*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.*

The ride home was silent and I understood why. Ironhide was still pretty angry over what happened earlier and I was still pretty shaken up about it. I still didn't understand what kind of twisted psychotic person could even do something like that, but then again Trent has never failed to surprise me. I was just pretty mad that I was too weak to even protect myself; I had never felt so helpless and so vulnerable during an altercation.

I pushed my apartment door open and threw my purse to the floor. The day's events had left me absolutely exhausted and right now all I wanted to do was go upstairs and go to sleep, but according to Ironhide, that wasn't what I was going to be doing.

"Go change. I'm taking you to eat. You look revolting," he told me as he closed the door.

I frowned. "Thanks a lot. But, if I have to re-dress up, I'm not going with you," I retorted.

He just grunted and walked over to the couch. "You know I don't care what you wear, but as long as you wear pants and a suitable top, I'll be okay."

I just growled and headed up the stairs to my bedroom. After tossing my shoes into the closet and stripping out of my dress, I tossed it into the hamper and walked over to my dressers. I opened up my "lazy day" drawer and rummaged through it until finally picking out a pair black Victoria's Secret sweatpants and a white v-neck shirt. I changed quickly and threw my hair up into a messy bun before grabbing my moccasins and my black zip-up jacket from the closet. Once I was situated inside my clothes and shoes, I headed back downstairs, my footfalls immediately catching Ironhide's attention. He studied my attire and raised a brow. I just rolled my eyes.

"You look more like you're ready for bed," he remarked as he walked over to me.

"I've had a rough day. I don't feel like putting on normal civilian clothes, Ironhide."

He chuckled and I grabbed my purse before heading out the door. It wasn't but three minutes later that I was sitting back in the passenger's seat of Ironhide's alternate mode. He pulled out of the parking garage as soon as I was buckled in and headed off towards wherever he was trying to force me to eat.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"You'll figure it out," he answered dryly.

And he's angry again. .

I sighed and leaned my head against his window, almost jumping back at how cold it was. I placed a hand on the glass in an attempt to warm it up myself, but he was clearly curious about my actions.

"What are you doing?"

"You're cold. I'm just trying to be a good girlfriend and warm you up," I answered.

Before I knew it, the temperature of his window had risen about seventeen degrees. I smiled in content and laid my head back against it. We drove for about five more minutes until crossing over the Virginia state border. That was the only clue I needed to know where he was headed. Ten more minutes of driving led to him pulling into one of my favorite restaurants: Olive Garden.

He parked and I wasted no time at all to hop out of his cabin.I honestly had no clue whether or not I'd be able to eat, but this was Olive Garden so I'd definitely try to eat something. I ran inside the restaurant without so much as even waiting on Ironhide; it was rude, but oh well.

What I noticed when I walked inside was that there were barely any people here. Normally, this place was packed, but I was actually kind of glad that it wasn't. I didn't want to have to wait thirty minutes to an hour for a damn table. I approached the desk and the woman's smile dropped once she took in my appearance. It kind of made me angry.

"Cut me some slack. I just got back from my mom's and my sister's funeral. It's been a rough day. We all have them," I told her. She frowned and I felt someone latch onto my jacket and pull me back.

"Calm yourself," Ironhide told me as he stepped in front of me.

The ugly woman greeted Ironhide while I stood there staring at the wall, my arms crossed in an annoyed manner. Before long, Ironhide grabbed a hold of my arm and pulled me with him through the restaurant. The woman placed two menus down on a table and I sat down while he sat across from me.

"Can I get you two something to drink?" she asked.

"I won't be dining with her, but I'm almost positive she would like a sweet tea," he told the woman. I just smiled. He knew me so well.

The woman frowned again and took his menu before heading off to retrieve my drink. I didn't really need a menu either. Whenever I came here I just got the same thing: salad, breadsticks, and shrimp alfredo. I felt eyes on me and I looked up from the menu cover to see Ironhide staring at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "At the moment I am. Why do you ask?" I responded curiously.

A new woman returned with my drink as well as the salad and breadsticks. She introduced herself and assured me that she would be back to take my order before walking off. I just piled salad into my bowl and waited for Ironhide to answer me.

"I ask because of the incident that occurred earlier."

I pursed my lips and stabbed my salad with my fork.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just feeling slightly violated and disgusted that he would think about doing something like that to me, but what can you do?" I replied as I took a bite of my salad; hopefully it stayed down.

"I only wish I had arrived sooner."

I groaned. "I believe we had this discussion four years ago inside my bedroom, Ron."

My response actually caused him to chuckle. I assumed he remembered it; I know I did. I remembered every single moment with him and I would never once forget any of them.

"My apologies, Lea."

I smiled and took another bite before pushing the plate aside. "But either way, thank you. Thank you for almost killing him and thank you for just being there for me today. Dad was absolutely right," I told him as I took a bite of breadstick.

"Right about what?"

"About me not being able to get through it without you. The moment you showed up I started to feel considerably okay about the entire situation," I answered him sweetly as I shoved the rest of the breadstick into my mouth.

He didn't get the chance to answer before the waitress came back, but I did happen catch the smile on his face.

"What can I get for you tonight?" the woman asked, giggling at my mouth full of bread. I looked to Ironhide for help and he laughed at me before looking at the waitress.

"Just give her the seafood alfredo," he told her. She wrote it down before taking my menu and walking away. I finished chewing up my bread and swallowed it, taking a drink of my tea to wash it all down.

"You're a life saver and I mean that in more ways than one," I exclaimed.

He just laughed again. "I'm glad you feel that way, kid."

"I've felt that way since before I knew who Ironhide was," I responded with a smile, something of which he gladly returned.

____________________

About an hour later, I had finally finished my food. Well, I hadn't actually finished it all. I had about half a salad left, three breadsticks, and about a quarter of my alfredo left. After the major controversy over who was paying for the meal and after Ironhide just threw a one hundred dollar bill onto the table, we were finally ready to leave. I hadn't any clue where he got the money from, but it was the least of my worries.

Currently, the two of us were on the way home. We had gotten back into Washington DC about ten minutes ago and were nearing my apartment complex. I had had a fairly good night out with him. He had managed to take my mind off of everything that had happened today and I was pretty thankful to him for that. As of right now, my food hadn't decided to make a reappearance and that was a good thing. I just hoped that it stayed that way and with Ironhide with me, it probably would.

Ironhide parked and I got out of his cabin. Soon enough, I could feel the warmth of his holoform's hand in my own. I smiled and moved closer to him as we walked. Before long we arrived back at my apartment and I pushed the door open, hoping to see my dad, Adalyn, Leo, or maybe even Mikaela occupying the space in the living room; nobody was inside though and I wondered where they all had gone off to after Anna's and Sarah's burial service. I knew where my dad and Adalyn were, but the rest were a mystery.

I frowned and pulled away from Ironhide to lay the boxes of food in the kitchen. I sat them down on the first shelf in the fridge and turned back around to look at Ironhide who was now leaning against the wall by the door, just staring at me. Looking at him only made me realize just how much I had missed him these past two weeks and it also made me realize just how damn hot he was.

Slowly, I walked over to him and placed my arms around his neck. He smirked at me before wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to him as he leaned down to kiss me. I basically melted into the kiss, pulling him as close to me as much as possible. It had been two weeks-too long since I've felt like this and I wanted all that I could get.

"I've missed you so much," I whispered into the kiss.

I could hear him chuckle. "I've missed you."

"Well, then maybe you should do something about it," I breathed.

He had shifted us so that I was now against the wall, but I didn't mind it much at all. He pulled away and leaned his forehead against my own, his hand trailing up to meet the zipper of my jacket which he slowly pulled down.

"I could actually," he laughed. My eyes brightened at the sound of it. So, his holoform was now anatomically correct? What a time to be alive.

"Really?" I asked him.

"Mhm."

"Aw. You're becoming too human for me. I hope I don't lose my Cybertronian any time soon," I teased.

He grunted and kissed me again, removing my jacket from my arms before tossing it to the floor. His hand found its way to my waist and he pulled me close to his body. I felt him take my shirt in his hands and suddenly a ripping sound echoed throughout the small space followed by a cool breeze on my back. He had literally ripped my shirt off.

"That was one of my favorite shirts," I whispered. The next thing I knew, he was picking me up and I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist.

"I can always replace it, kid."

I just smiled and kissed him again. He held me tightly and began walking up the stairs. To say I was ready for the night ahead would be quite the understatement.

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