CHAPTER 3
The Thing About Guilt

Time didn't heal all wounds, Ironhide still felt Annabelle's absence. And after a month of his presence, the Tony problem didn't seem to get any better for him. He still felt like he was just a replacement for her, he'd started to attend her High School even! Tony wasn't so bad, he supposed. He was well-behaved, polite, and rather bright in school. He'd kept his word to calling him "sir", and he'd treated Will and Sarah right. But much to his chargin, all these things were making Will and Sarah very close to him.

He'd seen Will and Sarah pull him into a hug, kiss him on the head. He'd seen through his scans them bidding the boy goodnight. Ironhide shuddered a bit, this boy was not going to replace the youngling he'd come to love and care for, he told himself. He watched Tony closely as the boy and Sarah gently brushed the hair on the horse they'd designated as the boy's. They'd bought a new one a few months before Tony came, and while the other three family members had their own horse, they hadn't been sure what they'd do with the fourth. Whom they'd rescued from a bad owner.

In a way, he was perfect for Tony, both being brought to the Lennox's to be safe. Ironhide grunted, he knew there was a reason he disliked horses. He watched as Tony made his way down from the stable with Sarah. The boy looked up, noticing Ironhide nearby. "I'm starting to think he's stalking my every move." Tony half muttered to the woman, who stared at him "I know you and Will say he's harmless, but I really don't think he likes me." He added.

"Ironhide's adjusting, sweetie, just like you." Sarah replied, she put her hands on her hips "Belle really only left for college a few days before you came here. You just need to give him time to adjust." She explained.

Will and Sarah had been telling Tony that for the last month, yet he still didn't feel like things were getting any better. Taking a deep breath, he simply nodded his head, and stared at Sarah. "By the time he's adjusted, I'll probably be gone." Tony replied bluntly "I've had people at homes dislike me before, but, man... He really resents me." He added.

"Why not try finding common ground with him?" Sarah asked, then added "At any rate, I'm off to the Market, Will's still having lunch with Epps." She told him, then nodded "You two are going to be alone together for a few hours. So don't be TOO rough on him, okay?" Tony nodded his head and allowed Sarah to pull him into a one-armed hug before she headed towards Ironhide "That goes double for you, big guy. I'm taking MY car, you have Tony duty. If I come home and find anything wrong-" She began.

"Why must I be the one to babysit? Can he not watch HIMSELF?" Ironhide groaned.

"You didn't have that excuse when you babysat Belle. Don't give me that with Tony." Sarah smacked his hood, a little irritated with Ironhide now "We're trying to make him feel WELCOME, Ironhide. So stop acting like a five year old on a temper tantrum." Ironhide fell onto his tires a little more, as usual, the sharpness in Sarah's voice even made him listen "He's having enough trouble making friends at school. I think he's lonely." She then added "Just hang out with him. You'd be surprised at what you two actually have in common." She added, before finally leaving.

Ironhide cursed under his breath, knowing he'd have to do as she said. Otherwise he'd be chastised for it later. Transforming, he made his way over to Tony, crouched low, and stared at him. "Alright kid, yer stuck with me for the next few hours. So let's get one thing straight. Any funny business or trouble, and I'll report you to the Lennox's." He told him flatly, Tony nodded, figuring that "I'm sure you have some form of 'homework'." He noted.

"It's Saturday." Tony replied.

Ironhide frowned slightly, seating himself down, now throughly convinced this boy was out to make him miserable. Tony stared at Ironhide, he stared back, it went on like that for a few minutes before Tony broke the silence. "So what human stuff do you at least... Tolerate, doing?" Tony asked, staring at him calmly "I don't have much to do really, but I'm open for anything to pass the time." He added.

"I like the lake, you can go swimming, or whatever and I can relax." Tony's face went tomato red upon the word "swimming" "What? I thought young humans liked swimming." It hit him not long after "Don't tell me at fourteen years old you don't know how to swim." He noted.

Tony stared at Ironhide with a hard glare, feeling quite a bit offended by the way the mech had said that. Ironhide suddenly realized he may have just hit a nerve. "Yeah, because when I was little my pothead Mother would have been a great teacher." He shook his head a bit, then added "And my Dad was certainly around enough to give me a lesson." He added with blatant sarcasm "After all I was lucky to get a postcard every year from him." He muttered.

Ironhide paused for a moment, that really had been insensitive of him. Sure he hadn't really known all of the details, and he still didn't. Nor did he entirely trust the boy, he still had no reason to be as nasty as he had been. Whether he had known details or not. "I apologize." Tony eyed the mech, surprised by the two simple words he spoke "That was an insensitive comment for me to make." He sighed a bit "Do you play sports?" He asked.

"I dabble in basketball." Tony replied.

"You'll have to do more than dabble to beat me, even using my holoform, boy." Ironhide said, somewhat-cockily "That's my game right there, as you might say." He noted.

"You're on." Tony grinned back.

...

Will Lennox had expected to return home to a lot of things. Tony and Ironhide locked in "Sudden Sudden Death" overtime was not one of them. It was official to him that their rivalry was hitting ridiculous levels. Considering Tony was covered in scrapes from the game and Ironhide didn't look to be letting up. "Alright, that's it. You're done, both of you." Will finally made his way forward, taking the ball from Tony "Come on guys, you can't even have a FRIENDLY game of Basketball?" He asked, annoyed.

"Only because Ironhide's a sore loser." Tony muttered.

"Me? a sore looser! Ha, you traveled more times than I can count and I let you have the points anyway!"

Tony, now getting visibly frustrated himself looked as though he was about to wail on Ironhide. Clearly getting tired of his treatment of him. Will simply held up an arm. "Tony, don't even think about it." Tony stared at him with a huff "Get inside, and I'll be inside to look at those scrapes in a minute." Tony didn't look ready to leave by any means "Now." He stated.

Tony shot Ironhide a glare before heading away from the basketball hoop near the back they had used. Just by the look in Will's eyes, Ironhide knew he was less-than-thrilled with him right now. "REALLY IRONHIDE!" Will screamed as soon as Tony was in the house "Look, man. This stops NOW." Ironhide looked to the side.

"I did nothing wrong." He argued.

"You beat the crap out of him! Did you see the scrapes!" Will replied, very flustered, and it showed "I get it, you miss Annabelle, you wish she was here instead of him. But Tony hasn't wanted ANYTHING other than to be friends with you." He noted, Ironhide turned to Will slowly "He's afraid to even go near you, man." He added.

"I just don't trust him Will-"

"Because he's a Foster Kid, right? Well guess what Ironhide. When I was Tony's age, I was a Foster Kid who came here."

Those words hit Ironhide hard, now understanding exactly why Will and Sarah were Fostering. "The only difference between Foster Kids, and Annabelle.." Will began, looking down at the ground "Is that Foster Kids have NO ONE and NOTHING to their name. All the kids want is understanding and to be treated like everyone else." He noted "So far, you've done a good job of making him feel like an unwanted stray dog." He added.

Ironhide fell silent, alright, now he felt like a real jerk. He may still not have liked the kid, but he now wished he had understood "Foster Care" better. Especially now that he knew that someone like Will had been in it. His friend, his ally, someone he considered a brother. And now he was angry at him, and the weapons specialist definitely could not blame him. "I've been a real jerk, haven't I?" Ironhide questioned.

"Yeah, you have. I don't care if you like him or not Ironhide, because he's not going anywhere." Will stared him down "But please Ironhide, just treat him like a human being and not some piece of garbage. He's a good kid, Sarah and I really like him." He looked down a the ground "And he reminds me way too much of me to see him feel like he's alienated." He then added "Can you just be nice to him for me?" He asked.

Ironhide stared down at his friend, then back at the room where he could see Tony on his bed. The boy was holding his knees to his chest, and his energy levels suggested this whole event had very much upset him. Ironhide sighed, curse his soft spot for kids, he felt really bad. "Very well, I will apologize and do my best to be good to the boy." He looked at Will "If you trust him, I will put my faith in your good judgement." He added.

"Thank you, Ironhide." Will nodded his head "It means a lot."

Will left slowly as Ironhide stared after him, feeling more than a little upset. Maybe it was only right for him to give the human boy a chance. He still wasn't sure he'd come to like the kid, but he'd at the very least, work on tolerating him.