A/N: This story is a bit different from others I've written before. But it's a small plot bunny that's been eating at me for a while. Like my last story, I really have a good idea of the direction I want to take this story in. But I'm playing how it gets there by ear. Not sure how long it'll be, or how often I'll update now that school is back in session. But I hope you enjoy none-the-less. All you need to know for this is that Dark of the Moon happened, but Ironhide survived, never shot by Sentinel.

A/N #2: Ironhide will seem a tiny bit OOC the first few chapters, because of the mindset he's in now that Annabelle's gone. But once he calms down, his personality will as well. So don't worry, the initial OOC is intentional.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. I only own whatever OCs are featured in the story.

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CHAPTER 1
Meeting Tony

"I still regret to understand your reason for replacing Annabelle."

William Lennox, former NEST Soldier, since retired following Chicago, rolled his eyes slightly at Ironhide. He had lost count of how many times he had explained to his Autobot Guardian that just because Annabelle was away at college. Just because they'd entered the Foster Care Program, and just because their first Foster Kid was coming that day, did not mean they were replacing her. "Ironhide, for the eight hundredth time, we're not replacing Belle. There is NO replacing Belle." Will told him, he tilted his head a bit "We told you a year ago that we planned to enter the Foster Care Program. We had this talk with you, THREE times." He noted.

"I'm just not comfortable with it, William. We know nothing about this girl-" Ironhide began.

"Boy." Will corrected the Autoobot, who currently sat nearby in his natural form "Our first Foster Child is a boy named Anthony." He explained.

"Well, I know nothing of this boy named ANTHONY. Other then his name and gender." Ironhide leaned down to Will, trying to contain his emotions "For all we all know, his "Anthony" could be a cold-blooded murderer. He could murder you both in your sleep." He then added "My job was to protect the LENNOX family. Whom this boy is not a part of. And therefore-" He began.

"Anthony is a part of our family as of the moment he arrives here." Will crossed his arms "If you do ANYTHING to scare the poor kid, I will paint you pink and send you to my niece as a Christmas present." Ironhide groaned "Most children in Foster Care have had a hellish enough life, Ironhide. So give him a chance, at the very least. Who knows, you may like him just as much as you did Belle." He noted.

Ironhide groaned quietly, trying not to give a snarky response. He could have taken this if Will and Sarah had met the boy before, in fact, he'd have commended them for it. But this whole "Foster Care" deal didn't sit right with him. Strange children you never met, being dropped off to live in your house, partake in your food, and sleep in an extra bed. "Do you know anything of the boy, at least?" Ironhide asked.

"From what the Social Worker said on the phone? He's fourteen years old. Taken from his Mother because she was unable to take care of him." Will rubbed the back of his head, thinking "I don't think anyone knows what happened to his Dad. I heard he just walked out on them, couldn't ever find him after that." He shrugged his shoulders "You now know as much about the kid as I do." He added "Other then, I think he's lived in three different states. Don't ask me why, I didn't bother to ask." He added.

Ironhide nodded his head a bit, still not totally comfortable, but perhaps feeling a little more comfortable knowing a few things. "Alright, I will permit him in the house. But if he does ANYTHING dangerous towards you or Sarah, you both are my FIRST priority." Ironhide's head tilted to the side "Unknown vehicle approaches, I take it that will be this Anthony and his "Social Worker" on their way." He note.

Will nodded his head, Ironhide transformed down, and the waiting began.

...

Anthony "Tony" Pearson had been to eight Foster Homes in the last ten years. The blond haired young man stared out the window of the car, quietly scanning the landscape of the farmland with his dark blue eyes. This was definitely going to be the most interesting Foster Home the boy had ever been to, he could just tell already. Yet Tony said nothing of this to his young Social Worker, Marie, who sat in the front seat, driving on in equal silence. He watched slowly as the Farm came into view, as well as a man leaning against a GMC Topkick.

Shifting slightly, he noted the mans military build, as well as his age. He didn't look a day over forty-five, maybe even younger, to be honest, Tony really couldn't tell. Marie slowly came to a stop in front of the driveway. Tony hesitated for a moment before grabbing his raddy old backpack off the seat beside him. Climbing out of the car, he shot the man a look, staring him up and down, noting the smile on his face. "You must be Will." Marie spoke up immediately as the two shook hands "I'm Marie, Anthony's social worker. We spoke on the phone?" She added.

"Of course, it's a pleasure to meet you, m'am." Will caught sight of Tony, who had been hesitating to even go near him "Hey, you must be Anthony." Will said enthusiastically "Here, I'll take that for you." He nodded, taking Tony's backpack before he could say anything, and pulling it onto his own shoulder "So, anything I need to sign off on? Sarah's still at work, forgot to ask her." He laughed a little.

"Nope, he's all yours." Marie told him, popping the trunk and bringing out Tony's lone suitcase "I'll be back for my monthly inspection. You, STAY out of trouble." She scolded Tony calmly, then turned to Will "You... Good luck." She stated, flatly.

Nice lady. Will thought to himself.

Tony stared at Will slowly, a lopsided smile on his face, Will smiled back. "I don't bite." Will teased, taking his suitcase next "Don't know if they told you, but I'm Will, just Will. No sir or Mr. Lennox, before you ask. We aren't formal in my house." Looking down at the young teenager, he smiled "What about you, do I call you Anthony or Tony?" He asked.

"I prefer Tony." Came the boy's shy reply, his voice was quiet, and nervous "Only my Mom ever called me Anthony, I never was a fan of it." He admitted, Will nodded his head slowly "You didn't have to take my stuff, you know." He added.

"Trying to be nice, kid." Will replied, nodding towards the farm "Come on, lets get you settled. Then you can come out and meet Ironhide." Will patted the side of the Topkick, Tony tilted his head "I hope they mentioned him, kid. Because frankly, if not, I'm a little afraid of your reaction." He added.

Tony simply stared at the Topkick in confusion, yet slowly followed Will up to the house. The inside was even bigger than the exterior of the home made it look, which really was saying something. Will led him up the stairs, Tony simply stared into each room, observing it all. "You have a daughter?" Tony asked, Will turned and nodded "She at school?" He asked.

"Yep, Florida State." Will nodded "You'll probably meet her eventually since Christmas is coming around." He noted.

Tony nodded his head slowly as Will led him towards a bedroom right next to Annabelle's. Inside it was made up much nicer than ninety percent of the other homes he'd lived in. A nice big bed near the corner, decorated in neutral colors, a dresser to the side, a rather big closet, a desk in one corner, and a TV attached to the wall. They definitely had money, Tony noted, how much he didn't know but it didn't really matter. "Whoa, when they said I had my own room here, never thought it would be THIS nice." He admitted, he turned to Will with a smile "I don't think I've even HAD a room this nice before." He noted.

"Well, you do now." Will set Tony's things down, then turned to the boy "Get yourself settled, then I'll take you to meet Ironhide." He added.

"Who's Ironhide, anyway?" Tony asked.

"My family guardian, I guess they never told you... We have an Autobot living with us." Tony's eyes widened, stunned into silence at Will's response "Guy's a bit uneasy about a new addition. I was thinking maybe if you met, you might... You know... Put him at ease?" Tony continued to nod, mouth half open and agape "After that, I thought we might, hang out a bit, you know, get to know each other." He added.

"Sure, I can do that." Tony smiled, he nodded "Uhhhh, he's not... Unfriendly, right?" He asked, nervously.

"Depends on what mood you get him in." Will chuckled, leaving Tony to get settled.

Somehow, the boy already knew that meant that he had to earn his trust, just like everyone else in the home. He sighed, sitting on the bed for a moment. So the Father was an ex-Military Officer, the Mother was a nurse, and now, they had an Autobot protector. Social Services had certainly picked an odd choice of family this time. Tony sighed, he peered out the window in his new room, staring out at the truck, the Autobot. Somehow the size of his alt mode really did not help his nerves at all either. He had to be one huge Autobot.

Shifting a bit, he thought quietly to his last legal guardian, whom had been killed in Chicago. Perhaps that was the source of his fear, perhaps not, but either way, he was a little nervous. He slowly unpacked his things and set them around where he found them most comfortably placed. It took a few minutes to find his way to the front door, and outside where Will and Ironhide seemed to be waiting. "So, I guess your Truck is Ironhide?" Will turned, and nodded "H-Hi."

As Ironhide transformed, it was all Tony could do not to wet himself in fear. Ironhide knew his large black robotic form was intimidating, only double by the cannons. But if this kid had any intention of staying, he HAD to see his real form. "His signs show he is underfed, and small for his age." Ironhide noted, staring at Tony up and down "Don't be afraid kid, don't give me a reason to use my cannons, and I won't." He noted.

"I guess it's nice to meet you too?" Ironhide grunted at Tony's greeting as the young teen turned his head to Will "He scares me."

Will glared up at Ironhide in a "play nice" way, then gently set his hand on Tony's shoulder. "He's going to play nice, don't worry. He just takes a while to warm up to new people." He noted, as he patted Tony on the shoulder "Think of him as our own personal bodyguard. Which I figured would give you more of a sense of I don't know... Security?" Tony stared at Will "Let's put it this way, our house has never been robbed. We've never been hurt. And underneath his toughness, he's a great guy." He noted.

"Yeah, I guess that is comforting." Tony replied, he looked up at Ironhide "If you're worried about me being some psycho or something, you can relax. If anything my past Foster Parents have sometimes been psycho." He did his best to at least make some form of peace with the Autobot "Honest, you have NOTHING to worry about." He added.

"We shall see, Anthony." Ironhide noted "You'll have to gain my trust as everyone who crosses this threshold does."

All Tony could think when he heard that was one simple word: LOVELY.

...

A/N: So what do you guys think? I have the next couple of chapters finished, but I want to know if anyone's interested in where this goes before I post up Chapter 2. :)