Author's Note: While hanging out with Jack at the KO Burger, Quickslinger has an encounter with Wheeljack and his family and asks about his life. What happens when she gives him advice about a personal problem?

Chapter 7: For Here or To Go

"This is a bunch of crap." Quickslinger grumbled. "The school really expects us to sell junk to people within a couple of weeks? They never made us do this back in the city!"

"That's just how some schools are." Smokescreen chuckled. "They try to do anything to raise money for new supplies; small-town schools are hit the hardest by cut-backs."

"Yeah, well they always try to trick us by saying if we sell so much, we get prizes!" She suddenly snorted. "As if! It's just a trick to get us to sell all the junk; there's no prize at all!"

The redhead laughed again, just because he knew she was right. His laughter stopped when a purple cell phone started ringing to Ellie Goulding. Quickslinger threw the Avon magazine on the table and answered it.

"Hello? Oh, hey Dad. …I'm doing fine; the school's just forcing us to do a stupid fundraiser. …Huh? Wow, managed to finally get a vacation, huh? …Oh, I'm sure Optimus won't mind at all; there are plenty of rooms, and Ratchet could help out. …Okay. Yeah, I'm fine with it. …Okay, I love you too. Bye." She hung up the phone and let out a sigh. "My dad finally got a vacation from his office, and he wants to come over for a visit next week."

"All the way from the city? He must really miss you."

"Yeah…and I miss him too. He said he was gonna come watch my game next weekend, too." She paused and narrowed her eyes at Smokescreen. "You're coming too, right? You promised…"

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Good." She grabbed a can of soda from the fridge and headed for the door. "I'm going over to the KO Burger to bug Jack for a while. What are you gonna do today?"

The redhead shrugged. "Since I've got the day off and 'Bee's got the day off, we were gonna go see a movie or something, or go to the gym. You sure you don't want to come?"

The blonde shrugged as well. "I'll catch up later."

"The fundraiser getting to you, too?" Jack asked Quickslinger when he finally earned his break.

"Yeah, it's completely stupid!" The blonde huffed. "What do they expect us to do, magically sell stuff to people? Honestly, they could just quit spending so much on football games and use money for stuff that's actually important, like books that weren't falling apart or held together by tape!"

"Calm down…there's a lot of football fans in here."

Quickslinger was about to continue on with her rant when a couple and their two young children walked in. The blonde immediately recognized the man but not the woman and two boys. She got up from the table and stated to the raven-haired boy, "I'll be right back; save a burger for me."

The blonde pushed her way through some of the people in line until she reached the family getting into said-line. They didn't pay attention to her presence until she called out, "Wheeljack, is that you?"

The brown-haired man turned to the voice and smirked when he saw the blonde. "Blondie, long time no see! What brings you here?"

"Bugging Jack while he's on break. What about you? I didn't know you lived in Jasper."

"Just a few blocks down from where you guys are." He paused and brought the woman next to him in view. "This is my wife, Serlena, and these are our sons, Topspin and Kobian."

Serlena smiled and shook hands with Quickslinger. "Jackie's told me about you from Bulkhead. I heard that you can be pretty feisty."

"I'll take that as a compliment." The blonde retorted.

Kobian stepped forward and pointed towards Quickslinger's face. "Why you got dots on your face?"

"Those are freckles, Kobi." Topspin told his little brother. "Pointing at people's rude."

"You two be nice to Quickslinger or Grandma won't give you any presents." Wheeljack warned before turning back to the teenager. "We're on our way to my mom's house and figured we'd stop and get a bite to eat."

"One trip that I never look forward to…" Serlena muttered.

"Now remember to act civil, 'Lena. Why don't you and the boys get in line and I'll get a table?"

The smokey-haired woman sighed but had a smirk on her face as she took hold of their sons' hands and kept them in line. The brown-haired man found a table near where Jack was sitting and sat down…and to his surprise, Quickslinger took a seat across from him.

"Sounds like your wife has in-law trouble." She muttered playfully.

Wheeljack sighed, crossing his arms and leaning slightly on the table. "Serlena and my mom have never gotten along…and it's because, according to my mother, she 'stole her baby away'. My mom's always been a little…clingy."

"Clingy must be putting it lightly; my dad's nowhere near like that with me. But Serlena seems like a nice lady; why would anyone want to hate her?"

"Truthfully…my mom would've hated any girl I married…'Lena just happened to be the one." He paused and let out a chuckle. "My ma can try whatever she wants, but I'm not leaving my wife and kids. But…I still take the boys to see her…'cause I think they need their grandmother in their lives."

Quickslinger frowned slightly. "Well…if you want to get the message to your mom…why not just keep your kids away from her for a while?"

Wheeljack shook his head. "Things aren't that simple, kid." He let out another sigh. "But what bugs me the most is that she doesn't treat the boys equally. She plays favorites with Topspin…because Kobi looks more like his mother."

"That's terrible, and just messed up!" The blonde gasped. "Your mom needs to cut the crap and act like a human being for once! Don't be afraid to tell her off just because she's your mother; tell her that enough is enough! It's one thing to treat your spouse like crap, but to treat one of your kids like crap just because he looks like his mom? That's just cruel…"

"You're serious about me telling my mom off, aren't you?"

Quickslinger nodded firmly. "Yeah, and don't let her guilt trip you either. Just tell her to treat your wife and kids with respect or she's not welcome in your lives anymore. Your kids'll do just fine, just as long as they have BOTH of their parents together. And your mom will live…it'll give her some time to grow some humanity."

"For a teenager, you give some pretty sound advice." Wheeljack admitted after a moment of silence. "All right, I'll try it."

"Sounds almost like you've learned life tips from an expert." Serlena teased when she and the boys came to the table with their food.

Quickslinger laughed. "My dad's a psychologist, and he occasionally has to play marriage counselor. When I was a kid and stayed at his office, I overheard some of his patients, and they had similar problems."

Serlena suddenly fell silent and studied the teenager's eyes. That shade of violet…why was it so familiar? She knew she had seen those eyes before, but not from Quickslinger. She ignored it for now and would try to figure things out later. She stood until the blonde got up and allowed her to sit down.

"So…what exactly is it that you guys do for a living?"

"Well, as you know, Bulk and I were once part of the Wreckers…similar to black ops. 'Lena's a psychologist, like you said your dad is."

The smokey-haired woman chuckled. "Why don't you tell her about the time you and I first met? We've got plenty of time to spare."

"All right, if you insist." He stared at their sons. "Boys, cover your ears. Mommy and Daddy are gonna talk about some lovey-dovey-kissy stuff."

Topspin and Kobian groaned in disgust and covered their ears. Wheeljack laughed before turning back to Quickslinger, who took a seat at the table Jack had been occupying and beginning.

"It was quite a few years ago. I was on the battlefield, having just been surrounded by enemy troops and taking them down, and I had my back turned. I found myself alone, expecting to be taken down or ambushed by a sniper or something. I got to a secluded area and started backing away…and that's when I felt something touch me. Turned around real quick…and there was 'Lena, looking wilder than the wilderness itself."

Serlena chuckled and stared at Wheeljack with amorous amber eyes. "It was love at first sight…for both of us."

"So wait, the both of you met while still in war?"

"Yeah…and 'Lena had just betrayed the enemy side. Wanted to join us, but most of the guys didn't trust her. So they cuffed her in the back of the copter with Ironhide's pet Malamute…until she managed to slip the cuffs off and used them to cuff the dog to the rail."

"Well, they wouldn't let me go to the bathroom…" Serlena teased. "I couldn't just sit there and urinate all over myself."

"Wow…that's actually the coolest love story I ever heard." Quickslinger awed.

Serlena laughed. "That's a clever compliment. We eloped at the base as soon as we got to the base. And that's part of the reason why Jackie's mom hates me."

Quickslinger looked on her cell phone and realized she needed to meet Smokescreen and Bumblebee at the movie theater. "I gotta go. Let me know how the in-law problem goes when you get back! And I'll tell Bulkhead you said hi!"

"Take care, blondie." Wheeljack stated. "Hope your baseball career takes off."

"It's about time you arrived! Where have you been?" Smokescreen asked when Quickslinger finally arrived.

The blonde panted and hunched over in front of Smokescreen and Bumblebee. She took a few deep breaths before straightening up and answering, "…I saw Wheeljack and his wife and kids at the KO Burger…so I talked with them…and actually gave them advice."

The redhead tilted his head to the side. "Really? I don't get to see Wheeljack much except for our days at the gym."

"He's a pretty cool guy…and his wife's cool too. I got so caught up in talking with them that I almost forgot about meeting you guys. Sorry…"

A smile suddenly appeared on Smokescreen and Bumblebee's faces. "Hey, don't worry about it. The important thing is you made it, right? Come on, let's get our tickets and popcorn before the line gets too long."

"What are we watching? Please don't let it be a romantic comedy!"

Smokescreen laughed. "Relax, it's just a little horror movie! You can handle horror movies, right?"

Quickslinger smirked and flippantly waved her hand. "Please, nothing scares me!"