Kimber lied on a cot in a small tent she shared with Kayla. It was only the morning after the ordeal and they still weren't aloud to go home. She looked around her side of the tent for her jacket. The cool morning air was leaking into the tent, making her shiver. She checked under the covers, under the cot, and the outside of the tent, but her jacket was nowhere to be found. She let out a groan and lied back down on the cot. "Well fuck"

"What?" Kayla was brushing her hair on her cot

"Someone took my riding jacket"

"That thing? It was all torn up"

"Yeah but it's better than me freezing my ass off" Just then Kimber registered Makayla had different clothes on than sunday night "Where did you get those?"

"Sam's mom. She's really sweet"

"Ooookay?" She raised an eyebrow "Anyway do you know where it might be?"

"I don't know. Will took it"

"Will?" She growled "I'm gonna kill him"

Kayla rolled her eyes "Good luck with that"

Kimber stormed out of her tent. In one of the open hangers she spotted Optimus, transformed "She ran over, kicking up sand in her wake. When her feet hit the concrete she looked up at the catwalk and shouted "WILL!"

The Captain looked down "What?"

"Where the fuck is my riding jacket!"

"I threw it away!"

"Why the fuck would you do that?!"

"It's a surprise"

"A surprise?! YOU THREW IT AWAY FOR A SURPRISE!"

"Do you want it or not?!" He snapped. Kimber grew silent, quickly looking down to the ground "That's what I thought. Now please be quiet, I'm talking with the secretary of defence"

The hanger was quiet for a few minutes. Kim leaned against Optimus's foot as she rubbed her head "Are you still tired Kimber?" Optimus asked, kneeling down

Kim staggered back "Yeah, but I'm still a bit cold and it didn't help I had nightmares last night" The hanger was once again rendered silent as Optimus researched nightmares. The light in his optics dimmed slightly

'Ironhide?'

The weapons specialist grumbled from his resting spot on the other side of the base 'Yes Optimus?'

'Your charge has had a nightmare and requires warmth'

Ironhide slowly rolled to his leader's location 'Isn't that why humans have blankets?'

'Ironhide…'

'I know, I'm on my way' Ironhide slowly rolled to the hanger. It wasn't a long drive so he could afford to roll his way through the tents and other hangers. Once he made it to the entrance of the main hangar he opened his back driver side door. Kim quietly thanked Optimus before walking over to Ironhide. His interior was already heated to a cozy temperature. His windows tinted to kill nearly all the light peaking in. once she crawled into the back he shut the door and rolled back to his old resting spot.

"Kim...what did you dream about?"

She yawned "Yesterday...again...and again…" She rested her head back down, nuzzling it into the soft and warm leather of the seat.

Ironhide felt his spark swell as she got comfortable "Don't worry Spark...they'll go away soon"

She yawned again "Spark?"

"You need to sleep Kimber"

"Alright" Soon after closing her eyes the teen was out like a light, leaving her guardian to rest in the rays of the rising sun.

Ironhide sank on his axles as the sun warmed his plating. He wasn't really going soft was he? Just for this human? Well she wasn't any human. From the story he had heard from Will she was brave and spunky; he would have to google that. She was also determined, but could get scared like everyone else. In a way she was like Bee when he was a sparkling.

Ironhide remembered those years on Cybertron, pulling Sparklings from buildings or sparkling holds of fallen sires and carriers. He would have rather been on the battlefield, he was their strongest mech, but the autobot sparklings were valuable to the cause and the many who had done it before were mowed down by decepticons. Ironhide wa not only chosen as defence, but sparklings he encountered were naturally drawn to him.

In one of these "Sparkling extractions" Ironhide was sent to a larger cybertronian city which held the equivalent to a human orphanage. His spark twitched as he saw the building completely flattened. He was about to walk away when a loud wail met his audios. He ran back to the rubble and he found a heat signature. A small Sparkling was trapped in a small room like structure created by the rubble. He pulled the metal away and pulled out the small yellow sparkling. In years to come Ironhide would raise the sparkling who grew to be known as Bumblebee.

Ironhide was tossed from his memories when Kimber flinched. He noted she was perpetrating rapidly. He turned down the heat and activated his holoform. Her body was shaking. Another nightmare. His holoform activated, pulling her into his lap. He cradled her like he had before, making sure she was comfortable. AS he did she woke up, crying "Shh Shh"

"I-It's my fault"

"No it's not Kimber, shh"

"He's dead because of me"

He knew it was Jenson "He did what he did to save his team"

"I should have been with them. They were looking for me"

Ironhide frowned, resting her head under his "Just relax Spark…"

Kimber continued to cry. Minutes passed and she slowly grew quiet, falling back into recharge.