Will was curled up and in bed, snoring. it was nearing 1 AM and the man was content to sleep as long as he could, he was exhausted from two weeks straight at the NEST base and was looking forward to catching up on sleep. he ignored the sounds of a storm raging outside, but his guardian, who'd pulled into the house the through the garage style door Will put in for him, basically an extension on the living room just big enough Ironhide could roll in and stay warm and dry, couldn't do the same. the large black GMC was sitting silently in the house, listening to the storm. his scanners were running full time and he was constantly checking the weather. it was perfect conditions for a tornado and Ironhide wasn't going to make the same mistake he'd made last time by endangering Will. he used his scanners to check on Will when he heard the man make a noise.

"William?" Ironhide called quietly. quiet enough not to wake him, but loud enough for the man to hear him if he was awake. Will snored and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. Ironhide sighed in relief, relaxing on his tires. he'd been watching the weather for the past three hours and was getting tired. "quick nap won't hurt." Ironhide grumbled settling down for a stasis nap.

he came back online about 30 minutes later when one of his scanners went off. a tornado watch issued for the next town over. he frowned though and activated his holoform, he was not going to leave Will upstairs alone, just in case the watch turned into a warning before he could scan again. he walked up the stairs and towards Will's bedroom. he didn't bother to wake Will, just scooped him and the blanket up before he headed back down the stairs. there was no point in waking Will, he would panic and remember the last time they'd encountered a tornado a year before. Will shifted and mumbled quietly, slowly lifting his head from where it had fallen on Ironhide's chest.

"hmm? Hide?" Will mumbled sleepily.

"go back to sleep Will. the storm is pretty bad, I just want to make sure you're safe." Ironhide said. Will yawned quietly and curled up, cuddling to him.

"m'kay." Will yawned tiredly. Ironhide relaxed slightly and the back passenger door flung open. he gently laid Will in the backseat, then shut off his holoform, and shut the door. the seatbelts wrapped around him snugly. Will shifted some, burying his face into the seat fabric with a mumble. Ironhide decided to scan again, it appeared the tornado was heading their way. he wondered if it would be safer to stay in the house or to try to head towards the storm shelter. it would be big enough he could fit in it just fine, but the question remained whether or not he thought he could actually get there from here before the watch could change to a warning. then suddenly he could hear it, he'd spent too much time deliberating and now he could hear the sounds of the tornado siren going off. unfortunately for him, Will immediately jerked up in the back seat and paled. "Ironhide...." Will whimpered softly.

"don't worry Will this time, I have everything under control." Ironhide assured.

"we need to get to the storm shelter!" Will said, curling up, pulling his blanket tightly around himself. Ironhide immediately wrapped the seatbelts tightly around Will once more.

"do you trust me Will?" Ironhide ask.

"just get us out of here! I don't want to go for round two!" Will shouted. Ironhide revved up immediately and backed straight out through the garage style door, straight through the garage and sped towards the barn, where the storm shelter was. he did not want Will to start crying about 'round two' again. it had taken them several months to get him to stop saying things like that before and he seriously didn't want to set Will's recovery back by several months.

"there will be no round two Will. I am absolutely sure of it." Ironhide said racing for the barn. his scanners showed that they had approximately 5 minutes to get to the barn and into the shelter before the tornado got to them. he sped across the yard like Decepticons were on his tail, crashing through the barn like it was paper. he used his holoform to throw open the storm cellar door and he flew into the cellar, door slamming shut behind him. thanks to the government, after the last tornado they made a storm cellar Ironhide could fit in and transform in. he couldn't stand, but he could sit or crouch. he transformed and sat down, holding Will against his chest plates carefully, bringing his knee's up to his chest slightly in a way he could cradle Will gently and hopefully use his body to block out the noise of the storm raging outside. he didn't want to risk making Will worse by staying in his alt form. he didn't want Will to relive that day, hell he didn't want to relive that day. ever. worst day of his life was watching Will after that tornado. he'd had a pretty bad concussion when they finally got him to the hospital. bad enough there's been blood pouring from his ears. it had been a long recovery for the man and Ironhide was not willing to risk the progress. "I didn't hurt you or anything when I drove through the house and barn right?" Ironhide ask, looking down. he couldn't even see Will the man was buried in the blanket so tightly.

"no." Will mumbled. Ironhide nodded and looked at the doors when they rattled.

"Ironhide." Ratchets voice startled them both as it came over Ironhide's speakers. the weapons specialist let out an annoyed breath.

"Ratchet?" Ironhide ask.

"there's a tornado headed your way." Ratchet said.

"I'm aware." Ironhide grumbled sarcastically. he pulled Will closer to him gently.

"are you and Will alright?" Optimus' concerned voice took over Ironhide's speakers.

"we're fine Prime. sitting in the shelter." Ironhide grumbled. he gently ran a finger down Wills back, the man had yet to leave the safety of his precious blanket. Will curled up a little more and Ironhide shut off his speakers so he could chat silently with the Prime and Ratchet. he immediately froze in his conversation when he heard the wind get louder. Ironhide pulled Will closer to his chest plates, gently rubbing his cheek with one of his thumbs. Will curled up more. "just relax Will, it'll be alright." Ironhide soothed gently. Will curled up more.

"I hate it. I hate it. not again." Will whimpered. Ironhide held him tighter, but was still just as careful. he could feel Will holding onto his chest armor, but paid it no mind. the previous tornado had been an absolutely terrifying event for them both.

"you're going to be just fine Will." Ironhide murmured.

"thats what you said last time!" Will snapped. Ironhide frowned at him.

"I was an idiot last time. I learned from my mistakes and I will not make them again." Ironhide assured. "Will we're in the storm shelter, it's fine." Ironhide added gently.

"Ironhide is everything okay?" Optimus' voice came out over his speakers once more.

"everything is fine Prime." Ironhide assured. "Will is just panicking some." Ironhide said through a private com so Will wouldn't hear him. "I think it's over." Ironhide said, scanning the weather. he couldn't hear the sirens anymore.

"scans show the weather is clearing up." Ratchet said. Ironhide used his holoform to check it out and it did seem like the weather was better. he used his holoform to open the storm cellar door.

"the storm is clearing up, but we'll have to come stay at the base." Ironhide said, climbing out with Will still cradled against his chest.

"why?" Ratchet ask.

"the house is destroyed." Ironhide grumbled.

"I'll get a team out to fix it later." Will mumbled as Ironhide finally put him on the ground. Will looked around horrified. the yard was absolutely destroyed and half the house was gone. his belongings were spread all over the yard. the barn had collapsed all around them, Ironhide had to have used some serious strength with his holoform to get that stuff off the door so they could get out. Ironhide looked around.

"we should head to the base." Ironhide mumbled.

"no way! we are not driving anywhere in this weather!" Will said.

"Will it's okay the storm has cleared up." Ironhide assured, transforming and opening his driver side door.

"no! no way in hell! I'm not getting in Ironhide! the last time I spent weeks in a hospital because of my concussion! no way!" Will argued.

"Will, I'm watching the weather. we need to leave now, before the next tornado strikes. please get in Will." Ironhide said urgently. his holoform appeared and walked over to Will. "come on Will, there is another tornado coming soon and we need to leave right now!" Ironhide hissed, grabbing Will's arm and throwing him into the backseat. the doors slammed shut and the truck sped off. Will kicked at the door with all his might.

"IRONHIDE LET ME OUT!" Will shouted.

"just relax Will I'll get us to the base." Ironhide said, strapping him down in the backseat.

"Ironhide let me out! stop!" Will shouted. Ironhide frowned, his holoform appearing in front of Will.

"Will you need to stop right now and relax. you're sending yourself into a panic attack. you need to relax." Ironhide said. "if there was a tornado, I'd pull over and hunker down. I won't let anything happen to you." Ironhide assured.

"we're going to be killed!" Will shouted.

"if we had stayed we would have been! just stop! I'm doing what's going to keep us alive!" Ironhide hissed. Will struggled in the seat, trying to fight the seatbelts off him. "I'll let you go if you calm down!" Ironhide said. Will struggled for a moment more before going still and staring at Ironhide.

"let me up." Will snapped. Ironhide released the seat belts and let him up gently.

"Will, you just need to relax, okay? I'm not going to make the same mistakes I did last time." Ironhide said calmly, gently grabbing his shoulders. "Will I know, I made a really bad mistake last time. I almost got us both killed, it was an accident and I will not let it happen again. you just have to trust me." Ironhide murmured. Will looked at him and sighed.

"okay..." Will muttered.

"are you feeling better now?" Ironhide asks.

"not really." Will mumbled. "but I'm glad you're not holding me down anymore." Will added, glaring at him slightly. Ironhide frowned slightly.

"look it was wrong, but you were going to jump out while I was driving." Ironhide said. Will glared at him slightly. "doesn't help me to keep you safe if you jump out of me and onto the ground in the middle of a storm." Ironhide grumbled. he sped up slightly and felt Will stiffen slightly. "I'm just speeding up to get away from the storm. you can look behind us." Ironhide mumbled. Will swallowed slightly and looked behind them. the sky in front of them was dark gray but the sky behind them was nearly black. Will couldn't see anything it was so dark so he hoped Ironhide wasn't lying.

"okay." Will mumbled. Ironhide turned up his radio, playing whatever music he could find. it was cut off suddenly by Ratchet's voice.

"pull over." Ratchet hissed. Will looked at the radio confused.

"Ratchet? what are you talking about?" Ironhide ask.

"I'm tracking your location and you need to get off that road now!" Ratchet hissed.

"I'm gonna throw up." Will whimpered, curling up in the backseat. Ironhide swerved off the road quickly.

"do you want to tell me why you're sending my charge back into a panic attack?" Ironhide snapped.

"bad wreck." Ratchet mumbled.

"how do you know?" Will ask hesitantly.

"scanners." Ratchet grumbled.

"I'm not picking up any wreck." Ironhide mumbled scanning again. no wreck, but he was picking up what looked like a tornado in the making.

"Ratchet? what's really happening?" Will ask nervously.

"a wreck. storm must be throwing off your scanners Hide." Ratchet said firmly. Ironhide wasn't an idiot, well, he wasn't an idiot all the time. he registered what Ratchet was doing. no use causing Will more panic.

"probably." Ironhide mumbled. he sped off as fast as he could. he really didn't want to be around when the next tornado touched down. his holoform sat beside Will and held him, trying to calm the man. he was still having issues keeping his anxiety in check. "we're going to be fine Will. it's okay." Ironhide soothed gently. Will curled up, clinging to his holoform.

"Ironhide, send me a scan of Williams vitals." Ratchet said.

"he's fine Ratchet. he's just anxious because we're on the road." Ironhide said, holding Will gently.

"given both of your last experience, I don't blame him." Ratchet said.

"just keep an eye ahead of us and make sure we're safe." Ironhide snapped.

"I'm working on it Ironhide. you just have to calm down." Ratchet huffed. "don't get a slagging attitude with me. I'm trying to find your location again. storms messing with my ability to track you on the satellites." Ratchet grumbled. "mostly for the fact the humans are using them to trace the storm." Ratchet added.

"I'm not getting anything in front of me. I'm going to keep heading towards the base." Ironhide said, but there was an edge in his voice and both Will and Ratchet noticed.

"Ironhide?" Will ask hesitantly.

"send me your coordinates. I can't seem to track you down myself." Ratchet grumbled.

"can't. I can't. I'm busy. this storms picking back up." Ironhide mumbled. he was struggling to find a way to keep going in the direction of the base as now he was just driving through backyards and empty parking lots instead of empty land like before. "can I get back on the road yet?" he hissed.

"not yet. just keep going the way you are now." Ratchet said. Ironhide grunted his holoform pushing Will into the backseat floor boards.

"what are you doing?" Will ask nervously.

"just get down and stay down." Ironhide mumbled. Will shoved his holoform off and sat up. The was a tornado behind them, going in the opposite direction. "I'm trying not to freak you out." Ironhide hissed.

"stop! you have to pull over!" Will shouted.

"it's going the other direction!" Ironhide hissed.

"I'm not worried about that thing! I'm worried about the animals in its path! we have to go help them!" Will shouted, trying to unlock and open the back door.

"just get in the floorboard!" Ironhide snapped, his holoform disappearing. Will yelped and curled up in the floor board, covering his head. he knew Ironhide wouldn't hurt him on purpose, but he was already an anxious/nervous mess and he really didn't want to push his luck at the moment. He jumped hearing something land in the bed of his guardian and looked up, climbing into the backseat so he could see. Ironhide's holoform stood in the bed of the truck, glaring and soaked beyond belief. there was something cradled in one of his arms. one of the back windows rolled down and Ironhide's holoform climbed in, holding two furry, soaked to the bone, creatures. "there! I saved your stupid creatures!" Ironhide hissed, shoving the creatures at Will. two little kittens. they were trembling and cold.the sergeant quickly removed his shirt and wrapped it around the two, hoping to keep them from getting water and fur everywhere, no need to piss Ironhide off even more.

"thank you." Will mumbled.

"you're lucky I love you." Ironhide snapped under his breath. "now lay in the floorboard and be quiet. that should be the safest place for you three until I get us to the base." Ironhide hissed. Will nodded and curled up, listening to the two Autobots as they conversed and tried to get them around the brunt of the storm.

it seemed to take forever for them to finally get to the base, but at least they made it safely. Will carefully climbed out of the back of his annoyed guardian, Sam and his family were there. they looked like they'd had a worse night than Will. the sergeant didn't even bother to greet them, he simply followed Ironhide to the mechs room.

"keep those rodents out of my things. I'm going to go talk to Prime about getting the house fixed up." Ironhide grumbled, walking out of the room. Will quickly changed into some clothes he kept on base and curled up with his new companions, grateful that they'd had an easier experience than last time. there would probably be a few relapsing nightmares, but at least they'd both walked away this time, thats all he could ask for.