Free the Drive- Sam shovelling Snow.

Sam stood in the snowy drive and clutched the shovel, which he had just grabbed up from inside the door. He'd had breakfast, and the sky was at least partly blue so he had a good chance of clearing the drive.

"I'll get you out, Bee," he said through the garage door to his Autobot friend, "Just let me dig a path free from the door to the road first so Mom can go shopping and Dad can get out early if he wants."

There was a burst of music from inside the garage - he could not tell exactly what it said but he knew Bumblebee had heard him, because

he was pretty sure his Dad's Porsche couldn't do that.

He knocked the snow gently off his Mom's roses and started digging down to the path. At least there was not a layer of ice beneath the snow so once he got to the flagstones and gravel it would not be slippery. There might be ice on the road, but he could see their own mailbox and entrance over the lawn, and that gave him a focus.

A sweet scent drifted out from the kitchen as he dug away at the snow, shifting it to the sides of the path in a neat border. His Mom was baking cookies! Double chocolate chip cookies, he could tell from the smell, and there might be cookie dough left over! Only a few more strides to the road, and he would reward himself by going in for a cookie, to test the flavour, and offering to scrape clean his mother's cream mixing-bowl! He licked his lips, and a snowflake fell onto his nose and toppled off onto his tongue.

It was starting to snow again. Not worrying to make a straight border any more, he just dug a path through the ground snow while snow flakes danced and then whirled about him confusingly, he was lost in the heady smell of chocolate and snow. He put the music on his earphones from his mp3 and dug and dug.

It got cold and he danced to keep warm, thinking of cookies and dough and going out with Bumblebee and Mikaela to the look-out for snowball fights and building a Snow-transformer and then to Mickey D's for lunch or the fried chicken or pizza house with perhaps a jug of energy drink or smoothies, shakes or fragrant flavoured coffee! He whistled and his breath made a gray fog before his face, a defence against the dark, blizzarding sky, wet and stinging in the parts his Levi's and down jacket and boots didn't cover.

No longer could he smell the baking smell, and it seemed to have been windy and cold for a long time. He spread his hands and caught the snow, then dug furiously, trying to resist its confusing dizzy whirling, fighting it in a battle to stop it covering his path. Nothing else could he see or feel but wind and snow, dancing to the music.

Then suddenly he tripped over something else at leg-level. He hurt his leg, arm and head, and side, but he recognised what it was, a mailbox at last! Only now he had a more urgent need than eating. He needed the bathroom fast! Surely if he knocked his Mom would let him in and forgive him giving him a second breakfast, as he had dug most of a pathway out through the snow.

He could see lights, but it seemed he had to dig his way through to them. At last he gained the porch and rang the doorbell urgently, but no-one came. It was only then that he noticed there was something different about this door.

For one thing, it had a knocker, in the shape of a head of an eagle, in the middle of the door, with a little spy hole above it to see who was outside, and he was pretty sure his house did not have that. It was the same pattern door, varnished in medium tan wood, with a letter box in the middle - the paper boy used the mailbox as well as the mailman, when he didn't just shy it onto the lawn, but some more important letters, that needed signing perhaps, or whose contents would deteriorate from getting damp, or little cards that a mailman could dodge in quick with while running the risk of getting nipped on the ankle by Mojo, were brought to the door.

There were no rose bushes either side of the door; there was a porch light, but the number beneath it was not the same as his. Moreover, now he came to think of it, after noticing all this in a few seconds, the mailbox had not been in the same spatial position to the door and the drive as his own was, it was at the edge, but on the wrong side. It was the wrong way round. He had obviously crossed over the road, confused, in the snowstorm.

Furthermore, there was one thing he knew about the house across the road, it was empty. It was equipped, for it was the "show house" but it was the last new house for sale on the drive- that is, the road that he lived in. It had been useful, for whereas neighbours at the sides might notice something funny going on with him and Bumblebee and the other Autobots, (or occasionally Decepticons), no-one had been able to view them directly. He looked up and confirmed this, there was a large "For Sale" sign above him with the dealer's name on the wall.

There was one main snag to all this, he was just going to have to turn round and dig his way back home, through the snowstorm and gathering dark. This time, he found, there was ice underfoot as well.

Bumblebee, meanwhile, had not forgotten about his human friend. He commed Ratchet to talk to him, as he often had, or Optimus over the holiday period, just after Sam had left him. In the war situation as they were, Ratchet was more likely to be available than Optimus or Ironhide, and if he was not doing anything urgent he liked a break from routine repairing and inventorying supplies.

"Ratchet, Sam's digging me out today and I might suggest he collects Mikaela when he's finished, and we come to see you and Optimus at the base if you're free."

"Ah, Bumblebee, nice to hear your voice, did you do anything special for the holiday?"

"Yes, I took the family out to a Christmas football game!"

"Oh, I did not think Sam liked football?" said Ratchet sceptically.

"He doesn't, but his Dad does, and it meant nobody had to cook, and his parents could drink. They had hot dogs and apple pie and then Sam and Mikaela went to a disco, had tacos, soda and smoothies and went to a Pop concert with me afterwards, while his parents went to a restaurant and dance hall with Mikaela's Dad. I picked the parents up from a bar later and everyone was happy!"

"Weren't his parents tired out?"

"Sam's Mom said they'd always have time for quiet conventional holidays later when the kids had gone to college and got homes of their own. Sam's parents are cool, they want to experience the things that we youngsters enjoy while they still can, I love that!"

Bumblebee could hear Ratchet jokingly spluttering through his vents at the idea of them all being young when he considered their various ages.

"You must be well over a thousand years older than all of them Bumblebee, you're young to us but you'd seem incredibly old to Sam's parents, if they only knew your age, and they probably consider themselves old! Ah well, the humans have a saying, 'you're as young as you feel', and it's healthy to keep active!" he chuckled. "What did you do after that?"

"Then came the snow. Sam's Dad must've watched the rest of his holiday sport indoors on the TV, four days I've been stuck in here! Ron came out to take out some trash yesterday, and told me Sam was ill, but they might let him out tomorrow if he wraps up, and he gave me a few match and race results and some world news. I can get it all off the internet but I appreciated the contact-",

"Sam was ill did you say?" Ratchet interrupted. "Did he give any details?" The medic seized on this salient point from Bumblebee's conversational waffle.

"He said they were all throwing up and had feverish snivelly colds,

but they were surviving because it'd take more than a little snow to beat the Witwickys!"

"Well, more snow is forecast and the temperature is due to fall below zero degrees anyway today, so I might as well pop round anyway to check on you and Sam," said Ratchet, "I'll bring some of my energon. I think I can justify it to Prime, Ironhide and Will, they might even come

with me."

"Call on Mikaela, if you would, if there's a chance Sam might be in danger she'll want to know, and the cell phone signal is weak here tonight, but don't call everyone out for us, Ratchet, it'll be embarrassing for Optimus to get me out of my own garage. Sam started digging me out earlier, but it would help if you could bust me out to save Sam the trouble, he's been out a while, but it doesn't really matter, and there's no need to disturb Will and Ironhide- or Optimus Prime-"

"How long has Sam been out?" snapped Ratchet.

"Two breems, just over half an hour in human measurement of time".

"Hm, even that would be dangerous with blizzards forecast and-

a depressed immune system! I'm coming out, I'll contact you when I get to the area, Bumblebee. If Sam's life is at stake they will all want to come, with more of us we can be subtle, and don't worry Bumblebee, even if it was just you stuck somewhere four days, don't you think your friends would want to come rescue you?"

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Ironhide had stayed at Will's ranch for the holidays and when he got the call from Ratchet, Will was just filling his engine with anti-freeze and scraping the ice off his windscreen. He commed back that they were on their way while simultaneously saying to Will "Sam's at his house and may be in danger, let's go!"

Barricade intercepted the call with his tracking of Autobot broadcasts via Soundwave, and he contacted Starscream who thought he might enjoy a flight in a snowstorm if it meant he might be able to capture the Witwicky fleshling.

Bumblebee wracked his processors - what could he do to get out? Wait, if he remembered what Sam's Dad did to get in: an electronic signal wasn't it, and for the snow he had his secret weapon, his solar accelerator. It would make a bit of a mess, they would not be happy, but it wouldn't hurt him much; he could tell Sam's life signs were depreciating, and the most important thing to Bumblebee was his friend's life.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Sam blew on his cold hands, they had gone through the burning stage to where he could not feel his fingers, though he vaguely knew he still clutched the spade. He could not feel his toes either, though his side ached and it was hard to breathe, and it was getting dark. Snow flew past him in blurred streaks like the stars in interstellar flight, only it hit him stinging and wet in a cold painful way, so he knew he was not in a warm spaceship. He wished he was in Bumblebee, that he had freed his Autobot friend first, he could have been speeding away to Mikaela now in a warm car, or sat in a warm roadside diner! If only he could project his thoughts like they used coms, he could call him. Suddenly he realized he could! He could call Bee on his cell phone and say he'd be with him in minutes.

The snow had melted slightly in the heat of noon and now there was treacherous slippery ice underfoot. As he got his phone out, he fell over the mailbox again .

"Bee I'll be with you in minutes, pal just the other side of the road," he got out before the cell and shovel slipped from his frozen hands. He was going to be sick again, it welled up from his throat, drowning him and he could not move, he would die here, buried in the snow and people would find his body and think he was a drunken teen over New Year.

He heard a car draw up and stop and a little dog barking, a loud explosion , the transforming sequence and several booming springy sounds.

'Bee, 'Kaela, Mojo' he thought as he was turned on his side, and the sick drained out into the snow from his slack lips.

A dark shape picked him up, a small yappy dog licked his nose, and he was carried fireman's-lift style upside down to the house

"I had an appointment, never mind what it is I'll pay the first down- payment, just let me get him in!" said a female voice.

"Bathroom" Sam muttered.

Sam was helped to the bathroom, did what he needed to, and soon was tucked up with a warm hot chocolate drink in a bed with someone warm beside him.

Yellow blue green whirling snow was all he could see against the black background of his eyelids. Then things went white and gray, purple black and red. He could see red lights with his eyes closed and when he opened them, fierce and softly whispered voices, a yellow streak, an explosion and then a long time of rushing confusion till he saw some brown paint work.

It seemed he was asleep and dreaming of the last time he had cleared up the yard, in the fall, sweeping and raking the leaves off the lawn, putting them in the trash can with two bits of 2x4 timber his Dad gave him, singing his own adaptation of a song he'd once heard his mother sing.

"Sweeping up the leaves, Sweeping up the leaves, we will come rejoicing, Sweeping up the Leaves!" it mixed in his mind with his own and Bee's and Mikaela's music and distinctly an old David Bowie song

"My life will be forever autumn

Cos you're not here-!….,

Red yellow green and brown leaves seemed to be falling on him . Then all went black, and he was left with an ominous worry . Who had he lost? There was no-one beside him now. Had he lost Mikaela? Was he somehow far from home and friendless?

It seemed so, for when he opened his eyes when the light next came,

all he could see besides the bed was a big brown robot with red eyes.

OOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Ratchet arrived at the Witwicky home and noticed that Mikaela had got there first, he could see her little moped by the gate.

::Ironhide, park up nearby and tell Will to come out with me, I think first approach needs the human touch!:: He commed . The Lime Medic knew Sam and Mikaela first hand but Will Lennox had approached his parents afterwards and knew them by sight. :: I don't want to have to laser and blast Bumblebee out if Mr Witwicky can do it with a key!:: ::Optimus, park up too as near as you can and send your holoform to me for now, you too 'Hide!:: As this was a Search and Rescue operation, rather than a battle he was in charge, and he did not want Sam's mother or anyone panicking, initially, the more natural it looked the better. Epps had come out from base with Optimus to be an extra pair of eyes and techno-support.

Will battled through the snow to the front door and thumped on it.

Ron and Judy came to the door; he touched his hat to them in salute

"Do you know where your son is, he's been reported missing!"

"Sam? He's up in his room isn't he?" Said Ron.

"He came down for breakfast and said he'd get on with his chores today, he'd just sweep the snow off the drive, he didn't come in for lunch but then he was taking Mikaela out to lunch so I didn't worry…¬"

"Sam's out there in that? Who reported him missing"? Said Judy,

"Bumblebee -he says he's been snowed up in the garage 4 days locked in and he spoke to Sam first thing this morning but not since-

"BUMBLEBEE?"

They looked out through the driving snow and saw the emergency vehicle parked in the Drive with its red toplights flashing -if Sam was out in a blizzard without his car, this was serious.

They ran to the garage, being joined by Epps who scanned the area with his thermal imaging device and a big torch.

"Wait! Let me open it!" said Ron, having visions of his garage door blasted open.

"I don't think you'll need to," said Will, examining the burnt grass-yes, there was burnt grass outside the garage, Epps was pointing at it , covered with recently fallen snow and the garage door was open.

"The cheeky- how did he do that?" exclaimed Ron.

"Probably by copying electronically the number code you typed in or the signal you sent" said Epps. " As for the grass, he melted the snow, it was sunny this morning wasn't it? Bumblebee has a solar accelerator."

"He can project it several metres beyond his alt. body," said Ratchet, coming up in his holoform as an orange hi-vis-coated, blue -pants and white shirted ambulance attendant.

They followed the circles of burnt grass and melted snow across the lawn, finding them more easily now they could guess what happened.

The last one had cracked the ice and the road on the other side.

"Bumblebee must've been in a mighty hurry to transform and run in broad daylight!" exclaimed Ironhide, whose holoform was a grizzled army staff sergeant.

"These are his footprints?" asked Judy, still not at ease with the autobot Transforming. Ron was torn between shock about his lawn and worry about Sam.

"They sure are!" said Ironhide.

"This one's a jump! Look at the impact!" said Optimus Prime whose usual holoform was a Trucker with lumberjack shirt rolled up past his elbows and a ten-gallon hat, but he had a black NEST Covert ops armband on to show he belonged with them. His well-muscled arms

were covered with Prime tattoos. Epps joined them, looming up through the snow.

"I don't blame Bumblebee one bit, he must've been going on his sensors and heat seeking night-vision in this weather!" said Will, batting away the snowflakes with his hands. The holoforms were O. K., but all the humans were getting soaked. "But where're he and Sam now?" They raised their eyes and saw the house over the road lit up and with music. A strange blue car was in the drive.

"Is that usual? 'Re they always having parties?" asked Epps.

"No, it's the show house, its empty" said Ron, picking up an Mp3. "It's Sam's!" He spotted a small pink vespa moped. "That's Mikaela's!"

Will raced up to the door of the other house and thumped on it via the eagle knocker, his army boots crunching through the snow.

The door was opened by a middle-aged woman carrying a poodle.

"Have you seen a young teen with dark hair?" asked Will

"Yes he was in a bad way I had to bring him in and warm him up, he was frozen!"

"So this place isn't empty?"

"No, I've just bought it."

A letterman in a gray suit started showing them some deeds to prove this.

Starscream landed lightly in the back garden of the house where he sensed a fleshling who matched Sam's statistics, grabbed him out of a back window and flew off with him back to his base. Barricade had informed him he could keep the youngling's yellow autobot guardian at bay as he had entrapped and captured his mate.

Bumblebee had had to hide after turning Sam over and saving his lfe, as someone had approached who he did not know. He heard a small scream though and knew it was Mikaela, and the police car ahead was Barricade carrying her. He transformed and gave chase.

::Give Mikaela back or I will fight you to the death you evil Decepticon!:: he challenged.

::I only have to transform and she will be crushed!" growled Barricade. You are my prisoner ! Follow us quietly to the base or she dies!::

"Us?" Bumblebee said in surprise.

He heard a roar from the thrusters of a supersonic jet.

"Starscream " screamed his processors and with despair he realised that Sam had been captured too. It was a trap! He was too late.

"Ah you are awake, fleshling," said Starscream appearing behind the brown Mech in front of Sam, "This Dr Syn: I am Starscream as you know. As you were injured I first of all had you checked over when I brought you in. However you seem healthy enough to now start your life imprisonment for killing Megatron and destroying the All Spark!"

Sky warp warped him to a smelly cell where he was shackled to the ground but left away from Mikaela and Bumblebee, with no food, no water, and no hope.