Sam stalked from Charlotte Mearing's office, his face set in frustration. After everything that had happened that day, the director had simply dismissed him as though he was a child. Sam's emotions fluctuated between anger and disappointment, mixed with a bit of desperation to be an important part of the Autobots' lives again. He barely noticed when Carly took his hand, blindly following her lead as she directed him out of the office area of NEST.

"Come on, baby. Let's go." she whispered, her face filled with concern as Sam barely responded.

"Yeah, that director lady don't care a thing about us." Wheelie grumbled as he and Brains followed the two humans out.

Sam vaguely registered the fact that Lennox was standing just inside the doorway of the main area of the base, watching the Autobots from across the room. The majority of the Autobots were gathered in a loose cluster around Optimus and Sentinel, listening as the two Primes discussed something in Cybertronian.

Lennox glanced in Sam and Carly's direction when Wheelie and Brains drove past him, zipping across the floor in their alt forms towards the bigger 'Bots. Apparently the colonel had been waiting for them; he motioned for the two to join him as he began to walk towards the gathering of Autobots.

"We've worked it out with Optimus that you'll be going home with Autobot protection." Lennox began. "I assume Mearing informed you of that?"

Autobot protection. The phrase managed to break through the turmoil of Sam's thoughts. "Yeah. Yeah, she mentioned it." He glanced at Lennox. "Who's Optimus sending?"

Lennox gave him a look that told Sam that he shouldn't even have to ask. "Bumblebee requested the job."

Sam felt a sickening twist of guilt at Lennox's words. Bee was coming home with him. He had requested to do so, even after the horrible things that Sam had said to him not more than an hour before.

"He asked, or Optimus is making him do it?"

Lennox gave him another strange look. "He definitely asked. I heard him myself. Why?"

Sam said nothing, but felt any remaining anger dissipate, lost in the rush of shame that filled him. Despite his earlier eagerness to have Bee return home, he now felt that he would rather have anyone but Bumblebee protecting him. He wasn't sure if he could ever look his friend in the face again.

As the humans approached the Autobots, the mechanical beings shifted their attention to their organic friends. Optimus flicked his optics towards them, then said something to Sentinel, who nodded and crossed his arms, observing the humans with an unreadable expression. Optimus turned from Sentinel and knelt in front of the trio, focusing on Sam.

"I am sorry that such circumstances have brought us together again, Sam." Despite the serious tone of his voice, Optimus looked happier than Sam had seen him in some time, almost as though one of the many burdens he carried had been lifted off his shoulders. The retrieval of Sentinel seemed to have done him more good than anything had in a while. "In light of the attempt on your life, we will do everything we can to protect you." Optimus glanced over to where Bumblebee was quietly watching the conversation. "Bumblebee has requested to be the one to look after you. He will rejoin you at your home until the threat has been eliminated."

Sam nodded and managed to mumble a quiet "Thank you."

Optimus stood again and motioned for Bumblebee to come forward and join the humans. "We wish you well, Sam." He gave Sam a small smile and turned back to continue speaking with Sentinel.

Lennox again took the lead as the humans began to make their way out of NEST. Sam didn't so much as glance at Bumblebee, who was trailing them without a sound, but kept his gaze carefully fixed on Lennox in order to not have to look at his friend.

"You three go ahead and meet us outside." Lennox ordered Bumblebee, Wheelie, and Brains as he led Sam and Carly towards the same human-sized entrance that they had entered through earlier that night.

The yellow 'Bot transformed instantly and waited just long enough for his two smaller companions to get inside before taking off in a burst of speed.

Lennox turned his attention back to Sam as he led the two out. "Bumblebee will make sure that the Decepticons don't get to you. If there's any trouble, have him contact NEST, and we'll send reinforcements."

Sam nodded mutely. The group reached the street outside of NEST, where Bumblebee was parked only a few meters away. Sam glanced towards the Camaro and then looked quickly away, refocusing his attention on Lennox.

Lennox seemed to notice his discomfort and glanced curiously between Sam and Bee. The soldier studied Sam for a minute, but chose not to push for information. "It was good to see you again, Sam." He nodded at Carly, then at Bumblebee, and reentered NEST's headquarters.

Sam only moved once Lennox had disappeared inside the building, slowly turning towards Bumblebee. The Camaro opened his front doors for Sam and Carly and shut them silently once both humans were inside.

Sam sat stiffly as Bumblebee began to drive, keeping his hands in his lap instead of placing them on Bee's steering wheel as he usually did. Sam wondered how mad Bee was at him. He would usually play music or talk with Sam through his radio, but tonight he was unusually quiet.

Sam could sense Carly sneaking glances at him on the way back to their apartment. He ignored her when she spoke his name, keeping his gaze fixed firmly out the window as she sighed and turned her attention to the scenery flashing by them.

The tension had only thickened by the time Bumblebee reached their neighborhood. Instead of driving up to the apartment, he came to a stop a few blocks down the street. Bee opened Carly's door and his back door for Wheelie and Brains, but Sam's remained firmly shut. The message was clear – Bumblebee wanted to speak with Sam alone.

Despite this, Sam tugged vainly at the door handle, finally smacking the door in irritation when it refused to budge, his previously smothered anger resurfacing inside him.

"Sam?" Carly looked at him inquiringly, already halfway out of Bumblebee. Wheelie and Brains watched him curiously from the sidewalk.

Sam let out a deep breath in order not to snap at her. "Go on. I'll be there in a minute."

Carly frowned, but closed Bee's door and patted the Camaro's roof as she headed down the street, the two smaller 'Bots following her lead.

Sam waited until he saw Carly enter the apartment building, then turned to face Bee's dashboard, crossing his arms angrily. "Well?" he snapped, pushing away the guilt that threatened to quash his anger.

Static emitted from Bee's radio, then words came, pieced brokenly together. "Sam…we need…to talk."

"Look, there's nothing to talk about. You're here because Optimus made you come. I get that – you don't have to pretend otherwise. As soon as the Decepticons are gone, you can go back and do whatever it was that you were doing. I won't make you waste your time here any longer than you have to." Sam glared out the window, his guilt only growing stronger as he piled on the harsh words. Stay angry, his mind whispered. Just stay angry and you won't feel so guilty. Easier said than done.

"Sam…"

"Are we done here? 'Cause I've had a long day and I'm tired. I really just want to get some sleep right now."

Bumblebee said nothing, but started up his engine and drove the down the street to the apartment.

"You should stay inside the apartment tonight." Sam said, his voice calmer, but still a little strained. "If anything happens, you'll be right there and won't have to come crashing through walls or anything to get to us."

Bumblebee still said nothing as he came to a halt in front of the building and unlocked Sam's door.

Sam sighed as he opened the door. "Bee, you take the freight elevator – I'll see you up there." Out of habit, Sam patted Bee's roof as he got out and shut the door, hurrying to get inside the apartment building. Once he entered the building, he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. He was an idiot. Instead of patching things up when he had the chance, he went and snapped at Bee again. At this rate, he would be lucky if his guardian stuck around the rest of the night.

He took a deep breath and climbed up the stairs to his apartment, hesitating when he reached the apartment door; he really didn't want to face Carly's questions or have to look at Bee at the moment, but he couldn't think of a way to avoid either of them.

"Sam? Are you alright?" Carly asked the instant he stepped inside.

"I'm fine. Just a little stressed." He glanced outside at the deck where he could see Wheelie and Brains in their small "house," both looking disgruntled. Sam guessed it was just as much about the day's hectic events as it was about having to stay outside another night.

A clang came from the elevator on the opposite side of the apartment, and the doors slid open to reveal a yellow Camaro. Bumblebee slowly drove into the apartment and transformed, hunching over to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling and stepping carefully around the many objects in the apartment.

Carly pursed her lips and folded her arms, glancing from Bee to Sam, clearly wanting to know why there was a giant Autobot in their tiny apartment.

"Sam?" Carly arched her eyebrows and waited for a response.

"Listen," Sam said softly, taking her by the elbow and leading her to a spot a bit farther from Bumblebee. "I thought it would be better to have Bee in here than outside. If a Decepticon comes after us, he'll be right here. You don't want him to have to destroy half the building to try to get to us, do you?"

Carly sighed and uncrossed her arms. "Sam, you know I like Bumblebee, but…"

"He'll be careful. He won't break anything or get in the way. He's here to help, Carly."

Carly glanced over at Bumblebee, who was pretending he couldn't hear their conversation.

"Alright. But if he's going to stay here, you two better make up fast. I don't want to deal with your sulking."

Sam was left staring after his girlfriend as she turned and made her way upstairs. He snuck a quick glance at his guardian, who was watching him carefully.

"I'm going to bed." Sam said, following in Carly's wake. "Make yourself at home." He could still feel Bumblebee's optics on him as he climbed the stairs and walked into the bedroom area.

Sam and Carly didn't speak as they got ready for bed, each lost in their own thoughts about the events of the day and each having an acute awareness of the yellow Autobot downstairs.

Sam pulled the thick comforter over himself and Carly, managing a slight smile as Carly gave him a quick kiss goodnight. Within a few short minutes, he heard her breathing grow steady, indicating that she had already managed to fall asleep.

Several hours later, Sam was still lying in the same position, staring at the same patch of dark shadows. The apartment was silent except for an occasional click and whirr as Bumblebee shifted somewhere in the darkness of the lower floor.

Sam glanced over at the glowing numbers of his alarm clock. 2 a.m. He let out a sigh and rolled over to stare at the ceiling. He heard Bumblebee move again downstairs and couldn't help but feel his earlier guilt wash over him in a fresh wave as he thought of his friend.

He lay in bed for another few minutes, then threw back the covers and swung his feet over the side of the bed. Carly didn't even stir as he got up and crept down the stairs to the main floor.

As Sam walked towards his guardian, he tried to get his scrambled thoughts in order. How should he even begin to apologize? Bumblebee appeared to be completely focused on adjusting something on his cannon, even though Sam knew that Bee must have heard him come downstairs.

"Bee." Sam whispered, closing the distance between himself and his friend.

Bee instantly turned towards Sam, shifting to kneel on one knee, his weapon transforming back into a hand.

Sam took a deep breath as he walked up to Bumblebee and gently placed his hand over Bee's mouth. "Miss hangin' out?"

Bee nodded and keened quietly.

"Yeah, me too." Sam smiled slightly, trying to shove down the guilt he felt as he saw the sadness in Bumblebee's optics. He gently patted Bee on the cheek and walked towards the back porch, turning away from his guardian. Sam watched Wheelie and Brains squabble about something for a few minutes as he tried to figure out what to say. He felt Bee's optics on him as he stood there, sensing the mixed torrent of emotions coming from the yellow scout.

This wasn't right. It wasn't fair to make Bee carry the blame for their fight or for him to feel guilty for not coming to see Sam more often. It was Sam who had screwed up, and there was only one way to fix the situation.

Sam rubbed his face wearily and turned back to his friend, forcing his eyes to meet Bee's optics. "I'm sorry, Bee. I was an idiot back there, wasn't I?"

Bee shrugged slightly, suddenly unwilling to meet Sam's eyes.

"Hey." Sam said quietly, reaching up to pull Bee's face towards him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that stuff. I know you're busy, and it's not your fault that you can't come by more often. I just…" Sam sighed and looked at his guardian with a mixture of embarrassment and pleading. "I thought that maybe I wasn't important to you anymore." He dropped his gaze to the floor, holding his breath as he waited for Bumblebee to either confirm or refute his fears.

Bumblebee chirped softly. ::You are the person I care about most in my life.::

Sam glanced up at the familiar phrase and saw Bumblebee looking at him with the same loyal intensity that he had seen in both Mission City and Egypt – an unspoken promise of friendship and devotion that could never be shaken.

Sam fought back the urge to both cry and laugh as he took in the scout's forgiveness and confirmation of friendship. What had he ever done to deserve his guardian?

"Maybe we can work something out after we figure out what's going on with the Decepticons." he offered hopefully. "It's not quite the same without you here."

Bee chirped in agreement, his optics growing a few shades brighter.

Sam gazed up at his best friend, grinning in relief as he felt his guilt diminish. No matter what was arising with the Decepticons, he didn't have to worry. As long as Bee was with him, he could face anything and anyone.