A/N: a few things here people. 200 good reviews!! Awesomeness. I'd ask for more than that but hopes of getting 300 aren't exactly there even though I can dream. Hopes you all enjoyed this its almost over with sadly. Thanks ya'll again for the 200 good reviews. Hope to get more feed back.

Kit felt at home as she and Starscream were flying high. Blackout and Thundercracker were flying close by but far enough to give the two of them some space. Jetfire was up ahead somewhere. Starscream was freely weaving to and fro occasionally barrel rolling just to hear Kit's laughter. He'd never admit that aloud though. It wouldn't be long now before they would be thrown into battle and away from each other, and those thoughts made her heart ache painfully. Suddenly, she was brought from her deep thoughts by Thundercracker flying beside them.

"Message from Jazz."

"What did he have to say Thundercracker?"

"He says he'll go meet up with the other autobots and meet us in L.A."

Kit nodded her head as she looked forward. The smile she had gained while flying vanished. Soon war would come and they'd have to split up. She knew that Starscream would leave her in the care of someone else so he could fight freely. Always the gallant hero that hid his actions with falsehoods was her guardian Starscream.

"All right Thundercracker. Tell Jazz we'll be there."

The smaller F-22 retreated back beside Blackout after a small sound of agreement.

"Starscream I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

He rolled slightly to the left to skim the nearby clouds. She watched him do it absently and loved to watch the clouds swirl and churn.

"Promise me you won't abandon me when the time comes."

"I can't promise you anything Kit."

"I didn't think you could but I thought I'd ask."

She looked out over the vast expanse of the sky. Clouds were forming before them as they flew. They were steadily getting darker. There was a storm approaching fast.

"Why are you so insistent on having me stick beside you?" Starscream asked in confusion.

"At one point in time I believed that's what friends did, but as life went on I wasn't so sure that's what being friends meant."

Starscream rolled a bit allowing the clouds to caress his wings like a lost lover's touch. The bot sunk deep in thought. Kit watched Blackout and Thundercracker dance not to far away. The younger jet bot was showing off playfully making her smile at his antics. Leaning her head against the cool glass she watched them. They were her friends, her family. Even though they weren't human they had become apart of her in a short time. They weaved their way in her heart and were there to stay. Much like a rose bush, they bury their roots deep in the soil but when it comes to tear the bush down the thorns dig in deep leaving the reminder of how deep those bonds truly were.

"Hey Thundercracker."

The younger bot moved in closer to the bigger jet. Blackout moved closer as well. The four of them flew together as a team. For a moment she thought of a flock of geese flying south for the winter.

"What?" he asked.

She knew what she wanted to ask of them but she dared not to ask, but she was curious all the same.

"Why do you stay?"

"Do you honestly need a reason?"

Kit thought for a moment.

"Do you stay because it was necessary or because you want to?"

"Human reasoning is a strange concept to me," the younger F-22 admitted. "I stay because even you need someone to watch your back."

"I think I can live with that."

She knew even by Decepticon standards, that was as close as she'd get to them saying that they gave a rats ass about her. It was endearing that they'd go as far as watching her back. As far as they were concerned she was one of them and they were going to watch out for her. That confession made her heart soar and realize even if her human friends abandoned her or died. The three Decepticons and one autobot would look after her. A warmth spread to the darkest corners of her heart.

"All this sentimental crap is making me sick," Starscream groused.

Kit laughed softly at her gruff partner. She could hear Thundercracker and Blackout snickering over the line. The lieutenant should have expected that from the Decepticon. She shook her head and laughed softly.

"Come on Starscream that sentimental crap makes my world go round."

"You're one sad strange little creature."

"That maybe but you're still here aren't you?"

The only answer to that was grumbling. Kit shook her head and became quiet as she looked out over the vast expanse of the sky. She started the cloud game that she hadn't played in a long time. Of course it stopped after a few minutes of the game because it was never fun to play by yourself. Looking up towards the sky she allowed her mind to wander from the place she was at that moment and allowed the darkness to consume her again.

When she looked around this time she wasn't in a city. There were trees all around her. The feeling of home washed over her. A snapping twig made her start and turn. Standing there was a white deer. His antlers curved beautifully. Its ears pricked forward. A loud snort from it told her it was ready to bolt. It turned on heel and ran. Something heavy landed behind her. Fear didn't wash over as it should have. Looking up over her shoulder she just smiled at the Decepticon behind her. Starscream scanned the area around them always cautious and always wary like a sentinel always was.

"Always the cautious one aren't we Starscream?" she asked playfully.

His blazing red eyes looked down at her. She'd never be burnt by the scalding glare he sent her way. Even after all this time she could read his eyes like an open book.

"You're lucky I still stick around."

She smiled to herself. Inwardly Kit knew that he wouldn't be any where else but here beside her like it had always been destined to be. Her hand slid down her rounded stomach. "You shouldn't be out here."

"I'm all right Starscream."

If he had been human he would have snorted in disgust. Carefully the big bot scooped her up in his hand. She wasn't even startled. Her fingers wrapped around his finger keeping herself steady. There was a shiny scar running across his breast plate. Sadness washed over her thinking about what had happened for him to get that scar. He carried it with pride she knew but inwardly she was sad that he had gotten a human equivalent of being hurt for her sake. They walked slowly back to the house. Jazz was waiting for them. Starscream sat her down carefully before vanishing back into the trees. A sense of peace washed over her as she looked at Jazz. Even though they were in the middle of nowhere, the two bots had stuck with her. She was grateful to them for sticking around where no one else would. The others continued on with their lives and left her alone. As if reading her mind Jazz spoke up.

"We'll always be here," Jazz stated calmly.

"I know."

She smiled up at the bot.

Kit woke and smiled tiredly. This was the first dream that she'd had that didn't involve her screaming her partner's name in agony. Of having to watch someone you cared about dying a painful death. She wincing thinking about her past.

"You're doing it again," Starscream's soft voice stated calmly.

"Doing what?" she asked absently.

"Thinking really hard."

"How can you tell?"

"You're heart rate goes down. What are you thinking about so deeply?"

"The past."

She let out a heavy sigh as she looked out over the horizon. It had taken her forever to try and stop thinking about the past but the past made her who she was and it was apart of her, the current wounds of the heart and the old scars of past hurts. As she leaned back she started to think about the one death that had effected her the most. Her dad had been her best friend. When all others failed to be a friend to her he was always be there trying to comfort her. He was the one that taught her the ins and outs of hunting and fishing. With a soft chuckle it brought her back to her first hunt ever.

Flashback

Kit was sitting against a cedar tree watching the clearing. Most of the noise was either rain or those blasted squirrels. Sighing in annoyance she watched a little gray squirrel come down a tree and jump around on the ground. Its tail flicked back and forth as it sat in the same spot for a moment. It scampered up the next tree across the clearing. For once she was grateful that the thing didn't bark at her, when it was squirrel season it was good when they barked to let her know where they were. The sound of leaves steadily crunching caught her attention. She was sitting on the edge of a round clearing and in front of her was a small cleared patch that lead back to the woods. It was going to be a circle drive but they hadn't started building it yet. A doe that she had seen a few days before came slowly through the small cleared patch. Raising the gun and put the cross hairs on the deer's shoulder and pulled the trigger. The doe ran for a few feet down a hill and the thud rang through the small clearing. It went down. Her dad joined her after hearing the shot to go down and check the doe out. Her heart had been racing the entire time since the doe stepped into the clear up until they went to see her kill.

"Well done."

He smiled down at her as he ruffled her hair.

End flashback

She was thrown from the memory as Starscream jerked. Shaking her head she looked around wondering what had brought that abrupt movement from her partner.

"Starscream?"

"We're almost there."

She nodded her head as she stared at the skyscrapers below her. Leaning back she wondered vaguely if this would be the end of things for them. Reaching up she placed her hand over her heart and felt the painful twist in her chest at the thought of anything happening to her long time friends. In the distance clouds were gathering and thunder was rumbling. She wondered if that was an omen for their fate to come. She shivered at the thought. For a moment the thought of fleeing from the city and hiding out until they were found and then run again, but she knew better than that. It was her duty to protect this country and if it required that she stood and fought by herself against Megatron then she would. Awhile ago that thought would have scared her, but now she had her allies that would fight Megatron and his minions for her sake. They were true allies in ever sense of the word and she was grateful to them. Those four bots were her brothers, brother's of the heart, and her brothers in arms. To her that's all that mattered in the long run to her.

"We'll be there soon so don't go too far," Starscream grumbled.

"Yes, sir," she snapped playfully.

They moved past the city and landed were no one would see them. Kit slowly moved from the cockpit. The purr of a sports car engine made her look up. Starscream and the others tensed but calmed when they realized it was only the autobots showing up. Kit smirked as the autobots transformed and stood there looking at their Decepticon counterparts.

"Let's get this over with boys."

There were various forms of agreement. The four flyers leapt up into the sky while Kit got into the drivers seat of the Pontiac Solstice. "Let's kick it Jazz."

He tore off down the pavement headed back towards the city where the final confrontation was about to begin.