:Kicks down the door: I LIVED GLITCHES!

So naturally this is the part where I apologize for taking so long to update. I. AM. SO. SORRY. All I can say is: I went into a depressive spiral, lost my motivation to eat, let alone write, started listening to D&D podcasts, which inspired me to live again, forced myself to go out into the world, eat and recover, got a cavity, wrote a few drabbles for said podcast, moved apartments, got cavity fixed and found my desire to write again so I can avoid doing laundry.

All I can say is thank you all for reading and reviewing and favoriting this work while I fixed myself.

Remember to Read, Review, and Enjoy! Chapter title is from the song Introduced Species by Hands Like Houses.

Disclaimer: I don't own scrap, song titles, Mountain Dew or any recognisable Transformers but the general plot and OC's are my own invention so please ask before using them. Also, credit for this inspiration goes to the story 'Juxtaposition' by Vaeru. I bow to her greatness and hope she can forgive me for hijacking her plot bunny and turning it into... whatever this is. So without further adieu, enjoy!

"Talking"

'Nicole's thinking'

~Jazz~

:Sparkling talk:

Cybertronian

Awareness came back slowly for Nicole. However, despite the thin cot that was her bed, she was warm with her tiny sparklings cuddled to her chest. While the sleeping vents of her largest sparklings provided a soothing yet quiet background noise nearby. So she dozed. For the first time in weeks in absolutely no hurry to begin the day. Basking in the knowledge that her little family was close, well fed, safe, and for the moment in no danger of being discovered by violent humans or Decepticons.

In the back of Nicole's mind Jazz was equally as peaceful. The saboteur sending docile waves of sleepy contentment over the wall. The emotions made the young woman smile and send wordless warm acknowledgement in return. Neither spoke, not even in their minds, unwilling to disturb the moment. So they drifted, in and out of sleep, for an undermined stretch of time. Occasionally dipping into dreams and memory. Jazz passively sharing the memory he had of the singing crystal gardens of Praxus, which led to Nicole comparing it to a glass garden she had seen on a school trip when she was younger. Which paled in compairison to what had once been Cybertrons greatest natural wonder.

Unfortunatly the moment couldn't last. As if to a silent signal Nicole could not detect, the triplets stirred all at once in her arms, which nudged Sonic into wakefulness. Reluctantly, the young woman loosened her hold and cracked open her eyes. Though her vision was still blurred with sleep, she could still see enough to chuckle at how Sonic stretched like a cat. Arching tail and all. Within a blink, much to Nicole's despair, the smallest mech was awake, alert, and beginning to clamber off the bed to explore.

~Looks like it's time to get up.~

With a sigh Nicole mentally groaned, 'If I could bottle that sparklings energy I'd never need coffee ever again.'

Jazz chuckled sleepily ~Ya kidding? Pretty sure that mechling could power all of Cybertron with more to spare. No need for the Allspark now.~

Nicole snorted then turned her attention to the triplets, who were waking much slower than their brother. With gentle hands she ruffled stretching metal wings as she thought over what Ratchet had said the other day. It was hard to believe how her three smallest would one day grow to become massive fliers. Taking jets and planes for alt-forms, but it was a thought that was easy to dismiss as their sleepy optics looked up at her so innocently.

:Morning mama: Pixel's screen lit up with, even as the green sparkling seemed to fight the urge to fall back asleep.

Nicole smiled, rubbing Pixels head in an attempt to help her wake up, but unfortunately seemed to have the opposite effect. "Good morning sleepyhead. Did you all recharge well?"

Neon chirped a yawn before answering, :Yes. Was good recharge:

"Good, because I'm willing to bet we're going to have a busy day today," Nicole bit back a yawn of her own as she began to sit up.

Groans and grumbles came from the berth, as Sonic had somehow made his way there to jump on his brothers. Ignoring the scuffling caused by the sudden wake up call across the room, Nicole stretched. Groaning in delight at the feeling of joints popping even as it made Jazz gag.

~Come on Nic, that's disgustin'. Not ta mention'll give ya arthritis when you're old,~ he muttered with a disgusted shudder.

'Don't care. Feels too good,' she sighed as she arched just so that her back and neck would crack, knowing it would bother the saboteur. 'Besides I'm pretty sure the arthritis thing is a myth.'

Jazz merely grumbled something uncomplimentary in response. Ignoring the bot Nicole turned her attention back to her sparklings, unable to hide her amusement as Ricochet finally caught Sonic. Glancing at her phone, Nicole checked the time and recalled the appointment that she had made late the previous night.

It had been the middle of the night when the sound of soft tapping on the Cybertronian sized door woke Nicole. With gritty eyes and mind still fuzzy with sleep she had rolled over and fumbled for her phone. The one that wasn't a sparkling. The time on the screen was completely obscene and caused her to groan.

"I'm coming!" She hissed as loudly as she dared as the tapping continued and she stumbled from the cot.

Turning on the flashlight feature of her phone, she looked around the edge of the desk until she found the narrow set of stairs that lead down to the floor or up to the shelves. Grumbling under her breath about ungodly hours and promises of violence if her sparklings woke up Nicole stomped her way to the door. Jazz, normally so sleepy in the mornings, was completely alert with a soldiers attention. Being woken in the middle of the night wasn't often associated with good things in his long memory.

~What's goin' on?~

"No idea, but they're going to lose their hand if they keep knocking," Nicole whispered with exhausted venom.

Quickly Nicole ducked out the human sized door beside the Cybertronian sized one. "Shhh! Quit that!" She hissed under her breath at the tall yellow and red blurs that were reaching out to tap the door again. "You're going to wake the sparklings. What the hell do you want?"

Shutting the door behind her Nicole blinked blearily in the slightly brighter light of the hallway. Once she had rubbed the lingering sleep from her eyes she was able to squint enough to bring Sideswipe and Sunstreaker into focus. Both of which she tiredly glared at. In the back of her mind Jazz relaxed slightly with a mental eye roll.

Sideswipe grinned, apologized sheepishly, "Sorry about that," and kneeled to talk to her more face to faceplates. Which was apparently a mistake based on the way he flinched and braced his still healing injuries.

Sunstreaker bodily but with gentle servos hauled his twin upright and grumbled, "This was the only time we could sneak away from the Hatchet."

Nicole blinked in confusion before Jazz clarified, ~Hatchet is Ratchet's nickname. He must be recharging if these two were able to get away.~

"So how long has Ratchet been sleeping for?" Nicole asked with a tired smirk, amused at the medics misfortune to have such troublesome patients.

"About an earth hour," Sideswipe snickered before sobering, "But we needed to talk to you about your fledgling, Helix. We heard Ratchet glitching about how he got rammed by Barricade when you were trying to escape."

"And?" Nicole asked warily, still blinking back sleep and in no mood to be beating around the proverbial bush. "He's fine. Barricade only grazed him, thank goodness."

"He needs to learn defensive driving skills," Sunstreaker stated bluntly. "Sides and I are the best and we want to teach him."

This was not on the list of what Nicole would have expected from a midnight meeting with the twins. However after her momentary surprised had passed she was giving the proposal some serious consideration.

~They have a point Nic. Outta the bots we've seen on base ya can't do much better than these two. I'd say ta take 'em up on it.~ She knew he was right, but she also knew that these two had a large streak for mischief.

Nicole narrowed her eyes, weighing the decision in her mind before speaking. "His alt-mode is a 2011 Cadillac Escalade with 4x4 capability. You two are, obviously, built for more speed than he is. Are you sure that you are the best to help him learn even with the difference in size and ability?"

"Absolutely," Sideswipe encouraged while Sunstreaker nodded.

"Honestly," Nicole sighed with a tired chuckle, "he needs a lot more than just defensive driving. In fact the first time we found him, I was going to let him drive himself. I asked him if he knew any traffic laws or rules of the road, his response was, and I quote, 'What rules of the road?' I've tried to teach him as we've gone along but there wasn't much time between hiding and running from Barricade. Everything he does know was taught on-the-fly. Mostly while running from a blood-thirsty Decepticon."

"In that matter," a new voice interjected from behind the now frozen twins, "I believe that my expertise would be of the most benefit." Prowl stated as he walked up beside the red and yellow mech's on silent peds, giving them both a pointed look.

Jazz snickered in the back of Nicole's mind at the twins 'caught' expressions. Which made it hard for her to keep her face straight. She spoke quickly, hoping to smooth this out before Prowl could take over the conversation.

"Ok, so I think we can all agree that Helix needs extra training, and that it is way too late to be debating about this in the hallway." The twins shuffled almost guiltily, Nicole ignored it and instead clasped her hands together. "So, here's my proposal. Prowl will give Helix lessons on basic traffic laws. Sunstreaker will start training him to apply those laws and start him on the basics of defensive driving. For the first lesson you will each have an hour each to teach him, and depending on how he does can determine the schedule of future lessons. Since Sideswipe is injured and confined in the med bay for the foreseeable future, he can help me look after the other sparklings in the meantime. Sound good?"

"Indeed,' Prowl was quick to agree. "I suggest we begin Helix's training at nine thirty later this morning; I will be off shift by that time, and you and the sparklings will have had adequate rest. We can also request use of the north runway which will have plenty of room for driving."

"Works for me," Nicole smiled tightly, "now if you don't mind I'm going back to sleep. I suggest you two," she waved at the twins, "get back to the med bay before Ratchet notices and follows through on his threats of welding Sideswipe to a bed. Prowl, if you could text a reminder to my phone? I don't want to forget any details or accidently sleep in and miss getting Helix to his lesson."

"Very well," Prowl nodded, "recharge well."

"You to," Nicole nodded and turned back to her door, but paused for a moment and looked back at the twins. "Also, next time you two want to do something like this please don't come knocking before the sun's up."

With that said, Nicole shut the door. Making sure to close it softly, not bothering to listen to the SIC telling the twins that he would be making a report about their late night wandering. Jazz passed back out into slumber before she had finished crossing the room. Nicole following right after once her head hit the pillow, and only Ricochet had stirred slightly at the disturbance.

Back in the present she interrupted quickly before Ricochet could extract revenge for Sonic's rough wake-up call. "All right everyone, we have a few things we have to do today," six pairs of optics quickly refocused on her, and as usual Sonic was the first to speak.

"Can we go explore?!" The littlest mech asked excitedly as he dangled upside down from one of Ricochet's four servos.

Nicole grinned back at the excited sparkling, "We can later, since we'll have the whole day to check out the base." Nicole didn't mention that she would need to know where to find the more human amenities. Like showers, and food. "This morning though we're going to stop by the med bay again and see Sideswipe. Then there's some bots that want to show Helix how to properly drive his alt-form."

Helix blinked in surprise before perking up in excitement, "Really?"

"Yes really," she chuckled, "Prowl and Sunstreaker will be meeting us soon. So we better get a move on."

Helix all but leapt from the berth, moving with more energy and impatience than even Sonic. Nicole changed her clothes quickly in a small human sized closet with a few cleaning supplies. All the while cringing a little at how grimy she feels. Not only from the long drive yesterday but the fight and car chase with Barricade before that. A shower was definitely in her near future. Nicole also found, completely forgotten in her hoodie pocket, her gun. She cringed for a moment, berating herself for having forgotten the weapon, before tucking it back into her hoodie pocket along with a few other essentials. She would have to hand it over to Lennox when she saw the man. There was probably some policy about her having an unauthorized gun on a supposedly secret military base.

Once she had changed it took a little work to herd the sparklings into order. Helix was all but bouncing. While Sonic whined that he also wanted driving lessons. Refusing the idea that he would first need a wheeled alt-form and to grow a few dozen feet. Ricochet was a darling, taking the triplets in hand and helping her get the other two through the door. With the oversized entrance open, Sonic wasted no time darting out into the hallway. With only a quick correction so they were going in the right direction, Nicole followed her smallest mech at a sedate pace. The rest of the small family trailing behind. All the sparklings were curious, looking down each hallway inquisitively but even Sonic never strayed from eye sight. It wasn't long before they found the med bay. Especially since the sound of Ratchet's loud voice could be heard echoing down the halls.

The medic could be easily heard berating Sideswipe, "-ought to reform you into a power broom! Maybe then you'd be useful for once instead of a pain in my aft you slag processed, gear headed, son of a gli-"

Sideswipe, who was suffering Ratchets scolding with a bored look on his faceplates, immediatly spotted Nicole and the sparklings as they entered the med bay. He could also see the look of disapproval on Nicole's face at the stream of profanity that was coming from Ratchet. Who hadn't seen them yet and was leaning over a work table with his back to the door. Acting quickly, the red armoured Autobot grabbed a bolt from a tray next to his berth and tossed it across the room and into the back of the CMO's helm. The ping of metal effectively cut off the tirade just long enough for Ratchet to turn around.

"What the fra-" Ratchet began to as he turned but quickly swallowed the curse as he spotted the sparklings and their adoptive mother.

Nicole raised an eyebrow at the medic, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Just dropping the sparklings off for their play date before taking Helix to his lessons." Her expression resting somewhere between indifferent and disapproving.

"I don't have time to sparkling sit," Ratchet snapped back, "this is a med bay not a daycare."

The sparklings shift a little, their earlier enthusiasum dampened by the animosity in the room. "I wasn't talking to you," Nicole replied coldly, her already low opinion of the medic dropping lower by the second.

Instead of picking a fight Nicole instead chose to ignore Ratchet completely and turn to Sideswipe. "You didn't tell him?" She asks in a much nicer tone. Sideswipe wasn't the one that seems to have a problem with Nicole's very existence after all.

Sideswipe flinches a little when Ratchet turns his gaze to him, "I was working my way up to it?"

Jazz chuckles, ~Sides' can charge an entire battalion of Decepticons with nothin' but his twin. Put 'im infront of a mad Ratchet and the mech folds faster than tin armour in a firefight.~

Nicole hides her flicker of amusement by clearing her throat, bringing Ratchet's attention back to her. "Well I'm sorry about this then-" which is a lie, she's not sorry at all about inconveniencing the medic, "-but I have to meet Prowl and Sunstreaker in a few minutes."

Ignoring the sputtering, outraged CMO, Nicole ushers her sparklings across the room to Sideswipes berth. Which seems to cheer them back up since they chirp greetings at the red armoured mech. Sideswipe glances at Ratchet but is effectively distracted by the small hoard of adorable sparklings clambering onto his berth. To Nicole's relief the medic merely throws up his servos and storms from the room.

Nicole is lifted and placed gently on the berth by Helix as she digs around in her over sized purse, "So here's a few things to keep them busy. A colouring book and markers. Don't let the triplets color on each other because they will try. Sonic has some video games here so if you beat his high score that'll keep him busy and out of trouble. Ricochet is pretty good and will help keep the littler ones occupied."

Sideswipe's expression seemed overwhelmed by the small but growing pile of toys and books Nicole was steadily placing on the berth. It looked a lot like the one Jazz was compairing to the time he was pranked by his own twin.

Unable to hide her amusement Nicole laughed, "Don't worry. You'll only have them for a few hours and can call me if something happens. Besides, if all else fails," she pulled the last book from her purse, "read them some Harry Potter. They'll calm right down for story time until I get back. Make sure to do the voices."

Gently Sideswipe plucked the paperback from her hand. Careful to handle the book in his massive hands as if it was his saving grace.

"Don't look so nervous. I'm sure you'll do fine and besides," Nicle chuckled before playfully dropping voice to whisper, "they can smell fear."

Sideswipe's faceplates dropped from hope to dismay while Jazz roared with laughter in the back of Nicole's mind. Though Nicole herself refrained from laughing she couldn't help but grin. She then motioned to Helix, who offered her a servo and lowered her to the ground.

"If you need me feel free to call my cell. Have fun and be good," Nicole called o her sparklings as she and Helix left the room. "I'll be back in a few hours!" And before Sideswipe even had time to reply she and Helix were gone.

It took several minutes for Nicole and Helix to find a familiar hallway. The large corridors were all the same blank metal. With no signs or directions readily available. Nicole was momentarily worried that they would be late before Jazz, who seemed to have the better sense of direction, prompted her to turn down a slightly more familiar hall. The hanger they arrived at Nicole recognized as the same on that she and her little family had arrived in last night. There were no Autobots in sight and only a handful of people in the large space. All of them seemingly intent on their jobs and walking with purpose.

Nicole supposed that considering that this was a military base that everyone was already hard at work. Doing whatever it was that soldiers did, training or something. Despite the large empty space Helix stayed close. If she didn't know how incredibly aware of his size the fledgling was Nicole might have been worried about Helix accidently stepping on her. One of the passing humans shot them a quick look but continued walking. Which for some reason seemed to make Helix shift uneasily. Nicole paused in the doorway, looking around for a familiar face or even an idea of where to go next. There weren't any bots in the room to talk to, other than the one she brought with her. Perhaps they could go outside and find the airstrip Prowl had talked about? What if there was somekind of protocol she was unaware of?

~Ya should be fine Nic, now hurry up or your gunna be late. Prowler hates that slag.~

Mentally agreeing Nicole picked up her pace across the large hanger. Taking ten fast paces for every one of Helix's slow steps. Outside the desert sun was already high and beginning to bake the rocky ground. Nicole flinched at the sudden light and heat, but continued walking as her eyes adjusted.

'I need sunglasses if we're going to be living in the desert,' Nicole mentally sighed. She could already feel her skin starting to burn in the desert sun. 'And sunscreen.' Jazz shuddered at the thoughts of peeling skin and agreed wholeheartedly.

Outside, the base bustled with soldiers and moving military vehicles but they were at a distance from Nicole and Helix. So she ignored the activity, and no one seemed to take much notice of them. The north runway was much quieter, and slightly more isolated from the rest of the base. Nicole could see why it made the perfect place to teach Helix. The long expanse of smooth, if slightly dusty, pavement gave the young sparkling plenty of room to drive with nothing to run into. Prowl and Sunstreaker were already there and waiting when they arrived. In the sunlight Sunstreaker's already bright paint job was nearly blinding.

"Miss Shultz, you are just on time," the SIC greeted politely.

Nicole nodded in greeting, pretending not to notice Jazz's longing urge to greet his friend. It was a little hard for her to think of this formal stranger as the same bot that Jazz thought of as a brother.

"Oh good, I was worried we were going to be late when we got lost," She chuckled before turning to her sparkling. "Helix, this is Prowl. He and Sunstreaker are going to teach you how to drive."

Helix nodded, his previous excitement having faded into nervousness as he waved shyly at the two older cybertronians, "Hi."

Both cybertronians seemed to soften at Helix's quiet greeting. Sunstreaker uncrossed his arms, opening his posture to appear more approachable. While Prowl's shoulders loosened ever so slightly and doorwings swung from high and alert, to low and wide. A Cybertronian greeting.

Then something strange happened. The moment Prowl started to speak, Nicole's ears started to ring and itch. She flinched slightly, but it seemed that the three surrounding Cybertronians were too focused on eachother to notice the human at their feet.

"Hello, young one Helix. Are you excited for your first lessons?" Prowl greeted, his tone softer than even Jazz had ever heard it.

Prowls words seemed to buzz in Nicole's ears like flies, causing her to twitch in irritation. The phrasing was also strange. However it surprised her when Helix replied with words that also hummed with the same odd quality.

'Jazz?' Nicole questioned.

~It ain't me causing it,~ Jazz muttered worriedly, examining the mental wall for something that might be going wrong. ~New side effect of me bein' in your head?~

"Yes!" Helix replied to Prowl brightly, suddenly and completely forgetting about his nervousness. The sparkling's ear antenna perking in joy, "How do we start? Should I transform into my alt-mode first? Will you teach me how to race? Can we-"

"Easy there kiddo," Sunstreaker snickered, voice saturated with the same tone that made Nicole want to shake her head like she had water in her ears. "First things first. Race you to the end of the runway."

Nicole narrowed her eyes and mentally murmured to Jazz, 'It's only happening when they talk though.'

Without another word Sunstreaker transformed, wheels already spinning when he hit the pavement. Helix gasped as one of his teachers shot off. However the fledgling still hesitated a moment and shot Nicole a look. As if asking permission. Shrugging off her concerns for her hearing and sanity, Nicole raised an eyebrow.

"Well? Go get him!" She encouraged.

With a grin Helix then transformed, racing off in hot persuit of the Lamborghini. For a moment Nicole wondered to herself if this was how some parents feel about their child's first day of school. A part of her relieved that they had taken so well to it. To see them so independent. Yet another part oddly sad and emotional.

Jazz paused in his inspection of the wall, ~Ya ain't gunna cry are ya Nic?~

'Shut up,' Nicole thought. Even though they both could feel the prickle of suppressed emotion behind her eyes.

~It's ok to cry,~ the saboteur teased, ~Ya shoulda seen Optimus when Bee started his training. I ain't ever seen the bossbot so insistant that it was just dust in his optics.~

Nicole had to bite back a laugh as Jazz sent the image of Optimus with a little too much coolant in his eyes. However she did smile as she turned back to Prowl.

"Well I was going to say I can stay until Helix feels more comfortable, but apparently he's just fine," she chuckled.

Prowl nodded, "I apologize for speaking in Cybertronian. Several of the command staff have commented that it sounds unpleasant to your human hearing."

~Holy frag, with me in your head you can understand Cybertronian!~ Jazz exclaimed loudly, though no one but Nicole could hear him.

The pieces clicked in Nicole's head, but she quickly covered her surprise and Jazz's excitement with faux indifference and a wave of her hand. "Not a big deal. Though I was surprised when Helix just burst into a language I had no idea he knew."

'And its about time something good came out of having you in my head.'

~Hey! Rude.~

"Indeed," the ex-enforcer commented, "All Cybertronians are sparked knowing Cybertronian in one form or another. I was unsure if your charges would have such knowledge. However it seems they were sparked with the languages of both earth and Cybertron."

"Huh," Nicole hummed mostly to herself and Jazz as she squinted at the black and yellow dots in the distance that were Helix and Sunstreaker. "Learning something new about my sparklings everyday."

~And something new about yourself.~

"I am sure that Ratchet would be glad to assist you in learning more about young sparkling care if you inquired." Prowl proposed idlly, also looking toward the distant end of the runway.

Nicole couldn't hold back a scoff, "I somehow doubt that."

Prowl turned his attention back to the human at his side, but Nicole skillfully interrupted him before the Autobot could ask. "Anyway, I have to find some food before I waste away. Think you could point me in the direction of whatever passes for a cafeteria around here?"

Though he looked like he still wanted to say something, Prowl simply let it go and gestured toward the compound. "The smaller buildings to the west consist of the human facilities. Including the barracks and a cafeteria, among several other public spaces and offices made for humans."

Nicole had to shade her eyes against the sun to see where Prowl meant, but easily spotted the human sized buildings. "Great, if you need me that's where I'll be then. After Helix's lessons I'll meet you guys infront of those buildings."

Before Prowl could even reply Nicole was already walking away. Her growling stomach prompting her to go faster the entire time. Ten minute later with a sigh of relief Nicole entered the air conditioned barracks, regretting her life choice to put on a hoodie this morning. It was a little late to change that now. Since she was far more interested in finding food than changing clothes. The only problem was that Nicole had no idea where this fabled cafeteria was. Passing soldiers seemed too intent on their own work to bother with something like directions.

So Nicole wandered. Making random turns through the sprawling base. While mentally telling Jazz to quit complaining about how hungry she, and consequently he, felt.

~I'm tellin' ya Nic, we ain't gunna last much longer like this,~ the saboteur whined forlornly.

"You bellyache more than the sparklings you over opinionated headache," Nicole muttered back as she considered wether to turn left or right. "Maybe if you'd help me figure out-"

"Um, excuse me?" A feminine voice interrupted.

Nicole turned around to see a blonde woman, around her own age, looking at her curiously. A look that turned into a flicker of recognition once Nicole had completely turned around.

"Oh my gosh," the woman gasped with a strong Austrailian accent, "-you're the Bluejay. I mean- Nicole Shultz."

~Looks like your reputation preceded ya,~ Jazz chuckled.

Unable to hide her surprise at being so recognized Nicole smiled nervously at the blonde, "Um, Hi?"

As if suddenly realizing how awkward her greeting had been the Austrailian woman blushed slightly. "Oh sorry, I'm Maggie," she said with an offered handshake that nearly overbalanced the stack of folders in her arms.

Reaching forward Nicole deftly caught the sliding folders and secured them back when they had been. "Hi Maggie, I'm Nicole," she chuckled, "but it looks like you knew that already."

Maggie gave her a friendly smile as she adjusted the folders, "Sorry about that. I'm in the tech and research division of N.E.S.T. My friend Glen and I were part of the team that helped the Autobots track you. Glen's become a big fan of your music. Won't stop playing it while he works," she rolled her eyes goodnaturedly, "when he's not hacking his cousins facebook that is."

"That so?" Nicole asked with a hint of pride, brushing the hair out of her face. "Well I'd love to meet him, but really at the moment I'm just looking for somewhere to eat and catch a shower. Think you could point me in the right direction?"

"Oh absolutely," Maggie said firmly, "But the ladies communal showers in the barracks are horrid. So, let me do you a favour. We can take a quick detour to my assigned apartment and you can use my shower. While you clean up, I can drop off these files, and then we can go to lunch. Sound good?"

Maggie was quickly becoming Nicole's favourite human on base. "That sounds perfect," Nicole grinned, falling instep beside the blonde with ease.

It had been a long time since Nicole had met someone as easy to talk to as Maggie. The two women had bantered back and forth about their respective lines of work during their walk to the blonde's apartment, which was small but serviceable, and came with its own attached full sized bathroom. Once Maggie had shown Nicole to the bathroom and gotten her a fresh towel, the blonde left. Promising to return in a few minutes time for lunch. Nicole had cleaned quickly, but made liberal use of the soaps in Maggie's shower. Making sure to wash off every inch of panic sweat and forest floor dirt that had accumulated from her fight with Barricade.

Nicole added 'reliable access to a shower' onto her mental list of things she needed if she was going to be living here on base. 'Find Lennox' was also added to the list as she replaced her hoodie and the gun in the pocket bumped into her stomach once more. However as Maggie came back and asked if Nicole was ready to go the most important item on the list was 'eat'.

Luckily the cafeteria was just next door in the building beside Maggie's. A few dozen people were there, socializing and getting lunch. Within minutes Nicole had a large plate of food and was ravoniously working her way through it.

"Have you been eating enough?" Maggie asked with slight concern, prodding at her own, much smaller plate.

Nicole slowed slightly, clearing her throat as color crept into her cheeks. "Well, it's…maybe been a few meals since I last ate?" She actually had to stop and think about when her last meal had been. "Before Prowl showed up for sure. I didn't realize just how hungry I was till I sat down." Which wasn't entirely true, Jazz had been painfully aware of how hungry they had both been.

~Less talkin' more eatin',~ the saboteur complained. ~That macaroni salad stuff is good.~

'Figures you'd be a foodie,' Nicole teased while taking another bite of her meal.

Maggie nodded sympathetically, "I can't imagine how stressful the past few days have been for you. Not to mention-"

Nicole looked up from her plate as Maggie paused and bit her lip, before dropping her voice. "Is it true you found some… Cybertronian babies? The rumours floating around base aren't exactly descriptive."

With a surpressed smile Nicole hummed quietly, leaning a little closer to Maggie to whisper conspiratorially. "Well I'm sure someone will get around to making some kind of, formal announcement, about it later today. So I guess there's no harm in telling you." Nicole leaned back and delivered in a deadpan voice, "I found six Cybertronian sparklings and they all consider me their mom."

The look that Maggie was giving her threatened to crack the serious look Nicole was trying to keep on her face, as she took another bite of her food. As if admitting that she was the adoptive mother to a gaggle of alien robots was no big deal. Internally Jazz was snickering.

Finally Maggie seemed to recover and excitedly began to ask questions. The blonde woman seemed to want to know everything about how Nicole had met the sparklings. What the little bots were like and how she had protected them from Barricade. Unlike how reporting her story to the Autobots last night had been, telling Maggie the story of how she had found the sparklings was a relief. Though Nicole still had to omit any information that could allude to Jazz, Maggie simply listened. Accepting everything that Nicole said with zero judgement.

"Wow," Maggie breathed as Nicole finished her tale.

"Tell me about it," Nicole sighed as she leaned back in her chair, cradling a lukewarm coffee in her hands. The combination of being clean, warm, and well fed was starting to relieve the stress that had become part of her bones over the past few weeks. Making Nicole feel like she was going to either melt into her chair or fall into a nap right where she was.

"It's a good thing your sparklings are more like toddlers and adolescents than babies," Maggie muttered thoughtfully as she twisted a coffee stirring stick around her fingers, her eyes a bit distant. "When I heard the rumours I was thinking of babies a little more like human infants."

"Oh gosh no," Nicole pretended to shudder in horror, "There's no way any of us would have survived if that had been the case."

Maggie laughed and tilted her head curiously, "But seriously how do you expect to raise-", however at that moment Maggie was suddenly cut off by a loud gasp right next to their table.

Startled by the sudden noise Nicole jerked in her chair, nearly getting a lapful of coffee for her troubles. Maggie on the other hand shot an exhasperated look over Nicole's shoulder.

"Glen," the Auzzie scolded, but the man in question didn't seem to notice Maggie's censure.

It was only Nicole's fast reflexes that kept her coffee from making another dive for her shoes as this man, whom she could only assume was Maggie's co-worker, suddenly started shaking her hand. The one not occupied by a coffee cup.

"Oh man," Glen breathed, just shy of a full blown squeal. "You're the Blue-Jay! Maggie, this is the Blue-Jay!"

Maggie muttered an akowledgement but it was unceremoniously drowned out by Glen's fawning. "It's so nice to meet you Blue-Jay. I'm Glen and I am such a big fan of your work! The music you make is the best I've heard in a long time. Can I call you Nicole?"

It took Nicole a few beats to recover from the sudden barrage that was Glen's presence as he took a seat beside her. She hadn't had such an…enthusiastic greeting for a very long time. She immediatly decided that she liked that.

"Um...ya, sure. You can call me Nicole. You must be Glen, Maggie's been telling me that you helped the Autobots find me," Nicole smiled hesitantly.

Glen smiled so wide that he seemed to glow momentarily, "It was nothing. I'm just glad that they got to you in time since it sounds like it was a close call. Not to mention that I've been dying to meet you. My cousin is going to be so jealous when I tell him."

Maggie rolled her eyes, "Glen you can't mention to anyone that you met her. Decepticons are looking for her and the security net isn't entirely secure yet. Not to mention how many confidentiality agreements that would break, and I don't want to end up in an interrogation room with you. Again."

~I sense a story behind that one,~ Jazz muttered, to which Nicole would have replied but got distracted by the dismay in Glen's face.

"Good point. Probably for the best, since no one on my Facebook would believe that I actually met the famous Blue-Jay."

Nicole cleared her throat, bringing the attention at the table back to her. "I hate to tell you this, since it isn't often that I get to meet a fan, but I'm really not that famous."

Glen stared at her for several seconds, confusion growing on his face before a spark of realization lit up his dark eyes. "You mean you don't know?" He breathed, much quieter than he had spoken before. "When was the last time you went online?"

Nicole blinked at the question before taking a moment to give it some serious thought. "Um… I can't really remember? I've been so busy these past few weeks."

A slow grin slowly grew on Glen's face which quickly became almost blinding in its intensity. The excited man whipped out his phone and leaned closer to Nicole, allowing her to look over his shoulder. Several internet tabs were open on the device and Glen's fingers were quickly opening more as he babbled. However Nicole wasn't really listening to him as he went on, and focused on the phone. Her DJ battle with Phoenix was trending. Her page on the Internet was blowing up, and seeing more traffic in the past week than she would usually see in a year.

Nicole's hands nearly shook as she took out her own phone and opened her normally dormant Internet browser. Her inbox was bursting with alerts of unanswered mail. Job requests, invitations, an agent, and even what she thought might be fan mail cluttered her screen. Barely daring to breath Nicole opened a few more tabs, in one googling herself and in another checking on her web page. Her DJ battle with Phoenix had apparently gone viral. The last song she had performed, the one were Jazz had controlled her body, had people clambering to know where they could download it. Nicole didn't know how to feel about that.

~What do ya mean? This is a good thing Nic! You're gettin' your big break, doing what you love and making a living doin' it,~ Jazz teased from the other side of the barrier. His election at her success flowing through the wall. Trying but failing to incite her own positive reaction.

'But… that's not my music Jazz. It's yours,' Nicole mentally whispered. Her shoulders slumped as she gazed unseeingly at her phone. 'You were the one that mixed that song. Heck it mostly sounds like one that you used to play back on Cybertron, isn't it? I was just… the backseat driver.'

Jazz paused, his good mood stuttering to a halt and swinging toward denial. ~Nic that's not true.~

'Isn't it?' Nicole questioned. She tried to reign in her emotions, not wanting Jazz to see, but it was no good. Sharing a mind left little space for privacy. Bitter feelings of accusation and hurt roiled through Nicole, followed heavily by shame and embarrassment.

Jazz started to protest but Nicole forcefully pushed away the mental conversation. Noticing the time on her phone screen she looked back up. Forcing the saboteur to sulk behind the wall as she ignored him. Glen was still chattering, but Maggie seemed to have noticed her preoccupation.

The blonde woman tilted her head curiously at Nicole, "Are you alright? You kinda zoned out there for a second."

Nicole forced a smile on her face, but fell a little short of making it look genuine. "I'm fine, really. Besides it looks like one of my kids is almost done his driving lesson."

"You have kids?" Glen gaped, abandoning his previous topic.

"It's a long story," Nicole chuckled as she got to her feet.

Maggie also stood, "Did you want a guide to the front of the building? This place has more hallways than a maze." She glanced at her watch, "We should have time to help you get there before we have to get to our next meeting."

Shaking her head Nicole waved them off, "No worries. I should be fine, and it's a good start to learning my way around anyway. It was nice meeting you both. Maybe we can do this again?"

They both agreed, and Nicole bade them both goodbye and exited the cafeteria. It was then, with no other distractions available, that Jazz started tapping on the wall. It wasn't hard to sense that he wanted to talk to her, and was more than willing to continue tapping until she did so. So with great reluctance Nicole threw down her walls. For a minute neither of them spoke. A stalemate that Nicole was unwilling to break as she wandered the halls.

~You're wrong ya know,~ Jazz finally said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Nicole paused at an intersection, before turning left and continuing. She didn't reply to Jazz's words, and the saboteur didn't seem to expect her to.

Her career had always been important to Nicole. To have what could have been her taste of success marred by the fact that the music wasn't even her own, was a sour pill to swallow. It didn't help that it couldn't have been avoided. Jazz's interference had been necessary at the time. Had even been a good thing. However that didn't stop the flash of resentment Nicole felt toward Jazz. Which was where the shame kicked in, because shouldn't she be grateful? It was stupid to react like this. She had opportunities opening to her now. Not to mention that she had so much more important things to be worrying about than her career. The Autobots, the sparklings, Jazz's body, these were all things that were more important. However Nicole couldn't seem to stop feeling the hurt. To stop feeling like she was unworthy, because she hadn't done it on her own.

All of this Jazz knew. Because he had seen and felt it in her, and had it echoed through himself.

~You deserve ta have this Nic. Yes, ya had help. But so what? When I helped ya it wasn't just me makin' that song. I was just there keepin' ya standin'. You told me how ta make the music, and add my little flair to it. Because win or lose it was both of us workin' together to make that. You an' me, an' even the sparklin's. Ya ain't alone in this anymore.~

It took Nicole several seconds to realize that she had stopped walking. It seemed to becoming habit but, Jazz was right. She wasn't alone anymore. Her success, or failure, wasn't just her own anymore. Good or bad whatever happened to her also affected Jazz and the sparklings. Her choices had far reaching consequences not only for her own life, but the lives of the ones that depended on her. Living alone for so long Nicole had forgotten that she didn't have to stand on her own all the time. She had a family helping her now. So resenting Jazz would be foolish. Like hating one of her legs for helping the other so she could stand.

Jazz gave a mental smile as Nicole sighed in acceptance, ~Ya deserve to be happy Nic.~

Nicole averted her gaze to the floor and cleared her throat before continuing walking, 'Do you know that you're a sap sometimes?'

~Of course!~ The saboteur teased as the moment passed, ~I thought femmes loved that slag? Always seemed to work back on Cybertron anyway.~

It was hard for Nicole to keep from rolling her eyes, 'There must have been a shortage of decent mechs on Cybertron if they were giving you the time of day.'

Jazz protested that statement and the two bickered back and forth until the sound of voices echoing down the hall lead them toward a more occupied part of the base. Within minutes she was stepping out the front doors and back into the bright, unforgiving, Nevada sun. There still weren't any Autobots around what could be labeled the 'human side' of the base, but there were now plenty of humans soldiers going about their work. Many were dressed in fatigues, and a few were walking by holding guns. Having just finished some kind of training in time for lunch Nicole could only assume.

Squinting against the sunlight Nicole could just make out two vehicles making their way toward her. Easily identifiable as Helix and Prowl. The two alt-modes slowed as they approached the building, most humans moving automatically out of their way. They hadn't seen Nicole yet, so she started moving to meet them halfway. However with so many people rushing to lunch it soon became more convenient for the two bots to transform. Prowl transformed first, but Helix hesitated before standing. Staying close to the Autobot beside him and looking around almost fearfully.

Nicole couldn't help but frown and move slightly faster. What had Helix scared? Had something happened? Pushing a little faster through the crowd, now intent on getting to her sparkling, Nicole bumped into a few people. Finally Helix spotted Nicole, his fearful look melting away into a small smile. However before Nicole could return the little wave he was giving her, she was slightly distracted by a loud gasp from beside her. One of the soldiers she had bumped into was gaping at Helix. Specifically at Helix's glowing red optics. Fear and panic in his eyes as he gripped the gun he had just been practicing with. For a split second, Nicole knew exactly what was about to happen. Her heart didn't even have time to pick up speed before a haze took over her brain, her hand reached for her gun, and she moved.

"Decepticon!" The soldier all but screamed raising his gun to point at Helix's helm.

However the soldier didn't have time to fire off a shot. Before he could the barrel of his gun was shoved up to point at the sky, and Nicole's handgun was shoved under his chin. There was a ringing in Nicole's ears. However everything else seemed incredibly sharp and clear. She could feel and see everything. Every hair on the soldiers chin, the way his eyes widened in fear. She could feel her sparkling's fear behind her. She could also feel every groove in the metal she held in her hands. Both the handgun she was holding to the threat's throat, and his weapon that she kept pointing at the sky. She was smaller than the threat, barely taller than it's shoulder, but it hardly mattered. She was not going to allow it to harm her sparkling. If only she could pull the trigger.

~Don't ya do this Nic, come on back now. Ya don't really wanna do this.~

She didn't understand why the one in her mind was stopping her. She needed to stop the threat! But the one in her mind had complete control of the finger that was pressed firmly to the trigger. All while speaking in a soothing tone of voice.

~He ain't a threat anymore. Look, see? That gun probably wouldn't have made more than a dent in Helix. He's just a dude that made a mistake.~

She was confused. Her head began to ache as the world started to look less clear and the ringing in her ears began to fade. If this was a not-threat why could she feel her sparklings fear so strongly?

~Take a deep breath for me Nic. Nice an' slow, good. Now how about we lower the gun before ya do somethin' regrettable ya?~

The haze that had fallen over her mind started to fade, and slowly, Nicole started to become aware of her surroundings. Around her several people were talking or shouting. However none tried to approach.

~Ya back with us Nic?~ Jazz questioned cautiously, not yet releasing his control over her trigger finger for even a moment.

'Y-yes? I think. What-'

However before she could ask what had happened movement from the corner of her eye distracted her. It was Lennox. The major's eyes were fixed on hers, hands raised in surrender as he stepped slowly closer.

"Miss Shultz. I'm going to ask that you please lower the gun and let Private Nelson go," Lennox asked in a soft but firm command.

Nicole blinked several times as the last of the haze fell away and her situation became clear. She was holding a gun to a man's throat. A man that was sweating bullets and watching her with fear filled eyes. The crowds of people that she had been surrounded by only moments ago were gone. Stiffly, Nicole lowered her arms. An ache that hadn't been there seconds before present in her limbs. Jazz released his hold. The wall, which had thinned to little more than a gossamer curtain and allowed Jazz control, snapped back into place. Slowly she took a shaky step away, and then another. Holding the handgun loosely and in a position of surrender.

The soldier that she had been holding captive also stepped away. Only breathing a sigh of relief once he was out of her reach and rubbing his neck. Lennox stepped forward, slipping the handgun from her limp grasp and making no sudden moves.

Only then did Nicole look Lennox in the eye and quietly ask, "What happened?"

Though the question had been mainly directed at him, Jazz remained silent. Lennox seemed to be weighing her expression with his eyes, "You don't remember?"

Nicole looked around. The crowd she had been pushing through only seconds ago was gone. The only people left were her, Lennox, a few soldiers that were currently surrounding the one she had been threatening, and slightly further away Helix and Prowl stood. The latter currently holding the fledgling back, keeping him from approaching.

"I-" Nicole hesitated, trying to remember what had happened. It seemed so distant now. Shock perhaps? "I was coming to meet Helix and Prowl. And then-"

Memory trickled back and Nicole felt her lunch threaten to leave her as she pressed a pale hand to her mouth in horror. "Oh, what have done?" She whispered to herself, green eyes staring at nothing.

"Take it easy," Lennox soothed. "From what I was told you acted in defence. Private Nelson pulled a gun on Helix thinking he was a 'Con. Then you went into some kind of trance and held Nelson at gunpoint for five minutes. You almost got shot by Nelson's friends trying to defuse the situation before Prowl got them to stand down."

Nicole's eyes focused once more on Lennox, "I, don't know what to say. I do-don't know why I reacted like that. I would never shoot-", she had to stop as the memory of how she had stopped seeing the soldier, Nelson, as a person. He had been a threat, and she certainly would have shot him had Jazz not stopped her.

'It felt like seconds, not five minutes,' she thought frantically. Trying and failing to figure out where all that time had vanished. This was not like the time her conciousness had nearly been extinguished buy Jazz's. This had been her, some part of her that had been willing to shoot someone point blank in the face without hesitation.

~Deep breaths Nic. Keep it together now,~ Jazz whispered from the other side of the barrier. While sending all the calming emotions he could muster.

Nicole didn't bother forming thoughts, simply shoving her emotions over the wall. The wordless 'what in the pit is happening to me' was implied. The impressions that the saboteur sent back suggested that he had an idea of what had occurred, and that she was not going to like it very much.

"We'll have to have a talk about where you got a gun from later, but for now we're taking you to Ratchets med bay," Lennox informed her, still speaking softly. He lay a comforting hadn on her back and stared to steer her across the base toward the med bay.

Nicole resisted slightly, her feet refusing to move as she looked over her shoulder. "But Helix-"

"Is fine," the soldier said, letting her get a good look to where Prowl was also gently guiding the sparkling away. "Prowl told me he was going to get him back to your room and stay with him and the other kids till Ratchet was done with you."

Nicole hesitated a moment longer, double checking that Helix no longer looked scared or had been harmed. Finally she relented, knowing that Prowl would stay with her sparklings. Lenox kept a hand on her back as they walked. Though she was unsure if it was meant to be comforting or if she was going to be arrested for this. The huge hallway of the Autobot side of the base were mercifully empty as they went. A blessing that Nicole was too numb to really bother counting at the moment. Neither of them spoke. Even Jazz was quiet. After such a long quiet walk the hiss of the med bay doors opening almost sounded deafening to Nicole's ears. Ratchet was of course waiting for them, but Nicole was relieved to see that Sideswipe wasn't there. He must have taken the rest of the sparklings back to the room.

"What happened?" The medic questioned.

Lennonx paused, shooting Nicole a questioning look. However she only stepped away from him, moving toward one of the berths. The Major gave a slight sigh before explaining to the CMO what he had heard occurred. Ratchet listened intently. His attention only straying for a moment to Help Nicole onto one of the Cybertronian sized beds. Once Lennox had relayed all that he knew, Ratchet opened a panel in his arm and began tapping a some of the circuits within.

"I'll need to run some tests," the medic muttered.

Lennox nodded, glancing at Nicole where she sat numbly on the edge of the berth. "I have to go report to Optimus. He was meeting with some delegates from other countries that want to contribute to N.E.S.T's operations. You going to be ok Miss Shultz?"

Nicole blinked, finally starting to shake off the shock and come back to herself. "I should be fine Major. Thank you for your help."

"Not a problem," Lennox nodded with a smile, "but let's not do it again. We'll talk soon." And with that and a final hiss from the med bay doors, Lennox was gone.

Looking for something to distract herself the young woman watched as Ratchet walked around the med bay, gathering tools. Thinking about how that day had started so well.

"Alright," Ratchet groused as he approached the berth, "I'm going to take a few scans and you're going to tell me what happened. Stand up. What were you doing be fore this all happened?"

Jazz swore a few times in the back of her head as Nicole stood for the medic. Already dreading the scans, the big baby. The young DJ however was thinking about what had happened.

"I just finished eating and was meeting Helix and Prowl infront of the building. There were a lot of people around going to lunch. Helix," Nicole hesitated, "Helix was nervous. No, he was scared, and I couldn't figure out why. So I sped up to get to him. Then the soldier, Nelson, he saw Helix's red optics and-"

"And he overreacted. So I heard," Ratchet grumbled as he fired up a multicoloured beam of light and ran it over her body.

Nicole couldn't hold back the grimace as a skin crawling sensation went from head to toe. It was all she could to to keep sill and not scratch at her skin and scal to try and dispel the feeling. Jazz on the other hand made no effort to disguise his sounds of disgust.

"What happened next?" The medic asked as he tapped once more at the panel in his arm.

Staring at her feet, Nicole thought hard about what she could recall. "It's a bit blurry but… I saw Nelson pointing his gun at Helix and, it was like I could feel Helix's fear. He was terrified. In the next second it was like some kind of... instinct, took over. I wasn't in full control anymore. It was like the only thing in the world that mattered was," Nicole hesitated before spitting out her confession, "the only thing that mattered was eliminating the threat. He wasn't a person anymore. He was a threat."

The silence in the med bay seemed almost all consuming. Even Ratchet's tapping on his scanner having ended. Finally, Nicole looked up from her feet. The medic's expression was unreadable for several seconds. Before he looked away and vented a hefty sigh.

"I have to run a few more tests to confirm, but I have a theory about what this could have been. If I'm right, then what happened wasn't your fault. If anything by Cybertronian standards it's Nelson's fault," the medic commented gruffly, but didn't elaborate.

"What do you mean? What was this?" Nicole questioned, unwilling to put up with more of Jazz's silence and Ratchet's cryptic words.

"It means that I need a few more tests. Now hold still," Ratchet growled as he raised his scanner once more.

However Nicole was not putting up with it, "Tell me your theory then," she said stubbornly. The medic glared and tried to scan her once more but Nicole was quick to dodge so the beam only caught half of her body. Jazz squealed like a girl as the unplesent sensation hit them but Nicole was a little more focussed on the irate Autobot medic.

"Hold still!" The CMO shouted as he tried to scan her once more.

"Tell me what's happening to me!" She shouted back as she ducked away.

~Primus please make it stop!~ Jazz gagged from inside Nicole's head as her arm got caught in yet another scan light.

Ratchet threw up his servos in frustration, "Fine! I have a theory that your Creator programming is effecting your head and health! Now will you hold still?"

Nicole paused, and the medic wasted no time in scanning her again, this time focusing the beam around her head. Jazz groaned miserably. Nicole simply grit her teeth against the nausea and waited for the medic to finish.

"Yesterday, when I scanned you, I found some concerning... annomalies." Ratchet grumbled as he finished the scan and leaned back.

Finding herself torn between curiousity between what the medic had found and irritation that he hadn't informed her of his findings yesterday, Nicole remained silent.

Ignoring her silence Ratchet continued, "I checked your medical records and family history for potential diseases. I also did reaserch on several other possible explanations. However when you combine my findings with what you described to me then it makes some sense. If Creator programming is trying to cross species that may provide an explanation as to why you're not a twitching vegetable."

Ratchet tapped on his arm and for a moment Nicole thought he was taking another scan. Then the light coalesced into an image. It was a human brain, made out of irecident blue light like a hologram. Small sparks of white light jumped form one end to another. Showing the firing of synapses and surges of electrical activity.

"This is the average human brain," Ratchet explained before tapping his arm again, "-and this is your brain right now."

A second image of a human brain appeared, beside the first. This hologram, compaired with the other, was glowing. Instead of small flashes of activity, large ripples of light were constantly bouncing around. These lights didn't flicker and fade like on the other hologram, but sparked and jumped from place to places until the entire image was a ball of flickering light.

'Jazz,' Nicole whispered in her mind.

~Yur right Nic,~ he muttered back, ~it looks a lot like a spark.~

'I think that's you.'

OK! Well that was fun eh? It's nice to get back into the thick of it after so long. Some final announcements before I go:

SHOUT OUT TO, the wonderful, the talented, LGTracy! Who pretty much wrote Nicole's midnight meeting with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Which solved several pacing problems I was having with the chapter.

And now last but not least, REVIEW! DO IT FOR THE SPARKLINGS!