"...Are you sure you've gotten everything?"

Sunstreaker chuckled, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm sure, Sideswipe... I'll probably be saying sorry forever now, but I can promise that I'll contact you more often. And who knows? Maybe one of these days I'll just come back for a visit and not on business so I don't have a time limit."

Sideswipe smiled, "I'd appreciate that..."

"Be careful with that!"

The twins turned as Knockout shouted, guiding Strongarm and Drift as they carried Oversight's stasis pod into the ship. "We don't want to take any chances."

"Which is why you added a triple-secure lock on the pod, had them put a foot-thick piece of ice around the stasis pod itself and then requested it be put in the freezing bay of the ship until we get back to Cybertron, right...?" Sunstreaker teased.

The medic's optics narrowed. "You never can be too careful with these cons..."

"Uh huh... Starstrike, time to go!"

"Five more cycles...!?" Starstrike whined, poking her head out of the fort she and Flashdrive had made out of couch cushions.

"...Five."

"Yes!"

"Looks like everything's all set up." Bumblebee announced as he came up. "It's been a real pleasure, especially having Starstrike here to keep Flash busy..."

Sunstreaker shook his head slowly. "...I just can't believe she's yours... But I guess that's what Knockout's report is for."

"Right..." Knockout muttered, "...The report."

"You'll do fine, Knockout. You've spoken in front of crowds before."

"It's not the crowds I'm concerned about..." he shrugged. "At this point, I'm more focused on getting Wildbreak set straight, if I can."

Sunstreaker placed a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder. "You guys just focus here on getting Steeljaw brought in again. Now that I've encountered him myself, I don't feel good letting him just roam the galaxy."

"We'll get him." Strongarm informed as she and Drift came back down the ramp. "You can count on it."

"Good...Alright, time's up, Star!"

"Aww...!" Starstrike crawled out of the fort and Flash followed, the two little bots giving hugs before Starstrike walked over to Sunstreaker and took his hand. "Okay, I'm ready."

"We'll be back one of these days... See you all later."

"Bye everybody!" Starstrike shouted as she ran up the ramp. She paused at the top, waving to Sideswipe. "Bye, Mr. Sideswipe!"

"Bye, Star!" Sideswipe replied, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "She called me 'Mr. Sideswipe...!' I feel so old...!"

"Oh please, imagine how I feel..." Knockout muttered, giving the younger bot a wink. "Keep these guys outta trouble, Bumblebee."

"Somehow I always do, Knockout...Take care of yourself."

"You too..."

The team watched the ship slowly rise up, waving to them until it took off and disappeared from view. It took a few moments, but then Bumblebee gave a hard sigh of relief and plopped down on the trailer before leaning back into a lying position. "Primus, I'm exhausted..."

Flashdrive crawled over to him, looking down at his face. "You need a nap, Daddy?"

"I need a vacation, Flash..." Bumblebee stared up at the sky, quiet for a moment before smirking. "And that's exactly what I'm going to do!"

"A vacation, Sir?" Strongarm asked.

Bumblebee sat up. "Yes. Steeljaw won't be making another move for a few weeks, which makes it the perfect time for me to get away from working for a little while...And, I can show Flashdrive some of my favorite places while I'm at it."

"Are you certain leaving us alone like that is such a good idea...?" Sideswipe asked cautiously. "I mean...What if Strongarm and I can't get along?"

"When have we ever gotten along before...?" Strongarm muttered.

Sideswipe glared at the cadet, before looking back to Bumblebee as he got up entirely. "I mean, I'm guessing you're leaving her in charge while you're gone."

"Not this time, Sideswipe... That responsibility is going to you."

"WHAT!?"

The shout came from all of the bots except Drift and Flashdrive, who gave a nod and excited squeal instead.

"Sir, you cannot be serious!" Strongarm exclaimed, "He can't lead the team, he's a...A punk!"

"He's a valuable member of the team that I think could benefit from a little leadership experience. I was actually thinking of doing this before Flashdrive even showed up."

"Bumblebee, are you certain this is a good idea?" Drift asked. "Sideswipe's lack of maturity may put him at risk."

"I have faith in him...As I do all of you...Optimus trusted me to lead this team without any prior training, and I trust Sideswipe."

"Just because Optimus did it doesn't mean it's a good idea!"

Strongarm stiffened a little, grimacing. "...Please don't ever tell him I said that."

Bumblebee chuckled. "You'll be fine, I'll only be gone a few days. If anything genuinely goes wrong, then I'll have Fixit groundbridge me back here to deal with it."

Flashdrive rushed up to Bumblebee, putting her arms around his waist. "Where are we going?"

Bumblebee picked her up and placed her on his shoulder. "Well...I was thinking we'd go to the mountains, and maybe drive around Europe a little..."

Flashdrive grinned. "Can we see the ocean too!?"

"Of course. A little mind like yours needs lots of stimulation, and what better way to stimulate than to show you the world...?"

Sideswipe tapped Bumblebee's shoulder. "Bee...I don't know about this either... I mean, I'm not really leader material..."

"I didn't think I was either, Sideswipe... Don't worry, just try to do things that are good for everybody and not just you, and you'll do just fine."

Sideswipe smiled. "Thanks for the advice...I'll try not to blow anything up while you're gone."

"Good plan..."

The snowy peaks of the mountains stood high over the valley where the Groundbridge opened up. Deer leapt into the brush, away from the glowing disturbance, and birds flew to the treetops. A few moments later, Bumblebee stepped out into the chilly darkness. He had his supplies stashed in his subspace, keeping his hands free. After a few moments the groundbridge faded away like it was never there, leaving the only light being from the moon, and the glowing optics of the lieutenant, and the toddler virocon sitting with a leg on either shoulder.

"Wow...!" Flashdrive whispered, her optics searching the valley. "...It's so quiet."

Bumblebee grinned. "Uh huh...And we have it all to ourselves tonight." Bumblebee took her off of his shoulders and into his arms. "No arguing Sideswipe and Strongarm, no decepticons to chase...Just you and me."

Flashdrive grinned, then planted a kiss on his cheek before hugging him. "...I love you, Daddy..."

Bumblebee placed a hand on the back of her head, a smile on his face despite the tears forming in his optics. "...I love you too, Sweetspark..."

A/N: Okay, sorry for the super short and sappy ending there, but I wanted Bumblebee to have some real downtime to bond with Flashdrive after everything. And their story isn't done! I'm in the middle of writing a sequel to this, where a few more people find out about Flashdrive's existence, and lots more canon characters make appearances, so stay tuned...

I'm also working on a short story about Knockout and Wildbreak's reunion...

Until then, see ya'll later!