"Bee..." Raf was shaking his head slowly, "You don't owe these people anything. They hurt you on purpose. They're mean to each other, and to you and everybody around them."
{And my inaction hurt them,} Bumblebee said, though everything Raf said was true.
"That wasn't your fault," Raf told him, "You can't fix people who don't know they're broken."
There was a painful awareness in the boy's voice, and Bumblebee knew its cause. Though Raf's family clearly loved him, the boy often felt ignored and even unwanted because there were so many of them and they were so loud and sometimes seemed to forget him. He could do nothing to change his family, and had learned to measure his worth by means other than their attentions. Bumblebee knew he had played no small part in making Raf feel wanted and valuable, simply because he loved the boy as he did, and because he had learned much in his life about expressions of affection, and telling people how much you cared for them while you had the chance in whatever way they understood. Young in terms of his own kind, Bumblebee had already outlived any human on Earth, and in the many years of his existence he had come to understand that one must never take the people or things they love for granted, for those things are too easily, often and swiftly lost.
Raf was wise beyond his years, but he was nonetheless young, even for his kind. Bumblebee wasn't sure how to make him understand, partially because here was a place where logic was inadequate and could not explain his reasons. He simply knew that this was something he must do. And then he realized that was something Raf would understand, even if Ratchet did not.
{Raf,} he spoke softly, pausing as the boy -who had sunk to a sitting position, leaning against one of his tires- looked up at him, {I must stay. I have to make this right.}
"But you didn't make it wrong to begin with," Raf protested.
"Rafael is correct," Ratchet said, "You did not start this."
{But I am part of it now,} Bumblebee replied, {I can't just leave. They need me.}
"As do we," Ratchet reminded him, an undercurrent of harshness belying his gentle tone, "Or have you forgotten that we are in a war, that the numbers are already against us, and that Earth itself will be the price if we lose?"
{I haven't forgotten,} Bumblebee said quietly, stung by the implication that he could ever forget that he was a soldier in the Autobot army, that he might ever forget that the fate of Cybertron might one day also be the fate of Earth if the war was lost.
"It certainly sounds as if you have," Ratchet pressed.
Ratchet's words hurt, primarily because Bumblebee understood why he was saying that. Had their roles been reversed, it was entirely possible he might have said the same thing. The Autobots needed their Scout, not because he was so special, but because they were so few. They could afford to lose no one. The fate of the world was at stake, and Bumblebee was risking it for a man who had kidnapped him, and the family who had used and abused him. There was no logic Bumblebee could apply which would make his actions make sense. And yet, he remained firm in his conviction.
{I don't expect you to understand,} Bumblebee said, {But I have to stay. I just know this is something I must do. Can you understand that?}
It did not surprise him that Ratchet's silence was negative. But Raf did surprise him.
"I think I do," Raf replied, "And, if you think you've got to stay, then there's something I need to do."
{What's that?} Bumblebee inquired.
"I need to talk to this Fina person. She needs to understand what you're giving up for her."
{Raf, you can't-} Bumblebee protested as Ratchet said, "We are robots in disguise, humans can't-"
"I understand," Raf said, "But she doesn't. And I think she needs to. You have to let me do this. Please."
He looked not to Ratchet, but to Bumblebee, for Bumblebee was his guardian and the one he had to convince. In the boy's eyes, Bumblebee saw the conviction he himself felt. He knew he could not deny Raf this request and still demand that his own be honored.
{I don't understand... but I will not stand in your way,} Bumblebee said.
Raf nodded, then turned to Ratchet, "It's time we went home. You'll need to 'Bridge me back here in the morning so I can talk to her once she wakes up."
"I do not approve of this course of action," Ratchet said, but did not argue further.
Bumblebee knew that Ratchet would respect Raf's decision for the same reason the old medic was respecting Bumblebee's own. Ratchet was experienced, and he had heard this tone of voice before. He knew that both Scout and boy would do what they felt they must, no matter what. He might as well help them, because they would do this anyway, regardless of what he said or did.
Ratchet had asked Raf what good he thought he could do by talking to Fina before sending the boy home for the night, but Raf did not answer him. This was mainly because he had no answer. He couldn't imagine what he might say to this girl, a stranger to him, that would make her understand. More, he didn't know what he could say or do that would make her care when it seemed that all she cared about was herself. What he did know was that Bumblebee was staying for her, because he felt guilty about her. And, perhaps because he was so young himself and saw the world through the eyes of the innocent, Raf could understand why Bumblebee would choose this course, even though logic dictated that he should return to the ranks of the Autobots instead.
But Raf also knew that Autobots had a rather over-developed sense of personal responsibility, and would blame themselves for things in which they had taken no part. Even now, despite everything, it was ever clear that Optimus would prefer to save Megatron than defeat him. The Autobot leader was resigned to the reality that he could not, but it obviously weighed on him.
Perhaps that was what truly made Autobots more advanced than men. Not their technology, but their devotion to duty, their capacity for trust, and their willingness to take responsibility for the safety and welfare of everyone around them, both individually and collectively.
As he stepped through the Bridge the next morning to go to speak to Fina, Raf finally knew what he was going to say. He'd figured out what it was that she needed to know.
Ratchet had placed him inside the house, in an empty room, so as to avoid attracting outside attention. There was another reason for doing it that way. Raf wasn't sure these people would let him in if he simply knocked on the door. Because of what they'd done to Bee, he didn't feel the least bit guilty about entering their house in this manner, even if it scared the bejeezus out of them.
Far as he was concerned, they deserved it.
Still, Raf had the decency to at least knock on Fina's bedroom door.
It seemed to take forever for her to open the door. When she finally did, she looked nothing like Raf had expected. Somehow, he had expected someone sharp eyed, sharp chinned and sharp voiced. But, though her eyes were red rimmed and watery, there was nothing in her dark eyes to suggest the nasty person Raf had heard Bumblebee try to describe delicately. Her dark hair with its green tips was a ratted mess about her face, strands of it almost concealing the stitches on her forehead. Her brow furrowed as she stared at Raf, clearly trying to remember if she'd seen him before.
"I'm here to talk to you about Bumblebee," Raf said simply.
"Um... what?" it was clear from her blank expression that she didn't know Bee by name.
"The yellow car. The one you drove in a race recently. The one your dad stole."
"Uh-huh," Fina nodded slowly, leaning against the door-jamb with her good shoulder, "And I suppose that you're the rightful owner. You, who are all of... seven years old?"
"Twelve and a half, actually," Raf corrected her, "And no, I don't own him. Nobody does," he sighed, trying to gather his patience, "And nobody should, either."
"And you know this because...?" she challenged, still blocking the door.
"Because I know him. Bumblebee is my friend. And he'd be yours too, if you'd let him."
For a moment, she looked down at him as if she would challenge him again, or demand that he leave immediately. But then she merely stepped to the side and pushed her door the rest of the way open.
Nervous now, trying not to show it, Raf walked into her room and tried not to flinch as the door clicked shut behind him. He'd faced Decepticons, how scary could a teenage girl be? But this time it was different. This time, what he said really mattered. For the first time, he had to try and get someone else to see Bumblebee the way he saw the Autobot Scout. It wouldn't be easy.
"Move the clothes out of the chair and take a seat," Fina instructed, gesturing to a chair with a leaning tower of apparel items on it and sitting at her desk.
The clothing tower was almost as tall as Raf himself, but he managed to transfer it to the bed with minimal struggle and climbed into the empty chair, then sat facing Fina in silence for a time. He'd known what to say before he came, but now his mind seemed emptied of thoughts and he was only scared. He didn't know what to say, and Fina did not appear inclined to initiate the conversation.
Finally, Raf took a deep breath, reminding himself who this was for, and how important it was.
"When I first met Bumblebee," Raf began, his voice a bit shaky, "he was in the middle of fighting for his life, and the life of his friend," or maybe his sister, Raf had never been clear on that.
Raf saw no reason to mention that Bumblebee had been in robot mode at the time, or that his friend was also a Cybertronian, or that another boy had been there as well. It didn't seem relevant to try and explain the dynamics of Autobots and Decepticons, or that they were from another world and that only a handful of people knew of them or anything. Raf had known next to nothing that day, yet had understood all he needed to in just a few seconds of contact. He had eyes to see with, and ears to hear with, and he had understood from the start that Bumblebee was gentle and friendly and caring. It had been obvious, even in the midst of battle with a pair of vehicons.
Even now, Raf could clearly picture in his mind's eye the sight of Bumblebee coming to the defense of Arcee when the vehicons had knocked her down. He'd come down on them with ferocity and determination, but it had been in defense of Arcee, and the two humans with her. Raf had not known immediately that Bee was aware of his presence, but it had soon become clear.
"He was outnumbered, but that didn't faze him," Raf said.
"I don't imagine it would," Fina said, when Raf paused to think about whether he needed to clarify or not; he decided that he probably didn't, since she seemed to get it.
"In the middle of this huge fight, he accidentally crushed my toy race-car. I didn't know he'd seen me, or even knew I existed. But he stopped, right there, and he apologized. He said he was sorry that he broke it. I'm not even sure he knew what it was, or how he knew it was mine. But he did."
It was only there for an instant, but he saw the flicker in her eyes. She might later deny it, but in that moment she grasped what Raf was trying to tell her about Bumblebee. It wasn't a happy look, but a pained one, because inevitably she found herself thinking of what she probably would have done, and knowing that she would not have noticed Raf, or his toy car, and she certainly would not have been sorry for breaking it nor was there the slightest chance she would have apologized.
"He let himself be distracted. By me," Raf said, and felt the chill inside that always came when he realized that Bee could have been killed then and there, and that he might never have had the chance to come to know the brave Scout as he did now, "and he almost got killed for it."
Fina seemed to avoid looking at Raf then. She feigned being distracted by something on the screen of her computer on the desk, but the monitor was turned off and there was nothing to see. Raf didn't call her on it, even though he caught the look of shame on her face as she turned away. He didn't know what she felt ashamed of, but Bumblebee had told him enough to let him guess. He also guessed that Bumblebee had omitted a few details, particularly when it came to just what sort of people these were. But what he had included was more than enough for Raf to have developed an opinion of them.
"They knocked him down. They would have killed them... but then they noticed me," again, he did not mention Jack. He also didn't mention what he'd done that got their attention, "One of them came after me. I ran away."
"Of course," Fina muttered, but Raf ignored her.
"It -he- would have caught me, and killed me. Maybe to protect the secret of their existence, but more likely just because he could. Bumblebee stopped him. And then he told me to run, to get to safety," Raf paused here, but Fina said nothing, so he continued, "I just happened to be there, but Bumblebee knew that his enemies would not see it that way. They'd be coming after me next. So he made a decision."
Raf knew it had been at least partially Optimus' call, but Fina didn't need to know, and it didn't matter. Even had Optimus not made it an order, Bumblebee would have made the choice anyway. Assuming he thought it through enough to realize that Raf was still in danger. Raf didn't know if Bee would have done that on his own. Bumblebee was smart, Raf knew, but he tended to leave the tactical thinking to his superiors whenever he could. Raf wasn't sure if that was self-doubt or merely adherence to the chain of command. Bumblebee was, after at all, a soldier in the Autobot army (such as it was).
"To do what?" Fina asked, and Raf realized he'd trailed off without meaning to.
"To come back for me," Raf said, "and to become my protector, my guardian. He was willing to risk everything he had left, just for me. He has a family, you know. People who love him, who need him to help them fight just to stay alive, who care about him more than you or I could ever know. And yet, he was willing to set all of that aside, just for me. One person, who -as far as he knew at the time- could not and would not ever be able to give anything back. And he's not just my guardian, Fina... he's also my best friend. And now he's giving that up."
"Why? What for?" Fina asked, not seeming to wonder how Raf knew her name.
"For you, Fina. He's doing this for you."
A/N: I've been asked another question I feel needs to be addressed. Someone asked me if I was a therapist or psychologist. The simple answer is no.
The more extended one is this: Whatever small amount I know comes from personal experience, and what I have been told by others. My living situation now and growing up may be slightly different from that of others, since I have a younger sister with Down Syndrome, grandparents who are in their 90s (and definitely experiencing a second childhood) and parents who didn't have children until they were older and had been married many years. I spent the majority of my childhood taking care of my sister, including acting as her guardian in playgrounds where other children would have tormented her had I let them because she was different and children are often cruel. Handling the elderly and the disabled forces one to think outside of themselves and their perspective, to try and understand why these people act as they do, so that they may be helped, and made as comfortable and content as possible.
I also have spent a lifetime communicating with the animals I have kept as pets including cats, dogs, even fish (and a parrot my brother had). Not just ascribing emotions to them or assuming they think in a certain way, but actively trying to discover what makes them frightened or angry or stressed, and how to alleviate those conditions. Again, this has led me to think in ways outside of myself. In his book "Dog Logic", Joel M. McMains explains that when teaching a dog to Heel, we think we're teaching it to stay on our left. But if you begin to walk backwards, your dog will almost certainly go around to your right side so that he is beside you and walking forward while you walk backward. You have actually taught him to keep you on his right. There are other examples, such as the Sit. A dog usually learns he's putting his rear on the ground from a standing position. Therefore, if you tell him to Sit from a Down position, he may look at you as though you've lost your mind. To his way of thinking, he's already performing the Sit, because his rump is still on the ground. Many people will think he is being obstinate and scold, but the best trainers (who must practice a form of psychology to succeed) realize that the dog merely must be trained as if it were a new command, rather than assuming the dog is ignoring a familiar one. The best animal trainers don't merely command their animals, they communicate with them. They understand how an animal thinks so deeply that they can guide it into the appropriate action without prior training or issuing a true command at all.
This is the extent of my psychological knowledge. If I know anything, it is from experience, nothing more.
I hope this answers your question satisfactorily.