Chromia was still chuckling when she heard another bot enter the rec room. She looked up to see that it was Optimus who had entered. Suddenly all mirth was stolen from her when she saw the leader of the Autobots almost sag with a forlorn expression on his face plates. She watched in mounting concern as the bot approached the table and seemed to brace himself for something that was very unpleasant.

"Greetings Miss Harrington… my name is Optimus Prime. My Second In Command, Prowl, has told me quite a lot about you. I must offer both my condolences for your loss, and my sincerest apologies as well. You did not deserve to lose everything including your family while we battled for possession of the All-Spark. I have given Prowl my data files during the battle in Mission City, and I am truly hopeful that he can discover who is responsible for your loses." Optimus said sincerely.

Chromia went from chuckling at Ratchet's expense to horror faster than she would have thought possible. She knew that Stephanie was still a sparkling even by human standards, but to discover that she had not only been injured during a battle that she should not have been part of, but had also lost her family in that battle was not a welcome fact.

"Sarah… Mrs. Lennox told me a little about you. It's nice to meet you. I'm Stephanie, but you can call me Steph if you want. Well… my whole name is Stephanie Marie Harrington… but the only time that ever got used was when I was in serious trouble from my Momma." Stephanie said not wanting to subject of her family's deaths to become the topic of the conversation.

"Very well Stephanie… you may call me Optimus. Do you mind if I join you?"

"I don't mind at all, but Chromia's the one who brought me here, so you'll have to ask her instead."

Chromia gaped at the girl disbelief. Stephanie had just turned all attention away from herself so easily. She glanced over at Ratchet before looking up at Optimus who had raised a questioning brow. "By all means Optimus, join us. I know very little about Stephanie other than what has been said at this table, so I too would like to know more about her."

"Stephanie's past is not at all a pleasant one, I'm afraid. In addition to severe and crippling injuries, she lost her family and her home during our battle for the Allspark in Mission City. The human authorities have told her nothing… they gave her no explanation for any of it. The problem lies in the fact that there were only six bots in Mission City capable of firing the shot that killed her family, and caused her injuries at the same time. Those six are myself, Ironhide, Megatron, Starscream, Blackout, and Brawl. Bonecrusher also had the firepower to do it, but I terminated him before he was able to enter the downtown area. Prowl is currently going through the memory logs of all Autobots who were present to see if he can discover who fired that shot. I have ordered him to make that a priority." Optimus said gravely over his com system.

"Stephanie was brought here by Jazz a few days ago. She is currently living with Jazz and Prowl who have established a living area for her in their quarters. Prowl has told me that Stephanie is pleasant company, and seems to abide by any restrictions that are placed on her… so long as they are presented in a reasonable fashion." Optimus said as he sat down and finished in a serious tone with a pointed look at the CMO.

Chromia glanced at the Medic who had snorted derisively, but her mind was in a whirl because of the information she had received via com link.

"That's true. I just don't like getting griped out when I haven't done anything to deserve it. Other than that… well… I try to follow the rules, but sometimes I forget, or something happens." Stephanie supplied with a shrug.

"At least you admit to being fallible. Others will claim that they never make mistakes, even though they do." Chromia said cheerily.

"I probably make a lot of mistakes. But I think the last time I messed up is turning out really good for a change!" Stephanie admitted brightly.

"What mistake was that Stephanie?" Optimus asked interestedly.

"Letting people find me the other night. First I got robbed by one person, and then Jazz showed up and made them give me the money back. Then when I got sick, he brought me here. Usually if people find me they only want to rape me, sell me as a slave to a drug pusher, or turn me in to the cops for some kind of reward. So I have to try to stay away from everyone, but I messed up the other night and got found." Stephanie said with a frown.

"But if I had stayed hidden, I never would have found that money, I never would have met Jazz, and I wouldn't be here…" Stephanie added with a shrug. "So I haven't figured out if that was a mistake or not."

"Do you enjoy staying with Prowl and Jazz?" Chromia asked curiously.

"Absitively, posolutely!" Stephanie exclaimed with a grin.

"They're both nice, and they're the first friends I've had in years. Prowl can talk about all kinds of things too! I just hope that one day I'm half as smart as he is… I swear that mech knows almost everything!" Stephanie said before rapidly downing half her sandwich.

"That is precisely why he is my Second In Command. Prowl is an excellent advisor, and he is extremely skilled in strategy, and tactics. While Jazz is my First Lieutenant, and therefore Third In Command, he is gifted when it comes to infiltration, information gathering, and sabotage. Both are quite intelligent in their own right." Optimus stated proudly.

"Wow! So Prowl is like super smart, huh? That means I won't be able to beat him at Tic-Tac-Toe, doesn't it?" Stephanie asked; impressed.

"At such a simple game of strategy, I do not believe that Prowl would ever lose, so I would have to advise you not to play against him Stephanie." Optimus said seriously.

"I'll remember that, besides… it's not like I can see the board, so I don't think I can play!" Stephanie nodded before grabbing her large glass of milk.

After a few gulps, Stephanie let the glass tilt back to the table, and wiped her mouth. "Then again, I didn't think I'd ever be coloring again, but that's what me an Annabelle did all day. I doubt the pictures turned out any good though, cause I don't even know if she was handing me the right colors, and there is no way that I stayed inside the lines!"

"Your tone of voice suggests that you still enjoyed it." Chromia speculated.

"I did. Belle… Annabelle reminds me so much of my little sister that it's scary! She sounds just like I remember, and even talks the same. She's the same age that Celeste was when her, my Mom, and Dad got killed. The first time I heard her talk I thought it was my little sister, and I almost started crying." Stephanie said with a sad smile.

"We know exactly what it's like to lose those you love Stephanie, so don't ever be ashamed of crying because you miss them. Everyone here has lost loved ones because of this horrible war, and you are no exception. We have all seen friends, colleagues, neighbors, and even family members killed by this war. So if you ever need someone to talk to, who knows, and understands what you're going through, I am here for you, and so are many of the bots on base. All of us have lost loved ones, Stephanie. So we can at least understand your pain. I don't know of anyone who has lost their entire family as you did, but after thousands of years of war, we have all lost someone we loved and cared about. So when you need to talk about it, you come find me, okay?" Chromia said seriously.

Stephanie nodded her head and wiped forming tears out of her eyes before taking a deep shuddering breath, and feeling for her coffee.

That was when Ratchet noticed that the cup was still full, and had not been touched until then. "Do you always drink your coffee after you've eaten everything else?"

"I guess." Stephanie answered with a shrug. "I never thought about it that way, but I guess I do it that way so I can enjoy it and make it last."

"So you use it for a dessert then?" Ratchet asked after having successfully changed the subject, because he didn't want Stephanie raising her vitals by getting upset. He felt that she still needed time to heal physically before anyone started dealing with her emotional issues.

"You don't get dessert when you're living in the sewers Humbug."

"True." Ratchet admitted. "But you are still using coffee in place of dessert."

"I guess I am." Stephanie admitted after thinking about it.

"I am curious about something you said earlier… 'absitively, posolutely'. Didn't you mean 'absolutely, positively'?" Optimus asked intently.

"Nope! I remember that from a 'Dr. Seuss' movie. They were singing some kind of song with that in it, and that's the only part I remember. Means the same thing though." Stephanie answered.

"I will remember that." Optimus said with a nod.

"Go for it, but I don't think Prowl's gonna let me use that too many times, once he finds out about it." Stephanie answered with a smile.

"Why do you think that?" Chromia asked.

"Because… he always talks like… like a real serious 'Big Shot'." Stephanie answered after thinking about it for a moment.

"What do you mean by that?" Chromia wanted to know.

"He always uses these big words that I never even heard of. So I have to ask what they mean. Jazz just laughs about it, but it does teach me new words." Stephanie answered seriously.

XXX

"Don't make any plans for lunch or dinner tonight, because Epps is having his 'Memorial Day BBQ'. We're among half the base that's been invited." Will said over his morning coffee.

"How many bots are going to attend?" Sarah asked.

"All of them. As long as they've been at war, they have more cause to commemorate their fallen comrades than we do." Will replied seriously.

"Then make sure that Epps invites Stephanie, because you know how Prowl is. If she isn't invited, he won't bring her, and he won't allow Jazz to take her either, so Prowl definitely won't show up, and Jazz might not either." Sarah lectured.

"You're right. If Stephanie isn't invited; Prowl won't let her crash the party, and I don't think he'd leave a kid her age to fend for herself." Will said after thinking about it.

"Exactly. Besides, this will give you a chance to get to know her better, plus, she'll get to meet others, and she needs to develop some kind of social life." Sarah replied.

"Oh come on Sarah! You're acting like you're that girl's mother or something, and you're not!" Will groused quickly.

"She's thirteen years old Will, and she's been living on her own in the… subterranean levels beneath the city since not too long after she got out of the hospital, where she ended up during the mess in Mission City!She's been forced to hide from everyone! Jazz and Stephanie both got lucky when he found her in that alley, because food poisoning isn't something to mess with." Sarah said firmly.

"You're absolutely right; I'm not her mother Will. Her mother is dead! She lost her mother, father, and her little sister, along with her sight and the use of her left arm all on the same day! According to Prowl she remembers getting ready to blow out the candles on her birthday cake, and then waking up in the hospital. How's that for a birthday present? Would you like to see something like that happen to her?" Sarah asked with a pointed jerk of her head in Annabelle's direction.

Will glanced at his five year old daughter and couldn't help but think about what his wife had just said. He certainly didn't plan on he and his wife getting killed and leaving Annabelle on her own… but then he was pretty damned sure that Stephanie's parents hadn't planned on getting killed either! No parents… well no responsible parents ever planned to just abandon their child to the harsh reality of the world. Death had caused exactly that in Stephanie's case though. He was sure that neither of the girl's parents would want to see their little girl living in the sewers, and he could only pray to God that if something ever happened to him and Sarah, that a loving couple would take care of Annabelle so that she wouldn't have to go through what Stephanie did. Being forced to think of Annabelle being placed in Stephanie's situation put things in an entirely new light for him. Sarah hadn't pulled any punches; she'd hit below the belt with that one, she had hit hard, and he couldn't blame her in the slightest. God knew that if Annabelle were in that same predicament, that he'd be trying to break out of whatever afterlife he found himself in to help her. Seeing things in that light was a very rude awakening for him!

"I'll talk to Epps." He finally said heavily with a resolved nod.