the humans almost immediately cave when Reflect appears in front of them, demanding they pay for Noahs brother as promised. he sticks around long enough for them to call the hospital, pay off the debt, and give them an account to charge any more medical bills to, then he heads to the hospital with Epps.

he didn't want to introduce Noah's family to his holoform, so Epps was there to deal with the medical staff.

they roll up to the hospital and, to his utter surprise, Mirages holoform is cradling Kris, while Noah holds his mother.

"deal with the medical staff. I'll handle these guys." Reflect murmurs, activating his holoform.

"no problem Reef." Epps nods. he gets out of the GMC and heads inside. Reflect takes in a deep breath and hops out of the GMC. he heads over to the family.

"Miss.Diaz, my name is Sergeant David Lennox. I'm a friend of your sons." Reflect greets, reaching to shake her hand. Brianna looks at him.

"are you Extranjero, too? like Noahs car?" she ask. Reflect looks shocked. Noah shrugs.

"Sam said he was allowed to tell his parents. I couldn't lie. Kris already knew him." Noah mutters. Reflect nods immediately.

"alright, I'll cut the crap. yes, my name is Reflect. I am the Autobot/human Liaison. your son had the misfortune of running into us. now, he is under our protection. so, Kris' medical bills will be covered. I promise you ma'am. in human terms, I have two kids of my own, one of which is blind. I will absolutely not stand for this. if you have any problems again, have Noah or Mirage contact me. I will get this straightened out. for now, lets get Kris inside and get him the medical attention he needs." Reflect says. he gently scoops Kris out of Mirage's arms.

"y-you're a robot too...?" Kris manages. Reflect nods.

"yup. that big truck, thats me." Reflect smiles at him.

"can... ca-can I see..?" Kris ask.

"absolutely, I'll show you when you're feeling better." Reflect assures gently. "for now, take care of yourself and your mom." Reflect smiles at him. Kris nods a little. Reflect hands him off gently to a doctor, nodding at Epps. "I'll meet you in the truck." Reflect says. he turns to head out, but Brianna slams into him, hugging him as tight as she can.

"¡gracias! ¡muchas gracias! ¡Te debo tanto! ¡gracias! ¡gracias!" she cries hugging him. Reflect hugs her gently.

"don't thank me, thank..." Reflect makes eye contact with Mirages holoform.

"Marco." Mirage says.

"right, well, thank Marco. he called me to tell me you needed help." Reflect says. Brianna lets go and runs after Kris.

"thank you." Noah says, watching Reflect. the man shakes his head at Noah gently.

"call me. if there is a next time, call me. please. I will drop everything to help you everytime." Reflect says softly. Noah bites his lip.

"I dunno if I can." Noah mutters.

"don't be ashamed asking for help kid, okay? I can't help you if I don't know you need help." Reflect says. he pats the mans shoulder and heads back for his alt. Epps follows him. "hungry?" Reflect ask.

"a little." Epps says.

"do you want to stick around with me or do you want to go back to the base, I'm not leaving until I know for sure they're covered." Reflect says.

"can you get me back to the base without hurting yourself?" Epps ask. Reflect nods, holoform climbing into the cab. Epps climbs in after him.

"yeah. I can send you back to the base, I think I can do it without going with you." Reflect says. Epps nods. Reflect turns to look at him. "thanks." Reflect says.

"no problem." Epps smiles slightly. in a flash the mans gone. he pulls into a parking space and settles down, Mirage parks beside him.

why is Epps in our room?

sorry... guess I got the wrong spot when I teleported him home.

alright. you coming back?

no. I want to make sure they take care of this kid.

alright. I'll see you tomorrow, be safe.

I will, take care of the twins. if you need me to come back, let me know.

of course. be safe.

Reflect settles, but its only quiet for a few minutes. he notices Noah walking over. the man leans down to Mirages window, mumbles something to him, and walks around to his driver side. Noah look up at Reflect, afraid to bother the mech, but clearly wanting something. Reflect unlocks his door, popping it open slightly. he doesn't want to hit Noah or Mirage. the man looks grateful and immediately climbs in. he shuts the door behind, looking around the cab quietly

"thank you." Noah says. its almost too quiet to hear.

"of course Noah." Reflect assures. "are you okay? whens the last time you ate?" Reflect frowns.

"its been a few hours. we were worried about Kris." Noah says softly.

"why don't you let Mirage get you and your mother something to eat, alright? I'll stay here with your mother and Kris. okay?" Reflect ask.

"I-I can't leave Kris-" Noah starts.

"you're not leaving forever. you're just going to get food. I'll be right here. if anything happens, I'll contact Mirage. I promise." Reflect assures. Noah nods hesitantly. "no go get you something to eat. take care of yourself okay? your mother has one sick kid to take care of, she doesn't need to worry about you too." Reflect murmurs. Noah nods a little. "and don't ever be afraid to ask for help. we've got you." Reflect assures gently. Noah smiles slightly at the radio.

"thanks." Noah mumbles. he climbs out and pauses. "will... will you go sit with my mom?" Noah ask.

"sure thing kid." Reflect assures. he activates his holoform and hops out of the passenger side of the truck. "go eat, I'll take care of them until you get back." Reflect assures, heading into the hospital. Noah climbs into Mirage and the Porche speeds off quickly. he doesn't want to keep Noah away for too long.

Reflect easily finds his way to Noahs mother, sitting beside her quietly. Brianna looks over at him quietly.

"how is he?" Reflect ask.

"they are still looking him over. I'll be let in here shortly." Brianna says softly. "where's Noah?" she ask.

"I sent him to get some food so he can calm down a little. making himself sick won't make this situation any better. for either of you." Reflect murmurs. Brianna nods before looking at him.

"you were like us once, ¿Sí? ¿humano? human?" Brianna ask. Reflect nods a little.

"yeah. Noah told you?" Reflect ask. she nods a little. "I was, but I absorbed a lot of energy that we call Allspark energy. it was this big cube that could give us life. I absorbed its energy when it was destroyed... then I got crushed and came back in this body." Reflect explains.

"you had a family?" Brianna ask. Reflect ask.

"yes. I had a wife and a daughter... my wife left and took our daughter. they were both killed." Reflect explains. "but when I came back like this, I got a second chance. I am something similar to married and I have a set of twins. a little boy Remix and a little girl Echo." Reflect explains.

"and one of them is blind?" Brianna asks, looking over at him. Reflect nods slightly.

"yeah, unfortunately she can't be fixed..." Reflect murmurs.

"neither can Kris." Brianna sighs softly. Reflect turns his head and smiles at her a little.

"your kid will have the absolute best medical care on the planet and if this hospital isn't working, we will find one that does." Reflect assures.

"thank you." Brianna murmurs. Reflect nods with a small smile.

he sits with Brianna for half an hour before Noah returns with a bag of food for him and his mother. Reflect stands from his seat and heads back outside. Noah comes running after him.

"h-hey! uh, David!" Noah calls. Reflect stops and turns to look at him with an amused smile.

"yeah Noah?" Reflect ask.

"um... if I worked with you guys and stuff, would it make it easier to get Kris taken care of?" Noah ask.

"it might, but I won't force you kid. I will fight for you and your brother with everything I have." Reflect assures. Noah shakes his head.

"um, I have dishonorable discharge..." Noah says hesitantly. "I-I joined then Kris got sick and-" Noah starts.

"shhh. kid. we'll get it wiped from your record. I've read all about it. if you want a chance to work with us, we'll open it up to you and, even if you decide it's not working, we will take care of Kris. don't make a split second choice." Reflect assures. Noah nods.

"what would I be doing?" Noah asks, hesitantly.

"you'd be a base soldier. I wouldn't let them put you out into dangerous situations. we'd find a position for you, hell, Ratchet needs a new human intern. he scared off the last one, but you've got heart. I think you could make it with him." Reflect smiles. "when your brother gets out and is returned home, we'll leave Mirage with your family and got to the base so you can chat with me, Epps, and Optimus. alright?" Reflect ask. Noah nods.

"thank you." Noah says, reaching to shake his hand. Reflect smiles and shakes his hand firmly.

"we'll get you taken care of." Reflect assures. Noah nods and steps back, watching Reflect head outside.

Reflect walks towards his alt form, when Mirages window rolls down.

"if you need to get back to your sparklings, man, I wouldn't blame you. I can call you back out here when Kris gets to head home." Mirage assures.

"I won't stay much longer, I'm just waiting to make sure they're not going to start trouble with Noah and his family." Reflect assures.

"go on back to the base. I know it hurts to be away from them. if anything happens, I can call you." Mirage assures. Reflect seems hesitant, before climbing up into his alt mode. he climbs back down and pushes a cardboard box through Mirages open window, confusing the mech. "what are you-" Mirage starts.

"put that somewhere it can't be seen. its a cube. disguised with my projector. when I find a place to teleport home, the projection will drop." Reflect ask. Mirage's holoform nods a little and smiles at him.

"thanks man, uh, sir." Mirage frowns.

"call me sir again and I'll put my ped so far up your aft it'll come out up your outtake and through your mouth. understood?" Reflect frowns. Mirage nods.

"sure." Mirage agrees. Reflect climbs into his alt and backs out of the parking spot. he drives off, hesitantly. Reflect doesn't really want to leave, but his chest is aching from being away from the sparklings so long. its getting late. it'll take him a while to find a spot to teleport in as, even though its later, there are more people out on foot than there were before.

he drives for just under 2 hours before finally finding a spot and teleporting back to the base.

he winces landing on base. he can hear his sparklings screaming at the top of their voice boxes. its nearing midnight and he immediately feels like he's failed his sparklings, dropping them randomly to go take care of someone elses family.

you guys in our room?

I had to leave for patrol. they're with the twins. Optimus let me stay as long as he could, Barricade took over for a few hours, but he can't be away from Frenzy for too long.

alright.

Reflect transforms quickly, not even stopping for a cube. his system is screaming for one, but he needs to get to his sparklings. he knocks on the door and enters quickly. the sparklings are screaming and the twins look miserable.

"hey, hey. its alright my little sparks." Reflect assures, walking over to them. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe both look relieved.

"we're so sorry. nothing we did got them to stop." Sideswipe says. Reflect scoops them up gently, cuddling them to his chest.

"no its okay. its not either of your fault. I just had to leave and I forgot Ironhide was on patrol." Reflect murmurs. his sparklings go quiet immediately, curling up for recharge. "I'll get out of your plating and get them to bed. I gotta get a cube too." Reflect mutters.

"we'd feel better if you stayed with us. Wheeljack fixed up Hot Rod today." Sunstreaker says. Reflect looks over.

"we even have a cube for you." Sideswipe says, picking a cube up and holding it out. Reflect looks them over and sighs softly, nodding.

"alright. I can stay here." Reflect murmurs. he sifts the sparklings into one arm and grabs the cube from Sideswipe as he walks past. he settles himself into the floor, cradling the sparklings and drinking his cube.

"hey we were gonna share a berth so you guys could use mine." Sideswipe says.

"I won't kick you off your berth." Reflect frowns.

"we'll we aren't going to make you sleep on the floor." Sunstreaker snorts.

"no its alright." Reflect murmurs, leaning back against the wall. he finishes his cube and shifts until he's comfortable. he cuddles his sparklings, ready to fall into recharge right there. he almost asleep, when the twins get up, carefully pick the three up, and load him onto the nearest berth.

"it wasn't really an option." Sunstreaker murmurs softly. Reflect chuckles softly and curls up with his sparklings gently.

"thank you for taking care of them while I was busy." Reflect murmurs.

"no problem Reflect." Sideswipe murmurs. Sunstreaker turns the light off and curls up on the berth with his brother. Reflect holds his sparklings and falls asleep.

its nearing 10 AM when he's startled awake. he's back in his and Ironhides berth, his bondmate must've carried him. he quickly answers his com, as it continuously goes off, when he realizes its Mirage.

"Mirage? hows Kris?"

"better. he wasn't too bad. they're gonna release him today. Noah would like for you to come to the garage though. said you promised Kris he could see you. kids bouncing off the walls. hes excited."

"oh, right. let me find someone to keep the twins."

"why not bring them with you?"

"I know that mech carriers are normal for Cybertonians, but its not for humans, I think they'd just be confused."

"don't tell them you're a carrier then. you already told them you had sparklings, plus it'll keep the little squirts happy."

"alright, but if anything happens to them, its your head."

Reflect looks over at Ironhide still recharging behind him, and carefully gets up with his sparklings. he leaves a note for Ironhide, grabs a stack of sparklings cubes and a couple of cubes for himself, before heading out of their room.

"Reflect? where are you going?" Wheeljack asks. Reflect whirls around.

"oh hey Jack. you scared the hell out of me. I'm taking the sparklings with me. Noahs brother got released from the hospital and I don't want them screaming again the way the were last night." Reflect frowns. "whats up?" he ask.

"oh, I just wanted to see how Echo was adjusting to her new optics." Wheeljack smiles. Reflect frowns. "oh... that bad?" Wheeljack winces.

"she got overwhelmed and overstimulated, but we're going to try to adjust her better." Reflect assures.

"well... if it doesn't work, we can always put her old ones back in. Ratchet intends to keep them. incase she doesn't adjust to these." Wheeljack says. Reflect nods.

"alright. we appreciate it." Reflect smiles. Wheeljack nods and watches Reflect head off with the sparklings. "alright you two." Reflect murmurs, transforming. they both end up in his backseat, seatbelts carefully wrapped around them. "come on here we go. we're going on a little trip." Reflect smiles. Echo, still sound in recharge, gives no indication she's even heard him, but Remix chirps quietly. Reflect smiles and teleports them to the coordinates Mirage had given him.

to his surprise, there's no one in the garage. its empty, but there's plenty of space for himself and Mirage. he scans the room carefully, for later references, to ensure there's nothing dangerous on the floor that his sparklings could get a hold of when he transforms. Reflect settles on his tires silently, rolling into a corner to stay out of the way.

"you guys on your way?"

"we're already here Mirage. ETA?"

"20 minutes or so. we're gonna drop Noah's mother off at the apartment. she's tired."

"sounds good."

Reflect settles quietly on his tires, smiling. Echo stays curled up, sleeping quietly, Remix whines quietly, squirming.

"take it easy Remix." Reflect soothes. he activates his holoform, sits the sparkling up, and buckles the seat belt so the sparkling won't fall. Remix giggles quietly, clapping his little servos happily. Reflect smiles, playing with the little sparkling, using his holoform, until the garage door flies open. Mirage speeds in, drifting across the floor. Mirage shuts the door quickly with his holoform. Reflect shifts, watching Noah and Kris hop out so Mirage can transform.

"hey wow! you're huge!" Kris grins, looking at Reflect.

"step back Kris." Noah chuckles, pulling his brother back.

"hope you don't mind, Ironhide was busy. had to bring the twins." Reflect says, before transforming.

"twins?" Noah asks. Reflect lands with the sparklings settled in one arm. Mirage grins.

"no way! I haven't even gotten to really meet them yet!" Mirage grins. Reflect turns away from him.

"if you want to hold one, you have to sit!" Reflect growls. Mirage pouts.

"its this because that one time I dropped you on-" Mirage starts.

"yes!" Reflect snaps. Mirage pouts but sits himself down. Reflect hesitantly hands Echo over. "if you hurt her, I swear Mirage, I'll beat your ass like I beat Hot Rod. she's blind, be nice." Reflect growls.

"I accidentally dropped you, okay? it wasn't on purpose. I won't drop her." Mirage assures. Kris runs over to him curious.

"what is that?" Kris asks.

"that is my daughter." Reflect chuckles. he sits down, settling Remix into his lap. "and this is my son." Reflect smiles. Kris walks over, looking confused. Reflect puts his servo on the ground.

"wow, you're huge compared to Mirage!" Kris grins, climbing up into Reflects servo.

"thats because Mirage is built for speed and I'm built for destruction." Reflect chuckles, bringing Kris closer to his sparkling. "keep humans away from her Mirage. she likes to grab and squish. she's always hurting Remix." Reflect warns.

"Remix?" Kris ask. "its that his name?" he asks. Reflect nods, watching Noah wonder over to Echo and Mirage, but keeping a safe distance.

"yes. I had a daughter once before... she wanted a little brother she could name Remix. she died in a bad car accident. so me and my partner named him Remix, in her honor." Reflect smiles.

"and whats her name?" Noah asks.

"Echo. she's blind, so the name fits." Reflect smiles. Echo chirps and squirms in Mirages arms. Remix chirps back happily.

"whats that they're doing?" Kris asks.

"sparkling chatter. its like baby talk." Reflect smiles. Remix watches Kris, whimpering and curling up. Reflect carefully sits the boy on his knee and shifts his sparkling. "easy squirt. its okay. Kris won't hurt you." Reflect assures.

"they're afraid of humans?" Kris asks.

"well, sort of. he hasn't had much experience. Echo doesn't notice the difference, because she doesn't see the different. all she hears is voices." Reflect explains. "they're only a few weeks old, not even a month old yet." Reflect says.

"well... where'd they come from?" Kris ask.

"Kris, no." Noah warns.

"actually thats a good question." Reflect assures. "so, we have these things in our chest called sparks. they're like souls. they're our life force." Reflect explains. he grabs Kris and moves him back quickly, before opening his chestplates just enough Kris can see his spark.

"wow!" Kris explains. Reflect smiles a little.

"so, something really cool happens. when I bonded with my partner, which is where we take our sparks and let them mix together so they become one, its like our version of marriage. sometimes it creates extra energy and splits our sparks, creating a sparkling spark. well, sometimes that singular little spark has so much more energy than it should, it splits itself in half and boom, we get twins. they get little bodies with their sparks, but sometimes armor has to be built for them, thankfully my sparklings sparked with armor. so I don't have to worry about them getting hurt like I used to. I didn't have an armor. my caretakers had to build some for me." Reflect explains. Kris nods listening to him.

"cool! so they like, just appear or something?" Kris asks. Reflect doesn't really feel comfortable explaining carrying to the little boy so he simply nods.

"yup. they just appear right there. pretty cool huh?" Reflect asks. Kris nods, leaning forwards to get a better look at Remix. the little sparkling watches him curiously. "Remix be nice, Kris isn't going to hurt you." Reflect assures. the little sparkling hiccups, spitting up energon. "whoa!" Reflect frowns, grabbing Kris and quickly moving him out of the ways.

"whats that?" Kris ask.

"energon reflex." Reflect explains. "its like when a human baby spits up, but energon is dangerous to humans, I don't want you to touch it." Reflect adds.

"uh, can I get you like a towel or something to clean it up?" Noah asks. Reflect shakes his head.

"it'll ruin the towel." Mirage explains.

"thats cool, Reek gave me some old shop towels in for in here. they just went through the washer so shouldn't be anything on them that'll hurt him." Noah assures, getting up and heading out of the room.

"Mirage said he dropped you... what happened?" Kris asks curiously.

"he got distracted while holding me when I was a sparkling and dropped me on my head." Reflect glares at Mirage.

"I'm sorry! it was an accident." Mirage pouts.

"I get that, accidents happen, but I will prevent that accident from happening with my sparkling. because if it does happen, I will scrap your aft." Reflect warns.

"whats that mean? scrap your aft?" Kris questions.

"means I'm going to kick his ass into a pile of junk. I'll squish him like they do old cars in junk yards." Reflect explains. Kris nods.

"hey! when do I get to go meet everyone else like Noah did?" Kris asks.

"sorry little man. we can't take you out there. its too dangerous." Mirage says immediately.

"awww c'mon." Kris pouts.

"sorry bro, Mirage said no. I really don't want you getting stepped on out there." Noah frowns, heading back over towards Reflect. he holds a towel out to the mech, who smiles at him and takes it to clean up the sparkling. "hell, I'm not allowed back out there." Noah shrugs.

"well, if you take the job you will be. you'll be allowed to join the humans out there for family day as well. but the other Autobots won't be allowed out of their alt modes. oh, and Ironhide and I won't be out there. we'll have to keep the sparklings at the base to stay cool and safe." Reflect explains.

"Ironhide? whose that?" Kris ask.

"he's my bondmate." Reflect explains.

"so... like... a husband?" Kris asks, confused. Reflect nods immediately.

"absolutely, just like that." Reflect assures.

"cool!" Kris grins. Noah smiles.

"okay Kris. come on, we've gotta get you back before ma gets upset." Noah says.

"aww okay." Kris pouts.

"no worries, we'll meet up in a few days and go after Bowser again." Mirage smiles. Kris perks up happily.

"thanks Mirage!" Kris grins, running over to Noah.

Reflect watches the two leave before reaching for Echo.

"I gotta get back to the base. Ironhide'll be awake soon. I don't want him knowing I left the base with the sparklings, without him." Reflect says. Mirage nods and takes Echo back over to Reflect.

"well, thanks for stopping in and helping." Mirage says. Reflect nods.

"how is the guardianship going?" Reflect ask. Mirage shrugs a little.

"its... getting better. but living outside in his alleyway is boring as hell, I'm always cramped up." Mirage mutters. Reflect nods.

"well, if he decides to move out, we'll get him a place paid for by the government that you can have space in." Reflect assures.

"really?" Mirage ask.

"yeah. I'll have to check with Optimus first to make sure I'm correct, but I'm pretty sure." Reflect says. Mirage nods.

"thanks." Mirage smiles. Reflect nods, cuddling his sparklings and teleporting out of the little garage.