Ha, less than a month this time! The format of this one is slightly different than anything I've done in the past, so you guys gotta tell me whatcha think about it! I've gotten a ton of alerts and favorites since dark of the moon came out last week and that has seriously been the greatest inspiration I've had in a while (besides my favorite idea-bouncer-offer Brittany ;)). Thanks to all of you who have come aboard and I hope you're not disappointed. To all the rest of you who have stuck around SO long...couldn't have asked for a better bunch of readers. This story has gotten me through a lot and the fact that people out there actually enjoy it is without a doubt the most amazing feeling in the world.

Just in case it's not obvious, I own nothing from Transformers...just the plot and the characters you didn't see in the movies.

Please review 'cause they're like crack and I am nothing more than a shameless addict who will beg for more :))

Finally, after all the planning and the stress and the headaches, it was now the moment Mikaela had been waiting for: wedding dress shopping. She would have loved to bought it months ago but it had taken this long to get Sam agree to let her leave the city without him.

There was no way he was tagging along on this little mini-vacation.

So, instead, she had four Autobots following their every move as she, Christian, and Judy spent the weekend in New York City to find the perfect dress.

Judy had almost cried when Mikaela had called to ask her if she would be a part of the special event, but there was no way she could not have the older woman by her side. Since she and Sam began dating, his mom had been one of her biggest supporters and inspired her in so many ways to become the woman she was today.

Christian was there, of course, because of her role as Maid of Honor. Despite meeting each other for the first time barely a year ago, the girl had become her other half in a platonic kind of way. Someone who had never met the two before would think they'd grown up together because of how close they were.

"This is totally why you're my best friend," Christian came back in from the balcony. "Have you seen that view?"

"Sometimes I really don't know why I like you," Mikaela shot back. "You and Balie are almost the same size. I wonder how she'd feel about being my Maid of Honor…"

"Oh whatever, I know better. Where's Mama Wicky?" Christian had met Sam's mom twice before, once over the summer when she and Leo had come out to LA and when Judy and Ron had come to see them in Philadelphia after the semester started, and had instantly given the older woman the nickname.

"Said she was almost ready and would be here in a minute," Mikaela was almost bouncing in her place. "Can you believe we're in New York City shopping for my wedding dress?"

"You still haven't figured that out yet?" She got a sarcastic eye roll in response to her excited statement. "We've been here since yesterday evening. I would've thought landing at the airport would've clued you in on that little fact!"

"Could you at least act a little happy for me?"

"Oh, I'm totally happy for you," Christian smiled sweetly. "I just love making fun of you!"

"I officially hate you," She crossed her arms over her chest. "Butthead!"

Judy came into the room moments later to find her future daughter-in-law pouting like a two-year-old while Christian stood a couple feet away giggling uncontrollably. Both of them turned to look at her and she was taken back to a time when Sam was little and Jacob would tease him mercilessly about his curly mop. Mikaela had that same look her son always had and her best friend had that perfect mix of trying to look perfectly innocent while also looking completely guilty.

"Christian, quit making fun of her," Judy shook her head amusedly. They'd been doing this the whole time so far. "Mikaela, she's just picking on you because you make it easy for her."

"Hey! Why are you taking her side?" Mikaela protested indignantly.

"I'm not taking anybody's side," She said. "But you two can sit here and bicker like three-year-olds or we can get out of this hotel room and start looking for your dream dress."

"I'm all for the second option," Christian cut in and sent her best friend a faux nasty look. "God knows it's going to take forever just for you to not find what you're wanting and we'll have to do this all over again tomorrow and the next day…and the one after that…"

"Am I gonna have to put the two of you in time out?" Judy threw her hands up exasperatedly.

"I'm just kidding Mama Wicky," Christian looped her arm around Mikaela's waist. "I couldn't be happier for this girl."

That effectively ended the girls' pseudo argument and the trio left to begin their search.

"Bro, seriously, chill out," Leo had watched his best friend nervously look from the TV to the clock to his cell phone repeatedly since they started playing Xbox. "They haven't even been gone for 24 hours yet."

"I can't help it," Sam said sheepishly. "It's just the first time we've really been apart since all that."

"She's got the boys with her," He reminded him pointlessly. "Plus the base is like less than half an hour away by helicopter."

"I know, I know."

He knew he was stressing about it way more than he needed to be. They had so much security surrounding the three girls that it would be almost impossible for anything to happen, but there was no way he couldn't not be slightly afraid. If something were to happen, he would lose it.

Letting her go off to New York City without him had started a major argument between them. He absolutely refused to let there be that much distance between them and, although she understood why he felt the way he did, Mikaela was completely adamant about him not going with them. There was no way in hell she was risking him seeing her wedding dress before the moment she started walking down the aisle. Nothing about them had ever been very traditional, and she was determined to keep at least that one tradition about their wedding.

Will was actually the one who finally got Sam to back down. Like Leo said, the base was a short helicopter ride away, and he had promised to check up on her at least once. He didn't like that the girls were off by themselves, but he remembered how important the wedding dress shopping was to Sarah and how she threatened him within an inch of his life if he so much as tried to glimpse at the closet she was keeping it in. Not to mention that the closet was at her mom's house anyway; no, he'd been perfectly content to wait to see it.

"Have you got the honeymoon all planned out yet?" Leo asked curiously.

The honeymoon was Sam's one big contribution to the wedding—besides showing up, of course. After the conversation they'd had about him feeling like he was going to be the one thing that screwed up her perfect wedding, he'd asked her if she'd let him plan that part. Frankly, he could care less about the ceremony itself—all the planning in the world couldn't change the way she said "I do". She was beyond willing to let him do it, not just because it was one less thing she had to worry about, but because she still felt bad about making such a big deal about the wedding.

"Not even close," He groaned. "I've thought about Hawaii, but she's been to the beach in Cali a million times. Florida is out because we were there for spring break. Maybe a cabin, but I don't know that it's romantic enough. I don't want her to be disappointed."

"She won't be," Leo assured his buddy. "Besides, it's your honeymoon—how much are you really going to be out of the bedroom anyway?"

"She's always wanted to go to London, but it's the middle of December y'know? I don't think the weather will be good enough."

"I forget how much money you have," He rolled his eyes. "If you're gonna leave the country, what about somewhere south—Australia or Mexico?"

Sam's eyes lit up and the expression was a perfect description of a light bulb going off over his head.

"Oh my God Leo you're a genius!"

"You two wanna go eat?" Mikaela asked as they left yet another store. "I'm getting hungry."

Despite not finding anything she liked in any of the stores they went to that morning, she was still in good spirits. They had the whole weekend to find something; getting all stressed out in the first couple hours would ruin the entire trip.

"I'm down for food," Christian said looking at her phone. "Just call your boy. Leo says he's freaking out."

"If I didn't love him…" She muttered sarcastically but it was tinged with affection. "He's worse than a girl."

Her best friend and future mother-in-law knew better than to think she was upset about having to check in with Sam. If they were in New York for any other reason, the phone would be glued to her ear because they just didn't do separation. Sure, they had their time apart for a girls' night or male bonding time, but never for this length of time. At most they were apart all day long, but they still went to sleep in the same bed every night.

Judy could only picture how her son was coping. Now that he was on the other side of the country and she didn't see him every day, it was so much more obvious to see how much he'd grown. Up until he bought that first rundown Camaro, she was honestly worried about him. He had Miles, who had been his best friend since elementary school, but that was it. He was shy and insecure and antisocial; she didn't know if he'd ever be able to put himself out there enough to fall in love. Then came along this teenage girl named Mikaela and overnight there seemed to be a change in him. She couldn't lie—there had been moments early on when she and Ron had discussed amongst themselves the surprising relationship. It was obvious this girl was out of their boy's league. Even as his parents and thinking he was the most amazing son ever, they'd waited for the day Sam lost his first girlfriend.

Except it never happened. Instead of drifting apart, they grew closer and closer every day until it got to where everybody saw them as that 'it' couple. Most people didn't know, and never would, how their relationship started and it was definitely a shock to see it form but they just completed each other.

None of it made sense, but there wasn't a soul who would change the path the two youngsters had taken. Those infernal Autobots may have stolen the so-called 'normal' life away from the junior Witwicky, but he would've never found his forever without them.

Mikaela too had grown so much and still continued to do so. She hadn't made the best impression the first couple of times Judy had seen her. How could she have when the first time the two women saw each other was when Mikaela was hiding behind a chair in her son's room and the door had been locked. Of course, now they understood the circumstances surrounding that but they hadn't for a while.

She was rough around the edges, a little aloof and couldn't care less what anybody thought of her, and dressed a tad on the slutty side. It was everything she expected Sam not to find attractive. Admiration from a distance was one thing, but to actually fall into a relationship with the girl had shocked his mother.

After a while, though, the two leading ladies in Sam's life warmed up to each other and Judy was quick to become the mother figure Mikaela never had. If she needed to talk about anything, from something superficial like clothes and shoes to serious matters like her dad, she always went to Judy. Her attire hadn't changed and she still didn't care what anyone thought about her but she carried herself so much differently that it looked like she'd gone through a complete makeover.

"Where's your head at Mama Wicky?" Christian's chipper voice cut through her thoughts. "You look like you're a gazillion miles away."

"Thinking about them," Judy didn't have to clarify who 'them' was. "I remember thinking they wouldn't last a month when Sam was spending the whole day in the bathroom getting ready for their first date."

"Really?" Mikaela's best friend asked curiously. "They look like they're made for each other."

"They do now," She agreed. "You know I wasn't really crazy about her in the beginning?"

"But y'all are like super close!"

"I didn't give her a chance. I just judged her by the way she talked and how she looked. I couldn't understand how Sam was so smitten with her. I thought it was all physical and that scared me because he was my baby boy. I wasn't ready for him to venture into that part of life; he was only 16," Judy smiled wistfully. "It wasn't until Sam brought her to dinner the first time that I looked past all that and saw her. He knew I didn't really like her and he made me promise to be nice and to try to get to know her and not just write her off because she looked a certain type."

"What happened then?" Christian asked enthralled in the story. "What made you change your mind?"

"She just gave him this look," All this time later and she still didn't really know how to describe it. "It was quick, but I saw so much in her eyes. It was like her whole world was right there in him. I knew then it wasn't just some high school thing. They'd only been dating about six months by then, but I knew just from that one look she was the other half of his heart. I don't know that either of them knew how much they needed each other at that point or that they shared looks like that, but it was so obvious to the rest of the world."

"Aww, that's so sweet," She gushed. "It's like one of those epic romances every girl wishes they could have."

"And now they're getting married," Judy finished and gave her future daughter-in-law a warm look. "I don't know that I've ever been more proud of the two of them than I am right now."

Mikaela walked over to them a minute or two later shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Your son is such a perv," She said to his mother.

"What'd he do?"

"Wants me to go to a lingerie store and then do Facetime while I'm in the dressing room trying them all on so he can give his opinion," She put air quotes around the last part and Christian and Judy laughed uproariously. "Guys that's not funny!"

"No, it's hilarious," Christian clarified. "And so not surprising considering the way you two go at it all the time and now you're away from each other for an entire weekend. I'm not entirely sure how neither of you have gone into withdrawal yet!"

"Oh, he's definitely feeling it," She smirked. "Hope your boyfriend wasn't in the same room 'cause, wow, Sam was pretty explicit."

"Alright, enough of that," Judy cut into the conversation. "Let's go get food before we've gotta put you on ice."

They stood and left the store they were currently in and started walking down the street in search of something to eat. There was this cute little pizza place a couple blocks down and Judy drug the two girls in without saying a word and they got a few crazy looks at the sudden action and the resulting shrieks from both teenagers. Neither girl argued with the selection because they were perfectly content with trying some legendary New York City pizza.

Sam woke Leo up early the next morning telling him they had an appointment to go look at something, but wouldn't divulge any other details. Leo was not happy about waking up so early on a Sunday morning, but his best friend was bouncing from excitement so he couldn't tell him to fuck off and bury his head in the blankets like he wanted.

It took them a while to get where they were going, but once they did Leo knew immediately what they were doing. A sly grin took over Sam's face when he mentioned it was his gift to Mikaela and had gone to great lengths to make sure she didn't know anything about it until he was ready to show her. It was something he'd been working on for the last couple of months. He'd said something in passing one night when they were drinking but Leo had assumed it was all talk and that he wouldn't actually go through with it.

He should've known it was never just talk when it came to Sam doing something for Mikaela as evidenced by the sight in front of him.

"Dude, this is huge," Leo said through wide eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Oh yeah," Sam said instantly. "You think she's gonna like it?"

"Uh, bro, are you even seeing what I'm seeing? I mean, this is amazing. How could she not love it?"

"See, that's why I brought you. You're the girliest man I know," He joked good-naturedly.

"Very funny," Leo punched him hard in the shoulder.

"Mr. Witwicky?" Another voice interrupted them and they turned serious instantly before turning their attention to the third person.

"That's me," He reached out a hand for the middle-aged lady named Jane to shake and Leo did the same.

"It's nice to finally meet you after speaking several times on the phone," Jane smiled warmly. "Will this be for both of you?"

"Oh no," Sam denied quickly. "It's a surprise for my fiancée. I just brought him along to get a second opinion."

"Oh congratulations!" She smiled widely. "When's the big day?"

"December 14."

"Coming up pretty soon then huh?"

"Yeah, I can't wait, that's for sure."

They made small talk for a few moments until she motioned for them to follow her and quickly transformed back into a full professional mode which was a little different from the casual one she had first presented to them.

"I assume from the conversations we've had that this is within your price range?" She asked as she led them inside. "I'm sorry to sound so forward, but I don't get a whole lot of interest from teenage boys."

"No, that's fine I completely understand. It's a little strange for me too," Sam reassured. "Money will not be an issue."

"To a point," Leo corrected and they both glanced at him curiously. "What? You brought me here for a second opinion and my opinion is that Mikaela will kill you if you spend too much and then this will all have been just a waste of our time."

"I know. If it was up to me I'd be spending twice what this one costs just because I never thought I'd have money for something like this but I'm trying not to go too crazy."

Leo rolled his eyes. They were already well beyond crazy and into insanity, but he wasn't going to argue that point. Jane just watched on silently at the interaction between her two clients. It was a bizarre situation to say the least, but she knew it wasn't some big prank. Sam had provided her with enough proof to show that he was serious about this and she was going to take great care to make sure he got what he wanted and was completely satisfied.

"This is just the first one I have to show you. It's right in the middle of your price range," She took them through a doorway and paused to let them look around not missing the pure awe on their faces. "Here is one of the main floor living areas. There are two—the doorway you see to the right leads to a hallway with a half bath and a bedroom at the back of the house. The other doorway on the opposite side of the room goes to one of the most amazing kitchens you'll ever see. If you'll follow me, we'll go through there to the other living area which also connects to the kitchen. Three of the five bedrooms are on the main floor and each features its own en suite bathroom as well as another half bath by the second living area as well."

Half an hour went by before they saw the entire main floor and they still had the second story to see. It was a little bit simpler; there was a long sitting room that overlooked both living areas with the two rounded staircases leading from the foyer in the middle. The master bedroom was easily twice the size of the basement bedroom Sam and Mikaela shared now and it had handcrafted French doors that separated it from the sitting area. In all honesty, the en suite bathroom probably equaled the size of Leo's bedroom. The fifth and final bedroom looked tiny in comparison but it was still a huge bedroom.

Jane wisely saved the basement for last knowing it would be a huge selling point for the teenage boys. It was a completely furnished game room, something the owner had done because this was a family neighborhood and investing the money meant he could get quadruple that back.

"Dude, I thought the basement in Florida was badass," Leo could hardly find the words he was so blown away by the gigantic man cave. "This is…wow."

"I know," Sam agreed simply.

"Are you two ready to go see the other houses I wanted to show you?" Jane asked after giving them plenty of time to explore the game room and guided them back to the main level. "The next one isn't that far from here."

"I'll take this one."

"What? Sam are you sure?" Leo thought the house was amazing, but seeing others was a good idea. He was bound to fall in love with all of them because they were so grand compared to their house now, and this was not something he wanted to do without thinking it through and exploring all his options.

"He's right Sam," Jane said gently. "You don't want to jump into the first one you see."

"You've sent me pictures of probably 50 houses by now. As a matter of fact, this was one you picked out. I had several other ones I was more interested in, but you insisted we start with this one."

"Let's go look at the three you liked the most and then we can sit down and talk about all of them."

"I don't need to," He said firmly. "There's something about this house…it just feels like home. Walking through all the bedrooms and the living rooms and even the kitchen, I can just picture a family here. I can see me and Mikaela and a bunch of little kids running around like banshees on crack. I know this is a huge step and I don't want to rush it, but everything in me says this is the right one. You can take me to see another 30 houses and nothing's going to change my mind."

The realtor stared at him intently for a long time. They were trained to have clients view several different houses because a happy client was a returning client, but something in the way he spoke and the look in his eyes as he subconsciously gazed around the main level while he spoke told her this was one time it was absolutely acceptable to go against procedure. His friend even seemed to understand what he was saying and was nodding in agreement.

"Well, alright then. Let's head back to my office and we'll put in an offer with the seller."

Sam was on cloud nine. In the car, he was chattering nonstop about the house and different images he could see in his mind. Leo paid attention as best he could, but the soon-to-be newlywed was jumping from subject to subject without ever stopping to breathe. He was a perfect picture of the banshees on crack he'd just described his future kids as being in his spiel about not needing to see another house.

They didn't stay around to wait to hear from the seller, but instead gave Jane instructions to call Sam when she received an answer. The girls were flying back to Philadelphia that afternoon but, being the typical boys they were, neither of them knew when they were due back. It wouldn't due to be with the realtor if the girls got home and called wondering where they were since it was supposed to be a surprise and both of them sucked at lying on the spot.

Sam knew wholeheartedly that he made the right decision in buying the first, and only, house they looked at but he also knew Mikaela would initially be upset at the price. She would go off on her tangent about him always spending too much money on her, but that would go away when she walked into the house for the first time. It was perfect for them despite its size. He hadn't actually planned on spending that much money for that very reason even though he'd looked at pictures of bigger, more expensive prices. He just wanted to give her the house of her dreams without being castrated in the process.

There was no price on happiness though. He could imagine them living in the house until they were old and had grandkids of their own. That was why he'd jumped at that house: the moment he'd entered the foyer, their future had flashed before his very eyes. When it came to their future as a family, he would spare nothing to get it for them. All the money in the world was insignificant when he already had something better than gold.

No matter how many psychotic robots came after them, that girl still loved him with all her heart and she said yes when the smart thing would have been to say no and run the other way but she stood there and refused to let go of his heart.

Yeah, all the money in the world couldn't make him richer than that.