CHAPTER 3

Nick felt like he blinked and it had been a week.

For all intents and purposes, it didn't feel like a group home. All the kids at "Future Heroes" had their assigned Autobot social worker, who worked with them after school. Whether it was schoolwork, talking through their troubles, or guiding them through what life after the home was like.

According to the other kids, they did a lot of that last thing. Having noted that Cybertronian homes were different in a lot of ways to human ones. Nick had a good foot in the door learning Cybertronian, according to Blitz. But he wasn't totally educated on all sides of Autobot culture - things he couldn't find in his years on a computer cramming in info.

They of course didn't push anything they taught on them. But learning about how their family units worked was interesting... Such as how they aged so slow they'd probably not see their parents age in their time with them. They also learned about different schools and scholarships they would be entitled to when adopted.

One of the biggest things go he was taught so far was "the bond". How each Cybetronian was connected by different bonds between sparks - an unbreakable one that allowed them to feel and speak to each other without words.

"We have created a special device with Wheeljack's help," Blitz had explained. "Once you're matched, your parents will give it to you. And you'll be connected to them in ways you couldn't imagine."

If they found parents that wanted him, Nick observed. He wasn't totally sure they would. Many of the kids were younger than him, with the closest in age being ten. Blitz assured him there was a 0% failure rate thus far, and they'd placed older kids before. But he still felt nervous.

His parents and uncle didn't want him after all.

At least his new school kept his mind off of it. Transport City had a nice school, and while he was still shy and new - he had made a few friends. Though he often missed his friends in Witwicky, he did keep in touch too - giving him the best of both worlds... For now.

A knock on his door grabbed his attention, pulling him from his thoughts. He'd been spending the day in his room playing on an app when a familiar voice spoke up. "Hey! This place isn't too shabby!"

Nick looked up in surprise. Bumblebee had come to see him? If he were being honest, he'd expected the mech to forget him quite quickly after he'd played his part. But here he was, inside his dorm room with a big smile.

"You came to visit!" Nick replied, grinning ear-to-ear. "I figured I wasn't gonna see you again."

Bumblebee scoffed and waved him off. "No way, I think you're cool. And besides I wanted to be sure you're OK," The scout offered with great honesty. "So are you... Doing well?"

That was a loaded question. Was he OK? Yeah. But he missed his home and uncle more than he could describe. "Yeah. I guess... This whole thing has been really hard," he admitted. "I still can't believe I'm actually here."

Bumblebee nodded, looking like he understood. "I get it but you did the right thing," God why did everyone have to say that? "I hear Ironhide's already talking with families who want older kids. Sounds like you probably won't be here long."

Older kids. Not teenagers. Nick reminded himself of that, but tried to stay positive. "It's gonna be weird meeting "parents"," He admitted. "Even my uncle wasn't really the dad type. He was more like a cool older brother... I don't know what it's like to have "parents"."

Bumblebee winced. "Well, that makes two of us. When I first came to the Autobots, and Prime took me under his wing? I hadn't had any family. Other than my friend Breakdown," He explained. "Optimus adopted me as a fully-grown mech. So just imagine how weird that was for me."

"Optimus is your dad!?" Nick's eyes widened.

The scout chuckled. "Yeah but I don't bring it up much. Otherwise people go comparing us and it gets messy," Bumblebee admitted. "I was pretty young when I joined the Bots. And homeless... So Prime and Elita let me into their house and the rest just sorta... Happened. Next thing I know the three of us are a family."

Nick was silent as he thought that over. "You really think there's a chance for that for me?"

"Think? Kid! You speak Cybetronian! How many people try to learn that let alone practice it?" Bumblebee encouraged. "Some family is going to see it and snatch you right up. Nurture that - teach you more... You'll be more than just a fan."

"Maybe; but I'm the oldest kid here."

Oh, Bumblebee looked like he hadn't considered that at all. But he gave a big smile and decided to add. "So what? They have a 100% success rate," He explained. "Hey! I know what will make you feel better. What do you say I take you out for a bit?"

"Will they let you?"

Bumblebee winked playfully. "I'm good friends with Ironhide, he wouldn't say no," He motioned over. "Come on, we'll make a day out on the town. Have you even gotten to see a lot of this place yet?"

"Mostly here and my school," Nick hesitated a moment before standing up. "Ok, cool, let's go!"

Hopefully it would at least help a bit.

Bumblebee couldn't believe the kid had never been to the movies.

Like on what planet did you deprive the kid of the experience of the big screen? Nick had argued they watched movies on TV, but still - movies to Bee were a big deal. So they were exploring Transport City in search of a theater.

"When I first came to Earth, my buddy Spike and I would go to the drive-in all the time," Bumblebee noted as Nick stared up at him. "I fell in love with all kinds. Star Wars, The Godfather, Nightmare on Elm Street.."

Nick seemed to beam at Bumblebee a little. Though he was a little quiet - unsurprisingly. The mech was sure this was all tough on him after all. "So, uh... Have you met any families yet?" He asked gently. "Any caught your eye?"

Nick shrugged. "Not yet. Blitz says he wants me to be here at least a month first," He admitted. "Since I didn't get the same prep the kids did."

"That's fair. We're a lot alike... But not everything in a Cybertronian home is the same," Bumblebee admitted, though... "It's not a bad thing, though. We hold a lot of things in higher regard. Especially our kids, and how they grow... Least that's what Optimus told me - I was a weird case."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that parts weird to me. If you do why were you homeless?"

Bumblebee tried not to think about it too much. But he also had made peace with it too. "Things were different when the war broke out. Our "orphanages" were bombed and a lot of our young died," He decided not to sugar coat it. "My creators died too. So I had to mostly fend for myself."

"Is that why you guys have this program? Because you lost so many of your kids?"

Primus, this kid was whip smart wasn't he? "Yeah I guess so. A lot of humans were orphaned by our fight too. And Ironhide thought we could all heal together," Bumblebee admitted. "But, there were so many cool kids like you - he couldn't end it when that generation grew up."

Nick nodded his head in understanding. "Well I think it's cool! You guys don't get enough credit," He then seemed to get distracted. "Ohhh Bee, look at that"

Bumblebee looked up as Nick ran to a nearby window. It was some sort of toy, that transformed from a bike to a skateboard. Pretty simple stuff for an Autobot, but he was sure would be cool for a kid new-ish to the city. "Man you really haven't gotten out much," Bumblebee observed. "That's just the tip of the iceberg! They probably sell all kinds of cool stuff around the city. Like three-d constellation maps, turbo foxes if anyone brought them here..."

Nick looked wide-eyed as he followed Bumblebee. "You'd never know this stuff existed in places like Witwicky."

That was true, but Bumblebee also knew... "Yeah, well, not everywhere has welcomed us with open arms," He admitted. "A lot of blended Autobot families tend to live here to avoid discrimination."

Nick nodded, he'd already known that. "My friend, Luke, was raised by a couple of Cybetronians," He admitted. "Sometimes people aren't nice about it."

Bumblebee made a face, annoyed. Humans tended to discriminate against lots of different family types though so it shouldn't have shocked him. "I don't care though. Never would have," Nick said brightly. "I can't wait to learn more about you guys. We're learning all kinds of cool stuff. We've been learning about Primus, and bonds... Hey! Did you know Primus had a brother named Unicron? Apparently dude can eat whole planets!"

Again, Bumblebee was amazed at the fact this kid was so eager to learn. He was sure most kids were scared of learning a new culture after all. "I meant what I said you know. You're gonna make some family really proud," Nick smiled a little at him. "They'll probably give you to one of the smart Bots. Like Ratchet or Wheeljack..."

He didn't know if they were looking, but knew they'd get a kick out of this kid after all. "I've read Ratchet's medical journals like, six times," Nick grinned ear to ear. "He made me want to be a doctor when I grow up."

Noted, maybe if he were lucky he could get Ratchet to come talk to him. But Bumblebee didn't make any promises like that. "Hey! Here we are!" He finally stopped at a decidedly drive-in theater. "Perfect! What do you want to see kiddo? My treat."

The teen scanned the list eagerly, before saying. "Hey look! The new Marvel movie's out. Can we see that one?" He asked. "I love superheroes! I always had to wait forever!"

"Sure thing, c'mon. Let's make sure we get a good spot."

Watching Nick enjoy himself so much through his rearview mirror was a treat. Heck, seeing this kid acting like... Well, a kid. Was a treat after what he'd gone through. But it was between the bites of popcorn and colorful action that Nick spoke up...

"Hey Bee?"

"What's up?"

"... I like hanging out with you," Nick admitted. "Think we can do this again sometime?"

And while this had started out as checking in on him, Bumblebee had to admit. He was enjoying himself too. Sure he had the Terrans, but he had his days off too. So he decided to respond in a way that would change the course of his life, more than he knew.

"I think I'd like that."

Nick returned later that day happier than he'd been.

Of course, his goofy grin wasn't lost on anyone. And the next morning, he was surprised to get a message to see Blitz. Nick was mildly afraid he'd gone against the rules hanging out with Bumblebee but upon bringing it up got a: "Not at all! You seemed happier, I'm glad you went!"

So he took a seat in the small, but comfortable office for whatever his social worker had to say. "So I've got some good news," Blitz explained. "Well... I suppose it's good news but it may be a bit hard to hear."

Nick tilted his head, puzzled. "What's the good news?"

Blitz looked as though he had to be careful in his wording. Making sure he was at eye level with a sympathetic look in Nick's eye. "I'll start with the bad news... We found your uncle," Nick's eyes widened. "But the situations more complicated than what we thought... It's... Well..."

"He's not coming back is he?" Nick asked quietly.

Blitz was silent a moment, and shook his head. "He wanted me to relay to you he wished things ended better. But he can't take care of you anymore," He explained honestly. "Your uncle ran away because he's... I don't know if I should -."

"I can handle it, Blitz."

There was a long, pregnant silence as the mech considered what he was going to say. "Your uncle is dying, Nick. He didn't know how to tell you. So he just... Left," The mech explained. "He says you'd seen him in horrible states enough. He didn't want you to watch him go through this."

That... Hurt. It hurt a lot. His uncle was dying? From what? Somehow he doubted he'd get more out of it from Blitz. "He promised he'd send word to you before he passes to say goodbye," That... Gave Nick hope at least. "But the good news is, he also signed his guardianship rights over to us. Which means we can find you a family faster. Without legal hurdles."

Nick wasn't sure how to take it all, he'd lost one family - but in doing so he had a chance now. He knew Dave wasn't much of a caretaker. But he did love him, and it made him feel awful to think of him going through what he must have been.

He didn't even realize he'd started crying before the mech raised a thumb to wipe it away. "I'm so sorry, Nick. I know this is a lot to process. But we both thought you had a right to know." He explained. "Your uncle loves you - but he wants what's best for you too."

"I know." Nick murmured. "Can I... Go to my room?"

Blitz nodded, no doubt aware he needed time to process this. Nick wasted no time finding his room, locking the door and crying. Long and hard. It was official, he was an orphan. An honest to god orphan. What had his uncle done? What was he dying from? He didn't know - but everything about this hurt.

He rummaged through his pocket to get his phone. Thoughts of calling Bumblebee, the one person right now who'd made him feel happy encircled him. His finger rested over the contact for a minute before he thought better of it. Bumblebee was a busy mech, he didn't have time for this.

Or maybe, he just wasn't ready to talk about it.

A/N: I know the last few chapters have been heavy. But I definitely didn't want to rush the father/son relationship or evolution of Nick's feelings and how he handles the situation. Next chapter will be a bit lighter!