Wow, an update! This chapter has nearly four thousand words, it took me a lot of time to write it. I hope you like what I prepared for you.

Almost four months later…

Ever since the announcement of my illness, Ratchet and I had agreed that he comes by to the house twice a week to get more blood samples. He never told me his progress on the medication.

Just a couple of moments ago, Ratchet had been in the house and he made some kind of syringe. I didn't know what it was for, but after some time explaining it in common English, he told me it was to move the energon away from my blood. Even though the two substances had merged, making my knees purplish, this syringe was going to tear the energon from the blood.

He also gave me some sort of balms for the knees. I didn't want scars. So every night, even though I wanted to do it, Nicole or Ironhide would put the balm on my knees.

But lately, I haven't been feeling so well. I hadn't looked well and I hadn't been feeling well. I've felt so tired and slept for more than 12 hours a day. And even then I could sleep more. And I was never a heavy sleeper.

And my shoulder length hair was gone. Completely. I didn't want Annabelle to see me bald, so I put a bandana around my head.

It's hard. At first I thought it was normal, that hair at some times would fall off more than usually. But the hair is gone now. I cried so many nights because of it, I've been telling Ironhide how much I'm sorry that I'm going to die. It was inevitable. If Ratchet thought the cancer was benign he was damn wrong.

There wasn't much I could do about it. Nicole would tell me that everything was going to be alright and that I was going to make it. Ironhide, in his own way, told me to suck it up and that failure wasn't an option. Everyone had to succeed.

After Ratchet left the house, he took Will, Sarah and Annabelle with him. With Ironhide guarding me and Bee caring for Nicole, they needed a couple of more Autobots. I wondered who they were going to bring.

As the three of us, Ironhide, Bumblebee and I sat on my couch, Nicole pushed a CD into the DVD player. I remembered when Ron 'fixed' it, so many years ago. He said it was going to run for a century. For all I cared, I wanted it to work now, which it did.

"What are we watching?" I questioned as she jumped on the couch, putting the cover over me and Ironhide and then over herself and Bumblebee. As the intro to the movie played, starting with bird sounds and a very familiar sunrise, I knew this was about my most favorite movie of all.

"How did you know this was my favorite movie?" I grinned as I made myself comfortable on the couch, enjoying the music.

"I've had help from a certain someone." She briefly looked at Ironhide. "Besides, you always wanted me to watch the movie and I never did, so while Bee and I were out yesterday, we went to the video club and bought the CD. Now we can watch it whenever we want to." She excitedly said as she seemed to noticed something on Bumblebee's shirt."Do you ever change that shirt?"

"It's a part of my holoform." He said in his slightly British accent. "I can change it if you want me to." He took a strand of hair from her head and put it behind her ear, being as flirty as ever. I tried to keep a poker face, because I knew that Ironhide could never do that with me again. Not when I didn't have any hair.

"I've been looking at the same shirt for more than three years, Bee. Even Ironhide changes his shirt." She pointed at Ironhide.

"No. No I don't."

"Ew, Ironhide, that's just gross." I said as I scurried away from him.

"You never had a problem with it." He said in a humoristic way as he scooted towards me.

"Yeah, because I was too focused on your holoform's abs." I teased and poked his tight abs as he moved closer to me. I eventually fell on my back and I was thankful that the couch had been wide. I kept my hands on my stomach, entwining my fingers and just lying there with a smile plastered on my face. "Are you going to do something about it?" I raised an eyebrow, still teasing him.

"Do you want me to do something about it?" he teased me now, as I was imagining some dirty things. He stood above me, in a push up position. My arms found their way around his neck as I tilted my head.

A thought that shouldn't have crossed my mind, just ruined the atmosphere he and I were, sort of, having.

Somehow, I thought that I was never going to be pretty. I didn't know how the thought had originated, it just did.

"Life's not fair, is it? You see, I, well I shall never be king." The movie in the background continued to run.

Apparently my face fell apart as I began to grow sad. The cancer thing wasn't only affecting my body. It was affecting my emotions. I didn't know how, but there were a lot of emotional changes and they were so sudden.

"What's wrong?" Ironhide asked as he bent his knees and settled them near my hips. "What is bothering you?" he caressed my cheek with his hand.

I shook my head. "No, everything's fine." I lied.

He wasn't buying it. He moved closer to my ear. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "No."

He moved away from me, standing up next to the couch. "Get up."

"Why?"

"We're going to talk about it." He offered a hand. I took up the offer and also took my time getting up. I learned the very hard way that if I got up too suddenly, I would get very dizzy and eventually fall. Something I wanted to avoid doing. I wasn't at my strongest now.

"Where are you two going?" Nicole voiced.

"We're just going to talk, we'll be right back."

"Okay, just hurry up." she said as she continued to watch the movie.

"And so we are all connected, in the great circle of life…"

Ironhide and I exited the house as his alt mode had already found its way in front of the house. The back door opened on its own as both Ironhide's holoform and I got in.

"Now tell me, what is the problem?"

"There's no problem." He doesn't have to know. I mean, I would always tell him anything, but I didn't need to tell him everything.

"I know there is something, Melissa." The fact that he didn't say 'Mel' was already a clear sigh that he was no way in hell giving up. Not until he got what he wanted.

"No, not really." I tried to be as nonchalant as possible.

"Look at me." I did as told and met those electric blue eyes. "Did you really think I'd fall for that?"

"I was hoping you would." I shrugged. He face broke into a smile, but he turned serious again.

"Then why would I drag you out of the house into my alt if there wasn't something important going on that Nicole and Bumblebee couldn't possibly know?" he certainly explained it all.

"You catch on quickly."

"Experience. Now tell me what I want to hear." At this point, I knew there was absolutely no way of avoiding him.

"Well, I had this thought." I paused. "And it made me sad."

"What was this thought about?"

The truth would have been best if told now. "It was about me being ugly and you not liking me anymore." I sighed. "Stupid, right." I shrugged and moved away, my back facing the door. "Just let me die." I brought my knees up on the fine leather seats and put my arms around them. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

But Ironhide was having none of it. He put on a song and made me listen to it.

"Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together. I need the other one to hold you, make you feel, make you feel better." He took one hand that had been wrapped around my knees. He held it in his."It's not a walk in the park to love each other. But when our fingers interlock, can't deny, can't deny you're worth it."

He, of course, interlocked our fingers. He broke the 'façade' I was having and as I put my knees down, he scooted next to me. "Cause after all this time, I'm still into you. I should be over all the butterflies, but I'm into you."

I smiled at his thoughtfulness. Somehow, I knew these were the words that would've came from his mouth, but the song alone and the lyrics were enough to make me smile. His hand was brought up to my cheek, and like always, I enjoyed how gentle and patient he was with me. "And baby, even on our worst nights, I'm into you. Let 'em wonder how we got this far, 'cause I don't really need to wonder at all, yeah, after all this time, I'm still into you."

The hand that was on my cheek fell to my neck as he very gently brought me closer to him. Our foreheads rested against one another. "Some things just, some things just make sense and one of those is you and I. Baby, not a day goes by that I'm not into you."

The song slowly quieted to the point I thought the radio was turned off. "Mel." He breathed slowly, our foreheads still one against the other and our hands together.

"Hmm?"

"I will always love you. No matter how you look." His hands came to my face as he pulled me into a kiss. A tear I didn't know I had, slid from my eye, over my cheek and fell on his knee. "Don't you ever think otherwise. There is nothing in this universe capable of making me stop loving you. That will never happen."

I hugged him, for his encouraging words, in the end, are the only medicine for me. I only nodded as I kept crying into his shirt and he only sat there, hugging me back and pouring blessed words into my ear. "You don't need to worry about anything. Ratchet will come to a conclusion soon. He has been researching a lot."

"Take a breath, take it deep. Calm yourself…"

I did as 'told' and I calmed myself slowly. My head started to hurt. "Let's go back inside." I said as we got out of his alt. Just as his holoform was waiting for me to go with him into the house, I turned around and kissed the front bumper. "Love you." I petted the hood. The low grumbling of the engine told me he was satisfied with the touch and it made me smile again.

I walked back to his holoform and took his hand in mine. We walked into the house and I smelled popcorn. I was surprised that Will, Sarah and Annabelle didn't return yet, but it meant more free time for us in the house.

As we got in, the movie was still running. The two didn't bother to pause it. "Mel, I know it's kinda lame for us to watch cartoons, but I really like this." She ate a handful of popcorn by stuffing it into her mouth.

"Share the popcorn, will you?" I said as Ironhide and I sat on the couch. Nicole and I ate the popcorn. I didn't think their holoforms could eat food, so I didn't really offer any to Bee or Hide.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty..."

The poor cubs in the movie were trapped in an elephant graveyard.

"I see no point in watching cartoons." Ironhide said as I put my hands on his chest, to silence him.

"Shh…" I watched the movie in complete awe.

Time easily passed as the movie moved on the scene where Scar was running to Mufasa when Simba was in the gorge, fighting for his life.

"Long live the king."

"NOOO!"

Each and every time I watch this movie, it brings tears to my eyes. And I wasn't the only one who had watery eyes. I glanced to Nicole. She was in the same sort of 'trance' I was.

"Dad? Dad come on, you gotta get up. Dad, we gotta go home."

I felt a drop of water fall on my hand and I wiped my cheek.

"I still don't understand why you cry when it's just a movie. Frag, this is just a cartoon."

"Because it's so real." I expected a comeback, but I never heard one. I looked to Ironhide. He was gazing down as if he was thinking over something, reminiscing. "You okay?" I said quietly. Did I say something wrong?

"I'm fine, Mel. Keep watching the movie." He smiled and kissed my cheek. He wasn't fine. I heard it in his voice. He was affected by something and I needed to know what.

As Nicole and I continued to watch the movie, we started to cry when Mufasa died. Even for her first time watching the movie, she felt the same heartbreaking emotions and cried just as I did.

Nobody spoke during the entire movie. We were so into the cartoon it seemed as if time itself stopped. Occasionally I would glance to Ironhide. He seemed to watch the movie, but there something in the way he looked at the movie. Something that told me it wasn't just a movie for him.

"That's not my father, it's just my reflection."

"No. Look harder… You see? He lives in you."

Alas, Nicole and I started crying again.

It made me want to stare into some pond in the middle of the night, hoping to see my parents in my reflection.

I saddened once more, the wound was still raw, after all these years. I don't think I'll ever be able to let them go.

I felt my hand being gently squeezed in a form of comfort, protection and affection. I thanked Ironhide for that by leaning on his shoulder, letting my teardrops fall on him.

"Murderer…"

"Simba, Simba please, please have mercy, I beg you."

"You don't deserve to live."

"But I am, er, family!"

"He reminds me of Starscream." Ironhide suddenly said.

"Me too." Bumblebee joined Ironhide in confirmation of Scar being like Starscream.

At last, the movie was finished by thing upbringing of little Kiara. Unfortunately, we didn't have the second movie to see what goes on with Simba's daughter, but we didn't mind.

"I love it." Nicole said.

"I told you that you would." I smiled as she leaned over to hug me. I returned the hug and I heard her stomach growl. "You're hungry? You just ate more than half the popcorn."

She patted her stomach. "Duty calls, I'm gonna search the fridge." She got up off the couch and into the kitchen.

At times I didn't know whether to call Ironhide 'Ron' or 'Hide', so I just went with whatever name I thought first. "Hide? Hide, what's wrong?" I gently said as I took his hands in mine and looked at his bowed face.

"Nothing you need to bother yourself with. Let me help you make this couch a bed and you can-" he wanted to get up, but with what strength I had left in me, I pulled him down.

"No. Tell me what's wrong. I've seen that face before Ironhide. No point in not telling me."

"I don't want to put pressure on you."

"Nobody says you will. I'm your girlfriend Ironhide, you can tell me anything. I'm supposed to relieve you of any pressure you have." I planted a kiss on his forehead. "Now tell me what I want to hear."

"You know that scene where that… lion jumped down to save his sparkling?"

It took me a while to think over his words. "You mean when Mufasa jumped into the gorge to save Simba from getting run over by wildebeests?"

"Yes, that. A couple of years ago-Bumblebee, would you be so kind and help Nicole look for something to eat?" he was giving Bumblebee a clear sign to get lost so Ironhide could talk to me in private.

"Sure thing, Hide." The slightly British accented voice resounded as Bee's holoform made its way towards and into the kitchen.

"A couple of years ago, Optimus was trying to get Sam to safety. He was in some woods and there were Decepticons around him." He looked to the ground, still holding my hands, as he continued to describe the event. "He had no protection at all. He took on one of the most powerful Decepticons on Earth." I didn't know what that had to do with Mufasa dying for Simba. "That day, he managed to offline Blackout. That day, Megatron stabbed him in the back. That day… Optimus offlined."

Now I understood. I let him continue talking as I squeezed his hands gently, letting him know I was listening. "But he saved Sam. You see, this scene reminded me of that day. The way Mufasa," he paused a little, waiting for my nod at the guessing strange name of a cartoon lion, "sacrificed his life to save Simba, reminded me how Optimus sacrificed his to save Sam."

"You didn't take that too well, did you?" I could tell he didn't take it lightly at all.

"No. Not at all. I had to stand up and take command, for I was the second in command then. I never had the time to think it all through. But now that I have thought it all through, I'm proud of my decisions. But that period when Optimus was no longer with us was a tough time."

"Don't worry anymore, Hide. Optimus is alright, Sam is alright, the 'Cons are laying low for now-"

"Except for Starscream."

"That was four months ago."

"Nevertheless, he is still in the vicinity." He noted.

"Perhaps, but I've got your protection." I said in a low voice and came closer to him, so close to his face.

"Of course you do." He kissed my nose, a sign of affection and gentility I would never forget. "You've always got me." He said in an even lower voice. His voice started sounding like a seductive growl, a growl which I had rarely heard, but always enjoyed.

My hands found their way around his neck, our bodies one against the other. Ironhide lowered himself on his back with mine laying on top of him. His hands made their way around my waist, holding me like I always loved. I kissed him deeply, cherishing every breathing moment I had. "I love you."

"I love you more." He winked and turned me over so quickly. I found myself on the couch with him above me. I giggled and laughed, and then he started tickling me.

"Gah, no, NO!" I laughed harder. "Not in the ribs, HAHAHA!"

He kept on tickling, but at a much lesser pace, until he was tickling no more. I looked at him, as he went to my side and kissed the spot on my ribs that was most ticklish. Only this time, it wasn't ticklish at all.

He raised the shirt and kissed the bare skin, tracing the kisses to my bellybutton.

A slight moan escaped my lips as he suddenly stopped. He looked at me. "You're just trying to get lucky." I said and laughed as he came to my face. He planted a kiss on my lips before settling himself on the couch in a laying position. I came on top of him slowly. I couldn't explain how much I loved laying on top of him. He was so soft and firm at the same time.

"Maybe." He seductively said with a grin on his face.

I heard loud music playing from outside. "We're up all night 'till the sun, we're up all night to get some, we're up all night for good fun, we're up all night to get lucky!"

"Ironhide!" I laughed again, hitting him with a soft pillow.

"It's not like you haven't considered it." He was right. It's not like I haven't considered it. We should take our relationship deeper. I started to think about it: pros and cons of making love.

A sudden hand on my cheek stopped my thinking. "We don't have to do it, Mel." He shook his head. "Not if you're not ready. I don't want to push you into anything."

It was a miracle how not once Ironhide and I didn't make love for all these years we've been together. "If I get better-"

"You mean once you get better." He shot me a look, as if he was scolding me.

"Once I get better, we'll do it." I smiled.

"Are you certain?"

"I love you, don't I?"

"Yes, but-"

"Don't worry." I yawned. "I want to sleep, love."

His arms held me hugged against his body, as I lowered my head under his chin. His hands caressed my back so gently, lulling to sleep.

So much LOVE! :D

Songs: Paramore – Still Into You

Rihanna – Russian Roulette

Daft Punk - Get Some/Lucky

Movie: The Lion King

Oh yeah, one question guys, should I post beginnings of stories that I'm planning to make, or should I finish each story one by one? Because one by one will take too much time and the stories I haven't even started writing, have been haunting me for half a year now. XD

So, your opinions please?