Chapter Text
The Lennox family had always been proud of their farm. While by no means the biggest piece of land around, it had been in the family for generations. The old wooden house had been renovated and expanded many times over the years, eventually forming the rambling homestead it was today. It was set far back from the main road, so much so that they could only hear the sparse traffic if the wind was blowing in a certain direction. The land continued to gently slope away from the road and down to the river, creating a concealed paddock or two away from prying eyes. This was an especially useful feature, Will reflected, when one was harbouring several resident alien robots.
Any sheep or cows had long since been sold, leaving empty paddocks where hay was harvested, leaving massive bales lying where the machines had left them. Said paddocks were perfect for the occasional adrenaline-junkie Autobot to careen around, dodging specifically-placed bales of hay in a homemade training exercise.
At least, that was how it had started out.
Will’s original idea that morning was to do maintenance on the fences while also keeping an eye on the Autobots’ activities. He’d piled his tools into the back of the old blue truck and was climbing into the driver’s seat when Annabelle had run up, requesting to be taken along. Never one to deny his daughter anything, he’d scooped her up and deposited her on the passenger seat, much to her delight. They’d driven out to the paddocks and he’d gotten to work, Annabelle chattering away next to him while helpfully holding tools. After a while they had a break of water and crackers, courtesy of Sarah. Will found an old footy under one of the seats, and was soon tossing it back and forth with Annabelle. She may not have caught it every time, but she found great delight in running after it, blonde hair streaming behind her.
The ‘bots showed up after a while, Sarah perched on Ratchet’s steady hand. She had brought a picnic lunch consisting of sandwiches for the humans and some of the energon the Cybertronians had brought, much to everyone’s collective delight.
After they ate their fill, Will and Annabelle returned to their little game while Optimus scanned the horizon, constantly on alert for any potential threat. The remaining Autobots watched the game closely with various levels of interest.
Eventually Ironhide spoke. “What are you doing?”
“Playing catch. Why?”
He shrugged. “It seems to be pretty pointless, that’s all.”
Will caught Annabelle’s clumsy throw and tossed it back. “It kind of is. It’s just a game a lot of parents play with their kids. If it does have a purpose, it would be to increase hand-eye coordination, if anything.”
“It’s one of my favourite games!” Annabelle gushed. “Especially when the ball bounces all over and I gotta run really, really fast!” A strange look came over many of the ‘bots' faces.
“We haven’t played games for years, not really,” Ironhide mused. “Um, do you mind if we join in?” Behind him, Bumblebee nodded enthusiastically and clapped his servos together. Will grinned.
“Yeah, sure! But the footy’s, uh, a little small. You sure you’ll be able to catch it?”
Ironhide looked around for a moment, then jogged over to one of the nearby hay bales. Picking it up like it barely weighed anything, he took aim at Bumblebee. “Hey, small fry!” With a grunt, he lobbed it over the human’s heads to smack in Bumblebee’s chest, sending him flying backwards with a cloud of hay thrown over the paddock. Annabelle squealed in laughter, so much so that she had to plop down onto the grass.
Picking himself up, Bee aimed a half-amused glare at Ironhide. “You’re on!” his radio burst out. He lobbed the hay bale back at Ironhide, who caught it easily and threw it towards Ratchet, who had wandered over. Arcee jumped and intercepted it with a laugh halfway there, then spun and chucked it at Bee. Soon enough, the hay bale was flying constantly through the air between the four giants, hay spreading everywhere. Nearby, Will and Annabelle continued their own game, Sarah watching the whole ordeal from a nearby hillock.
Only minutes in, Ratchet lobbed it at Ironhide who lurched to the side, dodging the bale. The bale continued flying through the air, going and going to eventually bounce innocently off Optimus’s helm and falling to the ground. Everyone froze.
“Who threw the hay?” the massive Cybertronian asked, picking it up from where it lay. The ‘bots glanced guiltily at one another, before each of them pointed at Ratchet, who pointed at Ironhide.
“Wasn’t me!” he squeaked.
Optimus quirked an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“...yes?”
The corner of the Prime’s mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly, and without warning, chucked the hay bale back at the medic. Ratchet had no chance. He went down with an “oof” to the uproarious laughter of the team. Appearing stoic as ever, Optimus strode over.
“Was my retribution aimed correctly?”
Ratchet wheezed. “Perfectly, sir!”
Optimus’s optics sparkled with amusement. “Hm, I should think so.” He offered a hand to the straw-covered Autobot and Ratchet took it.
With all of his team on their feet again, Optimus walked off, back to surveillance.
Ratchet glowered at the other three, still doubled over with laughter. The medic wished he had some wrenches with him to throw at their helms. He would have settled for a few choice words, if not for the sparkling nearby.
Sarah watched, not intruding, as Optimus walked up the hill to join her. The enormous Autobot gazed out, optics scanning the horizon. Always alert. A convenient grove of trees blocked any view of the hill from the road, not that there were not many drivers out this far. Only those who lived out in the country came out this far, or those who had somewhere out here that they intended to be.
Since he had met her, Optimus had gained quite a bit of respect for Will’s bonded. She seemed to have taken the revelation of another sentient species much better than other humans that the Cybertronians had met. She treated them like she would anyone else, if not with some subtle curious glances when she thought no one had been looking, or the occasional well-hidden spike in heart-rate when the other Autobots were being slightly careless anywhere near her sparkling. No harm would come to the child, everyone knew that, but Optimus warned the others to be careful nonetheless, something which Sarah seemed especially thankful for.
Several questions had been asked about them in the last couple of days, to Will, mostly. Optimus assumed that Sarah wasn't positive on whether or not they were potentially offensive to the Cybertronians or not. None of them were, of course, except simply clever inquiries. Questions Will didn't have the answer for were often passed onto himself. Optimus was happy to supply most any answer.
For now, the human had retreated somewhat, allowing her husband and daughter to catch up on some missed time. She stood, watching the two respective games of catch, then offered Optimus a smile as he joined her at her vantage point.
They were both silent for a long moment, the only sounds being those of those down in the valley, and the distant livestock herds on the other side of the river.
“You know, that’s probably the closest I’ve seen you to relaxing the whole three days you’ve been here.” Sarah broke the silence in a way Optimus didn't expect. He raised an eyebrow. She shrugged.
“You came here for time off, that's all. I’d just think that with the…occupation that all of you have, you’d be welcoming it.” There was no menace behind the words, just the simple query of someone who cared. Human curiosity, it never failed.
With an internal sigh, Optimus relented just once, slowly moving down to sit on the hillside beside the human. He raised an eyebrow again. Happy now? She smiled. Optimus pretended not to hear the sudden lack of voices down in the field. He could practically see the other’s dropped jaws even with his back turned. He ignored them. (Okay, maybe it was warranted just a little, he couldn’t remember the last time he had actually allowed himself to sit down properly without an injury forcing him to).
Silence stretched between them for a long moment. Only the breeze in the grass and the game down the hill disturbed the silence. Not for the first time, Optimus reflected on how quiet Earth was. How still and calm it could be. Beside him, Sarah sat down in the grass as well. She fiddled with her fingers, a trait very similar to her husband.
“Something on your mind?”
Sarah heaved a sigh. "It's daunting, I guess. To know what Will deals with on a daily basis."
"Aliens, or the war?"
She shrugged.
“Both, I guess. He goes away for months at a time and I barely have any communication with him, and a lot of the time I have no clue where he even is, whether he’s alright, or whether I’ll get a call to say that my husband is dead. And now, to find out only a few days ago he’s been off fighting intergalactic battles against those who are, at minimum, ten times his size is…scary. There are just so many more things that could go wrong.” She paused for a second, glancing at the Prime who towered over her, even while sitting. “I feel better now that I know exactly who he’s fighting beside, though.”
“I, too, worry about my people,” Optimus said quietly. “We number far fewer than we did only a few millennia ago, and it only gets worse. The loss of my lieutenant was a sore blow to bear. But it was his choice to fight, and nothing I could have done would have changed that.” He stared at her with those unflinching blue optics. “Like your husband, he made the choice to go out and fight for what he believed in, and to protect those he loved. A sacrifice like that, leaving you and your daughter behind - it doesn't go unnoticed.”
Sarah sat for a moment, simply watching the games down the hill. Her stomach always rolled when thinking of what Will went through almost every day, but it was always replaced with pride when she thought of all those he was protecting, including her and their daughter. That familiar feeling was back, and she nodded her thanks towards Optimus. “It makes moments like these so much more special.”
“Yes,” he simply said. “It does.”
A moment later, Optimus's optics snapped to the horizon, focusing on the road in the distance.
"Someone is coming," he said plainly, careful to not squish Sarah as he moved to stand. Plates along his body bristled, and the smell of ozone penetrated the air as he warmed his cannons, ready for a potential battle. Below, the other Autobots dropped their game, the hay bale falling to the ground as they received a short transmission from their leader. They similarly readied for a fight; playful robots transforming into deadly war machines in only seconds. Will and Annabelle halted their play as well, Will scooping up Annabelle to jog up the hill towards them. Sarah felt her heart rate spike, but she didn't show it.
"Decepticons?"
"Hard to be certain from this distance. I’m detecting five vehicles entering the driveway. I’m not picking up any signals, but there does seem to be a number of human heat signatures.”
Will squinted up at the Prime, his form silhouetted against the midday sun. “Should we get in the house?”
“Yes. You should be safe there. Ironhide, I want you to transport the Lennox’s to their home and protect them there. Do not reveal yourself as of yet - there is the possibility that the arrivals do not pose a threat to us,” Optimus ordered. With a nod, Ironhide transformed so quickly it looked like his gears almost jammed. Will, Sarah and Annabelle hopped inside immediately. The door had barely shut before they were speeding away over the fields, the other Autobots in vehicular mode not far behind. A distant part of Sarah’s mind that wasn’t worried about her, her family, and her farm’s safety noted how odd it was to be sitting in a car that drove itself.
Up at the house, Ironhide threw open his passenger doors, his leather seats almost quivering with adrenaline. The Lennox’s scrambled out. “Get inside,” he said, his voice coming from the truck’s radio. “And stay there. I’ll be here out the back - just yell if you need me.” Will nodded, pushing his small family towards their house.
“I'll get the shotguns,” Sarah found herself saying.
"Wait…" Will grabbed her arm. His eyes, wide and earnest, pierced hers. Wait. Be careful. See who it is first. He crouched by the front window, only revealing enough of himself to see out. It was a position he’d done hundreds of times, but he had never thought he’d be doing it in his own home. Annabelle had gone very quiet, big eyes wide and one small hand gripping the hem of her mother’s shirt, hay still tangled in her blonde locks.
Apart from flattened grass and strewn hay, there was no sign that any giant alien robots had ever been on the property. He could just see a glimpse of metal in the corner of the window; a semi-truck parked around the corner of the house, positioned strategically between the four other flashy vehicles and whatever was coming down the road.
He could hear the vehicles now, the sound of many tyres on the gravel driveway. The roar of several engines vibrated the flyscreen covering the door. The noise peaked as the first of the line of vehicles revved over the hill down towards the house. Will repressed the urge to duck back down below the window. Instead he looked, watching each car as it appeared over the rise. Two cars. A motorbike. A van, a caravan.
His eyes narrowed. They certainly didn’t look like ‘Cons, or Autobots. And Decepticons weren’t known for using holoforms.
Wait. The person at the wheel of the car at the front…
Aw, hell.
Will shot to his feet and sprinted through the house, Sarah watching him go without protest, having also spotted one of the drivers. He had to tell the ‘bots to stand down before somebody got blown up.
The back door flew open with a slam. “It’s not Decepticons,” he declared.
None of the Autobots transformed, but their cannons didn’t power down yet, either. “Who is it?” Ironhide persisted.
The breath that Will let out was a sigh of pent-up emotion that he even had trouble identifying himself. Even as a group of vehicles, he could feel everyone’s attention on him.
“My mother.”