Will couldn't believe it. His wife, Sarah Lennox, was taking his baby girl, Annabelle away from him. She was gonna give her up. She couldn't do that... could she?

"Sarah, please! Be reasonable about this! You obviously don't want Annie, I'll take her! Monique can babysit her while I'm away!" Will shouted.

"Enough, Will! I told you before, I'll tell you again! I don't love you, I don't love Annabelle, I'm putting the brat up for adoption!" Sarah screamed.

"We have joint custody! You can't do that unless I give up my rights on Annie, and you know damn fucking well I'm not gonna do that!" Will screamed back. Sadly, little Annabelle heard her parents arguing and ran to the closest person she loved, Ironhide.

Now, Ironhide was an Autobot, and the Lennox family guardian, but he was so much more. After Will and Sarah's divorce, he took on the role of Annabelle's missing parent. He was her step-father, he didn't care. He hated humans, but he loved Will and Annabelle with all his spark. He was currently in the garage, trying to drown out the adults yelling, until he heard a little girl's cries, and her tiny hands on his bumper.

"Papa 'Hide! Papa 'Hide!" Annabelle cried. Ironhide activated his holoform, and picked her up. He marched outside.

"Do you have ANY idea what time it is?! It's way past Annabelle's bed-time, yer screamin' your fucking heads off! You're scaring Annabelle! Sarah, what makes you think you can just get rid of Annabelle?! How can you do that to your own sparkling?! You left when she was 2, and now you wanna take her away?! I think not! Annabelle is the best thing that happened to me and Will, and I don't care of you don't want her, you have no legal grounds! You want fuckin' proof, I'll call Prowl down here, right now!" Ironhide shouted, raging.

He calmed down when Annabelle sniffled, her head laying on his shoulder. "C'mon, Annie. Let's get you to bed." He crooned. As he took her inside, she started wailing.

"Don't let Mommy take me! I don't wanna go! I wanna stay with Daddy and Papa 'Hide!" She wailed.

"Don't worry, Annie. We won't let anyone take you. I promise." He soothed.

However, one week later, that all changed. Ironhide got a call from Prowl and Ratchet, and what he and Will both saw scarred them. It was Sarah's Toyota, but Sarah was yelling as Prowl took her away in cuffs.

"Sarah, what did you do?!" Will shouted.

"You wouldn't give her up, so I wanted to make you suffer! Next time you'll think before acting!" Sarah screamed. Ironhide caught a small glimpse of pink, and his spark clenched tightly.

"ANNABELLE!" Ironhide shouted. He ripped the broken door off the hinges, and that's when he saw her. Annabelle's body was twisted, blood splattered everywhere. She has glass on her, metal sticking through her leg. In a short term of words, her death was painful. Ironhide saw Will come over, and heard him screaming and crying.

"NO! ANNIE! SHE'S MY BABY! RATCHET, FUCKING DO SOMETHING! HELP ANNABELLE!" Will shouted. He knew it was too late, but he didn't want to believe it. Ironhide was a war torn veteran, but this... this scarred him. His favorite little girl, his step-daughter, was gone. Ripped from him, Will, this world in the blink of an eye.

Ironhide didn't know what happened afterwards, it was all a blur. He could feel two bots gently take him away, he could hear them trying to talk to him, but he couldn't hear. Next thing he knew, he was over on the side of the road, puking from what he saw.

"Ironhide." Optimus rumbled.

"Not in the mood, Prime." Ironhide grumbled, still queasy, especially when they heard the 'crunch' and other metal getting pulled out of Annabelle's body as Ratchet and Jolt gingerly tried to pull her out of the car.

A month passed, no one heard anything from Will or Ironhide. They both went off the radar, so to speak. Will was crying, he felt useless. He couldn't protect his own daughter. The poor man was drinking so bad that he often did stupid things. Ironhide wanted to drink as well, he felt the same as Will, he couldn't say he felt worse than his boyfriend did. Annabelle was Will's own flesh and blood, Ironhide just claimed her as his own child.

Just then, his scanners went off. "Will?" Ironhide asked, in the living room. He searched the entire house, until he reached a certain room that he heard crying from. Annabelle's room. He entered the room, and he saw Will, loaded gun in one hand, vodka bottle in the other. The once bright pink room, the 'cheerful room' as Will playfully described it, now had a dark and cold atmosphere.

"Baby? Will, come on. Put the gun down. You don't wanna kill yourself." Ironhide muttered.

"Yes I fucking do!" 

Ironhide jumped back, surprised by Will's outburst. He instantly commed Ratchet, after a month, and told him what Will was trying to do. The medic and Prowl instantly rushed out there, and met up with Ironhide. The man's holoform didn't look the greatest. Disheveled hair, bags under his eyes, he looked tired and ready to drink.

"I want to fucking die! 'Hide... I couldn't protect her... I couldn't protect Annie... My sweet baby girl... she's gone... and I couldn't prevent it..." Will sobbed. As he cocked the gun, he pointed it to his head. Taking a swing of his vodka, he looked so tired, so miserable.

"I know, Will. But we couldn't have known this would've happened. It's not your fault, it's Sarah's." Ironhide murmured.

"My sweet little Annie.. she'll never get to have her 4th birthday, she'll never get to grow up, never get to have a family of her own... She wanted to be a singer... even though she was 3... she loved to sing..." Will chuckled, more tears streaming down his face.

"Will, I miss her too. But do you think this is what she wanted? To see you always drunk, and suicidal?" Ironhide asked. Will comprehended Ironhide's words, and slowly, he started to lower the pistol.

At the base hospital, Will was in the med-bay. He didn't wanna be there, and neither did Ironhide.

"Welcome back, Old Friend." Optimus chuckled.

"Fuck off, Prime. I don't wanna be here, and neither does Will. Blame your fragging medic and tactian. I told them to take Will to a regular hospital, keep him away from the base. As if he wasn't getting shamed enough." Ironhide snarled. 

"Nobody's shaming him here." Bumblebee rebuked.

"His parents told him the day Annabelle died to get remarried and have another baby with another woman. So don't go saying no one's fucking shaming him! He's so distraught he's always drunk and suicidal!" Ironhide growled. He then went into the med-bay, and locked everyone else out of there.

"I miss her, 'Hide... I used to bring her here during the summer..." Will whimpered, choking back another sob. He missed his little girl so so much.

"I know, Will. I brought you both here. I miss her too." Ironhide stated, softly. He wanted to yell at someone, punch someone, let out all his anger over Annabelle's untimely demise, but that wouldn't bring her back, nothing would. He would admit it only to Will, he missed Annabelle jumping on the bed, yelling and giggling for her dads to wake up, at least until he or Will grabbed Annabelle and tickled her. She brought so much light, life... joy into Ironhide's dark, brooding life.

Hell, he'd do anything, anything, just to see Annabelle pout at him, use her puppy eyes, to watch Barbie, or a princess movie. He'd take that anytime, anyday, if it meant he and Will got to hold her, see her, as the family they once were.

"R-remember what you got her on her 2nd b-birthday?" Will asked. Ironhide nodded.

"Yes... A Barbie princess movie, the one she wanted and Sarah wouldn't get her any movies, so I decided to spoil her a little." 

"A little? 'Hide... you fucking spoiled her... she was wrapped around everyone's fingers... Autobot, human, hell, even Barricade and Frenzy loved her... I saw them the day she..." Will trailed off, muttering.

Ironhide nodded again, he noticed the former 'Con and his mini-con as well. Both looked super sad, and looked like they wanted to beat the hell out of Sarah, not that he couldn't blame them, he did too.

"I just wanted her to be happy. She was always so upset coming back from Sarah's place every weekend.. I only tried to cheer her up sometimes.." Ironhide murmured. It was true, Sarah never got Annabelle anything, Annabelle would always come home sad. Sarah bought new things for herself, and Annabelle never asked for anything. So, Ironhide decided to cheer her up, and he and Will, maybe Epps and his wife Monique, or a soldier buddy bought Annabelle toys, clothes, movies. Hell, Sam bought her a butterfly quilt for her queen sized bed.

When that bed got put in Annie's room, the only one to blame was Ironhide, he bought it for her, he set it up for her. Will wasn't mad, just a little surprised.

After a few more hours, sharing memories with Ironhide about Annabelle, Galloway marched in.

"Where the hell were you?! Why weren't you or the big bucket of bolts at base like you were supposed to be?!" He shouted. Only Epps and some of the Autobots knew what happened, so when Will shouted what happened, everyone froze.

"ANNABELLE FUCKING DIED! MY DAUGHTER IS DEAD!"

Ironhide pulled Will closer to him as the man sobbed uncontrollably. "Leave. Now. Or this 'bucket of bolts' will kill your fucking ass." He snarled. Galloway quickly left, and Sam came in. Sam, quite hesitant because of Ironhide's threat, hugged Will the best he could.

"I'm so sorry, Will." He murmured. Will sniffled, his eyes bloodshot.

"It's not your fault, Sam... Sarah killed her because I refused to let her take Annabelle away and put her up for adoption..." Will sniffled.

With a few weeks, Epps and Optimus convinced Ironhide and Will to get therapy, so they went to someone who they both trusted, and who they knew really well. He was a small Autobot by the name of Rung. Will was nervous, holding Ironhide's hand in his holoform.

"I'll be here every step of the way, baby. I promise." Ironhide murmured. Will nodded, knowing he meant it. When Will was ready, Ironhide pushed open the door, and both stepped inside.