(Thanks for the reviews, guys. They make my day~ I'm doing a bit of skipping around, such as skipping Torrie eating and such, but you should still find this acceptable. Anyways, enjoy 14.)

I slept through most of July second, cooking breakfast and dinner and small snacks for the kids not really counting as being awake. Neither did going to the bathroom. Throughout it all, I hadn't seen a single Autobot since I first saw them all. Not even Jazz. I was up at six on the third of July, my body having decided that I had slept long enough and that it was now time to wake up. Around six thirty, having washed my hair carefully with the garden hose and dressing myself in my mechanic blues, I was in my kitchen cooking up some pancakes for breakfast while the girls were waking up slowly. I was drinking my morning tea and I had popped a couple Vicodin. Truly, the aches are worse on the day after the second.

My ribs hurt like a bull elk had decided to use me as a speed bump, and the area that the ribs were broken at had turned a yellow-purple color. It bruised. The bruise that ran across my body in a wicked 'X' shape was a disgusting color of purple and green, and was slightly swelled too. Apparently I had a minor concussion, though it didn't make me to into a coma or anything, and that was mostly going away. My tongue was already healing; the skin knitting back together slowly. It hadn't bled in a long time. As for my ankle, I was suffering. I should have used my crutches, but, alas, I can't use them now. It would seem that Rumble, in his attempt to 'hold' my cousins and not harm them, had bent the crutches in half with his little piston things. Now I was stuck hobbling around.

Speaking of hobbling; I finished my tea and the last of the pancakes, and left a large stack in the oven. It was warm in the oven, a cause of using the burners up top, and the pancakes, hot and delicious smelling, were kept warm and toasty. Piling up the extras on a tray, several plates with large stacks on them, I pulled the maple syrup jar from my fridge. I smiled. I loved the maple syrup that I had. It had been a trade from a nice young farmer for me to fix his Kubota; he had crates of homemade maple syrup, and he gave me one. I still have many jars left. It's better then the store bought shit that everyone else gets; that's just too sweet. This is delicious.

The tray piled up with pancakes, teas, extra plates, and maple syrup, I snagged some of my silverware and headed outside. Going down the steps had been hard; trying to balance the food and trying to keep weight off of my ribs, ankle, and bruise had almost sent me face planting. But I got myself down to the ground. Walking out to the little camping spot that they had made up, I found them stretching and flexing their muscles, sweating already. Arching a brow as I neared, I tsked. "Working out, were you?"

Lennox had his mouth full of shoelace as he replaced his bootlaces, so James answered. "Yes, Ma'am. We just finished, actually." He nodded, brunet locks falling in his face. He looked at the tray in my hands. "What'cha got there?"

I quirked my lips in a half grin. "Breakfast." I answered. "Fresh of the griddle with home made ice tea, and non-store bought maple syrup to go with it." I looked at the table they had set out while I was asleep. Around it was chairs and various pieces of paper that were blank. I hobbled toward it, but Bobby, who had abandoned his stretching, beat me to it. He snagged the tray and set it down. He plopped into a chair and grinned up at me.

"Gotta be faster then that, Ms. Evans." He winked at me. His red hair was in disarray, even short, and was amusing to look at. Bobby flashed me white teeth. "Going to eat with us today?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm going to go wake my girls, and then we'll eat in the shop."

Eric joined the table next, flopping down and plopping his feet in Bobby's lap. Bobby, of course, squawked and shoved the offending naked toes off of his lap. "Too bad; we'd have made room for the squirts too." He chuckled. "Do you need help getting back?"

I ran a hand carefully over my hair, brushing a strand of white out of my face. "Nope."

James plopped down and looked at the pancakes. You could practically see drool running out of his mouth. "Ma'am, those smell like heaven. Do they taste like it too?"

Tilting my head, I contemplated the answer. "Depends on how your taste buds work. To me, they're good, but not as good as my grandma's used to be."

James grinned and rubbed his hands together. "I'm sure they taste magnificent, Ma'am."

Lennox chuckled behind me, walking around with his boots fixed so he could take the last chair. "James," he said, "you're a hopeless flirt. Now stuff your face and be quiet." He chuckled. He glanced over at me with a slow grin. "Go and get the munchkins some grub, Ms. Evans."

Walking away, I nodded. "Already gone, Lennox." I called back. Waking the kids, assuming they're still asleep, would be interesting.

…

By the time I got the kids fed, myself fed, and more tea brewed, it was nine. I had left the kids reluctantly with the soldiers, but I needed to see if I could get the engine to my Jimmy working. If it would work, assuming that it would even start, then I could get her rolling as soon as I could get around to getting the axel fixed. Perhaps I would recruit one of the soldiers to help me. Before I started on my car, I had to call all planned appointments that I had on cars and cancel them. Most of my clients understood once I explained that I had gotten in a wreck and then some 'hoodlums' had 'vandalized' my house while I was in the hospital, though few were disgruntled. The young man who's tractor I had worked on, the one who gave me the syrup, had offered to come help me out up here. I had to turn him down; I had more then enough folks up here to help me out.

Having turned off my phone to avoid any unpleasant calls, I then went to my Jimmy. Popping up the hood, I took a check again. It looked alright from an outside view, really muddy and some vegetation that I was careful to remove, but one wouldn't know the extent of the damage until the engine was attempted to be turned on. Slipping the remaining door open, I settled in the seat half way, leaving my left leg out and my right leg in. The keys were on the dashboard, so I grabbed them and then inserted them into the ignition. A low buzzing told me that the electrical wiring still worked, as it was telling me that my door was open when it should be closed. I made sure that the gear was set to park, so that the jimmy didn't attempt to roll, and then I inhaled and grasped the keys.

Turning the ignition, I felt the rumble of the jimmy trying to start, sounding like a strangled lion. It tried to catch, and I waited three seconds before letting go, the car falling silent. Pursing my lips, I tried again. The jimmy rattled, rumbled, and the starter tried to catch, but it failed. Giving a slightly frustrated sound, I sighed. Gently patting the dashboard, I decided to give it one more go. Turning the keys, I hear it start again, trying to catch. I waited past three second, counting up to seven, and then the starter finally caught. With a slightly rattley roar, my jimmy started up.

Regardless of how it hurt my ribs, I threw my hands in the air and fist pumped. "Hell yeah! She works!"

Slipping out, I took notice of the twin girls peeking around the door. The jimmy idled on high, and I went around to the front, waving at them. "Shouldn't you be with the soldiers?"

"Yeah." Hally nodded, smiling shyly at me. "But we heard the jimmy trying to start, so…"

"You got nosey?" I supplied.

"Yeah!" she chirped. Her blue eyes blinked at the jimmy. "She's not gonna run good for a while, is she?"

I shook my head. "No. She's a good ol' girl, and until I can get her fully repaired, she'll truck along at a slower pace… once I fix the axel of course."

Hally tilted her head. "I'm gonna pretend I know what dat is."

I chuckled. "I'll tell you later." I popped the hood open, propping it up with my crowbar, the engine shaking in its casing. I peered inside, watching everything turning and working. I pursed my lips. "Everything is in order…" I sighed. "Probably the starter." I leaned back and reached up to let the lid fall down. As I stepped back to go around to turn off the jimmy, the scent of something burning hit my nose. I looked back at the hood right about the time it blew upwards in a shower of warm oil and thick gooey smoke. My ribs ached and throbbed with a burning pain as I jerked my hands over my head. My lungs constricted with the thick smoke, and I heard the flames crackling from my car's engine as it choked and died.

"Torrie!" Hally shrieked, undoubtedly startled. "Torrie! Torrie are you okay?"

I was scrambling for the fire extinguisher under my desk right about the time that I heard heavy steps and booted feet running. Regardless of the burning in my ribs and ankle, I ducked under the desk and felt blindly for my extinguisher. Finding it, I hobbled back into the thick of the cloud, popping the lit and holding down the nozzle. I coughed on the acrid scent of burning oil and scorching paint as I bumped into the jimmy, spraying the fizzing white foam out onto the engine. My eyes watered as the extinguisher foam fizz slowly replaced the smoke.

"Torrie!" I heard Lennox call. "Torrie!" I kept spraying and coughing, and I didn't jerk when a hand grabbed my arm. "Torrie, what happened?" Lennox asked from next to me. "Come on, let's get away from the fire." He tugged me slightly.

I tugged back. I wasn't running from a little engine fire; it hadn't reached the gas tank or the NOS so we were fine. It wasn't the first time it had happened to me. "Not happening." I rasped. The flames died off finally, and I could breathe again, slightly at least, as a breeze picked up and swept the smoke away.

Dripping the extinguisher, I leaned on the side of the car and coughed. Well, there goes my engine. My tea bottle was pressed into my hand, and a damp cloth, wet with tea it smelled like, was pressed to my eyes to help with the smoke burning. I took a drink, and let myself try and breathe. The inhalation wasn't bad enough to bother me for long; just a minor irritation.

When I could see, I peeked open my eyes, probably blood shot by now, and peered at everyone. The Autobots, much to my chagrin, had apparently come running at my cousins' shriek. They were peering at me through the wide open doors, cannon looking things glowing slightly.

Bobby had a hold of my cousins, who were struggling to get to me. The smoke wasn't entirely gone, so I was glad he kept them out there.

I coughed a couple more times and then swallowed. "I'm alright; there must have been an oil leak that caught fire." I looked at the hood, which had fallen back into place with smoke and white foam leaking from the edges of it. "Just an accident." I said nonchalantly.

Jazz, who was closest to Bobby and my cousins, leered at me. "Its always an accident with you, Torrie. Allways."

I cast him a scathing look, though the reflection that glinted back at me faintly showed smoke stains and black where there should have been white in my hair. It kind of ruined the look. "Look," I rasped, "it's not the first time." I swallowed. "Listen, I appreciate you all dashing to my aid," no I didn't, "but honestly, I'm alright."

I saw one of the little rat-looking twins snicker. "She look' li' Jackie when he 'splodes somethin'!" he snickered. "Maybe we 'an call 'er lil' Jackie!"

I coughed and curled my lip. "I'm fine, really." I waved my arms for them to disperse, and then I paused. I frowned. No car meant no going shopping for food and much needed feminine toiletries. "Any chance one of you can give me a ride into town?" the soldier's vehicles weren't parked outside anymore… I hadn't seen then yesterday while I was in my zombie sleep state. "I need to go shopping."

Mirage sighed. "Splendido incubo."