CHAPTER 7
A Part of the Family

Tony entered the Farm shyly, he felt awkward, frightened, but not to extreme levels. Ironhide was right, he told himself, he wasn't adopted yet, but he was family. This was his family, he kept telling himself. He could see the happy reunion of the Lennox Family, and stopped in the doorway as he did. Annabelle Lennox was a tall, brown haired, blue eyed beauty, well-built like her Father, but with her Mother's beauty. Of course, she wasn't without her flaws, but on the outside, Annabelle was a beautiful young woman.

Tony bit his lip, uncertain of whether to walk in on the reunion. Tony didn't want to intrude, and he almost felt like that was exactly what he'd be doing. He turned to walk out in fear a bit when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Tony turned his head to find Annabelle standing there with a smile. "So you must be my new little brother." She stated, pulling him in and holding out a hand "It's great to finally meet you." She noted.

Tony awkwardly shook Annabelle's hand, nervous beyond words. Even moreso then he'd been when he'd first met Will and Sarah. "Foster brother." Tony corrected quietly, knowing he wasn't her brother yet "But yeah, I'm Tony." He tried to smile as best he could "It's so great to finally meet you. Will and Sarah say a lot about you." He smiled.

"They say a lot about you too." Annabelle smiled "Tell me you give Ironhide a run for his money."

Tony smiled, he hadn't thought Will and Sarah would mention him much. He knew they constantly talked to her on the phone, but he'd always figured he'd rarely been brought up in conversation. Tony felt himself blush a bit, he wasn't worth being talked about like that in his opinion. But then again, Tony felt quite good to know they did talk to him. "They tell me you use to be a rebel." Tony laughed, Annabelle smirked at him "I don't think Ironhide would let me rebel thanks to you." he added.

"Nah, the old war bot has too much experience with teenagers now." Annabelle laughed as they entered the kitchen again "So, are these two old farts treating you well?" She teased.

Tony grinned half-heartedly, shaking his head slightly. Tony stared over at Will and Sarah, he smiled a bit. "They're not old, but... They're harmless." Tony replied, his hands in his pockets "I do like it here a lot. Definitely the best Foster Home I've had." He leaned against the counter, taking a deep breath "You've got a great pair of parents, Annabelle." He added.

Sarah rolled her eyes at the boy. "i'd say you both have pretty good parents." Sarah told him, Tony turned to her calmly "I'm glad we have you both here now. Because Will and I have been talking." She turned to Will, who eyed her back, they exchanged a smile, and turned back to the two "About making our family just a bit bigger." She added.

Tony crossed his arms, were they taking in a new Foster Kid? Alright, he'd dealt with another Foster Kid in the house before. He was more than okay with that, he figured. Tony stare at Will and Sarah. "Okay, cool. When do we meet the new guy or girl?" Tony asked, Will and Sarah stared at him strangely "What? You guys are getting a new Foster Kid, obviously. So when do they get here?" He asked.

"There's no new Foster Kid, Tony." Will replied "We're talking about adopting you."

Tony's heart stopped beating for a half a second, he felt weak at the knees, his body felt heavy. Was he going into shock? Probably, but he couldn't really tell, he was too stunned for words. "We wanted to wait until you were both here to talk to you both about this." Will stated, noting Tony's shock, he took a deep breath "We just got off the phone with Social Services before you woke up." He explained, he stared at Tony calmly "As long as your Dad doesn't contest the adoption, we can get a hearing within a few months." He noted.

Tony's thoughts moved to his Dad, a little afraid that he would contest it He liked it with the Lennox's, he liked it a lot. He liked living on a farm, he liked being treated like he meant something. Heck, he even enjoyed the snarkyness of Ironhide every once in a while. "So soon? But it's only been three months." Tony admitted, he looked between the two of them "I mean, what if I'm not what you guys WANT?" He asked.

"Tony, we went into the Foster Care system to help kids, not adopt them." Sarah admitted, she crossed her arms "But we REALLY enjoy your company. You've gotten good grades, you've helped out around the house." She explained, Tony stared at her slowly "You have your flaws, sure. But we all have them. And well, to be honest, we really do like you." She noted.

Tony turned to Annabelle, who looked somewhere between stunned and happy. "Didn't expect to come home to that." Annabelle admitted, but smiled "Having a little brother does sound pretty rad though." She smirked.

Tony chewed his lower lip, looking around at them. If he said "yes", this family could be his, forever. For someone like him, who was too old to be cute, way too old for that matter, this could be his only chance at a loving home to call his own. He tilted his head to see Ironhide in the doorway, he looked as stunned as Tony was. Ironhide locked eyes with Tony, knowing now this boy might become his full responsibility. If Tony became a Lennox, this boy would be his job to protect, to look after, to treat like a 'nephew' much as he had Annabelle.

None-the-less, Tony made Will and Sarah quite happy, clearly. The mech gave a curt nod of approval, knowing Tony was afraid of his reaction, he was certain he would be stunned by it. Tony stared at the two of them, and threw himself at them in a big hug. "I-If you'll really have me, I'd really like to be a Lennox." Tony stated quietly, allowing them to hug him back, tightly "Just promise..." He pulled away "You won't... Change your mind." He stated quietly.

Ironhide did not stick around for the rest of the conversation, he exited the home. He didn't even notice Annabelle follow him out, but had he, he might have thought of an excuse. "Mom and Dad told me you think he's replacing me." Ironhide jumped and turned to the young woman, who crossed her arms "He really isn't Ironhide." She noted.

"I know that now." Ironhide stated quietly.

"Really? Because the way I see it you still feel displaced by his arrival. I can see it in your eyes." Annabelle replied, she stared at her Guardian in the eyes "Mom and Dad really seem to love him, Ironhide." Ironhide nodded his head thoughtfully "And it's good for Dad to finally really helps someone that was like him." The mech's eyes softened "I'm getting too young to need you to protect me." She noted.

"I'll always need to protect you."

"No you won't, I'm growing up, Ironhide." Annabelle told him "I'm in Florida, but Tony, he's here." She looked at him, smiling "Tony is going to need a big bad uncle looking out for him just like I did." Ironhide stared her in the eyes "Especially as an adopted kid, Ironhide. I mean can you imagine? If his Dad contests it there will be a custody battle. He's going to be scared." Ironhide simply remained silent "I don't need you as much as I used to Ironhide, but I want you to promise me..." She put a hand on his arm, Ironhide stared at her "That you'll take care of him the same way you did me." She added.

It was the first time in this entire time-span that Ironhide had thought about it. Annabelle, she was a grown woman, eighteen, in college, happy. She didn't need him as much as she once had, and that truly hurt him. But Tony, he was going to be Will and Sarah's child too now, he'd be starting High School: a cruel time in a teenager's life, soon enough. He needed guidance, protection, someone to go to who wouldn't be his new parents. Just like Annabelle had, just like she'd done for all those years.

"It is my duty to protect the Lennox family." Ironhide told her quietly, to which Annabelle slowly smiled "I promise, I will protect him... Thank you Annabelle... I was foolish." He smiled "If you're grown up enough to stand up to a big brute like me. You definitely don't need me as much anymore." He snorted, Annabelle giggled quietly "Now come 'ere and give me a hug, youngling, I missed you." He added.

Annabelle did exactly that, hugging him tightly, Ironhide was none to gentle to return the hug. He smiled a bit, hugging her tightly, thinking back quietly. He'd lost one of his human younglings to age, but now, he had another. And he intended to stop being such a sour individual and, like with Annabelle, care about him and teach him what he knew. That may have been Will and Sarah's job, but he'd help, in every way he could, he told himself. He took a deep breath, and felt an inward worry about that Father. Now that he'd made this decision, if the man was anything like he feared...

Should he contest the adoption, he'd have far more than Will and Sarah to deal with now.

...

A/N: I figured it made sense for Annabelle to finally get Ironhide into the reality of things. :) I hope I portrayed it well! :D Reviews make my day!