone rang a few minutes later. It was Fina. He ignored her and turned off the ringer on his phone before tossing it face-down on the passenger's seat.