Chapter 3

The red armor shined under the artificial light. She pressed the bent piece to the steel frame, testing it's shape to make sure she had altered it enough to comfortably fit. Small, experienced fingers pressed along the curves and seams until she eased the plate into it's place. A smile graced her face as she leaned back, wiping her hands on her grease-stained jeans.

The artist leaned back, putting her hands on the cool concrete behind her, to take in her newest creation, green eyes scaling over battle-worn armor.

A red creation stood raised on it's rear legs, three-toed feet spread to hold it's weight. A half-finished tail curled around it's feet and a dark gray belly led up to an armored chest and grasping fore-claws.

Gears smiled as she pictured the finished product in her mind-a rose red dragon posed to defend.

The smile turned into a full grin when she heard the sound of a raising garage door behind her. Sure enough, a familiar voice called, "I says, hi misses James!"

Gears turned to face them as the Dodge Charger rolled inside her newly rebuilt shop, now taller and wider to accommodate her growing family. A certain skinny blonde was half hanging out the back window, a big grin on his face, "Demi and I brought you home some grub so you don't have to go slay a goat or anything...I'm not complaining about your cookin' or anything, trust me. In fact, I'd eat Pockets here if you stuck him on the stove! You're that good!"

Pockets unfolded out of the passenger side with a little scowl on his face, "Hey mom."

"Hey babies," Gears pushed herself up and walked closer. Her oldest met her halfway and wrapped her in a hug that almost swallowed her whole. She kept on smiling, sinking into it. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek when he let her go, then reached out blindly to grab her daughter so she could drag her closer and kiss her on the cheek, "Dem, thank you for picking them up."

She gave her a small smile and eased away when her dark eyes fell upon the sculpture with a hint of wonder, "It's coming along, isn't it?"

"Yeah, what the hell is that?" Rex questioned, reluctantly sliding out of the car. He walked over and parked himself between Pockets and Demona, notably closer to the later.

Poor kid has no clue what the hell he's crushing on. My girl could step on 'em flat. Gears joined them, crossing her arms, "It's a sculpture, Rex. Our own little mascot. It's not finished yet, but it'll be a dragon."

He squinted at it then stepped closer, reaching out like it was some booby-trapped relic. His skinny fingers scaled over the red metal, and his eyes widened, "What the hell kinda metal is this? That ain't no stainless steel."

Gears watched Demona tense slightly. The girl came up with a quick answer, "It's a special kind of alloy, a rarity. Someone dropped a pile of it in the junkyard and mother decided to make it into something."

"Huh," Rex blinked, then turned back to Gears, "I'm friggin' starving. If we don't eat that chicken soon I'm gonna find me some man-flesh."

Gears rolled her eyes, "Alright, set it on the table."

A huge grin spread across his face and he rushed back towards the Charger. Gears snorted when he suddenly froze halfway to fix his hair before he started up again to retrieve some fried chicken out of the back seat.

Gears cast a glance at Demona, "Hey, Dem," those dark eyes immediately fixed on her, soft, "your baby brother should be up from his nap in-"

She cut herself off when an excited squeal echoed through the building, "Bubba! Sissy! You're home!"

And before anyone could process it, a colored blur had streaked across the floor and slammed into Pockets' thick leg in a tight hug before unwrapping to fly into Demona. With her he actually climbed his way up to sit on her hip, immediately turning to braiding her long dark hair.

Demona was completely at ease with it, and put an arm around him to secure him. She smiled sweetly when Pockets shot her a look. Gears' oldest son grumbled something along 'playing favorites'.

Gears chuckled softly, "C'mon, kiddos, let's eat."


X.X wow guys, sorry for a short crappy chapter...But I just got back from a huge family reunion where I was hugged and glomped by a bunch of old people I've never met before and I'm tired...

Anyway, a bit of home-life for the family...And keep an eye on that sculpture *Hint, Hint. Wink, Wink*. For my action-lovers, there won't be much for a few more chapters...just trying to get a family thing situated here...and we will be seeing the autobots soon...

Anyway, I'm about to pass out...love ya guys.

Demona and her family and the story belongs to me. Transformers does not.