Chapter 16: Not so Happily Ever After

"What a bland and miserable day," Lexa said looking out of Barricade's car window, "I thought it was always sunny in Arizona?"

"Quite often it is," Barricade responded pretending to drive. He felt her shift in the seat and again he couldn't help the feeling the human femme gave him as she fidgeted in his seat. As he looked over her body, he noticed the tired circles under her eyes and her slouched figure. The past few months were weighing on her and Barricade knew his femme needed rest, but she would not rest when the Decepticon's had something up their sleeves.

"Sam invited me to stay with him and Carly for a week," she said suddenly and she looked to Barricade, "I've been considering it."

"Just at his house?"

"No, they're going to Aspen for a ski trip, I thought it might be nice to take some time to relax," she said and he stared at her. Something seemed off, he offered for her to go on several vacations and she refused, but Sam offered and she was actually thinking about it.

"I'm not doing it because Sam asked," she said looking out of the window.

"I didn't say you were."

"You were thinking it," she stated. He looked over her again and noticed she was tapping and fidgeting with the ring.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I can hear you."

"Oh?" he asked with a smile, "then tell me what I'm thinking."

"That I'm just being funny. You're thinking I can't be serious. What would cause me to be able to hear you?" she said then looked to him, "And the truth is I don't know. It started a couple months ago like whispers across the room, but now I can hear any transformer I'm near perfectly."

"So you want to hide," he asked suddenly sour.

"No," she said, "well, not really hide. I just want to get away from these voices in my head for a little bit. I just want a little time to think without hearing everyone else."

"I guess could see why you'd want to escape for a while," he said reminding himself of her tired and worn appearance, "when will you be leaving?"

"I don't know, I haven't told Sam yet," she said, "I kinda wanted to talk to you first."

"One condition," he stated as he pulled into the Autobot encampment.

"Yeah?"

"I want to know everything that's going on and I want you to call me if anything happens," he said.

"Yes dad," she said with a smile and exited the car.

"Lord Megatron," Starscream said over his com channel straight to his leader, "it would appear the human girl is growing."

"Continue as you are Starscream," Megatron replied.

"Sam, Carly, thanks for letting me join you on your trip," Lexa said as she met up with her friends at the airport.

"No problem!" Carly said with a bright smile, "we were so happy to hear you were joining us!"

"Why are you so chipper?" Lexa asked cautiously and looked to Sam. He smiled apologetically and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Oh nothing!" Carly said with a singsong voice, "just can't wait til we get there! I heard it has snowed a ton. Can't wait to ski!"

"What have you gotten me into?" Lexa whispered to Sam with a smirk.

"Honestly I'm not entirely sure myself," he whispered back and they chuckled as Carly continued ahead of them talking about the trip.

Once they arrived at the lodge they were staying in and every one unpacked for the week Carly came bouncing into Lexa's room begging her to go to the spa with her. Deciding to just go with the flow, Lexa agreed as long as they went skiing later that night.

It wasn't until they went to a fancy restaurant for dinner where everyone had to really dress up did Lexa think about Carly's strange behavior at the airport. The place was fancy and honestly with Sam and Carly, Lexa felt like an annoying third wheel. When they sat at the table Lexa eyed the waiter as he left the fourth set of utensils at the table and watched Carly nervously as she giggled like a little school girl. About five minutes later a man walked up to the table and sat next to Lexa with a kind smile on his face.

"You must be Alexandra," he said with a smile and English accent, "really you're much more beautiful than Carly told me."

"Oh well thank you," she said glaring at her friend, "I'm sorry she hasn't told me about you."

"Oh right," he said with a smile, "my name is Russell. I was a friend of her brothers."

"Nice to meet you," Lexa said with the nicest smile she could manage. Then with a glare she looked to Carly and motioned to the bathroom.

"Excuse us Russell, we'll be right back," Carly said and we both stood and walked to the bathroom.

"This, my friend, is sabotage," Lexa said leaning against the bathroom sink.

"Oh come on, you need to have a human boyfriend. Being with that bucket of bolts is unhealthy," she said priming her hair.

"It's my choice to be with him Carly, not yours," Lexa responded. Carly looked at her then checked to make sure no one was in the bathroom. With a swift flick she locked the door and looked directly at Lexa.

"This relationship you are in with Barricade is unhealthy. I might've tolerated you being interested in Bumblebee, but no you chose to be interested in a Decepticon. He may not kill you, but you being with him will cause you pain. Something will happen to you if you don't break off the relationship. Please just try being with Russell for this week. I've told him about Barricade; well I've told him 'Cade is your boyfriend and he's pretty demanding and controlling, but the point is he knows you're already in a relationship and he won't force anything from you. I've known Russell for a long time, he's a good guy, just give him a chance," Carly pleaded.

"Fine," Lexa said after a moment, "I just hope for your sake and his that Barricade doesn't find out."

The week went by slowly, but Lexa was glad the past few years seemed to rush by so the slow week was a relief. Carly was right about Russell, he was a good guy and never pushed Lexa too far for anything. There had even been a couple times where they would be laughing about something and Lexa and Russell would have and 'almost kiss' moment, but Lexa always thought of Barricade and would simply smile and move away from him.

On the last day of the trip, Lexa and Sam went up to a more advanced ski slope wanting to spend some time together. It was brisk at the top of the mountain and sparse of people, this only made the run that much more fun. It was just before their third run down the mountain that Lexa heard what sounded like someone whispering.

"Sam," she called to him a few feet away and he turned to her.

"What's up?"

"Please tell me you heard that?" she begged.

"Heard what?" he asked and they were silent for a moment, listening to the wind howl past their ears.

"Gotchya."

"That!"

"I didn't hear anything," Sam said. Suddenly the sound of turbines could be heard and Lexa sent Sam down the mountain with a shove. With a push of her sticks she took off down the mountain and tried to escape from Starscream. She was glad she wasn't terrible at skiing, but frustrated that she wasn't better and faster. Starscream transformed in front of her and tried to capture her. She moved as quickly as she could managing to slip between his digits, but the damage was done. She could no longer control where she was going and fell immediately losing her skis. With no control over her direction as she tumbled down the slope, she saw the tree coming and prayed she wouldn't end up like so many cases where people who crashed into trees died.

She felt as she hit the tree with her chest and all the wind in her chest was knocked from her. She gulped painfully at the air and after a moment realized she was still tumbling down the mountain. She cried out in pain as she rolled over a particularly hard bump. The last thing she saw before blackness took over, were two glowing red orbs watching her intently.

The first thing Lexa noticed upon waking up was how hard it was to breath, her chest felt constricted and heavy as if there were giant rocks covering her. The second thing she noticed was the bright room and how everything seemed flooded in white. She knew this kind of place, but wasn't sure why she was here.

"Sam, she's waking up!" she heard Carly squeal and Lexa couldn't contain the flinch, "I'm going to go get a doctor."

"Sam," Lexa muttered not really wanting to talk anymore, "how did I get here?"

"Bee saved you," he said quietly, "Starscream was about to take off with you and Bee attacked him."

"Bee?"

"Yeah, I guess it's a good thing he doesn't like staying away from us," he said, "Guess that's what makes him such a good guardian." Lexa smiled with nothing left to say and watched as the Doctors frantically ran into the room and Bee's holoform close behind. After a few tests they left telling Lexa she needed to rest for a while. Not long after Carly and Sam left to go eat dinner while Bee stayed with Lexa.

"Sam said you're my Guardian Angel," she said, "I'm not surprised."

"Well, I couldn't just let Starscream take off with you now could I?" he asked and Lexa chuckled.

"You wouldn't do that," she said, "you're too kind."

"That's why Barricade won you, isn't it?" Bee asked, "Because I'm too kind."

"Bee," Lexa started and began coughing. Bee watched her sadly and held her hand in his.

"I have something to tell you," he said when she quit coughing and she looked to him, "after Starscream attacked you he…"

"What happened?" she asked unable to cipher the thoughts coming from him.

"They have Barricade. They already launched a strike against New York and they are planning on attacking Saint Louis," he said, "Ratchet said you would heal quickly because of the nanites in your body. As soon as you heal we need you to help us. Optimus has promised you will be in the unit with me so I can make sure you're safe. For some reason they wanted you out before they started a war."

"They wanted to use me," she said, "but when you came to rescue me Starscream had to retreat. They took Barricade to use as bait."

"Why?" he asked and Lexa looked down. Bee continued, "Lexa what do you know that we don't?"

"I can hear your thoughts," she said, "when I'm near you I can hear the transmissions and signals you send and receive."

"I guess that means we'll have to be even more careful with you," Bee said roughing up her hair.

"Please don't tell anyone Bee," she said knowing he wanted to, "they won't let me fight if they find out." She swept her feet over the side of the bed and stood, painfully.

"Aw come on Lexa," he said trying to have her sit again, "You shouldn't be standing up."

"I'm fine," she said under strain, "Let's get out of here."

"Fine, but Ratchet isn't going to be happy I let you move," Bee said picking her up. She bit back the squeak of pain as he carried her to his body.

"What about Sam and Carly," she asked.

"They'll be safe," Bee said, "Ironhide is watching over them now."

It was three weeks before Ratchet allowed Lexa to leave the bed she was assigned, however during that time she snuck out and spent time with Bee roaming the base. Things seemed to return to normal with her and Bee. On the base it was if time stood still and nothing else mattered in the world. It wasn't until soldiers turned on the TV that anyone would remember things were going on outside the compound.

"I'm ready," Lexa said one day wearing her uniform, "when are we going to fight them?"

"We're stretched pretty thin," said Lennox walking up to her and patting her back, "it's going to be a while."

"But what about the cities they've taken already? How do we explain it to those people waiting for help?" she asked, "How do we explain we felt we couldn't help them because there are not enough of us."

"The cities that have been taken, have fallen," said Ratchet from behind Lexa and she turned to him as he continued, "and the people are likely dead."

"But some will have survived. People always survive," she said urging him to understand.

"We can't rush into these things," Lennox said crossing his arms, "more people will die if we rush."

"Well I can't stand idly by and let them suffer more," she said walking out of the hangar on the base. Bee drove up next to her and opened the door.

"Trust me?" he begged and she got in. He led her back to the base and she glared at the dashboard.

"Traitor," she commented and he chuckled.

"I'm not letting you go in alone," he said, "we have to gather our team."

It was a few days before they left and traveled to Saint Louis. The destruction grew the closer they got to the city. The Arch was just two legs rising into the air. The buildings were burning and fell across the landscape. As they began to enter the city, taking I70 into the downtown area, bodies and abandoned cars littered the road.

"This is horrible," Lexa said watching out the window. She took a deep breath and sat back in the car seat. She closed her eyes trying to listen for Decepticon transmissions in the area. As they passed tenth street voices echoed into her mind. Their base was not too far ahead, at the football stadium. Lexa told Bee and he pulled to a stop just as Ironhide and Ratchet did the same behind him, followed closely by Optimus Prime.

"We'll go on foot from here," Lennox said taking his team. Only a few stayed behind, one human per Autobot. Lexa got back into Bee and put the window down, her gun at the ready.

"Are you ready?" Bee asked and Lexa looked to the driver's seat where his holoform was watching her. She nodded and he motioned for her to come closer with his finger.

"What is it, Bee?" she asked and he smiled. With a hand on her cheek he kissed her softly on the lips.

"I missed you," he said, "be careful today, you have to come back to me."

"Bar-" she started but he placed his lips on hers again to silence her.

"I know, but promise me you'll come back, no matter what happens? Even just as friends."

"I will," she said with a smile, "Now I don't know about you, but I'm ready to kick some ass."

"Ready," he said and his holoform disappeared as he drove into town.

It was scarily easy to get into town and Lexa realized it was because the rest of the Autobots and Lennox's team were keeping the majority occupied. It wasn't until they entered the Dome that things became more difficult. Upon the first attack Bee had to force Lexa out of his body. A Decepticon caught her and laughed at her petite form. Taking the opportunity Lexa crawled from his loose grip and thrust a grenade into his eye. The grenade blew up the majority of his forehead rendering the Decepticon useless. A few moments later Bumblebee shot the Decepticon, killing it immediately. Things were going good, and suddenly Lexa heard Barricade's voice in her mind calling out to her.

"Bee," she said, "Barricade's this way, come on!"

"We'll get him later, Lexa," Bee said, "we have to stay to the mission."

"We will, but we have to save him, they're torturing him," she pleaded.

"Fine," he said and transformed into his car form, "get on the hood and hold on tight." She did as he commanded and led him towards Barricades voice.

"Lexa no!" Cade yelled suddenly as an explosion went off in front of Bee. Bee slammed to a stop and Lexa flew from his hood. She rolled on the ground, finally stopping on her back. She shrieked as Starscream tried to step on her.

"Come here little rodent," he bellowed as she got up and started running from him. She ran into a side hallway and tried to escape from him. Deciding he wasn't following her she paused to catch her breath. Suddenly he was in his jet form flying towards her. She screamed and began running again.

"Oh how I love to hear you shriek," he said with dark laughter. The ground around her exploded as Starscream fired at her. She could hear Bumblebee racing toward her and she glanced back. He fired just before Starscream and hit him. Lexa fell to the ground as Starscream fell to the ground just in front of her. Bee sped up and spun in front of her. She got up about to run and get in Bee when she noticed the predicament Starscream was in. His entire breastplate was removed showing his Spark and all the wires around it. Lexa looked to Bee then to Starscream. Pulling the pin out another grenade she had in her pack she ran at Bee, slid over his hood and continued to Starscream. Once close enough she thrust the grenade into his spark.

Starscream cried out in pain and swiped at Lexa. She tried to move away from his talons, but wasn't quick enough. He hit her hard and sent her across the hallway and into a wall. Lexa cried out as she hit the wall and fell limply to the ground. Moments later Starscream exploded the gunpowder and Energon reacting harshly. Bumblebee protected Lexa's body as the explosion encompassed the area. Thinking nothing of it, Bee collected her with his holoform and placed him in the passenger's seat. He freed Barricade and drove off to meet up with the rest of the Autobots.

The Autobots won over Saint Louis, but they were not without their losses. Ironhide lost his arm. Sgt Lennox lost two men in his unit. Francis, who was traveling with Ratchet, was killed. Rider and Wingo were both severely mutilated. Sideswipe was torn to pieces. Optimus and Ratchet came out with more mental wounds than any physical damage. Bumblebee and Barricade both came out unscathed, but both mourned constantly. In Lexa's actions against Starscream she was thrown, not to death but she would not wake up. Her body was fully healed, no scars or wounds to show for her lack of consciousness. Bee blamed Barricade and Barricade blamed Bee. Even still they both agreed in not fighting around Lexa, whether she could hear them or not. It was on one particularly dismal December day that Bee was sitting next to Lexa in his holoform, reading the latest news to her. He watched her closely then leaned over her grasping her hand.

"You promised you would come back to me," he said trying to stir her, "you promised." He kissed her forehead and backed away as her hand moved in his. He looked down to her hand then up to her face, her brows were furrowed although her eyes remained closed. Bee shoved the chair out his way and went to the hallway to call for a nurse. A few moments later a nurse entered and Lexa's face was once again placid.

"I swear she held my hand and made a face," he said as the nurse looked at him skeptically. She pated his shoulders as she looked at him.

"Keep your hopes high honey, but don't let them take over and create illusions."

"I know what I saw," he said replaying the moments in his mind.

"Then that means she's fighting," the nurse said.

"If she's fighting, I know she'll be okay," Bee said, "she's too stubborn not to be okay." The nurse left with a nod and Bee leaned over her again.

"I guess you are fighting to come back to me," he said, "I knew you'd keep your promise."

Author's Note: I may make a sequel, but at this point don't hold your breath. I came to realize as I read over the chapters to write this one that Lexa was such a pain in the butt. I wrote this chapter while watching Les Miserables 25th anniversary after being totally bummed about the Patriot's losing the Superbowl to the Giants.

Thank you for everyone who followed this story, favorite'd it and commented on it. I love you all.

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