Author's note. This story was written by Prowlsgirl as a gift to me and was originally posted on her page. But due to certain reasons, she was forced to delete it and has allowed me to report it instead. We both hope you like it.

Warning for violence and rape.

Enjoy and please review.

Ironhide glared at the bars that dared to imprison him. He hated that he was captured by the Decepticons. Hated it because it made him feel so weak to be behind bars, weak and restrained. The doors opened and Ironhide stood, expecting the 'Cons that came through it would be Pit-bent on teasing him, but was surprised to see that they were carrying a wounded looking Starscream.

Ironhide frowned as the brig was opened and jumped back as the seeker was thrown roughly onto the floor.

"Enjoy your company, Autobot," sneered one of the mechs that had brought in the seeker.

The two Decepticons left, chuckling to themselves all the while.

Ironhide stared down at the unconscious seeker, the latter obviously having been beaten, and felt actual pity for the Decepticon. After debating with himself a good five minutes, Ironhide sighed and knelt down, unsubspacing a basic repair kit and setting to work at the seeker's wounds.

He was just sealing up a rather large slice across Starscream's left wing when the red flier woke up. He grumbled and turned his head away from Ironhide, not on-lining his optics.

"Ow! Careful Hook!" Starscream snapped after a few more minutes of repairs. "My wings are sensitive you no good son of a…"

The seeker trailed off as he saw who was repairing him. Immediately he shoved the Autobot away and scooted back, his red optics wary and full of pain.

"What the frag are you doing here, Autobot?" Starscream spat, his optics glowing darkly.

Ironhide arched an optic ridge. "Ah'm yer prisoner. Ah'm supposed ter be in the brig. What're you doin' here?"

Starscream looked around the room for the first time, his optics flashing in fear. "Frag it! Not again!"

The Decepticon turned his glare back onto the red Autobot. "This is all your fault!"

"Mah fault?" Ironhide asked in surprise. "Mah fault? How in the universe is this mah fault? Ah been in here the whole time!"

"It's your fault!" Starscream shouted. "It's all your fault!" The mech was beginning to sound hysterical. "I can't take another beating like that! I can't! That's the only reason he ever sends me here! To beat me!"

"Hey now! Take it easy, Starscream!" Ironhide said as he tried to calm the mech down. His efforts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

"I suggest you get away from him, Autobot," Megatron snarled from behind the red mech. Ironhide spun around to see a very angry Megatron.

"What're you doin' here?" the red mech asked warily.

"I'm here to punish my soldier," Megatron stated coldly, shoving Ironhide down on the floor and towering above the seeker cowering on the floor.

"Lord Megatron…please," Starscream whimpered, grovelling on his knees.

"Shut up!" Megatron snarled, back handing Starscream painfully. "You never learn, do you? You just can't remain loyal to me, can you?" Megatron asked coldly. The silver mech's optics flared when Starscream sneered defiantly, hiding his feelings with the mask of arrogance.

"That's it, you insolent pest! You will learn to obey me!"

Megatron snatched Starscream around the neck and threw him violently on the ground, the seeker landing on his stomach. The red flier tried to push himself up, but Megatron shoved him back down and straddled his upper thighs. Starscream started to scream when the silver mech tore his codpiece off. Ironhide's optics widened in realization and he hurried over, trying to shove the warlord off.

"Ya can't do this!" Ironhide shouted as he tugged on the mech. "This just ain't right!"

Megatron reached up and easily broke the mech's arm, causing Ironhide to yell and backtrack. "Starscream is my soldier and I can punish him the way I choose!"

Ironhide had to try again, despite the fact that his arm was throbbing painfully. He just couldn't let Megatron rape Starscream without a fight, and since the red flier was too weak from his beating to do anything, Ironhide would for him. The gruff mech pushed himself up and tackled the silver warlord.

Megatron, who'd expected Ironhide to have given up, was so surprised that he let go of the whimpering seeker and was thrown across the room. Ironhide crouched protectively in front of Starscream, a growl leaving his vocalizer.

"Ah told ya it ain't right!" he hissed.

"And I told you that he's my soldier to punish," Megatron snapped. "And if I have to take you down to punish him, then so be it!"

Megatron lunged and they met with the sound of metal scraping metal. The red mech used the silver one's momentum to launch him over his head, causing the warlord to hit the wall with a dull thud. He was up a second later, charging Ironhide with a fearsome growl.

The red mech took the brunt of the impact on his broken arm, which was no doubt Megatron's intentions, and he suddenly found that he couldn't move his arm at all. Even with one arm completely immobile, Ironhide didn't give up, which seemed to impress the Decepticon leader.

"You'd make a fine Decepticon, Ironhide," he purred in a persuasive voice. "You can outfight almost all the mechs in my army, no matter your injuries. I've seen you on the battlefield, and you fight like no other Autobot I've ever fought, or had the privilege to see fight. You fight like a Decepticon! I could give you a place here in our ranks if that's what you want. Just say the word and you'll be in.

If there was one thing Ironhide knew, it was that the Decepticons would never accept him. He'd killed some of their best soldiers and that made him scum in their optics. Besides, Optimus Prime had been a close personal friend of his for years. He was not going to betray him now.

"Y'all can keep dreamin', Megacreep! Ah'll never join yer army!"

"Wrong answer, Autobot!" the silver tyrant spat.

Ironhide was knocked off his feet in a flash and found himself being violently beaten. He could feel every heavy blow that Megatron threw at him, yet could do nothing to stop him. After what seemed like ages, Megatron moved away from the bloodied mech and walked back over to the cowering seeker. Starscream was thrown back down on the floor on his stomach, his legs spread obscenely.

Ironhide felt so helpless as he watched Megatron line up and thrust into Starscream's unprepared port. The red seeker was writhing in pain and screaming as loud as he could already, and it only got worse as Megatron continued to move. Tears streaked down the flier's face, pale from the pain, and glazed red optics looked up pleadingly at Ironhide.

Ironhide shifted his position to where he lay almost perpendicular to the seeker and reached over, twining his fingers with Starscream's. He kept his blue optics locked on the red ones, squeezing the tense mech's fingers and offering the only comfort he could: his presence, all the while wishing he had more to give to the distressed Decepticon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been weeks since the fateful incident and Ironhide was still haunted by the pain and humiliation in those red optics. Both Ratchet and Optimus had noticed a change in the mech's attitude since his imprisonment, but they couldn't get him to tell them what was wrong. Ironhide was driving out in the desert to get away from the questions when he heard a noise.

Somebody was crying.

The red mech stopped and transformed, heading towards the noise. He was surprised to see Starscream curled up behind a rock, crying. Ironhide knelt
down next to him and placed a gentle hand on the mech's shoulder. Starscream jerked his head up and, at the sight of Ironhide, threw himself into his arms.

"He-he did it again! He r-r-raped me again!" Starscream sobbed.

Ironhide said the only thing he could. "Ah'm sorry," he whispered then repeated it again and again.

Starscream cried himself out on Ironhide's shoulder before falling into an uneasy sleep. That's how Optimus and Ratchet found them an hour later.

They both transformed and stared in shock at the sight of the Decepticon second in command curled up against Ironhide. The red mech looked up at them, his blue optics showing the haunted look he'd worn since he'd gotten out of the Decepticon prison.

"Don't send him back, Prime," Ironhide begged quietly. "He'll destroy him."

"What happened Ironhide? Why are you so…like this?" Ratchet asked, kneeling down and peering anxiously into his old friend's face, Optimus dropping beside him a moment later.

"Megatron raped him. He raped him right in front of me and Ah couldn't do a fraggin' thing," Ironhide whispered. "Ah held his hand while it happened. Ah held his hand and looked in his optics as he was raped. Ye just can't send him back ta that madmech. He'll destroy him."

Optimus looked into Ironhide's optics and nodded. "Ratchet, transform into vehicle mode." When the medic had obeyed Optimus helped Ironhide pick the Decepticon flier up and gently placed him into the back of Ratchet's alt mode. "Now let's get him back to base for treatment."

As Ironhide transformed and drove away with Optimus and Ratchet, he swore to himself that he would fight with everything he had to make sure he never saw that look in those, or any, optics again. He would never again be so helpless.

Author's note. I hope you all enjoyed that, please let the author know if you did.