I'm glad you guys all enjoyed the last chapter! Here's a nice mushy one! Hope you all are having a fun and safe Labor Day weekend!

Thanks to all of you who reviewed! You guys are freakin' awesome! Please review and I'll love you forever :-)

It was Thanksgiving. Sam knew Mikaela was nervous about meeting his family no matter how many times he assured her they would love her. She still hadn't met any of them yet even though they had been dating so long because they all lived out of town. That was one of the reasons she was nervous. Their relationship was very serious and she wanted his whole family to like her. She planned to be around for a very long time.

Mikaela was helping Judy with the cooking while Sam and Ron were making sure every inch of the house was spotless. At least she didn't have to worry about meeting his parents at the same time as the rest of his family. Both of his parents loved her and she and Judy were close. Judy also knew Mikaela's mother was out of the picture, and had taken her under her wing when she realized just how serious the relationship between her son and his girlfriend was.

"Everyone should be here soon. Go on and spend what little time we have left with Sam. I know you're nervous," Judy shooed Mikaela from the kitchen who hollered a thank you as she went off to find him.

Mikaela found him in the backyard coming back from the garage. Sam smiled when he saw her and wrapped his arms around her waist when she got close enough. Her head tilted up towards his and she kissed him, careful to keep it innocent since they were standing in his backyard and his family was due to show up any moment. They stood in their embrace for several minutes until a car pulled up in front of the house.

"They're going to love you baby," Sam kissed her forehead then took her hand and the couple went back into the house.

Inside they saw a couple close to his parents' age, a girl that looked a few years younger than them, and an even younger boy. Sam watched his parents greet his aunt and uncle from where he and Mikaela were standing. His aunt finally caught sight of him and he chuckled when she quickly walked over to him and engulfed him in a big hug. He and his aunt chit chatted for a moment until his uncle walked over and interrupted them with his own hug for Sam.

"Aunt Jody, Uncle Dale, this is my girlfriend Mikaela," He put his arm around her waist. "Mikaela, this is my Aunt Jody and Uncle Dale."

Sam saw the nervous smile on her face as she shook both of their hands and talked to them. The nervousness slowly faded away as Mikaela realized how friendly his aunt and uncle were and Sam was grateful to his aunt for putting his girlfriend at ease. They made their way over to his cousins when his aunt migrated to the kitchen to help his mom and his uncle went to find his dad. Sam introduced her first to Lindsey and then to Toby, who was more concerned with the handheld video game he was playing.

Mikaela felt herself grow more and more comfortable with his family as Sam introduced her every time another family member showed up. She grinned in amusement every time one of the women berated Sam for not bringing his girlfriend to meet his family sooner since they had been dating for two years. At first he'd blushed and apologized, but then he started to laugh it off and tell them he hadn't wanted to scare her off by introducing her to his crazy family. She loved the way he constantly had his hand around her waist or held her hand.

"And just who is this beautiful young lady?" Sam's grandfather slung an arm around Mikaela's shoulders and winked at her.

"Grandpa, no!" Sam laughed and pulled her until she was out of his grandpa's reach. "She's mine. You can't have her."

"Aw, Sam, but I kinda like him," Mikaela teased and moved next to the older man and wrapped her arm around his waist.

"She's a smart one, Sammy. I can't help it if all the women love me," His grandpa said in a mock arrogant tone.

"Curtis, quit flirting with Sammy's girlfriend," Sam's grandmother strolled over and playfully swatted her husband on the arm. "You're a creepy old man."

"Grandpa, Nana, this is Mikaela," He jokingly glared at his grandpa as he pulled his girlfriend back to his side. "'Kaela, this is Curtis, my Grandpa, and Julianne, my Nana."

Mikaela pretended to swoon when Curtis took her hand and kissed it, an act that Curtis absolutely adored. She could see where Sam got his wit and goofiness and fell in love with his grandparents instantly. The easy banter and absolute devotion his grandparents still had between them even after being married for so many years was something Mikaela hoped she could have.

Sam was ecstatic that his family had taken to his girlfriend so well. He'd been confident they would love her, but was still relieved to be right. It was important to her that they accept her, and Sam had tried to make it plainly obvious that he was head over heels in love with the woman. Now that she had been introduced to everyone that was there, he tried to get her to watch the football game with him in the living room, but she kissed his cheek and decided instead to help his mom and the other women in the kitchen.

Judy tried to kick her out of the kitchen again, but Mikaela was adamant about helping and refused to leave. The older woman squeezed her shoulder and told her how proud she was that Mikaela had handled meeting the family so well even though she'd been so nervous in the beginning. Sam's aunts pelted her with questions about her and Sam's relationship and she tried to answer them as truthfully as she could without mentioning anything about the Autobots or the Decepticons. They were thoroughly impressed with Sam for being enough of a gentleman to give her a ride home because her ex had been a jerk even though they weren't friends and had never spoken. They thought it was adorable that he'd been so nervous he fumbled through talking to her that first day.

"Oh, don't let her fool you. Mikaela loves my Witwicky charm," Sam walked into the kitchen and opened his arms when she walked up to him.

"I do, but you were still cute that first day 'cause you were so nervous," She teased and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"And what about now?" He smiled.

"I guess you're still kinda cute," Mikaela pretended to look him over before she took her time deciding.

"Just kinda cute?" Sam pouted.

"Uh huh," She leaned up and quickly kissed his lips. He blushed when he realized all of the women in the kitchen were watching them and they laughed at his embarrassment.

"Sammy, I don't think you need to worry about your grandpa stealing this one away," His Nana quipped from the stove.

"No need to worry at all," Mikaela said softly so only she and Sam could hear it.

It was Mikaela's turn to be embarrassed when Sam left the kitchen and his aunts and grandma oohed and aahed over how adorable the young couple was. They, of course, laughed at her the same way they had laughed at Sam. She went back to the vegetables she had been chopping and didn't notice Sam's mom and aunts had left the kitchen leaving Mikaela and his grandmother.

"Sammy has always been so shy. I've never seen him this happy before," The matriarch said seriously.

"I've never been this happy either. I love him," Mikaela responded just as serious.

"And if he walked in and asked you to marry him right now, what would you say?" His grandmother was testing her and she knew it.

"I'd marry him tomorrow if he asked," She said honestly.

"There's more to your relationship than either of you will say. I don't know what it is, but you've put a light in his eyes that's never been there before," Julianne was staring intently at Mikaela to see if her body language gave away any sign of malicious intent. "He's always worried me with the way he just seemed to float through life. Sammy's never had a whole lot of friends; the boy has always been sort of a loner. What I've seen of him today though...it almost seems as if with you, he's found a purpose in his life."

"Mrs. Witwicky, whatever you think I have done for Sam, let me assure you that he has done so much more for me. He may have been a loner, but I was surrounded by people who only wanted to use me. Sam has given me everything I thought I'd never have. He deserves so much better than me, but he's still here and I thank God for that," Mikaela heard someone clear their throat from behind her and spun around to see Sam standing there. Julianne watched the way her grandson's girlfriend's eyes lit up at the sight of him and felt the truth in the words she had just spoken.

"'Kaela, baby, I'm the lucky one. The most gorgeous woman in the world for some reason fell in love with me. Me, strange, geeky Sam Witwicky!" The amazed look in Sam's eyes made her forget all about Sam's grandma standing in the kitchen with them.

"Sam, let me tell you something. You may be strange and geeky," She gave him a teasing smile in response to the pout that had come over his face. "But you're more of a man than any guy I've ever dated. I love that you're strange and geeky. I love that even after two years, the way you look at me still knocks me to my knees. I love that you know everything I've done, everything I was, and you still sing me to sleep at night. I love you, Samuel James Witwicky," Sam tenderly kissed his girlfriend after her heartfelt declarations. It wasn't until they heard several sniffles that they remembered they weren't alone. Breaking out of their reverie, they noticed Judy and his aunts had come back into the kitchen at some point. A blush crept up Mikaela's neck once she realized there had been a bigger audience for her words than she had expected.

"Well this is only slightly awkward," Sam quipped.

"Shut up Sam, you're making it worse!" Mikaela mumbled embarrassedly as she hid her face.

"Mikaela, look at me," He asked softly. "You know what I love? I love that you would rather get your hands dirty than go get a manicure. It shows that you don't care what other people think and that you're confident in your skin. For the record, I think it's sexy as hell that you can work on cars. I love that my heart still stops when I see you, even if you're just wearing a tank top and shorts. You're already beautiful but I know your heart inside and out and that makes you absolutely breathtaking. I love that when you wrap your arms around me, you hold on like you never want to let go. If I could hold you forever, darlin', trust me I'd never let go. I love that no matter what I do or say, you're going to love me the same. I act like an idiot and I stick my foot in my mouth constantly, but you look at me and I feel like the greatest man in the world. I love you, Mikaela. Forever."

The women in the kitchen stood back and watched as their grandson, nephew, son poured his heart out to his longtime girlfriend. None of them made a sound as he leaned down and kissed her so passionately, so lovingly, that they themselves felt the emotion in the intimate gesture from two feet away. Judy especially was moved by the scene unfolding in front of her because Sam was her baby, the boy she had watched grown from a timid, awkward teenager into this confident and amazing young man. She also had the advantage of having known Mikaela since they first started dating and knew that the words the two had just spoken to each other were so much more than that. It was the way they truly, wholeheartedly felt.

Neither of the two teenagers were even aware of Sam's family members being in the same room as them any longer. She was looking into the watery eyes of the man she had fallen head over heels in love with. The emotion behind his words had been so deep that his eyes filled up with unshed tears. When his eyes fell closed, Mikaela pressed feather light kisses to his eyelids and let her forehead rest against his. All of the women around them were bustling through the kitchen, finishing up the food and getting everything ready to serve, and still the couple was completely blind to the movement around them. All Sam could focus on were the gorgeous blue eyes of his girlfriend and the love for him that shone in those eyes. He wanted to hold her as tight as he could, but his arms were already around her holding her as close as he could. There was no space between each of their bodies, but he still wanted her closer.

"Food's ready!" Judy hollered into the living room. The sudden loud noise jolted them from their reverie and the amused looks on Judy and Julianne's faces were enough to make them both blush again.

Sam and Mikaela sat at the kitchen table along with his mom and grandmother. Julianne wanted to know all about how Sam was doing off at college, and once again Mikaela couldn't help but brag about how good his grades were and how much he had grown up in the time they had been away. His face turned red when Julianne reached across the table and pinched one of his cheeks. The closeness of their family was bittersweet for Mikaela because her own family wasn't close at all. There were no Thanksgiving dinners with the entire family and the only part of her family she'd seen in years was the aunt and uncle that had grudgingly taken her in when her dad had been sent to prison. Her cousins had been close to graduating and they hadn't wanted to start over with an eight year old. As Mikaela got older, she spent less and less time at home.

The men were starting to make their way back to the kitchen for seconds and every one of them made sure to compliment Judy on the food. She tried to give credit to Julianne and the aunts, but it was obvious that Judy had done the majority of the cooking. Sam got up once he was finished eating and took his and Mikaela's plates to the kitchen to throw them away. Paper plates were always used because it lessened the amount of dishes to wash at the end of the night. He came back out with a piece of pumpkin pie for her and she gave him a kiss on the cheek in thanks.

"So, Sam, you missed the first part of my talk with Mikaela," Julianne spoke. Mikaela's head shot up so fast her head spun as she realized exactly what the elder woman was referring to.

"I thought I came in at the beginning?" Sam asked curiously.

"Oh, no dear, you caught most of it but missed the most important part," She answered.

"Well, what was did I miss Nana?" Julianne started to open her mouth to answer Sam's question, but Mikaela cut her off.

"Mrs. Witwicky, would you mind if I told Sam?"

"Absolutely not, Mikaela. I do believe he would rather hear it from you anyhow," Her words were tinged with approval of the woman she fully believed would someday become her grandson's wife.

Mikaela put her hand on Sam's arm so he would look at her. "I told her that I love you and I would marry you tomorrow if you asked."