Today I had these idiot classmates decide which movie we were going to watch in school. Sometimes, our teachers allow us to watch movies, whichever we want. So some said, I want the movie '300' or 'Gladiator' or 'Fast and Furious'. I offered 'Transformers'. They went all lunatic.

They were ALL like 'What that shit of a movie?!" "Who wants to watch a monster turn into a car?!" "Who cares about helicopter blades and them rotating?!"

I was, to be honest, hurt but more than anything, pissed off. I tried to explain them that they can't say something is awful, disgusting, horrible etc. without looking, or trying it first. They are just dumbasses and idiots. Sure, amongst other things, but I'll keep it at dumbass and idiot for now. I'm so pissed at them.

And what's worse: my best male friend from that class, said 'what, that shit of a movie'.

Just so you know, choose your friends wisely. Don't EVER choose someone who is going to be great with you when you're alone with him/her, and when you're with other friends, be a complete other person that is going to embarrass you.

Men are assholes. True. (I'm not saying ALL men are assholes, I'm not trying to offend the male race, but come on. Girls easily get hurt, even though they don't show it. Men, be careful what you say. Girls remember EVERYTHING FOREVER.)

~End author rant~

I thank you for the reviews. But I have to tell you this. In some of the previous chapters I said that Mel was untrusting. I didn't mean totally untrusting, because Ironhide's actions and Mel's reactions aren't compatible with 'untrusting'. You'll see what I mean when you get to read this chapter.

*Just one more thing, this is the last one I promise, this is will be the last update until the end of my spring break or whatever this is, because I'm travelling and I got no internet. This chapter will have to do.

I repeated the question again. It was a normal question.

He parked the truck and got out of his seat. His feet met the ground before I even opened the door. When I managed to do that, he came to my side and put me down gently, careful not to crush my legs on their way to the ground.

We managed to walk to the stairs and I had to take his hand again. Not that I had anything wrong with the action, it was just weird to hold hands with a somewhat stranger.

We got into the dorm, it was unlocked and yet Nicole wasn't here. I didn't even lock it on the way out. I'm seriously a dumbass.

As I walked to the living room, I managed to plop down on the couch and rub my eyes. I was exhausted, even though I only sat in the truck. Ironhide sat next to me.

"Hey, Ironhide-" I didn't try to say hello, I tried to grab his attention.

"Yes?" he looked at me.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" there was a long pause after my question.

"…I did." He stressed the word and he seemed really sad about it. Not the kind of reaction I would expect from him, even though I know him for almost three months.

"What happened?" I inquired.

"She… She died. Three months ago, next week."

I looked to the side and made a 'tck' sound. "Oh dear… I'm sorry, Ironhide." A light bulb suddenly turned on in my head. Wait, I was shot three months ago. Was she shot as well? "Was she shot as I was?"

"Yes, she was." he looked to the side and then hung his head between his knees.

Okay, so he didn't want to talk about it. But, I was incredibly curious. "Did you love her?" he brought his head up from his knees. He looked at me with eyes almost glowing with love.

"I loved her very much. I still do." He sighed and hung his head again.

I put my hand on his big one. "If it's any comfort… I know what it's like to lose someone you love." He said nothing, and I took it as a sign to continue with my talk. "I lost my parents a couple of years ago."

"I am sorry for your loss." His other hand covered mine and gently ran circles over it.

"It's okay, at least I know I'm not in this alone. At least, your girlfriend and my parents are in a much better place." I looked up at him, as I could feel butterflies in my stomach.

"If you ever need to talk, don't hesitate to come to me. The truck is always unlocked for you. You can use it as much as you want to, if you wish."

"Really? That's a lot to give for someone who's lost."

"It's best to give, than to take." he did the unthinkable and gave the palm of my hand a soft kiss. It felt flattering, and my hand tingled slightly. I think my breath caught for a second.

"So you say, Ironhide." I ignored the polite gesture as best as I could. My lips formed a big smile. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome, Mel."

Funny, only my best friends call me Mel. Only they were allowed to call me that. Curious. And another thing that was a bit off to me, it was the fact that he was talking about his deceased girlfriend and how much he still loves her, but then goes winking and kissing the back of my hand?

Maybe the guy's lonely? I think I would too if my boyfriend died.

Did I even have a boyfriend? Best would be if I asked. "Ironhide, do I have a boyfriend?" I asked him. His eyes shot open. He relaxed a second later, as if he had come up with an answer.

"You had one." He answered simply.

"What happened?"

"You were shot. And you don't remember him."

Could he call him or something? "What was his name? And why don't you invite him here?" Maybe he would tell me something these blue eyed people won't.

"He never came to see you." He answered with an uncaring look. "I never called him because he never showed interest in seeing you. To be honest, I don't even have his number. What a pitiful excuse for boyfriend you had." He rolled his eyes. Was my boyfriend really that bad?

"Oh… was he that bad?"

"Of course he was. But don't fret, you broke it up with him before you got shot." He patted me on the shoulder friendly. He sure is a comfort filler, honest.

"Thanks Hide." I said.

There was a pause. "What?"

"I said thanks." I looked at him.

"No, after that. You said 'Hide', didn't you?" I don't know, did I?

I replayed the conversation. Yes, I did say that. "Yeah?"

"You used to call me that before."

"I did?" Does that mean…? "Does that mean I'm beginning to remember things?" I got excited. If I started to get those memories back, that would mean I didn't have to ask more questions and I'd be able to live on with my life normally.

This was the solution to everything! Only if it went a bit faster. Three months and only one hint of a past action was pretty slow. By then end of my life I could get all my memories back. Or maybe I wouldn't get them at all. The point is, I have to stay healthy and think positive.

"Ratchet should be able to answer that. I'll-" I yawned while he was talking and didn't get to hear the rest of what he wanted to say. "You are tired." He said. That much I could hear as I stopped yawning and felt like I was going to crash.

"No shit, Sherlock." I looked at him with half closed eyes. He laughed. He actually laughed. What an ass. "Me being tired is funny?" I gave him a dubious look.

"Not at all. You used to tell me 'Sherlock' all the time."

"Well, I'm getting better. That's good news." I tried to be enthusiastic, but I was tired as hell.

"You're just being yourself." He was feeling free enough to ruffle my hair. I scurried away from the touch. I could faintly remember it, the whole touch and hair ruffling, but I didn't want him touching my hair, kissing my hand, who knows what he'll do next.

His hand retracted and he stood up. "It's late." He said, as if he could magically know the time.

"I think I'll go to sleep. Don't bother following me." I said, getting up from the couch and getting into my room without another word. He would always get into my room, as if to make sure I was going to be 'safe' while sleeping. What an overprotective maniac.

XxXxXxXxX

Waking up in the morning is never nice. Not even when your uncle decides to check up on you. I don't know why he decided to come, but I was glad he did. And I was glad he brought his family and a red Ferrari with him.

How the hell did he afford a Ferrari?

"Mh-hey Uncle Will. What're you doin' here?" I asked as I stood up in my bed and rubbed my eyes.

"Came to check on my favorite niece."

"Yeah right, I'm your only niece."

"All more reason for me to love you." He stood up from my bed, and I hadn't realized he was sitting on it.

"Thanks Uncle Will." I got up. I realized I hadn't changed, but couldn't care less.

"Has Ron been doing a good job?"

Who's Ron? "Who are you talking about? What job?"

"I mean Ironhide."

"He's an overprotective maniac, if that's what you mean. I can't go to the bathroom without him guarding the door! It's crazy. It's ridiculous."

"Well, that's Ironhide to you. He's just gruff on the outside."

"Yeah, I don't think I want to know what's on the inside." I rolled my eyes and shook my head at my Uncle's sentence. I left the bedroom, only to find Annabelle and Sarah on the couch. I hadn't seen them for quite some time.

"Mel!"

"May-May!"

"Heya!" I ran up to them, taking little Belle from her mother's lap and into my arms. I spun her around slowly, hearing her delighted childish wee. "Annabelle, where's my favorite girl!"

She clung onto my neck as I grinned in happiness. Sarah got up and gave me a hug. Uncle Will came from behind me and we had our tight, little family hug.

I hadn't felt this happy since… I don't know. I couldn't remember, but it did feel like déjà vu. Everything felt like déjà vu.

Eventually we let go, all of us. Sarah set little Annabelle down on the couch, she was now six years old, already going to school. She gave her a notebook and a bunch of pencils. Annabelle started drawing, and I felt like I wanted to draw again, be a kid again. But I missed my Uncle and Aunt too much to start drawing right now.

"How are you Mel? I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I had to take care of Annabelle." Sarah started the conversation.

"It's alright. I'm good. How did you get here, anyway?"

"Your Uncle asked a friend to give us a ride."

"Really? It's a long way from home." She smiled as I referred 'home' to their home.

"This friend of ours is a really polite one." She came closer to my face. "And a gorgeous one, too."

"I heard that." Uncle complained.

"Don't worry Will, I will always love you." Sarah gave him a kiss. My Uncle smiled in a love struck way. Something about the 'I will always love you' sentence seemed awfully familiar. I could almost see it replaying in my mind…

A sudden knock on the door cut my actions as I went to open it. I realized Nicole wasn't here, only the Lennox were. Not even Ironhide.

"Who is it?" I looked through the spy hole and saw a man wearing a red leather jacket with a Ferrari logo on it. Is he some kind of racer?

"That's the guy that drove us here, Mel." Uncle said. "You can open the door." I shrugged and opened the door, as told. The guy in the red Ferrari leather jacket came in, looking around. His eyes landed on mine.

"Hi." I smiled. I put my hand in front of me, as if to shake his. "I'm Melissa, Lennox's niece."

"Si." He said in Italian taking my hand gently and giving it a kiss. I chuckled and made a small grin. "My name is Mirage, but you can call me Dino." He said it in the Italian way.

Just where did Uncle find this guy? He's tall, lean, blue eyed and dark haired. What else could a woman want in a man? And he's a gentleman that speaks Italian. Do you get any hotter than that?

He walked around and behind him came Ironhide, straight into the dorm. He shut the door as I walked to my family. "Where did you find this guy?" I whispered, so that they could not hear me.

"He's one of the soldiers." Is he serious? Another one from the military? Was I a military woman? I couldn't possibly imagine myself as one.

"Please, make yourself comfortable." I smiled and gestured to the couch.

He nodded and walked to the couch. "Grazie." Was his way of saying 'thank you' in Italian. He easily sat down and I decided to stop staring at him, because Ironhide cleared his throat. I turned towards him, he could be trying to get our attention.

"Lennox." Ironhide said.

"Yeah?" All of us 'Lennox' said.

"Will." He said more precisely. "You need to tell her."

My Uncle nodded and approached me. Sarah and Annabelle sat down on the couch and quietly talked to Dino. "Mel, the reason we came here is to get you back home. You're not staying here anymore." Uncle smiled.

Well, I did wonder what kept me here since I'm not going to college. Maybe Nicole kept me here, she did go to college anyway. I nodded at him, "Okay."

"Like, we need to get you home now." he chuckled.

I'm confused. "Why now? Is something going on?"

"No, no, nothing is going on, just that maybe you'd like to go to our place." He moved in closer. "Do you remember that secret project we had for Sarah's summerhouse?" he whispered into my ear.

I thought about it for a while, digging through my deleted memories, but luckily this one wasn't wiped out of my brain. "Yeah?" I whispered back.

"We should be finishing it this summer. We have three months until summer comes. Just keep it a secret. You've being doing great for these three and a half years." He smiled and patted my arm.

"Okay." I said normally. "I'll get packed." I said. I was bored of this place anyway. What better place to go than home?

There we go. Yeah, it's a short chapter, but I'm brain-dead. I can't think straight.

Somewhere in the beginning of the chapter, Ironhide is telling Mel about her 'boyfriend'. He was making it up, so that she wouldn't be inclined to search for her boyfriend. He was trying to protect her from trying to find a love interest (that isn't Ironhide), and protect himself in some way. I'm sorry if it wasn't really obvious, but he was making it all up. (the boyfriend part)

So, I hope you liked this chapter, it's shorter because I can't possibly describe what she's packing and all that, you'll read about the trip back home in the next chapter when I write it.

As I've said before, this is the last update for a while. Reviews mean a whole lot, the more reviews, the more frequent the updates are.

R+R!