Protector pt VII

A/N: Thankies to all the wonderful reviewers 3333 oh in case people didn't notice I brought chars back to life bc I like then too much to keep them dead XD

Kory climbed into Ironhide's large hand and let him carry her to wherever they were going. As she sat in his large palm she couldn't help but feel extremely overwhelmed by the whole situation. Ok so she learned about an alien race that was living alongside humans in everyday life, her brain could handle that…kind of. However, learning that the guy that she had a huge crush on was one of the aliens…that kind of sent her over the edge. She wanted to yell at him for not telling her but she knew that he couldn't have blown his cover like that. Besides, would she have believed him? Probably not.

Ironhide came to a stop and sat his hand down so Kory could get off. Getting to her feet she got out of his hand and looked up at him. His eyes glowed icy blue as he looked down at her. The young woman sighed and ran a hand through her chin length hair. The weapons specialist was just about to say something, but Kory beat him to it.

"I can understand why you didn't tell me," she said a bit flatly. "But…" she just couldn't find the right words to explain what was going through her head. Instead she started to rant to herself, completely oblivious that Ironhide could hear her.

"God what was I thinking!" She yelled throwing her hands up in the air. "I'd only known him for like what two days and I already fell fort him? How pathetic is that?" She asked no one in particular. "Of course the day I get up the nerve to tell him how I feel I find out that he's an alien from another planet! Just perfect!" Ironhide was getting a bit unnerved by Kory's ranting and decided to try and calm her down.

"Kory, calm down," he said as soothingly as he could as he reached down to her. He didn't expect what came next.

"DON'T YOU TELL ME TO BE CALM!!" She yelled back as she pulled away from his touch. "I HAVE BEEN SHOT AT, LIED TO, STABBED IN THE SIDE," she was yelling off these things as she counted them off on her hand. Clenching her hands into fists she closed her dark blue eyes and tried to regain some control over herself.

"Why am I even bothering," she said to herself as tears of mixed emotions leaked from her eyes. "You probably don't even like me." With that said she turned on her heel and stomped off, not caring where she was going. She just wanted to get away from him, from everything.

"Hey have you seen Kory?" Sam asked Ratchet when he saw him.

"No I haven't. The last time I saw her was when I took her to the mess hall to meet with you," the medic replied looking down at the young boy. "Can you not find her?"

"No," Sam sighed as he ran a hand through his short dark hair, worry apparent in his equally dark eyes. "Anyways, thanks Ratchet." He waved as he left the medical wing. Just as the young boy turned to leave, the medic thought of something.

"Have you checked outside?" He asked. Sam paused, and then sprinted towards the entrance. I guess not, Ratchet thought to himself as he turned back to his work.

Sam raced outside and looked around franticly for Kory, but she wasn't there. Sighing in frustration, he headed back inside. What he also didn't see were a pair of foot prints leaving the base.

Kory sniffed and wiped the salty tears from her eyes. The sun was setting and the temperature was starting to drop. Only having on a t-shirt she wrapped her arms around her frame, a sad attempt to stay warm.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't hear the sound of the car approaching behind her. It was only when she felt something run into the back of her that she turned around. It was a car. Figuring that whoever the driver was wanted to get by, she moved out of the middle of the dirt road but continued walking. The same thing happened again. That was when the anger set in.

"What the fuck is your problem asshole?!" She yelled slamming her fist on the hood of the car.

"Ow! Damn, 's that 'ny way to greet a friend?" A familiar voice said, feigning hurt.

"Jazz?" Kory said in surprise. The response she got was the driver side door opening. She started towards the invitation but hesitated before she got in.

"You're not gonna take me back to the base are you?" She asked warily.

"Not if ya don' want me to," came the second in commands smooth reply. Kory still hesitated. Jazz let out the Autobot equivalent of a sigh and transformed.

"I'm sorry Jazz," Kory said softly as a stray tear rolled down her cheek. "I just…I just really need to walk." Jazz smiled understandingly.

"Mind if I walk with ya?" He asked. Kory smiled shook her head. The two of them walked in silence for a good while until the silver Autobot spoke.

"Everyone's worried about ya," he said looking down at the small female. This caused Kory to laugh slightly.

"Yah I can imagine Sam threw quite a fit when he couldn't find me," she commented looking at the ground. A sudden breeze blew by, causing her to shiver slightly. Before she could even say anything, Jazz had shifted into his secondary form. Smiling she climbed in and savored the warmth of Jazz's interior. As Jazz cruised along, a thought then occurred to her.

"Do you feel this?" She asked as she ran a hand over the leather divider. Jazz's whole frame shuddered.

"Y-Yah why?" The silver Pontiac replied. Kory grinned.

"This one time, I was riding in 'Hide and I couldn't, for the life of me, stop stroking the leather," she said, a smiled plastered across her face. Jazz burst out laughing.

"Don' worry, I'm sure he enjoyed every second of it," he said when the fit of laughter passed. Kory's smiled faded when her mind wandered back to Ironhide.

"'Ey, wha's wrong?" The Pontiac asked sensing the changed in his passenger's demeanor. "Ah you're thinkn' 'bout him aren't ya?" This was more of a statement then a question. Kory sighed and leaned back in the comfortable leather seat.

"Do you know how we met?" She asked. Jazz snorted.

"Dude, 'm so outta the loop now'n days," came his reply. Kory smiled and began the story from Trent all the way to the attack on the school.

"Shit man nobody tells me anythn'!" Jazz whined when Kory finished telling him everything.

"When 'Hide got back my notebook from Trent, that was the first real time that anyone had really stuck up for me," she said softly. "And when I got sick he was there again. He was always there when I needed him." Jazz smiled to himself when she said that.

"Man you've got it bad," he said laughing slightly.