Legend:

"Human speaking"

Human thoughts

:human text messages:

"TV or radio talk"

"Cybertronian and speaking over the comlink"

You'll get the hang of it throughout the story.

To say I was disoriented wouldn't even cover half of it. First off, I had no idea how much time passed, where I was, or if I was even safe. I think I started to gain consciousness, and I believe that I was lying on something. A bed perhaps?

My head felt heavy, and my eyelids even more so. Opening my eyes seemed to be the hardest thing right now. Trying to feel my surroundings, I realized that I couldn't move my right arm at all. It was as if it was immobilized.

Anxiety started forming inside me, making my stomach twist uncomfortably. Because of that anxiety, the fear of the unknown started to form, and suddenly, I was able to open my eyes, little by little. They still felt so heavy and dry and sore.

Amidst all my different realizations, I noticed that my upper back and head were on a soft pillow, that much I knew.

I sharply sucked in some air, to try and calm down myself, to lie to myself that I was okay until I figured out where I was and what was the last thing I remembered. But inhaling so loudly and so sharply wasn't a good idea, because it made my chest hurt. Then, my right collarbone started hurting really damn badly. Like somebody had stabbed a knife in there and with every sharp breath, it was like they were twisting that knife deeper into the open wound. I tried evening my breath, albeit fearfully, as I started slightly to panic, quickly realizing that I may have been seriously hurt without fully knowing it. I had no way of knowing.

Then again, I didn't know very much about what happened last.

As if by God's mighty hand, my eyes managed to open themselves and I had to struggle with my blurry vision. Everything was so… White. It looked like I was in a white room, with a bit of pale blue or green color.

Come on, eyes, focus…

Chiding myself, I blinked, but even that hurt, as if my eyes were sore and that I was sleepless for days. I must have been a mess on the outside. Did I have a fever? With a broken collarbone, perhaps?

As my vision started clearing up, I started to take things in, finally. I was lying in a bed, inside of a white room. The odd thing was, I didn't recognize this place. I was never in any place with a white room in it. What am I doing here?

Where was I before this?

Remembering the last thing that happened came as a huge struggle. Aside from the fact that my memory seemed mostly blank for the moment, I started to panic again. This gut-wrenching, awful feeling of having no idea where I was, no idea where I've been or what I've done didn't want to let me go, and I couldn't shake it off.

I inhaled again, despite knowing that doing that was quite painful. The feeling of soreness returned, especially around my eyes and throat. It was the kind of feeling after you've screamed a lot that your throat starts getting sore. Accompanying my soreness and already existing chest pain, I had a slight headache around the area of my left temple, my collarbone was killing me, and I felt that my right hand wouldn't make things easier for me either. More closely, it was actually my right hand wrist that was giving me a lot of trouble.

I closed my eyes and laid still on the bed. Not that I could move even if I wanted to, and I really wanted to. I tried forcing myself to get up, stubbornness living up to its name, but my body didn't have the strength to perform my command, and I was in pain all over again. Damn it all to hell…

Mentally shrugging, since shrugging would hurt my already aching body, I relaxed as much as I could. I really wanted to know where I was, because this was absolutely not comfortable or pleasant. Not at all.

And I couldn't sleep, as much as I wanted to. Hopefully, this is all just a very long dream.

A few moments later, after much trying to wake myself up, I realized that this wasn't a dream, The room was perfectly still, yet to me it seemed as if it was spinning round and round. I opened my eyes again, focusing really hard with whatever brain cells I had left in my head. I knew I had to understand where I was. Okay, I got the white room thing. Now, let's get some details.

There was a small TV hanging from the wall in front of me. On second thought, the room wasn't even that white. The walls were a sea foam color. There was a door on the right and it was transparent. I tried looking through it, only to find something that looked like a reception, with a nurse in teal clothing behind it, organizing papers and taking calls. I started to fear.

Who brought me here? Is this a… hospital?

I can't possibly be in a hospital! I need to go home!

I jerked up from the bed and shrieked suddenly because of the fiery pain that erupted in my chest. I shouldn't have done that, but it was too late now. I always hated hospitals, doctors, painful needles and the unmistakable stench, that of everything being sterilized and disinfected.

A nurse, dressed in a teal and white colored uniform, came into my room and closed the door behind her.

"Please, lie down. You're going to hurt yourself." The blonde nurse with thick black eyeglasses told me as she gently pushed me back onto my pillow. I cringed when I tried to lay down.

"Where am I?" I asked her with a raspy voice, trying to focus my eyes on her own. At one point there seemed to be two nurses, but then they just blended into one person. I think I'm disoriented. And my throat started hurting again really badly.

"You're in a hospital." She said and looked into my file, which was on a bedside table on my left side. I didn't even notice that it was there.

"What happened to me?" I asked again as my voice sounded more like a whisper, but I was sure she could hear it in the quiet room.

"You were in an accident." Somehow she knew better than to tell me what exactly happened. I wondered why. "You broke your right collarbone and hit your right hand wrist. The wrist is going to heal in a couple of days. You also have some big bruising on your ribs and a lot of raw areas. Do you need anything for the pain?" she looked at me and put the files back on the bed table.

I made a grimace and shook my head slightly. I hated drugs.

She nodded, putting back the file back on the tabletop. "If you need anything, there's a phone on the table, just press the number 1 and someone will come to help you." She pointed to the black phone on the bedside table, and left my room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. If I had any thoughts anyway.

I looked around the room once again, noticing how I was connected to an IV through the vein on the inside of my left elbow. I certainly went through a lot, but through a lot of what?

Come, on Melissa, try. Dad's voice suddenly echoed in my head. Which made me think twice.

Wait… where are my parents, anyway? I haven't seen them since I woke up.

I tried to remember dad's face, immediately followed by mom's.

The memory blankness started to fade, as small, unclear images formed in my head. I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate better and to remember all that I could.

One bit of memory started feeling familiar. It was one where I was running… Holding something, no wait-someone. I could feel my face scrunching up as I tried to figure who I was holding, and by doing that, also trying to make the images clearer.

I was holding someone… I couldn't even figure out who I was holding, because I this bomb of a headache hit me, and it knocked me out in a matter of a few seemingly long and painful seconds.

Will was glad the damn war was finally over. Or at least, he was glad at the fact that he could finally go home and hold his baby girl for the first time. A smile formed on his face when he remembered their faces over the web-cam at the base, just before they got attacked by Blackout.

The thought of the robotic aliens made his smile disappear immediately. A lot of his comrades died the day their Qatar base was attacked. But then his thoughts trailed off to his new comrades and new friends, especially the teenager that ended the war, Sam Witwicky.

It greatly befuddled Will how such a random teenager, with no clue of what they wanted to do in life, was chosen to save the American lives when fate called upon him.

And another thing that simply flabbergasted him was that Sam actually took up one of them to serve as his guardian. Sure, they were the good guys, but they didn't belong on this planet. His guardian, Bumblebee, was now supposed to protect him and his family from the Decepticons. Of course, it was for good reason. The leader of the Decepticons, Megatron, was killed by Samuel, who put the Cube into Megatron's chest. Surely, the Decepticons would come back for revenge and to avenge their leader. But also, the Decepticons knew of Will. They could track him down, and his family with him too. Who was going to protect him and his family?

The thoughts made Will's stomach twist in anxiety, but he decided to push away the thoughts for the time being. He wanted to dedicate his evening to his family. After all, it was his first day back on US soil.

They approached a two-story house and the self-driving truck turned to the right, driving slowly on the gravel in front of Will's home. The gravel crunched underneath the big black truck's tires as the truck unlocked the door on its own.

"Thanks for the ride, Ironhide." Will said and patted the dash, sliding the belt off and taking his briefcase from the driver seat, before closing the passenger door behind him. He looked at his house, as if it was the most comforting thing in the world.

God, I missed home.

He heard the crunching of gravel again, as the truck left his family's lot. That's when he saw Sarah opening the front door of the porch, with his daughter in tow. Will jogged over to them with a happy grin on his face. He kissed his wife on the lips, carefully taking the little bundle of joy into his arms and holding it up high. He put her back down and hugged her, kissing her on her soft, warm head. His daughter cooed at him with childish innocence and glee.

"Let's go inside." Will said as he made his way to the stairs of the porch. Sarah opened the door for him and just as he entered the house, there was the honk of a car behind them. Will turned around, only to find the black truck on the driveway again.

"Will?" Sarah said, confused, trying to see who was in the vehicle, but due to the overly tinted windows, none of that was happening.

"Uh, I'm gonna see what…he wants." Will stuttered and handed his baby girl to Sarah.

Those 'Cons knew better than to mess with him, his cannons and the Autobots. Megatron was dead, that petit human killed him by destroying the Cube. Their only hope to revive their planet was… gone. There was no point in returning to Cybertron, for they had nothing to return to. And aside from that, by Optimus's orders, they were to protect the humans, their current allies, and stay on Earth.

The coordinates to Captian Lennox's home were nearing and he drove off the road at a low speed as their house came up shortly. Soon he was rolling on some… gravel. An unknown rocky formation, for all he cared. He didn't even like this planet. It was too different from Cybertron.

"Thanks, Ironhide." A soft pat on his dash brought him back from his thoughts. The human left his cab and closed the door behind him, and Ironhide went into reverse, letting the human reunite with his family unit.

"Optimus to Ironhide." Ironhide's communication link beeped and he opened his part of the comlink.

"Ironhide here." He said, going into drive and slowly moving away from the lot.

"Ironhide, report. Are you near the Lennox residence?"

"I have safely escorted Captain Lennox to his family unit, and I am heading towards the base now. Yes, I am still near."

"Postpone that order, old friend. I have a new order for you."

"What is it Prime?" He stopped driving, pulling over to the side of the road and listened to what Optimus was going to order him.

"You are well aware Bumblebee has taken Sam as his charge, due to the threat of Decepticons?" It wasn't really a question, but he did make it sound like one.

"Yes, I am aware, Prime. Where are you going with this?"

"The humans are our allies, Ironhide. If they wish it, it would be well if you took Captain Lennox and his family as your charges." Optimus Prime said. If Ironhide was in his bipedal mode, he would have had his mouth open. There was no way he was accepting humans under his charge!

"What-Prime?! This is-"

"An excellent opportunity to learn more about the humans and their ways. Unless you wish to help Ratchet with the human healing services?" There was teasing in his voice, and Ironhide knew he had no way of evading this.

"Pit, no! Optimus, I don't want to-"

"That is an order, Ironhide." Sometimes, Ironhide wished that Optimus wasn't a Prime, just so that he could kick him in the aft and get away with it.

"Understood."Ironhide grumbled and shut off the comlink abruptly, turning around to drive back to Captain Lennox's house.

Maybe Prime's processors were malfunctioning, he thought.

Will walked back to the black GMC truck as Sarah went with Annabelle into the house.

"Ironhide, what is it? Any 'Cons here?" Will asked him in worry.

"None, Captain." That made the human give a sigh of relief.

"Please, Ironhide, just call me Will. You can call me Captain at the base, not at my home."

"Understood." Ironhide knew he was going to hate the words he was about to utter next. "Under Optimus Prime's order, if you wish it, I am to be your guardian."The truck shifted on its tires, as if unsure of how the human would react. Will was shocked, but he could see on his face that he liked the idea of that.

After all, Will's family's security was a top priority, especially after the war in Mission City.

"Will! Who is it?" Sarah yelled from the house.

"Uh... It's uh... Special Agent Hide! He… uh-he needs directions." Her husband called back.

"Okay, Will, dinner's ready, so hurry up!"

"Special Agent Hide?" The truck grumbled back, sounding less than pleased.

"I panicked." Will shrugged. "Ironhide, it'd be great if you could be our guardian."

Ironhide felt like shooting up something. This was not what he wanted. "Fine."The trunk grunted. The last thing on his list of things to do before he died was to guard humans from Decepticons. It probably wasn't even on the list. Nonetheless, he left the lot so it looked like 'Special Agent Hide' had been given directions.

At this point, Will knew he would be having a lot of fun telling his wife that they have a guardian, who is an alien robot from another planet who recently helped destroy a city, and that he is a weapons specialist.

He got back in his house and his wife started with the celebrations.

A few days later… Melissa's POV

I was still trying to remember what happened to me. I think a few days have passed, though I didn't talk with the nurses to check the time and date. I had no need to. Every time I woke up, a small part of my memory would return and I had to solve the puzzle. I knew this much: a true disaster happened.

This much I knew, Amanda and I were soaked, because of the rain that day. A horribly strong tornado was going straight for us. We ran like the devil himself was chasing us. I was getting nightmares in my dreams, some were easy to recognize as false, others… not so much. Moreover, the stench of the hospital was sickening, because I still didn't get used to it.

During my waking hours, I'd try and find the remote and flip through the TV channels, just so that I could have something to watch and pass the time. Almost all the channels were about the tornado and the bodies that the Search & Rescue unit found. That got shivers down my spine, because I couldn't shake away the thought of Amanda, Pete, Dave… my parents, Buddy… I couldn't bear to see them all dead. Luckily, none of the TV reports ever showcased their faces as the victims of the tornado.

I shivered even more at the sickening thoughts and put the remote by my side. Because my right arm was tingling, I moved oddly on the bed and managed to sit on the volume up button on the remote.

"Two new bodies were found earlier today…" The news channel lady said as she looked directly in the camera lens. The TV was practically screaming at this point and if I didn't turn it down, I would get in trouble.

Volume down, volume down! I tried maneuvering the TV remote while trying to find the volume down button.

"A woman in her late 30's and a man in his middle 40's were found…"

Why doesn't the damn button work?!

"The police were able to recognize them as Katy and John Lennox."

I jerked my head up and widened my eyes at the TV.

Did I hear that right?

The news showed their faces, along with their names underneath the photos.

I was frozen.

Mom…

Dad…

It was as if somebody stabbed me in the chest and twisted the knife inside, while punching me in the diaphragm to make sure I was out of breath.

But how could this be?

Lost in my thoughts and shock, I barely noticed that one of the nurses had burst into the room, turning off the TV immediately. They looked at me and saw how wide my eyes were, and how my pupils were barely there. They immediately reached for their pen with a light at the end, and pointed it into my eyes. They said something, or at least tried, but I didn't hear anything. I stopped breathing at the sight of my parents on TV being showed as one of the many victims. The TV showed our building, incinerated and demolished, the handiwork of the tornado.

Katy and John Lennox… the voice resounded in my head.

Lennox…

I was frozen. I felt hot and cold at the same time, but couldn't breathe. I was sedated by the nurses, for the sake of my keeping life.