Chapter 1

The silence in the room was broken only by the sound of a softly ticking clock, the snow filled January gale outside, and the steady beeping of a heart monitor. Sam had been breathing on his own now for about five or six hours and he had to keep reminding himself of that fact over and over again. He'd gotten used to the sound of the respirator over the past two and a half weeks. Now that it was gone he missed the extra noise.

It was a sign the Sam was still breathing. Still with them. He both loved and hated the mask that rested over the boy's mouth and nose now. Loved it because it meant that Sam was doing better and hated it because it made it harder for him to hear Sam's breathing. Optimus sighed as he rubbed holoform fingers over the coarse material of the object in his hands. He knew that he should get rid of it but Sam might want it back when he wake's up and well if he didn't he'd throw it away. Blue eyes shifted form the item in his hand to the clock on the wall.

Someone would be in soon so that he could go and rest. He'd taken over for Sam's parents almost nine hours before. The couple had spent almost the whole night sitting in their sons room hoping and praying that he'd wake up. It was mostly him and Sam's parents that kept watch. He usually kept watch alone but every couple of days someone would join him. It was usually Ironhide and Lennox. Ratchet came by when he was able.

All of them had tried to talk him into going back to the base for a few days but he couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to go any further than the Hospital's parking lot. He couldn't bring himself to leave. Not until Sam woke up or his heart stopped. It seemed like it had been forever since he'd seen Sam open his eyes. A month and a half. Primus such a sort amount of time to his kind and yet it felt like forever. Two weeks of looking and now two and a half weeks of waiting.

He felt like if he had to wait another minute he'd go insane. Optimus ran a hand over his face and rubbed his eyes for a second. He shouldn't feel this tired not when he actually wasn't. Then again holoform avatars were tricky things. No transformer truly understood how the program itself worked though a few had tried and failed to fully comprehend the programs capabilities.

Returning his attention to the item in his hands Optimus began running his fingers over the rope like material. Sam had never told them where he'd gotten it or who had given it to him. If anyone had given it to him at all. Most people didn't even know when he'd gotten it. They only knew that he wouldn't seen to take it off and oddly enouf it seemed to belong there. The collar was such a simple item really. The fact that it was an actual dog collar amused those who knew him and most of the people who didn't just thought he was weird. Which was fine since he'd been weird all his life give or take the first year or two. The collar itself was very simple in design.

Black with thin silver white markings and his name written in slightly fancy letters along with a small silver disc that hung from the metal loop meant for tags. Not long ago the silver white writing and the tag had been stained red. How someone had actually managed to clean it was beyond him. Even the broken edges had been sown back together. Besides it was what was carved on the silver tag that had caused the boy some of his problems for carved on the front of the tag was the Autobot symbol and on the back was a name.

It had bothered them for a bit a first when Sam refused to tell them whose name was carved on the back but it was a curiosity they had gotten over soon enough. It didn't matter anymore anyways. They all knew what the name on the back of the tag said. It was part of the reason he couldn't bring himself to leave. If he did Sam might vanish into thin air and then they'd never be able to find him again. He be lost for good this time and that was something he wouldn't let happen again. Never again.

A four and a half weeks earlier.

The roads were icy and slick but the skies were worse. The snow storm itself was only bad enouf to keep planes grounded and most cars off the road. Not counting the three that were making their way toward Washington D.C. for a before Christmas meeting between several big wigs and the Autobot ambassador, who was currently sleeping with his head resting on the thigh of Optimus Prime's holoform avatar. Not that Optimus minded of course.

The president and several others had offered to postpone the meeting untill the weather let up but they'd declined the offer. They didn't need to fly when they could get there on their own by driving. The only thing they had requested was a bit of leway time wise. For one never new how the weather would affect travel by roads. At least the President wouldn't be mad if they showed up a day or two late. Though at their current pace they would actually arrive a little early for their meeting.

They had two days to get there after all and the weather wasn't really all that bad. The roads were just a little slick in some places. The only one who even had the right to complain was Sam and even he didn't really use that right. He'd only muttered something about hating the cold. Not that Optimus could really blame him. The cold made his back and three of the fingers on his left hand hurt.

"Love the snow and hate the cold." Sam had said earlier that day a small grin gracing his features. It was an interesting thing to drive himself. Mostly because half his processor seemed to stay with his natural body while the other half stayed with his avatar. Lennox had once called the process multitasking on a large scale. Optimus snorted softly in amusement as he ran his fingers through Sam's hair. He couldn't help the gentle smile that spread across his holoforms face. As amazing as it was things in his life had actually calmed down quite a bit after Egypt.

Though how long the calm would last no one knew. With any luck it would last just a bit longer and then some. Sam wiggled a bit in his sleep trying to find a more comfortable position. He had to lay a certain way or it made his back hurt worse than it normally did. The discussion about seat position hadn't been a very long one. They had considered keeping the seats in his cab as they had been but had quickly decided against it. It wasn't hard at all to shift the places of Optimus' long back seat and two separate front seats.

While they could have left the seats as they were Optimus hadn't. Besides Sam seemed to prefer laying down to sleep, not that he had a problem sleeping while he was sitting, but more than anything Optimus was sure he just liked the physical contact and being able to use his holoform's thigh as a pillow. Not that Optimus objected to the contact. He was quite fond of it as well. There was something vastly different about physical contact when he was in his normal mode and when his avatar was active. He felt things better when using his avatar.

His senses were broader. He could feel more than pressure and vibration. When using his avatar he could feel texture, temperature, and whither or not something was wet or dry. Something about his holoform avatar made him feel more human and Sam being well Sam never seemed to mind either form. He loved one form just as much as he loved the other.

"They're both you Optimus so why should it matter? Use which ever one you want I don't care." Then there were the moments when he had to wonder if what was happening between him and Sam was right. The Matrix had gifted him with a vague sense of knowing where Sam was concerned. It wasn't a truly magnificent gift when he thought about what some others had been gifted with but that was just fine with him. It wasn't a powerful sense of knowing either just location and emotion when Sam was within about a ten mile radius.

Simple or not it was a gift he treasured. He'd found out quite fast that he loved knowing how Sam felt at certain moments. Loved feeling the joy when he'd visit then on Deago Garcia or, every once in awhile, when one of them would stop and see him. Sam was a bit strange when it came to emotions. He felt everything so clearly there was never any doubt in his emotions. He never faked what he was feeling. If he was happy then he was actually happy. There was never anything fake in what the boy felt. His emotions were just like him.

If asked a question then more than likely he'd tell you the truth. Every once in awhile there were little white lies but those were always told with good reason. Like so the Twins could get a head start when running from Ironhide or Ratchet. Which usually meant that he'd point in some random direction and hope he wasn't right. Blue eyes shifted from the sleeping human for a split second to the road ahead of them and focused on the sign the right side of the road that showed a rest stop and a few restaurants a couple of miles ahead.

They were making good time and he was fairly sure that Sam would enjoy the chance to get out and stretch his legs. The promise of food and a chance to use the bathroom would be an added bonus. Ironhide and Ratchet agreed when he passed the plan on to the two of them. Now all he had to do was wake Sam up. A devious smile made its way across Optimus' face as he moved one finger over the sleeping boy's ribs.

"You poke me in the ribs Optimus and I'll paint you neon orange and bright pink while you recharge." A single black eyebrow rose in amusement.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna bet. I guarantee I can get Lennox, Epps and at least four other people and a couple of Autobots to help me." A low chuckle sounded from the Autobot leader filling the cab with sound.

"There is no doubt in my processor that you could." Sam laughed as he sat up in the seat while rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"You have impeccable timing by the way. I was actually just about to wake you." Sam yawned and ran his fingers through his hair a few times.

"Food and a bathroom right?" Optimus nodded an affirmative.

"Yes. We're about eight miles away and I thought you might like a chance to wake up before we got there." Sam smiled and stretched before he twisted a bit and his back let out several loud pops. He was about to crack his fingers when Optimus grabbed his hand.

"Please." Optimus requested. "Don't do that. It disturbing." Sam snorted and looked at the holoform next to him. "You only think its disturbing because if you made a noise like that in bi-pedal form Ratchet would be after you demanding to see what you'd just broken."

"And he'd be right. Chances are if I ever make a noise like that something will have broken." Sam shook his head and a soft smile crossed his face. He flexed his fingers for a moment before reaching up to twist his collar back around so the the dog tag hung in the hollow of his throat. Reflecting light must have caught Optimus' attention because the avatar was looking at him again. "What?" Sam aked. Optimus sighed and looked at the boy. He could feel Sam's curiosity.

"I still don't understand why you insist on wearing that Sam." Sam nodded his head in understanding. No one seemed to understand why he wore the collar yet but they would in time. "I like it and aparently several girls in my litature class do too or so Leo tells me." Optimus shook his head in amusment. Leo was strange and made most of them think of Simmons the only difference being that Leo was younger. Optimus turned to look at Sam when the boy snorted. He could feel the boys amusement

"Do I even want to know?" Sam looked at him and grinned.

"Probably not." Sam said as he snorted again. Unwanted realization struck Optimus as he looked at the boy sitting next to him. "You're thinking about me painted neon green and hot pink aren't you." Optimus' statement was answered by Sam's laugh. "That mental image will amuse me for the next month."

Optimus shook his head for a moment before reaching over and smacking Sam lightly across the back of the head. "Hey! Don't hit me."

"I believe Samuel that hitting requires more force behind the actual moment. If I had hit you you'd have a bruise." Sam pondered on what Optimus had said for a moment before nodding. It was true if Optimus had actually hit him he would have a bruise. Both human and holoform bounced as they crossed onto a large bridge.

Sam could just barley make out the river almost one hundred feet below them. It was hard to tell if the water was frozen or not. Sam turned and was just about to say something to Optimus when the bridge both in front of and behind them exploded.

OoOoOoO

Ya I've hopped on board the Optimus/Sam train. Not that it bothers me none. Just to warn you this fic will have violence and if I can mannage it smut in the later chapters. Also because it's only fair to let you my reviews know this fic will only be updated when I update Full Moon Rising. Mainly so I can finish FMR without this one taking over my life. I'll update as soon as I'm able. I hope tou enjoyed chapter 1.