So Ice-Ninja now seems to have a thing for Transformers Direwolves, so out of curiosity I looked it up (and spent all morning reading the comics)

And then I got to thinking how 'Che's story would be different if she came from that world.

So I wrote this :)

Night wasn't far off in the forest. The Pack had returned to their den for the night, all except one.

Ironhide had decided to do some hunting before it got dark and he was confined to the cave. Without alerting the others, he ran off deeper into the forest, where he knew prey would be plentiful. Before he even caught sight of life, 'Hide had to venture quite far. Not into anyone else's territory, but still far enough.

Eventually, Ironhide came across a small deer, stood in a clearing all alone. Grinning, the wolf bared his fangs, bent into position and prepared to attack. A few moments, and he'd have his dinner.

But suddenly, there came a rustling from the bushes on the other side of the clearing, followed by a low growl. And unfortunately for 'Hide, it scared away the deer, bolting away before it could be caught. Ironhide growled in frustration and stomped into the clearing, determined to confront whoever lost him his evening meal.

"Show yourself!" He barked angrily.

The bushes rustled, and out stepped a female wolf. One that Ironhide recognized all too well, but finished with months ago. She scowled at 'Hide, who bared his fangs slightly in response.

"This is the Pack's territory. You're trespassing." Ironhide growled and raised his tail threatengly.

The female wolf glared. "Believe me Ironhide. I don't want to be here."

'Hide stamped his paw on the ground and snarled. "Then leave before I make you leave."

The female simply growled, then trotted back over to the bush. Sticking her head into the leaves, she pulled something out. A small ball of silver fur. It was only when she stepped closer that 'Hide could see it was a little wolf pup. Her pup.

The female wolf took a few steps towards him, then roughly threw the pup to the ground, landing hard just before Ironhide's paws. 'Hide looked down at her in shock while the pup whimpered, seemingly in pain. 'Hide growled at the female, disgusted with how roughly she handled the little one.

"You would harm your own pup?"

The female wolf just scoffed and turned away. "Not my pup 'Hide. She's yours now." She snarled lovelessly before running back into the depths of the forest. She obviously didn't want her child. She had no intention of being a mother. So she simply abandoned her pup.

Ironhide growled after her as she vanished. "Oi! Come back now!" He barked after her. The female didn't return.

When he got no response, 'Hide growled fiercely and stamped his paw in frustration. He yelled a bunch of swearwords after her, forgetting the little pup was there. He only stopped his rant when he heard the pup whimpering even more.

Ironhide stopped yelling and walked over to the pup, giving him a better look at her. She was a tiny little thing, much smaller than the average pup and with a silver coat, with black 'socks' chest, belly and the ends of her ears and tail. And from what 'Hide could see, she was skinny. He wouldn't be surprised if her damn mother had been starving her. Slowly, he leaned in closer to the pup and sniffed her a little. She had his scent. He could tell that for once that b*tch of a wolf he once courted wasn't lying. The pup was his daughter. Which meant he had an obligation to help her.

Currently, the little pup was curled up tightly, still whimpering and shaking slightly. Gently, 'Hide nudged her with his nose, prompting her to uncurl herself and look up at him with bright blue eyes. The same as his. But her eyes also flashed with pain, and Ironhide noticed she had a cut on one of her back legs, most likely from being thrown. He got closer, and she tried to shuffle away, fearful that he'd hurt her. But instead he licked the cut, getting rid of the blood trickling out and showing her he wouldn't harm her. 'Hide knew the wound needed tending too, and there was no way he could just leave her. So as gently as he could, he picked up the pup by the scruff of her neck and ran back towards the den.

Night had fallen by the time Ironhide got back, and everyone had gone to sleep. Ratchet stirred slightly when he heard the padding of paws against the stone floor of the den. Forcing himself to open his tired eyes, he looked up to see Ironhide trotting toward him, carrying something in his mouth.

"You brought a late-night snack back then?" Ratch' mumbled, still half asleep. 'Hide stopped just in front of him, and carefully set the pup down on the ground. And Ratchet was really surprised to see what it was.

"Ironhide.. where did you find her?" Ratchet asked while looking her over, seeing she was limping. He was wide-awake now and in doctor mode.

"She's my daughter." Ironhide replied simply. Ratchet looked at him in shock with wide optics.

"I'll explain later."

Ratchet shook it off for now and went back to his little patient. "She's a newborn, only a few days old at the most. One leg injury.." he said while picking some moss with his mouth and setting it over the wound. "Taken care of. But she doesn't seem to have been fed for days."

Ironhide hummed. "Wouldn't surprise me."

Ratchet hummed back and glanced over at his sleeping mate, Amber, who was slate grey with blue parts, and their own pup, Gadget, who was orange, with a black tipped tail, ears and paws. He was only a month old at this point. Both were curled up together in the corner of the den.

"Amber's still nursing Gadget." Ratchet explained. "Tomorrow you'll have to ask if she can feed your little one too."

Amber herself hummed and she slowly stirred out of sleep at the mention of her name. "Who's little one?.."

"Mine." Ironhide stated, making Amber wake up a little more and look over bleary-eyed. "She's yours?"

"Indeed." He said with a nod. "Can you feed her?"

Amber looked over at the pup stood by her brother's feet and could tell she was starving. "Of course."

Ironhide gently picked his daughter up again and set her down beside Amber. The older wolf rolled onto her side and allowed the little one to feed without disturbing her little Gadget. A good 5 minutes later, the pup pulled away and emitted a little burp. Amber laughed and nuzzled her. "She's a cutie."

Ironhide smirked slightly, stretched and lay down. "I suppose so, yes."

Amber just rolled her eyes at him as Ratchet lay back down beside her. The little pup wandered back over to her father, and to his surprise, curled up in the middle of his front paws.

"You wanna sleep with me?"

The pup yawned and rested her little head one one of 'Hide's large paws. He didn't move her, he just watched her.

Soon, the little pup started to drift into sleep. Ironhide did too. He lay his head next to the pup and closed his eyes, but opened them again moments later when he felt something on the side of his face. Opening one eye tired eye, he found that the pup was licking his face affectionately.

"Goofball." He muttered sleepily and nudged her to stop. She whined slightly, then curled back up close to him. 'Hide smiled slightly. The warmth was pleasant. Maybe being a parent wouldn't be that bad.

Gadget and Amber belong to Ice-Ninja

Ricochet (the pup) belongs to me.