A few weeks pass since her birthday, and a lot has happened during this time. The day after her birthday, Saphira had wanted to clean up her grandfather's house. The autobots were eager to help. The first thing that went out of the house was the witch statue. It scared her again when she went back in, and she was annoyed it still scared her each time so it was the first thing to go. There was carpet that really needed to be ripped up, so that was the next thing and they scrapped off the remains of the carpet after it revealed really nice timber floors underneath. The autobots were intrigued as Saphira made a list of things she needed to improve the house itself, which meant a trip into town to buy them.

Optimus also removed the shed that Saphira had asked him to remove, and the Firebird was indeed still on the property. The paint was faded and peeling, and it needed to be completely stripped and repainted. The tyres were flat, and Saphira knew she had a lot of work to do on it. But she needed a new shed to even work on the car, not just tools and car parts. The bots were intrigued by the car as they had first thought it was a transformer, which could have been the reason why it was his favorite car, but it wasn't the case.

Saphira had Optimus and Ironhide come with her into town to help haul the necessary items she needed to fix up the house. Bee and Barricade came too, as they wanted to help, and Saphira was fine with loading things into their vehicle forms to bring back. Ironhide primarily had heavy items in the tray, while the others did not. Optimus would have used his trailer, but it was not an empty trailer since it was something Optimus used for fighting.

Saphira had purchased a sanding machine, wood treatments, new furniture, tiles to replace the old bathroom tiles with, a new stove, fridge and so on. She had the water and power reconnected with the property, and she also bought another car. The autobots knew she would as Saphira would need one. She actually purchased a Silverado and a trailer to haul additional stuff to the property, which has been very helpful. The autobots helped her in the house, and outside the house. The gutters were filled with leaves, the windows needed cleaning and Saphira intended on repainting the outside of the house too.

It was a lot of work, but she enjoyed it. The autobots enjoyed it, and that was mostly because they would find ways to goof off from the actual work. Such as Bumblebee throwing a bucket of water at her when she was outside scrubbing a table that was in the house that really needed to be cleaned. That turned into an all out water war, and everyone joined in. That was just part of what happened of course.

Saphira's injuries had healed very well in this time. The autobots made sure she wasn't pushing herself too hard as they helped with the heavy lifting, and she appreciated it. She did eventually open the door to the master bedroom, and it was daunting to her. The queen bed was still present and unchanged, along with very old clothes that Everett owned still in the closet. She had to get rid of these as the bed frame was falling apart, the mattress had rat and moth damage to it, and the clothes were not something she could use or keep. She mostly kept photos, photo albums and a few statues. There wasn't anything else she really kept.

She still made sure to keep the house is relatively the same as much as possible, but it desperately needed a renovation. Having the autobots here helped tremendously, and she had most of the house finished with the renovations after two weeks. She was now focusing on having the new shed put up. Currently, the cement slab was down, and it had dried, and the frame of the shed was put up. Now it just needed the walls, roof and doors to be completed.

Saphira was currently relaxing on the porch, holding a cup of coffee as she stared at the trees. It was early morning, and the sun was rising. She was currently alone on the property as Lennox had reached out to congratulate Saphira on turning eighteen, but also needed to have speak with Optimus privately. She gave him permission to do that on her property away from the house as she had no intention of getting involved with military matters. So she was able to enjoy some coffee on the patio of a renovated house.

The outside still needed to be painted, and she wanted to paint her old room as well, but she would likely have to wait for the autobots to come back to see if they could start that later today. She hummed softly to herself while she thought back to the last few weeks. She and Optimus did get many chances of being alone, despite all the work they had done. They found their new favorite spot too. It was by the second dam on the property.

There is a short hill overlooking the damn with pine trees surrounding it. The damn itself is deeper than the one with the jetty, but it was still very clean. They were out for a walk together when Optimus spotted it and invited Saphira to sit there with him with the sun setting behind the trees. It had the same, serene feeling that the emerald field seemed to have, and they both loved it. They sat there before Optimus had decided to sit in the dam in his full form and she gladly swam out to him. She loved kissing his metal lips as much as she loved kissing his holoform. It was really nice. They stayed in the water until night fell and the moon rose as the temperature dropped.

Optimus made a fire and they both sat beside it until Saphira had fallen asleep in his hands. Optimus kept her close to him the entire night. Thankfully, none of the other bots came looking for them as they knew they were okay. But it was one of the new, fond memories that Saphira found herself creating with Optimus, and she had begun taking photos of their moments together. She hoped to create a scrapbook as it would be great to look back on whenever she thought about these moments.

However, as she was deep in thought, her phone began to ring. She grabbed it thinking it was Lennox, but she saw a number she did not recognize. She answered it anyway, thinking it was a scammer. "Hello?"

"Hello, young lady, I hope I did not interrupt you on this fine day," Came the voice of an elderly man from the other side. "My name is Sir Edmund Burton. I believe it was your eighteenth a few weeks ago, and I have been waiting to speak with you for some time."

Saphira had almost forgotten she was expecting a call from this man, so she was definitely surprised. "Oh, yes, I have been expecting a call from you. I just have been quite busy with a few things and I had forgotten all about it. You were a friend of my grandfather, correct? And business partner."

The man chuckled a little as he listened to her. "I think business partners is not quite the right word, but we were indeed good friends. I believe you might have already found a few clues in his basement on that farm."

"Yeah...I kind of got the feeling it is about the long history of transformers on our planet, right?" Saphira wasn't sure if she was right on that, but it made sense. "And Everett gave me some historical evidence of that with Captain Archibald Witwicky, which turned out to be right."

"You are correct, young lady. I am part of a secret organisation that very few people know about. Our job is to protect the secret history of transformers on this planet. While they are not as much of a secret as they used to be when they arrived on this planet and drove to your house to retrieve those glasses" Saphira smirked in amusement remembering the night those meteors fell from the sky. It is a feeling she would never be able to experience again. "There are still many secrets that many, to this day, do not know about. It is our duty to protect the secret as transformers have been a very long time."

"I got that picture. But, I am still confused about some things." Saphira thought about heading into the basement right now, but the signal wasn't great down there, so she remained seated. "There's a lot of references to King Arthur. Did he exist and did he meet transformers?"

"King Arthur was indeed real, and the reason why those historical records do not exist to confirm his existence is due to the fact he stood and fought alongside ancient, transformer knights of old," Edmund explained to the girl calmly. "It was declared by the ancient king himself that their secret must be protected, especially after his friend, Merlin, passed on sometime after a particular battle that first brought man and transformers together. My family has been part of this journey for generations. Your family, Saphira, has not been in the picture for a long time. But Everett was a man of wisdom and sound judgement, it was entrusted to him to be a part of this. And then you were chosen to be the next one to take part of this job."

She relaxed in her chair and sipped some more coffee, feeling a sense of pride as she listened to the man. "I am intrigued on what this job really entails. You already know this, but I have been in very close contact with Optimus Prime."

"I am aware. You are his sparkmate right now."

"How did you know that?" Saphira was immediately concerned he knew this as no one else knew aside from the autobots.

"My dear, it was foretold that Optimus would come here many years ago," The man explained in a calm manner. "No one knew when exactly, but when Optimus arrived, in my lifetime, it became evident who his sparkmate would be. The knights of old predicted a Prime would find a sparkmate for a human many years ago. And here we are today. Plus, Jetfire reached out to me a year ago just before his passing to inform me he has met you, and confirmed that you are likely the one to be the Prime sparkmate."

Saphira was not sure how to respond to that. The fact that ancient transformer knights knew this would happen was interesting. "Hmm...um...I am surprised that they knew."

"You will learn that the war of Cybertron has deeper threads in the history than just the fight between Megatron and Optimus," The man continued to explain calmly. "There is someone on Cybertron who has been hiding in the shadows and pulling strings for years, and the destruction of that world was, unfortunately, inevitable."

"Right...that is...would this go all the way back to the Fallen?" Saphira asked curiously. "Or did it start after? If this war really runs deeper than we know, I would be curious to know if started even when the original Primes were around."

"I believe that would be correct, I am afraid I don't have that information," The man responded. "The Fallen came to Earth long before the time of King Arthur, which means it is certainly possible it started before the Fallen. We can only speculate. I imagine all of this is going to change how you see the war of Cybertron."

"It does." Saphira didn't even know if she would be able to believe that what she was hearing now was true. But if the organization she was now partnered with had many historical records to prove it, she couldn't deny it. "So aside from learning that kind of history and other involvement transformers have with humans, what exactly is the role of the job? I get the secret part, but..."

"Your role will be different due to your direct connection with the autobots," Burton interrupts gently, making her frown curiously. "The job normally would include us working closely with certain autobots to help the government and the keep everything to do with Cybertron and transformers tight lipped. The job used to include lots of traveling, going on archaeological trips and so on. But your job will not include that." Saphira guessed hers would be simpler. "Your job will be to remain as close as you can with the military, not just the autobots."

She frowned in surprise. "I'm not sure how I can do that. The government has already made it clear that they don't want to do much with me."

"They have stopped protecting you, not cutting you off. Keeping close will mean you have the resources in keeping a close eye on things. And now you have learned that decepticons have human operatives. Galloway was not the only one, and still isn't the only one." Saphira raised an eyebrow as she wondered how this man knew that. "I already have my suspicions with those who work closely with NASA and within high places of government. I can send you that information in an encrypted file. I'll just need your email address."

"So you want me to sniff out these people and drop hints with the military?" Saphira asked curiously.

"That is our job. Not only are we protecting the secret of transformers, we are nudging the government and military in the direction we want. Most governments are aware of the organization, but they almost never interact with us, but that is going to change." She couldn't help but smile as she realized how important this was, and she was glad she inherited it. "I hope that we can meet sometime in the near future, young Saphira."

"Oh, we could meet sooner," Saphira said as she sipped some more coffee. "I can buy a plane ticket to meet you. You do live in England, don't you?"

"I do, but you have more important things to do than worry about meeting an old man like myself," The man said with a light chuckle. "When the time is right, however, I will send Cogman to come and meet you. For now, I simply wanted to reach out and introduce myself to you. And to explain the work you do."

"At least it explains why Everett has properties around the world," Saphira commented in a sarcastic tone.

"It certainly makes things easier than getting a hotel all the time," Burton said softly. "Anyway, I had better let you go. It is getting late on my end and I need to get ready for bed. I know it is morning for you, so this was a good time to talk. I look forward to speaking with you again soon, young lady. Have a good rest of the day. And please, do not tell Optimus."

She frowned in surprise. "Why?"

"I am afraid it is a condition that you have to be under," The man explained. "Optimus is a Prime, he's the leader and works closely with the military. He's also the main target for the decepticons. Having a set of eyes and ears keeping watch for more sensitive matters is a great asset, and the decepticons will have ways of finding out. But keeping the autobots out of the loop will save you a lot of time and heartache. I understand you want to tell them, but this is something that should remain better us."

Saphira understood what the man was talking about, but she had wanted to tell Optimus. "Hmm...okay, I understand. I'll keep this to myself for now. I will end up telling him eventually."

"I expect that, but you must trust me on this, Saphira. It is imperative that you do."

"I do, I just will have to keep self control." She glanced up as she heard engines approaching and she smiled as she knew it was the autobots returning. "Good timing, the autobots are coming back from their little chitchat with Lennox."

"This is indeed good timing. Have a good rest of the day, Saphira. I wish you well."

The man hangs up and Saphira put her phone down. She had to think over everything she had just been told. She did wonder how Edmund got her phone number, but she guessed he could have his ways if he is really in the position he says he is. She did know she was going to feel very awkward over not being able to tell Optimus anything. It felt wrong to not say anything, but it seemed like she had to. Edmund was right. It was best to ensure the decepticons didn't know about someone keeping a close eye on small details.

She looked at her phone to check the number Edmund had called her on. She saved the number and sent him a text with her email address. He responded back to thank her for it and she finished off her coffee just as she saw the peterbilt roll around the bend of the trees. In front of Optimus was a black SUV, which she assumed was Lennox. She smiled as they all pull up and Lennox got out of the car, looking around curiously as this was the first time he has been here.

"Morning, Saphira," He said joyfully with a wave, walking towards the porch as Saphira stood up from the chair. "I see you have had quite the relaxing morning. I hope you have been enjoying your life as much as you can."

She smiled at the man as he walked up the stairs. "It has been really nice. The house does need work to make sure it lasts another hundred years, but it has been a great adventure so far. A lot of it has already been done. And the autobots..." Saphira gestured to the bots as their holoforms approach the house. "They have had the opportunity to learn the art and work of renovations."

"It has been an absolute joy to watch the house and property transform from the improvements this young lady has brought to the property," Wheeljack comments in a very proud tone. "I like to use a lot of technical stuff, but the work we have had to do to improve the property has been grand. And we still have to finish the shed..." He points over to the new concrete slab and shed frame. "And a few other things to the house itself."

"At least you have a lot of time on your hands," Lennox commented with a big smile on his face. "Oh, and I almost forgot..." He held up a small gift bag. "Happy birthday." Saphira was surprised and placed her hands on her hips with a smirk. "I know I am a bit late, but I did get you something."

Saphira chuckled softly as she took the bag. "Well, you didn't have to get me something. But thank you, Lennox." She opened the bag and saw a jewellery box. She took it out and opened it to see a large, rose gold locket. "This is lovely, Lennox. Very lovely." She opened it and widened her eyes to see the face of a smiling Optimus inside. She smiled and hugged Lennox happily. "You didn't have to do this, but this so sweet of you, thank you."

Lennox chuckled softly as he hugged her back. "I am very happy that you love the gift. I was going to pass the gift to one of the others to give to you, but I honestly forgot." Saphira stepped back and placed the locket inside the box and closed it. "After all the things you have been through, seeing you smile is the best gift in itself."

"It wasn't that bad," Saphira said with a shrug.

The man stared at her in surprise. "I hope you are kidding. I am the one who has the memory of you laying in the sand lifeless as I tried to give you CPR to save your life in Egypt. That certainly was bad, but I guess it has been a lot of time since than, and you might not be as affected by that anymore."

"I guess. But there have been other things keeping me distracted from that. But you are right, that was stupid to say." Saphira knew that her almost dying was not something she should take lightly. It was just something she said in the moment. "And I'll be busy too. I have yet to really figure out what my inherited job is meant to be, but I am sure I'll figure that out."

"And this is where I have to tell you the news," Lennox said as he grimaced while his smile faded. "We have just been given our next mission. We are headed for Europe again for another mission." Saphira had suspected that was the case, so she didn't really react. "And unfortunately...I will be needing to have the autobots come back with me tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Saphira exclaimed in shock and groaned loudly. "I hope you are kidding me right now..." She grumbled when the autobots shake their heads with sad expressions and she sighed deeply. "I...I guess that...I should have guessed that. You have done it before, so it shouldn't be different now."

"Yeah. And to be honest, I was only told yesterday..." The man was very unhappy as he spoke about it and Saphira could see he really did not want to do this to Saphira. "If it was a week before they come back, fine, but nope. They want the bots back at NEST by as soon as possible. So we will be driving out tomorrow morning."

Saphira was very unhappy about the arrangement, and she looked at Optimus before she stepped closer to hug him, feeling his strong, warm, protective arms wrap around her body. "I hope you won't be away for too long."

"Thankfully, no," Optimus reassured her in a calm tone, making Saphira look up at him in surprise. "It would seem we have to thank Mearing. She has been the voice of reason. She understands that you should have access to us, even if she is not fully aware of our relationship. We will be able to see you more often than you think. But...not all of us at the same time."

"Seriously?"

"I hate it that I have to be away from my little sister," Bumblebee said, grumbling in displeasure as he stood there with folded arms. "Sometimes I wish we didn't have humans dictating our moves."

"This isn't our planet, Bumblebee," Optimus responded gently as he looked at the young bot. "I understand how you are feeling. This world is our home now, but it isn't our planet. We must live by the rules set by the humans if we are to live here."

Bumblebee shrugged as he still didn't like it, even if that was true. "At least we can come back here after each mission. We can't really say how long the missions go for, but we can come back. At least for a short time."

"I do plan on buying a place in Washington, so I can always make the time to go there and spend extra time with you," Saphira said with a smile. "I have to think about the other properties that I own, so I'll definitely look into getting a place closer to NEST."

"That's probably a good idea," Lennox commented as he listened to her. "It would definitely give you an extra day and save them the drive, even though they can easily drive without stopping." She chuckled a little as she remained hugging Optimus as she stood there, it was easy to see she was feeling upset that they had to leave this soon. "And Mearing had said there might be times we need you to come into NEST, though I am not sure if that will happen, but it could."

Wheelie, who was sitting on Ironhide's shoulder, grumbled in irritation. "This sucks! Seems like all they're doing is saying stuff and not doing nothing. It is just annoying. But at least you are gonna be close so Brains and I can come to visit too."

Saphira smiled at them and nodded agreement. "I guess you are right. I am...sad you have to leave tomorrow, but we can spend the rest of the day doing something." She looked at Lennox with a smile. "Would you like a tour of the house? I was going to start breakfast in a moment, and there's plenty of food to share, so we can share."

"That sounds wonderful!" Lennox said enthusiastically and Saphira released her hug on Optimus, but she took his hand and walked with him to the front door. "It is a shame I didn't see the place like it was before you began renovating it, but I am sure the house has not lost its charm at all."

"I made sure it did not," Saphira said as she walked into the front door with Optimus. The other autobots let Lennox go in first. "There used to be an awful witch statue as you walk in, I am pretty sure it was a security method because it scared the shit out of me a lot."

"And it was probably the first thing to go." She nodded as Lennox looked around with a smile. "And I see you have done a lot to the house. Good job everyone."

The autobots were happy that Lennox congratulated them as well for their contribution to assisting Saphira with renovating the house. She glad showed Lennox around the building as he followed her. She spoke of the many fond memories she had of the house and the plans she did have for the building. Will definitely enjoyed those stories, and she showed him the different pictures she still had of her grandparents. Including very old, black and white images of her grandparents in their younger years. She then cooked up some bacon, eggs and toast for them to enjoy before Lennox suggested they could help do something else, but Saphira insisted they spend the day at the dam playing games instead. And everyone seemed to agree with that.