In my other Transformers story, You Have Found a Home, in chapter 26, Ratchet mentioned something unpleasant that happened to Ironhide. This is the full story. (You don't have to read the other story for this one to make sense).

This story's got a bit of humor, some fluff, and quite a bit pair interaction. (Nothing explicit, mostly fluff). It's fun, but it's got some serious parts, too.

Chapter 1

Sensors

Weapons Specialist Ironhide had been sitting in a grocery-store parking-lot for thirty-nine minutes. It was not the most fitting place for an ancient Autobot warrior, but he had his reasons. Good reasons, three of them, and their names all ended in "Lennox."

Major William Lennox he saw almost every day, of course, on NEST Base; however, it was not every day that Sarah and Annabelle, Will's wife and daughter, came to visit. Sarah had desired to go on a shopping trip, despite the fact that there were plenty supplies at the base. Ironhide understood, though, that human's bonded with each other on shopping trips. He wanted them to have that time together, and he wanted them to be safe while they enjoyed it. Thus he'd insisted on being their escort on their little spree.

Forty minutes of sitting in a parking-lot wasn't his favorite thing. But he was loyal. He scanned the area again, ensuring that it was still safe. Decepticon activity had been down, but he had to ever be on guard.

The Lennox's emerged from the store, bearing their bags of purchases. Instinctively, Ironhide scanned the bags. Decepticons could plant little devices anywhere; he couldn't be too careful. The contents seemed to be just fine. Mostly plastics and a little metal appeared on his readings, as well as some paper. The scan of the final four bags disturbed him however. It revealed high amounts of sugars and corn syrups, oils and acids. And it was long:

Baking powder, baking soda, bee's wax, BHT, Blue 1 Lake, Blue 2 Lake, brown sugar, calcium sterate, carnauba wax, cellophane, cellulose gum, chocolate, citric acid, cocoa butter, confectioner's glaze, corn syrup, cornstarch, dextrose, egg whites, expeller pressed palm fruit oil, folic acid, fumaric acid, glycerin, gum Arabic, honey, lactic acid, lactose, malic acid, malted barley flour, milk fat, milk, mineral oil, molasses, niacin, nonfat milk, paper, peanuts, pectin, PGPR, plastic, pure vanilla extract, Red 40 Lake, reduced iron, riboflavin, salt, sodium citrate, soy lecithin, sugar, TBHQ, thiamine mononitrate, titanium dioxide, vanillin, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake…

'Candy.' Ironhide identified. 'Lots of candy. I'll never thoroughly understand why humans ingest so many harmful things… but they're free moral agencies, - and Prowl has a rule about letting them eat what they want to eat- so I can't dictate what they eat. But still!' He growled a little bit in his inner-workings about the candy. He didn't like it.

Annabelle bounced the last few steps to pat his running board and hug his fender. Will Lennox opened doors, and his ladies got in.

"Why so much candy, William Lennox?" Ironhide demanded once the humans were buckled in and he was on the road.

"We have some friends back at the base who would like a little treat." Will answered. And by the intonation, Ironhide knew that the man meant, 'Sarah suggested it and I thought it would be fine.'

Ironhide blew a puff of hot air through his AC vents to display his displeasure, and Will patted him comfortingly on the console. "Don't worry about it, 'Hide. It's not much."

"WHEEE!" Annabelle squealed, jerking a bag, and candy flew all over the back seat. Ironhide flinched. "Uh-oh…" she giggled.

"Oh, Annabelle! What a mess…" Sarah's concern for the untidiness was nothing compared to Ironhide's sensors' concern.

[*Warning*] [*Warning: foreign object…*] [*Warning*] [*Warning: foreign object…*] [*Warning*] [*Warning: foreign object…*]

His sensor arrays flickered and flashed and yelled at him. He kept acknowledging the warnings, but every time a piece of candy moved, being jarred by his movements on the road, it would trigger more warnings.

[*Warning*] [*Warning: foreign object…*] [*Warning*] [*Warning: foreign object…*] [*Warning*] [*Warning: foreign object…*]

His sensors had grown accustomed to fabrics, plastic, wood, dirt, grit, gravel, mud, and scores of other things, being in his cab, but they didn't recognize candy as being nonthreatening.

Ironhide growled at the Cadillac that passed him on the highway.

Will Lennox frowned when Ironhide crowded a slower vehicle. "Ironhide?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Why am I detecting a more aggressive driving pattern in you? And –whoa! - Why are you exhibiting some mild road-rage?"

Ironhide eased off the little sedan. He hadn't realized he'd been crowding it. "Sorry. The candy…"

"What?" Will almost laughed.

"The spilled candy is activating half a dozen different sensors, and sending me dozens of warnings. It's making me 'edgy.'"

"Can you turn those particular sensors off?"

He didn't want to… but he could. "I caaan," he admitted slowly, "But I don't like going around with even some of my sensors off. Candy should not even be in this pictur-…"

"Ironhide,"

"Yes, Will?"

"Do it."

"Will…"

"That's an order."

"Yes, sir."

Having deactivated the select sensors, Ironhide calmed down and eventually began to enjoy the drive. Annabelle was singing songs, songs that his audio-receptors had grown accustomed to, although they made little sense.

He played road games with Will. Occasionally, when an exit appeared, he would act as if he wasn't sure if it was the one they were supposed to take, and he'd start to veer towards it.

"No!" Will would yelp, "Not this one!" and he'd try to turn the steering wheel, which, of course, did nothing. After a while, Will caught on and gave him a good natured punch in the door. Once, when Will decided to ignore him, he actually did take the exit.

"What! Ironhide!"

"Hahaha!" Ironhide laughed in his cab, "Want a scenic route?"

"You're driving." Will said, chuckling.

It would be back to business once they got back to base; Optimus wanted to discuss the more recent battle, and Prowl was still waiting for several reports, but they enjoyed this time.

Meeting up with the aerial transport, Ironhide drove into the cargo bay and engaged locks so he couldn't shift during the flight. The flight went well, and once on base, Ironhide took his passengers to their building and swung open his doors.

Will and Sarah Lennox climbed out, still talking. Annabelle wriggled down, holding onto the bars that Ironhide put in place for her convenience; she patted him and skipped to catch her mother's hand, and the three humans went into the building.

Then Ironhide snapped his doors shut and drove off to find Optimus.

And chapter two is coming soon. That's where the trouble really gets going...! :)

I love reviews! ;)

V