Heaven sent, Heaven returned
Ironhide notices that Will has been acting odd lately. When he finds out why, he tries to cheer him up. *Tear warning, grab tissues before reading*
Author's Note: I... Just recently had a death in the family... This story is my way of coping...
DISCLAIMER: Transformers belongs to Hasbro.
NOTE: For my little cousin, Mya. Rest in Peace...
"Get the lead out of your asses and keep running!"
Out on the hot running track of Diego Garcia's NEST Base, William Lennox was outside training the new NEST recruits. Well, more like harshly and needlessly pushing them to their limits. One solder-In-Training collapsed on the ground while another ran to the nearest trash can to puke. Usually whenever they get new recruits it's usually one of the other Sergeants or Lieutenants training them harshly, never Lennox. He's a more mellow kind of guy that'd rather encourage his recruits to push themselves to the limit, not forcing them to do so. The other solders on base and even some of the Autobots have been noticing this odd behavior coming from him and it was not only confusing but worrying. Ratchet, one of the Autobot Medical bots, walked up to him, glanced at the new recruits, then spoke.
"William, if you keep pushing them like this their bodies will give out on them. They don't have the same kind of endurance as you and the other solders here."
Not looking at him, he responded a bit harshly. "I know what I'm doing Ratchet. Once I get these little pansies in fighting shape they won't complain about aches and pains."
Soon as he said that one of the new recruits slowed down from running and rested a bit. He didn't even get a chance to catch his breath when he jumped at the Major's voice.
"KEEP RUNNING SANTOS! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU SLACKING OFF!"
The solder spoke back, wheezing a bit while holding his chest. "I... I need to slow down a bit sir-"
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I GIVE A SHIT?! KEEP GOING BEFORE I PUT YOU ON CLEANING DUTY!"
Ratchet did a quick scan of the new recruit and noticed that he was becoming dangerously dehydrated. "William, you should at least give them a break. I just scanned Santos and he's very dehydrated. Maybe you-"
"RATCHET SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Will turned around and glared up at the Autobot CMO, who had a shocked look on his faceplaces at the Major's outburst. "I KNOW HOW TO TRAIN MY SOLDERS, SO DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CAN'T DO TO THEM! IF THEY CAN'T HANDLE IT THEN THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE SIGNED UP FOR THIS JOB!"
Ratchet was speehless, as were the new recruits and the rest of the solders who stopped what they were doing. Even some of the Autobots that were in the area were shocked to see him like this. The calm, cool headed Major Lennox acted like a drill sergent from hell. Will noticed that the recruits were just standing there looking at him and so yelled at them to keep training.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL JUST STANDING AROUND THERE FOR?! GET BACK TO TRAINING NOW!"
The recruits quickly hurried back to their training drills, not wanting to get yelled at by the already irate Major. General Morshower saw the way Major Lennox was acting and walked over to him. "Major? I think it's time you took a little break. And it wouldn't hurt to give the new recruits a break as well."
Will spoke lowly but loud enough for the General to hear. "I'm fine sir, no need to do that."
"But I'm not telling you, I'm ordering you to."
Will dared to glare at his superior while Morshower only stared at him with a calm demenor on his face. He sighed and called to the recruits to stop their training and to take a break, then turned around and headed back inside the building, passing by the other solders and his friend Ironhide, who watched him storm past him with a pissed off look on his face. Ratchet gently shook his helm as he opened up a compartment in his leg and took out a 24 pack of cold bottled water, handing it to the new recruits who took it gratefully.
"I've never seen William act like this before, what's gotten into him I wonder?"
"I might know... But it's not my place to say." Morshower took one of the water bottles offered to him and took a few sips. "Best to leave him alone so he can cool off."
Ironhide listened in and frowned a bit, something was making his friend angry and he was going to find out what.
...
A few hours later Ironhide found his friend outside near the beach sitting on a fallen tree log, smoking on a cigarette. Which was unusual since he never smoked before. The Mech didn't show it but he was concerned for him and did a quick scan of him, just to make sure he was alright. Will must've known he was there because he felt his skin become tingly for a few seconds.
"No need to scan me Ironhide, I'm fine." he muttered.
Stopping his scanning, the black Mech walked over and sat next to him, being careful not to accidently brush sand everywhere. The pair said nothing for a few minutes, just staring out at the waves gently rolling onto the beach and listening to the calls of the wildlife in the area. It seemed like hours passed before Will spoke, albeit a bit quietly but loud enough for Ironhide to hear him.
"...I'm... not fine. At all..."
Turning his helm, Ironhide looked down at him as he continued. "I've... Been dealing with something that happened to me recently... And... It hurts. A lot..."
Putting out his cigerrette, he breathed in deeply and coughed a bit. A failed attempt on covering up the slight crack in his voice as he spoke. "M-my older brother, Jacob... passed away last week... F-from cancer..."
(So that's it... why he's been acting different lately...) The Mech said nothing and kept listening, noticing how Will's voice was cracking more with each word he spoke.
"Jacob w-was... a great man. Loved his family... his friends... Heh, often t-times an asshole... H-he loved playing jokes on me and Natalie, my little sister, playing pranks... hell just h-having fun in general. He was serious when needed be though... Especially if it came to me and my sister." Will chuckled lightly and shook his head. "I remember when me and my sister were being bullied in middle school by these group of snotty rich kids... when he saw one of them push my sister to the ground... and another one beating me up, he rushed over and kicked all their asses... Yes he did get in trouble but luckliy he didn't get sus-suspended, t-they did."
Will took another deep breath and wiped his eyes, trying not to let any tears fall. "W-when we found out that he h-had... had been diagnosed with brain cancer 3 years ago... we didn't know what to think... B-but Jacob? He took the news without much reaction and just laughed it off, saying 'I ain't gonna let this cancer affect me! I'm gonna keep livin' life the way I've been living it!' "
He forced out a laugh, coughing a bit more and wiped his face with his hands, then stared out at the ocean. Ironhide could see the tears falling from his friend's face as he said nothing. Just letting the tears fall. Venting lightly, Ironhide looked up at the sky and watched at the birds fly by before speaking. "...I'm... I'm sorry to hear Will. But know what? Your brother is at peace now, and is probably watching over you right now..."
The Major smiled lightly and looked down at the sand. "Y-yeah... knowing Jacob... He... He probably is..."
Ironhide suddenly looked down and saw Will shaking as he sobbed quietly. The black Mech has never seen him like this before and it broke his spark to see him like this. He knew how it felt to lose a loved one all too well. Activating his Holoform, he stood in front of him and held his arms out. "Will."
Looking up, he saw Ironhide in Holoform holding his arms out and smiling at him. Getting up, Will embraced him and broke down, crying into his shoulder as Ironhide gently rocked him back and forth. He didn't say anything and closed his eyes, just kept rocking him and let his friend be. After a few minutes they let go as Will wiped his eyes. He then felt something behind him and turned his head, seeing Ironhide's servo enclosed around him in a comforting manner. Disengaging the Holoform, Ironhide looked down at his friend and smiled at him. Will sniffed a bit and wiped his eyes again, then gazed up at his friend and smiled back.
"...Thank you... Ironhide..."
"Anytime... William..."
...
~A few days later~
Major WIlliam Lennox held a meeting with the new recruits and with Ratchet, properly apologizing to them for his unusual behavior the past few days and for being harsh on them during their training. He even apologized to Ratchet for snapping at him the way he did. They accepted his apology and were happy when he told them that they'll be getting a week off from training. Ratchet was glad that the Major was back to his old self and asked Ironhide what happened. The Mech only told him about the recent death in his family and nothing more, as he didn't want to tell the Medic about what happened on the beach. Afterwards, Will requested to return to the States for a week due to a family emergency and Morshower granted it, already knowing what happened. He told Will to take as long as he needed, to which the Major was grateful for. As he walked outside to meet up with Ironhide, (he requested to go with him) he looked up at the blue sky and smiled.
"I'll miss you big bro... Love ya."
He headed towards Ironhide, now calmer than before and at peace knowing that his older brother is watching over him.
AN: Sorry it's so short... it's just... It took me a few months to just finish this because each time I came to write this story, I get reminded of my late cousin and just stop writing... I meant to post this up the month she passed, back in April, but I just couldn't... Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this story. I tried my best to not cry while writing this but of course I did. But I know that my little cousin isn't suffering anymore... I love you Mya, play nice with the Angels in Heaven.