The techno-organic smiled widely as the Autobots' CMO leaned over her.

"Good to see you back online Brandy." Ratchet said looking over her body. "Your systems seem to functioning well, how are you feeling?"

Brandy sat up with difficulty, placing a hand on her head in the process. "I feel like I got hit by a truck."

Ratchet smiled at the girl and let out a brief the human equivalent to a chuckle before offering his hand to her. She eyed it with brief suspension but slowly made her way to the palm of the medic despite the pain that came to her as she stood up, and sat down. Once seated, she found herself being lifted. Out of habit she gripped on to the nearest possible place. "Where are we going?"

Stifling a laugh Ratchet responded, "A certain truck wishes to speak with you." Brandy didn't seem to get what was humorous to the medic but didn't want to push him. She was, as the twins would say, in Hatchet's Lair.

Ratchet looked down at the almost human in his palm; his previous statement should have made her laugh. "Maybe she doesn't remember." He thought.

Once again the medic looked down at the female, this time in concern, her eyes were shut tight and she was gripping her head. "What is it?" Memory loss and head pain, did he overlook something? No, he couldn't have. These organics were fragile, and her brain and surrounding circuits were fine when he had last scanned her. He scanned her again but found nothing wrong.

She groaned before looking up into his optics and responding. "My head hurts."

The medic let out a mechanical a sigh, or as close as his body would allow, and left the medic bay with the girl in his hand. "I'm afraid you have to deal with the migraines." Brandy frowned and Ratchet continued, "He meant well, but when 'Hide pushed you out of the way of that Decepticon, you hit your head."

She looked back up at him, she was thinking something, he just couldn't tell what. A sudden awareness rushed over her and she began to laugh. "I was hit by 'Hide's alt mode!" She gripped her head and chuckle softly, "I was literally hit by a truck."

Faceplates moved up into a smile. This once human had the ability to bring the best out in Ratchet, and her current body reflected his need to keep her here with him… Well, Ironhide's mostly.

"You organics are slow" he said, still smiling.

"I'm only part organic, last time I checked." She returned the smile.

The two stopped outside the hanger's door. Ratchet brought his hand up to his shoulder. Wobbling, Brandy got up and stood on a shoulder plate of the mech, gripping onto one of the plates on the side of his face. The doors opened slowly, revealing the rest of the Autobots, minus Bumblebee who was with Sam of course.

Brandy felt the faceplates on the medic move. She looked at him. He now sported that constant frown. She sighed, if the other could see this side of Ratchet, or even Ironhide, maybe the twins wouldn't pick on them so much.

Everybody had looked to the door as it opened. It seems that it was a common distraction for students as well as gigantic alien robots. Ratchet took a step which caused the girl on his shoulder to grip harder. All optics were on the medic, except for one pair.

Ironhide watched as Ratchet approached from the med-bay. On his shoulder was Brandy, relief flowed through his circuits at once, but was soon replaced when he looked at the bandage across her forehead. Sideswipe was about to say something when the weapons specialist started to briskly walk in Ratchet's direction. The younger mech smirked and looked to his brother who matched his expression.

Meeting halfway, the medic once again let his human friend to climb onto his hand. Ironhide had already extended his in order to get her off Ratchet's hands (Pun intended). Brandy hated being carried around by Cybertronians, it made her feel like a small animal being carried around by a child. One wrong move on their part and it would be "happy birthday to the ground." She knew that they wouldn't be reckless while they were holding her or drop her without full intensions of catching her. But it could have been the mild fear of heights talking.

Quickly and as gracefully as she could Brandy jumped hands from medic to weapons specialist, grabbing onto the nearest servo. Both of the bots let a small smile slip.

Ratchet was the first one to shake off his smile. With optics narrowed he pointed a single servo at Ironhide. "Be careful with her, or your aft will find its self attached to your berth."

There was a slight feeling of tension that passed through the mech before he scowled, "like I'd hurt her."

The Medic glared.

"I won't hurt her, okay?"

Brandy held back a chuckle. Watching the two of them bicker back and forth was truly entertaining. There was another exchange made but she didn't catch it. She was more focused on the fact that she was moving.

Ironhide's strides were steady and smooth. The medley of shifting gears and footsteps were comforting after she was able to look past the fact that she was being held close to 30 feet above ground. She tensed at the thought. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Would you be more comfortable if I were in my alt-mode?" His booming voice echoed off of the walls near the hanger's exit.

Putting on her best smile Brandy looked up me look at him, "no I'm fine." What she really wanted to let him know was that she'd have to get used to being carried eventually, and being carried was the only way to do that.

Outside the hanger the sun was shining down, casting the sun's reflections across both the ground and the half-organic in Ironhide's hand. Brandy blinked several times before her eyes adjusted to the light, the robotic part of her optical nerves trying to function with her organic eyes. The pair continued until they came to a secluded part of the beach. By now the late sun had started to set. Ironhide set the girl down gently.

Brandy stood there beside the Autobot, waiting for him to do something. Silence continued for what seemed to be hours before he spoke.

"I'm sorry"

Brandy looked up at the tall mech who had found interest in something to his left, not daring to look in her direction. She had a hunch about what he was talking about, but she didn't understand why he was apologizing for.

"Why?" She cursed at herself for the one worded answer. There were so many other things she could have said besides 'why?'

It was then that he looked at her. "I caused you harm." His optics went directly to the bandage on her head, then turned away.

"So he's sorry that he saved my life? What did he mean by that?" Brandy let out a breath, taking a break from her internal monologue. "I'm taking this the wrong way."

"You don't need to apologize to me. I should be thanking you, you saved my life" She said aloud.

"But you still got hurt!" His voice went to a higher volume, but then went to barely above a whisper for his next statement. "For that I am sorry."

Brandy had seen Ironhide in battle, had seen him angry, pissed, ready to take out the next being to cross his path. But she had never seen him like this. She didn't know what to do. She took a step closer to the giant and placed her left human hand on his leg, or what she could comfortably reach.

"Hey, don't be sorry for this. I may have been hurt but it's better than being dead." Trying to meet his optic, she looked up. "I think you can agree with that."

Still not meeting her eye he nodded.

The techno-organic let out another sigh. The doom and gloom was killing her. She hit the spot of Ironhide that she had been touching as hard as she could. "Forget about my injuries, they'll heal." She started to walk down the beach. "Now, smile you're ruining a perfectly good sun set."

Ironhide didn't really understand how she could forgive him so easily, but as she said, it wasn't like she was dead, but still…

"Brandy, wait." She turned and saw him transform into his bi-pedal mode. She didn't understand why he did so but she wasn't going to question him. "I've been meaning to show you this, but I wanted it to be the right timing."

Now even more confused, Brandy watched as a figure exited Ironhide's cab. It was male. He had a broad chest that looked as if it had, had a run in with steroids. Muscles were bulging out of every limb. It wasn't to the extent that it looked gross, but it fit his built. He had the perfect face for the body and short cropped military style, black hair. As he approached she could see the slight imperfections. Scars were everywhere. The one that stood out the most was the one over his right eye.

A quick thought went through the girls head as the figure stopped next to her, watching her movements. "Ironhide?"

The man smiled. "Ratch hooked some of us up with holoforms."

Hesitantly she reached out with both robotic and human hand and placed them on an arm. She pulled back right after her fingertips brushed the surface.

"What's wrong?"

She stuttered, "I thought my hands would just go through."

A deep laugh emitted from the human Ironhide, "we're not advanced alien robots for nothing."

Brandy laughed remembering what Mikaela had told her about when she first met Bumblebee.

Ironhide took the opportunity to pull the young girl into an embrace, "Thank you."

She stopped laughing. She was unsure of what to do. A humanized version of the Autobot's weapon specialist was hugging her! "What for?"

He pulled away, but still rested his hands on her shoulder, "for being you."

Brandy met his eyes with a smile, "I'm not sure if I could be anybody else."

Ironhide returned the smile and pulled her closer, pressing his lips on her forehead.

Brandy's appearance was normal for someone being kissed on the forehead by a holoform belonging to the cybertronian that would be least expected to be doing such an act. She wasn't complaining though.

"Blush and I will kill you," her mind yelled.

She blushed anyway.

Side note- the 'Happy Birthday to the Ground' was a reference from TheLonelyIsland's YouTube song 'Threw it on the Ground'