Hey all, before you start throwing things at me I would like to say sorry for taking so long.
Also I would like to mention right now that I missed this story's aniversay. It has been up for a year now. I feel like a forgetful partner, so I understand if you send me to sleep on the couch :(

Aside from that, THANK YOU if you're still reading and enjoying this. I am trying to get my uploads quicker, this was actually one chapter but it was too long so this is part 1, part 2 should be up in a couple of days. It still needs slight tweeking.

StarSwoop: I love the idea of Frenzy in a veil. I could see it happening maybe lol

Chapter 37

Cameron glared at the male infront of her. His matching scowl did nothing to intimidate her. He had continued to annoy her since she had visited the government officials with Optimus Prime. Now he was stopping her from seeing her father.

"Move."

"No."

"…Move please."

"That's better but no."

Cameron quelled the urge to use the Allspark to get what she wanted. She had put up with three weeks of this behavior, making her increasingly irritated since he had only gotten worse. What did she have to do or say to get him to back off on this subject.

"He's my father, I'm allowed to see him.

"He is no longer allowed on this base."

Cameron's frown darkened. "Only Prime can make that decision."

"Wrong. I also have that authority if I feel that the situation warrants my interference."

"That's just what this is, interfering. Stop being so overbearing and let me see my father."

"No. this base is quarantined until I decide we are no longer at risk."

"At risk from what!?" She demanded loudly.

Ratchet didn't answer, he just turned on his heel and left the hangar. Unable to leave it at that, Cameron sent a barb of anger at his through their bond before blocking him out.

Jazz looked up from the tv. "Does that mean we're not goin' out?"

Cameron crossed her arms over her chest and continued to glare at the doorway the medic had gone through. Anger and frustration boiled in her veins until the pressure built, causing pain to shoot through her head. In an effort to relieve the pressure and ease her irritation Cameron hurled a bolt of Allspark energy towards one of the lights hanging from the ceiling. It exploded with a satisfying bang and a shower of sparks.

The blown lamp was still sparking when Bumblebee and Ironhide entered moments later.

"They still fighting?" Ironhide asked stepping around the shards of metal on the floor.

"Yep, still goin' strong. By the way, Ratchet's quarantined us until we leave."

"I thought only Optimus and you could do that." Bumblebee said dropping down next to Jazz.

"Apparently not. I'll warn you now, they're both likely to puncture something important if you try to talk to them."

Cameron scowled. "I'm still in the room Jazz."

"Sorry mini-spark." He didn't bother looking over his shoulder. "Didn't see you there."

Ignoring his blatant lie she glared at his back but didn't give in to the urge to treat him the way she had Ratchet. Causing him pain would be too easy and unfair.

Optimus Prime walked into the main area of his base to find Cameron sitting alone infront of the television. A quick scan of the hangar showed his Autobots stuck to the far wall next to the Decepticons. Optimus turned an expectant gaze to the small silver human sitting quietly by herself.

"Cameron, I'm sure there is a reason why my soldiers are attached to the wall but I fail to see it."

She didn't look up at him. "They didn't do what I wanted."

"Because that sounds mature." Jazz commented with his usual attitude.

Cameron glared and Optimus felt the lash of power in the air moments before Jazz yelped.

"What didn't they do?"

The eyes she turned to him were bright blue. They were the only evidence, besides the current predicament of the mechs, that she was using her powers.

"They refused to take me to my family."

"All of them?"

One shoulder moved in a half shrug. "Ironhide and Jazz refused. Bumblebee was irritating me with his teasing."

Optimus looked back to the strange display. She had only explained why three of the four were up there. "And what about Barricade?"

"Barricade's there?" Cameron's eyes widened and she turned to face the wall. The Decepticon fell to the ground. "Hmm, I thought he was someone else. Sorry 'Cade."

The dark mech shook his shoulders out and, with a glare at her, stalked out of the hangar.

"Hey, what about us?" Jazz demanded. Another ripple of power lanced the air and Jazz yelped again.

"How long have they been up there for?" Optimus asked.

She shrugged again. "Almost an hour."

Optimus shook his head as a door slid open to reveal Ratchet. The medic didn't look at his helpless friends or his extremely angry bonded as he moved forward.

"Optimus, we seem to have a problem."

"That's putting it lightly." Bumblebee remarked.

Prime waited for Cameron to attack again. When she didn't he turned back to Ratchet.

"Are we all referring to the same problem?"

Cameron sent him a cutting look. "I am not a problem."

"That's debatable." The medic replied dryly.

"I will pin you to the wall too. Don't push me."

Ratchet leaned down. "I'm the only one who can."

The stormy look that crossed Cameron's face did not bode well for Ratchet's immediate future.

"What is this all about?"

"I've quarantined the base and Cameron is…protesting."

"Putting it a little mildly aren't ya Ratchet?" Ironhide groused.

"Let them go Cameron. We'll discuss this like civilized beings." Optimus commanded.

She scowled slightly and flicked her eyes towards the captive Autobots, she raised a hand and snapped her fingers, and they fell to the ground with a loud crash. As the mechs picked themselves up, Prime turned to the medic.

"I'm going to have to lift your quarantine Ratchet." He ignored the satisfied sound Cameron made. "For the next few weeks we're going to be working fairly closely with the humans. Cameron included."

Ratchet's optics narrowed for a moment before he straightened his shoulders and nodded. "Cameron will have only minimal contact of course."

The small silver human jumped to her feet. "Why are you trying to keep me away from everyone? They won't bite!"

Optimus turned his back on the arguing couple. He had seen too many bonded couples have troubles during their early years to know that Ratchet and Cameron would calm down soon enough.

"Jazz, I want you to look at some calculations." He passed a datapad to his lieutenant.

Jazz looked up from the datapad after reading it. "Will it really only take this long to get home?"

"If my estimations are correct and we don't run into any obstacles, yes."

"How long Jazz?" Bumblebee asked excitedly. Cameron and Ratchet broke off their fight to listen.

The officer grinned. "1649 vorn." Bee smiled back widely.

"How long is that?" Cameron wondered aloud.

Ratchet answered. "136,867 earth years."

Cameron's eyes bugged out of her head. "One hundred and thirty thousand and what!? How is that possible?"

"It is a rather long journey. Cybertron is in a completely different galaxy." Ratchet replied. "We took three times as long getting here because we had to stop and search for the Allspark."

Cameron stepped away, stunned as the enormity of the situation sank in. it would take them longer than any human could live to reach Cybertron. Longer than a hundred humans. She would never see the earth again. She would never see her family again.

The Autobots seemed to have noticed her reaction because they had stopped talking, or maybe that was just her brain muting the world so she could think. She turned back to the robots.

"I won't ever be coming back will I?"

They stared back but didn't reply. Taking their silence as her answer, Cameron dropped onto a chair and tried to stop the spinning in her head. She jumped when a set of hands appeared on her shoulders. Twisting her head she saw Ratchet's holoform, the concern that shone from his blue eyes consoled her slightly. He pushed past the barrier in their bond and she warmed as they were connected again, their fight forgotten.

"I'm never going to see my family again."

His hands started to massage her shoulders. "I'm sorry Cameron. That's the reality and we can't change it."

Cameron nodded as tears burned at the back of her eyes. "If I'm never going to see my family ever again, you have to let me see them before we leave."

The unsure expression on Ratchet's face warmed her heart even as she felt like crying. He loved her and she knew he would do this for her. His hands slipped off her shoulders to twine his fingers with hers.

"Are you sure? It may make you more upset."

She smiled softly, so that was why he had been against he father visiting, he'd been trying to protect her from a broken heart when they eventually had to leave. He was just trying to keep her safe.

"I have to see them, explain to them why I have to go. Especially my mother, she won't understand unless it's forced on her." Cameron thought about how her family would react to seeing her all silver, she smiled. "I'll miss them. I'll miss them horribly but I know there's no other choice, is there?" she looked at her hands.

"I'm sorry Cameron." Optimus replied.

She nodded and felt the tears slip from her eyes to run hotly down her face. The hands ran up her arms to cup her face. Ratchet tipped her head back and stared into her watery eyes.

"Do you want to stay here for a few more years? You can spend more time with your family. Cybertron will still be there even if we wait another four or five years."

Cameron closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. She couldn't think of this as forever leaving behind everything she had ever known. She had to think of it as her duty to Cybertron and the mechs she loved. At the very least she could see it as an adventure of massive proportions.

Cameron opened her eyes to see Ratchet looking back at her. Taking a deep breath she felt the air pass through the filters that now replaced her lungs, her body cooled and her head cleared. She shook her head and smiled.

"Earth will, hopefully, always be here but Cybertron's in trouble. The longer we put this off the harder it will be to fix things. Besides, the longer we stay here the higher the chance that we'll be discovered, and I don't particularly want to find myself on a dissection table."

Ratchet smiled back at her and lowered his head. His kiss helped ease the pain in her heart, it soothed the ragged edges of her nerves and told her everything would be all right. They broke apart and Cameron turned her gaze to the rest of the Autobots.

"Does that mean that you've made up and we won't be pinned to the wall again?" Jazz asked, leaning on the back of a chair.

Bumblebee crept up behind him. "That depends, did you like being pinned to the wall?"

Cameron grinned as Jazz grabbed Bumblebee's head and copied her and Ratchet.

Jonathan Oakham stared at the pile of folders in his in-tray. How on Earth had he managed to get so far behind with his work? The answer was obvious, the aliens Cameron was involved with.

Jonathan had never expected that, when he moved his family here, he'd have to deal with twenty-foot tall robots who were interested in his daughter. That thought brought to mind the fact that she was dating one of them. He groaned and dropped his head into his hands. The one thing he didn't need to see was his daughter kissing a robot, and he definitely didn't want to know anything else that went on. Jonathan shut that door before it drove him insane.

Instead he transferred his gaze to the photo of his family sitting on his desk. It had been taken back before Cameron's illness. She had been so young then, only thirteen. Her bright smile lit up her face, her green eyes filled with mischief. He missed those times, back when life had been that little bit easier and he had known his daughter didn't have cancer and that there were no such things as aliens. Let alone ones that wanted to take his Cameron away to another planet.

Jonathan was shaken from his thoughts by the hideous ringtone his wife had programmed into his cell-phone. He picked it up.

"Hello, Jon speaking."

"Hi darling, how's your day been?" Alana asked cheerfully.

"Slow. I'm behind so I might be working late tonight."

"Oh no. Well I have some news that should brighten your day."

Jonathan smiled. She was probably going to tell him about the new day spa she had found or a recipe that was part of her latest diet regime. He was about to tell her not to worry when she said something that stopped him completely.

"Cameron called me just before, she said she'd be back in town soon. She can't wait to see us. I'm so excited honey, I could die. My baby girl's coming home and this time I'm not letting her go."

Jonathan was stunned silent.

"Jon? Are you there?"

He nodded even thought his wife couldn't see him. "Yeah, sorry."

"Isn't it great she's coming home?"

"It's fantastic. Look darl, I have to get back to work but we'll talk more when I get home all right."

"All right, I'll see you tonight. Bye."

Jonathan placed the phone on the table as his mind whirled. What was Cameron doing? How could she say that to her mother without any authorization from the agency? Did she even realize the sort of fallout that could occur?

With his thought still racing around the potential problems caused by Cameron's unexpected phone call, Jonathan picked up the phone again and dialed. It rung several times before it was answered.

"Hello?...You know what? I hate it when this happens…Shut up Slider, I'm on the phone…I am the phone!" The higher voice argued, Cameron's laughter trilled through the earpiece.

"Cameron. Stop arguing. We have to talk."

"Oh hey Dad. What's up?"

"Your mother just called me. She had some wonderful news, apparently you're coming home."

An uncomfortable giggle came over the line. "Yeah about that, I was meaning to tell you."

"Before or after you showed up at the front door? Do you have any idea of the consequences of what you have done?"

"Well I thought about it and figured that whoever wants to stop me now has to tell Mum that she's not allowed to see me."

Jonathan was silent for a moment. He had to give Cameron credit for ingenuity. He didn't envy the person who had to break the news to Alana. With his luck though it would probably have to be him, maybe he would work really late tonight.

"Dad." Cameron brought him back. "Do you think you could get whoever needs to, to okay it?"

Jonathan rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. "I'll make a few calls and see what I can do. I'm not making any promises, there's a chance that I won't be able to make it happen."

"Thank you Dad. Will you come to the base soon?"

"If I can get through all this paperwork before doomsday." He smiled, Cameron laughed.

They exchanged only a few more words before ending the call. Jon braced his elbows on the desk, he stared at the phone. Who should he contact? His superiors? The supposedly disbanded Sector Seven?

A lightbulb should have gone off above his head as an idea came to him. He picked up the phone again and fished around in a draw for a business card. He grinned as he found it and dialed the number. It rang twice before it was answered.

"Hello, Mr. Secretary. It's Captain Oakham…Yes, my daughter is with the Autobots…We have a bit of a situation."

Cameron wrapped her arms around her as she climbed off the bed. Sure, sleeping in the medbay so she could be with Ratchet seemed like a good idea but damn it was cold. The only way to stay warm was to snuggle up to him. Not that she minded of course but when she had to get up it wasn't easy leaving him behind.

Shrugging into her bathrobe Cameron headed for the kitchen, if anything could wake her up it was energon. She stopped infront of a mirror just inside the medbay doors. Dropping the robe to the floor Cameron investigated the latest changes in her body. As expected her body from the neck down was completely metal but there was some changes to it as well. Stretching out her arm, Cameron studied a line of symbols that seemed to be carved into the bright metal. The inscription ran down the length of her arm from her shoulder to swirl across the back of her hand and her palm. She traced the strange writing. As her fingers moved over the lines, they lit up a bright blue.

Making a mental note to ask Ratchet about it later Cameron turned her exploration to her face. The only skin left was around her face. The metal ran along her jaw-line and over chin, it covered most of her forehead and all of her hair. In Cameron's opinion it made her look like a unfinished painting or one of those mannequins with no face, all she had to do was pretend everything still peach-toned was blank. Plus on top of all of that her green eyes had been completely taken over by neon blue.

She picked the robe up and pulled it on again and, running a hand over her silver hair, Cameron left the medbay. The corridors were just as cold as the medbay; she'd have to see about getting some heaters installed, even if they were leaving soon.

With the majority of her thoughts on energon Cameron didn't see the large humvee sitting in the middle of the hangar or the two men sitting at the table. So it was a surprised Cameron who walked out of the kitchen with a cube of energon to see her father and Will Lennox waiting for her.

Recovering from her shock, she smiled. "Hi Dad, Will, what brings you here?"

"The coffee." Lennox replied with a smile.

Cameron grinned back. "And here I was hoping it was my sparkling personality."

Jonathan stood and drew her into a hug. "Defense Secretary Keller has agreed to let Alana and Mitch see you."

"Really!" She moved back, her eyes wide.

"Yes. I've arranged for you to see them in two weeks. Unfortunately it'll be me who tells your mother just what you've been doing these last few months."

At the moment Ratchet's human holoform sauntered into the hangar wearing only jeans. Will stopped drinking to stare, Cameron had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing. Ratchet moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Morning." He kissed the side of her neck.

"Good morning. Where's your body?"

"Still recharging. My power-cells are almost totally depleted."

Cameron smiled and leaned her head back against his chest. "I'm sorry. That was my fault."

"Yes it was." Ratchet tried to sound grumpy but failed.

Cameron smothered her chuckle and looked up to see her father watching them, straight faced and tight-lipped. A slight twitch in his left eye concerned Cameron.

"Dad, breathe. Don't think, just breathe."

Slowly the tenseness fell from Jonathan's face. Cameron prodded Ratchet in the ribs, he rolled his eyes but stepped away from her. He moved towards the table, now wearing a shirt.

Hoping to get their conversation back on track, she said. "So in two weeks you, Mum and Mitch will be dropping by for a few hours. Maybe we can have a party."

Jonathan cleared his throat. "We won't be the only ones. Secretary Keller intends to be here too."

"Oh, well that's not too bad. Will you be telling Mum everything?"

"No." He looked at the men at the table. "You can tell her about him."

Cameron laughed and pulled her father to the table. He sat across from Ratchet but didn't seem inclined to chat. Cameron sat facing Will, who stared bemusedly between her and Ratchet. The medic didn't help matters by draping his arm over shoulders.

"Will, will you be there too?"

"Be where?"

"Here when Mum and Mitch visit. I was hoping to have as many people here as possible so they won't feel too intimidated by the Autobots."

"Sure, but that's if Sarah can get a sitter for Annabelle."

Cameron grinned and checked his name off the list in her head. Now all she needed was Sam and Mikaela, Sam's parents, maybe Robert Epps if Lennox could get in contact with him.

Two hours later Cameron said goodbye to her visitors and asked Will to try and get Epps for her party. Her father reminded her that discretion was necessary if she wanted to go ahead with her plans so she couldn't call her mother anymore unless it was from a secure line. Cameron told her father that Slider refused to be used as a phone anymore so she couldn't make a call even if she wanted to.

As they drove away Cameron turned to Ratchet. "How long until the shuttle is ready?"

"Between five and six weeks, conservatively."

"Then I'll only have roughly a month to say goodbye, that's if she's allowed to come back."

He rested his chin on top of her head. "Don't worry, love. Everything will be fine."

Part 1 done, Part 2 coming.

AN: I only have one reference concerning the time differences between vorns and years, so if I was wrong, I'm sorry.

Please review if you're still interested in seeing the end of this story. I'm going to try and update regularly for these last chapters.

TammyCat