Where's the Honey?

So, this is a ridiculous plot bunny that would not leave me alone, and since it's still in this AU, I decided attach it to this story as a bonus chapter. Enjoy!

Eighteen year old Jackson "Jack" Darby entered the scrapyard from the building where all the humans slept. His girlfriend, seventeen year old Miko, was by his side.

June, Fowler, and Denny were standing by the gate, ready to leave for tonight's outing. Nearby, Windblade and Drift were talking. Drift's Mini-Con wolves, Slipstream and Jetstorm, were sitting obediently on either side of their master. Wheeljack and Bulkhead walked over to converse with them, waving at their young adult son, Smokescreen, as he disappeared back among the aisles of "treasure." He would not be joining the dinner party.

Knock Out and Ultra Magnus were standing off by themselves, talking to the ten year old Sideswipe (Knock Out's son and Ultra Magnus's stepson). The redhead, decked out in her finest red dress and silver jewelry, was holding her and Ultra Magnus's one year old daughter, Strongarm. Closest to Jack and Miko were Optimus Prime and Ratchet, both dressed in their nicest outfits. Ratchet was in the process of telling their two year old son, Bumblebee, goodbye. Raf, now aging at fourteen, was standing beside the family (he still had a strange mental connection with Ratchet, and it had been passed to Bumblebee as well).

Jack and Miko walked over to the Prime and Prime Lady. Knock Out and Ultra Magnus, the Prime Lady Guard and Prime Guard respectively, walked over as well, Sideswipe following.

"Thank you for agreeing to watch the children tonight," Optimus said to Jack, Miko, and Raf.

"It's no problem," Raf said, ruffling Bumblebee's blond hair as the toddler stood beside him and wrapped an arm around the hacker's leg. "Is your reservation set?"

"For Mr. and Mrs. Prime and company," Ratchet said.

"Why can't I go?" Sideswipe pouted.

"Because you're not an adult," Knock Out chided. She handed Strongarm to Miko, and the Japanese girl made goofy faces at the blonde child in her arms.

"But I'm not a child and Optimus said the children had to stay behind," Sideswipe protested, gesticulating wildly with his hands in a manner picked up from his mother.

"Are you arguing with your mother?" Ultra Magnus demanded.

Sideswipe huffed, he knew better than to argue with his stepfather. Perhaps taking pity on the kid, Ultra Magnus ruffled his red hair.

"I'll bring you back some dessert," he promised.

"Magnus!" Knock Out snapped, putting her hands on her hips and giving Ultra Magnus a look. Her husband simply shrugged his broad shoulders as Sideswipe did a happy dance, the unfairness of being left behind forgotten due to the prospect of a decent dessert.

Jack chuckled and then turned to Optimus. "And you all remember your human code names?"

"Oliver and Rachel Prime," Optimus replied, gesturing to Ratchet and himself.

"Magnus Ulyanov," Ultra Magnus said.

"Kesey Ottoman-Ulyanov," Knock Out answered.

Ratchet gestured to the Cybertronians currently out of hearing range of Jack's question. "Bulkhead and Wheeljack are Bruce and Wilma-Jaclyn Wilhelm, Drift is David Ping, and Windblade is Wendy Blane." Voice darkening, she added, "Fowler is terrible at assigning names."

Jack nodded. "You're good to go." He looked around, but couldn't spot the fourth child he was supposed to be watching tonight. "Where's Rusty?"

"Denny said Russell was in the trailer behind the scrapyard headquarters," Optimus told him. "Again, thank you."

"We really should be going if we want to be on time," Ultra Magnus warned, "especially if the traffic is bad in Crown City."

Knock Out and Ultra Magnus started toward the gate, glancing at their children one last time. Optimus started after them. Ratchet paused, said, "Take care of my son," and then followed the others. They gathered up in several cars as the gate opened and then pulled out, the gate closing behind them.

Jack knew that Optimus and Ratchet were very protective of their son. An injury inflicted upon Ratchet during her pregnancy had rendered Bumblebee mute and Ratchet unable to bare any more children. Due to these factors, everyone knew to pity the poor soul who even endangered their son…especially when Ratchet's temper got the best of her.

Jack ran through a mental list of who was still in the scrapyard as the majority of its inhabitants had left for the night out. Smokescreen was somewhere in the back, Rusty was out in the camper trailer, Fixit and Grimlock were in the Alchemor, and Miko, Raf, and himself were with Sideswipe, Bumblebee, and Strongarm.

An engine revved, the gate opened, and Smokescreen peeled out of the scrapyard in his car. The gate closed behind him, and the sound the car's engine soon faded.

"Well, one less person to worry about," Miko muttered.

"Smokescreen wasn't under our supervision anyway," Jack reminded her. "Let's gather up those that are."

"Rusty's already in the trailer," Raf said. "Why don't we go there?"

Miko carried Strongarm and Raf walked along with Bumblebee tottering happily at his side. Jack made sure that Sideswipe was following them before bringing up the rear. He smiled when Bumblebee stumbled and then grabbed Raf's hand for the remainder of the walk to the trailer.

Upon entering the trailer, Sideswipe plopped down on the couch next to Rusty. Miko set down on the other side of Rusty, setting Strongarm down in her lap. Raf and Bumblebee claimed the plushy chair, leaving Jack the option of the rickety, wooden chair or the shag carpet floor.

"What are you watching?" he asked Rusty as he settled on the floor.

"A documentary on cuttlefish," the boy replied. Jack decided that was safe for the audience at hand and didn't make a grab for the remote lying next to Rusty on the couch.

"I'm hungry," Sideswipe whined.

"Dad made sandwiches," Rusty said. "They're on the coffee table under that blue dish towel."

Jack made a mental note to thank Denny later. He hadn't even considered what to make for dinner. Usually, Denny, June, Fixit or Ultra Magnus cooked (or Optimus and Ratchet on rare occasions) and Jack wouldn't have had any idea of what to do.

After everyone had eaten the sandwiches, Raf said, "Bee wants to play a game. Is it light enough outside for that?"

"I believe so," Jack replied, glancing at the grimy window in the door of the trailer. "What does Bumblebee want to play?"

Bumblebee told Raf telepathically – and it was still a major mystery as to why he was the only human who could receive and send Cybertronian brain communications – and Raf relayed, "Hide-and-seek."

"Who wants to play hide-and-seek?" Jack asked the occupants of the trailer.

"Count me out," Rusty said. "There's a program coming up about the animal kingdom's worst killers."

"If the show writers knew anything, Megatron would be on that list," Miko muttered. "Alas, most humans will never realize an alien species lives among them." She turned to Jack. "I do enjoy a game, especially one that involves seeking, but I'll stay here with Rusty and Strongarm."

"And Sideswipe. I am so not playing hide-and-seek. That game is so dull," Sideswipe said, rolling his blue eyes.

Jack grinned. Sideswipe was undeniably Knock Out's son…he had yet to exhibit any of his late father's traits. Of course, Jack hadn't known Breakdown very well, so it was possible that Sideswipe's less Knock Out-like traits mirrored Breakdown's.

"Looks like it's just Raf, you, and me," Jack said to Bumblebee. "Let's go outside. When it gets dark, and if you still want to play, we'll ask Fixit to turn on the lights."

The mute boy grinned, his eyes lighting up with pure joy. Raf and Bumblebee started towards the door, Bumblebee gesturing so wildly that Jack was sure that Raf was being bombarded by telepathic chatter. Jack got off the floor and followed them.

Once outside, the eldest boy said, "You two hide and I'll find you."

Jack covered his eyes with his hands – after promising Bumblebee he wouldn't peek through his fingers – and counted to fifteen, while Raf and Bumblebee hid. Raf was the absolute worst at hide-and-seek , and Jack found him on the other side of the trailer in less than four seconds. Then it was simply a matter of finding a mute, blond toddler.

"Any idea where he'd go?" Jack asked.

"He likes to play around Optimus's semi a lot," Raf offered. "Or Ratchet's ambulance."

"Both of those vehicles are still here," Jack said. "They didn't quite fit for a night out on the town."

The two boys walked toward the back of the scrapyard, where the vehicles that weren't part of the scrapyard set. Left behind at the moment were Windblade's jet, Optimus's and Ultra Magnus's respective semis, Fowler's car, Ratchet's ambulance, and Denny's old, blue pickup. Jack crouched down, looking for feet beneath the vehicles. Spotting none, he straightened back up.

"He could have climbed into one of the vehicles. They always keep them unlocked," he said.

Raf pushed his glasses up his nose. "Most of these vehicles are too tall for Bee to climb into. He could get into Fowler's car, or maybe Denny's truck. It's pretty low."

Jack checked Denny's truck and Raf checked Fowler's car, but there was no sign of Bumblebee. Jack turned back to Raf.

"Can't you just telepathically track him?"

Raf shook his head. "I'd be able to tell if he was hurt or scared, but I can't just locate him. And he's not responding to me, either."

Jack sighed, and then yelled, "Bumblebee, come out! The game's over and you win!"

They waited and Jack turned to Raf, but he shook his head. "He's still silent."

Jack was starting to get worried. The scrapyard was full of dangerous things from discarded junk and Fixit's security system, most of which the engineer had forgotten he had installed. It was dangerous enough for the adults and older kids; it was even more so for a toddler. The eighteen year old forced himself to think.

"Fixit can track all Cybertronians, right?" he asked.

"Due to their specific CNA signatures, yeah," Raf replied. "Ratchet and I helped him update his database with all the Cybertronians currently on this planet."

"Let's go ask him to track down Bumblebee," Jack decided.

Jack and Raf jogged to the very back of the scrapyard, where customers were never allowed. A grounded Cybertronian ship, the Alchemor, was stationed in this area, and housed all the alien-sensitive materials.

"Hello!" Grimlock greeted loudly as Jack and Raf entered the ship.

Raf and Jack waved in greeting. Grimlock was a large man with dark chocolate skin and blue eyes. His black hair was in dreadlocks, with onyx beads placed throughout. He was a special type of Cybertronian called a Dinobot, which meant he transformed into the native prehistoric species of a planet Grimlock took the form of a green Tyrannosaurus-rex, which was a direct contrast to his sweet personality.

Fixit appeared, grinning. His blue eyes were a little too large for his face, made only larger by his round glasses, and his russet-colored hair was often disheveled. As a Mini-Con, he only had the genetic ability to transform into one shape per planet. Most Mini-Cons were animal-formers, but Fixit was a short man confined to an orange wheelchair with large, black wheels. A head injury during the crash of the Alchemor had left him with some faults, but his mind was still sharp (other injuries during the crash might have been responsible for him being in a wheelchair, but Jack had never learned the true cause of his needing a wheelchair).

"Hello, Jack and Rafael," he said cheerily. "How may I help you bay – away – today?"

"We were playing hide-and-seek and Bumblebee is really good at hiding," Jack explained.

"He's still hiding?" Grimlock asked. His eyebrows pinched in confusion.

Jack scratched the back of his head. "Well…yeah."

"You lost him, didn't you?" Fixit asked.

"Well…not really," Jack said. "I mean, you could track him and then he wouldn't be lost."

"The scanners don't work in close proximity," Fixit said, shaking his head. "I could tell you if he's still in the scrapyard, but not where exactly in the scrapyard."

"That's better than nothing," Jack said. He was a bit disappointed that Fixit couldn't be more helpful, but under normal circumstances, it wasn't necessary to track Cybertronians within the scrapyard.

"Wait. You two lost Bumblebee?" Grimlock asked, his voice a little higher than normal.

"Seems that way," Raf muttered.

Grimlock threw his hands onto the sides of his head in alarm. "Optimus and Ratchet are going to kill us! You lost their son!"

"We were playing hide-and-seek. He's hiding, not lost!" Raf snapped. Jack raised an eyebrow at his younger friend; it was rare Raf got annoyed and snapped. "Optimus and Ratchet aren't going to be killing anyone."

Grimlock lowered his arms back to his sides. "Oh, okay. Good," he breathed in relief.

"Right this way," Fixit said, turning his wheelchair and rolling deeper into the Alchemor.

It didn't take long for Fixit to upload the scanner reports. Jack noticed that Optimus, Ratchet, Knock Out, Ultra Magnus, Windblade, Drift, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack were still in Crown City. Smokescreen – and Drift's Mini-Con wolves, Jetstorm and Slipstream, whom he must have "borrowed" – were out in the rural streets around Crown City where racing was popular. Sideswipe, Strongarm, and, more importantly, Bumblebee were still in the scrapyard.

"He's still here," Jack said.

"I'll set the security system to stop anyone from exiting the scrapyard," Fixity said. "The system will be set on the lowest setting to simply stop him from leaving without, well, killing him."

As Fixit began typing, Raf said, "Bee likes to transform into a bumblebee. Can you stop him from flying out of the scrapyard?"

"Easily," Fixit replied. "I'll just put up the invisible force field Chet – bet – net – with holes too small for Bumblebee to fly through, in any form. The force field net shouldn't hurt him much, if it harms it all."

This, coming from the man who had forgotten his own wheelchair was a weapon of mass destruction, was not exactly reassuring. Jack changed the subject by asking, "Fixit, can you turn on the yard lights? The sun is getting pretty low."

"Grimlock, pull the red lever by you, please," Fixit said. Grimlock did so (only afer Raf pointed out which lever to clarify for the confused man) and Fixity finished typing in commands. "There's everything you requested."

"Thank you, Fixit," Jack told him. He started shooing Raf out of the room.

"Good luck finding he – she – Bumblebee," Fixit said with a wave and smile.

"If Ratchet or Optimus ask, uh, I wasn't the one who lost Bumblebee," Grimlock called.

"He's not lost!" Jack cried in exasperation as he and Raf made their exit. Once outside the Alchemor, Jack ran a hand down his face. "Oh, he's so lost."

"He's still not responding to telepathic communications," Raf said, straightening his glasses.

"Okay, if Bumblebee were to get hurt or something, who does he have enough connection to for them to know?" Jack asked. He knew that closely bonded Cybertronians could feel the each other's pain in times of trouble.

"Ratchet, Optimus, and I," Raf replied. Which made sense to Jack. That was Bumblebee's mother, father, and "brother" (he had adopted Raf as an older brother, much as Ratchet and Optimus had adopted Raf as a second son).

It was time for some reinforcements. Jack whipped out his cell and dialed a number locked deep in his memory. Miko answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Jack," she said.

"Where are you?" Jack asked. He started back toward the front of the scrapyard, where the trailer and the main building where.

"The main building," Miko responded. "I left Sideswipe in charge of Strongarm and Rusty while I went to look for some sodas."

"Just stay there," Jack told her. "We've got to discuss something."

"I'll take Rusty and Sideswipe their sodas and meet you outside the main building," Miko said. "See you in a bit."

She hung up and Jack explained his plan to Raf. Then he dialed another number into his phone. "Hey, Mom, how's it going?'

"What happened?" June Darby asked. "I know you didn't interrupt my night out for small talk."

"Actually, I was calling to make sure that you guys hadn't done anything wrong," Jack said. In truth, he had been calling to tell his mom to make sure everyone stayed out as late as possible, but now he realized he couldn't do that.

"Well, Knock Out may have gotten some paparazzi after her, but I don't think it bothered her ego much," June replied. "Wheeljack almost caused an issue when she used the word 'bomb' in a public square, but luckily the policeman was very understanding after Fowler told him that Wilma-Jaclyn was a former bomb technician in the Air Force. And Ratchet threatened to stab a waiter with a fork when he dropped a bowl of cheese dip in her lap. Other than that, it's been uneventful."

"You know what, just call me when someone ends up in jail," Jack told her. "You can handle the rest."

"Will do," June said. "Don't call me unless you blow someone up."

"So, how's the night out going?" Raf asked Jack.

"As well as could be expected with that crew," Jack said. "There's Miko." His girlfriend was standing outside, one hand on her hip and the other holding a can of grape soda. She grinned and waved at them, and then frowned as they got closer.

"Where's Bumblebee?" she asked.

"We're trying to find him," Jack told her. "He's rather good at hide-and-seek. Can you think of anything that would bring him out of hiding?"

"How about a favorite treat of his, something that Ratchet and Optimus wouldn't usually let him have because of the negative healthy benefits," Miko suggested.

"Honey," Raf said immediately. "Bee is totally addicted to it, but Ratchet is adamant that the negative effects of the honey outweigh the positive ones."

"Sugar outweighs lessening possible allergies," Miko mused. "I don't think Bumblebee has any allergies, so Ratchet is probably right." She drained the last of her soda and then tossed the can into a recycling bin Denny had set up. "Where's the honey?"

"Probably in the kitchen, Miko, with all the other food," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "Come on."

The trio hurried into the main building and then into the kitchen. The fridge was open and Jack called out to whoever was rummaging through the contents.

"Sweet Solus Prime!" Fixit exclaimed, wheeling backwards and closing the refrigerator door. He almost dropped the plate of chicken he had in hands, most likely for Grimlock. "You fared – cared – scared me."

"Sorry, Fixit," Raf apologized.

Jack didn't even stop to wonder how the wheelchair bound Cybertronian had made it into the building ahead of them and completely unnoticed by anyone. Fixit had a habit of just appearing in places, and it was often joked that he had the power of teleportation and had just forgotten about it along with other things. "Where's the honey, Fixit?" Jack asked.

"Up in the cabinet above the sink," he said, straightening his glasses. "It's beside the syrup and molasses."

Jack walked over, opened the cabinet and got the desired bottle. "Thank you, Fixit. Have a good night."

"Well, I certainly hope I will, but Grimlock is going to be eating this chicken and most likely make a mess in the Alchemor that I'll have to clean up, because, while he is a very nice man, Grimlock is not known for cleaning up his messes – I don't even think he realizes he's made a mess most of the time and –"

"That's nice, Fixit," Miko said, cutting him off before he could ramble on forever.

Fixit just grinned and then rolled out of the kitchen, Raf stepping aside to give him plenty of room. Jack looked at the honey bottle, the smiling bear face that seemed not to care about the anxiety coursing through the teen.

"So…how should we do this?" he asked.

"Pour out the honey into three separate bowls and then walk around the scrapyard yelling Bumblebee's name," Miko said.

"He's not a dog," Jack protested. Then he asked, "Does anyone have a better idea?"

Raf just shrugged. Miko grinned, sensing triumph. Jack sighed and then grabbed three bowls. Pouring the honey into the bowls, he then threw the empty container into the sink to rinse it out later. He handed one bowl to Raf and another to Miko with a warning to not spill it. He led the way outside. Dusk was well underway and it wouldn't be long until it was dark. Luckily, Fixit had come through and the lights were on, washing the scrapyard in bright, artificial light.

"Let's split up," Jack said. "Yell if you find Bumblebee."

Raf walked off without a word, and Jack hoped that he was using his mind to reach out to the missing toddler with telepathy. Miko grinned again, saluted at Jack, and then skipped off. Jack watched them go and then took the middle area of the scrapyard, as Raf had gone right and Miko had gone left.

Jack wasn't sure how long he wandered through the aisles, waving about his bowl of honey and calling out Bumblebee's name. It was long enough for Jack to start to feel foolish and begin to loss all hope in the productivity of their current plan of action.

"I've got something!" Miko yelled.

Jack dropped his bowl of honey and took off toward the sound of her voice. He found Miko looking down at her bowl, a little honeybee sitting on the rim and reaching down with its front legs into the honey.

"Do you think it's Bumblebee?" she asked.

The bee didn't respond, but held a glob of the honey up to its face and began to nibble on it.

"Raf will know," Jack said.

Raf appeared at that time and asked, "Did you find him?"

"Is this him?" Miko asked, moving the bowl closer to Raf. Setting down his own bowl, Raf look at the honeybee.

"He's not answering me, but Bumblebee hasn't been answering me all night," he said. "It might be him."

Miko yelped as the bowl slipped from her fingers. Jack lunged for it, but only succeeded into getting his hands covered in honey. The bowl thudded onto the ground and Raf cried out as he realized the same thing that Jack had – that the bowl had landed on the bee. Jack picked the bowl up and finally located the bee among the honey and dirt. The bee kicked its legs once and then stilled.

"We killed Bumblebee!" Miko shrieked.

Raf picked up the bee and gave it a little shake, but it didn't move. He looked up at Jack, devastated. "What now?"

Jack felt numb. "It might not be Bumblebee." The words sounded hollow. They hadn't seen another bee in days. "Let's just go back and get cleaned up. Take the bee."

"I call not telling Ratchet and Optimus," Miko muttered. She turned and walked back. Raf followed her, staring down at the dead bee in his hands. Jack followed them.

No words were spoken as they reentered the kitchen. Jack washed his hands and then the rinsed out the honey bottle before tossing it in the trash. Raf had set the bee on a napkin. Miko looked at Jack, her brown eyes full of grief. Raf just stared at the dead bee.

"We should recycle that bottle," she said softly.

"It's in the trash already," Jack replied numbly.

Miko reached into the trash to pull out the honey bottle. Without another word, she walked outside of the main building to deposit the bottle in the recycling bin. Raf watched her go in silence.

"Jack, Raf, come quickly!"

Jack rushed outside to see Miko staring at the kids, who must have finally gotten bored and come to see what the others were up to. Rusty and Sideswipe were both frowning. Strongarm was held securely in her half-brother's arms. And Bumblebee was standing between Rusty and Sideswipe. He grinned when he saw Raf and rushed over to hug him.

"He's not dead!" Raf cried, hugging him back.

"Where has he been?" Miko asked.

"He came into the trailer when you left to get the sodas," Rusty said.

"He covered himself up in a bunch of blankets and went to sleep," Sideswipe added. "I guess you didn't see him when you came in to give us the sodas."

"That's why you weren't answering me – you were sleeping!" Raf said. He ruffled Bumblebee's blonde hair with a grin.

Jack and Miko shared a relieved look. "I still say we shouldn't tell Ratchet and Optimus that we thought we had killed their son," she whispered to him.

"Agreed."

"The others are coming back," Sideswipe said.

Indeed, the scrapyard door slid open and a host of vehicles poured in. The kids rushed over as their parents exited the vehicles. Miko, Raf, and Jack followed them more slowly.

Windblade and Drift walked off without a word, though Drift looked around in confusion as if he couldn't figure out why Slipstream and Jetstorm hadn't immediately run to him. Denny ruffled Rusty's hair before the young boy could duck.

Wheeljack looked around and then asked no one in particular, "Where's Smokescreen?" Bulkhead glanced around as well after hearing his wife's question.

Knock Out grinned and took Strongarm from Sideswipe. "Hello, pretty girl. Of course, you aren't as pretty as me."

Ultra Magnus just handed Sideswipe a box, which Jack figured held the dessert he had been promised. The redhead jerked open the box, grabbed the fork held within, and began chowing down.

Ratchet, whose white dress was stained where the waiter had dropped cheese dip on her, picked up Bumblebee with a laugh and gave him a quick kiss on the temple. Optimus just smiled at the two of them.

Fowler and June walked over to Jack. "I see that no one got arrested," Jack said in a teasing manner.

"I see you didn't kill anyone," June replied.

Raf choked and Miko let out a faint whistle. Jack just smiled. "Nope. We didn't kill anyone."

The scrapyard door opened again and Smokescreen pulled in. As soon as the car slid to a stop, Slipstream and Jetstorm jumped out of the window and took off in the direction that Drift and Windblade had gone. Smokescreen stepped out of his vehicle.

"There's Smokescreen," Bulkhead said, pointing at him. Wheeljack just crossed her arms and gave her husband a look, arching an eyebrow.

Denny produced a large pitcher. "Look, I got this tea from the restaurant we ate at. All we need to do is add honey and we'll have the best drink in the whole universe."

"I'll get it," Optimus said. He disappeared into the main building, thanking Jack, Miko, and Raf for watching over the other children as he passed them.

"Should we tell them?" Miko asked.

"Not a chance," Jack said. "Just smile and wave, boys. Just smile and wave."

"Nice Madagascar quote," Miko grinned.

Raf elbowed Jack. "Here he comes."

Optimus stepped out of the main building with a frown. "Where's the honey?"