Catherine pinched the bridge of her nose as the twins got into yet another argument over the smallest thing. This time it was over who got to play what character, or at least what color character. She was sitting in the kitchen trying to figure out what all she needed to put in for her food order. It wasn't like she had a grocery store nearby, sure there was the commissary, but she didn't have a military ID. As it stood, she was having to have Lennox pick up her foodstuffs, which was fine. But she had to make him a detailed list. Which wasn't easy with the constant bickering. That and she was almost certain that Sunstreaker didn't really like her, if his coldness towards her was anything to go by. If it wasn't for the fact that Jazz was stuck inside her, or that Sideswipe enjoyed her company, she was almost positive that he wouldn't have anything to do with her.

Yeah… he'll come around eventually. Jazz sighed from the back of her mind. Just give him time.

'So, my assumption that the only reason why he chose out those colors for me is because Sideswipe asked him to is a fair one?' She rolled her eyes.

Pretty fair. Jazz chuckled.

Catherine sighed and heard the twins finally settle down and the game start up. It was like having two young teenage kids in her living room instead of a couple of two story tall mechs that could rip a Decepticon apart with only their hands. She rolled her eyes again as she quickly finished her grocery list and texted Lennox that it was finished. He was going to the commissary that afternoon to make sure that the house for him and his family was stocked up and had offered to go ahead and make her grocery run for the week too.

What do you have planned to do now? Jazz asked as she sent Lennox a picture of her list, he was running a bit behind.

'I don't know.' Catherine glanced into the living room to make sure the twins were still preoccupied. 'I guess I could take a nap or something. It's not like I can concentrate on classwork or anything.'

A nap would probably do you some good. Jazz chuckled; he was focused entirely on her at that moment. I can tell them to try and keep it down for you.

'They won't bother me.' She laughed back as she made her way to her bedroom. 'But you could let them know if you wanted to. Your call.'

Jazz laughed good naturedly and she felt her wrist tingle. She heard Sideswipe yell 'sleep well' and smiled as she entered her room. With a sigh she closed her door and flopped down on the bed. She was still having to sleep more, and Ratchet had made it clear that if any other changes happened with her sleep schedule to let him know. Catherine sighed again and closed her eyes. She felt a small smile appear on her face when soft, calming music started filtering through the speakers in her room. She sent a wave of thanks to Jazz as she started drifting off, at least until her phone started ringing. She cracked an eye open and glared at the device before sighing heavily and answering the call.

"Yes?"

"Catherine?" Prowl's voice met her curt response calmly.

"Hey Prowl." She sighed and sat up. "What's up?"

"Optimus and I have been speaking with the human-Autobot liaison and he wishes to meet you." Prowl sighed deeply. "He is not aware of your unique situation, but Jazz informed us of your inquiry about becoming a human voice for the Autobots…"

"Yeah, I did mention that." Catherine reached over and grabbed a pen to fiddle with, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder as she did so. "I take it the government appointed liaison is reluctant to let a 20… oh shit. I missed my birthday."

Catherine took a tally of what day it was and shook her head.

"Sorry, a 21-year-old woman. I take it he's reluctant to let me do that for you guys."

"Director Galloway is hesitant to allow someone of such a young age to take the position." Prowl sighed. "However, we have convinced him to at least meet you before making the decision."

"Any suggestions on how to change his mind?" Catherine tapped her chin with the pen. "I mean, he's going to be even more reluctant to let someone without a military background do it."

"I would suggest informing him of your presence at Mission City." Prowl sounded thoughtful now. "However, I am aware that the topic is difficult for you."

"I'm sure I can handle it." She chuckled lightly. "When does he want to meet?"

"At your earliest convenience." Prowl suddenly sounded distracted.

"How about in 30 minutes?" Catherine stood and stretched. "I can see if Sideswipe can bring me to either your or Optimus' office?"

"My office." Prowl sighed. "Director Galloway is present at the moment."

"Okay, I'll see you there in 30 minutes then." Catherine was smiling now.

"Thank you, Catherine." And with that he hung up.

Catherine laughed as she turned to her closet with a critical eye. She grinned as her eyes landed on the second outfit that Jazz had helped her choose and started getting changed. She swept her hair up into a high pony and grinned as she studied herself in the mirror. The silver top matched the wrist cuff.

If you need help wrangling him just let me know Kitten. Jazz stated approvingly from the back of her mind.

'Oh, I'm probably going to ask you to pull up some files for me, literally anything that will help me relate to him would be helpful.' Catherine had stepped into the bathroom and was applying red lip gloss and natural toned eyeshadow. As she applied the mascara and eyeliner, she couldn't help but feel like she was preparing for battle.

According to what I could find he is boring as hell. Likes to golf. Jazz sounded bored just going over it. Divorced twice, 2 kids, really patriotic…

'Sounds about right actually.' Catherine rolled her eyes. 'But that's good information I guess.'

Catherine walked into the living room to see Sideswipe already standing to take her to Prowl's office. The red headed holoform turned and whistled lowly.

"Damn, you look like you're ready to make someone's life a living hell." He grinned over at her. "Ready to meet Director Galloway?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." She laughed back. "Feel free to keep hanging out here after you drop me off. I actually like the company."

"Thanks." Sideswipe motioned for her to head out the door as she heard the garage door open. "Just go ahead and climb in and we'll get going."

Catherine nodded as she exited the house and climbed in the waiting Corvette.

~.~ ~.~

Why didn't you mention your birthday? Jazz asked quietly as Catherine waited patiently for Prowl and Director Galloway to finish with their meeting.

'It's not a huge deal.' She shrugged as she continued fiddling with the hem of her shirt. 'I haven't even thought about it for a couple of years now. Not since… well. You know.'

Jazz fell silent and Catherine was about to ask if he was okay when Prowl called her name to enter his office. She stood and took a deep breath before walking in with her shoulders back and chin held high. Prowl stood and bent to offer her his hand so he could lift her to the top of the desk and she accepted with a smile. Once he was seated she walked over to who she was assuming was Director Galloway and offered him her hand.

"Catherine McFaye." She nodded as he took her hand in a firm handshake. "I've been told you wished to meet with me about the position of Autobot Liaison?"

"They said you wanted to take the position, I just wanted to meet you before making the decision." Galloway was scowling, and Catherine's eyebrow raised as she realized that he obviously didn't think they even needed the position.

"I understand, Director Galloway." She smiled sweetly. "I'm just concerned that our Autobot friends aren't getting proper representation. They've been super helpful to the human race and decided to stay and help protect us from the Decepticon threat. I only want to make sure that they receive that proper representation."

Galloway stared at her as she smiled at him. She felt Jazz pushing calming confidence to her and her smile only widened.

"And why, pray tell, do you think you would make a good liaison?" Galloway finally ground out.

"I was present at the battle of Mission City." Catherine felt the smile fall from her face and she sat up straighter. "I lost my parents to a Decepticon and was badly injured myself. When I thought I was dying I met one of them, a Mech named Jazz. He helped calm and comfort me in what I thought were my last minutes, even though he was also dying. In those few minutes I realized that they have the same capacity for emotion and compassion that we humans do. Several months ago, I reconnected with Sam Witwicky and met Bumblebee. Who realized that I had somehow managed to be affected by the Allspark Radiation. It was decided that I would stay with them so that their medic, Ratchet, could do his best to help me and eventually remove the Allspark radiation from my body."

"So, you have something wrong with you caused by them?"

"Not caused by them. Caused by the Decepticons and by the idiot humans that kept Megatron and the Allspark so close together." Catherine deadpanned. "Because of our Government's idiocy and reluctance to listen to someone who was more knowledgeable about something they had never understood. That, Director Galloway, is why I feel that I would make a good Autobot liaison. I am willing to learn from them, willing to make sure that their voices are heard, and willing to help others see that they are compassionate, wonderful beings that are capable of emotion and pain."

Galloway was all out glaring at her now, he was less than impressed.

"Well, I'm sold." A voice called from behind Catherine, causing her to turn and look at a television screen in surprise. "Consider yourself hired Ms. McFaye."

Catherine stared at the face of the President and blinked several times before she smiled again.

"I was not aware that you would be a part of the meeting, Mr. President." She nodded to him. "I apologize for not addressing you directly."

"I asked them not to tell you." The president laughed. "Welcome to the team, we'll see to it that you have credentials set up and that you're added to our system."

"Thank you, sir." Catherine nodded again before excusing herself, allowing a small triumphant smirk in Galloway's direction the moment that she knew that the President wasn't looking at her.

Prowl placed her back on the ground and she felt her wrist tingle before Jazz started laughing as she exited the office.

Prowl says that it's about time someone embarrassed Galloway in front of the President like that. Jazz laughed as she make her way towards her house. You did damn good, Kitten.

'Thank you.' She was smiling widely. 'Hopefully I didn't say too much when I was talking about why I even know they exist.'

I think you did good. Good touch on the Allspark radiation part. Jazz replied warmly. It explains why you're here without going into too much detail.

'Thank you for helping keep my emotions in check with that.' Catherine sighed as she paused and leaned against a wall, her heart was pounding now. 'Helping with little things like that is okay, but I do still need to feel some of it.'

I know, Kitten. Jazz's voice was comforting now, and she felt his concern. But I also knew that you needed to be able to convince Galloway why you should do it. And the President too, I guess.

'Yeah, that was a surprise.' Catherine laughed and then glanced up when she heard footsteps approach.

"You okay Catherine?" Ratchet knelt down and began running scans. "Or should I say Liaison McFaye?"

"Word travels fast huh?" She asked with a smile up at the medic. "And yeah, just residual anxiety from meeting Director Galloway."

Ratchet nodded slowly as he offered her his hand and then smiled down at her when she gladly took the offered ride.

"Jazz says that we somehow missed your creation day." Ratchet stated with amusement.

"Don't worry about it." Catherine rolled her eyes and shot a 'seriously' towards the mech she was sharing mind space with. "I'm serious, it's not that big of a deal."

"I was under the impression that turning 21 was a big deal for most humans as that meant that you have come of age to partake in alcohol." Now Ratchet was glancing down at her in concern. "Is that not true?"

"For most humans it is, but not for me." She rolled her eyes again. "It's just another day to me. Another year older, and another year closer to the end."

"I see." Ratchet shook his head as Catherine felt her wrist tingle, she sent Jazz a warning to not get too deep into it, only for him to say 'too late'. "Jazz and I agree that it would be a good idea to at least try and celebrate it a small amount."

"It was a week ago." Catherine sighed. "There's no reason to even try to celebrate it. I think it would just be a waste of time and resources."

Says you, Kitten. Jazz huffed. I think it'd be fun.

'Of course you would.' Catherine rolled her eyes again. 'June 6th is just any other day, okay? I don't need it to be anything important.'

Ratchet was scanning Catherine as she and Jazz talked. He seemed to be monitoring something and had come to a sudden stop. Catherine looked up at him in confusion and raised her eyebrow.

"It seems that you are also putting out a spark signature. Not just Jazz." Ratchet finally muttered as he ran several more scans. "Depending on who is speaking at that moment, your right eye glows when Jazz is speaking, Jazz's spark signature will diminish, and another will grow stronger. It seems as if your body has reacted to Jazz's spark by somehow having your soul condense into a spark of sorts. It's a development that I didn't foresee."

"Wait what?" Catherine blinked up at him. "My what is doing what?"

"Your soul has somehow developed into a spark and is condensing very slowly." Ratchet's voice was serious. "It means that I need to finish Jazz's repairs and also figure out how to get him transferred back to his own body as soon as possible. If we don't your soul will fully condense into a spark and that could be very bad…"

Catherine felt panic begin rising in her chest and Jazz reached out to try and help calm her. Neither of them knew what exactly this meant for Catherine, but they knew it wasn't good.

"Very bad how?" She asked, fighting down her panic.

Ratchet sighed as he held his hand level with a table so that she could step off of his hand and onto it before he leaned against it with both hands and stared at her.

"If I cannot figure out how to stop your soul from condensing and continuing to progress into a fully fledged spark…" Ratchet sighed again and stood to rub the back of his head in frustration. "Your life as a human will be over. Your body cannot survive without its soul spread evenly throughout. It is what gives the cells their ability to function and replicate themselves. If I cannot stop and possibly reverse the process it is very likely that you will die."

Catherine felt her heart pounding in her chest and couldn't keep her breathing even. She could feel Jazz doing his best to try and help her stay calm. But even he was panicked by this information.

Kitten, you gotta breathe. Jazz tried to calm her.

'I… can't.' She whispered back, her vision starting to go dark.

Kitten? Catherine!

Catherine felt herself falling and her wrist tingling before the world went black.

~.~ ~.~

Catherine's eyes opened in the 'room' that Jazz had in the back of her mind. She met Jazz's visor and her brow furrowed. His concerned look told her that something had happened, but she had no idea what. She groaned and put her hand on her head, only just realizing that she was laying on the couch.

"You alright, Kitten?" Jazz was obviously extremely concerned about her.

"What… One second I was talking to Ratchet and the next I'm here." She sat up slowly. "Did I pass out?"

Jazz's reluctant look made Catherine blink a few times, and then it came back. She shot to her feet and started pacing, arms coming up to hug herself. Her panic was almost tangible, and she could feel her body reacting to it.

Jazz you have got to get her to calm down. Ratchet's voice filtered through the room. If you don't, she might have a heart attack.

"I'm trying 'Hatchet. You could have given me some warning that you were going to drop a bombshell on her!" Jazz snapped before activating his holoform and grabbing Catherine's arms. "You need to breathe Kitten."

"I am breathing." Catherine snarled. "Not super well mind you. Kinda in shock here because I just found out that I might DIE."

"I need you to at least try to breathe normally." Jazz sighed deeply, but he didn't release her arms. "For the love of Primus just try it."

Catherine glowered at him but started trying to force herself to breathe properly.

That's it, I'm giving her Valium. Ratchet stated firmly. I know she can hear me. Catherine, I am going to give you Valium to help calm your nerves before you go into shock.

"Fine, do it." Catherine snapped. A few minutes later she completely relaxed and sat on the couch with a deep breath. "Wow, that worked."

I'm going to keep you sedated until Jazz gives me the all clear that you aren't going to have a panic attack. Ratchet sighed through the comm. So, talk it out or whatever you need to do, let me know when she's able to stay calm about the situation she's in.

"Will can do 'Hatchet." Jazz rolled his eyes under the visor like sunglasses. "That mech needs to learn some tact."

"You're telling me." Catherine huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "It would have been better to give me that info slowly. Or, at least, warned you so that you could control the severity of the panic…"

"That would have been appreciated instead of him springing it on us both at the same time." Jazz flopped down on the couch with a scoff. "How are you doing Kitten?"

Catherine shrugged; her anxiety was lessened because of the medicine that Ratchet had pumped her with. She sat there and stared at the top of the table, trying to process what she had been told. Unexpectedly Jazz sighed and turned sideways on the couch to place his head in her lap. Causing her to jump and stare at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You were too caught up in your thoughts." He grinned up at her. "And I'm much more interesting to look at than the top of the table."

Catherine rolled her eyes, but a grin was tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Oh, come on, Kitten." Jazz reached over his head to poke her in the side. "You know I'm right."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sounds like someone's ego is large enough as it is without me adding to it." She laughed, trying to bend away from his finger without moving her legs.

"You wound me!" He cried dramatically, poking her side again. "I don't have an ego at all! I just know that I have abundant charm and good looks."

Catherine grabbed his hand to stop him poking at her and pressed it against his chest, but she still had a grin on her face.

"Oh really, I take it you were quite the ladies mech back home then." She raised her eyebrow at him again.

"You have no idea Kitten." He laughed cheekily. "I was asked after everywhere, but not a single mech or femme could catch me."

"Oh really, are you sure it wasn't because you were just too high maintenance?" She ignored his fingers weaving into hers and stayed stubbornly looking down past his visor and into his eyes.

"I like to think of it more like none of them were as interesting as me." He was smirking up at her now. "They couldn't keep up with my wit or charm."

"What wit or charm?" Catherine adopted a thoughtful look. "I didn't notice either one."

Now Jazz's eyebrow raised, his smirk not leaving his face.

"If you don't take that back I might just have to prove to ya that I got both." He finally stated, offering her a toothy grin.

"I don't know if you could, it's hard to prove something that doesn't exist." She was smirking down at him now.

"Then I guess I need to use it on you." He raised her hand and pressed the back of it to his lips, his grin turning back into a smirk.

Catherine felt her cheeks heat up, especially when his eyes didn't leave hers. The look he was giving her was so intense she had to look away. With a chuckle he released her hand and sat up before he waved his hand and a deck of cards appeared.

"I was looking up games online last night while you slept and figured we could play some cards?" He was grinning at her as he walked to the other side of the table and sat in the newly appeared chair. "How about Rummy?"

"I think that sounds like a plan." She smiled, grateful for the change in topic. Her face was still red, and the last thing she wanted was for him to pick up on the crush she had. Which she was beginning to think wasn't a crush anymore. "Thank you, for distracting me. We can talk about… the situation, while we play."

"I think that's a great idea, Kitten." Jazz smiled as he shuffled and dealt them 7 cards each. "Your go."

Catherine smiled back as she reached over and pulled a card off the deck, she felt calmer. And she knew that as long as Jazz was there, she could handle anything thrown her way. She smirked when she saw that she had a run of 3 diamonds, before laying them down and discarding a card. Causing Jazz to mock glare at her before drawing a card of his own. He apparently didn't have anything to lay down because he cursed under his breath and discarded a card. Catherine felt her smile widen as she realized that this is what made her most comfortable, and her heart skipped a beat. Somehow this felt natural, like it was meant to be, and that everything was going to be okay.

This felt like home.

~.~ ~.~ ~.~

There we go. Some furthering of the plot. Explained why Sunstreaker wasn't as cold to her in the last chapter (Literally because Sideswipe and Jazz asked him to be nice to her, and I have it in my head that both twins are extremely protective of females. Hence why they both jumped to defend her from the asshole, even though Sunstreaker isn't fond of humans. One of those their Dad raised them right things.)

Also, yes. This is a JazzXOC fic. So keep in mind these guys have known each other for almost 2 years now, when she was in a coma they got to know each other pretty well but she just assumed those partial memories were hallucinations caused by the medication that kept her in the induced coma. Of course, flirting and fluff and all that is going to start happening now that I feel that they have a strong foundation built on mutual trust.

Please leave a review! I love hearing from my readers.

Until all are one,

Chistarpax