Well, the infamous 60 chapter perimeter is broken!

I really loved the previous chapter I wrote. There are rare moments when I like the chapters I write. Very rare moments.

Today is a very special day for me folks. It's my birthday! :D

Ironhide POV

Four months passed since the confirmation of Melissa's terminable disease. I was at a loss of what to do. The only thing I could do, was to be there for her.

But I was losing hope. So was Ratchet. As much as the cancer had been benign, it has taken its toll on Melissa. The consequences of it were visible.

Ratchet hadn't found a cure. He made little to no progress on finding the cure. There was nothing he could invent to get the energon out of her, and nothing to get the cancer terminated.

There was nothing to help her. And all I could do was to stand and watch while she is silently fighting for her life.

I moved away from under her, careful not to tangle myself in the IV line that Ratchet administered for her. She kept on sleeping peacefully as I gently put a soft pillow under her sleepy head.

I watched her for a while. It was beginning to get late, so I turned off my holoform. Bumblebee and Nicole had gone to rest upstairs. I was observing the property.

Two signals popped on my scans. They were Autobot signals. Will, Sarah and Annabelle had come back home with company. By the looks of it, it seemed that the signals belonged to Jazz and Sunstreaker.

But something didn't make sense. A third signal was coming as well. It belonged to another Autobot. Sideswipe.

As Jazz and Sunstreaker arrived, Jazz freely driving on the gravel, he stopped in front of the porch and Sarah and Annabelle went out of his alt.

"More, more!" Annabelle giggled as Jazz transformed in front of her.

"Nah can do, lil' lady. We been goin' too fast anyway."

I transformed as well. Sunstreaker opened the door for Will as he got out, but the young yellow warrior wouldn't dare to dust himself by trying to roll down on the gravel. Alas, all of us Autobots transformed.

"Why do we now have five Autobots on the property?" I inclined. "Who was supposed to be the guardian of the humans?"

"Well, Sunneh and me were gonna stay with yo' by Prime's orda's, bu' Sideswipe ova here had to come as well." Jazz replied.

"Why have you come, Sideswipe?" I asked the questions once more.

"I didn't know what to do at the base. Besides, where Sunny goes, I go." He shrugged.

"Don't call me that." Sunstreaker warned.

"Sideswipe, you can return to the base. Your presence is not needed here."

"But I'll be bored there!"

"Not my problem."

"Can I stay? Please?"

"I think they can stay, Hide. There's nothing wrong with more protection, right?" Jazz inclined.

"Perhaps." I shrugged. "Just stay quiet."

"Why?" most of them asked.

"Melissa is sleeping. We don't want to wake her." I transformed back into my alt.

The rest of the Autobots transformed with me and I received several comlinks at the same time. I joined them all into one conversation.

"What is it?"

"Why should we keep quiet?" Sideswipe was the first to whine.

"I mean, even when she was asleep, we didn't really need to watch what we did or how we moved." Jazz joined in as well, a hint of concern in his voice.

"We just need to be quiet, that is all." I almost cut off the comlink, but Jazz's never before heard, serious voice stopped me from doing so.

"There is something wrong with 'er, isn't there."

"Jazz?" the twins asked in unison, surprise evident in their voices.

"Nothing of your concern." I replied. "We simply need to be more gentle around her, is all." had I been in my true form, I would have shrugged.

"Twins, let's recharge. I'm beginnin' to feel tired." Jazz yawned and cut off the comlink. The twins soon went to recharge themselves, and just when I was on the verge of relaxing, Jazz penetrated the comlink.

"I want to know what's with Melissa. And with your behavior, too."

And so, the night became one without rest. Jazz wouldn't let me recharge unless told everything. But of course, I didn't tell him half of the things he could have known. Not everybody needs to know everything.

"So she's just gonna… offline?"

"No Jazz, she's just going to take a while until she recovers." At least, I hoped so.

"Can Ratchet help her?"

"He's the only one who can do anything. But he can't find the medicine for her."

"Frag. Is there something we can do?"

"I don't know, Jazz. You should ask Ratchet that. I'm not a medic."

I cut off the comlink. This was tiring and repressing. Melissa was facing something very hard and I had to be there for her. We all did. But I had to be hopeful. I remembered a human saying, 'for there to be a rainbow, there has to be rain first.'

The bad comes before the good. We just have to sit through the storm and wait for the sun to come.

I just don't know if Mel is going to make it through the storm.

Melissa's POV

I woke up to a room full of people, today. And Ron wasn't by my side.

I blinked a couple of times before realizing who was in the living room. "Jazz?"

I couldn't disregard the 'Pitbull' sunglasses he wore. Those always reminded me of the artist Pitbull.

"Glad you're awake, kid." He got up off the sofa conversely of me to ruffle my hair. He crouched in front of me. "How're ya feelin'?"

"Good, I guess." I rubbed my head absent-mindedly as I yawned.

"Does your head hurt yo'?" Jazz put his hands on my head, as if to keep it in place. "Did I hurt yo'?" As if hair ruffling will get my head off.

I froze. "No, I just woke up." I didn't even know what to say. Why was he so weird? "Jazz, is everything okay with you?"

"I'm fine, lil' lady, just making sure you're good." She shot me one of this sexy grins as he stood up. It made me chuckle.

"Say Jazz, what are you doing here?"

"Supposed to guard your uncle, his sparkmate and his sparkling. And you, if I have to." He winked.

"That's really nice of you Jazz." I sat up, the cover falling off me on the floor. A person with a distinctive silver jacket picked it up and held it in front of me to take it.

I looked at the person. I knew who he was. "Sideswipe?" I surprised he was here.

"Hey princess. How are you?" I took the cover from his hand and moved aside so he could sit next to me.

"I'm good." I was glad I had more company here. Sideswipe sat next to me as I put my legs over his thighs. He had no problem with the gesture.

"Hey human." His brother said. At least he greeted me.

"Hi Sunstreaker. What are all of you doing here?" I counted the Autobots in my head that were on the property. "What are five Autobots doing here? We aren't that much of a target to the Decepticons."

"It's a bit complicated." Jazz said as he took a seat on the sofa in front of me.

"Okay then." I looked around the room. "Where's Ironhide?"

"He's out to patrol the wider perimeter. He should be back soon." Sunstreaker replied.

In order for there not to be an awkward silence, I found the remote control to the TV and turned it on. There was some crime serie on, but I didn't care.

"So now what? You guys are gonna stay here with us?" I asked as they nodded.

Third person POV

The black truck rolled across the golden fields of wheat, the noon sun glistening on his paint. His engine grumbled and revved as he sped up, eager to finish his noon patrol, eager to get back to his loved one.

The loved one that was very ill.

Ironhide opened the comlink towards Ratchet, "Ratchet, any progress on finding the medicine?"

The answer was almost immediate. "Little to no, Ironhide. I'm sorry, I just can't seem to find anything to help her."

A small sigh escaped the truck as he drove back, through the golden fields, home. "How is it possible that there is absolutely nothing we can do to help her?"

"I can't think of anything. For all my medical knowledge, I have never come across something like this."

"And what about the soldiers who had energon encounters as well? How did they manage after their encounters?"

"They didn't have cancer, Ironhide."

"Nonetheless, how are they now?"

"Offlined."

A long pause greeted Ratchet. "None of them survived?"

"They ingested extremely high levels of energon into their body. Much higher levels that Melissa ever has. It was too much for their bodies to take." Ratchet sighed.

There was very little hope. Energon itself was dangerous. Too much of it can offline a human.

"How do I know if her disease has progressed?"

It took Ratchet a while to think about it before answering. "I suppose if she starts losing weight, then the cancer gives her no more than a month to live."

"How is that possible?" Ironhide asked as he got out of the fields and onto the road, driving back home at a normal speed under the limit.

"It's painlessly spreading, attacking and destroying red blood cells. Once there are less than enough blood cells for her body to function, she will pass out and never wake up." he said with a heavy heart.

"She won't feel any pain?"

"I just said it was painless."

Ironhide sadly sighed, once more. There was nothing he could do and he hated not being able to do anything. He hated the fact that Ratchet, he of all medics in the Universe, couldn't find a single cure to help a sick human. "Alright Ratchet. Just keep me posted on your progress."

"There is nothing to report, Ironhide! I hate myself right now for not being able to help! There is no cure for either of the diseases she carries! Human technology isn't advanced enough to treat that cancer of hers and I can't find anything to tear the energon from the blood. I understand that you aren't pleased with the answer."

"Of course I'm not."

"If she is to survive, she'll need a miracle."

This conversation wasn't going to end well. "Alright Ratchet, alright. Keep thinking." he cut off the comlink, leaving his good, old friend to try and think about possible medicines.

As Ironhide kept driving, a song played on his radio. "Just one look in the mirror. And I know I don't look the same being alone, I don't walk the same without you on my arm, I lost my charm. I don't know how I made it before, 'cuz you are my future for sure, and now that it's over I don't know how I'm gonna get by with no more you."

After listening intently to the lyrics, he wanted to turn the radio off, but something held him from doing so. Deep and dark thoughts that he kept out of his processor for so long, started to invade his mind, making it very uneasy for him.

He thought about losing her, once and for all. How would he cope with the death of her? What would he do if she offlined? And knowing he couldn't do anything to save her?

"With no more you. What am I gonna do? With no more you. Can't believe there's no more you."

The question was the right one to ask. What was he going to do? Life his already too long life like before, pretending that the most beautiful, loving part of his life had never happened? To forget that she ever existed?

With such thoughts, Ironhide screeched to a stop, making burnt rubber marks on the ground. Checking if there were any entities in his surroundings, he transformed, rubbing his helm and groaning.

"The frag is going on with me? How could I even think something like that?!"

As Ironhide grew angry at himself, he saw the house only a kilometer away.

He transformed into his alternate mode and sped off quickly to see Melissa. He wanted those thoughts gone from his processor. He wanted the image of her in it.

"It feels like the end, I've lost my friend. I can't sleep at night, because your side ain't occupied. The hurt in my eyes, won't go away, I'm in so much pain. Don't know if I can make it or not, everybody sees that I'm going through a lot. It's hard being alone when you used to be on top, call for you, there's no more you."

Passing that kilometer in less than a minute, he rolled on the gravel and pressed on the brakes harshly, so he wouldn't bump into Jazz's bumper.

His holoform turned on immediately and Ironhide placed it in the living room. He found Jazz, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe entertaining Melissa.

His spark calmed once seeing the calm and gentle lines of her face and he sat beside her on the couch, calming his spark down for the sake of her. The feminine laughter that escaped her voice was like a harmonic melody he could listen all the time. She scooted from her sitting position and gave him a hug. There weren't words to express how much he was glad he had finally found someone he cared so much for.

"Hey." She said, taking his hand from his knee. "Where have you been?" she kissed his knuckles as he chuckled.

"Patrolling. You can never be too safe."

"Is someone paranoid today?" she teased.

"No." they played with each other's hands. "Just cautious." she smiled.

There was a short pause. "Me and the twins are gonna go outside." Jazz said as he stood up from the couch he, Melissa and the twins were sitting on.

"We are?" Sunstreaker and Sideswipe asked in unison.

"Yes, we are. C'mon, let's have a lil' race."

"You know I win every time." Sunstreaker boasted.

"Not this time." Jazz teased at their holoforms disappeared and even the faraway town could hear the mighty engines rev hard.

"They do know that street racing is illegal?" she asked.

Ron shrugged. "That never stops them from doing it." His face turned towards her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. My heart hurt me a little, but that's it."

"Did you know that human hearts do not feel pain at all?"

"It doesn't?"

"No, the surrounding nerves transmit the pain to the brain and you think your heart hurts you when in reality, it doesn't." his hand found it way around my waist and pulled me towards him.

"And how do you know all that?" she teased once more.

"I research." He shrugged, but suddenly froze. "Your uncle is coming."

She quickly moved off him to find the remote and turn on the TV. Their uncle hadn't known of their relationship and he didn't have to. They played it all normal.

Mel's POV

Soon, the footsteps of my uncle's could be heard going down the stairs. I didn't even know why Ironhide and I were hiding our relationship, but I didn't think my uncle would really understand.

"Mel, me and Sarah are gonna get something from the store. We'll take Ironhide with us."

"Why not Jazz or the twins?" Ron interrupted.

"Because we don't need to attract attention to ourselves Ironhide and you have the most trunk space in your alt. We need that space. We're buying a lot of stuff today."

Sarah came by my side. "How are you?"

"I'm good, but tired as always."

"It'll pass soon." She said firmly, exiting the house with my uncle.

"Can you keep your holoform on?" I asked Ron once he and I were completely alone in the house.

He shook his head. "It's been online for too long already. And it's a great distance between you and my real form, and I can't resurrect the holoform when you are so far away."

I nodded sadly. "Okay then, go help Will and Sarah." I looked to the ground, preparing myself for another day of not being with Ron.

His finger found its way under my chin and lifted my head up. He pressed his lips on mine, gently. "We'll be back soon. Don't miss me." I laughed at his remark.

"No, I couldn't possibly miss you."

He smiled as he suddenly disappeared.

And a few seconds later, the crunching of the gravel could be heard. Ironhide was leaving the lot. I got up off the couch slowly and looked through the window. A yellow and black striped Camaro was rolling on the gravel now. Nicole and Bumblebee were home. I didn't know they were out of the house.

Nicole got out of the car and went towards the trunk, opening it, and taking a blue plastic bag out of it. It was a nice bag, I noted.

She started going into the house, finding the door unlocked, she came in. "Hey, what's up? I got you something." she grinned.

"Really?" I wasn't expecting to get any presents. She sat down next to me on the couch.

"Yeah, here, the bag is for you."

The nice blue bag was handed to me. There was a medium sized dark blue box in it. I took the box out and put the bag away. "What's in it?" I shook the box to see what was inside, but I heard nothing.

"A surprise."

I opened the box and found something brown in it. A wig.

I took it out. It looked a lot like my long brown hair did, when I had it anyway. I put it over my head, just like that. "How do I look?"

She began to move the strands of hair off my face and tucked them behind my ears. She ran her fingers through the wig, trying to comb through it.

"Looks just like you did a year ago." She smiled, and then seemed to remember something. "Wait here, I'll give you a mirror." She ran upstairs and I heard a crash. Like something fell and broke. Something heavy.

"Nicole?" I was worried.

"No, no I'm good, the shelf just fell! Nothing's broken!" she ran downstairs with a hand mirror. "Here. What do you think?" she handed me the mirror as I looked at my reflection.

The hair looked so real on me, but as I touched it, it felt completely fake, just as a wig would. But it became a part of me. I liked the way it looked on me. The tears formed in my eyes quickly, as I realized how thoughtful Nicole was. I gave her a hug. "Thank you so much."

"Always, dear." She hugged me back as we stood like that for a couple of seconds. A tear that was in my eye, fell over my cheek and onto her shoulder. She rubbed my back in a comforting motion as I calmed myself.

"Really, this is so nice of you."

"Don't mention it. I just want to see you happy."

"Thanks." I said as Bumblebee got into the house and sat beside me. "Hey, Bee." I greeted him.

"I got you this." He brought out a green, little Christmas tree from his pocket. It was an air refreshener for cars.

"Thanks Bee." I hugged him too, and just like Nicole, he returned it. "You guys are great."

Well guys, we are another chapter down. Nearing the revelation of whether she survives or not.

Song: Akon – No More You

Listen to what happened to me last night: I dreamt that I was Melissa. Can you believe that? Crazy stuff. And because of that dream, I'm inspired to do an extra chapter!

Really, this is just crazy.