HEY! So I know its been like forever since I last posted, but I promise to do better! Well, no for sures but there will be more effort added to this story. Now, this chapter is gonna be kinda slow, but I am setting up for some major action to come and I just was having trouble getting out the inbetween stuff so this is what I got for ya. I hope you enjoy!

"…No."

Erika's face went from pure white to bright red in about 2 seconds as Carolyn winced. The other two girls flinched away while everyone else around the table looked at each other, confused. They didn't have long to wait….

"You WHAT!" Erika screeched, standing abruptly, sending her chair toppling over backwards.

"Hey! I know, I did it! I went out and did exactly what I told you not to!" Carolyn stood, ready for a fight.

"Yeah, that's exactly what you did! You hypocritical bitch!" Erika snarled, storming around the table. Will stood as though to cut in, but Carolyn waved him off as she met Erika half way. Erika swung a punch at her again, but Carolyn ducked and wrapped an arm around Erika's neck, the other bracing against her neck, forcing her down against the table. Will winced this time, having seen Carolyn do such a move many times, quite of few of those times he had been involved in as the one being held down.

"Now, now, Erika, no need let your temper get the best of you," Carolyn held Erika down, waiting for her to cool off. "Yes, I know I went out and did the exact thing I lectured you on over and over again not to do and yes a child is now involved but that does not mean you go and lose it. I'm not letting you go till to relax."

"I hated it when you did this back then and you just rekindled that hate," Erika hissed.

"This is payback for everything you've done to me. Now we're even," Carolyn smiled as she let go, taking a step back and crossing her arms. "Better?"

"Sure," Erika sighed as she straightened, glaring at Carolyn.

"Good. Now, I'm sorry," Carolyn nodded. "Hungry?"

"Yes, that thing that brought me here didn't have anything for me to eat and it's a long drive from Canada to Chicago," Erika smirked a little.

"Ironhide," Will corrected as he moved to Carolyn's side. "His name is Ironhide and he is a Cybertronian, an Autobot."

"Whatever, I'm hungry."

"Don't mind her, honey," Carolyn took his hand and led him out of the conference room. "She's controlled by her stomach most days."

"I take offense to that!"

"Just come with. Food is upstairs, Energeon is downstairs, simple as that," Carolyn called over her shoulder as she and Will strode across the hanger.

On the outside, NEST headquarters looked cold, unforgiving, deadly. The inside, however, was an entirely different matter….if you knew where to look. Up, in the higher reaches of the NEST headquarters, in the section that was seen above ground, was an area where the human counterparts of the organization lived and they liked their humanity. So, there were gardens and large rooms filled with the little things that helped the soldiers get close to normal after their missions. Private chambers were set aside for each man or woman that connected into larger sections, depending on the squad they were assigned to. In the middle of it all, well protected, was the quarters of the heads of the organization. It was a large area, made up of about twenty rooms. Bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, game room, play room for the kids and a dining room made up this central area. Enough space for the people that lived there and any guests they might have. Guests were rare, so it was enough space for everyone on base to come visit and the occasional Autobot.

The girls could not believe that Carolyn Williams, tomboy to the core, was living in such a lavish place as this. Yes, appearances had to be kept up, but this was over the top. Huge TVs in every room, COM systems connecting the entire place. They had peeked into her room and there was no way that Carolyn needed a giant king sized bed all to herself. So, maybe she was trying to make up for the eighteen years of you life where she gave up everything to make everyone else happy, although by the looks of it she was still doing it.

Teddy, Carolyn's little boy, was cute. He had some of the best manners that had ever been seen in a six year old. He had please and thank you well and called all of them "ma'am". Of course, he was also spoiled to no end, but that didn't seem to stop Carolyn from teaching her son that everything came at a price. Little Annabelle Lennox was another story all together. The twelve-year-old girl was on the verge of pulling preteen attitudes, but didn't quite want to. She had just lost her mother and her father was always in the line of danger. So, when they were introduced, she had given them a shy smile before going back to making sandwiches. She seemed to like Carolyn a lot. Did she know that her father was also the father of the little boy she took care of and played with? They all doubted it but it was highly possible the girl already knew the truth.

What little they saw of the living space of the human NEST operatives gave them all a little insight into what they were dealing with. These people risked their lives and the lives of their families to protect beings that in return gave their undying loyalty to them. The Autobots weren't just aliens to them, they were living beings with as much right to exist as they did. You insult one of the Autobots and you had a whole human army to deal with. It was like being back in high school, where the guys all babied their cars except now it was like ten guys protecting one car. Or one very pissed off gal who wasn't afraid of snapping your neck after just painting her nails. And that gal was right at home among all the craziness. Nothing phased her as she led them on a tour of the base after lunch. Not the huge robots that turned into cars, not the random battles between humans and the robots, not the insanity of any of her warriors. Not the long hours or the dangers of never coming back. Not the undercover missions or that her car was also her driver and personal bodyguard. Not that her son's friends were mainly adults or that the majority of the world hated her for no good reason. She took it all in stride and just kept going. This was not the girl they had know for a large portion of their childhood. This was the woman who had replaced her, had made her whole. The scary part about it was that it bothered all of them. She wasn't the same anymore, she had completely changed. But they all agreed that they would accept this new person because this new person was happier than the girl they had used to know.

So that was how Erika, Amanda and Emily all decided that from that day forth, they would fight alongside the Autobots. If only they knew how much it would dearly cost them in the end.