Family

By Zaru

Summary: Sometimes life can get a little crazy. Especially when you are friends with crazy people. But with those crazy people, they have become but one thing to you… family.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. It belongs to Hasbro. Rose Connelly belongs to BlackwingRose. Zaru, Club Kunoichi, Sakauchi and Arc belong to me. Leiana Lopez belongs to Ninjalala. Jade Rivers belongs to Icarian Angel Wings (Jadedolphin22). Kia Hawkins belongs to weapon13whitefang. Erin Timmons belongs to Strawberrytop007. Piper Somoon belongs to BlackHealer222. Bethany King belongs to Mrs. Optimus Prime.

A/n: This is for my friend Blackwing Rose who's a little down right now. So I hope this cheers you up some, hon. XD ENJOY!

Four years ago, life was simple. There were no wars fought between giant robots. There was no government conspiracy trying to cover up any damage due to what they called 'terrorist attacks'. She worked as a financial advisor for Club Kunoichi and was best friends with the club's owner Zaru Keys. Not to mention she became friends with a couple of the workers there. The fact that she was able to connect with all these different kinds of people, with differing personalities was a miracle in itself. She was a goal-oriented woman with a passion for knowledge. Her friends? Well, they were certainly different that was sure. And having all these kind of friendships and relationship? Well, crazy might not be the strongest word for it.

Twenty-eight year old Rose Connelly sat behind her newly refurbished desk working on her laptop. With so much going on with paperwork, she figured it would be a lot easier to handle everything online. And it definitely was easier. It was so easy, it brought hard working hours down by almost half. That was more than she hoped for. Plus, with the assistant she's had for going on 3 years now, life was a lot simpler.

Her door was knocked upon revealing her assistant of almost three years, Erin Timmons. The strawberry-blonde's hair was a lot longer, almost trailing down to her behind. Her striking green eyes were warmer and she had filled out a little bit more. When they had first met, she was pretty much a skinny college girl needing work and Zaru had hired her to become Rose's assistant. The job schedule worked around Erin's class schedule. Rose had seen to it that the girl had time for herself on days as well so she wouldn't overload. The red tank top and jean mini-skirt she wore with black leggings and flats was a definite fashion change. After all, the girls felt she needed to come out more with style. Especially since her mother was a fashion designer. Erin had learned a thing or two from her mother and that helped when the makeover began.

Now, she was an eccentric part of Club Kunoichi and all the employers enjoyed having her around.

Erin made her way over to Rose's desk and set a cup of tea and saucer on the right side of the desk. Rose looked up happily and grinned.

"English tea, love?"

"The exact way you taught me to make it." Erin sing-singed and sat down in the chair behind her. "So, what are you working on right now?" Erin opened the cap of her soda and took a sip.

Rose sighed. "Well, I've been retracing all the monies we have spent this past year through the club server." She typed a few more keys. "And I'm still wondering how we make a profit with all the work that had to go into renovations and rebuilding in the past few years."

Erin nodded, understanding what her friend and boss was saying. Ever since they knew the Autobots, the Decepticons had plagued the club with a curse for destruction. It seemed at least once a month or so, a part of the club would be damaged. But that was mostly due to Starscream and his attitude with Sideswipe, ever since he was handed guardianship over Erin since Mikaela moved to be with Sam at college. The Decepticon was insanely jealous and would start fights whenever he could.

"Well, I guess some of that could be pinned on Starscream and Sideswipe. After all, when you get those two together in the same room, it's not pretty." Erin shuddered. She had seen her spark mate's anger take over before and she wasn't too happy about it.

Rose just laughed a little and took a sip of her tea. Now that hits it just right. Licking her lips, she savored all the flavor she could before beginning her work again. "I understand what you mean, mate." Her stormy eyes gazed at the screen. "Is Zaru still here, Erin?"

The 21-year-old shook her head. "Nope. She's at Grandpa Sakauchi's with Arc and Mirage. Apparently, he's holding a barbecue for the last day of summer. And we were invited, you know." She dropped out the hint and looked at Rose through her lashes.

"You want to go?"

"Yes, please. I've been looking forward to this barbecue all summer. It's supposed to be the biggest!"

The redhead just nodded and chuckled. "All right." Closing the laptop, she stood and stretched. "Blurr and Sideswipe should be outside waiting for us, right, Erin?"

"Yep. They're outside right now in recharge."

"Great." She answered and gulped down the rest of her tea. "Ah! Let's go."

Sakauchi's Residence

There was a billowy smoke rising in the backyard of the house. Several vehicles were lined up on the street and in the driveway around Sakauchi's home.

Everybody they knew was there. The Autobots along with Starscream and Shockwave were planted against the wall just watching the human females run around in swimsuits all dripping wet. And nobody minded it either.

Leiana kicked up to the surface in the deep end and breathed in deeply. She smirked when she saw Zaru and Maggie in the shallow end talking, their backs turned away from her. Seeing her chance, the Latina dived back under the water and proceeded to scare the hell out of the two companions.

"Ah, shit!" Zaru jumped out of the pool quickly, legs retreating underneath her. "LALA! I'm gonna kill you!" She growled.

Maggie clutched her chest. "Jeez Louise! What the hell did you do that for? You scared the hell out of me, Leiana!"

The yellow bikini-clad woman just snickered. "Gotcha!" Waving, she dived back under the water heading back for the deep end.

"Oh no you don't!" Zaru stood up and dived, unsuccessfully, into the deep end where she tackled the girl underwater and play fought back in the shallow end.

The back gate opened to reveal Rose, Erin, Blurr and Sideswipe.

"Hey, all!" Erin waved cheerily and set a couple plastic bags filled with junk food on the buffet table next to the grill where Arc was flipping burgers, hot dogs and ribs. "Got some extra stuff, just in case."

Arc smiled. "Thanks, Erin. You're a sweet girl." He ruffled her hair and kissed her on the top of the head. "Don't ever stop being a nice girl, huh?"

Rolling her eyes, she swatted his hand away and took a seat in a lounger near the pool.

Rose looked around and saw her spark mate, Ratchet the Autobot medic, sitting in a chair reading a book. That's my Ratch. She started to head over, but was stopped by a huge black and white husky dog, tongue hanging lopsided while panting.

"Awe. Well, hello there, Darkness. How's my favorite dog in the whole entire world?" She leaned down and petted him. He licked her cheek and barked. "Hehe. You are such a loving pup, aren't you?" Giving him a kiss on the snout, she continued her journey over to Ratchet. "Well, hello there, love of my life."

He set down the book and smirked. His blue eyes were covered by dark sunglasses that helped him fit in during the summer day.

"Hello there, my English Rose. And how was your day?" He held out his hand.

As soon as she grabbed it, she yelped when her spark mate pulled her into his lap, arms wrapping tightly around her.

"Well, I had an excellent day, love. Not too much work to do fortunately."

"I would say that is an excellent day indeed."

The gothic redhead looked at him smugly. "You know I haven't had the opportunity to greet you properly yet."

"Hmm." His eyebrows waggled behind the sunglasses and he pulled her into a deep kiss.

She relished the feel of his embrace. The only warmth she felt was from him as everything else was nothing. At least for that moment.

Her long arms wound around his neck loosely the second she pulled away. "I think I like that greeting."

"So do I."

"Rose, so glad you could make it, dear." Sakauchi walked over to her. The old man was still in good health, but he was finally showing his age after all these years. Wrinkles had become known. Especially the laugh lines. His hair was fully grayed and the strength in his hands knew arthritis all too well.

"Hi, Grandpa Sakauchi." Rose stood from Ratchet's lap and hugged the man tightly. "I'm so glad that I came."

"Well, this is, after all, a family get together."

Family… That was a word Rose really hadn't heard in a long time. Especially when her own wasn't around. She looked beyond Sakauchi who had finally took his leave and considered all these people surrounding her.

Zaru. She had been her best friend since she came into the country and began working at Club Kunoichi. Right away the young Britain was accepted into the family. So, yes, she was already family. And considering all the many fights the two have had, whether it be business or personal, the bond between them remained strong and always would

Ratchet. He was her spark mate. So that automatically made him her family as they were a couple. The Autobot was someone who she never thought would be the perfect match for her. But it turned out well. The way he would hold her and kiss her. There was nothing in the world she wouldn't do for him. Their lives were bound together for the rest of her lifetime which she wished was on the better side of forever.

Jade and Leiana. Rose felt a big connection with these two the first moment they stepped into the club for a job. Going to college and trying to find a job that was flexible for them? It wasn't easy to find. But those two made such an impression and an impact on her life, there was no way she could say no to them. Their friendship grew strong and all three became like sisters. Sisters born to other mothers. They say that blood is thicker than water. But sometimes a bond you form between you and someone else can be even thicker. And that's the kind all three of them had formed.

Erin. She was new to the group and very shy. Although, she could tell the girl had the warmest heart anybody could find. After becoming her assistant, Rose attempted to tease the girl a bit to get her out of the shell she put herself in. Erin needed to learn how to speak out loud and say what was on her mind. She was an honest and truthful female who made college and work seem so easy. In fact, she put so much work in that Rose admired the girl for keeping up with all the bullshit and errands. Yeah. Erin became like a little sister who she would protect forever.

Sam and Mikaela. Both of them were good to her. They were easy to talk to and lovable. Even though they weren't as close as she thought they could be after all these years, they still became part of the Club Kunoichi family. And that was more than enough for her.

Kia and Maggie. There was no doubt about it. The Australian definitely was a mother-type figure for all the females. She could be confided in just about anything and was always willing to lend a helping hand when needed. Kia on the other hand had to work hard. The fights between her and Zaru were fewer and far between but the females still held grudges against one another. And Rose felt that it was a sibling rivalry. Yep. Definitely family material.

Piper and Beth. Piper was still a young one. Although it didn't suit the group well at first when they found out she was in love with Shockwave. But somehow, both she and the Decepticon grew on them. So, yeah. She was family. And Rose guessed Shockwave as well since he was with Piper. Beth? There was no doubt Beth was part of the family. With her laid-back personality, cheeriness and wise words, she was also a mother-figure for the group. Especially since she was in a relationship with Optimus which made her Queen Autobot.

Sakauchi and Arc. Sakauchi had been her own 'grandfather' since she worked at Club Kunoichi with Zaru. Not blood, but still her grandfather at heart. Arc was also like a father for her. He treated her like one of his own. Especially when he gave Ratchet a speech about keeping her out so late at night when she had to work the next day. It made her smile so much to know that this man who never knew her until then cared for her. Family man indeed.

Transformers. They all lent a helping hand in some way or another. The group including Starscream and Shockwave saved their lives at least once in the past few years. And having them as guardians and protectors made them all feel safe. They were all close with the humans like family.

Everybody surrounding her had fights. Squabbles. But there was love, laughter and warmth. Nobody was clinging together because of blood. No. They were together because of one thing that bonded them all together. And the one word that would describe those all around her? Crazy. Rose thought. But no. There was a stronger word than crazy. Yeah.

They may be weird, crazy or stupid sometimes. But they were all family and nobody messed with them. If they did, they would have to get through her first.

FIN

A/n: Hey, Rose. I know this doesn't go with your current situation, but I do hope it put at least a little smile on your face. Basically, it's just to let you know that when you are down or upset in one way or another, there's always going to be someone there for you. So, I really do hope you enjoyed. XD

Zaru