Transformers belong to Hasbro not me except my own characters Dark Orbit, Clash, Lou, Marianne, Anna, Mick and Ebony

Here is chapter 8.

CHAPTER 8

READJUSTING TO A NEW WAY OF LIFE.

The sun rose silently on the street where Lou once lived, shining its golden light on the smouldering, charred remains of Lou's house. The devastation caused to the house was baffling the fire department, they hadn't seen this type of damage in normal house fires. What was even more baffling was that Lou's house was the only one that was severely damaged, even those closest to her house were only slightly marred by the attack. They thought that there was some sort of an explosion but they didn't know what caused it. The general consensus was the investigation would bring everything to light.

The neighbours weren't entirely sure what happened either and most were grateful that their house wasn't damaged. Some of them who knew the family quite well were concerned for their safety because they hadn't been seen for a while. One neighbour had tried to contact Lou but her phone was damaged when Dark Orbit dropped her. Jennifer worried about this and worried that something had happened to them. Now that the house was completely destroyed she didn't know what to do.

Starscream had researched human relationships and discovered that humans would form friendships with their neighbours. He sent Barricade and Dark Orbit to door knock the area to try and find the whereabouts of Lou and her family; the destruction of the house gave him the perfect opportunity. So that no suspicion was aroused they used their holoforms and gave themselves human names. They told the residents that Lou and her family needed to be found so the news could be broken to them about their house. Nobody had any information!


Lou and Jodie were beginning to feel a lot happier about where they were and had put the attack behind them. It had been agreed that they could spend some time with the Lennoxes so long as they maintained their guardians. Optimus Prime wasn't happy about this because the base was still on high alert from the hack into the Autobot security system. He worried that the Decepticons would find Lou and the children and grab them. Jodie had gone oversees with her family; the Autobots knew where she'd gone and they had given her a device to contact them if there were problems. Lou was happy to hear that they could spend some time with the Lennoxes and was looking forward to going.

It was Lou's first week back at work and she's been looking forward to this for a long time. Her colleagues had been quite worried about her when they heard she was involved in an accident. Lou didn't tell people what really happened, she was convinced nobody would believe her. Marianne and Anna were back at school and Anna had resumed her ballet classes. Marianne went to the same school as Sam and Mikaela, so Bumblebee offered to take her with them and bring her back to Sam's house so Lou could pick her up in the evening. Bluestreak took Anna to school because her school was in a different direction.

One morning while Clash was driving Lou to work she was thinking about everything the Autobots had done for her,

"Clash thank you" Lou said out of the blue.

"What for?" Clash asked,

"For everything and being a friend." she replied

A smile formed across his faceplates. He considered Lou to be his friend but he wasn't sure what Lou's feelings were towards him.

"Not a problem Lou." he said

They fell silent again but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it was the silence you got when two friends didn't need to say anything, they just enjoyed each others company.

"Lou on Saturday there is a place I'd like to take you to. It is a rather special place and I would like you to see it."

"Okay" she agreed.

Clash pulled into the car park of Lou's work place and parked in the same spot as he'd parked in since she went back two days ago. She got out and walked into her office. Clash watched her walk through the door safely then powered down and went into recharge but kept his scanners on. Her secretary, Naomi had been away a couple of days because one of her children were sick, she looked up when Lou walked in,

"Hi Lou how nice to see you! I was so worried about you when I heard about the accident. It is good to see you have recovered" she said as she walked over and hugged Lou,

"Thank you Naomi I am glad it is all behind me now and I can get back to living my life" Lou replied.

Ohh how she wished that was so! Naomi brought her in a coffee then they set to work. There was a lot Lou had to catch up on, her boss had shared out her load so that she could catch up on the project she was working on. She'd already made huge progress during her first two days back at work. Lou opened her laptop and started working on the next stage of the project but it wasn't long before her thoughts turned to Mick. She started wondering if he was going to call for help, "Nah" she thought "That would hurt his already injured pride. Stubborn mule!" She looked out of her office window, there was Clash looking inconspicuous in her personal parking spot. Just seeing him there made Lou feel safe.

At the end of the day Lou and Naomi left the office and headed for the car park. Naomi saw Lou get into Clash,

"New car?" she smiled,

"Something like that" Lou replied,

"Nice!" Naomi said. Lou got in the car, she could hear Clash's systems coming online after his recharge,

"Did you hear that?" he said. Lou was sure he was smiling, "Your friend said I was nice. I like her!" Lou patted him on the dashboard,

"Okay I heard her Clash. Now you're beginning to sound like Sunny" she chuckled,

"What! That's an insult I'll have you know. I should make you walk." Clash pretended to be offended by her comment but she didn't buy it.

"Yeah but then you'd have to walk too Clash, because you're my guardian." Lou quickly retorted.

"You got me there. One up for Lou!" they both laughed,

"Lou, I have never heard you laugh. It is good to hear!" Clash said,

"It's been a long time since I've had something to laugh about. Thank you Clash."

They returned back to the base still laughing and joking. Mechs and humans alike came out to see what was happening. Optimus Prime smiled at the sight of Clash and Lou talking and laughing. Ratchet came and stood beside Prime a smile broke out on his faceplate,

"Prime I believe you did well giving Clash guardianship of Lou, he is helping her a lot."

"Thank you old friend." Prime replied.


After a peaceful sleep and a busy first week back at work Lou was in no particular hurry to get out of bed. As far as she was concerned it was Saturday morning and she wasn't going to rush for anybody. Or so she thought!

She could hear footsteps outside her door, then somebody knocked,

"Wakey wakey Lou! We're going out for the day." she groaned and lifted her head. Her blond curly hair flopped over her eyes hiding her view of the clock. Marianne came out,

"Good luck getting Mum up" she said with a smile. Clash looked at her,

"Go and get her because we are all going out together" Marianne glared at him; she didn't like being ordered around but did as she was told. She made a mental note to tell her mum later.

Lou grumbled as she got up and put on a pair of jeans, a plain, white shirt and tied her unruly hair back into a pony tail. Lou then put on her sneakers but wished she had her cowboy boots and cowboy hat she used to wear as a teenager growing up on her father's ranch. Lou looked at herself in the mirror and remembered the days she used to go trekking through the countryside, and the rodeo shows she used to go to with her mother and father. She promised herself she'd get back into it again. Lou nodded at herself in approval. Nature was her thing and Lou enjoyed going out into the country with her family, exploring off the beaten track and trekking on horseback. Her children had never seen her on horseback, she was going to show them one day. She stepped out of her room, Marianne looked at her,

"Wow mum, you look great!" she exclaimed. Clash smiled and nodded with approval, this was a new Lou he hadn't met yet. "The I won't be beaten Lou"

Once everybody was up and ready to go Clash transformed and opened his doors so that Lou and the girls could get into the car. He then took off with Jazz, Sunny, Sides and Bluestreak. It was a good drive, the sun was shining, it was warm and there were no Decepticon signatures on his scanners. He had the radio playing and enjoyed listening to the family singing along to had a bad day, "a perfect day!" Clash thought to himself. The song ended,

"Where are we going?" Lou asked.

She was beginning to feel curious. They turned off the main road onto a dirt road where the small convoy stopped. It was in thick forest, suddenly they heard another engine roaring up behind them. The mood suddenly changed as Jazz, Sunny and Sides quickly transformed and went into weapon mode. They relaxed when a bottle green jeep pulled up next to them,

"Hey Hound good to see you" Sunny said as he slapped Hound on the shoulder,

"Sorry" replied Hound "I didn't mean to alarm you, but I wasn't going to miss out on some off road driving"

"Not a problem" Jazz replied,

"Yeah" Sideswipe agreed, "The more the merrier."

"Lou look in the glove box." Lou opened the glove box to find one of her scarves,

"What's this for?" she asked, feeling a little nervous.

"I want you to put it on" Lou did so obediently. Clash could feel her nervousness,

"Relax Lou! I'm not going to harm you. You have to trust me right now." he reassured her, "Marianne and Anna when you see the surprise don't tell your mum okay?"

"We won't" they said in unison as they smiled at each other.

They continued driving up the hill through the thick forest, low branches were scratching the paint on Sunny. He was starting to grumble until Jazz told him he could always go back to the base. They came to the crest of the hill, Lou heard her children gasp. She smiled "This is going to be good!" she thought to herself with excited anticipation of the surprise.

She could hear the doors open. Marianne got out of the car first and took Lou's arm to guide her out of the car and away from the Mechs so they could transform. She could hear the familiar whirls and clicks of transformation and felt Clash scoop her up. He took a few steps and stopped, he shifted her around in his hand so she was facing outward,

"Okay Lou you can take off the blindfold now" Clash said.

She slowly removed it, her eyes blinked a little bit as they adjusted to light and then she gasped at the sight before her. It was beautiful, peaceful and quiet. She looked at the view in front of her, on the horizon there were mountain peaks reaching into the sky, she saw the trees in the valley below showing off their shades of green. Lou looked in the sky, it was blue with a few wispy clouds quietly drifting past and vapour trails from a plane flying off to its destination. Lou's eyes continued to take in the view before her as she looked around in another direction and saw two birds of prey gliding on the thermals, swooping and dipping looking for their victim. Just to the side of them was a large, single tree offering shade from the sun,

"Clash this is so beautiful and peaceful"

"Like it?" he asked beaming all over his face.

"I do"

They all sat there for a while just enjoying the view and the peacefulness. It was so nice as Lou breathed in the fresh air, she could feel herself relaxing and just for that brief moment all the terror and fear of the last two months was forgotten. Lou and the children had been placed on the ground and were now sitting together near the edge of the cliff with Clash and Jazz behind them, and Sunny and Sides next to them.

"Tell me about Cybertron. Can we see it from Earth?" Clash looked into the sky,

"Yes you can when it's dark."

"Can you bring me up here one night so I can see it?" Lou asked

"Yeah sure we can" he said as he put her down.

Lou had lunch with the children while the Mechs sat and chatted. Anna couldn't sit down long enough, she wanted to get up and play with the them again. Lou lay on the ground just watching the clouds go by and listening to her children playing and laughing with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Clash looked down at her, he gently played with her hair, she looked at him and smiled,

"Mick always does that to me." she said with a smile. Lou sighed and her smile disappeared, Mick was never far from her thoughts.

"Tell me about Mick" he said but Lou didn't say anything. Clash did a quick scan on her when he noticed her expression change,

"What's wrong. Have I made you angry?" he asked. She looked at him and sat up,

"What? No Clash not you. Mick has."

Lou looked at the children who were still playing with Sunny, Sides, Jazz, Hound and Blue and smiled, they looked so happy playing with the Mechs. Lou wished she didn't have to go back to the base or the Lennoxes but it was her life right now and she was grateful for them. She heard footsteps coming toward them and looked around to see who it was, Jazz knelt down next to her and smiled at her. He hadn't seen Lou so relaxed! She looked so contented he didn't really want to spoil her fun but they had to get back before the Decepticons patrolled the area. She smiled back at him,

"We'd better go" he said, "It is getting late and we need to get you guys back before we are picked up by Decepticon scouts."

"Do they patrol this area?" Lou asked,

"Yes they do constantly. They know it is Sam, Mikaela and Bee's favourite place." Jazz replied.

"Don't have to tell me twice" Lou said as she got up and waited for Clash to transform. She heard the girls whine, then they ran over to her,

"Can we travel with Sunny and Sides" they asked. Lou looked at them. Sunny and Sides stood together,

"Alright then! If it's okay with them" They looked at Sunny and Sides,

"Pleeeeeaaaaaaassssssseeeeeee!" they drawled. The twins both transformed and opened their doors to let the girls in. Sunny drove up to Lou and Clash,

"Thank you" he said to Lou. She looked at him, smiled and rubbed his bonnet,

"Not a problem Sunny"

Lou could almost see him smiling as he drove off with Anna. She had forgiven Sunny for his actions in the car park and was now beginning to trust him. She couldn't understand why he didn't help her that day because he seemd to be a friendly Mech. She became quiet and subdued when they made their way back to the base, Clash knew she enjoyed herself and hoped one day he would see her the way she was on the lookout more often. When they returned back to the base Lou got out of Clash and looked at the Mechs,

"Thank you for an awesome day" she said.

They nodded at her. Lou liked it at the lookout and would often ask Clash to take her so that she could get out of the madness she'd found herself in. Clash would take her and sit there quietly, sometimes in his alt mode, sometimes in his robot mode. They would often sit and watch the sunset and then go back when it was dark. One night they were up there Clash showed her the star that is Cybertron. Lou asked many questions about Cybertron which he answered, sometimes with great sadness. One night when they talked about Cybertron he got very sad, Lou got up and hugged him,

"I'm so sorry" she said, "Here's me with my problems, but you've had to leave your planet."

"Oh Lou" he replied sadly, "We know you've had a lot to deal with, it's our fault you're in this situation."

"No it's not! It's Mick's fault! He should have been more cautious." Lou replied venomously.

"Lou you will have to forgive him" Clash replied gently.

Lou looked down, she knew that Clash was right, and even though she was still angry with him she hoped that this would come to an end. She longed for the day when he would return to her safe, and they would be able to put their lives back together again. Clash put his hands under her chin and gently lifted her face so she was looking into his crystal optics,

"I really miss him Clash." she said quietly,

"I know you do honey"

He activated his holoform and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled into his chest feeling the safety of his strong arms, he gently rubbed her back and head, pulling the curls away from her face as she sat there soaking up the comfort he offered her.


The time had come for Lou and the children to go and spend some time with the Lennoxes, Lou had the day off so she could get organised. There had been no Decepticon activity for a while and the base had been taken off high alert. Prime thought they may be relatively safe but they still had to be with their guardians. Before they went to Sarah and Will's house Lou needed to go back to her house to collect some more clothes for them and Marianne's school books. Lou mentioned this to Clash but he couldn't take her because he was on patrol that day with Prowl. If another Mech couldn't go in Clash's place then Clash would take her, but Ironhide had offered to take Lou, just in case she had a lot of stuff.

Lou and Ironhide drove through town and down the street where she lived,

As they got closer she couldn't believe the sight that met her eyes. Ironhide could feel Lou's mood change, he run a scan on her and sure enough her stress levels had risen sky high, her heart was beating rapidly and her breathing was shallow. Her already fair skin turned ashen as she took in the sight before her. Right where her house was meant to be was a pile of hot smouldering rubble, there were police tapes around the perimeter fluttering in the breeze. She could hear Ironhide growl when he saw the sight of Lou's place of residence. He spat a line of Cybertronian curses about Decepticons and their brutal ways. He could feel Lou's pain and tried his best to comfort her as she sat in his cab and cried.

"It's all gone, everything that resembles my life and that of my children is gone, there is nothing left." she got out of the cab as a neighbour approached.

"Oh Lou I'm so sorry" she said as she hugged her,

"Do you want to come for a coffee" Lou shook her

"I've got to go" she whispered. She crawled into Ironhide's cab and looked at the neighbour who by now had walked back to her house. Lou's eyes filled with tears again, as she looked at the smouldering rubble one last time. The neighbour came running back and tapped on the window, Ironhide growled quietly.

"Two police officers were looking for you the other day." she said. "Is there a way of contacting you in case they come back, they were adamant they wanted to see you" Ironhide was immediately suspicious and let a warning rumble out through his engine, Lou patted his dashboard as a reassurance,

"No" she said, "My phone was stolen and I haven't got a new one yet."

"Oh! Well, where are you living then" Lou didn't like these questions,

"I can't tell you." she looked at the steering wheel, "Take me out of here" she whispered to Ironhide. He immediately shut the door and drove off, leaving the puzzled woman standing on the pavement.

"When is this all going to end?" she cried.

Ironhide hugged her as best he could, he gently pulled the seatbelt in tighter; she felt the movement and gently rubbed it as a way of saying thank you; his engine purred a bit louder.

"Lou I think it is best you come back to the base with me, I will radio ahead to Prime to let them now we are coming,

"Ironhide to Prime"

"Go ahead Ironhide"

"Lou's house has been destroyed, possibly by Decepticons I'm bringing her back to the base"

"Good idea Ironhide I will contact Bluestreak and Bumblebee and tell them to be on the alert just in case of Decepticon activity. They can pick up the girls after school and bring them back to base, it's best not to alarm them if there is no need."

The journey back to base was quiet and the atmosphere in the cab was sombre. Ironhide had learnt from Will that there was a time to speak and a time to be quiet, he decided that this was one of those times to be quiet. Lou just sat there watching the scenery go by wishing that time would go back to that fateful night when Mick was sending his application.

"Damn him" she hissed with rage between gritted teeth "Damn, damn, damn him. I don't care if I never see him again!" she stamped her foot heavily on the floor of Ironhide's cab,

"Lou, stop that!" Ironhide barked. No way was he going to be on the receiving end of her rage,

"Sorry Ironhide" she said.

He knew she hadn't knowingly brought attention to herself, but she had become the centre of the Decepticon's attention and he wondered what her husband had got involved in for this to happen. Sunny was at the entrance, he saw them arrive and the thunderous look on Ironhide's face showed that things hadn't gone well. Lou looked like it was the end of the world.

"Lou what's happened?" he asked as he saw her coming in with Ironhide. Ironhide glared at him.

" Her house is destroyed. Burnt to the ground. Nothing left" Ironhide sneered.

"Decepticons?" he asked but didn't wait for Ironhide's reply, "Wait till I get my hands on those Deceptiscum; I will pound them for doing this to you and when I've finished with them I will teach that husband of yours………."

"Sunny that's enough!" Ironhide bellowed. "You'll have to excuse Sunny, he forgets himself sometimes and gets a little excited" Ironhide growled as he scooped up Lou.

"Sorry Lou I didn't mean to….."

"N-no Su-Sun-n-ny" Lou sobbed. "It-s not your fault",

"Lou I have to give a report to Prime about this. Clash is on duty so I will take you to the Med bay."

"I'll look after her" Sunny said.

Sunny took her to the rec room where they sat and watched a movie. He held her in his hand and comforted her. She slowly drifted off to sleep still sobbing, exhausted from the trauma and heartbreak of seeing her house destroyed.


At the end of the school day Bluestreak drove into the school, activated his holoform and waited for Anna on a bench between the school building and the car park. Bluestreak found this an interesting part of Earth culture, not unlike Cybertron when the younglings had to go to a place of learning. He was reflecting on his life on Cybertron when he heard a squeal of delight and saw Anna running towards him.

"Uncle Blue" she cried. She run towards him and jumped into his arms.

"Hello little one, you're coming with me back to the base"

"yippee! Are Sunny and Sides there?"

"Yes they are and they are waiting to help you with your homework"

"Double yippee, well not for the homework part" Bluestreak laughed as he put Anna in the back of the car and did up her seatbelt.

Bumblebee had sent a text to Sam and Mikaela so that they could let Marianne know she was going back to the base. Sam and Mikaela got in the car but Marianne wasn't with them.

"Where's Marianne?" Bee asked.

"Don't know, we told her to meet us here." Sam and Mikaela looked around for her but couldn't see her, they started to get a bit concerned as Bee scanned the area, he couldn't detect any Decepticons nor could he detect Marianne. He was just about to radio Prime when Sam and Mikaela saw her.

"What happened to you?" They were relieved that Marianne turned up and was safe.

"I was thinking of not going to the base, I've had enough of this." she snapped, "It's not fair! Why can't my life be normal?" she whined.

Bee felt really sorry for the teenager but she had no idea of the sort of danger she could be in. Two months ago she was living a normal life but now that's all been taken from her. She has done really well and adapted to the Autobots very quickly, she's bound to get frustrated with all this at some stage and now she was going to have to cope with the news about her house.

"Marianne I'm so sorry about this" came Bumblebee's reply.

Marianne ignored Bee's apology, Mikaela didn't miss this and gently rubbed the dashboard. Bee revved in appreciation,

"How do you guys cope with this?" Sam and Mikaela looked at her.

"It is hard sometimes, we've learnt to live with them and Bee here is really good, all the Autobots understand how this has impacted our lives. Jazz has helped as well with his research on Earth culture, it has helped the Autobots understand us." Sam said

"Marianne we are trying to protect you, we don't want you to get hurt at the hand of the Decepticons." Bee added,

"Hey Marianne why don't I ask mum if you can spend the weekend with us?" said Sam.

"Really? Would you do that, like I wouldn't cramp your style or anything, would I?" Marianne asked with a smile.

"What? No" reassured Sam "Mum would love having you around"

"Yeah" Mikaela pitched in "We could hang around, maybe go for a coffee and do some shopping. It would be fun having a girl around, Sam usually invites Miles and all they do is play games on the X Box" Bee thought this a good idea.

"You'd better check with your Mum and Prime first"

"Always do Bee" came Marianne's reply with a smile. "But I know Mum will agree; she was only saying the other day, it would be good for me to spend some time with other teenagers"

Jazz was waiting for them at the entrance to the base when they arrived,

"Hi Marianne" Jazz greeted them with his ever happy smile. "Hi Sam and Mikaela ."

"Hi Jazz" they all chimed together and then burst out laughing.

Jazz smiled, he loved seeing the children happy, and he loved having playing with them but now was not the time. He became serious as he looked at Marianne, Sam and Mikaela picked up Jazz's sudden mood change.

"Your mum wants to see you in my office" he said, Marianne was sure she picked up a hint of concern in his voice.

"Why? What have I done?" she was worried and the expression showed on her face, Jazz got down to her level and put his hand around her back and drew her toward him,

"Nothing, she needs to talk to you it's very important"

Jazz picked her up, Mikaela watched them leave together than ran after them, she called Marianne. Jazz stopped and bent down so that Mikaela could talk to Marianne,

"Marianne no matter what has happened you can talk to Sam, me and even Bee. We know what it is like living under Decepticon threat ok?"

Marianne nodded, she was very anxious about what had caused her mum to need to talk to her with such urgency. Jazz took her into his office, everything was tall except for a human sized sofa which Anna and her Mum were sitting on. It was brought in from the rec room and tucked in a corner. Marianne couldn't see the contents of the desk but she did notice the huge speakers on the wall and thought about the awesome noise they'd make, she made a mental note to ask Jazz what type of music he listened to. Jazz shut the door behind him. It shut with a loud whoosh and then it started. Lou breathed in a deep breath and let it out again. Marianne caught the look in her eye.

"Mum? What is it? you look terrible!"

"I went to our house today to collect some more of our belongings. When I got there I…" she paused not really knowing what to say, tears forming in her eyes again. "Honey the house has gone, it was burnt-there is nothing left" Marianne and Anna burst into floods of tears.

"Why is this happening mum? It's because of Dad isn't it? he caused this didn't he?" Marianne screamed through her tears.

"Don't be so hard on him Marianne, it may have just been an accident he may not have been able to stop it." Lou pleaded.

"I really hate him for this. Look what he's done, why did he have to go for that job? Why doesn't he think?" she screamed. Before Lou could reassure her and calm her she burst out of Jazz's office and ran down the corridor. She heard Anna crying and call out for her, but she just kept running past the rec room and out of the base. Sam and Mikaela were in the rec room, they heard her as she ran past. Mikaela went running after her

"Marianne" she called.

Mikaela caught up with Marianne who was sitting on a rock outside the base crying inconsolably. She sat next to Marianne and hugged her, Marianne wrapped her arms around Mikaela as she carried on crying. Bumblebee and Sam came out too, Bumblebee sat on the other side of Marianne and gently stroked her back as she cried.

Later that evening Clash went to see Lou who was back in their quarters for the night. Prime told her it was best they stayed there for a while just in case the Decepticons came for them. Anna was laying on her bed sobbing but asleep. The lamp was on which gave the room a very soft, mellow light and Lou had put on some gentle music for Anna. Lou was just sitting in a chair, looking beaten, her forehead resting on her fingers. Clash got down to her level, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?" he asked, concern in his deep voice. Lou looked at him and smiled weakly. She nodded.

"I'll be alright Clash, give me time. I don't know where Marianne is though" Clash looked at her, he knew she wasn't alright. He could see it, she had taken everything in her stride, she's strong and stubborn but right now she needed to know that it is okay to need help.

"Lou listen to me." he said firmly, "Right now you're not alright, I can see it in your face and hear it in your voice. Lou I'm going to speak to Ratchet and see if he can give you something."

"No Clash I don't need Ratchet to give me something. I….I need to get myself together, I need a break from all this. I need to know everything is going to be okay, I need someone to tell me it will be okay. Clash I can't do this anymore…help me! please?" she whimpered as tears were released and rolled down her face. Her whole world had been torn apart! everything she knew had gone! Clash bent down and picked her up, he held her close as she sobbed into his chest.

"Don't worry about Marianne she's outside with Mikaela and Bumblebee. Lou everything will be okay, we will help you through this. We know how tough this is for you-frag it Lou we've been fighting the Decepticons for millions of years. You don't have to be alone, I will help you. I think it's best if you had company tonight, I can stay with you until the morning. Don't be alone right now-I will recharge on the floor." Lou looked down, there was enough room for him to lay on the floor and she would be grateful of some company, she nodded her consent. He looked at Anna

"How's Anna?" he asked

" Thanks Clash. She'll be okay, she'll bounce back. She always does!" Clash walked to Anna, kneeled on the floor and gently stroked her face, Anna lightly stirred but didn't awaken. It marvelled Lou that a being so big could be so gentle. Lou sat back on the chair, grateful that the next day was a Saturday. Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. It was Marianne with Bumblebee and Mikaela. Clash answered the door, Marianne walked in with her friends, her face still blotchy from all the crying.

"Hi Mrs. Ferrier, my name is Mikaela"

"Hi Mikaela it is nice to finally meet you. Thank you for looking after Marianne out there, and thank you too Bumblebee"

"Mrs Ferrier would it be okay for Marianne to spend some time with Sam and myself on the weekend. Bumblebee could pick her up tomorrow and he would be with her all weekend because he is our guardian. We have asked Sam's mum and she is happy for Marianne to stay."

Lou looked at Marianne "It would give her a break" she thought but then remembered they were supposed to be going to the Lennoxes,

"We're supposed to be going to…." Clash shook his head,

"Prime thinks your safer with us at the moment"

"Yeah that would be fine, I'll check with Optimus Prime first" said Lou.

Bumblebee opened his comm link to Prime and asked him. Optimus Prime didn't want Marianne to go until Bumblebee pointed out that she would probably benefit from being away from the base for a while and she'd be with them. Optimus Prime then consented unwillingly. Bumblebee told them that Optimus Prime said she could go, Marianne looked at her Mum and pleaded. Lou smiled and nodded, Marianne went up to her Mum and hugged her,

"I love you Mum" she said,

"I love you too Marianne" Lou replied.

Sam and Mikaela decided to stay with the Autobots for the night so that they could all travel to Sam's together in the morning, Lou and Marianne settled down for the night. Clash propped himself up against the wall until his charge and her family were asleep, he then lay down and went into recharge himself.


All was quiet in the base that night. Hound and Mirage sat in front of the monitors not really saying much, Hound didn't mind being on duty with Mirage despite his arrogance and pompous snobbish attitude. So what if he lived in the elite area of Cybertron; everybody was on the same level here on Earth. They kept seeing a little shadow wandering along the corridors, but the security systems were not picking up any Decepticon signals.

"What do you think it is?" Hound asked, he was perplexed.

"I don't know, I will go and investigate" Mirage got up and left the monitor room.

"It could be one of the younglings Mirage, so be civil" Hound called out, Mirage glared at him, "I shall punch him one day" he thought with a smirk.

Mirage got up and activated his cloaking device, he wandered quietly through the corridors as Hound gave him the areas the shadow was in. He found the shadow, it was Anna! She was in her pyjamas and very sleepy. "She must have needed the bathroom and got lost" he thought as he knelt down and deactivated his cloaking device.

"Hey little one what are you doing wandering around the corridors this time of night?"

"I want my Mummy!" said her little sleepy voice. He offered his hand, Anna walked on.

"I'll take you to your mummy"

He got to the door of their quarters and knocked but there was no answer. Being the gentleman he was he didn't want to walk in, but this time he had no choice. He quietly opened the door. He saw Marianne lying next to Lou with her hand wrapped tightly around her mum's shoulders and Clash on the floor recharging. He put his hand down, Anna slid off and into bed on the other side of Lou where she snuggled in. He smiled and quietly left to go back to the monitor room. He kind of liked this family and it pleased him to see Clash taking his role of guardianship seriously and hoped one day he'd get to be a guardian too.

"Everything alright?" Hound asked.

"Yeah" Mirage said. "It was the younger sibling wandering around. I took her back to her family unit."

"Why was she wandering around, didn't her mother know?" Mirage shrugged. Nothing else was said.

Next morning Marianne was up early and ready to go. She was really excited about the weekend and having time out from everything, well as much as you can with a huge robot hanging around. Bumblebee arrived with Sam and Mikaela.

"Hi" Marianne Said.

"Hi" they both replied back.

They took Marianne back to Sam's house so she could dump what few bits she had. The room she was staying in was nice. It was comfortable, light and airey with all the necessary furniture. The window was open and a curtain was gently billowing in the breeze, there were two single beds with plain white sheets and a pale green quilt cover. Judy Witwicky had made Marianne feel instantly at home. It wasn't like they hadn't met before because they had on that first morning Marianne was taken to Sam's, so she could go to school with Mikaela and Sam. But it was usually a quick hello as Judy was always on her way out to work. Marianne had never met Ron before so when she was introduced she took an instant liking to him. Mikaela and Marianne were sleeping in the same room, a girls sleepover as Mikaela had put it.

"What would you like to do first." Mikaela asked.

"Well mum gave me some money and told me I could use it to go shopping and pick up some more clothes cuz I lost a lot in the house fire."

That is how they referred to the damage caused to the house, it was easier to explain that way. It was an accident caused by fire, the fire brigade couldn't fight it becuase it was just too intense and well under way before they got there. The Autobots thought that was a good idea considering there was no proof the Decepticons did do it, although it was more than likely.

Mikaela and Marianne spent the day shopping for clothes for the summer holiday which was approaching very quickly. Sam spent some time with Miles, he decided it would be good for the girls to have time together. Besides going shopping with girls was not on his list of fun things to do. Marianne brought some new clothes for herself, she brought some clothes and pretty things for Anna too. Mikaela and Marianne went to an ice cream parlour, they brought a sundae, sat at a table and chatted for a long time about things. Bumblebee had gone with the girls and was parked in the car park, every now and then he did a scan, all was quiet.

That evening Sam and Mikaela invited friends around for pizzas and dvd. Marianne was really enjoying herself and the company she was in. Nothing was mentioned about Autobots or Decepticons, she felt like her life was normal and that was how she liked it! Mikaela and Marianne said goodnight to Sam's parents after their friends had gone home, then went up to their room. Marianne was having a good time, for the first time in months she felt like a normal teenager, but was also happy to meet Sam and Mikaela. She really enjoyed their friendship at a time when her life had dramatically changed.

Meanwhile back at the base Lou had stepped outside for a quiet moment. She didn't mind being at the base, although she preferred to be in the comfort of her own home, that wasn't possible anymore. She heard footsteps coming behind her, big footsteps! Lou looked around, it was Prime!

"May I join you?" he asked.

Lou smiled at him and patted the rock next to her. Optimus opted to sit on the ground, the space on the rock was a bit small. The sun was setting making its usual colourful show in the evening sky, the first stars of the night appeared with the full moon giving off a gentle light. A gentle breeze blew, Lou's hair was swept back as the breeze blew onto her face. It felt refreshing, she closed her eyes taking in the peacefulness of the evening. The breeze was a welcome relief from the desert's unrelenting heat during the day. Finally Optimus spoke,

"Lou I want you to know we are doing all we can to keep you and the children safe." she looked at Optimus, then looked away.

"It was the Decepticons that destroyed my house wasn't it?" she asked with a quiver in her voice, then looked at him,

"Yes!" Lou looked down, she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear that or not. She looked at Optimus.

"Why?"

"We don't know, the Decepticons haven't contacted us." she looked at Optimus.

"Will this ever end, I mean it is so hard I feel like I'm in prison..." she stopped when she realised what she'd said, she looked at Prime; he gave her an encouraging nod to carry on, "Oh! Optimus Prime I'm sorry, now I must sound ungrateful to you when you have kept us safe. I mean we can't go anywhere or go about our daily lives without the fear of attack and now we don't have a home to go to. I feel like a refugee in a war zone." Optimus couldn't help but hear the truth in those words. After all they were refugees in a war which didn't belong on Earth.

"I wish I could make it change for you Lou" she shook her head. She could hear the guilt in his voice. She put her hand on his and looked up at him.

"It's not your fault, nor is it Mick's he just blundered into this. I need to find a way to get through this. I have to stay strong for the children... with their father not around I am all they have at the moment." Optimus really appreciated Lou's words and actions, he smiled at her and held out his hands. Lou was starting to shiver as the temperature dropped, she accepted the ride back into the base.

"Lou if you ever want to talk, my office door is always open, just come and talk to me." she simply nodded her head and smiled at him,

"Thank you" she replied.

Well that was chapter 8.

It was a bit long but there was so much I wanted to put in!

Hope you enjoy it!