Hi everyone,

I just wanted to say that this is a warning for anyone that reads this story, I am making it just for fun so there isn't a set schedule for updates. At the moment I'm pretty motivated to write so I've got a few new chapters lined up that will hopefully be finished and posted some time in the next few weeks. I'm also not exactly sure where this story is going yet so I might end up going back and altering a few things as I edit, I'll try and let you know at the beginning of the next chapter if I change anything.

Like I said this is mainly for my amusement but I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer I obviously don't own Transformers all rights go to its creators.

It was a beautiful morning. The air was warm with a pleasant breeze drifting through the Nevada air breaking up the potentially stifling heat that had been forecast for the day. Lara Kingsley knew realistically the breeze wouldn't remain as the day wore on, but as she sat on the porch of her farm house, she was content to ignore that little fact in favour of soaking up the peace and quiet of her surroundings. A mug of tea rested loosely in her lap as the sun rose steadily off of the horizon, the slowly brightening rays warmed her still pyjama clad body as they soaked softly into her skin. A small contented sigh escaped her lips as she sat basking in the morning for a few more precious moments before a bark sounded from somewhere within the house behind her.

Lara snorted softly and shook her head before rising from the bench and dragging her bare feet across the porch and then back inside the house. A small shiver escaped her body as she was hit by the significantly cooler air inside the house but she didn't have too long to dwell on that fact as she was soon faced with a mass of blotchy grey and black fur bounding towards her. This of course ended with Lara sprawled on the floor in her entryway with 40 kilos of Great Dane slobbering all over her face. "Max!" She giggled rolling around on the floor desperately trying to escape the assault until finally she managed to pull herself back up and off the ground. The dog in question lolled its head to the side, tongue sticking out of its mouth and tail wagging as she cooed softly at him before scowling when noticing her mug and its contents were now on the floor. Cursing her luck, and her extremely hyperactive dog, Lara made her way to the kitchen grumbling under her breath, Max following closely at her heels.

After cleaning up her mess and cooking up some toast for breakfast, of course not forgetting to feed her overgrown lap dog in the process, she realised with a start that it was almost 7:00. A curse left her mouth as she realised with a start that it was almost time for her to head off to work, if she had to name one thing that truly peeved her it would be tardiness.

Her unruly mass of fiery ginger waves was pulled into a neat bun that remained intact as she madly scrambled towards her front door, duffel bag banging against her legs as she moved. She paused in the entryway, critiquing her appearance in the circular mirror hanging on the wall. Honey gold eyes framed by long dark lashes currently clumped together with hastily applied mascara, some of the only makeup Lara ever wore, and not quite full lips glossy from the obscene amount of lip balm necessary to keep her lips hydrated. She scrunched her nose at her reflection, the small splattering of freckles shifting with the movement, before huffing and rolling her eyes at herself and pulling the end of her forest green plaid button down in a futile attempt to straighten it.

A picture on the vanity caught her eye, as it did every morning on her way out, five people, two women three men, piled on top of one another beaming towards the camera that would forever capture the happiness in that moment. Pain blossomed in her chest slowly spreading in violent tendrils out towards her extremities until she was gripping the fabric over her heart in a desperate attempt to stop the agony that picture brought forth. It was a wet nose accompanied by a small wine that broke Lara out of her reverie and she turned to softly pet her baby's head in silent appreciation for his intervention. It appeared that even though so many years had passed the pain of losing the people she called family was still far too near in her mind.

With one last melancholic glance back towards the photograph she stepped out of the house, Max following close behind her, and ensured everything was locked before turning away. Her small piece of paradise made it feel as if she was a million miles away from any and all forms of civilisation however that was not the case. In truth the 40 acres or so of partially forested farm land that she called home was only about 20 minutes out of town. As she looked out towards the ridge-line that made up the horizon she could picture the white tufts of snow, a near constant image in that area, and mourned their current absence as it further reinforced the warm spell they had been enduring lately, the same warm spell that would ensure a very uncomfortable day at work.

She watched as Max took off across the yard headed straight towards the barn skidding to a stop at just the right moment before turning around and tearing back towards her intent to continue his loop until she reached her destination. Lara shook her head at her dogs silliness as a small smile crept its way onto her face. "What are you so excited for silly, you keep running around like that you're gonna hurt someone," she drawled amusedly whilst her dog paused to briefly cook his head at her before continuing his tirade, stopping a few short seconds later when he hit a corner too quickly and slipped over rolling to the side and staring forward blankly in confusion. She could almost hear him thinking, hey what's going on I'm not supposed to be on the ground. Lara snorted at him.

Thoroughly amused by her dogs antics, now happily back up and running down to the tree line hoping to find something to chase, she opened the sliding barn doors that lead into her workshop. Whilst she wasn't a qualified mechanic or engineer there was something about building and fixing things that fascinated her, so whenever she had spare time she'd haul herself into the old shed she'd deemed her workshop and start tinkering away at whatever project she was conducting at that time. Most of her projects involved tearing apart old engines only to painstakingly piece them back together again and tinkering with various bits of scrap metal, wood and wire, whether that be sculpting modern art pieces or adding to the old bird feeder hung in the tree outside her bedroom.

Lara mused about her projects silently as she moved towards her car, a navy blue Jeep Rubicon. To her it was the perfect car, more than big enough for her to fit both her dog, and any other odds and ends she needed inside but not so big that she struggled to park when she drove into town. Whilst it was fairly commonplace to see large jacked up vehicles in the Nevadan countryside she found them a little unnecessary, she has no need for all that extra space in the back.

The engine sputtered to life, revving powerfully under her fingertips and with a grin she pulled out into her driveway. Quickly jumping back out to close the barn door and whistling sharply for Max she did one last mental check ensuring everything was in order before heading out onto the road. She rolled her both widows down halfway, letting Max stick his nose into the outside air and cranked up the radio, country music blaring through the speakers.

Luckily Lara only lived 15 minutes from work, work currently being a nannying job for the Lennox family with her babysitting their daughter Annabelle 5 days a week while her mother Sarah was at work. She'd been working for the Lennox family for the past 2 years, at first it had just been to help Sarah around the farm when her husband William had been stationed in Qatar. Turns out it's a little difficult to get out and do jobs on the farm whilst also balancing a new born baby. By the time Anna was 6 months old she'd graduated from farm hand to occasional babysitter, ducking inside for a couple of hours in between fixing fences and working horses to watch the baby whilst Sarah went into town for a bit of a break. Nowadays Lara rocked up just before 8 o'clock and waltzed into the house like it was a second home ready to do whatever jobs Sarah needed done, whether that be fixing the fences or taking Anna to her swimming lessons in town.

This is exactly what Lara planned to do this morning however when she turned onto the Lennox's drive she was startled to find a huge black GMC Topkick parked in front of the house. She pulled up on its right, so her car wasn't blocking the porch steps, whilst musing that if this monster of a truck was here it must mean that Will was home on leave.

A strange sensation tugged at her chest as she stepped out of her car, this wasn't unusual, it happened every time Will came home and brought one of his associates with him. She brushed past the front bumper of the GMC as Max bounded past her and up the porch steps, not two seconds later the door was thrown open and a squealing 2 year old came racing out the door. There was a high pitched cry sounding vaguely like "Lulu!" Before Lara was tackled by a hyperactive Annabelle. Lara giggled as she hoisted the little girl up onto her hip, her dog now bouncing around her feet, before pressing his nose onto the bottom of Anna's bare feet. She squealed again before turning to look up at her babysitter, the latter of which was practically melted by the innocent hazel green pools that stared up at her. "Morning Anna," Astrid crooned drawing a giggle out of the child, before she began babbling away about her dad and his friend, being home.

It was right at that moment that William Lennox and his associate, one she had come to know as Ian Hyde stepped out of the house. Will Lennox was a young guy, looked to be in his early to mid thirties with short brown hair and bright hazel eyes that sparkled with the same light and mischief she saw in his daughters. Whilst Will appeared strong, his army training clearly showing in his build, Ian was a completely different story. Ian was built like a tank, extremely tall and pure muscle from his head to his toes, and a near constant scowl to match his intimidating stature. Despite this fact the combination of his cropped jet black hair and electric blue eyes made him roguishly handsome.

Lara was quite fond of both men, in the times she had interacted with them they had both been rather pleasant company, however she wasn't a fool. She'd always known they were hiding something from the minute they'd been introduced. She also knew all too well that Ian wasn't what he said he was but she was content to let them continue to believe she was ignorant. That she didn't know the big black truck she was standing next too had a life force of its own somewhere in there that was inexplicably linked to the projection she saw in front of her. She wasn't upset they felt the need to keep secrets from her, she understood, she had her own to keep after all.

Ironhide knew that there was something different about the femme before him, whilst his scans had always turned up empty there was something about the knowing glow in her eye that set him on edge. Primus forbid he'd let anyone within a ten mile radius if he thought they could potentially harm his charges. It didn't help that every bot she came in contact with said the same thing. Whilst it initially made him wary of her the more time he spent in her company the more he found that his fears were unprecedented. After almost two years of knowing her he found it easy to relax in her company and ignore the niggling feeling in the back of his processor, of course it helped that little Annabelle, who he adored, was absolutely enamoured with the femme. He'd even brought it up with Will and Sarah when he first arrived but their constant reassurances and Sarah's confidence in her character helped ease his mind.

Even now as Ironhide watched her from his spot leant against the doorframe that niggling sensation at the back of his processor was present. It didn't necessarily paint her as a threat, it was more like it was notifying him that everything wasn't as it seemed. But as he watched her hold a giggling Annabelle close, with that Prius forsaken dog bouncing around at her heels, it became increasingly easier to push that feeling to the back of his processor. His eyes softened further as he looked at the child in her arms and he found himself completely ignoring the strange sensation she enacted in him in favour of savouring the quiet moment he found himself in.

"Good morning gentlemen," she drawled softly as she made her way up the stairs, Anna wriggling in her hold as Max continued jumping around her feet. Both men smirked at her, echoing her greeting, before Will ushered her inside. Lara struggled to kick off her shoes with a bouncing two year old in her grasp before the weight was suddenly removed. She turned to her left to see Ian smiling gently at the baby in his arms before heading further into the house leaving her and Will in the entryway. "So how long are you two home for?" She questioned the man beside her prompting to turn in her direction eyes no longer trailing his friend and daughter on their path into the kitchen. "Unfortunately just until Monday, we wanted to stay longer than 5 days but the miscreants need us back on base," he joked even though there was a slight longing tinge to his voice. Not wanting to ruin the peaceful morning she joked back "miscreants aye, not keeping your underlings in check Major." Her eyes glittered with mirth as he jokingly glared at her, his own eyes alight with mischief an a finger waggling in her face "very funny, I'll have you know I keep my base in top shape." The mirth in her eyes only intensified as she replied "oh really, is that why a cackling Epps went bolting past in the background of your last vid chat with Sarah as a very irate medic complete with hot pink hair and a bedazzled wrench came roaring after him." Will grumbled under his breath at her before turning and heading back into the kitchen, a snickering Lara following closely at his heels.

The kitchen was warm and bright, as it always was, and Lara breathed in the smell go Bacon, Eggs and pancakes appreciatively. "Morning honey, you want some breakfast?" The sweet voice of Sarah Lennox wafted across the kitchen towards her and she smiled in response. "No thank you, I had something before I came," Lara was polite with her response even though she knew Sarah was expecting it, she almost always ate before she left for work. "So what's on the agenda for today?" She asked enthusiastically earning bemused looks from the other adults in the room, Will quickly turning back to his daughter in a desperate attempt to keep her breakfast in her mouth and not splattered all across the kitchen. Lara chuckled softly, grabbing a cloth and wetting it slightly, before heading over to the table and wiping the sticky mess of syrup off of Annas face then turning the rag over and cleaning some of the stray pieces of egg and pancake off the table. She chucked the scraps in the bin and then made her way towards the fridge where a list of jobs was posted, as it was every morning and quickly scanned through the items.

Of course there was the general farm work but she'd have to ask the boys if they'd already done some of those, most of the time they'd feed the horses and put them into the pasture for the day so that was one less thing for her to do. Her eyes stopped on a particular item and she turned back towards the kitchen asking "are you two taking Anna to her swimming lesson today?" It was something they usually did when Will was home, he loved spending time with his daughter and she'd been doing so well with her lessons lately Lara thought that would make him proud to see how much Anna had learned. Will paused for a moment, furiously chewing the remnants of whatever he had in his mouth before nodding his head, "yeah, Ian and I were planning on heading into town anyway, there's a leak in the roof in the barn so we need to get some supplies." Lara nodded her head and mentally checked that off the list of chores for the day then lightly leant back against the fridge and continued mentally going through the checklist once more to prioritise her tasks she decided that mucking out the stables definitely needed to come first. She bid a soft goodbye to the people in the kitchen, receiving a chorus of goodbyes in return, but by that point she was already halfway out of the house.