Ironhide has been on the Yeager property for three months, in and out of consciousness. Cade had spent every waking hour of the day working on Ironhide. every moment he had. Hound and Drift had searched scrap yards, Bumblebee and Crosshairs had traveled as far as they could under the safety of their covers, searching junk yards, and Joshua had spent hours online searching for parts.

Cade had done everything he could to patch, control, and get rid of the rust the best he could. everyone one had done their best for Ironhide.

Will had sat silently in the background watching, waiting, thinking. he can't help the bitter thought of Ratchet never would've taken this long to fix Ironhide. when it crosses his mind.

Cade had taken Ironhide apart, basically, and rebuilt him. done everything he could to fix the weapons specialist. the little things his self repairs couldn't fix like melted wires or dents had been knocked out last. Cade had spent three whole months working on Ironhide, while Optimus had spent months, attempting to get Will to take care of himself.

Will was still healing from the Decepticon fight that had killed his daughter and exwife. he'd been beaten to hell, but was almost healed.

Will shakes his head, laying in the bed of the guest room Cade had allowed him to live in. Cade had banned him from the barn today, saying he'd be doing some serious work on the mech that Will just didn't need to sit around and watch.

he hadn't been able to sleep. he hadn't been able to sleep in weeks, not while Cade was working his bonded.

Will groans and gets up, maybe a shower and some food, would help him rest. he'd been staring at the ceiling for a little over three hours now and was just tired of laying there. he heaves a sigh and gets himself into the shower.

the warm water does nothing to soothe his worried and war torn mind. he still can't stop thinking about Ironhide laying on the floor of the barn, sparking wires around his chestplate and parts laying on the ground. despite being unconscious, the mech had been moaning and groaning in pain. he shutters at the thought and climbs out of the shower.

Will wonders downstairs to make himself a sandwich, unable to get the image off his mind.

"hey you okay?" Sam ask, looking at him.

"m'fine. just tired.... if its not seeing Annie or Epps die, its seeing Hide die." Will mumbles, rubbing at his face. Bumblebee silently offers him a cup of coffee and the soldier takes it with a grateful smile. "thanks Bee..." Will murmurs. Bumblebee nods a little.

"yeah." Bumblebee murmurs.

"y'wanna talk?" Sam asks. Will tenses slightly, hand tightening around the mug in his hand. an image of Starscream crashing through his house, landing on Annabelle pops in his mind. the blood curdling screams of Sarah as the house was blow apart. he's drawn back to the present when two hands land on his shoulder. he jerks looking up.

"Will! hey! Will! hey, its okay." Bumblebee assures, gently. he lets the man go. Wills chest is heaving, the mug that had been in his hands was shattered, there was blood everyone. "are you alright?" Bumblebee ask. Will looks down at his hands and jerks back some. the blood covering his hands reminds him of Annabelles blood spattered all over them as he desperately hoped for her survival but knowing she's dead. "hey, easy. its okay. its okay. just look at me. its alright." Bumblebee assures gently, turning him towards the sink.

"all I can see... just... she was just... g-gone." Will manages after a moment. he chokes and Bee nods a little.

"I know." Bumblebee murmurs gently. "I know... I know what its like, you don't need to think about that. everythings okay." he soothes.

"I didn't mean to upset you." Sam says softly.

"no. m'okay.... wasn't you." Will mutters. "s'always on my mind." Will adds.

"I know it is." Bumblebee assures gently. "come on, why don't we go sit outside." Bumblebee murmurs gently. the man nods slightly, but there's a tremor in his body. he lets Bumblebee clean his hands and patch them while Sam cleans up the glass. "its okay." Bumblebee soothes gently, leading him outside. the mans shaking, trembling against the holoforms side.

"I'll get him another cup of coffee." Sam murmurs. Bumblebee nods a little and leans Will outside.

he sits the man on the porch gently and kneels in front of him.

"Will, are you okay? is there anything I can do to help?" Bumblebee ask softly.

"no. no you can't do anything.... you can't bring them back." Will says, bringing his knees up to hug them tightly to his chest. he buries his face in them shakily. wheezing as he tries to take in the deepest breath he can. he's trying to calm himself down.

"William? is everything alright?" Optimus frowns, walking over. he kneels down to see the man on the pouch, careful not to bump his head on the nearby tree.

"no." Will murmurs. Bumblebee looks up at him.

"I think... I think he had a PTSD attack." Bumblebee says softly.

"hey, whats going on?" Cade ask, running over quickly.

"nothing." Will mumbles.

"hey, don't everyone crowd around him. he needs to breathe." Sam frowns, walking over. he sets a plastic cup of coffee down gently.

"I'm fine." Will mutters, holding his head. he's still tense.

"why don't you go for a drive." Cade says. he looks up at Optimus. "y'mind Big Rig?" Cade ask.

"no I don't." Optimus assures.

"no I'm fine." Will says quickly. "I might get car sick." he adds.

"thats fine." Optimus assures transforming. he opens his driver side door. "the offer stands." Optimus says. Will shakes his head, getting up. his legs are shaking, but he pushes past Sam and makes his way into the house. he heads to the living room, curling up on the couch quietly.

he's not sure how long he last like that before he hears a familiar rumble from outside. he gets up slowly to go see.

Optimus grins at his friend.

"Ironhide. its relieving to see you up and walking around old friend." Optimus murmurs, shaking the mechs hand.

"well, Cade did a good job." Ironhide smirks, flexing his fingers. "fuck, feels good to be able to really move again.

"how did you come across Samuel?" Optimus asks.

"I didn't. I was broke down and rusted up, hiding. couldn't move. I saw Sam and recognized him. blew my horn to get his attention the moment he was alone. he seemed to just, know." Ironhide says. "he ran right over. don't think he knew it was me then. he climbed in asking all kinds of questions, then apologized for breaking my mirror off. he talked and talked and talked. then he looked around my cab and got real quiet... I couldn't talk to him at the time, but after about an hour he knew." Ironhide snorts. "oh my god... Ironhide? is that you?"

"he is a very smart man." Optimus smiles.

"he got me to where I could move and talk again, worked on me the best he could on the way out here. I tracked your signal Prime." Ironhide says. Optimus nods.

"well, we welcome you." Optimus nods. he looks as though he wants to say something else, when the front door flies open. "I'll leave you to it." he chuckles, stepping away.

"IRONHIDE!" Will shouts, running at him as fast as he can. Ironhide grins, activating his holoform quickly. he barely has a chance to think before Will slams into him, arms around his neck and legs tightly around his waist. the holoform laughs, spinning the man and hugging him as tightly as he can.

"hi baby." Ironhide murmurs into his ear, squeezing him tighter. Will buries his face in his neck.

"I thought you were dead." Will murmurs.

"can't get rid of me that easy." Ironhide smirks. he transforms, opening his door. "c'mon this ugly little RAM doesn't suit me. I want my alt back." Ironhide murmurs, putting him down. Will nods running around to the drivers side quickly and jumping in.

Cade smiles watching them peeling out of his driveway.

"I appreciate what you've done for my family, Cade." Optimus murmurs.

"our family. you guys are my family now too Optimus." Cade smiles.