*I don't own Transformers or anything affiliated with Transformers. I only own my original characters and plots. All rights go to Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.*

My eyes flickered open and I was met with nothing but darkness. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table and frowned when I saw that it read 3:13 in the morning. Realization then hit me. I was on my bed inside my bedroom, but I distinctly remembered falling asleep inside Kaelyn's room. How in the hell did I even get in here?

I rubbed my tired eyes and threw the comforter off of my body before getting out of bed. The soreness hit me almost immediately and I winced, but quickly shook it off before heading out of my room. The hallways were dark just as I had expected them to be. The TV downstairs could be heard playing and that only indicated to me that Mikaela and Adalyn had fallen asleep down there instead of in their rooms. I stepped further out into the hallway and instinctively crossed the wide corridor that lead to my daughter's room. Even from the hallway I could still see the light from the projecting stars.

Once in the door way, I stopped, the sight in front of me shocking me ever so slightly. A small smile found its way onto my face and I leaned against the frame of the door. Ironhide's holoform stood over Kaelyn's crib just staring down at her as if she was one of the most interesting things he had seen in his life. His bright blue eyes held nothing but love and admiration as he looked at her, and not to mention a little shock; she was born two weeks early on the other hand.

"She's incredibly small," he whispered as he registered my presence.

My smile only got wider. "Most newborns are incredibly small."

He glanced at me before looking back down at her. I continued on into the room and walked over to stand beside him, placing my hands onto the railing of the crib. Kaelyn was sleeping soundly and I was quite surprised that she had woken me up yet, but then again I had to remember that she wasn't completely human and didn't exactly need the frequent care that a regular newborn baby would.

"How did this happen? You weren't due for another two weeks," he spoke, his eyes never once leaving the child.

I chuckled and laid my head down on my arms just as I had earlier. "I was stressed out and trying to make pizza."

He grunted. "Figures that much."

"When did you get home?" I asked him.

"Approximately three hours ago."

I nodded. "Are you the one that took me to my room?"

He smiled and nodded, this time turning to look at me. "I had expected you to be with your friends at the least. At first, I was very surprised to find you in here, but once I saw her I knew the reason why."

I frowned. "I was so worried about you. I was afraid you weren't going to come home," I whimpered. He immediately took me into his arms and I wrapped mine around his torso. It didn't take me long to realize I had started crying.

"You don't need to be upset, Azalea. I'm here now and I will always be," he assured me.

"Please don't ever leave me again." I felt like a big baby, but I felt as if though I had a right to be.

"I'm not going to." He pulled away from me and held me at arm's length. I just looked at him. "Compose yourself, punk. You don't wanna wake her," he teased.

I smiled and wiped away my tears. "I doubt she'll wake up any time soon. She's been that way since we left the hospital."

"Hm, seems she's quite the sleeper."

"She's still human and most of them love to sleep when they're born. It's what helps them grow," I told him.

"I apologize. I'm not very intelligent in the field of newborn Earth babies," he retorted.

I smirked before picking Kaelyn up out of her crib. She moved only slightly before settling back down and I smiled at her while Ironhide looked rather startled by her sudden movements. "Are you okay?" I chuckled.

"Shouldn't you leave her to sleep?" I asked curiously. This had to be the absolute cutest thing in the world. He was clueless on how to care for a baby and I loved it. Of course I was going to have to teach him, but I just loved this; he was just like any other new father.

"No. She's fine. As a matter of fact, babies like sleeping in your arms. Do you wanna hold her?" I giggled.

"What if I break her?" he asked me seriously.

I giggled again. "Just remember that right now you're not a twenty foot tall alien being from the planet Cybertron. As weird as it sounds, you're a father and you gotta learn to be gentle with her until she's at least like seven."

He grunted again. "It does sound very peculiar."

"I know it does, but do you want to hold your sparkling or not?" I inquired with a smile.

He hesitated but nodded and held his hands out like some eager little kid. I just chuckled and carefully passed Kaelyn off to him, situating her head properly in his arms so not to hurt her. He held her close and as carefully as he possibly could. It was almost as if he was afraid of applying even the smallest bit of pressure to her body, but he would get used to it sooner or later.

"She's quite sturdy," he stated.

"She's also half Cybertronian. That might explain why," I responded.

He gave me a look and I laughed. I could already tell that he was sick of my smart remarks, but I couldn't help it. He was setting himself up for them.

"She's absolutely perfect, Azalea."

I smiled. "I know she is. Just like her brute of a father is."

He looked at me again, an abundance of emotions flashing in his eyes. They were all too quick for me to make out, but I could see the love in his eyes as he looked at me. "And her mother."

"That's exactly why she looks like your holoform, isn't it?" I smirked.

"It's simply just a matter of genetics. I still don't understand how Ratchet managed to make this even remotely possible, but I guess I'll have to thank him for it in the morning," he chuckled.

"Ah. I forgot. Everyone's probably home now. I can't wait to wake up to a house full of holoforms and my father tomorrow," I said sarcastically.

He laughed. "They don't know about her as of yet, but I can assure you they'll notice tomorrow when they see that you've deflated. Ratchet will be especially thrilled with her arrival."

I raised a brow. "What an excellent choice in words."

He only smiled at me. "How are you feeling, Lea?"

"I'm really sore and still as exhausted as ever, but as of right now I'm okay," I assured him.

"I do apologize that I couldn't be by your side," he told me.

"Don't apologize. I was actually kind of relieved you weren't there to see me the way I was. It was embarrassing. I accidentally kicked one of my nurses," I told him.

He snorted back his laughter. "I'm not really all that surprised at your final claim," he said.

I shrugged. "It's been five years and nothing's really changed aside from the fact that my life is about as good as it could get."

He placed a kiss onto Kaelyn's forehead and laid her back down in her crib as gently as he possibly could before turning to me. He closed the small space between us and before I could even speak, he grabbed my face with his hands and pressed his lips against mine. I smiled into the kiss and placed my hands on his waist, grasping the fabric of his holoform's shirt tightly in my hands. Seconds later, he pulled away and leaned his forehead against my own. I had almost forgotten just how good it felt to kiss his lips. holoform or not.

"I love you so much, Azalea Lennox."

I smiled once more and pecked his lips. "I love you, Hide. .so much."

"Forever?" he chuckled.

"Yes, forever."

He hugged me tightly and I wrapped my arms around him once again. "You need to rest, sweetspark."

"Are you going to stay with me?" I asked as I pulled away from him.

He nodded and grabbed my hand before leading me out of Kaelyn's room. He entered our room and I laid down almost instantly, receiving a chuckle from Ironhide. I got up underneath the comforter and he laid down beside me, pulling me as close to him as he possibly could. I happily wrapped my arms around his body and closed my eyes.

"Goodnight, Hide," I whispered as I nestled into his body.

He rubbed my arm comfortingly. "Goodnight, Azalea."

I smiled and before long I was drifting off to sleep in the love of my life's arms.

*Please vote and comment. It'd mean so much to me. I wanna know what you guys think.*