Author's Notes: Yes, I've updated! I've had some things in my head for a while, but it wasn't until this past week, while I've been organizing the file room at my new job that things coalesced for me. Fortunately, not only can I take my lunch in the file room, but I have plenty of notebook paper to use. There were a few re-writes and hair-pulling after realizing that I left a few plot holes big enough for my younger brother to navigate his submarine through, but I think I've sewn those up. In this chapter, Hot Rod starts his protection detail; the Tantalis staff hits burnout; and Jack gets some bad news.

Chapter Eight

Going Pear-Shaped

One of the first things you learned in Torchwood was to enjoy and even savor the quiet times, because they didn't last. Unfortunately, it was a lesson that was sometimes necessary to learn and re-learn and learn again. As things settled down after the revelation about the Autobots (because, hello, giant alien robots!), Lacey's attention turned back to taking care of her husband's team (at least as much as they allowed her to), assisting at her church (she had a lot more luck there), being a sounding board for her uncle as he tried to figure out what changed from the experimentation at the Dam to the convention center (something she had a lot of experience with), as well as being a wife and mother.

About three weeks after meeting the Autobots and helping to set things in motion for the NEST Wives Club, she was printing out the recipes her mother picked up while they were moving around the world for a cookbook that St. Catherine's Guild was putting together as a fundraiser. The coordinator, Abigail Phan, asked for at least five recipes from each member … Lacey would be providing ten. That would give Abigail more of a choice, and would provide cover for anyone who wasn't able to provide the requested five. She hesitated, and then printed off a recipe which Kara gave her as a graduation gift. Abigail told her that she didn't have to impress her … Jack did that when he flirted with Abigail's youngest daughter … but Lacey reminded her that there were career women in the Guild who didn't have the time to get recipes. Abigail firmly shut her mouth at that point, although her eyes sparkled.

A quick glance at the clock on her computer told her that she had another twenty minutes before she had to leave to pick up Corey. She'd wait until she got home to start dinner, and then take it to the Dam so she, Jack, and Corey could eat together. Assuming, of course, that all hell didn't break loose between now and then. It was something she started when Corey was old enough to ask where her daddy was … and it was easy enough to make enough food for the entire team. She had her mother's example, after all. Lacey thought of the dinner parties her mother hosted when she was a child … that, at least, was something that she didn't have to worry about, and it was highly unlikely that her Majesty would ever come to dinner at their home. Emphasis on 'highly unlikely,' because nothing was impossible, especially when it came to Torchwood.

Her attention returned to Kara's recipe once more. Most of the time, her college roommate and best friend at the time retreated to the recess of her memory … but that ran in cycles. Most of the time, thinking of Kara created a dull ache in her chest, just as remembering her grandmothers did. There were other times when … well, when she caught herself trying to remember Kara's telephone number, only to remember at the last minute that Kara was dead and had been for ten years. She mourned for all of the friends she lost that day, of all the lives that would never be lived, but Lacey knew that the loss of Kara would always hurt most of all.

She once asked Jack if it was normal … to reach for Kara's phone number so long after she'd died. He answered with a small shrug and answered that his version of normal wasn't necessarily normal for anyone else … but he caught himself wanting to call people who'd been dead for twenty-five years. Lacey decided to take comfort in that, but made a mental note not to ask her husband something like that. It was, she realized later, a cruel thing to ask a man who'd lived far longer than anyone she would likely ever know. It wasn't her intention to be cruel, but it was. Fortunately, she was married to a very forgiving man, who smiled at her apology and accepted it with a snog that left her (even more) breathless than usual.

Another glance at the clock told her that she needed to start getting ready to leave. It was her greatest fear that class would let out early and her little girl would have to wait … Corey wasn't an insecure child by any stretch of the imagination, but there was no point in tempting fate. Lacey never spoke of that particular fear to her parents (for that matter, she never told Jack about it), as it was the result of something that actually happened when she was a child: it was her father's day to pick her up at school and his meeting ran (seriously) over. It wasn't his fault … there was no way for him to make other arrangements from within the meeting and he had no way of contacting her mother to let her know that his meeting ran over. By the time he arrived, the nine year old Lacey was sitting on the steps of the school, trying so very hard to be brave, as the principal watched over her. It took her father months to forgive himself for that … probably because he still had nightmares about her kidnapping the year earlier.

Things happened. She knew that. But she would do her damnedest to make sure that Corey wouldn't find herself waiting at her school for hours for her parents to pick her up. And, Ianto told her that once he was used to driving on the right-hand side of the road, he'd be more than happy to pinch-hit for her, assuming nothing else needed his attention at the time. She'd smiled and kissed his cheek, provoking a blush from the young man, and promised that she might take him up on that. He really was a sweet boy. When he was a little less fragile from the fallout of Canary Wharf and their recent encounter with Decepticons, Lacey would have to seriously think about introducing him to Cissie and Bronnie. She would have to wait on Bronnie, though. The middle Keller daughter would probably overwhelm the poor kid at the moment.

That reminded her … she would need to remember to make biscuits tonight. When Ianto stayed at the house after the Decepticon attack, he expressed an appreciation for the breakfast she made that morning: hot biscuits covered with butter and honey. She'd make sure to take the butter and the honey with her. As she reached her car, Lacey stopped. There was a candy-apple red Saturn Aura sitting in their drive way. She normally drove a 2004 Nissan Xterra … and then, the red car said, "Good afternoon, Alexandra." Hot Rod. Of course. Jack told her that he would be taking up his guardianship duties today.

"Good afternoon, Hot Rod … it's time to pick up Corey from school. I take it that your pre-mission briefing went well," she answered, rallying as Hot Rod opened the door for her. Lacey was already figuring out the best way to respond to questions about her new car … at last, she opted for a version of the truth: that it was a gift from her father. In a manner of speaking, that was the case. People who asked didn't need to know that Hot Rod could hear every word they said. In fact, it might work to their advantage.

"Quite well. My sire informed me that as the daughter of the Secretary of Defense, you have more experience with military matters than many individuals of your age," Hot Rod answered. Lacey smiled a bit ruefully as she settled inside the Autobot. There was far more to it than simply being the daughter of the Secretary of Defense, something that she explained to Hot Rod. The young Autobot was silent for several moments, before observing, "I see. I look forward to learning more from you, Alexandra." That made two of them!

TWTFTWTFTWTF

"Okay, let's go over this again."

Drake Keller rubbed at his forehead and sat back in his chair, because nothing was adding up. The original theory for the attack on the convention center was that the Dam blocked the signal from the Decepticons. It was a sound theory, since it was necessary for the little Decepticon Drake's brother helped to kill during the initial invasion to sneak in by way of Mikaela Banes' cell phone. However, it was also incorrect, as proven by a quick conversation with the NEST officers on duty that night. They set up a protective 'net' for lack of a better word in a perimeter around the convention center … part of a just in case scenario.

That provoked the current situation (or debacle, if you prefer) … a round table free-for-all that began about eight hours earlier. Drake was actually quite proud of his people … there had only been four arguments so far, and no fistfights. Then again, fistfights did tend to be rare. Emphasis on 'tend to be,' because people were known to take a swing at Noah out of sheer irritation. On the other hand, the same could be said of him … and the wheelchair wasn't always a deterrent to people he ticked off.

"I have a better idea," Geoff McLeod said, sounding exhausted, "why don't we take a break? I'm starving, I don't think Christopher has lifted his head for more than five minutes a time in the last thirty minutes, and Noah is getting even more annoying than he normally is." That drew a scowl from the named scientist, and Drake responded with a glare that was probably best described as 'flatly unfriendly.' The normally easygoing Scot went on in a more conciliatory tone, "Look, the point is, we're all exhausted and hungry and our nerves are reaching the breaking point. We need to stop, if only for a few hours."

Chris Lennox raised his head from his folded arms, eyes bleary, and murmured, "He's right. Someone can make a run to one of the local places or order in, I don't care." The young man dropped his head back onto his arms again. It was that, even more than Geoff's words, which convinced him. One of the boy's nicknames, not only among the staff of Tantalis, but of Jack's Torchwood as well, was 'the Energizer bunny,' because he just never stopped. He was always 'on,' and for him to behave like this … It was long past time for them all to take a break.

Noah said in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, "I'll do that. Everyone, figure out what you want. There should be some menus over on the table … that niece of yours stocked up on menus the last time she was in Boulder City, Drake." The director of Tantalis responded with an unamused look, but Noah ignored him. Geoff pushed himself to his feet, muttering something under his breath about it being a bad sign when Noah was the voice of reason in the room. Noah snapped, "Oh, put a cork in it, you self-righteous, sanctimonious Scottish ass! Just because I don't kiss up to the director's family doesn't mean I'm incapable of thinking about other people!" Geoff rounded on him, hands curling into fists at his sides, and Noah was right there to meet him, rising up out of his seat with flashing eyes.

"That's enough, both of you! Geoff, get all of the menus and distribute them. Christopher, get your head up from the table so you can have a look. Noah … I think of something to yell at you for later. We are going to eat and then we're going to rest for a few hours. There will be no timer set, so after you eat, report back when you feel up to it," Drake growled at them both. Definitely a bad sign when Noah was being more considerate and Geoff was acting like a bear with a sore ass. He rubbed at his forehead again … damn, they should have taken a break hours ago. Drake wanted to blame his niece, but she warned him earlier in the week that the fridge was almost bare, and she wouldn't have the opportunity to go grocery shopping for them for quite some time. Besides, it wasn't Lacey's responsibility to take care of his staff … it was his own. And normally, Chris handled those details, but he'd been busy running errands and preventing everyone from falling apart in the wake of their meeting with the Autobots.

The Autobots. As Geoff passed the menus for the local eateries around the room, Drake allowed himself to think about the encounter with the Autobots, which took place the day after his niece encountered the alien robots. Noah's brain took a day or so to reboot after the meeting, Geoff spent nearly the entire time with the robot medic (Ratchet? Drake thought that was right. It made sense, since a ratchet was a tool for fixing things), while Chris acted like a little kid whose birthday and Christmas came at the same time. The boy's older brother never left his side … not, as Drake realized later, to protect him, but because he wanted to watch his little brother's face during the meeting. To the amusement of all 'Bots (to say nothing of the rest of Tantalis), Major Will Lennox was on the receiving end of a fierce embrace from his younger brother before the Tantalis scientists left that day.

And Optimus Prime. What an extraordinary being. He seemed to be a combination of military commander, president, priest and kindergarten teacher. Or maybe it was a daycare teacher. Drake had a pretty good idea what his mother would have said, but his mom wasn't here right now, and frankly, the idea of his mother anywhere near the Autobot commander terrified him. It wasn't that he feared she would be harmed, but it would be like having a teacher and your mother in the same general area: the result would be nothing but trouble for you. In spite of the meeting with the Autobots, Drake still wasn't convinced that the alien beings were the 'good' guys, but he couldn't argue with his brother's assertion that the Decepticons were definitely not the good guys. No matter how the war started, no matter how valid their issues were at the beginning of said war, they weren't the good guys, not now.

And much to Drake's astonishment, when he told Optimus Prime about his own concerns (all of his concerns), the giant alien agreed that Drake should take his time before deciding whether the Autobots were the good guys. In the mean time, he intoned, they would continue to protect humanity from what remained of the Decepticons. Well, hell … what could Drake do with that? He knew that the Prime (or his scary bodyguard, Ironhide) could have easily squished him as soon as Drake told him that he didn't yet trust him. But he didn't, and Drake was still here, still among the living. He was still here, still alive, and still beating his head against the wall. Maybe he needed to figure this out before he could turn his attention back to the reason for the attack.

All right, then. He was a scientist. He was trained for situations like this … oh, he couldn't conduct experiments the normal way, but there were other ways for him to test the validity of the Autobots' claims. They made a good beginning with the meeting (and let's face it, no one squished Noah, who was at his annoying best and acting as if he knew everything there was to know about everything) … now, if only he could convince that part of him that was a rebellious little brother to shut up, so he could let the scientist do his job. That was a big part of the problem: there was a part of him that wanted to prove his older brother wrong. Not especially grown up, admittedly, but that was life.

Later, though. First, it was long past time to eat … and then he would get some rest (and thank you, Sector Seven, for putting crew dormitories in the Dam). Everything else could wait.

TWTFTWTFTWTF

For Torchwood, things never truly settled down … there was always something. Things settled in a few aspects after the assault against the convention center. It took Ianto an extra few days to regain his composure, but Jack really should have expected that. He survived Canary Wharf, which was only a few months in the past, and it was his first exposure to any Cybertronians. The Autobots, as a whole, had no desire to set foot (or was it 'ped' in this case?) in Hoover Dam after what Sector Seven did to Bumblebee, and Ianto spent most of his time within the Dam … so there was little opportunity for the boy to encounter their robotic allies.

Quite apart from the NEST-Torchwood-Autobot alliance (all right, maybe that was redundant), Torchwood had their own tasks, as they would have in Cardiff. Tosh and Suzie had their experiments, Ianto was cleaning up after the rest of them (mostly Owen and occasionally Jack) when he wasn't working things out in the Alien Archives Room where Jack's father-in-law made a stand of his own against the Decepticons along with Maggie Madsen, Agent Simmons, and Glen Whitmann, members of NEST was in and out for various reasons as were the members of Drake Keller's Tantalis, Jack had reports to read over and to sign off on, and God only knew what Owen was doing. Actually, the director came to realize that Tosh was spending nearly as much time trying to help Tantalis figure out what the hell happened when the convention center was attacked as she did on her own projects.

Jack was going over the most recent information from the Crown and Torchwood Three regarding the disaster at Canary Wharf when a knock on the door alerted him to a visitor … namely, Major Will Lennox. The human NEST commander stood in the threshold, his dark eyes flickering around a room that had to bring back less than pleasant memories for the younger man. Jack offered his NEST counterpart a welcoming smile, observing, "Will, nice surprise. Although I'm guessing from your expression that not only is this not a social visit, but it's not going to be the fun kind of business. What's going on?" Will's expression changed from sober to a strange combination of grimace and a smirk, with an eye-roll thrown in for good measure. This looked to be interesting … the same sort of 'interesting' that went with the old Chinese curse, 'may you live in interesting times.' Some people thought it was a curse, at least, although to Jack, it was business as usual.

"I hate to tell you this, Jack, but I've got some bad news," was the initial response. Jack shuddered. That was never a good sign. It was bad enough when a rank and file member of NEST said that, but if it was either of the commanders (human or Autobot), that was even worse. Lennox told him, "When NEST fought off the Decepticons, one of them was injured as they retreated … or just before they retreated, we're really not sure of the timeline." Jack nodded … it wasn't that hard to believe, given the ferocity of the fight between the Decepticons and NEST, and Will explained, "We've since learned that the injured Decepticon lost some pieces of himself during the retreat. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't bother me … but you've read about Scorponok's attack on us in Qatar." More to the point, Jack witnessed it with his team, but that wasn't the point right now. He simply nodded a second time and Will continued, "Right, SecDef told me that you knew about that encounter. So, you also know that even when he lost part of his tail, that part was still … I don't want to say sentient, but it was still dangerous and tried to kill us on the plane."

Jack still didn't say anything, because really, there wasn't anything to be said. Taking that for the prompting it was, Will outlined, "NEST received word that signals were being received somewhere in the city … Decepticon signals." Ah. Jack could see where he was going with this … NEST sent a team in and found that there was no Decepticon. However, that didn't account for Will's rather obvious concern. The younger man took a deep breath (seriously not a good sign) and went on, "It's in a residential area, Jack … near St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church." Jack's blood ran cold at this revelation. St. Thomas Aquinas … that was Lacey's parish. A quick check of his computer reassured him that it was Thursday, rather than Sunday … but there was still the matter of evacuating the rest of the people in the area.

"I take it that you'd like our help in evacuating the area," Jack observed and Will nodded, looking worried. The immortal didn't blame him … the idea of the Decepticons tearing up a bedroom community, looking for something that was left behind, was enough to give a hardened soldier nightmares. Truly, Jack didn't know if this missing piece was important enough, but he wasn't about to endanger the lives of hundreds of innocent people based on the assumption that the Decepticons wouldn't do just that. He continued, "All right, you got it. But you also get to tell my team." Will rolled his eyes, but rose to his feet. With the Torchwood-NEST alliance, Will had that ability … if the director of Torchwood gave his approval. Jack observed merrily, "Well, technically speaking, you do outrank me, and rank does have its privileges."

"You keep telling yourself that, Jack. You just keep telling yourself that," Will retorted. He turned to go, but stopped and turned back around. His expression was earnest and compassionate as he added, "You know she's fine. Right about now, she'll be heading to pick up Corey … she's fine, and even if things get ugly, Hot Rod is there to protect her." Oh. Yes. Jack almost forgot about that little detail. Hot Rod started his protection detail today.

Jack was still working out how he felt about that. Apparently, Rodimus remembered enough of something not to tell the little boy Jack was all those years ago that in time they would meet again, and that he would be the Autobot assigned to protect Jack's wife. He had to maintain the timelines, as Jack well knew. Still … he found himself reviewing his conversations with Rodi to see if the Autobot told him something that didn't seem to be important at the time. You didn't have the same priorities at a hundred plus that you did at eleven or twelve. Well, for that matter, you didn't have the same priorities at a hundred plus that you did at thirty or even ninety.

Jack sent a quick ping to Lacey's cell phone, requesting an update on her schedule. It wasn't something he did often, but he wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be returning to the Dam until later in the evening … hopefully once they were done with the evacuation. He trusted her in the Dam … that wasn't the issue. He just didn't want Tantalis grabbing the food that was meant for Torchwood, and Jack knew Drake's staff of scientists well enough to know that the attempted would probably be made.

That done, he headed back out in the main part of the Dam, where Suzie and Tosh were even now loading up what they would need. Even from here, he could hear Owen grumbling under his breath as he put together a kit of what he would need in the field, while Ianto emerged from the Alien Archives (or as it amused Owen to call it, the AA) to ask if there was anything he could do. Jack eyed the deliciously disheveled young man, but only asked that Ianto be available if anything changed. The boy agreed readily, before disappearing back into the AA. Jack watched him go, and gave himself a mental shake. He was married, not dead (not dead, ha), but as the Doctor was so fond of telling him in those months leading up to the Game Station, there was a time and place.

Will began, "If you want me to …" The 'beep' from Jack's mobile interrupted and Jack waved at him to continue. It was just the text from Lacey's phone about her … He read the response to his query about her schedule and swore ripely in Chinese. Will asked, his hand going automatically to his gun, looking around for a threat that wasn't there, "Jack? What's wrong?" The Torchwood director ignored him for a moment, because of course there was a change in his wife's schedule! He should know better than that by now!

Still ignoring Will (just for the moment), Jack called, "Be aware, people … Lacey is planning to stop by the parish on her way to pick up Corey." Owen responded with language that made Tosh blush, Suzie looked equally unhappy, while Will just blanched in horror. The immortal continued, "I don't know if she's there now, or if she'll be there during the evacuation." Will started to speak, but Jack already had a pretty good idea of what he was about to ask. He shook his head, adding, "She silences her mobile while she's on the road, Will. She doesn't like having distractions while she's driving."

"What about contacting Hot Rod? Ironhide can contact him," the major pointed out. Jack needed only a moment to think about that, and then nodded quickly. Will slapped his shoulder, reminding him, "I'll head to the surface and get him to send that message. And you know that Hot Rod won't let anything happen to her, Jack … besides, Lacey may have impulsive moments, but she isn't stupid. She'll be fine." Oh, Jack knew that … he just really wished that his wife wasn't caught in the crossfire, again. However, he admitted morosely, she's been in the crossfire from the day she was born. And that reminded him of something else. He flipped open his own mobile and dialed a particular number.

When he received an answer, Jack said, "It's me. I don't know if you've been told, but there's Decepticon activity over by St. Thomas Aquinas and Lacey may be over there. I know that Lacey cleared both you and Rinna to pick up Corey … if you like, I can call ahead to the school, let them know? Yeah? Thanks … I will. Will is asking Ironhide to send a transmission to Hot Rod, letting him know what's going on. I don't know if it'll be in time, don't even know if she's there, but at absolute worst … yeah, that's what I was thinking. Thanks again, John. I'll let you know when Lacey is safe." With his conversation concluded, Jack turned his attention to his team. Not surprisingly, Suzie was grumbling under her breath about Lacey's 'inability to stay out of trouble for five sodding minutes.' Jack didn't correct her … not just because he knew she didn't really mean it, but because she needed to get it out of her system. Ianto returned from the AA just in time to hear about Lacey's intended destination, and hovered near Tosh's work station, looking troubled.

Not for the first time, Jack was beyond grateful that Lacey respected his feelings about organized religion and didn't suggest sending their daughter to school at St. Thomas Aquinas. To have his wife in potential danger was bad enough … to have his wife and daughter in potential danger would have been nearly unbearable. Jack motioned Ianto over, saying softly, "My father-in-law may bring Corey back here if he or Corinna picks her up from school. If he does, he'll call ahead … just make sure that Corey's coloring books are out for her. I keep a stock of those, along with crayons, in my office. We've done that before, and it's something normal, so she doesn't get scared about her mother. Can you take care of that for me?"

Ianto's eyes slid away, but only for a moment. He nodded, still a bit hesitant, and Jack bit back the impulse to tease the youngster. Ianto murmured, "Of course, sir." Oh hell, that was so not fair! Every time the young Welshman called him 'sir,' Jack's legs went wobbly. Maybe it was the accent, maybe it was the vowels, but whatever it was, it was just plain devastating. Jack smiled at the boy, who turned an interesting shade of red (which was definitely his color) and beat a hasty retreat. With his daughter's security, safety and comfort seen to, Jack's mind jumped to another set of tracks.

He quickly snagged his second in command, who looked both cross and worried, and said, "I need you to drive over to the parish, Suzie … I'll be calling the elementary school to let them know that my in-laws will be picking up Corey. My father-in-law already knows the situation. Yes, I know one of us could have done that, but I don't want to scare my daughter any more than I absolutely have to." Suzie's features softened and she nodded her agreement. Jack bellowed, "Okay, kids, let's get going … we've got helpless civilians in the line of fire, let's move, let's move, let's move!" And as for you, Alexandra Elizabeth, he mentally told his absent wife, you damn well better be alive when we get there!

TBC