Here you go! Enjoy! Thanks so much for the reviews. You guys are awesome!
I do not own anything from Transformers.
Gabby tried to rush around as best she could to get dressed. She didn't bother drying her hair smooth, so she just put it up in a loose bun, which resulted in a lot of cursing from the pain. She figured the meeting would be about protection and maybe some chitchat about other things, so she just slipped on jeans and a black T-shirt.
Bee had insisted on waiting outside while she did her personal things, even though she said it was fine for him to stay in the house. She was still fascinated by his holoform. What an amazing piece of technology. She would have to ask him how they did that. She was practically salivating to find out.
Gabby came back out to her living room, and sat down. Groaning again. Bee came back in and gave her a sympathetic look. Gabby looked around a little embarrassed about how the house looked. She was remodeling, but still the place looked like a Decepticon was here. She laughed to herself at that thought. God, I am comparing things to robots now, please help me.
Her and Bee spoke some while they waited. He talked about Cybertron a little to her, and Gabby was enthralled the whole time. She also found out they were made of trilithium steel. Gabby had never in her life heard of that. It obviously still could rust if given the right environment, but she thought of regular Earth steel, which is iron and carbon based. Though she figured they had to be some type of advanced galvanized steel. I am such a nerd.
She was still trying to do the calculations in her head, when the doorbell rang. CO2? No way! It had to be a completely different chemical makeup, and one that humans can't even fathom.
Gabby came out of her thoughts and went to answer the door. Bee stood up behind her. Gabby could see a couple of military vehicles parked around in front of the house. She then spotted the semi, and the Hummer rescue vehicle. Her heart started pounding at the thought of Optimus Prime being here. She wondered if he would scold her again. This time she would be more mentally prepared, she thought defiantly. Something else caught her eye. There was an unmarked black Chevy Tahoe there as well. She wondered if that was another autobot. She was kind of happy to see Ratchet here; maybe he could help her neck heal a little faster. Impatient, I know.
She opened the door and saw that 5 men were standing there. The first was Lennox, the second was an African American man, very muscular, and tall. He was also bald, but his head was covered by military garb. Lennox had on a similar uniform. The third man was shorter than Lennox and the black man. However, she could tell he was really high rank. He had gray hair, he was clean-shaven, and wore an air of authority about him, and Gabby guessed about mid to late fifties. She could have sworn she had seen him somewhere before.
Then there were the two men in civilian clothing. One was about 6ft 2 with graying brown hair, and a slight mustache. Well built, and had on brown khakis with a white doctor's coat, and a yellow shirt underneath. Those blue eyes wow! That had to be Ratchet. The other man was tall! About 6 ft 5 with dark brown hair, and a full goatee, and wore a pair of dark blue jeans, and a lighter blue T-shirt. Also, well built. My God he was gorgeous. Gabrielle…..
Gabby's heart started pounding again. It seemed like ages when they made eye contact and stared at each other. Those eyes. They just glowed. Gabby felt like she was not going to be able to catch her breathe. Calm down! He stared right back at her, and she felt this electricity course through her body. She felt her face blush. He seemed to scowl a little, and heard Lennox clear his throat, which made Gabby come back to reality. She felt like such an idiot. Ratchet seemed to find the situation funny, and turned away clearing his throat. She suddenly wanted to punch his human form.
Finally, the shorter man spoke up. "Are you Ms. Gabrielle Jane Ryan? Daughter of Sergeant Major William Theodore Ryan of the 253rd Battalion last commanded out of Fort Dix?"
Gabby straightened up. Cursing herself, and her damn neck pain. "Yes, sir."
The man nodded, and said, "Ms. Ryan, we would like to speak to you about the incident that took place last night, and speak to you about another offer."
Gabby frowned a little. An offer? She remembered Bee saying something about that, but ignored it. She thought she heard Optimus growl a little. For now, she would ignore it. Well, maybe….
The man spoke again, "I am General Glenn Morshower, ma'am. I am the Joints Chief of Staff, and I make the final decisions in NEST Command."
Gabby could not believe her ears. She knew him! She actually had the Joints Chief of Staff standing in her doorway. What the hell did she do to deserve this? Was she going to be charged for treason or something? All these thoughts ran through her head, and the black man cleared his throat. It was obvious they were getting uncomfortable standing there.
"Forgive me. This is not what I was expecting. Please, come in," she said. She turned wide-eyed at Bee who gave her a reassuring smile, but Gabby didn't feel so reassured.
Her hands shook as she turned again as the men walked into the house one by one. Ratchet smiled at her, but it was Optimus who had the serious look on his face. She was about to get lost in those eyes again, when Morshower spoke up.
"Ms. Ryan, you already know Lennox, and this is the autobots in their humans forms. This is Chief Master Sergeant Robert Epps, second in command to NEST."
Gabby shook his hand, and he gave her a big smile, sensing her nervousness. Boy, he was handsome.
Gabby sighed a little, still trying to calm down. "Excuse my mess, I am renovating this house. Please, make yourself comfortable. Can I get anyone something to drink?"
She knew her voice was shaking a little. Stop! But, the Joint Chief of Staff was in her living room. Jeez!
Gabby tried to ignore her pain, as she went to get some of her dining room chairs, since she did not have enough seating for all of them. She only had her recliner and her sofa.
Just then Lennox spoke up. "Please, Ms. Ryan. Sit down; we know you must be hurting this morning. We can help ourselves."
Lennox offered her the recliner. Gabby was actually grateful, and sat down. Morshower and Lennox sat down on the sofa, and Epps went to get something to drink. "Epps really?" Lennox sighed.
Epps scoffed, "What? I'm thirsty."
Gabby told him where the glasses were, and laughed at Morshower and Lennox looking at each other rolling their eyes. Epps came back out, and sat down. He took one of her Sunkist Orange Sodas. Gabby knew soda wasn't healthy, but she was sucker for those things. He must be too, because he was grinning widely.
She noticed Bee, Optimus, and Ratchet still standing. Optimus was behind her, and she could feel his eyes staring into her back. Which made her a little uncomfortable, and her chest slightly constrict. She wished he would stop doing that!
"Ms. Ryan, I am going to get straight to the point," Morshower started. Oh good! Gabby hated beating around the bush.
"Ratchet, there, passed me your information last night. I am in town for inspections right now at the current NEST Base here in Chicago as it is being re-built."
He quieted for a moment as Lennox handed him a briefcase. He opened it and took out some paperwork. Looking it over, Gabby felt nervous again at the sudden quiet. She was glad when he spoke again.
"We have already run a background check on you, and see you graduated with Honors with a Masters in Engineering from the Rutgers University."
He looked over them again. "With a minor in Chemistry." He looked up at her. "Quite an accomplishment."
Gabby sat there and wondered what Ratchet was doing with her information, and why they were talking about it.
"Thank you for the compliment," she said, but still completely confused.
Morshower continued, "No criminal history, no conflicts of interest. You moved out here and started working for TRC Engineering almost a year ago, correct?"
Gabby nodded getting more and more nervous about where this was leading. "Yes," was all she could muster, and it came out more of a squeak! Godammit!
Lennox flashed her another reassuring smile, but Gabby could still feel blue eyes boring into her back. She also heard Optimus shift on his feet a couple of times.
Morshower finally sensed her nervousness. He lowered the papers. "Ms. Ryan, please relax. You are not in any trouble. I do not approve of a civilians getting involved in Autobot affairs, I have to admire your brave decision, although, it could have been costly. I do know your father personally, so I can see where you got that from." Then he smiled.
Gabby relaxed a little, especially him talking about her dad. "How do you know my father, sir?"
He waived his hand a little. "We served in Kuwait together. You could not have been more than 7 or 8 at the time. I never understood why he didn't move further into the ranks, but we all make choices. I remember him telling me he was peeved at your brother for going into the Navy. I also met your mother a few times, very nice lady."
Both Epps and Lennox snickered. Gabby laughed out loud. That was always the joke in the family. Her dad and Michael went at each other for hours over it. "Yep! I don't think Dad ever really forgave him till Michael's daughter was born." She smiled brightly at the memory.
Morshower got serious again. "Ok, Ms. Ryan, Ratchet had sold your knowledge to me, and said that we need your help. We are working on a very important project with the Autobots which Ratchet is head of. It is highly classified, so I have already gotten you clearance. If the Decepticons find out, then it could begin a new war, and frankly, that is the last thing we need now."
Were they offering her a job? How in the hell could she, a lowly engineer, help them? Gabby looked around, and seen them smiling at her. She turned and looked at Optimus who was not smiling, but held a steady gaze. There go those butterflies again!
Gabby couldn't help it, she laughed sarcastically. "Me? How can I help you? I am barely five years out of college. Surely, you guys have more qualified personnel in the ranks who have been doing this longer than me."
Ratchet then spoke up, and ignored Optimus's protest. "Actually, Ms. Ryan, when I was checking your background, you had won awards for almost creating a dynamo. We, as autobots, are dynamos in an Earth sense."
"Self-sustaining mechanisms," She finished. "But, I had failed to follow through, and the project stopped because, I could not keep the engines running."
Ratchet looked her over. "Are you not proud of that?"
"Well, I didn't succeed to keep it running, but yes, I am proud of it."
"You see Ms. Ryan, most of the people that had been sent to me were for this project were still stuck in the stone age of fossil fuels, and I need a forward thinker for beyond oil, coal, etc."
Gabby looked down, and up again when Morshower spoke. "Ok, you two are confusing me. You can continue this later, but Ms. Ryan we will need you to accept this offer on paper. Just a word of warning, this will be long hours, and will take a lot of commitment. However, I have guaranteed you weekends off, and vacation time pretty quick after a few months. Is there anything that would keep you from doing this job?"
Gabby thought for a moment. This would be a chance of a lifetime that anyone would jump on. However, she had her doubts. "All I ask is not to stay on base, I know how base living is. Besides, I am working on this house and would like to finish it."
Morshower nodded in agreement. "Done. You will have full protection from here on out as well."
"Protection?"
"You will have a guardian with you at all times," Optimus finally spoke up, and walked over to switch positions so he was diagonal to her.
Gabby shook her head. "Actually, I don't think that will be necessary, will it? I do have a car of my own."
Morshower spoke up again, "Yes, ma'am it will. This is a highly sensitive project and that was my next point. We have to protect those that have this kind of knowledge."
Gabby was starting to get curious as too what this project was now.
"By the way, your car was totaled last night. It will be fully paid for."
Gabby groaned. She loved that car.
"So what is your answer?" Morshower asked.
"You need an answer now?"
"Yes."
Gabby didn't give it another thought. "Yes, I will join your team." The whole time she was looking at Optimus, and he gave no expression with her answer.
"Great. Just sign these," Morshower said handing her a stack of papers.
As Gabby was signing the group started small talk. Gabby was curious, "So, when do I start?"
"Next Monday. I know you need time to heal. Also, we have informed your position at TRC will be terminated starting today."
"So, you knew I would say yes."
Lennox shrugged, "It could have been reversed if you didn't."
After all the paperwork was signed, and pay was agreed upon, which had Gabby smiling brightly, she could finally get her roof done, she finally asked, " So, now what is the project?"
Ratchet stepped forward. "We are working on resurrecting our fellow autobots that we lost. We are starting from scratch."
Optimus stood and watched his fellow autobots leave, along with the humans leave Gabby's house.
He had volunteered to stay with her, unless he was needed and then he would send Bee back. He didn't know why, but he felt the need to be her guardian, and despite his better judgment he stayed.
He had seen Gabby huff when he volunteered, but she kept quiet. They all said their goodbyes, and Lennox and Epps took that opportunity to warn her about Mearing and Galloway. They said, they would show her how to deal with them when she started.
Gabby closed the door behind her, and only slightly glanced at Optimus. He was currently standing at the window adjusting the semi in the driveway. The silence in the house was deafening, and the tension could be cut like a knife.
Gabby took a seat at her kitchen table and started typing here and there on her laptop.
"So, I guess there will be silence." He started.
Gabby glanced at him. "I guess so."
"What are you doing?" Stubborn woman.
"Ordering a pizza, I obviously can't do any grocery shopping so I have to improvise."
"I could have taken you."
"I know."
"Then why won't you let me?"
Gabby finally looked up at him. " Well because my neck hurts, I'm tired, and I don't want to be a bother again."
"That was different."
Gabby's eyes flashed, and she stood up. She walked or hobbled over to Optimus. She finally realized that was at least a head smaller than him, and she was 5ft 8.
"If you are going to be nasty to me from now on, let's get it out into the open now, at least we know where we will stand."
Optimus had to admit he was kind of shocked at her outburst.
"I am not being nasty to you at all. What you did was foolish. Yes, it did land you a job, but I don't have the resources to protect every human who decides to pull that kind of stunt."
"So, I'm a burden? Is that it?"
Optimus sighed. Gabby shook her head, and said, "I have never asked for a thing from you. I don't even want anything from you at all. It was my choice, and I will deal with it. You couldn't even say thank you!"
"Listen, you have no idea what you could be up against. Your stubbornness could get you hurt or worse. I am trying to help you."
Gabby pursed her lips. "By being so fucking mean to me?"
Optimus scoffed. "Is that language really necessary?"
"You're not my mother."
"That was childish."
"You took me to that level."
"Stop blaming me!"
"Then stop treating me like an insolent child!"
Optimus was so exasperated, that he couldn't help but raise his voice. He knew better, he was a Prime, but her stubbornness was getting to him. He looked down into her big brown eyes, and could see the tears starting to well up. Immediately, he felt really guilty. He hated to see a woman cry; even when the femmes were back on Cybertron doing that.
He could see her start to shake a little. Optimus took a deep breath. "I will take my leave, and go recharge. Hopefully, when we are both calmer we can work this out, and come to a mutual agreement."
A tear fell from her eye, and he suddenly wanted to wipe it away, and take her in his arms. He was surprised at the reaction, but did not dare attempt it. He didn't know what it was about this human female that made him have such strong reactions, but he had made a promise to himself that he would never, ever get too close to one. It would be heartache or sparkache for both.
"Ok," Gabby said quietly, bitterly wiping away another tear.
They stared for a moment longer, and Optimus finally turned and walked out the door.
OOOh a fight. =( I know it is pretty far-fetched to bring Ironhide and Jazz back, but hey, it happened in ROTF with Optimus himself didn't it? It will get much better between them I promise, and the story will really start moving now. Optimus will start letting go of his prejudices per se and Gabby will be more open to why he was angry with her.