To my old readers: I was attempting to work on my other fanfictions with little luck I might add... when I got bitten with this plot bunny and it wouldn't leave me alone. So I guess I've broken my writer's block in a way, though if any of my regular followers end up getting mad at me for not working on my other stories I'm sorry, and I'll eventually get back to them. Someday... For now I'm going to tap the unfathomed story that is currently plaguing me and see where it leads me.

Now as to any new readers that have come across my story here, It's my first attempt on anything in the Transformers universe, so hopefully it'll be okay... Just as a warning it's AU. This story picks up sometime after ROTF. And hey, Jazz is alive! Whooot! As to how... Well I gotta another story cooking on that one... But I'm not sure if it'll ever make it up here... It depends on my muse, who is very fond of the whole multiverse theory... but enough on that.

I'm somewhat untrustworthy with updates due to work and whatnot. But I will try my best to update as soon I get a chapter done... And I will try my hardest to make it at least weekly. There is a side story that is floating around here called The Reason She Left, which picks up around chapter 14 of this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.

Prologue

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This was not supposed to happen. This could not be happening... Lt. Colonel William Lennox stared at the burning remains of what had once been his home. Shock held his body tightly in its grasp as a flood of emotions- rage, worry, fear, despair, sorrow- whipped it's way through him.

"Daddy!" A coughing cry rang out from the chaos and a blonde haired child darted out to tackle him, sobbing hysterically. Her tears broke Will from his stasis and he tightly wrapped his arm around his child crying himself. "Anna... It's okay. It's okay. Tell me what happened to mommy." He pleaded, but as he spoke this he glanced up to see Ironhide slowly walking over to lay a scorched, battered body to the ground not too far away from them.

An anguished howl tore its way through Will's throat. "SARAH!"

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The tension at the repast was thick enough to cut with a knife. Annabelle had cried herself to sleep for the third time that day. The seven year old understood that her mother was gone, but not what had happened nor why. Will had spent most of the time in a stupor, unable to come to terms with his loss... Though, from intel at the base he wasn't the only one from NEST that had been targeted. There was talk from both the Autobots and the JCS about what should be done.

He heard the same two words 'We're sorry' over and over from Sarah's friends, her coworkers, his comrades that hadn't been attacked, Ironhide... but the largest part of the tension came from a pair of young women, identical twins, Sarah's sisters. Both had chestnut colored hair and matching green eyes red from crying. Their sharp angled noses were also red from the crying, their cheeks flushed though whether it was from the crying he wasn't too sure...

He knew the one that was glaring at him was ready to rip his throat out. She'd been the one to comfort Annabelle as the child had fallen asleep. The other one was weary and worn from trying to rein in her sister. With a growl at her twin she threw her hand in the air and walked over to Will leaving the angry one to glare on.

"Will."

"Uh..." God which one is it?

"Mercy." she irritably supplied her name form him. "Could we go for a walk? I don't think I could keep Torri off you much longer."

"Sure."

They strolled around the peaceful church in quiet.

"I can't believe this." Mercy said quietly.

"I know what you mean." Will stared at the sunset. He instantly regretted this when a fist connected with his nose.

"How dare you?!" She yelled as she then kicked him. "This is all your fault!" Mercy screamed at him. Tears ran from her bloodshot green eyes.

"Mercedes!" hands pulled the raving woman off of him. She fought with her twin who was whispering into her ear in a futile attempt to calm her down. Several others had come to pull her back inside the church. Leaving him with the other twin.

"Argh." Will groaned as he crawled into a sitting position. He winced when the woman planted her feet solidly in his field of view. He glanced up at her as she knelt into the dirt and gripped his chin.

"Hold still." she said harshly. "I want to see if she broke your nose." she poked and prodded his nose, excitating a hiss from him at which she smiled at. "You should be glad it was Mercy and not me. I would have done more than break your nose. You're fine." she said shoving him away from her.

"Thanks doc."

"Don't thank me." she icily replied as she crossed her arms and glared off into the distance.

"I'm sorry..."

"Mercy's wrong."

"Hm?"

"It's not completely your fault." Torrine said tightly. "It's partly mine. If I had never met you she would be here."

"Torri you don't know that..." Will said as she kicked the dirt angrily. Her hard green gaze focused on him. "Fate is a bitch. There's no telling if that is true."

"But you can't say that it isn't."

The two of them sat there, an uneasy heavy silence fell between the two of them. Eventually she was the one she broke the silence with, "What will you do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me sir, what will you be doing now." she growled. "I know your type. You're just like me, married to the service. So what are you going to do about Annabelle?"

This hadn't completely occurred to him. He couldn't take her to the base with him... and Torri was right... After this incident he wouldn't be surprised if those that still wanted to work in the NEST division would have to relocate their families.

"Tell me, this isn't the end of your working life is it?"

Will let out a sigh. "No..."

"I won't pretend that I know what you do in that NEST Division, but... If the assholes you're fighting can do this, how can you keep her safe?"

"I..."

"Think about it and let us know. After all we're the only family she has left besides you." Torri said coldly as she walked away from him and back into the church.