The First Noel Chptr 1.

This story is going to be set in the IDW Transformers universe when the very first of the bots were just getting to know, and protect the planet and the people that live there. Again I do not own any of the Transformers characters, all rights to them belong to Hasbro and IDW.
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Winter in Detroit was always a bitter, biting cold that Tanya had become all too familiar with. The piercing frosty day was turning her small fingers numb as she sat huddled inside her make shift-home close to the wall of a brick building. She was only 7, but she had learned quickly where to find warmth. She pulled her hole ridden gloves from her hands, and held them up to a vent in the wall. Warm air was continuously flowing out, and providing a faint comfort to the area around her, but she couldn't stay there.

Mama had left a while ago, to find something to eat, and would be mad if Tanya hadn't done her part too. Tanya spent most of her time gathering coins that mama exchanged for food, and mama always said if she had no coins she had no food. She was always by herself, mama told her it was better that way, they got more coins if she was alone. So she pulled her socks up as far as they could go, and pushed her fingers into her gloves, making sure to cover the dark bruises on her wrist. She grabbed a handful of papers and stuffed them into her old jacket remembering how Daddy had told her to keep the heat in.

She missed her Daddy, but mama said he was gone, and he wasn't coming back. She frowned at the thought of the words mama had screamed at her that night. The clear fiery blame that surged from her mothers mouth cut through her like a hot knife in butter. It was the first time she could remember crying so hard.

She quickly shook the horrid memory from her mind, it was long ago, and mama had taught her real quick that tears like that only cause her more pain. She looked down to the ground and picked up her teddy, the old bear had been a gift from her father three years ago. It was the first Christmas they spent on the streets, and the last Christmas she spent with her father. he had spent all month collecting coins to buy it for her. Teddy was now dirty and ragged, but not any less important to her.

  On the ground was a dirty piece of cardboard with letters on it. Mama had written it, and shoved it into her lap last week. More coins came when she held it, so she picked it up, and sat down on the street corner with her hand out. The wind whipped through her hair, piercing through her cloths, and chilling her to the bone. As she sat there shivering, she held her hand out to any passers by that might offer some money to her. People came and went, passing her by, and making an obvious effort to avert their gaze. A tall man in a suit dropped a few coins into her hand, and she gave him a small grin as he left. He might be the only one to help her today, but she was grateful nonetheless.

She held her hand out once again, but a crowd across the street caught her eye. The red and white was the first thing she noticed, and recognition filled her eyes with light. Santa had come to the mall. Excitedly, She bolted from her corner as fast as she could, and ran into the road ahead of her. The thought of what she would wish for this Christmas filling her mind, she barely noticed the sports car that was quickly heading in her direction.

It came to screeching to a halt at her side. She let out a scream in her panic, as she cringed and fell to the ground. The car's horn roared loudly at her, but she quickly shot back up and kept running. Nothing would stop her from telling Santa what she longed for this Christmas. Her wish was more important than any possible danger that she faced.

She slipped through the crowd, crawling under legs, and shoving past other children until she made it to the front. She could feel the smile stretching her lips as she looked up at him. His beard came down almost to his belly, and his belly came out almost as far as a beach ball. He was so clean, she looked down at her battered old dress and scarf. Trying hard to brush the stains from her cloths she smiled meekly in the old mans direction. He kindly smiled back at her from his chair, his bag of toys sitting by his side, she wanted something so much more than any toy. One of his elves bent down to look at her, a perceptibly forced happiness emitted from her, making Tanya feel completely unwelcome.

"Hi sweetie, do you want a picture with Santa?"

She nodded slowly in reply, her eyes still fixed on the man that could grant her deepest desire.

"Alright, then do you have 5 dollars?"

As the condescending question rang in her ears, Her hopes sunk. She hadn't seen any paper money in weeks.  

"Well honey, the sign says 5 dollars to sit with Santa. Maybe if you ask your mom she can help you."

Tanya turned away from the forced smile that spread across the elf's face. Downcast, she headed back to her corner. She had seen the sign, but had never learned to read. She wasn't even sure what the sign mama had written for her said. She only knew that it got her coins, and all coins went to mama.

 Her emotions sunk again as she glanced across the street, and caught sight of the last person she wanted to see. Mama was standing on the corner, she wore a face smeared with old make-up, and rage. Tanya knew what followed that kind of look, and swallowed hard as she made her way back to the corner. The corner was her spot, and she was supposed to stay there. Leaving the corner meant leaving the money, and the money was the only thing that kept mama happy.

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Jazz, was gonna get an earful from Kup and he knew it. He hadn't even been on earth two weeks, and already he had almost hit a small human. No, a child, he had almost hit a child. She had come out of nowhere, running into the street like Blur when he's drunk. Had he not been paying attention he would've killed her, but his field training for the new planet had really paid off. These humans, so small, fragile, and unpredictable. It was almost like the girl didn't care that her life could've easily ended had he not stopped.

He had been following a lead, there had been decepticon activity in the area, and he had picked up on what he thought were two energon signatures near by. She was lucky it was him, and not the bots who he pursued that she jumped in front of. A decepticon wouldn't have thought twice about sending the young human flying, they would probably take pleasure in it. He couldn't help but picture it, a broken little human on the ground. If he had hit her, he would feel awful sure, but it she was just one out of 7 billion right? The important part would have been that he saved the other 6,999,999,999 from the decepticons. 

"Jazz, ya catch em yet kid?"

The com dragged him from his thoughts.

"Nah, not yet. Are we sure they're in this area?"

"Energon signatures showin em just around the corner from ya."

"Kup, i've been following the signature around the for a while now. This is my third lap around he same block, i'm not seein' any cons man. You sure the sensors are correct?"

He turned the corner again, and was surprised as same little girl started to cross in-front of him again. He came to a slow stop as she somberly walked into his path. She moved much slower this time, and was easy to avoid. Her head was down, and he swore he could see something shimmering in the corner of her eye. He studied the little creature as she walked.

There was a dirty toy animal held loosely in he arms, a teddy bear. For the first time he noticed what a ragged little thing she was, holes all throughout her cloths and mud smudged on her face. As she reached the other side an angry looking woman yanked the girl by the wrist, and began to scream in her face.

He watched as the girl pursed her lips, but didn't scream or cry. In fact she showed very little emotion at all. She simply looked to the pavement with an emptiness that gave him a sinking feeling. His previous thoughts brought a tinge of guilt to his spark, this human was already hurting. How could he be justifying causing her more pain?

"Jazz? Jazz, yer audio receptors working?"

He turned his attention back to Kup.

"Yeah, I heard ya. They're jammin the signal, at least that means we're close. It's almost night fall, i'll hang here for a while and see what i can do. Let me know if you crack it."

He turned into the parking lot, and slipped into a spot with a good vantage point. He needed to keep an optic on his surroundings in case the cons were to show up. He couldn't help but let his attention wander over to the small girl. The woman forcefully dragged her to the side of the building, screeching in her face like a banshee. She kept quietly looking down at her feet as the woman continued to berate her for whatever wrong she might've committed, and sympathy welled in his spark. Surely this little thing didn't do something so bad as to deserve such a harsh verbal lashing. 

Finally the woman stopped shouting, and held out her hand. The kid reluctantly reached into her pocket and pulled out a few coins. She handed them over, and Jazz cringed inwardly as the sound of a harsh slap echoed through his audio receptors. The little girl slipped back into a box, light reflecting from her water filled eyes as the other human stomped away in rage.

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Tanya sunk to the ground, backing slowly into her box, as she rubbed her stinging cheek and choked back her sobs. Mama hit her hard this time, and now her cheek felt like a hot iron. She had made nothing today, so she would go hungry tonight. Worthless was the word her mother spat at her most, not the coins but Tanya herself. It wasn't unusual, an unproductive day earned her a new mark to cover and a empty stomach at night. 

Thankfully, mama had left, she had to make up for the money that Tanya failed to get today. Which meant she was gonna spend the night alone now to make up for her uselessness. She knew that the bite of the frost during the day turned to a burning freeze during the night. The warm flow of air that kept her content in her box would disappear as soon as the shop keeper left, and if she didn't find shelter the cold would turn her purple at best. 

She could see the sun setting, and the temperature dipping as she pulled her socks up. The shakes were already rattling her done to her bones, and with the little amount of food she had had this morning, she could feel weakness creeping in. She surveyed the parking lot in-front of her. Maybe, if she was lucky, one of the night time people left their car unlocked. She had only done this once before, and was given an earful by a big scary man the next morning, so she had to be careful not to sleep too late.

She set off into the parking lot, chattering and shaking against the harsh cold. She made sure check the locks on each car she passed, hoping for sanctuary somewhere. A big blue truck that stood high on over sized tires drew her attention, and she made her way towards it. She struggled to climb the steps, but heaved herself up to yank on it's shiny silver handle. Immediately, the trucks alarm began to wail loudly.

Startled, Tanya slipped from the step and fell to the pavement below. She quickly wiped the snow from her behind, and scrambled to the end of the row. Rapid clouds of breath escaped from her mouth as she peaked out to make sure she hadn't been noticed. Her eyes stopped as they landed on the sight of a familiar white sports car in the spot across from her. A small smile tugged at her lips as she noticed the door had been left open. It was almost like it was inviting her to safety and warmth. 

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Jazz had sat there constantly scanning for enemies, but nothing had come up, and the coms were still silent. He felt guilt and sympathy tug at his spark as he watched the little humans struggle for shelter. She was abandoned, and vulnerable to the elements, it was obvious. It would mean nothing if he spared her life earlier only to watch her suffer, that was plain as day, but he would be severely be breaking the rules if he caved....Damn his soft spark to the pit! He had to help her, after what she had been through she deserved a safe place to sleep. He held his door open for the little girl, an invitation.  

He kept completely still as the girl's eyes darted warily around the area. Once she was sure there were no other humans near by, she climbed into his open door. He felt her tiny hands tug his door shut, and silently he locked her in. She curled into a ball around her toy trying to get comfortable. Once she settled, he could feel her tiny form shaking rapidly in his seat, doing everything it could to warm up. Slowly, and silently he did his best to warm the air inside his cabin. Gradually her shaking stopped and was replaced by the sound of her soft intake of breathe. She had fallen asleep, her little puffs of air were a content sound that eased his spark. Like a rhythm that helped him focus as he continued his scan through the night.