I'm going through and having every chapter for this story edited, and I'm doing periodic small rewrite on certain parts so that they make more sense! So things have been changed in this story! I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS!

(Clare's POV)

Another day went by and Ratchet finally said I would be healed enough to go home tomorrow! I was super excited to see Mojo and Frankie, even if I knew that Uncle Ron was probably going to ground Sam and me. Well, that actually wouldn't work out for me since I was going to be kidnapped on weekends, regardless of what he did. I guess that we kind of have to tell Aunt Judy and Uncle Ron. Still wasn't sure about how I felt about that. Would they be as accepting as Sam and Mikeala were?

I hadn't really had the time to think about their reactions due to everything that had been going on. Even now, I was supposed to be listening to something Ratchet was saying that was apparently important. He was talking about some update that he wanted to install into my programming. I hadn't really paid attention from the start.

A rough nudge got me to look up and see his frowning face. "Were you listening to anything I said femme?"

"Umm, something about installing… something…?" I murmured quietly. Uncertainty had been eating away at me all day long, ever since I had woken up. I think they all noticed, but they didn't seem to know what was bothering me. How could I say anything about my uncertainties? That, now that I was allowed to go home, I was scared if my Aunt and Uncle found out what I really was they would reject me and send me away?

Ratchet sighed tiredly. "I was saying that upon your first visit to the base I would like to update your processor; enabling you to utilize our comm link system."

"Oh... how would that work?" I at least tried to make it seem like I was interested when, at this point, the exact opposite was true. Ratchet seemed to be able to tell so I knew that I wasn't doing a good job, not that I really cared right now.

He looked at me awkwardly for a moment, seemingly torn between saying something to me or not. In the end, he chose not to deviate from his explanation, at least for now. "I would put you into stasis and make a small incision in the flesh near the base of your helm; from there I would use a sync cable to tap into your processor so that I may do a system update."

"So it's just an update?"

"Yes. All bots are born with the necessary components to utilize the comm link, however in sparklings it is normally only short ranged. You possess a short ranged comm link system as well, you simply do not know how to use it as you have not been instructed in how to. That and you do not have the HUD update so using it would be very confusing for you. Therefore, I would like to do another update to allow you to utilize the HUD to make using our functions easier for you. Another good thing about the HUD is that it will update you on your energon levels, any injuries you sustain, and anything else of importance. It is essential for you to have one."

Sounded like I really didn't have a choice. "Okay." I wasn't going to argue it if he said that it was essential. A soft poke in the center of my back drew my gaze away from Ratchet. Surprisingly it was Sideswipe that had touched me and not Jazz whom I had the most physical contact with. We had actually grown very close, as had Sideswipe and I but just in a different way.

"Is something wrong Clare? You aren't acting like yourself." He scooped me up in his servos, I had been learning all of their terms for just about anything imaginable so I now knew what to call each part, and sat down with me leaned comfortably against his chassis.

I leaned my head on his smooth plating and sighed. "Do my Aunt and Uncle know?"

"About you being a Cybertronian?" Sides guessed. When I nodded, he looked over at Optimus.

"They have not yet been informed." The huge mech made his way over to us and gently touched the top of my head. "You are worried that they may not accept you as Sam has?" He gave me a knowing look.

"Yeah, I didn't think about it until today... you know… since I'm going home tomorrow. Nevertheless, it probably will not be easy for them to accept. What if they don't see me as family anymore?"

Ironhide interjected gruffly. "Then you are always welcome to stay with us."

Optimus nodded. "Ironhide is right, you are always welcome to come and be with us. However, I do believe that your family unit will be more understanding than you think. If they love you as much as you seem to love them than I believe that you have nothing to worry about."

I did feel better following that, knowing that no matter what I wasn't going to be thrown out on my own. I smiled softly and leaned back into Sides so that I was more comfortable. All I could do was hope that my family, minus Sam, would understand and accept me.

Everyone dispersed to do their own things, Optimus left to negotiate some things with the government and he would be gone until nightfall, Ironhide left with him since he was apparently his bodyguard. Sunstreaker was sitting in the corner buffing out his paint, Jazz was sitting near Sides' feet, and Ratchet was messing with something in the corner. In other words, they were all being dull and I was getting dangerously bored. Maybe I should mess with Sunstreaker? His reactions always made my day!

Grinning madly, I shrugged my way out of Sides' hold and climbed down both him and Jazz to get to the floor, where I crept silently over to Sunstreaker who was too engrossed in himself to pay attention to his surroundings. I slid my glove off and closed in on his exposed leg. Then I lunged for him so that I could smear his paint! My hand made contact and startled him enough that he dropped his cloth and looked down at where I was rubbing his paint with my hands leaving small streaks.

"CLARE!" He bellowed angrily.

Trailing my hand down languidly one last time I then promptly turned and ran like hell as he gave another angry roar and charged me like a pissed off bull. "YOU LOOK GOOD WITH MY SMEAR ART ALL OVER YOU SUNSTREAKER!" My laughter cut off with a startled squeak when I was roughly plucked up. He brought me around to his face and growled at me.

"Nobot messes with my paint femme." He hissed.

"Meow! Hiss kitty hiss!" I mocked making cat claw motions at him. Everyone but him laughed.

His servo suddenly wrapped around me and applied a good amount of pressure making me gasp softly. I could feel something in my body groan in protest from the pressure being applied. "Sunstreaker you ass, cut it out!" I growled at him. "It's just a freaking smudge grow up and stop being a baby about it!"

He didn't relent. We kept staring each other down unrelentingly, yet he still refused to release me so I had to resort to drastic measures...

In a lightning quick move, I wrenched my head forward and licked as much of his face as I could reach, not caring that I technically licked his mouth a bit. It left a nice sized wet smudge on his pristine silver faceplates. Just like I expected he roared in surprise and accidentally dropped me. "FEMME!" He bellowed as he rubbed at his face.

Jazz caught me so that I didn't go splat on the hard floor. "Femme ya are more trouble den ah was eva expectin'." The silver mech grinned at me playfully.

"I make your life awesome and you know it!" I chirped proudly.

"She's a menace!" Sunstreaker raged. "She's a nuisance! She smears my paint constantly and does not even offer to help fix it! I'm tempted to step on her!"

He sounded very angry with me thus making my happy mood fall. I was awfully mean to Sunstreaker, but he did kind of deserve it because he was an ass to me. Still I should have at least attempted to try to be nice to him, which I had not. With a sigh, I pulled myself free of Jazz's servos so that I could walk over to an old shelf containing some auto detailing equipment. I snatched up some polish and a dusty rag, which I beat until it was less... dusty. With these items in hand, I walked back over to Sunstreaker's scowling form and held them up for him to see. "Sit down and I'll clean my smear art off."

With an angry growl, he plopped down onto his aft in front of me. "You better not pull anything else femme." The way that he referred to me as femme really let me know that I was in trouble. What I had realized when it comes to Sunstreaker is that now that he knew I was a bot he referred to me by name so long as he wasn't angry at me. When he was pissed at me he called me femme or menace. It wasn't that he necessarily treated me any different; he just didn't feel the need to call me organic since I technically wasn't one.

I rolled my eyes and popped the top off the polish so that I could douse the rag in a decent amount. "Oh stop being a baby!" I snarked as I started polishing his smeared leg paint. "You act like getting your paint smeared is the worst thing that could ever happen to you!"

He watched me working carefully. "I like to be clean femme."

"Same here but you don't see me crying when I get a little dirt on my hands."

"You should. Earth terrain is disgusting. It's all dirt and dust and grime, and it gets all over me and ruins my paint." Sunstreaker complained as I rubbed the polish in circles to get the oil from my skin out.

"Well since you're stuck here for a while why not try and find something to like instead of being so miserable and angry about it?" Earth wasn't nearly as bad as he was making it out to be. As far as I was concerned, he was just a big baby. After a few minutes I finished with his leg and motioned for him to lean his face down towards me so that I could handle that as well.

"There's nothing to like femme." He grumped.

There was a small pang in my chest when he said that, but I ignored it in order to finish cleaning him. If that was how he wanted to be nothing I could say at this time would make him change, nor did I want to put forth the effort at this time to try if he wouldn't do the same. Moreover, it was obvious that he wouldn't. So why bother? Maybe later I would figure something out. "There you're finished." I backed away once I was finished and walked away without saying another word to him.

Jazz picked me up and settled me on his lap once I was close enough to him. He smiled encouragingly at me though there was a hint of worry in his optics. "Ya alrigh' baby girl?"

I snuggled closer to him. "Yup!" My response sounded artificial even to me. For some reason what Sunstreaker had said bothered me. It seemed like no matter how hard I tried we would never get along so what was that point? All he would do is make snide comments about my human family and just about anything else that I cared about. I feel that I am a very open and accepting person; however, it doesn't always go both ways. Unfortunately, Sunstreaker and I were probably going to keep butting heads... helms.

Suddenly I only wanted to get back home even more.

Unfortunately, I had the rest of the day, tonight, and a few hours tomorrow to go until that would happen. Maybe Sides or Jazz would want to go somewhere? Not like there was anywhere to go really since the city was in ruins. This section of the city was completely blocked off from the public both due to the damage done to the buildings and the presence of the Autobots. The government wanted to keep them a secret for now so no one was allowed to come near.

They really didn't have to worry much though since the bots had holoforms to use in order to blend in, and everyone was none the wiser when they used them. So far, I had only seen Sideswipe's and he was hot in holoform. Strangely enough, I found him quite nice to look at in bot form as well. Weird, but I was a bot and things apparently affected me as they would any young femme. By this I meant finding the bots attractive. With the older bots, it was more like an appreciation for what I couldn't have. With Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, I could fully give them the attention. Not that I would ever tell them that, nor would I ever act on it since the latter hated me, and I wasn't a boy crazy girl as it was.

I sat there for what felt like a lifetime with my legs splayed out over Jazz's while I played with his claws to entertain myself. It was comfortable for me to sit here with him like this. However, it did get me thinking about something that he had said before about a bond or whatever. "Jazz?"

"Hmm?" His visor slid up as his gaze flicked down to me.

"What exactly were you talking about the other day when you said something about a creator bond? What is that?" He seemed to stiffen against me, his optics narrowing in concentration, not as if he were angry. It was more like he was trying to figure out what to say to me or how to explain it.

"A creator bond is da bond betwee' an adul' bot an' deir sparklin'. It's like da bond betwee' a human parent an' deir offspring."

My mouth fell open to form a little 'o' shape. So did that mean that he wanted to be my dad or something? I had never had a father as far back as I could remember, and Uncle Ron did not count. With us, we had a loving relationship but I always understood from the start that he was not my dad. We just had a close connection in another way. "So you want to be my dad?"

He cocked his helm to the side. "Ya mean creator?"

"Ummm if that's what it's called."

"Dat is wha' i's called sweetspark. An' like ah was telling' Optimus, ah wouldn' mind it if ya wanted to. Ah've grown attached ta ya like mah own sparklin', no' dat ah've eva 'ad one."

I just stared at him quietly, the world around us seeming to fade away including the three bots watching us interact curiously. As close as we were, we hadn't known each other that long, but I still felt more comfortable with him than I did with almost anyone else in such a short time… I knew that I could rely on him to offer me everything I needed; no matter if it is emotional comfort or physical affection. However, was it okay to do that right now? "How does it work? Would I have to do it now?"

"No, of cou'se no'! We can establish da bond anytime ya wan' Clare. If ya eva decide ya wanna let meh kno' an' we'll do it."

"But how do you do it?" I prompted him impatiently making him chuckle at me.

"Well i's as simple as answerin' a door. Hol' on an astrosec an' ah'll show ya!"

I waited as he had instructed until I felt a sudden tug in my chest. I jumped and squeaked in surprise, earning several amused chuckles from almost everyone gathered, minus Sunstreaker. Then the tug came again only it was stronger. "What is that?"

"It was mah spark reachin' ou' ta yours! All ya woul' have ta do is return da pull an' da bond woul' establish itself."

Curiosity got the better of me causing me to plaster myself to his chassis so that I could hear his spark thrumming furiously beneath all of the metal plating. "Can I do that to you?"

"Ya coul' if ya wanted ta. See in order fo' a bond like an adoptive creator bond ta be established two bots 'ave ta 'ave a close bond already, then dey 'ave ta 'ave da desire ta establish an actual connection. So is ya wanted ta bond wit' meh all ya woul' 'ave ta do is reach ou' for meh wit' ya spark."

My tongue poked out from the side of my mouth in concentration as I tried to follow his instructions and reach for him with my spark. I let my affection and the sense of comfort he evoked in me seep into my mind and body in the hopes that it would allow me to actually reach out.

Jazz stiffened slightly and grinned at me, his light blue optics alight with happiness. "Ah felt dat!"

Then he tugged back as soon as I stopped. Not knowing what was safe and what was not I immediately returned the tug causing something unexpected to happen. With a huge mental shift my mind seemed to enlarge as another consciousness seeped into mine, a wave of emotions that I knew I was not previously feeling suddenly crashed into me like a huge wave making my head swim.

A familiar voice was suddenly there in my head sighing in exasperation and amusement. How I could tell I had no idea. [Aww scrap... Loo's like we shouldn' have been playin' 'round huh?]

It startled me so much that I fell back and off Jazz's lap onto the floor in a heap. I lay there dazed and confused, his face leaning over me looking worried. What confused me even more was that I could literally feel said worry inside of myself! "What happened?"

He grinned at me, allowing me to feel his happiness through this mental link we now had with one another. "We accidentally established a creator bond."

"Oh Primus..." I heard Ratchet sigh tiredly. "Jazz you should have known that she may accidentally return the tug without knowing it!"

He shrugged. "Ah don' regret it cause dis means dat ah can always tell when she's in trouble."

Before I even knew what had happened I had been scooped up off the floor and pressed into a warm and firm chest. Contentment and joy coursed into me, along with a sense of assurance to combat the uncertainty I was feeling.

[Everyt'ing will be okay mah spark. Sometimes accidents can be a good t'ing.]

[How do I talk back like that?] I thought quietly only I didn't realize that he had actually heard it!

[Ya jus' did! I's as easy as thinkin' somet'ing!]

Something occurred to me however, now that I had kind of done something stupid and good at the same time again! [Does this mean that I can't go home now?] Fear and nervousness suddenly tore at me.

[Naw, ya can still go 'ome if ya wanna. Ah'm Optimus' Third in Command; fillin' in for second in command until da real SIC gets 'ere so ah'm busy a lo' baby. Even if ya were wit' meh on base we woul' spend a lo' of time apart, and since it was an accidental bonding ah wouldn' suddenly change mah mind 'bout ya goin' 'ome. So long as ya keep da bond open ah don' have a problem wit' it.] He assured me.

I felt the negative emotions being forced to disperse which was an odd feeling to have your emotions overcome by someone else's. It was manipulation at its purest form really, but I didn't really mind right now. Nor did I mind him cuddling and coddling me as he was. It felt nice. I could feel his protectiveness and love welling up inside of me making me actually feel so content and relaxed that I started to feel drowsy.

He chuckled at me. "Bonding can be tirin' huh? Why don' ya take a small power nap?"

My eyes slid closed after I hummed in agreement. The last thing that I heard was a soft...

[Good recharge mah spark.] Then everything went dark.

A firm prodding on my back woke me sometime later. I was none too pleased about being woken up before I was ready either, and I made sure to aim a threatening growl at whoever was touching me. It didn't make them stop much to my irritation. [Jazz make whoever is poking me stop.] I grumbled tiredly.

His confusion and amusement wafted through the new bond. [Ah woul' but ah 'ad ta go wit' Optimus dis mornin'. Sideswipe is supposed ta get ya ready an' take ya 'home, ah'll meet up wit' ya halfway. So get up mah spark! Dat is if ya wanna go 'ome.]

My eyes suddenly snapped open as I sprung up apparently startling whoever had been poking me, this turning out to actually be Sideswipe who fell flat on his aft due to my sudden move. "Primus femme you scared the slag out of me!" He didn't really look mad about it though, in fact he was grinning boyishly at me. "Ready to get up and go home?"

In response, I leapt off the bed and bounced excitedly on my feet until he got up as well. "Huh I only come up to your knee..." I tapped on his knee to emphasize my point. After a moment of standing there inspecting said knee I sprung away to go and throw on another t-shirt, and some slightly tighter sweatpants that Lennox had acquired for me. Of course, I changed behind a curtain since Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and... Well just those two were there. Anyways, I changed and threw my hair up into a high ponytail before racing out from behind the curtains and over to the bright red bot.

"Ready? Jazz said he'll meet us halfway, and I think that Optimus is coming to explain a few things. For now, it's just you, me, and Sunny." He shifted down and opened his passenger door for me, and I practically dove in.

After buckling me in we finally left the warehouse! I was practically bouncing in my seat while I watched the city go by!

"Primus femme you're acting like Frenzy!" Sideswipe chuckled at me.

My gaze shifted over to his dashboard. "Who?"

"The little twitchy guy, he works with Barricade or Robocop as you call him." He laughed at me again.

"Oh Robomojo?" I gasped in fake hurt and smacked his dashboard. "I do not act like him!" My leg instantly twitched that was followed closely by a full body shudder of pure excitement… then I was bouncing in my seat again like a child on Christmas morning. Sideswipe could laugh at me all he wanted! I didn't care!

"Robomojo? Sunny did you hear that?"

"Hmph. I still can't decide who's worse Frenzy or that little rat thing." Sunstreaker's gruff voice spilled through the speaker system.

I looked around my seat to see him following along behind us. Huh? Well I hadn't even noticed it until now. Knowing that it would bother him I waved over the seat so that said bot could see it. "HI SUNNYKINS!"

Sides rumbled around me in laughter. Sunstreaker however was not pleased. "Do not call me that femme."

"Sunnyshine? To match your stellar personality?" I guessed next.

"No. It's Sunstreaker to you femme." He growled at me. Oooh, it looks like I was making him angry again! Whoops! I really should stop doing that!

"Ok Sunny!" I chirped earning myself another growl through the speakers. Sides' laughter drew my attention away from the stewing bot plodding along behind us like the grump he was.

"I think he likes you." Sides laughed. "He'll never admit it though so don't expect it."

"Sideswipe don't give her ideas! I do not like her at all!" Sunstreaker... Sunny snapped through the speakers. You could literally hear the sheer vehemence that radiated from him. Sounded like someone was in denial! Then again, I got off on teasing him!

"You sooo like me!" I sang out obnoxiously.

"No way. You're annoying and you smear my paint constantly." He complained like a downer. Jeez, he was kind of being a downer. Well he always was.

"Awww and here I was thinking that besides your brother and Jazz you were my favorite. So sad." I let my head flop back with a dramatic sigh. Sideswipe apparently caught onto my game and chuckled at me again.

"I really don't care if you like me or not." Sunstreaker replied with less anger than before.

"Liar!" I exclaimed. "I can so hear the difference in your voice! You do like me! Admit it!"

"There's nothing to admit." Ahhh the vehemence was back!

I pouted and slumped in my seat reaching for the new bond between Jazz and I. Only it was as if there was something blocking me out every time I tried to communicate, I couldn't even feel him. My body jerked forward in alarm. "Sides! I can't feel Jazz anymore!" I was full on panicking at this point, literally in an astrosecond.

"Don't worry Clare he just dulled the bond down so that he could concentrate on what's going on around him. If something was wrong you would sense it sweetspark." He assured me. "Just get comfortable for now okay? Don't worry about Jazz he's safe with Optimus and the others. Nothing is going to happen to him."

He reclined my seat for me so that I was laying down, the seat instantly heating up slightly to warm me. With a slightly frantic scramble I turned over onto my side, facing the driver's side with my knees curled up to my chest. I ran my fingers over his seat distractedly. "What does it feel like when I do this?"

His entire form seemed to shudder. "It tickles."

With a wicked grin, I reached out and started feeling various parts of his interior while asking questions about how each touch felt. Generally, it seemed to just tickle or feel like a normal touch almost anywhere I touched. I would giggle and tickle him every now and then as we drove making him laugh, and at one point, he jolted me in my seat making me squeal. I liked being with Sideswipe. He was so much fun to talk to and mess around with.

At some point, I wriggled out of my seat so that I could climb into the driver's seat, where I promptly started toying with the pedals and such. We must have spent at least an hour and a half toying around. I discovered that Sideswipe had a kickass sense of humor! He was always joking with me making me laugh until I couldn't breathe! And me? I joked right back tickling him and doing anything I could to make him crack up. It had been a long time since I had so much fun!

In fact, I was enjoying myself so much that I didn't even feel a shift in the new bond Jazz and I shared until his amused laughter drifted over our mental link. I jolted up in surprise, looking around wildly for him! He was close by! After a moment of looking, I caught sight of him and Optimus pulling up behind Sunstreaker. [Hi, Jazz!] I waved like crazy.

[Hi mah spark. Has Sides been keepin' ya entertained?]

[Yup!] My amusement must have been contagious because he started sending it right back at me. Nothing I had ever felt was like this bond that we shared. It made me wonder if there was anything stronger out there.

[Sparkmate bonds are stronger, as well as split spark bonds like wha' da twins share. Ou' creator bond is pretty strong considerin' we aren' related by energon.]

[Ohhh.] It fell silent after that as we pulled into Tranquility City limits. I was so excited to get home that I started bouncing in my seat again eliciting chuckles from Sides and Jazz, the latter via bond talk. That was what I was going to call it from now on!

Anyways I bounced in my seat all the way to my house, before jumping out as soon as Sides pulled into the driveway. "FRANKIE!" I yelled as I raced up the driveway. My little fat puppy dog came sprinting around the corner as fast as his fat self could carry him, yipping happily. I scooped him up as soon as he was close enough and planted a big kiss on his nose. "I missed my Frankie! Did Mojo dominate you while I was gone?" I held him and turned to where the bots were all standing in holoform.

Sides familiar holoform was standing next to a slightly taller, golden haired holoform with his hair styled similarly in a spiky manner. If that didn't clue me in on the fact that it was Sunstreaker the scowl he was directing at me would have. He was as hot as Sides though and that was no joke! Both were built, but not overly bulky so that it was gross, with broad shoulders leading down to a lean waist and toned legs. My virgin mind almost short-circuited.

Next to Sunstreaker was a slightly shorter dark skinned male with shaggier black hair and dark blue eyes. He too was muscled just not as much as Sunstreaker or Sideswipe. This was clearly Jazz.

Next to him was a much taller brown haired male with warm blue eyes. He was a good three or four inches taller than Sideswipe and Sunstreaker and a good bit more muscled.

All of them were wearing shirts in their colors and jeans, though Optimus' jeans were more fitting to someone of an older age as he made himself appear. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were wearing jeans like the boys at my school wore, and Jazz had on a loose baggy pair. The last was also wearing a silver vest with a white long sleeved shirt under it instead of a t-shirt like Sides and Sunny, or a leather jacket like Optimus.

After looking them over for a minute or so, I grinned. "Ready to go in and meet my crazy Aunt and Uncle?"

Optimus nodded at me. "Lead the way."

I led them inside the house, sitting Frankie down on the floor, which he was not at all pleased about. "I'M HOME!" I called out to the mostly silent house. The sudden pattering of small dog feet sounded as Mojo came screeching around the corner in a beeline for my legs. I scooped him up and cooed at him for a moment while I waited for everyone else to come down stairs. "Did you dominate Frankie while I was gone you little monster?"

"Clare?!" Sam's voice called.

My gaze snapped up as he came sprinting down the stairs, surprisingly not tripping for once! He made his way over and hugged me. "Mom and Dad are in the backyard fixing the damage to the garden and stuff."

"What were you doing?" I pressed knowingly.

He looked at me in embarrassment. "Uhhh, I was on the phone."

"I KNEW IT! DID MIKEALA POP YOUR MAN CHERRY YET?!" I sat Mojo down so that I could jump on him and glomp him with questions. "Did you kiss her yet? Did you make it to second base yet? Did you hit a home run yet? Is she going to toss every reservation about manly men aside and date you?!" I got out all in one breath.

"Clare shut it!" Sam growled at me and pushed me away. "Why do you wanna know if I get laid anyways?"

"Because I love it when miracles happen."

He glared at me as Sides, Jazz, and even Sunstreaker snickered at him. "Clare that is so not cool. Why do you have to crush my hopes and dreams like that?"

"I'm not! So are you dating her?!" I jumped on him again, even going so far as to wrap my legs around his waist in case he tried to throw me off. "I'M NOT GETTING DOWN UNTIL YOU TELL ME! SO TELLLLL MEEEEEEEEE!" I begged.

"Okay! Okay! Yes! We're going out this Friday!" He shoved at me. "Now get off!"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, I was squealing like a fangirl! "SAM HAS A GIRLFRIEND!" Then I took off running through the house like a maniac until I reached the back door, which I wrenched, open. "AUNT JUDY, SAM HAS A GIRLFRIEND! IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE AND IT'S NOT EVEN CHRISTMAS!" I yelled startling her and Uncle Ron.

Both of them looked at me before what I said must have registered to my Aunt, and she too jumped up while squealing like a maniac. She rushed past me and into the house. "SAM IF YOU GET HER PREGNANT BEFORE YOU'RE TWENTY-FIVE I WILL KICK YOUR ASS!" She yelled.

"CLARE!" Sam screamed at me.

I turned back into the house and raced into the living room to see Aunt Judy holding a bat over Sam who was huddled in a corner fearfully. At least the bots looked amused, or Sides and Sunstreaker did, Jazz and Optimus not so much. The latter two were probably worried about leaving me with a crazy lady who threatens her own son with a baseball bat.

"If you try parking on my lawn I will beat your ass!"

I had to actually jump up and grab the bat to keep her from smacking Sam in the ass with it. "Whoa down Aunt Judy! Down girl!" Then I had to wrestle it away from her and toss it aside for good measure.

Something seemed to register at that point because she suddenly spun on me, causing the bots to tense like they thought she was going to strike me. Pfffft! Like it would hurt! Anyways she turned and gaped at me like I was some sort of alien before squealing and glomping me so hard that we both fell to the floor. "CLARE! THE ONLY SINGLE MEMBER OF MY FAMILY!"

"Oh thanks Aunt Judy." I glared at Sam over her shoulder when he laughed. "At least I've been single all this time by choice Sam!" That got him to shut up instantly. Then when Aunt Judy started bawling that she thought I had been abducted by aliens I was forced to awkwardly pat her back to comfort her. 'Help me!' I mouthed to Sam.

'What do you want me to do?' He mouthed back.

"I THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE NEVER COMING BACK! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW IT WOULD FEEL BEING THE ONLY PERSON IN THIS HOUSE THAT HAS PERIODS?!" She wailed right in my ear making me cringe. Oh my god she was loud! Then what she was saying registered to me and I wanted to hit myself repeatedly.

"Aunt Judy you hit menopause a few years ago remember? You don't have periods anymore."

"I WISH I DID THOUGH! YOU MUST FEEL SO ALONE WHEN IT'S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH!"

How did we even get to talking about this? "No not really. I just stuff my face with chocolate and I'm all good."

She suddenly pulled back and snapped at me. "YOU ARE SO GROUNDED MISSY! FOR LIFE!"

I winced... yeah not good. "Ummm is that negotiable? Because starting around this weekend or next weekend I have some things coming up on the weekends."

"NO IT'S NOT NEGOTIABLE! YOU ARE GROUNDED!"

"Why am I grounded and not Sam?!" I protested. Sam glared at me and I glared back at him.

"Because if he misses this date with Mikeala I'll never get grandchildren from him!"

Laughter bubbled in my chest when Sam raised his arms in a what the fuck motion. "That is true." I sighed and decided to up my game. If anyone could manipulate their way out of being grounded, it was me. "How about double chores on the week days after school... and I'll make those special brownies that Uncle Ron doesn't like you to have? You can have the whole batch to yourself." I baited her.

Her eyes widened like a deer in headlights. "Deal."

Sam gaped. "What the hell?! How many times have you gotten out of being grounded by making her weed brownies?"

"They're not weed brownies Sam god! They're bacon double fudge brownies! Uncle Ron doesn't like her to have them because sweets make her spaz out." I glared at him. Like I would ever give my unstable Aunt weed brownies! Although... "Maybe weed brownies would actually calm her down!" It was as if a revelation had hit me!

"No. You are not getting my mom stoned Clare." Sam glared at me... had he ever even stopped?

"Fine. Anyways Aunt Judy... wait where is Uncle Ron?"

"Hold on let me go get him." Sam walked out the back door only to return a moment later with Uncle Ron in tow.

"Guests? This is unexpected." Uncle Ron mused. "Sit down in the living room please! Would you like anything to drink?"

"No thank you." Optimus answered as the rest of the bots walked into the living room and took their seats around on the couches and chairs. Optimus followed them and sat down next to Jazz on the other couch.

Uncle Ron patted my shoulder affectionately before we walked in and sat down on the other couch, well he, Aunt Judy, and Sam did. There was no room for me so I bounced over and jumped onto the couch next to Jazz.

"Are they friends of yours Clare?" Uncle Ron looked at me curiously.

"Yup! They're aliens." I chirped, making everyone look at me with gaping mouths. "What? They had to find out sometime right?"

"Clare!" Sam groaned. "Do you not know how to do subtly at all?"

"Nope." Jazz elbowed me with a grin on his face. "What? You are aliens so why pussy foot around about it?"

"Did they come from Mexico?" Aunt Judy asked. I started laughing hysterically once she said that.

"Judy! Clare!" Uncle Ron admonished us. "That was rude! Apologize to them right now Clare!"

"I'm sorry that you're aliens. Not really though." I choked out.

Optimus seemed amused by my antics if not a little exasperated. Sighing quietly, he turned to face Uncle Ron fully. "Clare is actually telling the truth, even if she was less than subtle about it. We are from a planet far from here called Cybertron."

Aunt Judy opened her mouth to say something only for Uncle Ron to smack his hand over it before she could. "What are you talking about? Aliens?"

"Yes aliens. We are autonomous robotic organisms or Autobots for short. We can show you proof if you would like." He offered.

Uncle Ron nodded dumbly, and together all of us stood to make our way out to the back yard. At least everyone else walked while I jumped onto Sides' back and hitched a ride out there. Not that he seemed to mind at all. Bee was sitting just outside the garage when we stepped into the back yard.

"Huh... when we came in the car, that I still don't know how my son and niece got," Uncle Ron gave us both a pointed look. "was in the garage. How did it get out here?"

"HI BEE!" I waved like a maniac at him. He powered up his lights and honked back at me playfully.

"Did I accidentally put shrooms in our spaghetti last night instead of normal mushrooms?" Aunt Judy gave Bee a spacey and confused look.

That look turned to one of shock and awe when Bee suddenly shifted all of his parts around and stood on two legs; pieces coming up and around to form his torso and arms then, finally, his helm. His optics powered on last as he shifted to loosen the kinks or whatever.

"That is Bumblebee; he is Sam and Clare's primary protector." Optimus informed my gaping family members. "That is what I meant when I said that we are autonomous robotic organisms. We appear before you in human form via holoform, or a solid human representation comprised of our nanites so that we may blend in with your people. Our real forms are the vehicles sitting in front of your housing unit."

To emphasize the point Bee suddenly shifted back to alt mode and activated his holoform in a flurry of nanites, springing off of his real form in the body of a tall blonde teenager. His hair was short and much more messy than Sides or Sunstreaker's, and he was a little shorter with less muscle. He was wearing blue jeans and a yellow, long sleeved shirt with black stripes going down the sleeves. "This is weird." He mumbled in a surprisingly deep yet childlike voice.

"YOU CAN TALK NOW!" I gasped dramatically. "WE NOW KNOW WHAT BEE SOUNDS LIKE!"

Bee grinned at me. "Yeah but I can only talk normally in this form. It's because the nanites form a new vocal system for the holoform. So as soon as I go back to my real form I'll be unable to talk again unless it's through comm link." He made his way over to us and held his hand out for Uncle Ron to take. "I am Bumblebee. I serve as a scout for Optimus Prime, and I now am a protector for Sam and Clare."

Uncle Ron took his hand in an awkward handshake. "Protector from what?"

"The Decepticons." Optimus answered him. "They are a faction from our planet that despises humanity as a whole. They originally came after Sam for the glasses that were passed down to him from your ancestor Archibald Witwicky; those glasses had the tracking data giving the location of a powerful artifact from our world. The Decepticons wanted to claim this artifact in order to raise a new army and destroy humanity. Sam and Clare aided us in finding it, and also aided us in defeating the Decepticon forces during the battle in Mission City."

Ummm what? I am pretty sure that I didn't do more than heal Bee and Jazz before getting my ass turned into a pancake.

"In fact Sam was the one to defeat Megatron, whom happened to be the leader of the Decepticons."

NO WAY! I gaped at Sam as if he had grown two heads. "Way to go Sammy double whammy! Kick Megsywhatsy's butt!"

Sam only grinned at me. Apparently my outburst had also drawn Optimus' attention back to me because the next thing I knew I was the center of the conversation.

"And Clare now possesses the ability to heal our kind from even the most mortal wounds. She saved Bee when he was injured, as well as my First Lieutenant Jazz here." Jazz gave a lazy wave when my Aunt and Uncle looked at him closely. I could feel his amusement coming through our bond.

"But how can she do those things? It should be impossible for a human to do that right?" Uncle Ron turned his head to look at me.

"She is..." Optimus paused briefly to look at me encouragingly. "Clare is not human. I know that she seems to be, but she is in fact a Cybertronian like the rest of us. She is what we call a minibot."

I was immediately on the receiving end of stunned looks from the ones who had raised me. "She's not human? But she... she's been with us since she was just a baby."

My arms tightened around Sides' shoulders as I clutched at him for comfort... I was afraid of what they would think and do. Would they not want me here anymore? Sides reached for my hands and squeezed them gently, and Jazz started channeling reassurances to me through our bond. All I could do was watch my Aunt and Uncle's reaction closely, too scared to look away in case something changed.

"She has always been like this since you have known her, and she is still the same femme that you have raised. There is no reason to be worried now that you know she is different."

Uncle Ron was the first to overcome his shock enough to speak. "This is a lot to take in... What should we do for Clare? What would be best for her? She can stay with us no matter what because she is family and we wouldn't get rid of her just because she is different. What would be the best thing to do for her? Obviously she needs a lot of guidance that we probably can't give her."

Optimus nodded sagely. "Yes and that is why I would like her to split her time between her home and human family unit, and us. We have decided that her weekdays shall be spent here with you, and her weekends will be with us on the military base that the human government has provided. Whatever extra guardian stationed with her will bring her to the base each Friday after school, and on Sunday nights, she shall be returned here. This way we may educate her on things she needs to know."

Uncle Ron nodded but Aunt Judy had done nothing since all of this had started. Uncle Ron nudged her, gently snapping her out of her stupor. "An alien has been living in our house all these years? This is like E.T.!"

"Judy! You're going to make Clare feel bad!"

"How does she even have periods if she's a robot? And she eats like us too!" She gave me a scandalized look out of nowhere. "Missy you better not have been pretending to like my teriyaki chicken all of these years, or I'll smack your little bottom with a paddle!"

"I do like it! Apparently I'm a little different from the others here in the fact that I do eat human food and energize myself with the contents of it. Moreover, I do have a period, which is complete crap! I mean, if I'm not having it as Mother Nature's way of saying hey you can get knocked up, what's the point?" I pouted into the top of Sides' head. "Not fair."

"You better not think that you can get out of chores because you're an alien missy! You still live with us!" Aunt Judy lectured me.

I grinned... good ole Aunt Judy. "I won't."

At least everything seemed to be okay. They hadn't turned me away or looked at me in disgust! As far as I was concerned, it was all good!

Now I could only wonder as I sat here piggy backing on Sideswipe...

What tomorrow would bring?

R&R! Edited by DawnofShadows256 on 6/14/16, and proofread and finished editing by me on, 6/18/16!

himelove22- Thanks! Yeah Sideswipe is such a sweet lovable pervert! Lol I loved that part but there's even more embarrassment to come from interfacing lol. We didn't even cover all of it. Poor Clare!

varmillion - Thanks! And it should be a good sized story!

cmfanreidsgirl- Thanks!

Muirgen79- Yup no one is safe wahahahaha! Especially Ratchet and Ironhide if Sides and her have any say in it! Yup it's going to be fun seeing her teach them human customs!

Izzy-dragon-rider- Yeah Sunstreaker is a hard one to crack but she is a femme...one of the last femmes alive. Clare is such a little Mary Sue lol! As for Sunstreaker being mad that she didn't consider him for going to Arby's, well I think that he was more relieved that she didn't ask. At this point, he still is more aloof than anything. It will be like that for a bit.

XxMichelleMikaelsonxX- Thanks!

HeartsGuardianSol- Lol Danniluk Prowl! Yeah I could see that happening or Clare throwing it out there, or maybe Sides just to see him glitch.