DISCLAIMERS: I don't own Transformers. They just came over from Hasbro to visit and be general pains-in-the-aft. All the humans in the story are mine. Rated Mature for coarse language.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Silly me, I thought I had finished and posted this already. My only excuse is real life has been above and beyond insane. Hoping things have settled down, in real life that is. The plot should just get more complicated from here on out.

Special thanks go out once again, to Okami-chan, my poor overworked beta, for helping me edit this.

Gwen woke to the rattle of a cart. She turned and looked blearily at the woman in a pink medical uniform, carrying a tray to her table. As bad as hospital food was, it still looked promising. Of course, anything topped the three meals of Jell-O that she had received after Andrea was born.

"Oh good, you're awake. The doctor will be in to see you shortly. That nice policeman that was here yesterday called and left you a message. Sounded kind of important." The woman filled up Gwen's water jug as she spoke, "I'll bring you the phone to call him back after you speak to the doctor."

Gwen blinked, trying to wrap her fuzzy brain around that. For the life of her, she couldn't think of anything else the police would want from her. "Okay," she nodded. This was going to bug her.

~0~0~0~

After Gwen had finished eating, Dr Heimdall came in to discuss her test results. Everything was looking good so far and it was likely they would release her tomorrow, once the final results came back. They were just waiting on the 'exotic' tests. Gwen lay back in her bed and sighed. What did they think she would catch from giant robots anyways? A bad case of rust?

The woman in pink poked her head in the door. "Mrs. Killem? I brought the cordless for you and the message. Just ring the desk when you are done." She walked in, passed the items to Gwen and left, taking the breakfast dishes with her.

Gwen looked at the message. Just the constable's name, time he called and the phone number he could be reached at. It seemed like an odd number but she didn't feel like getting up to try to find his card in her bedside cabinet. Well enough to go home didn't mean she was ready to run a marathon.

She had wracked her brains all morning trying to get a glimmer of what this may be about and had come up empty. With a last mental shrug, she dialled.

"Gwen? Gwen Killem?" A strangely familiar voice answered. Gwen looked at the phone in shock. Whoever it was, it certainly wasn't the police officer she spoke to yesterday. And how could whomever that was know it was her calling?

"Uhm, yes it is. I'm returning Constable Viton's call; he left a message for me this morning. Is he available?" A familiar sinking feeling was starting in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong.

"Nexus, you sound so much better than you did the last time I saw you. Ratch will be ecstatic," the voice replied cheerfully.

Gwen's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, "Jazz? Is that you?"

"'Tis me, ma chérie! How you feeling?" Jazz inquired, cheerfully.

"Fine. I… I'm doing lots better. Uhm, is Constable Viton around by any chance?" Stunned did not cover how she felt right now.

"Probably is somewhere, but he didn't call you. I did." Jazz sounded smug.

"What? He didn't? You did? What for?" Gwen gaped at the cordless receiver for a moment. "You are aware it is illegal to impersonate a police officer, don't you?"

"It is? Whoops!" Jazz sounded sheepish. "I'll have to apologize to him later."

Gwen sighed. "Jazz, you called me because…" she trailed off, waiting.

"Aegis wants to meet you."

"Jazz, you are going to have to help me out here a bit. I hit my head really hard and I'm really lucky I actually remember who you are at all. Who is Aegis?" Gwen rubbed her temple, trying to stave off a headache.

"Aegis is our leader. I thought you said you were fine?" Jazz sounded worried now.

"I'm terrific for someone with a bad concussion. Why does he want to meet me?"

"He didn't actually say. So, when would be a good time?" Jazz persisted.

Gwen lay back in the hospital bed and sighed. She really didn't feel up to visitors, especially of the giant variety. "Well, I don't know. I can have visitors here but I have a feeling that he won't fit through the door."

"Hmm, didn't think of that. I'll ask Andre and see what he says."

"Andre?" Gwen couldn't place the name.

"The constable. Will you meet with Aegis?"

"Sure, I'll meet him. Have the constable call me later to set something up." Tired as she was, she wouldn't miss it. "Just make sure it's the real one, not you masquerading as him, alright?"

"No problemo, sweetheart. Hasta la vista!" Jazz hung up.

Gwen stared at the phone. Hasta la vista? She shook her head and rang for the nurse. She would have to see about a shower or something. She was not meeting alien dignitaries or whatever looking like this.

~0~0~0~

"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" A large bouquet of flowers was talking to her. Gwen blinked. She didn't recall meeting a second alien race. And she somehow thought that one that looked like a flower garden would have stood out.

The floral visitor moved towards her and transformed into her husband. Gwen blinked again, waking more fully up. Brad was placing the large bunch of flowers on her nightstand. She rubbed her eyes. What a weird way to wake up. "Hi Brad. How's Andrea? Did you know you look like an alien from outer space?" she mumbled sleepily.

Brad paused in pulling up the guest chair. He looked over at her, eyes wide and disbelieving. He quickly resumed positioning the chair and sat in it. "Uhm, Andrea is fine. Misses you lots," he tentatively replied. Brad leaned forward, rubbing his chin as he scrutinized her. "Are you all right? Did you get any test results yet?"

"Most of the tests came back fine. Just waiting on one more. If that one is fine, I can go home." Gwen carefully stretched and yawned. "What time is it?" She still felt exhausted, even after a long nap.

"Mid-afternoon. Do you know when that test will come back? We're anxious for you to come home." Brad fidgeted in his seat. He looked at her, gripping the arms of the chair and letting them go.

"I don't know when it will come back. I'm stuck here until then. Relax, sweetie. You aren't the only one who is anxious for me to get out. The leader of the robots, uh, Aegis, wants to meet me." Gwen shifted herself, trying to sit up and get comfortable. It wasn't working. She hated hospital beds.

Brad paused in his motion to assist her. He looked at her with a mix of disbelief and horror. "Please tell me you didn't say what I think you just said."

"Brad, relax. That cop that has been helping us, he's supposed to arrange it. If it was dangerous, he'd stop it." Gwen sat up cross-legged and jammed her pillows behind her. Still not comfortable but better.

"Absolutely not. Those things are dangerous. You are still in the hospital for God's sakes! They were after our daughter." Brad's voice trailed off as Gwen pursed her lips. "Gwen, please, tell me you told them no."

"Brad, will you settle down? I didn't tell them 'no'. I told them to have that constable arrange it. The leader of an alien species wants to meet me, Brad. How could I say no?" Gwen bristled. Why couldn't he be happy for her? For a change? "And they weren't after Andrea. They just wanted to see her. They didn't hurt her and Jazz gave her back when he saw how upset you got."

"How do you know that? You weren't there. You were on the way to the hospital," Brad replied angrily.

"I know I wasn't there. That constable was and he told me when he came to interview me. I would have loved to seen it. Sounded pretty cute." She smiled trying to picture it.

"It was not cute. It was fucking scary. When that white one picked Andrea up…" Brad stood abruptly, eyes blazing.

"Jazz."

"What?"

"His name is Jazz. He's pretty friendly. Always smiling and he has a nice voice." Gwen remembered that much about him.

"I don't care what its name is, I just don't want it around my family." Brad seethed, moving to pace at the foot of the bed.

"Look Brad, I understand your concern. They are big and pretty scary when you first meet them. But they took good care of me and even brought me home when I asked. I'd like to learn more about them. If they are dangerous and nasty, I'll back off and stay away from them." Gwen glanced at the door to the room. Last time Brad had gotten so worked up, the nurse had thrown him out.

Brad noticed her looking towards the door and took the hint. He settled back into the chair and clenched the arms. "We already know that red one is dangerous and nasty." He spoke softly, visibly controlling his temper.

"Ah, the red one. He's called Sigh… something. He's a big goofball." Gwen closed her eyes briefly, trying to remember. She clearly remembered him making faces but Brad probably didn't want to hear that.

"Gwen, he attacked that cop, attacked you and nearly attacked me. He's dangerous!" Brad stood, throwing his arms up for emphasis.

"Calm down, Brad, do you want the nurse to throw you out again? Look, he didn't attack me. Scared me spit-less but didn't attack me." Gwen rubbed her forehead. Her headache was returning and bringing reinforcements.

"Uh huh. Then how did you end up with a concussion?" Brad crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow at her.

"I uhm… I don't really remember. It's pretty fuzzy. I just know he wasn't attacking me. He took me back to their camp for the… other white one to fix. The one that drove me home. Look Brad, I've told you this already. Will you settle down? Please?" Gwen sank back onto the bed, holding her head.

"It just kills me seeing you in here Gwen. You know how I hate hospitals. And when you were missing… I couldn't stand it." Brad sat down, abashed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his forehead. "And now you tell me you want to jump back into it and meet more of them."

"Come on Brad. You know me better than that. I'm not jumping into anything. I'll be careful."

"Yes Gwen, I do know you. That's why I'm worried."

Gwen sighed and rolled her eyes. This was going nowhere. "How's Andrea doing? Will you bring her by later?"

"Andrea's fine," Brad sighed. "I'll bring her by. She'll like that."

"Good. Bring her colouring stuff too. And don't forget the duck." Gwen mentally ticked off the 'Andrea' list. Nothing worse than a bored three year old and she already had one cranky person to deal with. She didn't need another.

"Oh no. I'm not forgetting that ever again. Last time I forgot it, I ended up in this mess," Brad sourly replied.

Gwen could only laugh and reach over to hug him.

~0~0~0~

Andre sat on the hood of his car and sipped his coffee. He considered it fortunate that there was a Tim Hortons nearby. He was going to need all the caffeine he could get riding herd on a bunch of giant robots with more arriving any day now. Especially since he had been up late hashing out the details of his new assignment. He took a big sip. Oh yes, coffee was his friend today.

He had casually dressed today, in jeans and a t-shirt, reasoning after yesterday, it was a better choice. Not that he had much to do at the moment. The Exiles, as they called themselves, were hard at work cleaning up the warehouse that had been given to them. They had cleared away all the debris already and were demolishing the upper floors. He had offered to help but Aegis had politely turned him down, asking only for somewhere to dispose of the debris. One quick phone call to Agent Black had taken care of that.

Andre amused himself watching them interact with each other. Aegis had gone to scout around, leaving Jazz in charge. Jazz wandered around the room, chatting with each of the other robots before taking Hound to start on demolishing the second level. Andre really wondered about those two. Hound had been riding around on Jazz's shoulder all morning, leaning up against Jazz's head. Andre put it to the back of his mind. He'd ask later.

Ratchet harangued the brothers, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, in their native language after breaking up yet another spat. Perceptor, the other red robot watched for a moment, then shook his head and continued the clean up.

"They definitely have a talent for getting under Ratchet's plating, don't they?"

Andre nearly jumped off the hood. He fumbled for a moment with his travel mug before turning to gaze at an amused Hound.

"How can someone who's made of metal and weighs a quarter ton move so quietly?" He shook his head, exasperated.

"I don't quite mass that much Constable and I'm a scout. I was built to move quietly." Hound smiled. "Jazz wants to talk to you away from prying audios."

"Prying audios? No, don't explain. I understand what you meant." Andre held up a hand to forestall the explanation Hound was sure to give him. "I meant, what does he need to see me about that he doesn't want anyone else to hear and without Aegis here."

"Aegis tasked him with setting up a meeting with the human femme that Sideswipe almost ran over," Hound lowered his voice to just above a whisper. He watched his comrades carefully as if checking to see if they overheard.

"Where is he?" Andre asked. He didn't like that they were going behind his back on this. Not only was he their human contact, but the woman they wanted to see was still in hospital because of them.

"Follow me, Constable," Hound turned, motioning for Andre to follow.

"Hound, please, just call me Andre." He slid off the hood and fell into step with the green robot.

"All right, Andre. I must confess; I find human naming conventions somewhat confusing." Hound favoured him with a confused glance as he spoke.

"It can be confusing for us at times too. I'll do my best to help you out."

"Well, your name for instance. You are called Andre, Constable, and Constable Viton. Which one is correct?" Hound had led them to the human sized door. He paused and faced the Constable. "Jazz is just outside."

"What's he doing outside? I thought the idea was for you all to avoid attracting too much attention." Andre hoped he got some additional help soon. Keeping track of all the robots was akin to herding cats.

"It's all right, Andre. Jazz and I are experts at being discreet. He's in his alt mode, which is significantly smaller than his root form," Hound reassured him.

"Ah, right, I remember. He changes into some strange electronic gadget. Fit rather well into Ratchet's back seat if I recall. Okay, other than someone wandering by and trying to steal him, he's fine. How about you? Do you shrink into some strange widget too?" The Constable eyed Hound's wheels dubiously.

"My alt form is a four wheeled off road vehicle. I scanned it up North. It seemed a sensible form for a scout, though I haven't really seen any within the city yet. I used a hologram to disguise myself while I was outdoors. No one saw me in my natural form."

"A hologram? Like on Star Trek?"

"I don't know what Star Trek is but I can show you my hologram." Hound vanished and Andre found himself staring at a dark haired young man in a uniform. At first glance, he would be mistaken for a policeman.

"Holy shit!" Andre exclaimed. "How'd you do that?"

"I'm not really sure how it works, I've always been able to project detailed holograms since I first came online. Is this sufficient as a disguise?" The fake 'cop' smiled at his discomfiture.

"Yes, though you might want something a little less… cop-like. It's illegal to impersonate a police officer or any federal official." Andre looked over the hologram with a critical eye. "The head is fine, just change the clothes." The almost uniform changed to something that resembled Andre's current outfit.

"How's this?" Hound asked.

"Much better. Now, what does Jazz want?"

"You aren't going to answer my question?"

"What? Oh, sorry. Human names. Right." Andre stroked his chin, considering. "All three are correct in certain circumstances. Andre is my given name, Constable is the short form of my rank, and Viton is my family name. Formally and professionally, I'm Constable Viton. My co-workers and superiors usually call me Viton or Constable depending on the situation. My friends and family call me Andre." He looked into the eyes of the hologram. "Does that clear things up a bit?"

The hologram managed a good impression of human confusion. "I'll have to compile that for a bit. Run some comparisons. I don't think I have enough data."

"It's okay if you find it confusing. Like I already said, it can be confusing for us too. Different cultures do things differently," Andre shrugged. "Now, what does Jazz want and why is he outside?"

"He's outside to get as far away from curious audios as he can without leaving the area. And as far as what he wants, Jazz needs help setting up that meeting with the femme. She told him to have you contact her about it. And, uhm, I think he accidentally broke that impersonation law when he contacted her."

Wonderful. Andre sighed. "Let's go talk to Jazz." He definitely needed more help.

~0~0~0~

The doctor sat in his office, catching up on his paperwork. He signed the last form, picked up his mug and took a sip, grimacing at the ice cold coffee within. He hated cold coffee.

The phone ringing loudly in the silence of the office broke him from his musing on a mug warmer. "Dr Heimdall here."

"Good evening Doctor. Working late tonight?"

"Just catching up on my paperwork and waiting for your call. I need to know when I can send the Killem woman home. This fictional 'test' isn't going to hold her for much longer. She's an intelligent woman, she's asking questions that I can't doctor talk around for much longer. Not to mention I don't like filling a hospital bed with someone well enough to recover at home. We do have a shortage of beds. Keeping her here, national security or no, is preventing us from treating someone else." Dr Heimdall got to the point. This cloak and dagger bullshit did not sit well with him.

"A little touchy tonight, Doctor? Be patient, we understand your concerns. Mrs Killem will be able to go home in two days time. You need to assist us in making arrangements for some special visitors to see her."

"Visiting hours are from eight to eight every day. As long as they aren't disturbing the other patients, they can come anytime."

"I'm afraid it isn't that easy, Dr Heimdall. These 'visitors' are a little on the tall side. Just shy of five meters."

Dr Heimdall blinked. "Five meters? Listen Agent Black, I'm old school, what is that in feet?"

"Sixteen feet. One is a little taller but sixteen is the average."

The doctor rubbed his face. "Oh dear lord."

"Hence the need for special arrangements. I trust you can take care of that?"

"I'll need to speak to the director." He dreaded that conversation.

"You do that. Make it for early tomorrow afternoon."

"I don't know if I can get it arranged that soon. The director is a busy man."

"Aren't we all, Doctor? See to it. Consider it the fastest way to freeing up a badly needed bed in your hospital." Agent Black hung up.

Dr Heimdall hung up the receiver and stared at the phone for a couple minutes before picking it up and dialling. He reflected that it was a good thing he had already confided about the agent with the director over coffee. It meant he might be able to get through this call without being taken to the psych ward.