So... yeah... I left off in quite a horrible cliffhanger in the last story... So I'm picking back up right at the end of The Reason She Left. If you haven't read it it's the prequel to this one and both this story and TRSL are both side stories to Love Is This - This Is Love, Fortunately you DON'T necessarily need to read LIT-TIL to read this one or it's predecessor. Though you will want to read TRSL to understand this one...

Okay enough babbling... Here's the disclaimer...

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.

Chapter 1: Ten years lost

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Ironhide leaned against the wall as he stared down at the femme, her tan skin still pale from the blood loss. He shook his head, still in disbelief that fate had brought this woman back into their lives... Not only her but the Allspark as well...

It must be the work of Primus... The chances of Eject making planetfall in her backyard out of all the places on this mudball? He vented as he closed his holoform's optics. This far from coincidence...

:'ey 'Hide...:

:What is it Jazz?:

:Do you think we should inform Prime of the current situation?:

:Which one? Mikaela or the Allspark?:

:Both. Tho I gotta say Ah doubt that he'll be too happy once he finds out what's she's been hidin' from us.:

:I agree... But I think I'd rather let Ratchet break it to Prime...:

:You're afraid of tellin 'im more bad news ain't ya?:

The weapon's specialist vented as he bit back a retort. :I think I have given enough bad news this week don't you?:

:Perhaps a lil...:

A slight groan from the bed brought him out of his conversation. :I think she's waking up...:

:Ah'll let Nora n the kids know.:

Ironhide waited until she opened her turquois eyes to blink around at her surroundings before saying, "Welcome back."

Mikaela turned her head toward him, a weak smile broke over her face as she saw him. "Ironhide."

Relief ran through him a the sound of his name... That's a good sign... "How are you feeling?"

She winced slightly before declaring, "I have a headache the size of your aft... What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

A frown crossed her features. "... I-"

"Mom!" The twins chorused as they bolted into the room before they threw themselves at her. Mikaela blinked at her children a look of utter confusion on her face as she stared at the children.

"... Who are you?"

Ironhide stiffened as two sets of wide blue eyes snaped up to stare at Mikaela. "Mom?" Samantha whispered. Dion looked ready to cry.

Mikaela blinked "Sorry kid but... I'm not..."

The twin blinked up at their mother with identical looks of hurt and confusion. "Mikaela... Don't you recognize them?"

Mikaela blinked at Ironhide. "... Should I?"

Nora walked in at this moment, yawning wide. "I thought I told you two to wait for me."

"Vanessa?"

Nora froze at the name and stared at Mikaela. She swallowed a couple times before she curtly said, "I'm getting the nurse."

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"It's not uncommon with these kind of injuries to be some disorientation..."

"Disorientation my ass! She called me by my dead sister's name. A sister that has been dead for well over ten years! Not to mention she does not recognize her own children! But yet she can remember old army buddies?! What kind of bull crap is that?!" Nora growled at the doctor over his desk. She looked quite ready to throttle the poor man.

"She remembers her friends?"

"She recognized both me an Ian. As well as several of our friends tha' we mentioned t' 'er." Jazz confirmed.

The doctor sighed taking off his glasses. "I did warn you about memory loss."

"Is it permanent?" Nora asked icily.

"It could be. Honestly I couldn't tell you with out prior CT scans of her brain to compare her current brain activity and even there it's a shot in the dark on whether she'll remember. It could be temporary, it could be long term, and she might never be able to regain her memory of the last ten years. I honestly can't give you a positive answer in this case.

"The only thing I can tell you is that if her memory doesn't improve before we clear her fit to leave i that you will have to surround her with a familiar faces, familiar settings... The littlest thing can trigger her memories."

"But she doesn't remember the only three of us that have been with her the majority of the time she's lost."

The doctor gave her a sad smile.

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Ironhide had found a quiet secluded place to transform and feed the sparkling, who had grown anxious from the stress that it could sense from the bots, and had woken out of recharge. As much as he couldn't help it he was growing attached to the little femmling... She really needs a name... He stared down at her as he rubbed a servo down her back plates. How would Chromia take to being a carrier?

His spark hurt at the thought of his sparkmate, who was still out there lost to the cosmos... his connection to her frail and distant, but still there. She was still alive out there...

Oh how I miss you...

The sparkling chirped at him, bringing him from his thoughts. It had been vorns since he had last taken care of a sparkling... He vented as he tried to think of how he was going to break this bit of news to Optimus. With another vent he sent off a ping to Ratchet's comm link.

:Ratchet here what do you want?: The medic sounded irate... and for some reason he doubted it was because of the time of day, which it was after ten...

:It's Ironhide.:

:Don't tell me that Eject is in stasis...: Ratchet vented.

:He's not the problem... We are currently sitting outside of the hospital in Round Mountain.:

:...Why?:

Ironhide hesitated in his reply. I hope I don't slag him off even more. He thought before replying... :Remember how Eject said he found a place to wait for us?:

:What has that have anything to do with you being at the humans hospital?:

:Promise not to say anything to Prime or Sam for the time being?:

:... You're kidding me. You actually found her.:

Ironhide snickered at the medics obvious joy over the comm link. :Of all the places for Eject to make planetfall and he lands in her backyard...:

:So why are you at the hospital?:

:There was an accident... and Mikaela's skull was cracked... Ratchet... She's got amnesia...: Ironhide said before sending the scans he had taken of her when they had first gotten to her

:How bad?:

:Bad enough. She remembers me and Jazz... But she remembers nothing... for the better part of the last ten years. And that Includes her children.:

:...That is unfortunate.: Ratchet said with a sad tone, as if he was disappointed from the news.

:And complicated...:

:Oh?:

Ironhide grit his denta and the sparkling chirped in his palm where it was slowly falling into recharge. :Mikaela... was hiding something.:

:What the slag is wrong with these humans and their need to keep secrets?: The medic growled.

:From what she told us before her accident, Mikaela had no choice in leaving us... She was made to leave us.:

:... by who? And if you say Galloway or Mearing I'll shoot you:

:By the Allspark.:

:WHAT?!:

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Dion sat in the corner of the waiting room, curled up with his head resting on his knees, to keep the others from seeing his tears. Sam had cried her self to sleep in Eject's lap. The Autobot was watching a late night repeat broadcast of some football game, in an attempt to keep from falling into recharge. Ironhide had taken off with the femmling so that she could be fed, and Jazz was with Nora and the doctor, leaving him to watch the twins.

It's all my fault... If I wasn't so stupid... I ruin everything... Everything... I always mess everything up... I'm an idiot...

"No.. you're not." Eject glanced down at the sleeping girl as she mumbled in her sleep.

Dion blinked up at her mutely with dim bloodshot blue eyes... "Yes I am." he said after several minutes before turning back into his former pose.

"You are what Dion?"

"..." the boy did not answer him as he ignored Eject's quiet inquiry.

"Dion... you do realize this was an accident... you couldn't have known this is what was going to happen."

"..."

"Hey you two." Nora said as she and Jazz returned to the waiting room.

"So what's the news?"

"Amnesia. Tho the doc says he's not too sure how bad it is considerin' she can still rememba's me n 'Hide."

Nora sighed as she sank into one of the sofas. "He said to surround her with familiar faces... But she doesn't remember me or the twins..."

"But she remembers us."

Nora shot him a glare. "I am well aware of that Jazz."

"Look Nora... we were going to let Mikaela tell you but I guess now as good a time as any." Jazz said dropping his accent, his tone serious and low. "We have to take the twins with us back to our base for their own protection. They are giving off a very dangerous energy signal that if it is picked up by our enemies, things will not end well. Mikaela was going to inform you as gently as she could."

Dion had been listening and looked up when Jazz paused to let Nora absorb the information. "... What's wrong with us?"

The two bots flinched at the boy's question. "There ain't nothin wrong with ya Dion." Jazz said in an attempt to cover up.

"You're lying." Both of the children said monotonously. Sam stirring slightly, her eyes mere slits meeting her twin's before gazing at the others. "How's mom?" she asked as she sat up in her seat.

Nora smiled weakly. "Not good sweetie... She has some memory loss, But with any hope she'll be right as rain in no time."

"..." Dion sighed and went back to his sulking when Samantha gave another small sniff as she tried not to cry again...