192

It felt like forever when I finished crying. It felt weird, releasing all those pent up emotions. I wasn't sure if Sam was comfortable or not seeing me so beat up and worn down; it made me wonder if he even wanted to come see me at all. But he kept holding me, telling me that I was OK, that he was happy to see me alive.

My tears finally running out, I pulled away from Sam's embrace, feeling too embarrassed to look him in the eyes.

"Where's Optimus?" he asked softly.

I bit my bottom lip, wiping any extra tears that fell. "He had some business to take care of," I muttered.

"He left?" Sam's voice was laced with surprise. I wrapped my arms around myself, looking down at the girls. They stood silently beside me, observing my interaction with Sam carefully. "Desirée? He left?"

I nodded wordlessly.

"Desirée, you need to tell me what happened," Sam said gently, putting his hands on my shoulders. "You disappeared for five years! What happened?"

I looked up at him. His face was contorted with worry and fear. He hadn't witnessed me look so weak and helpless in a very long time. His hands gently squeezed my shoulders, his lips pursing in a thin line.

"It'll take a while," I murmured.

"I've got the time." Sam tried for a smile. I nodded. "It'll be OK."

I nodded.

I tried my best to tell Sam everything that happened over the past five years. I told him about KSI and Cemetery Wind; how there was a price over Optimus's head. I told him about meeting Cade and the others. I tried explaining about how Megatron was reincarnated as Galvatron, the Decepticon parts and Autobot parts that had been used to create man made Transformers.

Sam listened intently, not interrupting. His face didn't show any emotion as I told him everything that happened. I didn't like talking about it; I would have preferred putting it all behind me, focusing at the sight of a brand new future. Though it felt like those horrible moments would haunt me forever unless I got it off my chest.

After telling Sam everything, and it taking many hours to do so, I watched him sheepishly. I expected him to blow up, to yell and curse and stomp around. I expected him to be angry, furious, raging! Instead, all Sam did was nod. He kept his expression neutral, his eyes down. A part of me was convinced he was keeping all his anger inside, so he didn't give the others a bad impression.

"So all this time, we've been used," he said, forcing his voice to sound calm. He crossed his arms over his chest. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. "I think we should finish this somewhere private, Desirée. But not now."

I watched as Sam walked over to Cade and the others, introducing himself, trying to be polite. Sam scowled slightly when he saw Joshua. The former-KSI man didn't seem to catch the look being thrown his way, just focusing on being polite and shaking Sam's hand.

Looking at Saoirse and Eden, I tried giving them a smile. "That's your Uncle Sam," I said to them. "You both were relatively young when you first met him."

"Is he nice like Aunt Abby?" Saoirse asked.

"He's very nice." I kissed their foreheads. "Uncle Sam is the nicest person on the planet!"

Saoirse's eyes lit up a little. Eden gave a small smile. I hugged them close.

"You might get to meet your Grandma Judy and Grandpa Ron soon," I said. "They're super fun."

"Really?" Saoirse looked at me, those big blue eyes lit like a Christmas tree. Eden hadn't lost that smile on her face, making a very small smile come across mine.

"Yeah. Grandma Judy and Grandpa Ron are super fun! They love you both very much." Looking back at Sam, I saw him talking to the Autobots' Holoforms. They seemed a bit at ease seeing Sam. Bumblebee was the one who looked like he was hit the most at seeing Sam. The two of them had a friendship that lasted so many years.

"Mama?" I looked down at Saoirse. "Are we never seeing Mr. Yeager again?"

I frowned slightly. I wasn't sure how to answer that. The plan was to give Tessa and Cade a home and then try and find a place for the girls and I to stay. Did Cade and Tessa not want to see us again?

"I don't know," I said. "I don't know."

After everyone was acquainted with each other, we started discussing a way to find the Yeagers a new home. It took a long time discussing the possibilities, and it was getting exhausting after a while.

Cade still wanted to live in a farmhouse, a big property for new inventions he wanted to make. Tessa was planning on finishing her schooling before heading off to college. Since meeting the Autobots, Cade had tons of ideas for new inventions. Ratchet offered some services in helping build those mechanical items; even though the discovery of how to build Transformers had already been discovered, Ratchet held a belief in not allowing himself to give Cade any information on how to build Cybertronian weaponry. If Cade wished to build new technological advances, he'd have to create his own design, no mimicking any kind of guns or knives or swords he saw the Transformers use.

Cade Yeager was a little disappointed; he was clearly interested in building machines based off of what he'd encountered with the Autobots and whatnot, but he respected Ratchet's wishes and knew they had been through enough humans-being-stupid situations.

"I should have access to my bank account," I told Cade before closing the discussion for the night. "I know I had a lot of money saved up between now and the last time I used it. If you still want to live in a big property farmhouse, I'll be able to give you the money."

"Desirée, you don't have to give us money," Cade said.

"Your old home was blown up because of me." I shrugged nonchalantly. "Giving you the money for a new farmhouse is the least I can do to make up for that."

"What about you?" Shane asked. "Where will you go?"

I shrugged. "I'll find something," I said. "The girls need a safe place to live. There could be apartments up for rent."

"You could live with us," Tessa exclaimed.

"I don't know if that's a good idea..." I started.

"If you're giving us the money for a new home, the least you can do is live with us," Cade said.

I shifted awkwardly on the balls of my feet. I wasn't expecting them to want me to live with them. In all honesty, I expected us to part ways; maybe come together occasionally and talk about our separate lives. The Yeagers were a struggling family before I met them, that much was obvious. I had figured out that Cade's old home was pretty much for sale because of his trouble with money. He couldn't provide financially for Tessa when she'd go to college.

"We like your company, Desirée," Tessa said. "Besides, you're like the motherly figure I haven't had in years."

That struck a chord in me. Tessa thought of me as a motherly figure. That made me even more unsure; I could never stand between Tessa and her late mother. I swallowed thickly.

"I-I don't know," I said softly. I looked at the girls, they seemed happy that Cade was giving us the opportunity to stay with them. A connection had developed between my daughters and the small family; and I had to admit, it felt like I developed a connection with them, too. "If Saoirse and Eden are OK with it, then I'm fine with it."

Saoirse's and Eden's faces lit up like fireworks. They gave me a hug, laughing and squealing. I saw the smiles on the faces of everyone else. I looked back at Sam, who gave a small smile.

"You've found a good set of friends," he said to me. "I'm happy you have them."

I gave a sheepish smile, nodding wordlessly. "Do you think you could stay a little longer?" I asked softly. "I want to catch up."

"I was planning on staying for a little bit," he said.

"What about Carly?"

Sam's smile widened. "She wasn't able to make it," he said. "She's on bed rest. She's pregnant."

My eyes widened. "Pregnant?!"

QUICKY A/N:

HELLO, EVERYONE! I HOPE THIS UPDATE WAS DECENT ENOUGH. AND I HAVE GOTTEN ANOTHER REVIEWER ASKING FOR ELITA-1 TO BE ADDED TO THE STORY (IN THE POSSIBILITY THAT OPTIMUS RETURNS) FOR SOME TENSIONS! SORRY IF THIS UPDATE WAS BORING.

I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY! YOU'RE ALL WONDERFUL PEOPLE, AND I'M SO HAPPY THAT I HAVE YOU GUYS TO HELP MAKE THIS STORY MORE INTERESTING.

THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL.

READ, REVIEW, ENJOY!

YOURS TRULY,

~SMITHY