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"She's five months pregnant," Sam had informed me. "Carly's been having a few complications and the doctors said she needs to be on bed rest."

I looked at Sam in silence for a couple minutes. He'd told me they're expecting a little boy, their first child. I was kind of expecting that they'd have been married with maybe two kids already. Instead, I was informed that Sam and Carly were engaged and only just having their firstborn.

"I thought you guys would've been married by now," I whispered.

Sam shook his head. "Carly wanted to waited until you came back. She was set on you coming back."

"Why?"

"She wanted everyone there for when we got married," he replied.

I looked down. Carly had been waiting for me. All these years, she could have been getting on with her life, but she wanted me there. I sighed.

"Once Cade and Tessa get their new farmhouse," I said solemnly, "I want to go back with you and visit Carly. I'll bring Saoirse and Eden."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked. I nodded. "Carly would be thrilled to see you again."

I gave Sam a lopsided grin. "Honestly?" I said doubtfully.

"Honestly."

We all found a hotel, getting separate rooms. Tessa, the girls, and myself shared a room; the guys got their own. Sam had to get an extra room for Blossom and the others, since there were so many of us. It was relaxing, having an actual room to sleep for the night. Not having to break into places to find shelter. Sam had used his money to give us a place to stay until we got Tessa and Cade their new farmhouse.

"Sam seems nice," Tessa said. She was playing the Saoirse and Eden, who seemed to greatly enjoy the older girl's attention. I gave her a small smile.

"He's been my best friend for so many years," I said. "I owe him a lot. His parents, too."

"What happened before?" Tessa asked carefully. "With your real parents?"

I pursed my lips. "They weren't fit to have children," I said. "They were toxic, unstable."

"Is that why you were put in foster care?"

Discussing the subject of Antonia and Turan always put me on edge. Tessa's question was innocent enough, but I always had that instinct to go on the defensive when they were mentioned. It was an unwanted subject. Tessa seemed to understand that I didn't want to talk about it any further and dropped the subject.

Mya POV

The young woman felt a little overwhelmed. She had spent so much time with Ironhide - getting to know the weapon specialist, sure they didn't talk very often, but they had a genuine trust for each other. While she felt embarrassed to admit it (even in front of Desirée and her companions, despite the fact that most of the women had relationships with one of the Autobots), Mya had feelings for Ironhide. She never vocally expressed those feelings to him, that would cause an awkward strain on their friendship.

Aside from the horrible thoughts that he probably didn't feel the same way.

"You OK, Mya?" Rosalyn asked. The Hispanic woman was putting her three children down for the night.

"I'm fine, thanks." Mya tried to sound natural, but Rosalyn gave her a look.

"If there's something wrong, you can always tell me," she said. "I've always had a knack for helping people."

Mya shifted uncomfortably at the foot of the bed. She hadn't really spoken much to the other women. Abby and Blossom had spent most of their time talking, their children resting beside them. Rosalyn seemed content in entertaining her own children. Mya preferred sitting off to the side, letting her mind wander.

"Unless you don't want to talk about it." Rosalyn looked at Mya carefully. "I'll understand either way."

"It's not that I don't want to tell you," Mya said carefully. "It's just embarrassing, that's all."

Rosalyn nodded.

"Well, you can trust us," Blossom interrupted, exiting the bathroom. The pink haired woman stood near Mya's bed in her pajamas, her hair wet from a shower. "Nothing like swapping embarrassing stories to pass the time."

Mya avoided Blossom's gaze, feeling her cheeks heat up. Rosalyn scolded Blossom, who shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

"It's not important," she grumbled.

"You've got us dying to know," Abby said. "C'mon, it can't be that embarrassing!"

Mya didn't say anything for a few minutes. She tried figuring out how she'd put her thoughts into words. The black haired woman was never any good when it came to vocalizing emotions...

Growling in frustration, Mya glowered slightly. It was proving a little difficult for her to find the right words.

"I might...like one of the Autobots," she said, grimacing slightly. "I just..." She buried her face in her hands.

"You don't know if he likes you?" Blossom finished. Mya gave a sharp nod. "I think we'll just have to find out!"

Mya looked up at Blossom in horror. Figuring out if Ironhide liked her or not seemed extreme! She wasn't about to put herself up for any kind of embarrassment. Just telling them that she had feelings for him was embarrassing enough.

"No," she exclaimed. "What if he doesn't like me back?"

"Then this special bot must be blind or something." Abby shot Mya a sympathetic look. "I'm sure he likes you."

"He might even love you!" Blossom declared.

Mya's face flushed a deep red. Rosalyn hushed the two women up, saying how unnecessary it was to embarrass Mya any further. The black haired woman mumbled a thanks to Rosalyn, turning her back on Blossom and Abby.

They're crazy if they think they'll get any kind of answer from Ironhide, she thought bitterly. There's no way he'd like me...No way at all! She felt her flaming cheeks calm down, a look of absolute dread on her face. As far as she could tell, the weapon specialist hadn't been giving any signs he found her attractive in any way. She wasn't very good at reading his expressions, or listening to the way he spoke to her. He just seemed to enjoy her company.

Mya felt her heart drop. Her feelings for Ironhide were suddenly clouded with a shadow of doubt.

Rosalyn POV

The Hispanic woman felt a mixture of sympathy and pity for Mya. In a way, she knew exactly how Mya felt. She had grown to like Ratchet in a romantic way. But the gruff medical officer didn't seem to want any kind of affections. The pity? Well, in case Mya's special bot didn't like her back. Rosalyn couldn't help herself but feel a little bit of pity for the woman. She seemed so out of her element. They all seemed out of their element.

Rosalyn couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Ratchet returned her feelings. Would he want to take care of three human children? He didn't seem like the type of Autobot who really wanted to involve himself romantically with anyone, with or without children. Rosalyn felt a pang of hurt in her chest. He seemed to have some sort of liking to her, but it could be his natural instinct to protect.

Rosalyn tried giving hints of her affections to Ratchet, but he either ignored all her attempts, or was simply oblivious. Eventually, she gave up, telling herself that he was simply too busy (or didn't care) to take notice to the little human femme with her three small children.

Unlike Mya, who had been easy to read when it came to her feelings, Rosalyn was good at masking hers. After dealing with the father of her children, heartbreak and disappointment was no stranger to her.

If Ratchet didn't return the feelings he had for her, then she'd leave it at that.

Desirée POV

The next morning, we all got up relatively early to go look at local farmhouses for Tessa and Cade. Sam had scheduled some appointments with realtors to show them around, showing them as many as he could in a day. We all came with them, wanting to know which ones they picked. A lot of them didn't look big enough for any of Cade's possible inventions to be stored in, or for a soon-to-be college student to be living in.

Cade had a specific size for the property. He wanted it to be big. And since he had convinced me that I needed to stay with him and Tessa, he made sure my opinions were voiced as well. In all honesty, I thought the ones we saw so far were nice, but it was going to be the Yeagers' home, and I didn't want to interfere with what they expected.

Sometimes even the Autobots' Holoforms would join us. They seemed just a tad fascinated in the houses that were being shown to us, but I had a feeling they used the Holoforms to keep a closer eye on us. Optimus had told them to protect us while he was gone, and using the Holoform, even momentarily, was their closest way of doing so at the moment.

Looking at the latest farmhouse, I could tell Tessa and Cade were impressed by it. They voiced how they pretty much liked everything about it!

"What do you think, Desirée?" Cade asked.

I looked around, observing everything. It was a nice looking place - it had a big property, big enough for Cade's standards, at least. There would be plenty of room for Cade to build his inventions, Saoirse and Eden would have enough room to explore and play. It seemed nice enough.

"I like it," I answered.

"You've said that for all of them," Tessa said, placing her hands on her hips. "What do you really think of it?"

"It's big and it seems like a fantastic home," I answered honestly. "It would be a nice place to live."

An excited smile spread across Cade Yeager's face as he went to tell the realtor the big news. It would take a bit to get everything finalized, but Cade should be hearing back from the realtor by tomorrow at the latest.

"I won't be able to move in right away," I said as we were leaving.

"Why?" Cade asked.

"Sam's taking me to visit his wife, my sister-in-law," I said. "She's pregnant and it's been a while since I've seen her. I want to make sure she's OK."

"When do you think you'll be back?" Tessa asked.

"I don't know," I answered. "A couple days, maybe. I haven't seen my family in five years. I have a lot of catching up to do."

"Why not have a get together?" Joshua said. I had forgotten that Joshua had stayed with us. Him, Darcy, and Su had requested they get separate rooms from the rest of us, and we respected their privacy. "It could be like a family reunion."

"That's not a bad idea," Cade said. "It could be here."

"I don't know if they can make it," I said.

"They'll have to," Sam said. "They know us, Desirée. Ma and Dad would have to come. As for everyone else, I'll have a talk with them."

"Sounds fun," Bee said, the Holoform walking beside Abby. He shot us a smile. It looked almost like that mischievous smile he used to give.

Biting my bottom lip, I tried to figure out if it were possible to invite everyone to a family reunion. I'd have to wait until Carly had her baby. Sam said she was about five months, right? Four months seemed like a long time. I wondered if Lennox and the others were even wondering what happened to me these past years. They were probably distracted by their families, their lives.

Simmons, Epps, Lennox, Leo even - they have their own problems, their own worries and lives and families they have to worry about. What about Mikaela? She had been my best friend ever since high school. Would she even be interested?

"I-I could give it a try," I said uncertainly. "But it has to be after you guys have your baby."

"Deal," Sam said. He shot me a reassuring smile, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

QUICKY A/N:

TO THE GUEST WHO LEFT THE VERY LONG REVIEW ABOUT OPTIMUS'S RESONSIBILITIES AS A HUSBAND/FATHER/SPARKMATE AND HOW DESIRÉE IS, IN HER OWN WAY, AT FAULT FOR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT LED UP TO AGE OF EXTINCTION, I ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND IT DIDN'T COME OFF AS INTENSE! I LOVE THE REVIEW YOU MADE, AND I HOPE I GET TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN! I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE ELSE WHO LEFT WONDERFUL REVIEWS FOR THE PAST COUPLE UPDATES! I HOPE I GET MORE WONDERFUL REVIEWS FROM YOU GUYS IN THE FUTURE.

DO YOU GUYS THINK THAT A "FAMILY REUNION" BETWEEN DESIRÉE AND ALL HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY WOULD MAKE UP FOR A GOOD CH.? LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

I HOPE YOU'RE ALL HAVING A WONDERFUL DAY!

THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL.

READ, REVIEW, ENJOY!

YOURS TRULY,

~SMITHY