Title: They Also Serve…

Author: Leslie

Rating: R

Pairing: Will Lennox/Ironhide

Warnings: violence

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I'll return them when I'm done playing with them.

Summary: Ironhide finds out Will has been hurt and isn't very happy

about it at all.

A/N: Written for yllana. Please read and review. Thanks and enjoy.

Ironhide was waiting in the motor pool parking lot for Will to come out

from his office. It was almost five in the afternoon and Ironhide knew

his human would be coming out within the next fifteen to twenty minutes.

Ever since Sarah had left the newly promoted major, Ironhide had found

himself making sure the human did not overwork himself or end up too

drunk to make it into work the next morning. Will was not taking the

separation very well. Losing his wife was one thing, losing his

daughter, quite another.

Thing is, Ironhide knew it was partially his fault that Sarah had left

and taken the baby with her. She'd walked into the garage one night and

had found Ironhide and Will… together… in a very interesting form. She'd

left the next morning without a word to either of them beyond "I'll be

at my mother's. Don't bother calling me."

That had been almost four months ago now and the divorce papers had come

in the mail yesterday. Will had sat in the living room looking at them

getting very, very drunk. Ironhide hated using his holoform but that

night he'd done so, if for no other reason than to make sure the man

made it to bed. Afterwards, he'd cleaned up the broken glass, put the

papers back in order on the table and had then vanished back into his

protoform. This morning, Will had said nothing about what had happened

the night before and Ironhide saw no reason to remind him.

Ironhide came out of his thoughts when he noticed that soldiers were

moving around him, coming from the offices… everyone but Will. For that

matter, Ironhide didn't even see Will's friend, Sgt. Epps either.

Ironhide ran a scan on the building. Both men were still inside and the

scan he did on Will caused him to worry. Something was wrong. Hacking

into the network, he called the desk phone and was surprised when it was

answered by Epps instead of Will.

"Major Lennox's office. Sgt. Epps speaking."

"Epps, it's Ironhide. What has happened and why is Will hurt?" In the

background he heard Will yelling at Epps to hang up the damn phone but

Epps refused to do so.

"I'll bring him out…"

"The hell you will!" Lennox yelled at him again. Ironhide was really

getting worried now.

"What. Happened." Ironhide was done playing around. He wanted answers. Now.

"Some of the guys roughed him up a little," Epps explained quietly. "He

doesn't want to leave… least not with you right now. Why don't you let

me take him home?"

There was no answer at first and then Epps and Will both felt the

unmistakable rumble that meant Ironhide had transformed into his bipedal

mode. Will turned and glared at Epps.

"You idiot," he growled out angrily just before he turned and walked out

of his office and then out of the motor pool. Ironhide saw him exit and

knelt down to his level. He took in the bruised jaw, the black eye, the

blood that was trickling from the side of his mouth and his nose. He

shook his right arm, his cannon whirring and coming online.

"Where are they?" Ironhide asked quietly, but the tone of that voice was

enough to make Will shudder in fear. Epps walked up behind him and

stopped suddenly at the sight of Ironhide's cannon.

"No," Will told his guardian angrily. "You can not go after them."

"I beg to differ, Will," Ironhide stated calmly. "I will deal with those

responsible for harming you." Will stepped closer, resting one hand on

Ironhide's arm.

"No, Hide, you won't. Just… take me home. Please." Ironhide looked at

him a moment longer then sighed, retracting his cannon and moving back

into truck mode. Will looked at Epps then.

"There's an envelope in my desk drawer, Bobby. Make sure the CO gets it,

would you?" Epps nodded slowly, helping Will up into the Topkick. "Call

you soon." The door closed and Epps watched as Ironhide left the base

with Will safely inside of him once more.

The ride home was made mostly in silence while Ironhide planned ways to

get back at those who'd hurt Will. He'd silently commed Ratchet so the

medic was waiting at the Lennox house when Ironhide and Will arrived.

Will sighed heavily but offered no argument when the medic's holoform

came up to the truck and helped him out. The holoform walked into the

house with Will while Ironhide reverted back to bipedal mode, Ratchet

following suit.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked quietly. Ironhide slowly shook his head

and walked out further into the field. Ratchet followed him, staying a

few feet behind when Ironhide's cannons came online. The weapons

specialist was angry.

"Ironhide…" Ratchet began but the bigger and older mech didn't hear him…

he just fired a round into the ground in anger. A moment later, Will

came running out of the house, Ratchet's holoform following him.

"What the hell?" the soldier yelled angrily. He stalked across the dirt

road and towards Ironhide. "Get down here you stubborn son of a bitch

and listen to me!" he yelled angrily at his guardian. Ironhide turned,

retracting his cannons and kneeling so that he could look at the upset

human. "It happens, all right? No one… almost no one is going to

understand what we have but we'll deal with it, all right? But violence

isn't the way."

"They had no problem using violence to deal with you, Will," Ironhide

said quietly. "You're mine to protect…"

"We are not stooping to their level. Do you hear me?" Ironhide growled

angrily and Will stepped closer. "Ironhide…" he began, that warning tone

in his voice as he did so.

"Fine," Ironhide relented softly. "I will not… stoop to their level as

you say." Will nodded slowly.

"Thank you," he said quietly. Ironhide reached down and picked up the

human, bringing him closer to his chest. Will settled in his guardian's

hand for the moment, eyes closing as he tried to make the pounding in

his head stop. Ironhide looked at Ratchet.

"Let's get him back to base," the medic said quietly. "I can treat him

better there." Ironhide nodded.

"Go ahead. We'll be right behind you." Ratchet nodded, disengaging his

holoform and reverting back to alt mode. He drove away from the house as

Ironhide brought the hand holding Will up to eye level.

"I come to find that I do not like seeing you hurt, Lennox," Ironhide

admitted quietly. "I want the names of the ones responsible. I will turn

them over Keller myself."

"Sure, 'Hide," Will said quietly. "We'll talk about it later, all

right?" Ironhide nodded and set Will down as he transformed back into

Topkick mode. Will climbed inside and Ironhide pulled away from the house.

As they drove, Will fell asleep and Ironhide took the opportunity to put

his plan into action. Hacking into cell phone lines, he placed a call to

the one person he knew would be more than willing to help him.

"Sgt. Epps, it's Ironhide. I have a plan…"

*Chapter 2: Chapter 2*

/( continuing one from chapter 1)/

Ironhide's talk with Bobby Epps had lasted most of the trip from

Lennox's home into the Autobot Compound twenty miles away. Will Lennox

had managed to sleep that entire time and Ironhide was loathe to wake

him now that they had arrived. Ratchet's holoform came up to the

driver's side door and Ironhide gently shook the sleeping human inside

of him. The door opened and Ratchet put a hand on Will's arm, hoping to

wake him.

Will sat up and glanced at Ratchet, his gaze somewhat unfocused as

Ratchet helped him out of the cab so Ironhide could transform back into

bipedal mode. Ironhide picked up the human and followed Ratchet towards

the hangar that had been converted into an infirmary. Will said nothing

as they walked and Ironhide was beginning to worry about just how much

damage had been done to his human.

/Ratchet, he's not talking./

/Give him some time, Ironhide. His human colleagues beat him up because

they didn't understand his relationship with you. He's probably hurting

emotionally as much as he is physically. Just... give him time./

Ironhide held back the growl of anger not wishing to scare Will further.

Once they reached the infirmary, Ironhide set Will down on a table

gently and stepped back. Ratchet saw that Will was still not focusing

and began to fear the human was going into shock.

"Ironhide, get me a blanket and wrap it around him please." Ironhide did

as asked and returned a moment later with a small human sized blanket,

settling it around Will's shoulders. Will's hands came up, clutching the

blanket tightly. It was then that Ironhide noticed the soldier's hands

were shaking, albeit very lightly so. Ratchet noticed it too and turned

back to Ironhide.

"You can wait outside," he told the weapon's specialist. Ironhide would

have argued but he thought, perhaps, Will would open up and talk to

Ratchet if Ironhide weren't in the room. Brushing one finger tip along

Will's head gently, he turned and walked out of the infirmary. Ratchet

watched him go then brought out his holoform again to begin working on

Will's injuries.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" he asked gently as he began

cataloguing the injuries he found.

"Are you gonna tell Hide?" Will asked softly.

"Not unless you decide to let me at some point,"Ratchet assured him. "I

may not be human but I do hold to the patient/doctor confidentiality

agreement. Whatever you tell me stays in this room, Will. You have my

word." Will remained quiet for a few minutes as Ratchet moved back and

forth between his patient and his computer terminal.

"One of the newer soldiers in my unit had seen me talking with Sam and

Bumblebee one day. They saw Bee's holoform with Sam later on and didn't

approve of what had been going on apparently. The guy was making rude

comments and such and I wanted to shut him up. Told him if he went near

the kid or Bee again, I'd ship his ass overseas and he'd come back home

in a box. I shouldn't have said it, but I was pissed."

"And rightly so," Ratchet said, turning to face the human. "But, in

saying what you did, you opened yourself up for more scrutiny." Will

nodded slowly.

"When word got around base that Sara had taken our daughter and left me,

the rumors started. Everyone knows Ironhide... they know my truck is an

Autobot I mean. When Sara left me, people started making accusations

behind my back as to what had really driven her away." Ratchet stopped

and looked at Will for a moment.

"Why did she leave?" Will sighed heavily and looked down. He seemed

almost embarrased and yet, Ratchet picked up on a profound sense of

sadness from him as well. "Will?"

"She walked into the garage late one night when I was with Ironhide. She

didn't understand what she saw... didn't approve, so she took the baby

and left. I got the divorce papers in the mail yesterday. She refuses to

come back and I can only see my daughter under constant supervision."

Ratchet sighed softly and stepped closer to the human.

"Will, look at me, please." Will looked up slowly and Ratchet saw the

confusion and pain in his dark eyes. "It's none of my business what you

and Ironhide do or how you are involved with one another, but to see you

hurting so badly from this makes me wonder if you're certain this is the

life you want."

"I can't imagine my life without Ironhide in it," Will admitted softly.

"I just don't fully understand sometimes. Sam and Bee... Bee has a

holoform and that seems to make things more... normal for the two of

them, but I can't... Ironhide isn't human and I think that is what I

lo...like most about him." Ratchet had caught the slip but wouldn't call

Will on it just yet. "There are so many things I can learn about him...

things he seems to enjoy letting me learn. To hell with anyone who can't

accept it or understand it. I don't answer to them." Ratchet nodded,

deciding the answer spoke for itself.

He finished patching up the human in front of him in silence and Will

began to feel the pounding in his head again and moaned softly from the

pain of it. Ratchet quickly looked at him, gaze narrowing slightly.

"The pain is in your head?" he asked quietly. Will nodded slowly.

"And in my back, my face, my legs..." he trailed off and looked away,

unwilling to say anything further. Ratchet's gaze narrowed even more but

he said nothing.

"I'll give you some pain meds in a moment," he answered turning back to

his work. Will nodded and said nothing more. When Ratchet was done he

stood and moved to another part of the room before coming back with a

cup of water in one hand and three pills in the other. Will took the

pills and looked up at the medic.

"One is an anti-biotic, one is for pain and one is for anxiety so that,

hopefully, you'll be able to go home and sleep once I release you back

to Ironhide." Will nodded slowly and quickly downed the pills and the

water. Ratchet nodded and took the cup from him. "Rest here for a few

minutes while I got talk to Ironhide." Will nodded again and lay down on

the table, eyes closing as he did so. Ratchet watched him for a moment

then walked out of the hanger looking for Ironhide.

He didn't have to look for as the black mech wasn't about to leave Will

unattended for very long. He saw the medic approaching him and moved to

meet him half way.

"How is he?" he asked with a quick gaze past Ratchet towards the infirmary.

"He's going to be sore for several days. I've given him some medicine to

help with the pain for now. You can take him home or keep him here,

doesn't matter to me, but I want to see him again tomorrow morning. He

needs to rest though, so if you can keep him here, you can stay with him

while he does so." Ironhide nodded and looked at the medic closely.

"What aren't you telling me?" he asked slowly, cautiously.

"I think he's been hurt worse than he's telling us," Ratchet finally

said softly. "I won't do another scan. I don't want to invade his

privacy in that way so you need to keep a close watch over him tonight,

Ironhide. I'm serious. It's part of why I want to see him again

tomorrow. Maybe he'll be more willing to talk then."

"Understood. Can I go get him now?"

"Yes. Like I said, I've given him some meds. He'll be asleep in no

time." Ironhide nodded once and headed for the infirmary. Will heard him

approach and slowly opened his eyes, looking up at his guardian and friend.

"Tired," he whispered softly as Ironhide reached down to pick him up as

gently as possible.

"I know. We'll stay here for tonight. You can sleep in my quarters and

that way I can keep an eye on you." Will nodded, too drugged to argue

and Ironhide turned, heading for the other side of the base where the

living quarters had been set up.

Inside Ironhide's quarters, the mech lowered the lights and moved

himself and Will towards his bunk. Lying down, he shifted enough that

Will could lay against his chest and not be uncomfortable. Will had kept

hold of the blanket from the infirmary and Ironhide now tucked it around

the human, holding him, one hand securing the human against his chest

plates.

"Sleep, Will," he whispered softly. "I'll keep you safe."

"I know," Will answered just before slipping into sleep. Ironhide lay

there, listening to him breathe, feeling the small hands of the soldier

against his chest plates, his own larger hand resting against Will's

back, hoping to impart some sense of safety to the man before his optics

dimmed and he let himself slip into a very light recharge.

Sgt. Bobby Epps stood in front of his CO's desk and handed him the

envelope Will had said he would find in the Ranger's desk. The CO opened

the envelope and looked at the letter inside. After a moment he looked

up at the black man and gave him a questioning glance.

"What the hell has happened?" he asked angrily.

"They worked him over good, General," Epps said quietly. "I think he

means it... he's ready to retire if he's allowed to do so. With all he's

been through, Sir, I don't see why not... except he's the best damn

commander I've ever worked under and I don't want him run off by some

homophobic, sniveling brat soldiers who have no idea what all Lennox has

done for this country, hell for this world, just because they don't want

to understand that he trusts the Autobots with his life... and his soul

if necessary." The General nodded slowly.

"I want names, Sargent. And I want them as soon as possible."

"Understood, General. And Sir, when you have the time later one this

week, Lennox's guardian would like a word with you as well." The General

nodded slowly.

"I'm sure that can be arranged..."

*Chapter 3: Chapter 3*

Ironhide's optics onlined at the sounds coming from his human and he

shifted, resting his hand over the soldier's body as Will squirmed and

whimpered in his sleep. When Ironhide gently pressed one finger along

the human's back, Will cried out and woke, scrambling off the weapon's

specialist and plastering himself back against the nearest wall,

trembling badly. Ironhide slowly sat up, watching him, a quick bio scan

telling him that Will's heart rate was too high, his blood pressure low

and …. /son of a glitch. I'll kill them myself…/

/Ratchet… I need you in my room pronto./

/On my way./

Ironhide held one hand out to Will slowly but it was almost as if Will

was looking right through him. Ironhide moved very slowly until he was

kneeling on the floor, bringing himself eye level with the soldier. He

didn't dare touch Lennox but stayed there as still and calm as he could

be. The door to his quarters opened and Ratchet stepped in slowly,

noting the tension in the room.

/What happened?/ the medic asked through the comm channels.

/He was asleep one minute and awake and like this the next. Ratchet, I

did another scan. He's got internal bleeding. Not much, but enough that

it's affected his heart rate and blood pressure./

/I was afraid of that,/ Ratchet said quietly as he drew closer to them,

letting his holoform come out so that he wouldn't make Will feel as if

he were trapped.

"Will?" the holoform said quietly. Will didn't move or answer and

Ratchet figured he was still half asleep or that he had gone into shock

once again. "Ironhide, pick him up as gently as possible and lets get

him back into the med bay." Ironhide reached out slowly and brought Will

into his hand. The soldier didn't even struggle which worried Ironhide

even more. Standing, he brought Will to his chest as Ratchet disengaged

the holoform and led them back to the infirmary.

Inside the infirmary, Ironhide gently set Will on a bunk as Ratchet

began setting up monitors and did his own scans as well, muttering

curses under his breath as he did so. Ironhide knew what he meant and

his own anger grew as he watched the monitors, seeing everything Ratchet

was now finding in his latest scan. Finally, Ratchet administered a

sedative and a pain killer to the soldier and then began setting up a

blood transfusion for him.

"I have to replace the blood he's lost. Granted, it's not a whole lot,

but I want to get his vitals back up to more healthy levels." Ironhide

nodded slowly. "Ironhide, listen to me," Ratchet said, turning to face

his friend. Ironhide looked at him and Ratchet saw the darkness in those

blue optics and it truly scared him. "You can not go after these humans,

Ironhide. We have to let their laws deal with them."

"You really expect me to stand back and do nothing, Ratchet? They hurt

the human I am sworn to guard and protect."

"Yes, and they hurt the person you love. And you can not react out of

rage born from that realization. We will tell Prime what has happened.

Tell Sgt. Epps what we've found. Let him go to their officers. But do

not let yourself sink to their level." Ironhide nodded slowly and

Ratchet waited until he saw some of the rage leave the older mech before

nodding slowly and turning back to Will.

"I'll be right back," Ironhide said before ducking out of the infirmary

and tapping into the phone lines to call Sgt. Epps.

Robert Epps was sitting outside on his back deck, unable to sleep, upset

about what all had happened to Lennox and worried about what Ironhide

was going to do in retalliation for that attack. In his driveway, the

newly repaired Jazz sat in recharge. Jazz and the young Sgt. seemed to

have more in common than the others realized, even if one was enlisted

and the other an officer…

He was startled when his cell phone rang and quickly answered it, not

wanting the sound to wake the sleeping Autobot.

"Epps."

"Sgt. It's Ironhide."

"How's Lennox?"

"Not good, Epps. Wake Jazz and have him bring you to base."

"Understood. Be there soon." Hanging up from the call, Bobby walked back

into the house, got dressed and walked out to the driveway. "Jazz?" The

Solstice came online and the driver's side door opened. "We need to head

back to base. Ironhide just called."

"Lennox?"

"Yeah." Jazz said nothing more as he pulled away from the house and

headed back to base…

(two hours later)

Jazz left the Autobot base taking Epps with him to the airbase where

Epps and Lennox had been serving. Epps had, in his hands, all of

Ratchet's findings and a written explanation of what had happened from

Lennox. That had been hard; watching his friend break down into tears

trying to tell them what had happened. Epps had known the men had beat

up Lennox, but he would have never suspected… he shivered…

"You okay?" Jazz's voice came through the car as the heater came on to

warm the human.

"Yeah, just worried about Lennox."

"He's a good man," Jazz answered. "Ironhide'll take care of him, man.

Not to worry." Epps nodded slowly.

"Yeah… I know…"

On the Autobot base, Ratchet and Prime had left the room, leaving

Ironhide alone with Will who was still sitting at a table, head into his

hands, body still shaking slightly from what he'd just told them and

then written out. Ironhide watched him carefully and brushed one finger

along the human's back softly. At least Will didn't flinch this time.

They sat there like that for several long, quite minutes before Will

finally raised his head to look at his guardian.

"I don't think I can go back to the house," he said quietly. Ironhide

nodded slowly.

"Then you'll stay here with me," he answered. Ironhide held out his hand

and Will slid from the chair into that offered hand and Ironhide stood,

bringing Will to his chest as he did so. "I swear to you on my very

spark, Will Lennox, that I will never allow anyone to ever hurt you again."

"I know, 'Hide," he whispered softly, leaning against the black mech's

chest plates, feeling the warmth of Ironhide's spark beneath. "Just… no

more today, please? I can't do this anymore right now. Can we just… go

someplace quiet?"

"Whatever you want," Ironhide told him, moving outside and setting Will

down, transforming into his alt mode, the driver's side door opening.

Will climbed inside and they headed off towards the lookout. On the

other side of the buildings, Prime and Ratchet watched them go and the

leader sighed heavily.

"This is going to take them both some time to heal from," he said

quietly. Ratchet nodded slowly.

"I know it will but at least Ironhide is willing to put his energy into

helping Will instead of killing the people responsible for hurting him."

"That's something to be thankful for at least," Prime replied. "Let me

know when they return."

"Of course." Prime nodded and turned, walking away from the medic.

Ratchet watched a moment longer then turned and walked back inside the

infirmary…

*Chapter 4: Chapter 4*

/

Ironhide drove out into the desert as Will Lennox leaned back in the

passenger's seat and just let the Autobot drive. They rode in silence

but Ironhide was actively scanning his human's vital signs as they

continued on further away from base. The weapon's specialist finally

stopped near a small canyon and Will stepped out of the truck so that

Ironhide could transform. Neither of them said anything as Ironhide sat

down on the ground and Will moved to crawl up into his lap. From there,

Ironhide held out his hand and Will moved onto the mech's shoulder.

"You did not tell me everything they had done to you," Ironhide said

quietly. "I can only assume then that you did not give Sgt. Epps the

full story either."

"It's not something I could just come out and tell," Will said quietly.

"It's… I'm not sure you'd understand, 'Hide."

"When I was on Cybertron, just after the war began, there were

Decepticons who would stoop to any and every level in order to torture

and humiliate Autobots and Neutrals. Rape was common in their plans of

torture. Mostly, they went after other mechs instead of femmes because

the humiliation felt by a mech was more than that felt by a femme. Not

that I am downplaying anything that the femme might have gone through or

felt, but most mech's took the rapes harder. Suicide among our mechs was

double that of our femmes during those times."

"What happened? I mean, did it ever stop?" Ironhide nodded slowly.

"Megatron might be evil but, the one thing he would never sanction was

the rape of another Cybertronian. It was as appalling to him as it was

to Prime. They made a joint decree that anyone found to be guilty of it

would be executed immediately."

"I'd kill them if I could," Will whispered softly. Ironhide nodded slowly.

"As would I, Will Lennox. As would I. But we both know that is not a

possibility so we must focus on your healing instead." Will leaned

against the side of Ironhide's face. The cool metal felt good against

his warm, flushed skin.

"I feel… damaged," he whispered as tears fell from his eyes. "I close my

eyes and I still feel their hands on me, I can still hear them and smell

them. I don't know if… I'm not sure that will ever go away."

"You are not damaged, Will," Ironhide said softly. "Injured, yes, but

never damaged. You are strong. You will survive. I will do everything I

can to help you so please, do not be afraid to come to me. I would mourn

your loss as surely as I would mourn the loss of my own kind." Will

nodded and they sat there until it grew dark and Will grew tired once

more. Picking up the exhaustion from his human Ironhide lowered Will to

the ground and returned to alt mode. "Come. It's time to get back…"

Prime was waiting for them when they returned. Will stepped out of the

cab and Ironhide quickly transformed back into bipedal mode, giving his

leader a quick, cursory glance before kneeling next to Will.

"Can you find your way back to my quarters?" he asked quietly. Will

nodded and turned, headed in that direction. Ironhide watched him go

then stood and turned to face Prime. "Everything okay?"

"Secretary Keller called while you were out," Prime said softly,

watching Will walk away then turning his attention back to Ironhide.

"Epps and another member of Lennox's team found the men responsible for

the attack and they have been turned over to the proper authorities.

Lennox will need to be taken to base tomorrow so that he can identify

the men and make his formal report to his commanding officer. Keller

also informed me that on the day of the attack, before leaving with you,

Lennox wrote out a letter of resignation." Ironhide sighed heavily.

"He believes himself to be damaged, Optimus. I tried to tell him that he

was too strong. That he would be all right in time. I'm not sure he

believed my words but I can only hope he'll listen and come to me if he

needs to talk. As for him resigning, I don't know if there is much I can

do about that." Prime nodded slowly.

"Keller suggested merely putting him on medical leave for a while and

seeing if he changes his mind. He certainly has enough leave time

according to his CO. Maybe we can even find a liaison position for him

here with us. For now, I leave him in your care. You'll go with him

tomorrow?"

"I have no plans to let him out of my sight anytime soon," Ironhide

replied adamantly. Prime nodded, laying a hand on the officer's shoulder.

"Don't try to take everything on yourself, old friend. Call for help if

it is needed."

"I will, Prime. Thank you." Prime nodded and turned, slowly walking

away. Ironhide watched him go then moved to track down his human

partner. He found Will already asleep on the bunk when he got back to

his quarters. Ironhide dimmed the lights in the room and gently shifted

Will so that he could lie down and settle Will on his chest plates,

pulling the blanket back around the human once more.

/The next day/

Will was certain of two things: He did NOT want to see the men who'd

attacked him and he didn't want to see his CO. Ironhide, however, hadn't

really given him a choice. And Will knew, intellectually, that Ironhide

was right. This had to be done or it would never be over. And Will

wanted it over with as soon as possible.

They drove onto base and stopped near one of the first office buildings

they came too. Epps was waiting for them and helped Will out of the

truck as Ironhide settled into the parking lot. Today he would use his

holoform as he had no plans on leaving his partner alone. The holoform

emerged, dressed in an all black, military styled uniform complete with

Cybertronian rank and his Autobot insignia. Ironhide's holoform had blue

eyes and short black hair. His skin was almost caramel colored, as if

he'd spent too long in the sun and the tan had become permanent. Will

nodded his approval and the three walked into the building.

They were met by General Davis who patted Will on the shoulder and

nodded slowly.

"Thank you for coming down here, Major," he said quietly. "I know this

cannot be easy on you."

"No, Sir," Will replied softly. "But the sooner I get this done the

sooner it can be over with." Davis nodded and turned to Ironhide's holoform.

"And you must be Autobot Ironhide," he said, holding out his hand.

Ironhide nodded and shook Davis' hand.

"Just Ironhide is fine," he replied. Davis nodded and turned, leading

the men into a nearby office…

Two hours later, Will had identified the men brought in and had written

out his formal complaint. He had also endured forty-five minutes of

questioning from military lawyers and CID officers. Finally, they were

letting him leave and Ironhide could already sense the human's

exhaustion. Epps walked with them out to the Topkick and Will stopped,

leaning against Ironhide's frame. Epps came up behind him and rested a

hand on Will's back.

"Listen, man. What you just did in there was hard, I know that, but you

did the right thing and they are gonna pay for what they did to you." A

silver Solstice pulled up near them and Jazz's holoform emerged to join

them. Dressed like Ironhide, Jazz's skin tone was dark, almost like

mahogany and his blue eyes were brighter than Ironhide's.

"Thanks, Epps," Will said softly. Jazz looked at Ironhide who shook his

head slowly. Jazz walked over to Will and dropped a hand on the Major's

arm. Will looked up slowly.

"Listen, Will, you might not ever want to, but if you need to talk to

someone who's been where you are, buzz me and you an' me will go hang

out and just talk or blow off steam, all right?" Will frowned slightly

and turned his full attention to the Autobot lieutenant.

"What do you… you mean you were…"

"Yeah," Jazz said quietly. "I was caught on a mission that went bad and

bein' captured wasn't any easier I can promise you. Took me a long time

to learn how to let it go and I almost took my own life twice cause of

it. Don't let it get that bad for ya. You talk to 'Hide or you call me

an' I promise, we'll listen. But you ain't gotta do it alone. Just

needed you to know that." Will nodded slowly as Jazz backed away towards

Epps. The Tech Sgt. looked at the lieutenant for a moment then nodded

slowly and turned back as Will climbed into the driver's seat of the

Topkick and Ironhide's holoform faded back into his protoform.

The Topkick drove away and Epps turned to Jazz slowly.

"You never told me that," he said quietly. Jazz looked over at him and

nodded slowly.

"I know," he answered. "It's been so long that it really don't bother me

anymore but I thought maybe Lennox might need to talk to someone's who's

been through it. I know it would've made things easier for me if I'd had

someone to talk to who understand what I felt and why." Epps nodded

slowly as they walked to the Solstice. "Doesn't change anything, does

it?" Epps shook his head and dropped a hand on the back of Jazz's neck.

"Not a thing," he answered quietly.

"Did you know… about Jazz?" Will asked as they drove back to base.

"Yeah," Ironhide said quietly. "I was the one who found him when it was

all over and done with. I was also the one who found him the last time

he tried to kill himself, too."

"What about his… team or his partner?" Ironhide slowed his speed a

little and his engine growled just a little.

"His team was dead by the time we recovered Jazz and his bondmate,

Prowl, had felt everything Jazz had been put through during his

captivity. To save Prowl, Prime had to put him in stasis until Jazz

could be brought home and repaired. The two times Jazz tried to kill

himself almost killed Prowl as well. There were a lot of 'bots who

wondered why Prowl stayed bonded to him. Jazz was angry all the time,

suicidal, dangerous, to everyone. But Prowl never backed down."

"And now?" Will asked softly.

"What do you mean?"

"Where is Prowl now? Why isn't he here or did they go their separate

ways after all?"

"We hope Prowl is alive and on his way to us in the Ark transport that

left Cybertron not long after we did. He stayed behind to give us four a

chance to leave. Jazz came, knowing full well he might not ever see

Prowl again and Prowl stayed, knowing the same thing. I think, though,

if Prowl were dead, Jazz would know." Will nodded slowly and leaned

back, quiet for a few moments. As they reached the outer perimeter of

the Autobot base, Will reached out and brushed his hand along Ironhide's

dashboard. Ironhide slowed to a stop.

"And what about you?" Will asked softly.

"I belong with you, Will Lennox; just as I am sure you belong with me.

And nothing will make me feel any differently. I will guard you with my

life and protect you as if you were my own bondmate. And what has

happened to you does not change any of that. I give you my word."

"Thank you, 'Hide," he said quietly. Ironhide drove the rest of the way

to the base and Will slid out of the Topkick, allowing Hide to transform

back into bipedal mode once more. With a quick glance around the area,

the two headed off to the rec room for energon and food and hopefully a

peaceful afternoon.

*Chapter 5: Chapter 5*

/(One month later)/

"I think Ironhide's afraid of me now," Will said quietly as he walked

along the backside of the Autobot compound with Jazz's holoform.

"Why'd you think that?" the lieutenant asked him quietly. "Ironhide

ain't afraid of nothin' and no one."

"He won't come near me," Will continued just as quietly. "I mean, we

share quarters and I sleep on top of his mech form. He keeps his hand

just above me while I sleep but… other than that? There's nothing." Jazz

sighed softly. Primus but he remembered this phase of things with Prowl…

"Prowl had a hard time reconnecting with me after the rape," Jazz began

softly. "For awhile it was because I didn't want to be touched so I kept

pushing him away. Then, when I thought I was ready for it, he held back.

I spent a whole lotta time thinkin' he was mad at me for what'd happened."

"Was he?" Will asked, stopping and turning to look at the holoform.

"Mad at me?" Jazz asked. "Nah. He didn't have any reason to be. Not like

I could've stopped what was happenin' to me he sure as hell couldn't

have done anything about it at the time. Course, I didn't know all that

at the time, so, I thought he was mad at me for not doin' more to keep

it from happenin."

"I'm mad at myself for letting it happen," Will replied as he looked

away. "And there is some… irrationally part of me that's even mad at

Ironhide for letting it happen." Jazz nodded slowly.

"And why is that?"

"Well… I mean because… damnit! He was there! How could he have not

picked up what was happening to me? He's supposed to be my guardian!"

Will was yelling and he lashed out, hitting his fist against the side of

the building nearest to where they stood. Jazz moved and grabbed him

gently, trying to keep him from harming himself too much. Ah yes… he

remembered this stage as well…

"I went almost a vorn hating Prowl for not finding me sooner. I blamed

him for sending me on that mission. But it wasn't his fault, anymore

than it's Ironhide's. And it wasn't my fault I got caught anymore than

it's your fault that you got hurt. Ironhide won't touch you because he's

afraid you won't let him. He worries that you will keep up these walls

you've built 'round yourself and you won't let him back in again." Will

stopped fighting and turned to face Jazz.

"I feel… damaged," he whispered softly.

"I know," Jazz answered.

"I can't get the feel of their hands off of me."

"I know."

"I can't stop the nightmares or the daytime ones either."

"I know."

"When will it end, Jazz? When can I just go back to being normal again?"

"You can't," Jazz whispered softly. "Because there is no going back from

something like this. You can only go forward…"

Ironhide walked into the infirmary to find Ratchet patching up Will's

hand and watched his human friend carefully. Will wouldn't look at him

and Ironhide wondered what had gone wrong now. Ratchet finished up then

handed Will a small cup with three pills and a bottle of water. Will

took the pills and downed them with some of the water and Ratchet nodded

slowly.

"I want you back in here to see me tomorrow if that swelling doesn't go

down over night."

"Sure thing, Ratchet," Will answered quietly before looking up at

Ironhide. Ratchet turned and glanced at the weapons specialist as well.

Ironhide turned his attention to the medic.

"Prime says we've got three pods headed in. He wants you to join him and

Bumblebee just in case anyone's injured or needs assistance." Ratchet

nodded.

"Thanks, 'Hide. See you too later. Play nice." Ratchet walked out and

Ironhide knelt down so Will wouldn't have to keep looking up at him.

"What happened?" he asked softly, reaching out to brush the tip of a

finger against Will's bandaged hand.

"I got angry," Will answered quietly. "Jazz stopped me from doing

anymore damage to the building or my hand."

"Jazz is good at that."

"Yeah," Will answered with a soft chuckle. "Ironhide, can I ask you

something?"

"Of course, Will."

"Are you mad at me because this happened?"

"Why would I be? You had no control over the situation. If anything, you

should be angry at me for not knowing what was happening…"

"I was at first," Will admitted quietly, looking down at the floor. "But

Jazz helped me realize that none of this is my fault or your fault. I

can't keep blaming people who don't deserve to be blamed. I have to

blame the people who did this to me or I won't be able to let it go."

Ironhide nodded slowly.

"And can you?" he asked quietly. Will looked up slowly. "Can you let it go?"

"I want to… I can try, but I can't promise anything." Ironhide nodded in

understanding. " Why won't you touch me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know… touch? You let me sleep with you but you won't touch me.

Why?" Ironhide sighed heavily and looked away for a moment.

"I think perhaps it has to do with having seen you so hurt," he answered

slowly. "I see the kind of hatred and pain humans are capable of

inflicting on other humans and I am afraid of hurting you." Will reached

out and placed his hand over Ironhide's. The weapons specialist looked

at him intently.

"You cannot hurt me, 'Hide. I trust you. I don't… when you don't touch

me, it makes me think I'm somehow damaged goods or that you only see

what happened to me… that you don't see the real me anymore."

"I promise to work on touching you more," Ironhide answered with a quick

smirk. Will laughed softly and shook his head.

"I look forward to that." He slid off the exam table and stretched,

yawning as he did so. "Come on, 'Hide. Let's go home and see if we can't

start putting all of this behind us and moving forward with our lives…"

"So… that is Ironhide's human."

"Yeah. Will Lennox. He's a good guy."

"If Ironhide has become his guardian, then I have no reason to doubt

your assessment. I read in the base logs that he was recently injured. I

trust he is healing well?"

"Well as he can seein' as how he was raped by men he thought were his

friends, people he trusted at work an' all."

"You have been helping him." It wasn't a question…

"How could I not? He was losin' himself and I didn't wanna see him lose

ol' 'Hide. They're good for each other. He's movin' along a whole lot

faster than I did for sure."

"Things were different for you. There really was no one for you to talk

to about what had happened, at least not anyone who had been through it

all."

"I know, but we still managed to get through it, man."

"Yes, we did. And so will they. Of that I have no doubt."

Jazz turned and pressed a kiss to Prowl's mouth and pulled the newly

arrived sub commander closer, holding on to him tightly. In the

distance, Ironhide sat on the ground, Will resting in 'Hide's hand near

the dark mech's chest plates. Prowl nodded to himself. Yes… Ironhide and

Will Lennox would be able to get through this, just as Prowl and Jazz

had made it through. After all, that which does not kill merely makes

you stronger.

/finis/