A/N: Ahhhhh were so close to the end now, so sad to realize how close to the end I am. I hope these last two chapters will be as well-received as the rest of this has been.

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CHAPTER 39
Time To Move On

It was two long weeks of recovery before Tony was allowed to finally see Ironhide. The mech was still weak, but he'd healed, and looked at the very least better. Tony and Ironhide stared at one another for a long moment, they didn't speak, but Ironhide expected they weren't going to. Tony had left Rex in the Lennox House that morning, as he wanted it to just be them, just them. "So, you're my Dad, huh?" Tony asked, he leaned against the wall of their home slightly "You know, I always figured after what I knew about you... You'd be a drunk." He added "After all, that was all I was, right? The mistake created by a drunken one night stand." He asked.

In some ways, Ironhide wished it were so simple, but it wasn't. What he'd told Ratchet hadn't even been half the story. "You are so much like Melinda, you know that?" Ironhide started, catching Tony off-guard "I'm surprised I never saw it before. So much of her shines through you." Ironhide looked down slowly "Tony, you were not the byproduct of JUST a one-night stand." He noted.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"When Chromia died..." Ironhide began, his optics lowering "There was a period in my life where I never thought I'd be happy again. I quit the Autobots for a long while, a very long while." He began, inwardly cringing "I came here, and spent those days in my barn crying, as I've told you before." Ironhide peered at Tony "One night, I got out of the barn. I just needed to drive, and clear my head. As I did, I nearly ran into a young woman." He chuckled "Guess who she was?" He asked.

"Mom?" Tony asked.

"Mmmmhmmmm." Ironhide grinned a little, as if happy "Even for a human, she was beautiful Anthony, very beautiful. Of course, at the time I was still grieving so, I simply offered to buy her a drink." He then shook his head "I never got her last name, but I knew her name was Melinda. And one way or another, we started to see each other." He shook his head "I had no idea she was engaged, mind you." He noted.

"Did you love her?" Tony asked.

Ironhide stared at Tony, that was a hard question, as he had truly loved Chromia. But he was more than positive of the answer. "Yes, I did. She was the only femme other than Chromia that I have ever loved." Ironhide shook his head "My excuse has always been that I was drunk that night. But I wasn't Tony, I only ever said it because I was ashamed of the danger I put her in." He stared at Tony, who smiled a little "I loved her very much, and I willingly chose to sleep with her that night. After a long night of our version of 'fun'." He noted, his voice then cracked.

"If you loved her so much, then why... Why did you leave?" Tony asked.

"I had stepped out of the home for a while. I planned to return." Ironhide was quiet for a long moment "But I saw a Decepticon just across the way, watching me... Watching the home I'd left." He shook his head "I knew I could not return there, Tony. For fear they would hurt your Mother, that they would kill her." He shook his head "It hit me that I could never be with her, Tony, because I was an Autobot. I could never change that. And so I went back to NEST, to the Autobots. And cut off all ties with her I had." He noted.

Tony was silent, noticing the pain in Ironhide's optics, and finally realizing something. His real Father had not left because he was drunk, he'd left because he'd loved his Mother, and never wanted to see her hurt. "So even if you had known she were pregnant..." Tony paused "You'd have left?" He asked.

"No! NO!" Ironhide stated he crouched low to him, stroking his cheek gently "If I'd have known she was going to have you, I'd NEVER have left. I'd have revealed myself to her and taken her with me back to NEST." He told him, very softly "Tony, you are one of the few things I have done RIGHT with my life. And I would have never willingly given up the chance to see you grow up." He noted.

"So I'm not a mistake?" Tony asked quietly.

"If you're a mistake, then you're the best mistake I have EVER made." Ironhide replied, shaking his head slightly "You, you are a gift from Primus. The greatest gift a mech like me could receive. Not even a gift, a miracle." He was very gentle in the way he approached it, but meant every word "I only wish I had been smart enough to stay, despite my fears. That I could have seen you grow up." He then added "That is the one and only regret regarding you that I have even BEGUN to have." He added.

Tony stared at Ironhide for a long while, he wasn't sure how to take all of this. Was it great to know he had a REAL family that wasn't so messed up? Yes. But adjusting to being a half-breed of sorts, well, that wasn't exactly going to be easy. Life was going to only get complicated for him. But he was sure that things would get better for him. "Well, I guess it's going to take a lot of adjustment time. I mean this is a lot to take in." Tony smiled a bit "But being your son?" He gently slugged the armor plating "I think I can get used to that." He added.

Ironhide chuckled. "Come here you." He smiled as he lifted him off the ground, gently rubbing his hair "Better get used to it, because first thing tomorrow? I'm seeing to it I get custody of you." He stated "I'm not missing another moment of your life, ever." He explained.

The smile on Tony's face couldn't be any more genuine, or happy.

...

Ironhide and Prowl met near the home late that night, when Tony had been put to bed. It was Ironhide's turn for an explanation, and needless to say, Prowl wasn't sure how to give it. "So I never shot him in the head before the other night?" Ironhide asked, Prowl turned his head toward him slowly "What really happened that night, Prowl?" He asked "What was I not told?" He asked.

Prowl sighed a bit, turning to his old friend calmly. "Do you remember, how you blacked out that night? From the pain?" Ironhide nodded his head towards the mech calmly "When you blacked out, it was after you had shot him, at least that was our belief. We thought you had simply attacked him. He'd moved you from his torture area." He paused quietly "But we soon found it. By then, he had of course escaped, and we could do nothing." He noted.

"So, in order to protect me-"

"We told you that he was dead, that you'd shot him in the head." Prowl nodded his head slowly, Ironhide turned his head "Ironhide, please understand, that if I'd had any idea that he would come back... That he'd do any of the things he'd done." He shook his head slightly "I would have told you the truth, and hunted him down." He explained.

Prowl waited for the anger, for the frustration. But to his surprise, it never came. Ironhide simply smiled, he crossed his arms calmly, and took a deep breath. "In a way I'm glad you didn't." Prowl became surprised at that "If you had done either of those things, Prowl... Tony wouldn't be here right now." The mech tilted his head "His living right now, if that hadn't happened, I would never have met Melinda." He added, calmly.

"They say that everything DOES happen for a reason." Prowl admitted.

"I've never believed that rubbish, not until now, at least."

Ironhide sighed quietly, he put his hands on his hips, and peered into the night sky. For the first time since Tony had come to the home, he was surprised to find himself feeling completely relaxed and at ease. The drama, the horror, and the heartbreak was over. Soon enough, he'd have Tony in his custody for good, and he'd finally have the family he'd longed for far too long. "You know, Prowl. I'd always told myself that the day there was peace... I'd be a very bored mech." He mused.

"And...?" Prowl asked, confused.

"Now? I'm happy for the peace." Ironhide smiled a bit "I think I'm going to enjoy the next few years. Just... Taking care of Tony, seeing him grow up." He turned his head "I'm even thinking of getting a human job, and retiring as Weapons Specialist." Prowl stared at him, impressed, Ironhide smiled a bit "I guess that would make you the new second-in-command, hmmm?" He asked.

"I'd be honored to take the position, Ironhide." Prowl noted.

Ironhide held out a hand towards Prowl, who peered down at it, for a moment, he hesitated. But slowly, he took the mech's hand, and shook it firmly. This wasn't goodbye forever, but he knew that what Ironhide had said was, in his own way, his version of handing the position to Prowl. If a normal life was what what Ironhide now wanted, he was certain that Optimus would understand. "I hope we'll see you around though, Ironhide." Prowl smiled "It wouldn't be the same without you." He added.

"Can't keep me away forever... Only for now." Ironhide explained "See you soon?"

Prowl smiled slightly. "Count on it." He replied.

Ironhide watched Prowl leave for a moment, until he'd transformed down, and driven out of sight. He stood there for a long time, staring off into the starlit sky before he turned, and made his way back to his and Tony's small home. He very much looked forward to his first night of peaceful recharge in far too long.

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A/N: Next chapter is the epilogue. :( I'm thankful to everyone who has followed me this far. And I hope the upcoming ending is a satisfying conclusion! :D