A/N: Gah! Just realized Jack and Sierra have the same homeroom! Well, to avoid confusion, let's just say in this AU, they're in a new school year. :)

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CHAPTER 25
Small Talk

Wheeljack almost became suspicious when he saw Jake leave the school with Sierra, almost. It wasn't that he hadn't seen this coming, Jake was sixteen, he wasn't a little kid, he had hormones and feelings. What he hadn't expected was this on the first day, he definitely was not ready for it. He had just gotten used to being a parent again, and now Jake was pulling this on him. "Yeah, I'll definitely text you!" Jake grinned from ear-to-ear.

"Oh wow, is that your Foster Dad's car?" Sierra piped up, looking Wheeljack over "Now, THAT is a sexy ride."

Wheeljack watched Jake's face go red, for reasons only he would understand. His holoform smirked a bit, maybe he'd shy away from the girl, and he wouldn't have to deal with this. "Yeah, he's got a pretty sweet ride, doesn't he?" Jake grinned sheepishly "Imagine driving cross-country in that." Sierra chuckled, at this point, Wheeljack honked "I'm coming!" Jake shouted, he looked at Sierra slowly "I guess I'll see you around?" He asked.

"Call me." Sierra replied.

As she waved and left, Wheeljack noticed the lovesick look in Jake's eyes already. Wheeljack didn't like that at all, there were too many things that could an would go wrong. Starting with the fact if she realized the family secret they'd be dragging another human into their war. As Jake climbed in, he eyed the boy calmly. "Think long and hard before pursuing that girl." He told him politely.

"Dad, if I-" Jake began.

"She'll find out about us eventually if you two begin a romantic relationship." Wheeljack explained, he looked at Jake "Two things could happen then. She would freak out, and break your heart... Or be okay with it, an therefore be dragged into our war." Jake looked down a bit "I'm not saying don't pursue her. If you like her, go for it. Just take it slowly, really get to know her first." He added.

"That's fair." Jake replied, nodding.

Hoping to cheer up Jake's spirits, Wheeljack smiled a bit. "I take it you had quite the good day though, eh?" Wheeljack asked, Jake looked over, and nodded with a smile of his own on his face "What did I tell you, bud? You had NOTHING to worry about." He noted.

Jake nodded his head in response, unsure of how to take what Wheeljack had just told him either way. And worst of all, now worried he'd never have a date. Would he be able to even have friends outside of the other allies? After all, his friends could just as easily figure out something was up if they could never come over to his house. "Hey." Wheeljack settled a hand onto Jake's shoulder "I didn't mean to scare you bud, You'll still be able to have a social life. All I'm saying is you'll have to be careful about it." He added.

"Did you read my thoughts through the bond again?" Jake asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I can't help it when you aren't talking, gets me worried." Wheeljack shrugged his shoulders a bit "You knew living with me wouldn't be easy Jake. I tried to explain this to you from day one. You can't invite your friends over or anything, sure." He then added "But you can still hang out with them. In school, in town, as long as you have someone with you..." He shook his head "You're really overreacting here." He added.

Jake felt his face blush, definitely understanding what he meant. He really had been overreacting, just because he couldn't invite any friends over didn't mean he wouldn't have friends, it was a silly thought. "Sorry, I guess I'm just getting used to the rules is all." Jake admitted, he shrugged his shoulders "I just wish you guys didn't have to hide yourself sometimes, y'know?" He asked.

"Oh trust me, I do too. One day, we might for all we know." Wheeljack replied "Listen, you know you can just-"

"I'm not leaving you Dad." Jake answered quickly.

Wheeljack stared at Jake a bit, surprised he'd even suggest he'd meant that at the moment. "Actually, I was going to say, you could just tell them that the base is closed to the public. There are some human bases like that." He shook his head "To my understanding, anyway." He explained.

Jake nodded, that made sense, no one would get upset at least if nothing else. Taking a deep breath, he leaned back against his seat. His mind was in other places following that, but mostly on how quickly his life was changing. He'd never imagined how hard doing this would be, but he knew it was all going to be worth it in the end. However, Jake did eventually turn to Wheeljack. "Why do I get the feeling you also just don't want me dating yet?" Jake questioned.

Wheeljack smirked slyly. "The sooner I can avoid talking to you about your version of 'sex' the better." He added.

"Oh God, 'Jack! I've been on dates before and Tom gave me that talk!" Jake said quickly, a little disturbed at the very thought "I love you big guy, but I don't think I want to hear that version of the talk, no offense." He added.

Wheeljack chuckled a little, he had a feeling Jake wouldn't. He knew close to nothing about the talk, or at least the human version, and would likely be reading it off of some website. "Yeah, I don't blame you, at all." Wheeljack winked a bit, and roughed up Jake's hair "Primus, you, my little one, need a haircut." He noted, Jake's face fell "Your hair is way too long." He explained.

"I like my hair long." Jake muttered.

"It drops over your eyes, and you don't look good with it. We're going tomorrow." Wheeljack told him flatly.

Jake had come to learn that you never questioned Wheeljack as a Father. He was the most loving an playful Father on the planet but when he said something like that, he was very serious. "Fine, fine. I'll cut my hair short again if it'll make you happy." Jake rolled his eyes a bit, Wheeljack only gave a triumphant smirk "Oh yeah, smirk all you like, I can still get emancipated." Jake teased.

"I can't imagine you giving up the chance to live with me."

Jake smiled, that was definitely true, the chances of him actually getting emancipated were zero. Yes, life would of course be harder, but he'd known that, he wasn't stupid, not by a long shot. Jake's eyes moved towards something nearby, grabbing Wheeljack's attention. "Jake, what's wrong?" He questioned.

"I swear I saw that red car at lunch today."

Wheeljack quickly moved his sideview mirror to notice the red sports car as it casually parked on the side of the road. It did look suspicious, but never having seen Knock Out before, Wheeljack simply took it as coincidence. After all, the Decepticon had turned off his homing beacon and therefore masked his signal. "Probably someone with a kid who goes there or a student. Don't worry about it." Wheeljack shrugged "I'm not getting any strange readings." He explained.

"You sure?" Jake asked quietly "Because I swear he was right by me."

Wheeljack felt his spark skip a beat at that, he didn't like the sound of it. The very thought that the Decepticons were still keeping tabs on Jake definitely worried him, especially after hearing Ratchet's theory. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed himself slowly. "If you ever see him again, call me and I'll show up." Wheeljack explained calmly "No need for alarm, but just to be safe." He added.

"It's weird, they've never followed Jack, Miko, or Raf." Jake muttered.

"They aren't actual family, family in spirit, of course. But not wards." Wheeljack was calm in explaining this to Jake "I never did totally explain this. But back in the war, I was... Well, i was a really feared Wrecker." He was quiet for a moment, though he knew they were after Jake for other reasons likely, it could have played a part too "I made a lot of enemies who would probably jump at the chance to hurt you to get to me." He admitted.

"Did you ever...?"

"Yeah, I killed people, we all have." Wheeljack admitted, not sounding very proud of it "But if there's one thing I can tell you, it's this. I'll never let them hurt you." Wheeljack eyed the boy calmly "I once stormed a Decepticon base, without weapons, and saved your eldest brother." Jake's eyes widened a bit "And that was before I even became a Wrecker." He shook his head "No matter what happens, and no matter who is looking to grab you. You can bet your sorry aft I'll save you." He added.

"Did you REALLY do that?" Jake asked, amazed.

"Bet your aft I did." Wheeljack nodded "Pried him right out of the hands of a Decepticon twice the size of your school." Jake's eyes widened even further, Wheeljack only smiled a bit "You have no idea how much my sparklings mean to me yet, Jake. I know I've been playful and all of that, I really haven't had the chance to show it for you." He looked Jake in the eyes "But I can honestly say, that I'd give my life for my kids, you included." He added.

"But I wasn't even around since they were sparklings like they were..." Jake blushed a bit "I'd think that I'd be on a different plain than you know..."

Wheeljack gave a stunned look at Jake, did he honestly think that? The mech couldn't understand or comprehend why. If you wanted to adopt a child, it meant you loved them just as much as you loved any child you'd Fathered. There was no question that Jake had a place in his spark just as much as every other one of his children, not even a small question. "You're as important to me as any of them Jake. I want you to never think that way again, got it?"

Jake was taken aback by the stern way Wheeljack had said that. But he did smile, and nodded very slowly. "Yeah, stupid of me, sorry." Jake grinned "I guess I'm just not used to having a parent." Wheljack turned to Jake "With Tom, he was obviously like my Grandpa." He looked out the window, silent for a moment "Every other Foster Home I went to I try to forget. I mean, if you knew some of the ways I was treated... You'd be down there ready to kill a few of them." he admitted quietly.

"I didn't know you went to more Foster Homes?" Wheeljack asked "I thought-"

"You only stay in the orphanage year-round if there are special circumstances." Jake shook his head "I was only there when I was between homes, Tom found me at one of those times." He was silent, Wheeljack looked over at him curiously "I didn't tell you about it, because I've been hurt, physically, and emotionally before... So I just said I was in the orphanage." He turned his head a bit "It isn't easy." He admitted.

Wheeljack could tell that Jake had had a hard time in the system already. While he could have asked, he knew reliving that could have bad results. Gently, he put a hand on his knee, smiling. "Well, you only have one home now. Mine." Wheeljack insisted "That's all that matters, right?" he commented quietly.

Jake only smiled a bit, and nodded. Thankful that Wheeljack didn't push further into his past. He still had scars, physical and emotional from one home in particular he was afraid to relive. And the last thing he wanted was for Wheeljack to hear about that.

...

A/N: Gah! Been a busy week for me, and it took forever to write this because of that. I may go deeper into Jake's time in the system eventually, but I will say it WASN'T all bad, I don't want to turn this into an angst/Gary Stu fic like that. The darker times are just a small part that stuck with him. :) Anyways, reviews make my day!