Sadly, I do not own Transformers

Chapter 7-Welcome Home

Leah's Home Early Evening

"Where is she? She should be home by now! Is she okay?" mom asked as she paced in the living room.

Ken looked at Tela and said, "Hon, if it makes you feel better we can call Will and find out when she should be arriving. Who knows, maybe she got stuck in traffic it is Friday after all."

Tela looked at Ken and said, "I would feel better if you would call Will and ask him when Leah left. I worry about her after her accident and all."

Ken sighed in defeat and walked over to the telephone and dialed Wills home number.

*RING RING*

-Hello?

-Will its Ken. Sorry to bother you but could you tell me when Leah will be getting home?

-Well, I know that she left a few minutes before I did. Maybe she got stuck in traffic or stopped and got something to eat. I would give her an hour. If you haven't heard from her by then call me back. In the meantime, I will call the base and have them track the vehicle she is in.

-Thanks Will, I will let Tela and the boys know. Have a good night!

-Your welcome Ken. Please tell Tela to relax, I'll let you know if I hear anything.

With the conversation ended, Will let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. Ironhide's holoform walked over to Will and asked him what was wrong.

"Ironhide, can you find out where Sideswipe and Leah are? She isn't home yet, and Tela is getting worried."

Ironhide looked at Will and said, "I sent an internal comm. to him and he said that they stopped to talk before going back to her parents. They are on their way back to her house now."

With a relieved look on Wills face he said, "Thanks Hide, I'm going to call Ken and let him know that she is on her way home. At least it will help calm Tela a little bit. "

Leah's POV

"Sides, I am extremely flattered that you said that you love me. I really like you, but I'm not in love with you yet. Give me time; I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that I'm the all spark and it's a lot to adjust to."

Sides holoform gave Leah the sad puppy dog eyes as he grabbed her hand and replied, "Leah, it was selfish of me to tell you this so soon and think that you might feel the same way as I do now. Please know that I care deeply for you."

As I tried to speak Sides shushed me, "Leah, I'm not finished. I want to be your friend first and foremost. When you are ready I will be waiting for you."

Leaning into sides arms, I welcomed his embrace. "Thanks Sides, this means a lot to me. When the time comes, I will let you know."

Sides looked at me with his piercing blue optics and said, "Leah I'll be waiting for you. Now let's get you home before Ironhide decides to show up and hurt my paint job."

With a lighter mood between both of us, we took off towards home. I sat in the driver's seat figuring it would be easier not to explain why Sides was there. My family still held a grudge with Sides because of how he treated us. It was now my job to convince my parents that everything was ok between both of us now. Yeah right, this is going to be easier said than done.

As we got near my house, Sides activated his holoform in the passenger seat. He looked at me and asked, "Are you ready? If you need anything I will be right outside. I have your cell phone frequency programmed in and can text or call you."

"Thanks Sides, I really appreciate it. I think that I will be dodging a lot of questions. I think that should be the only thing that I will probably need to worry about besides my parents going into over protective mode. I might need an escape if that happens."

Smiling Sides nodded and squeezed my hand saying, "I'm not going anywhere, that's a promise." Sides phased out of his holoform just as I pulled up the driveway.

Pulling into the driveway I took a deep breath and prepared myself for an onslaught of questions that I knew was coming my way. Hopefully I could keep them in the dark long enough to keep them safe. I knew that Sides, Will and the autobots would be there if I needed them and I took comfort in that fact.

"Leah is that you? Where in the world were you? You know that you had us worried sick young lady. You should have called, you are in a delicate condition and don't need any more stress."

My mom could have rattled off enough questions to last into the next day. Taking a breath and putting a hand on Sides roof for comfort I said, "Mom I was on my way home and got stuck in traffic so I pulled over to stretch my legs. I'm sorry I didn't call; I wasn't really thinking that far ahead. Besides you don't like it when I talk on my cell phone while driving."

Dad walked over and put a comforting arm around my mom telling me he was just glad I was safe and home.

Just then Andrew and Joey came barreling out of the house. Andrew practically stopped in his tracks when he saw my car. Joey didn't see him stop and ran right into Andrew's back. They both fell to the ground. We all started cracking up about the whole incident. Talk about a great ice breaker! I knew Sides saw it all and had no doubt recorded it to his memory banks to show the other autobots later.

"Man that is one sweet ride Leah! Where did you get it?" Joey asked.

"Joey, I got the car as a gift from the military. Uncle Will told me that they used the car once for a recon mission but they didn't need it anymore. Uncle Will asked me if I wanted a car since my car was totaled so who am I to turn down a sweet ride like this?"

As Andrew walked around the car admiring and drooling he saw something that caught his eye. "Hey Leah, what's symbol mean?" He was pointing to a face on one of the rims of the car.

"Oh, that's something that the military has to keep track of their vehicles." Andrew looked at me like I was hiding something but decided not to ask anything else about it. Thank goodness, I don't think that I could have lied to him again without giving something away.

Acting out a yawn, I told my parents that I was getting tired and wanted to turn in early since I was still recovering from my injuries. I was hoping that I could get them all to come inside and hopefully get them away from Sideswipe and anymore questions that they might throw at me. Thankfully Will told me he would come over after school tomorrow with Ironhide and Optimus to see how things were going and help with questions. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon would come sooner rather than later.

As we walked into the house, my family told me that they understood that I wanted to rest. Andrew and Joey told me good night as they both decided that they were going to challenge each other in video games.

"Leah do you need anything?" Dad asked.

"Nah, I think I just want to rest. I'm still really sore and I want to get some rest before the torture begins tomorrow." Dad and mom both gave me hugs and told me goodnight and sweet dreams.

As I was setting my alarm, my phone chimed with a new text message from Sides.

Sides-Are you ok? Do you need anything?

Me- I don't lying to my family but I know I have to. I'm also about school tomorrow. I don't want to have any problems tomorrow at school.

Sides-Leah try and relax. I know that lying to your family isn't something you like to do, but it has to be done to protect them. Maybe Optimus will tell them about us. As for school, you will be fine, I promise.

Leah-Thanks Sides, can you activate your holoform in my room?

No sooner that I sent it, Sides was standing in my bedroom. Sides looked at me and quietly said, "What's up Leah?"

I looked at him and said, "I wanted to see you and tell you thanks again for everything." With my cheeks turning red I also said, "I want to ask you for a hug."

Sides walked up to me, wrapped his arms around me and whispered, "Your welcome sweetheart."

As we stood there embracing in my room I felt a sense of contentment and peace. I have never felt that with any other guy that I was dating. Maybe I was falling in love?

As I started yawning, Sides chucked and told me to get some recharge. He led me over to my bed, tucked me in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Sides told me that he wouldn't let anything happen to me and he would be waiting to take me to school in the morning.

Smiling I looked up at Sides and told him goodnight. He smiled back and said goodnight as his holoform disappeared.

Feeling safe and content, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

*Please review, it keeps me motivated to continue on with the story.