Sorry for the wait on this chapter, I started college (or adult-school, as I would like to call it) and I was also working at the time, but I recently quit. But despite having a bit more time, it does require me to use it on school work. But I won't forget about this story don't worry. I hope you like this chapter and please forgive my grammar, please R&R!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN TRANSFORMERS, ONLY MY OCS'!

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Chapter 2: Settling in

For the entire time on the boat ride I was out of deck taking in my surroundings of the clear open waters, that would put my blue eyes to shame for how clear and peaceful it looked.

The smell of the sea was being carried by the calming breeze, bringing a sense of serenity and peace. It was enough to make one cry tears of joy. But I just wanted to wallow away in bitterness.

I looked at my left wrist, covered by the immense amount of bracelets that I had on it. Some were silver, others gold, and some were made from braided thread. I grabbed them and held them tightly as I took in a deep breath. They weren't just there to look pretty, I had them for convenience as well.

I adverted my eyes to the lower deck. I saw Katrina and Will talking, most likely catching up. Will had become more busy now that he was promoted from captain to major. Despite the less amount of time he had, he always put in a lot of effort to see and be with the family, from what Katrina's told me.

Kat was smiling and laughing with her father; 'something I never really got to do'. I thought to myself. As quickly as I thought of that I quickly shook my head to get it out.

I started to concentrate on Kat and Will again. She was the image of her mother, sun-kissed hair, though Kat's hair was layered and reached her shoulders. Hazel eyes that made you feel warm when you looked into them. A more petite body than mine, covered by a tight, white blouse, complimented with a green, high-low skirt with criss-cross sandals.

'Hmmm, what I would give to be in her shoes right now' I thought to myself. I sighed deeply and continued to look out behind the ocean, waiting to see what lies beyond.

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It wasn't long before we finally reached Buck Island, the boat docked, and everyone was gathering their things to get off, and by everyone I meant me. I wasn't done gathering my bags before I was interrupted.

"Come on let's get going, I really want you to see the base" Bumblebee said grabbing my arm.

"But what about my stuff"? I asked looking back.

Before he could answer Lennox chimed in.

"Don't worry, Katrina and I will take care of that. You just get acquainted with your surroundings" he said.

"You sure"? I asked.

"Lauren, just go. We're stronger then we're look" Kitty chimed at me. She put in the effort to bat her eyes at me.

She knew deep down I didn't want to go in alone. I mean who would? A welcoming party of alien robots to your new "home", sounds like the beginning of a horror story.

But sadly it wasn't a horror story, it was my life. My expectations of being a newly orphaned teen weren't exactly like Annie's story of adopted by a rich bald guy, with a couple of musical numbers.

But no instead of being a pawn in the state, or my personal desire of going off to live with Kitty or by myself, I was left to be babysat by the Earth's newest arrivals.

"Come on, let's go" Bumblebee said pulling my arm. Leading me off the boat.

We traveled off the pier and did some exploring. The beach was to die for, the sand was white and soft. The terrain was more rocky than I expected, but that meant there must be tons of good cliffs to dive off of into the water.

It took a bit but eventually Bumblebee brought me onto a path, it didn't look new or anything, so I assumed that it was probably for tourists when this place was still available to the public.

We finally made our way to the base, which was the crowning gem of the island. It was huge, huge entrance, huge windows. EVERYTHING WAS HUGE! I felt stupid to be this shocked by the sheer size of it.

"Lauren close your mouth, the bugs are ruthless from what I hear" Bumblebee said, using his hand to close my mouth.

"I..umm…didn't expect it to be this..um..wow" I said. Placing my hand on top of my head.

"Well if you think this is awesome then wait until you see the inside" said Bee as he grabbed my hand, leading me inside.

The inside made my eyes nearly pop out of my head. There were top of the line gadgets and gizmos filled the almost every area I could see. That being all said it wasn't exactly homey.

The big, industrial look of it. Big enough to house five autobots and now a teenager. Not to mention be the site of new military activity and training.

"Welcome Home" Bumblebee said with a "TA-DA" motion with his hands. His puppy eyes shined bright as he continued giving me jazz hands.

'I wouldn't call it home yet'. I said in my mind. I didn't want to crush Bee's attempts to make me feel comfortable. No matter his human or robot form the idea of his big eyes being anything but happy would break my heart.

He was the bot I knew the best, which lead me to trust him the most out of the rest of them. That being said, despite the Mission City battle and everything else, it didn't really give the autobot and I the chance to really get to know each other. My attention quickly returned back to Bumblebee after being alone in my own thoughts.

"It's...wow..huge" I said, flabbergasted looking how huge the door ways among other things were.

"Yeah, you keep making that point" he chuckled, nudging my side gently with his elbow.

"Your government managed to build pretty much everything for Autobot size, with special features for you humans, to access as well" he said.

The main entrance hangar had huge computer monitors in the center. To the left were parking spaces. I would think for any military vehicles. To the right was a huge door way.

"What in there"? I asked pointing towards the door on the right.

Bumblebee followed where my hand was pointing towards.

"Oh that is the training/gym area. You can use it whenever you like" he said.

"Hey Bee". A familiar voice from behind Bee called.

The huge transformer steps got closer. I didn't know who it was until they got closer.

Bumblebee; still in human form, turned his head to see who it was.

"Jazzy-man, come to see the new recruit" he said.

Jazz came into full view. He wasn't the tallest Autobot, not to say that he still wasn't pretty tall for me. At least 17 feet I'd say, give or take.

"Lauren, how you doin lil darlin" he asked cheerfully. His voice was smooth yet a bit husky. Even though he wasn't as young as Bumblebee (from what I heard), he seemed pretty laid back and cool.

"I'm good, Where are the other bots" I asked politely.

All of sudden the floor started to vibrate slightly. At first I was confused as to what was happening. Then I turned around.

In all their glory stood Ratchet; who I could see can be grumpy when he's not in battle. Ironhide; trigger happy at his finest, and last but not least and finally, Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots and defender of freedom.

"Hello Lauren, I hope you travels here went smoothly". Said Optimus.

He must be between 35-40 feet tall. Looking up for too long would definitely lead to kinks in your neck. But I think that would be the case for most of them. Optimus, I found was a very serious commander, I found it very difficult to hold a casual conversation with him.

Out of all the bots, he was the one I knew the least about. Despite knowing the bots for a short time, I was still able to feel enough comfort to at least talk to them. Him, not so much, but he has another thing coming if he thinks I'm going to follow orders like a soldier just because I live here now.

"Yeah it was fine thanks". I said with a hint of a smile.

I didn't feel like smiling, I wasn't happy so I was going to act other than that.

"What do you think of this your new home" he asked.

I could sense he was trying to get more out of me. So there wouldn't be awkward silence. Which was the last thing that I wanted as well, so I played into it for everyone's sake.

"It's..huge and cool..I'm amazed that it was built so quickly, considering how impressive it is" I said, looking around the place.

"Oh yeah, well it was the least your government could do after we saved yer asses from the deceptigoons" the guff voice of Ironhide replied.

"Uh yeah, sure…I guess" I replied meekly. Wasn't expecting that kind of reply. 'Dear God, is he always gonna be this blunt, and dry' I wondered to my self. Another voice joined the conversation.

"It's not what I'm used to, but it'll do" the voice of Ratchet piped in. I raised my eyebrows at him slightly, 'well shit man, sorry we're not up to your standards' I felt like saying to him.

But no matter how much I wanted to sass back at Ratchet and Ironhide, I held my composure. But at that point, I had enough and wanted to sleep.

"Um, I don't want to come off as rude but could I be shown to my room. The flight has made me tired." I requested. I pretended to yawn a bit so it would be more convincing.

In truth I was tired, just looking around at my new HUGE surroundings; Autobots included. Had made me just want to crawl into a bed and just relax to take everything in.

And I also wasn't in the mood to play 21 Questions, or listen to certain comments from the Autobots. I mean seriously, no offense but couldn't they were making this whole transition from normal civilian life to "special", orphan, alien girl a lot more difficult.

Optimus could recognize underneath the polite tone of my request that I was irritated and wanted to be left alone. His bright optics could pierce someone's soul with just one glance. I didn't like the feeling of being studied and unraveled by his stare, it made me feel vulnerable despite my walls.

His noble, deep voice; with baritones that could send shiver down someone's back, replied back to me.

"Of course, you've had a long day. Jazz please show her to her new room." He looked to Jazz.

Happily obligating, Jazz replied.

"No prob, Prime. Let's go lil lady". Beckoning me to follow him further into the base.

The walk to my room was conveniently also a tour of the base as well. The training area, the rec room; which was filled with an autobot sized couch (don't ask how they got one), a huge monitor as a TV. There was also an office, probably meant for Optimus. Also med bay for Ratchet, and other places such as a kitchen, for human uses as well.

We finally arrived to my room. It looked like a normal room for the most part. Shocking considering the industrial feel I got from every where else on base. But in my little corner I had white walls; decorated with paintings that I had from my old of what I made and others of my favorite pieces.

My favorite personal piece was of two blue eyes appearing out of nowhere in the middle of a rose bush.

A queen sized bed, with lilac and white covers and bed spread. There was a tv, desk and everything else a girl could hope to find in a room.

The center piece of it all was the beautiful view of the ocean. My french windows made it look like a painting that was hung up on my wall. Almost making me forget that it was all real. The place was beautiful and amazing...but not home.

Home is a place you know, with people you know. I hardly knew the Autobots and my...parents' deaths made it harder for me to want to open up so I could get to know them.

Why would they go out their way to help me? What good am I? I couldn't even protect...

tears welled up in my eyes. I shook my head. Refusing to allow them to fall.

"Stop it, stop crying" I ordered myself. Rubbing my eyes to make the tears go away. I didn't want to have Jazz see me like this.

"Hey baby girl, you okay"? Jazz interrupted my thoughts. I felt his fingers touch the back of my shoulders. I tensed up slightly before turning and shrugging him off.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The room looks great, thank you" I said, giving a reassuring smile.

"You sure ya alight"? He persisted. But I was determine to halt his questioning in it's tracks.

"I'm fine…. Listen, I'm really tired. Is it alright if I take a nap for a little bit and then settle in"? I asked batting my big eyes at him to further my chances of him saying yes to me.

Jazz looked at me, I couldn't tell if he was looking at me or looking through me. Has my current state of emotional hollowness become visible to those who don't even know me?

"Yeah, do what you need to do, doll-face." he said. Giving a understanding smile, with sympathy laced all over his optics.

My eyes followed him out of the room as he made his way out my room. Once he left, I inhaled deeply, taking in the ocean air. This "paradise" was giving me anxiety, my stomach was fluttering all over, my head was spinning, my breathing became more rapid as I felt internal turmoil put pressure on my chest.

I starting playing with the bunch of bracelets lying on my left wrist, taking them off one by one. Having so many it took me a couple of minutes to rid myself of them. Once all off, one could understand why I had so many on.

Faded, reddish pick, some thinner than others, others more jagged than others. I used my other hand to cover them and I started to squeeze my wrist. I made my way to sit on the bed, facing the ocean.

I started to rock back and forth slightly, breathing through my nose and out through my mouth. While doing so I could feel tears streaming down my face.

"Stop crying" I whispered and repeated to myself, until I could. My long, dark waves blew back as the wind gently greeted me like an old friend. I looked up, out the opened french doors and beyond to the sea.

This was going to be the place I lived, but I wasn't too sure if it would ever be my home.

SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, SCHOOL AND LIFE ALWAYS GET IN THE WAY. I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY THIS CHAPTER. PLEASE R&R, NO FLAMES PLEASE!