Author A/N:

Hello again everyone! Bit of a shorter chapter this time, this one just did not want to be done ... it's more of a time-filler than anything, things will start picking up more in the next one :)

Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed/favourited, it really means a lot 3

e-dowely: Ironhide and Ratchet interactions are my favourite :) I'm glad you feel I'm doing them justice. lol, I admit, I toyed with the idea of horse Ironhide for awhile ... but I just couldn't see him as anything without a touch of danger to it ;)

Borath: I'm glad you think so :D As great as the Martix is, the idea of it managing to pull someone back from death (without a proper frame to boot,) is a bit of a stretch for me.

Kungzoune: I know right? I was waiting for the entire movie for them to mention him again and was extremely disappointed when they didn't -.- I mean, no one even questioned why Ironhide wasn't with the others when they were exiled from Earth, would it really have been that hard to put it in?

SunlightOnTheWater: They didn't give Sarah enough screen time in these movies, which I can kind of understand, but still ... I can so picture her being all mother-hen on the autobots XD

keacdragon: good guess! I personally think he suits the role quite well :D

LionLover190: lol, glad you're enjoying it :D thanks for reading!

Kh530: I went and saw the movie the day it came out, so I didn't have any spoilers to worry about ... but when Ironhide was killed, it was only the fact I was sitting in the theater that I didn't jump up and scream at the screen ...

GavinDarklighter: That had to be my biggest beef with the Bay movies ... it's called Transformers, shouldn't that mean there should be some strictly Transformer moments in there somewhere? The first one had a good one ... but next to nothing in the others :( Hide and his cannons ROCK! And I can totally see him as a dog, and when you stop and think about it, it works ;)

Chocokoko: The bubble threat is a favourite in my family, whenever one of us kids got hurt my mom would threaten to 'trap you in a bubble until you move out!' XD

Azura Tyrant: I'm glad to hear that! Making sure they stay mostly in character is important to me, and the pressure is on since I've only seen the movie's -.-'

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no ownership over the Transformer franchise, this is meant to be strictly for entertainment purposes.

Another special thanks to Vivienne Grainger for the edit!

Good Primus, and Ironhide thought Ratchet had a hovering problem! After he had managed to untangle himself from the woman's arms, the blonde ushered everyone into the house. Optimus had activated his holo, saying he couldn't stay long, but was still slightly hesitant to leave his weapons specialist.

Ironhide thought they were both being ridiculous.

"Oh for- Sarah, I'm not going to disappear if you blink. Sit down!" The blonde promptly tested his theory, then boldly ruffled his hair in fond amusment before taking a seat next to her husband. Ironhide supposed it was good Annabelle was still in school, or he would have his own personal lap warmer.

And Will? Well, in Ironhide's opinion, Will was enjoying this way too much.

"Wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for you," he growled at his charge, which only served to make the grin spread.

"Play nice, boys," Sarah said with a teasing smile, causing Optimus to chuckle warmly. Yes, Ironhide would be taken care of here.

The next few days had gone by surprisingly fast as they prepared for 'the invasion of in-laws,' as Will had dubbed it. Apparently, Sarah's parents didn't really approve of Will's career choice, and made sure that he knew every time they came in contact with him.

"It is an honorable choice of lifestyle," Ironhide had commented, trying to puzzle it out, "why do they disapprove?"

"It's more the fact that they worry he'll be killed and I'll be left alone," Sarah explained as the three of them worked to clean the house up.

"Not in your dad's case," Will piped in from his spot doing the dishes, "he's more worried I'll get injured and 'become a burden to you.'"

"So my parents are a little old-fashioned," Sarah had said with an eye roll, since clearly this was a conversation that had come up a lot, "but I'm their only birth child, they want what's best for me."

"Only birth child?" Ironhide had asked, Will just smiled.

"Google 'adoption'," he suggested, boh humans waiting quietly as 'Hide's eyes lost their focus. This was common when the bots communicated through their comms or accessed the internet while in thier holoforms.

"So you have a sibiling who was not born into your family?"

"Yep, I have an adopted brother, and cousin, whom you will meet tommorrow," Sarah smiled brightly as Annabelle walked into the room. The seven-year-old had a look of absolute concentration on her face as she dragged the broom behind her. She had just gotten home from school about an hour ago, but she insisted in 'helping'.

The little girl had been absolutely thrilled when she'd gotten out of school to see her beloved Uncle Hide waiting to pick her up with her mother the day before. She lauched herself into his arms and refused to move, even as Sarah tried to get her to buckle into their family vehicle. She'd finally agreed to be buckled in, but Ironhide had to sit beside her in the backseat, and she held one of his large, calloused hands in both of her own like he was her stuffed animal. She'd chatted nonstop all the way home, telling Ironhide everything he'd missed in the last three months.

It wasn't until she had fallen asleep in his arms hours later, with her head rested against his shoulder, that she let him go. And, Ironhide would never admit it out loud, but he enjoyed the attention from his youngest, and dearest, charge.

"So," Sarah began, causing both males to wince at the tone of her voice, "you still haven't told me what your plan is for this weekend."

Will and Ironhide had both insisted that they had a plan for what Ironhide was going to do this weekend, but neither was telling. They'd left it at "he'll be here, but he won't be in the way and you and Annabelle are going to love it." Sarah noted that Will seemed more excited about it than Ironhide, but didn't comment.

"You'll see tomorrow," Will smiled as Ironhide just rolled his eyes, "we'll let you know before anyone shows up."

"Can I see tonight?" Annabelle asked, batting her baby blues up at Ironhide. It was a look that the gruff old warrior couldn't resist, and Annabelle knew it. "Please? I gotta go to school tomorrow so I won't see."

"You'll see when you get home," Ironhide tried, but he knew he was already fighting a lost battle.

"But that's soooo long!" Annabelle whined as she tugged at his shirt. "Please?"

Ironhide tried to resist, really he did, but he was helpless in the wake of her puppy face. He sighed and looked over at his two adult charges. Both of which, he noted dryly, were pointedly ignoring the exchange with knowing smirks on their faces.

"Pretty please?"

"Alright, youngling," he gave in as he knelt down to her level, "if you promise to help finish cleaning the house, and do your 15 minutes of reading out loud, I'll show you before you go to bed. Deal?"

"Deal," Annabelle agreed, and very seriously shook the hand she was offered to seal the deal, before giggling happily and hugging him tightly around the neck. Ironhide smiled fondly as the little girl grabbed the broom and continued attacking the floor with a new enthusiasm. An amused snort from the corner had Ironhide narrowing his eyes.

"Shut it, Will."

True to her word, Annabelle helped out with the rest of the cleaning, and sat on Will's knee to read out loud. For a seven-year-old, her reading skills were well developed, and everyone stayed quiet to listen to her.

Soon enough, supper was cleaned up, ("No, Sarah, I told you the barrels of fuel in the barn are still all I need, remember I'm still essentially the same as I was before."), the house was spotless, and Annabelle was in her pajamas. The little girl walked purposefully into the living room, where the rest of the family had gathered, and sat on the chair looking expectantly at her mechanical guardian.

"You did agree," Sarah reminded as Ironhide, laughing at his "deer in the headlights" expression. With a dramatic sigh the weapons specialist smiled at the humans before him.

"This is actually a good idea, now we can make sure the story is straight between all us before everyone gets here," Will commented from his place on the couch.

"Alright, alright, close your eyes," Ironhide smirked at Sarah's questioning stare as Annabelle eagerly covered her eyes with her hands, "what? It's a surprise."

The blonde woman rolled her eyes with a smile but complied. Soon the room was filled with the familiar sound of shifting metal as Ironhide changed his shape. She almost opened her eyes out of reflex, usually this sound ended with a giant 30 foot robot, and she was painfully aware of the fact they were still in the house. She relaxed slightly as the sounds faded and the house was still apparently in one piece.

She jumped at the sound of her daughter's excited squeal and the sound of feet on the floor. She opened her eyes in time to see her daughter tackle a large, furry black mass to the floor, and heard husband's laugh.

"A dog?" She tried to keep a straight face, really she did, but the sight of her daughter cuddled up to the large wolf-like dog that was their robot guardian was too much.

"The official story," Will laughed as Ironhide struggled back into a sitting position with Annabelle clinging to his neck, "is that 'Hyde' here is a military Search and Rescue dog. He was injured on a mission and is still off duty until he gets a clean bill of health. His owner was called out to a family emergency and, since he and I are such good friends, I offered to take care of Hyde till he gets back."

"And who exactly is his 'owner'?"

"Field medic by the name of Ron Hatchett." Will said, trying desperately to keep a straight face. Sarah couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her lips, cauing Ironhide to shoot a glare her way.

"I was going to go Rottweiler, but Will pointed out that the breed typically isn't used in this field of work." Ironhide's mouth didn't move when he talked, it was more like Bumblebee's style of speaking through the radio.

"German shepherd suits you; protective of family, loyal, and dangerous if you get on their bad side." Sarah paused, "although I don't think I've ever seen a black one before though, or one that big."

"It's not unheard of."

Annabelle yawned suddenly, a glance at the wall clock revealed it was already past her bedtime. She buried her face into Ironhide's furry shoulder with a happy sigh.

"You're fuzzy," she giggled. Ironhide rolled his eyes, but gently nudged her head with his snout.

"Bed time, youngling."

"But I don't wanna."

"Annabelle ..." Sarah scolded lightly.

"Look at it this way," Ironhide stepped in to prevent a temper tantrum, "the sooner you go to bed, the sooner you'll get up and go to school, which means the sooner you'll get home tomorrow, right?"

Annabelle frowned, wrinkling her nose as she worked through his logic.

"Right," she finally agreed and let him go. Another flurry of movement and Aaron Hyde stood up, pulling her up into his arms. She yawned again as Sarah took her and gently kissed her forehead.

"Say goodnight, baby."

"Night daddy, night 'Hide," she mumbled, already half asleep.

"Good night, baby girl."

"'Night, sweet spark."

Will waited until Sarah had disappeared up the stairs before smirking.

"Yeah, you're a big tough weapons specialist."

He got a rough punch to the shoulder in response.

A/N: Next one should be longer :) Next chapter: Family reunion time! XD