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

My nuisance of an alarm clock woke me up. I rolled over in bed and saw that it was eight in the morning, causing me to groan in frustration. It was time for me to go running and I loved running, I just hated getting up so early to do it. I turned my bedside lamp on and threw the covers off of me. It was a struggle to actually get up, but I managed.

I walked over to my dresser and pulled open my exercise drawer. It was packed full of workout clothes, mostly Nike and Under Armour. I grabbed a pair of black Nike spandex, a sports bra and my purple long sleeve Nike compression shirt. I changed into them before grabbing my black Nike Free Runs from my closet. After putting on my shoes, I grabbed my iPod and my iPod jacket. I strapped it on to the side of my arm and threw my hair up in a messy bun before heading downstairs.

My mom was sitting on the couch watching the news and Anna was playing with something in the floor. I sat down on the recliner and my mom looked at me. She studied my outfit and smiled.

"Going for a run?"

"You know it," I said sassily. She laughed at me. "I'll be back in about an hour or so," I said and stood up.

"Be careful though."

"When am I not?" I said before running out the door.

The air outside was particularly cool, and it was intelligible considering the fact that it was eight in the morning and we were in Washington State. I placed my headphones in my ear and put my running playlist on shuffle. The sound of "What I've Done" by Linkin Park filled my eardrums. I smiled and took off down my street, eventually running into town.

I ran my regular route which included the Northern Tacoma Loop. It was almost a six mile run, but I didn't mind much. I had been running for years, so I was quite accustomed to the distance. The good thing, though, was that it looped around and sent me back in the direction of my house so I didn't have to run another six miles just to get home.

It was still early yet, so not many people were out. Aside from the average mother or father running important errands, it was pretty much quiet.

It took me about forty five minutes to complete my run and it would take me an additional twenty minutes to run back home. Since I was hungry, I didn't waste time running back to my house. Cars, trucks and even bikes were no problem as they carefully avoided me. After about another half hour, I came to a steady walk as I approached my house. I was drenched with sweat and proceeded to wipe some of it off of my face with my sleeve.

As I walked into my driveway I came to a sudden stop. Sitting in front of my house sat the most beautiful black truck I'd ever seen. I recognized its make as a GMC Topkick. I pulled my earphones out and walked over to the truck. The black paint shone brightly in the morning sun and the exterior was warm under my touch, indicating it had recently been used. I ran my fingers slowly across the surface of the truck, studying it in amazement.

"Wow. You're one gorgeous truck," I chuckled to myself and patted the side of it. A slight shudder came from the truck, but I brushed it off thinking it was only settling back on its haunches. As I came to the rear of the truck, I noticed some kind of insignia imprinted into the tailgate. It looked to be some sort of metallic face. I scrunched my eyebrows up at the peculiar symbol, but then I stiffened with a sudden realization.

Who's truck is this? I thought. For all I knew, it could be some serial killer or a burglar, but why they would drive their truck to their destination to commit a crime was unknown to me. It must be a getaway truck or something.

I whipped my head over to look at the house. Nothing seemed out of order or broken for that matter, but just to be safe I ran to the utility shed to grab a crowbar before cautiously making my way back to the house.

I turned the knob slowly and peeked in. My mom and Annabelle weren't in the living room, something which worried me in the slightest. I called out my mom's name but got no answer. After closing the door quietly, I proceeded further into the house. Hushed voices coming from inside the kitchen caught my attention so I carefully pushed open the kitchen door and walked in. I turned in the direction of the voices and dropped the crowbar to the hardwood floor. It would leave a mark, but right now I didn't care.

I could feel the tears in my eyes as I stared in disbelief at the brown-haired man in front of me. He smiled at me and I didn't hesitate to run into his arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and kissed the top of my head. The tears flowed out as I hugged him.

"Daddy, you're home. You're okay. I'm so happy," I cried into his jacket and he hugged me tighter.

"I'm home, kiddo."

"I thought you were dead," I choked out. He chuckled at me. I was so happy right now. My dad was home. He was okay and that's all that I really wanted at the moment.

"I'm clearly alive," he laughed.

"You're such a jerk," I remarked playfully. He laughed and then released me. I wiped my eyes, mentally thanking myself for not bothering to put on makeup this morning.

"And you're outrageously sweaty. Go for a run?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah," I said and wiped my eyes once more. I smiled at him. "Gosh, I'm just so happy that you're home."

"I'm happy to be home, Azalea. I'm finally back home with all three of my girls and I couldn't be more satisfied," he explained as he pulled me, and my mom, who was also holding Annabelle into his arms.

We hugged him tightly for a few moments before finally letting him go. He smiled at us before shifting his focus down behind us. He walked away from us and towards the crowbar that was in the floor. He bent down to pick it up and looked at it before holding it up at us. He raised an eyebrow at me before speaking.

"What on earth did you think you were doing with this thing?" he teased.

I scratched the back of my head in an embarrassed notion. "I kind of thought you were a burglar and or a serial killer," I said.

He busted out laughing.

"It isn't funny! I came home to a random black truck sitting in the driveway and I didn't know whose it was so I prepared myself for battle," I said as I grabbed the crowbar from him and walked out the front door; I could hear him following me.

"Preparing for battle? Lea, you are aware that you have the fighting skills of a trained military officer right?" he laughed.

"Yes, William. But, if I was right and it was a serial killer and or a murderer I needed to be prepared. I mean, what was I going to do? Stab them to death with my iPod? I think not," I stated as I tossed the crowbar into the shed; it hit the ground with a clank.

"Well, then why didn't you go and get a gun instead? I'm almost certain you'd be better with a gun than with one of those," he teased. Honestly, it had slipped my mind. It was in the heat of the moment and I was feeling quite threatened and very territorial towards my household.

"You know what, don't bait me."

"I know that you're blonde, but you don't have to act like it," he laughed and turned to walk back towards the house.

I ran after him but caught sight of the truck out of the corner or my eye. This definitely needed some type of explanation.

"Wait!" I called to my dad.

He turned around to look at me. My mom was at the front door watching us.

"Yes?" he asked.

I backed towards the truck. "This needs an explanation. Over a year ago, my still pregnant mother dropped you off at the base where you departed to resume your war quest. And now, a year later, you return home with this wonderful GMC. I'd like to know how an inadequate male of your poor stature managed to obtain an awfully beautiful truck such as this one here. Care to elaborate, William?" I smirked as I leaned against the side of the truck.

It was still surprisingly warm. My dad glared at me and my mom just laughed.

"Well, Azalea," he started and strode over towards me. He placed his palm on the side of the truck and put his other hand on his hip. "This truck was given to me by my boss per se," he finished. I could have swore that I heard a small grunt come from the truck.

"Oh really now?"

"Yes, really. Think of it as a work perk."

I heard another small grunt, frustrating me in the slightest. "Okay, is there something wrong with the truck? I keep hearing weird grunts or something," I explained.

My dad shook his head. "Probably just the engine settling. It does it all the time."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Let's go back inside," he said and grabbed my arm.

I shook him off and he looked at me. "Don't man handle me. I am a lady," I sassed and crossed my arms.

My dad gave me stern look before chuckling. Before I had the time to react, he put me over his shoulder and I hated nothing more than being lifted. It was truly frightening. I wriggled around on his back and tried to get myself down but it didn't work. I heard my mom and dad laughing at my struggle.

"Put me down, put me down, put me down!" I pleaded. My dad laughed one last time before gently placing me back on the ground. "Jerk," I mumbled as I walked through the front door.

I heard my parents' light footsteps behind my own. I made my way to the stairs and started up.

"Where are you going?" my mom asked.

"To shower. I'm disgustingly disgusting, mother."

"Well, alright then," she laughed.

I continued on up the stairs and walked into my room to get some clothes to change into.

After grabbing a pair of underwear, a bra, a grey v-neck, and my red and white polka dot pajama pants I was ready for a shower.

I scrubbed myself clean, ridding myself of the sweat and dirt that had been caked onto my skin. After getting out I quickly dried off and changed into my pajamas. Although it was barely noon, I had no intention of getting ready to go anywhere so pajamas seemed like the best and the comfiest option.

I strutted down the the stairs and sat down beside my dad on the couch. He was cradling a sleeping Annabelle in his arms and my mom was sitting beside him. The TV was playing Fantastic Four, a movie to which I was very fond of.

"So, how are you and Logan doing? You haven't spoken about him lately on the phone," my dad's voice sounded.

I shot him a look and pursed my lips.

Logan was my ex-boyfriend. Him and I had started dating about three months before dad left, but we broke up about four months ago.

"We broke up," I stated.

My mom had her hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing. I glared at her and my dad gave me a confused look.

"What? Why? What happened?" he asked, shock resonating throughout his tone.

"He turned gay," I groaned.

My dad gave me a serious look before he burst out laughing, slightly shaking the infant in his arms. "Were you really that bad?" he teased.

I swatted his arm and sat back into the couch. "In my defense he's the manliest gay boy I've ever seen," I explained.

"Whatever you say. How's Brae doing?" he inquired.

"She's doing okay. Probably living it up in California as we speak," I told him.

He smiled. "I bet you wish you were there right now."

I just rolled my eyes and stared at the TV screen.

The room was comfortably silent for a few moments, excluding the loud chatter and fighting emitting from the television speakers. After a few more minutes my mom broke it.

"How is everyone back at base?" she asked.

Dad sighed. "Well, aside from the ones we lost in Qatar, they're good."

My mind instantly shot to my Uncle Epps and I jumped up. I stared at my dad who turned his attention away from the TV to look at me. Worry was plastered in his features.

"Please tell me that Uncle Epps is okay," I said frantically.

My dad chuckled, probably laughing at my facial expression. "He's fine, Lea."

I sighed in relief. He might not have been my uncle by blood, but he watched me grow and helped me grow. I'd be so sad if I lost him. He was practically family.

"Well, that's good. So, when are you going to take me for a ride in the beauty you got out there?" I asked.

My dad snickered. "Honestly, it's not up to me. But, I'll see what I can do for you."

"Aw, you're so sweet. I love you and I'm more than happy to finally have you home," I said and hugged his side.

He wrapped his free arm around me and smiled. "I'm more than happy to be home, kiddo. And I love you as well."

"You better," I teased.

He just laughed.

This is all I've been wanting for the past year and for the past two days. I was so happy to finally have him home. It was great knowing that he was safe and okay.

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