He was gone. He'd been sent off on a mission, somewhere in the Middle East, along with Will, Epps, and most of the other Autobots, too. Sarah and Anna both kept me company, but I felt so...alone. I had never been away from him for so long. It had been three weeks, now. Three weeks since I'd seen the man I loved. He'd taken me as far as the base, but that was as far as I was allowed to go before 'Hide and the rest went through the Autobot's version of 'customs' before take off. I had tried my very hardest not to cry, but I'd ended up blubbering anyway.
"C'mon, Ramona, don't cry, darlin'. I'll be back. I promise," he whispered softly into my ear, his strong arms wrapped tightly around me. My head was pressed against my chest, but even as he tried to soothe me, I still sobbed. I tried to suppress them to talk.
"I-I know. It's just..." I started to weep again, "I love you, 'Hide! I don't want you to leave! I'm scared that-" a whimper caught my words and I couldn't say anything further.
"Sh. Shh, sweetspark. I know. It's okay. It's okay. I promise, I'll be back before you know it," he swore.
"I know," I sobbed once again, "I know. This isn't fair, I shouldn't...I-I...I love you, 'Hide."
"I love you, too, Ramona. I love you, too," he soothed. But his words did nothing for my distraught heart, and I could only stop crying from the point when he let me go, until the moment he rolled onto the plane in his alt mode. And then I burst into sobs once again. Sarah came and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. Monique Epps was next to her.
"I'm sorry," I bawled, "I know this must be so much harder for you two, watching them leave again-I just..." I couldn't continue.
"We know, baby," Sarah assured me.
"Clear as day, you love him," Monique said. I looked up with my teary red eyes to see them both smiling sadly at me.
"I really do," I whispered. They'd managed to stop my tears before the plane took off by placing Annabelle in my arms, forcing me to calm the little girl-who was crying over her Daddy leaving-so I'd have no time to cry myself.
I sighed, wishing that he was back already. It was well into the summer. I had no human friends. I'd hang out with Sarah, more, but she was always so busy keeping the house and looking after Anna, and I didn't want to bother her too much. Monique lived in the city, and she had her own set of friends, anyway. And Primus knew that I didn't have any human friends worth mentioning. So I spent most of that time moping in my room or at the overlook. Which was where I was headed now.
"I'm going out, Sarah. Do you want me to stop anywhere?" I asked, stepping into my shoes.
"Actually," Sarah said, drying her hands on a dish-towel, "I was just going to see if you'd be willing to do some grocery shopping for me?"
"Sure. Do you have a list?" I asked. I didn't want to, really, but even grocery shopping would give me something to do-something to keep my mind off of 'Hide...
"Of course, I have a list," she handed me the small piece of paper, "Just make sure you get some OJ and bread, okay? Critical items!" I smiled at her.
"Sure will. See you later, Sarah," I called, trotting out of the house.
"Be careful!" she yelled. I just smiled at her words. I always was.
Grocery shopping had taken nearly an hour and a half. By the time I'd loaded all the groceries into the car to go home, it was nearing eight-thirty. I was tired-already plenty ready to go to bed-grocery shopping was hard work, you know?-but I knew I'd bee up until the wee hours of the morning. I drove back home carefully. My eyes were heavy, so I took extra care.
I saw a yellow car fly past me, and I grimaced. People were nuts to go that fast on these roads. Then I realized that the sound of that engine was familiar. And the car was yellow. It was Bumblebee. And if was Bumblebee was here, then that meant...
Suddenly, my foot was made of lead. I literally couldn't get the car to go fast enough. I was flying down the road just as I'd scoffed at a few seconds earlier. My only thought was getting home to see 'Hide. He was back. He'd been gone for almost a month, and now he was back.
Thank Primus. I wasn't sure how much longer I'd last.
I flew into the driveway, kicking up gravel and skidding a bit. But none of it mattered. Not even the dent that had been left in the door by the mailbox post. I jumped out of my car, not bothering to close the door and sprinting up the porch. I slammed the house door open, too, not bothering to even close it. He was so close... Sarah was freaked out by my sudden frantic appearance into the kitchen.
"Ramona, what's wrong?" she asked, clearly worried.
"Where is he? Where, where is he?" I asked frantically, stumbling over my words.
"Who?" she stressed, her expression still one of concern-now probably for my mental health. She didn't know. They weren't back-I must have imagined 'Bee flying on the road back there. Just some idiot flying down the highway. That's all. Well, fuck.
Arms closed around me, and I nearly screamed at the sudden contact. My first reaction was to try to get away, but the person had a vice grip on me.
"You weren't talking about me, were you?" came the rough, deep voice that I'd come to love.
"'Hide!" I cried, spinning in his arms and throwing mine up around his shoulders. Tears sprung to my eyes, and I heard both Sarah and Will laugh at my reaction, "I missed you so much." I cried into his shirt, my words muffled by his chest.
"I know, love. I missed you, too. More than you could possibly know," he assured me. I tightened my arms around his neck, bringing his lips to mine in one of the most forceful kisses we'd ever shared. And one of the most emotional. I felt like I would explode. So many emotions were spilling out-the most significant being happiness. God, I couldn't be happier right now.
"Come on, babe," I heard Will mutter, "Let's leave them be." And I heard footsteps receding out of the kitchen. I couldn't be sure, but it felt like the kiss lasted several minutes. When we finally parted, I had to gasp for air.
My head was spinning.
"God, I missed you so much, 'Hide," I sighed, relief coating every atom of my being. He was home. He was safe. The rest didn't matter.
"There's no possible way you missed me more than I missed you," he whispered, his lips pressed into my temple. It was probably a close bet, so I didn't argue further.
"It hurts to be away from you," 'Hide continued, "I felt like I was dying."
"Like a hole in my chest," I agreed, "Please, try not to leave again."
"I'll try," he promised, "I'll try."
Installment number three. This series actually has a plot-line, incase you couldn't tell. I know exactly where I'm going with these characters, and I have about 10 'chapters' prewritten.
Anyway, hope you enjoy this one.
~Dev
P.S.
Sorry she's a baby in this one. I know I'd have a meltdown if someone I love got sent away to fight...
Anyway..
Thanks.
