*I don't own Transformers or anything affiliated with Transformers. I only own my original characters and plots. All rights go to Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.*

Washington DC had seen much change in the past year and a half, as well as the majority of the other states in America. It was almost impossible to turn a street corner and not see an energon detector. In February of 2010, the president had issued an immediate proclamation that called for the installation of these machines across the nation; it took effect almost instantly. Not long after that, multiple countries across the globe began installing them as well.

The purpose of the machines were to forewarn the government of the presence of any Cybertronian being, aside from the twelve residing Autobots, fourteen if you wanted to include Wheelie and Brains. With the machines, they could easily detect the mechanical beings and stop them before they could do any harm to mankind. Though they haven't been set off in the past year or so, they were still incredibly convenient. I just wished they weren't such an eyesore.

After one last turn, I finally pulled up to Hotchkiss Gould Investments and parked my car across the street. The building itself was magnificent. It was an enormous, single white building. Just the building alone consisted of about fifteen garages, obviously to accommodate his vast collection of worldly vehicles. The inside of the structure was just as beautiful as the outside though. The interior was decorated solely in white, and normally I would have thought that so much white was a bad thing, but I had truthfully never seen a building so intricately designed. The white may have been everywhere, but it didn't clash at all; his abundance of technological devices and pictures always gave the building just the right amount of color. The many windows in the building also allowed the sunlight to come through, making the structure very open and relaxing.

I walked up the small set of steps and pulled the entrance door open before walking inside, my heels clicking across lustrous tile floor.

"Good morning, Azalea," Stephanie, one of Dylan's administrative assistants greeted me.

I smiled at her. "Good morning, Steph."

I continued walking down the hall for a good while until I finally came to the office that Carly and I shared. Most people would object to sharing a business office with someone, but I didn't mind it at all. Carly and I got along too well and I personally preferred sharing an office. Being alone probably would have become boring.

I pushed the office door open and walked in. Our office was fairly large. It was one of the biggest in the building, but it was definitely not bigger than Dylan's, of course. Just like the rest of the building, our office was entirely white; both of our desks sat opposite of one another but we weren't so far apart that we could hear each other speak and that was a good thing.

Carly smiled as soon as she saw me. She got up from her seat and ran over to hug me. This girl made me incredibly jealous. She was the perfect human being, in my opinion at least. She was dressed in a tight black dress with white pumps, her dirty blonde hair was in waves over her shoulder and the makeup she wore made her bright blue eyes even brighter than normal. She was so beautiful it pissed me off.

"How are you?" she asked in her peppy British accent.

I laughed and pulled away. "I'm doing fine. How about yourself?"

"I'm fantastic, I believe."

I walked over to my desk and laid my stuff down before sitting down in front of my computer, pressing the button that turned the contraption on. Before long the familiar blue screen lit up in front of my face. I turned back to Carly who was now sitting on the edge of my desk.

"How's Sam doing?" I inquired curiously.

I hadn't talked to Sam in two days. He had been so busy with job interviews that we didn't really get to talk much. It wasn't like us to not talk, but I understood the need for it. I was truly hoping he found a job soon though. It would take the stress off of him and also off of me and Carly.

"He's still stressed over this job predicament. He's been to at least twelve job interviews in the last two days and every single one of them has gone wrong. He has today and tomorrow to find a job. I just hope he finds one soon," she answered.

I let out a breath. "Me too. I don't understand why it's so hard for him to get one."

"It's Samuel Witwicky, Lea. That's why," she chuckled.

I just laughed at her and focused on my computer screen. So many orders were already coming in and it was only a few minutes after eight. I mentally groaned. This was going to be a long day.

"So, how are you and Ironhide?" Carly asked me.

Just like everyone, Carly knew about my relationship with Ironhide. The first time I told her, she freaked out a little bit, but once Sam and I had a good talk with her, she managed to calm herself down. As a matter of fact, she claimed that the two of us were the cutest things in the world. She thought that our relationship was so different and strange that it made us the ultimate couple. It just made me laugh, really.

"We're doing great, Carls. I love that bot more and more every single day," I chirped happily as I typed an order configuration on the computer.

"That's so cute. But do you think maybe you could take a day off from Ironhide to go shopping with a good friend?" she asked.

I glanced at her. "When might that be?"

"Well, I have to work this entire weekend, I believe. How about next Saturday? I could use a break," she exclaimed.

I smiled and continued typing. "That sounds good, actually."

"Fantastic! I'll text you or call you with the details," she chimed as she ran back over to her desk.

I laughed. Hopefully today wouldn't be as bad as I thought. Aside from all of these damn orders, I intended on having a good day.

____________________

I had no clue eight hours could feel like three years. Work was decent. Dylan wasn't at work today due to a business meeting somewhere here in DC, so it was particularly boring. Had it not been for Carly, I probably would have lost my mind. She had such a bright spirit and truthfully I didn't understand how she managed to keep it. There were too many fuckers in the world and at work we dealt with most of them. I was actually surprised that she hadn't thrown a punch yet. I was even surprised that I hadn't; the only reason I wouldn't was probably because I actually enjoyed having a job and I had things I needed to pay for.

With a sigh of relief, I pulled into my apartment complex's parking garage and parked in my regular space beside Ironhide. Well, actually, I parked a space over since he had spitefully decided to park so close to me last night. For once I would love to get out of my car without climbing over my seats like a five year old.

I grabbed my belongings and pushed the door open before getting out, patting Ironhide's tailgate as I walked passed him. The sound of my heels echoed through the garage as I scurried for the elevator. After what felt like ten years, I was finally on my floor. Soon, I made it to my door. I opened the door and walked inside. I hung up my jacket and purse before turning around to see my sister running up to me.

"Lea, you're back!" she exclaimed happily as she hugged my legs. I looked down at her and smiled.

"How was work?" I heard Ironhide ask.

His voice immediately caught my attention and I looked up at him, a scoff escaping my mouth. "I'm more than ready to slaughter a few humans," I grumbled.

He laughed. "It seems we share quite the same issue," he stated.

I just smiled and shook my head. Annabelle was still squeezing my legs. I could sense that something was wrong with my little sister, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I pulled her off of my leg and bent down to her level. She had a small frown on her face.

"What's the matter with you, kid? Why are you upset?" I asked worriedly.

It wasn't like my little sister to be upset. She was the happiest child I knew.

"She was perfectly fine earlier," Ironhide informed me.

For a five year old, she was impeccably intelligent. She was also good at hiding the way she felt, but as her older sister, I knew her all too well. It was almost impossible for her to hide from me.

"Annabelle," I warned.

She frowned again. "Ironhide hates me. Why does he hate me, Lea?" she asked me quietly, a hint of sadness in her tone.

I raised my eyebrows, her question taking me by surprise. Ironhide had a confused expression on his face as he watched the young girl.

"What do you mean? He doesn't hate you," I tried to assure her.

"Yes huh. I love him, but he doesn't love me back. He doesn't treat me like he treats you and mommy and daddy and everybody else. All the others love me but him. Why doesn't he love me?"

Good Lord. This child was so observant it was scary, but her claim had kind of upset me. I truly didn't understand as to why she would think about something like this. The thing was that I had no clue what to say to her at the moment. I looked to Ironhide for help but he seemed slightly out of it. He almost looked upset by her words.

"Listen to me. He doesn't hate you. I can almost assure you that he loves you just as much as you love him. It's just that you're small and he's big. There's just not much he can talk about with you, but I promise you he doesn't hate you," I told her as I stood up.

Ironhide gave me a sad look.

"Fix it. I'm going to change," I told him.

Without waiting for a response from him, I ran up the stairs and to my bedroom. Immediately, I threw my pumps into my closet and headed to my dresser to pick out something to wear for the rest of the night. It was a little bit after four, but I didn't plan on going anywhere else tonight. I was too tired to think about going out.

I rummaged through my clothes until I found a pair of black joggers and a long sleeve black shirt. After changing into them, I threw my dress in the laundry basket and walked back down the stairs, surprised at the sight in front of me; Ironhide was sitting on the couch with a sleeping Annabelle on his lap. I was clueless as to how this happened. I was only gone for a mere five minutes.

"What happened here?" I asked him.

"It appears that she's fallen asleep."

I groaned. I still had to feed her. My mom wouldn't be here to pick her up until seven and if I let her go without food, I wouldn't hear the end of it. "I still have to feed her though," I huffed as I sat down next to him, pulling my legs up onto the couch.

"Lunch and dinner have already been taken care of. You needn't worry," he assured me.

I was rather impressed with his response.

"Well, how about the situation earlier? Has it been taken care of?" I asked.

He gave me a dumb look. "Clearly. You see her resting on my lap, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be such a smart ass. I just asked you a question," I retorted.

He laughed and pulled me into his side. Thankfully, Annabelle was on the other side, so I had plenty of room to get comfortable. I stretched my arm across the front of his torso, careful not to disturb my sleeping sister.

"I have to head back to base tomorrow, so I won't be here when you wake up in the morning. Mearing was more than disappointed about me not being present, or so I've been informed," Hide told me.

It didn't surprise me though. Almost every morning I woke up without him beside me. I grew kind of used to it after a while. There wasn't really anything I could do about it. We both had our own duties to carry out.

"Anything important going on down at the base?"

"Your father, Optimus, and the remaining Autobots are returning. As of now, nothing else is supposed to take place, at least nothing that I'm aware of," he answered.

I smiled. This meant that they were all okay. Sometimes these missions freaked me out and I always held some amount of paranoia. It just scared me to think about one of them, my dad and the Autobots together, getting killed or seriously injured.

"I might have to come see him since he never wants to come here, as well as Optimus, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and the rest of your jerk friends," I remarked with a yawn.

"If you can get passed Mearing, I assure you that you're set to go," he laughed.

I scoffed. I still refused to let anybody tell me whether or not I could or couldn't see the Autobots. The last time that happened, the guy lost his job and also acquired a very minor concussion. If I needed to, I'd gladly do it again.

"You remember what happened the last time someone tried to keep me away from you and the Autobots. I wish someone would try to do it again. Especially Mearing. I'd snap her little neck in half," I exclaimed.

"Hm, you're very dangerous it seems."

I looked up at him. "I've been with you for over four years and you're just now figuring that out?" I laughed.

"In all honesty, I figured that out after I saw you snap a military officer's arm in half and then after you proceeded to threaten his colleagues. It shocked me to say the least. In these few years on Earth, I have never seen a group of males so terrified of such a young girl," he said.

"Well, what can I say? I'm fierce."

"And obnoxious."

I smiled and buried my head into his shoulder. He kissed my head and I smiled even harder. There were still no words to describe the way he made me feel.

"I love you so much," I mumbled into his shirt.

He chuckled. "I know."

My fatigue was getting the best of me. I let out a tired yawn before speaking again. "You're a jerk."

"I love you more than anything, Lea."

I smiled. Ironhide was all that I wanted out of life. Just being here in his arms was enough to make me the happiest person alive. Being with him was by far my greatest life achievement. If I hadn't met him all those years ago, I had no clue where I would be at the moment. In all honesty, I didn't like to even think about what my life would have been like without him. He literally made my life complete. I loved him more than I knew I could ever love somebody and I wouldn't have it any other way. He was and is all that I've ever needed in my life and I wouldn't change an aspect of it for anything. He is everything to me and nobody could ever take away the love that I had for him.

The next thing I knew, I was being lifted up. With everything that I could muster, I opened my tired eyes. Nothing but darkness surrounded me; I could only make out the faint glow of Ironhide's blue eyes. He was climbing up what appeared to be stairs.

"Where are we going?" I asked quietly. I was on the brink of falling asleep again, but I fought to keep my eyes open.

"Upstairs. You fell asleep," he answered me.

"Where's Anna?"

"Your mother came to retrieve her about two hours ago. You were fast asleep by the time she showed up."

I closed my eyes as I felt him lower me onto my bed. He covered up my body and laid down next to me a few moments later. I could feel as he gently caressed the side of my face with his hand. My eyes flickered open and I looked to him him staring at me, nothing but pure love and admiration in his eyes.

"What are you looking at?" I asked as I closed my eyes again. His hand was now resting on the side of my face and I lifted my hand up to intertwine our fingers.

"Most humans look incredibly strange to me, but I've never seen one so perfectly crafted. As a matter of fact, I've never seen any being that bore so much beauty."

I could feel a smile come onto my face at the sound of his words. "I think you're exaggerating just a bit," I replied groggily.

"And I think your lack of sleep is getting to your brain," he chuckled.

I pulled myself closer to him and he wrapped his arms around my small body. "I love you," I whispered into his shirt. I was nearly asleep.

"And I love you more than you know."

He planted a kiss upon my forehead and I smiled in content before nuzzling further into his arms. Slowly, I could feel myself drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

*Please vote and comment. It'd mean so much to me. I wanna know what you guys think.*