Tinman: Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or any of their human character friends…I only wish to pay tribute to their greatness

Tinman
"Chapter 10: Third Birthday"
By Leah Wood

Sunday morning…

Ironhide groaned quietly, coming out of his nightly rest stasis in the Lennox's garage. The little building wasn't too roomy for a truck or bot his size, but it kept him warm and dry at night when he went into recharge. As his sensors cleared and charged up he suddenly became aware of a vibrating patch of warmth on his hood.
Sprinkles.

"Why you little piece of…" Ironhide muttered threateningly under his hood.

The tiny ball of patched black and white fur cracked its eyes open and then closed them again.

Slowly, Ironhide rolled out of the garage so as not to wake Sprinkles, "No respect, eh? I'll fix that…"

Once outside in the driveway Ironhide made sure Sprinkles was very relaxed. Suddenly, in a veritable explosion of shifting and rotating parts Ironhide transformed. The loud noise accompanied by the violent movement woke the kitten up pronto. Eyes the size of quarters and tail puffed up like a chimney sweep, Sprinkles bailed off of Ironhide's hood/chest and tore around the house like the devil was after him.

With a deep laugh of devious mirth Ironhide stretched out his parts. That was rather effective.

"Ironhide, you big meanie!" Sara yelled at him through the kitchen screen.

The Autobot could hear Will laughing inside the kitchen and smirked.

Sara shot a glare at her husband, "Will, don't you dare encourage him."

Casually, Ironhide flexed his cannons and rolled his thick neck, "Oh, loosen your wing-nuts. I didn't hurt it."

"No, but you scared almost two lives out of that poor kitty." the woman's voice scolded.

He shrugged, "Maybe now it will think twice about using me for a bed."

Before Sara could admonish him further Will spoke up, "Give him a break, Sara. Cats don't belong on vehicles or Autobots anyway."

Ironhide nodded approvingly; glad someone took his side on the matter. "Thank you, Will."

Sara sighed exasperated with the males.
…

It was precisely noon when the Autobot caravan arrived outside the Lennox's home. Ironhide was baffled by their presence as his friends transformed in the driveway.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, walking up to them.

Optimus Prime stretched lightly, "We were invited by Captain Lennox to attend a celebration commemorating his daughter coming online."

"A birthday party, Optimus." Bumblebee corrected.

Ironhide pulled his crested head back, "I wasn't informed of this."

"I kinda wanted to surprise you, Ironhide." Will admitted, trotting out of the house. "Welcome everyone. Glad you made it." He checked his watch, "And perfect timing too."

"Hey, Captain!" Sam called, walking up to the man with Mikaela by his side and Mojo in his arms. "Good to see you again."

The twenty year old and the soldier shook hands heartily. "How's it going you two?"

"Can't complain I guess." Sam admitted.

Mikaela smiled, holding a bright pink present under her arm, "So where's the birthday girl?"

The soldier nodded in thanks accepting the present, "She's inside. You guys brought swimming suits right?"

Smirking, the teenagers each held up a duffel bag.

"Swimming?" Ironhide asked.

Bumblebee nodded his yellow head, "Yeah! Captain Lennox said we were going to his grandfather's lake!"

"Really?" Ironhide raised his eye shutters expressively, "What ELSE haven't you told me, Will?"

"Oh don't be mad Ironhide. It was a surprise for you and Annabelle. This will be her first time to a lake."

The black mech tapped his foot a bit but didn't say anything.

Mojo began to wiggle and protest in Sam's arms so the teen put him down. The dog marched up to the veteran Autobot, staring at him with a wagging tail.

Ironhide eyed the animal with disdain, "SO…we meet again Sam's rodent."

The Chihuahua sat at his feet, wagging his tail with a curt bark. Suddenly, the dog perked his large ears and in a flurry of rapid-fire yaps, dashed through the Lennox's front gate toward the porch.

Sam saw the black and white kitten first, "MOJO! No! Leave the cat alone!"

The dog's barking immediately caught Sprinkles attention and she instinctually arched her back, raising the hair on her tail and back as high as it would go. Skidding to a halt in front of Sprinkles, Mojo barked, hopping from side to side to try and make the kitten flee. Sprinkles valiantly held her ground, spitting at the dog only a fraction as big as she was.

Sam rushed through the gate to retrieve his dog when all of a sudden Sprinkles charged off the porch straight at Mojo! Stunned at having the tables turned on him Mojo flattened his ears and ran for his life. But Sprinkles was too fast for him. Unleashing her needle claws the kitten viciously latched onto the Chihuahua's hind quarters.

"IKE! IKE! IKE!" Mojo shrieked, dragging his butt to dislodge the attacking kitten.

Much to his relief, Sam scooped him up before Sprinkles could mount another attack. "GEEZ Mo! Don't mess with that cat!"

The little dog made a growling whimper as the puffed up Sprinkles flicked her tail peevishly.

Ironhide smirked, chuckling to himself, "Hmm! Serves the rodent right."
Mikaela called over to Sam, trying to suppress a giggle from the absurd turn, "Is Mojo ok?"

"Yeah." Sam looked into his dog's wide dark eyes, "You need to pick your fights better Mojo."

Ratchet snickered lightly, "The feline acts like Ironhide."

The black mech narrowed his optics dangerously, "Care to repeat that little remark, Ratchet?"

Deciding to defuse the situation, Will held up his hands, "Hey! No sense waiting around when there's fun to be had." He looked up at Ironhide, "Come on big guy. Let's get you loaded up." Will ordered, making his way back to the house.

Bumblebee and Ratchet snickered lightly, Ironhide muttering death threats under his breath.
…
In no time the group of Autobots and humans, led by the Lennox's and Ironhide drove the twenty miles out to Captain Lennox's family lake. The "lake" as it were, was more of a giant pond bordered by trees on a rarely used dirt road. Only the people who knew of the body of water and the very lost vacationer could ever find the remote location. It was the perfect place for human and Autobot to play and relax with no chance of being spotted by prying eyes.

Once Ironhide was unloaded of all the gear, he transformed to join his comrades. He seemed just mildly irritated since he was the only one who wasn't aware of this whole event coming to pass.

"So…how long has Will been planning this gathering?" he asked Optimus.

The leader smirked, "Since your maintenance exam. He's been keeping me up to date with the plans since then."

"I don't like secrets." Ironhide grumbled, glancing around at the trees. "But…I suppose I'll let this one slide."

Ratchet clapped him on the metal shoulder, "Good for you, Hide-taking things in stride."

The weapons specialist rolled his optics and approached Will who was setting up the charcoal grill, "Will?"

The man looked up at him, "Yeah, Ironhide?"

"What are we supposed to be doing for this 'birthday party'?"

"Anything you want really. Relax, visit, eat, drink," he motioned toward the lake, "swim."

Ironhide snorted, "Autobots don't swim."

Lennox laughed, pouring charcoal into the small grill, "No. I guess not."

Then, Ironhide noticed Sara outfitting Annabelle with a foamy vest and quirked his head, "Why is Annabelle donning that protective vest?"

"Oh, that's a life vest." He noticed the disturbed look on Ironhide's metal face but explained, "It keeps her afloat when she's in the water."

Clearly perturbed by the notion Ironhide scanned the lake, "She cannot swim?"

"No. Not yet. That's why she wears the vest." Will clarified.

Ironhide shifted his feet, shaking his head, "I don't like it. That vest is not sufficient. If she cannot swim then she shouldn't be allowed in the lake until she has mastered the skill."

Will shook his head, "Relax, Ironhide. She's not going in alone."

"WA-HOOO!" Sam hollered off to their right.

The Autobots all turned just in time to see the Witwicky boy leap off the wooden dock into the lake with a splash. Each bot blinked curiously as the teen surfaced, paddling his hands to keep himself afloat. Mikaela wasn't far behind, dressed in a simple blue bikini.

Ironhide raised a quizzical brow plate, "Sam and Mikaela?"

The Captain nodded, "Yeah, they want to play with Annabelle so I told them they could swim with her."

Moving off toward the dock Ironhide said quietly, "I will watch as well."

Sam beckoned his hand to encourage his girlfriend, "Come on in! It feels great!"

A few feet from the dock, Ratchet knelt by the water's edge and experimentally dipped a finger in, "64.15 degrees Farenhiet. It is indeed pleasant."

The brunette smiled at the medic, "Thanks, Ratch."

With very little grace she jumped, curled in her legs, gripped her knees, and dropped in the water butt first. Water splashed over the dock.

Bumblebee pointed, his eyes alight, "Oh! I think that's what humans call a cannonball!"

"Cannonball, eh?" Ironhide rumbled, distinctly recalling the ancient human projectile during his Earth combat research. He looked down at Ratchet who was squatted, inquisitively watching the humans swim. A devilish glint flashed in his optics.

"Hey Hatchet, PLASMA BOMB!" he thundered, rearing a huge foot back and booting the medic square in the aft quarters.

Ratchet didn't even have time to react as the kick thrust him into the water. His huge metal body made the lake erupt with a massive plume of water which in turn caused a small tidal wave. The wave smashed into the dock and washed Sam and Mikaela back to the shore. The yellow and black bot thrashed his limbs, trying to regain his feet while sloshing water everywhere.

Bumblebee and Optimus were bent over laughing as were the Lennoxes who were simply bewildered by the sight. Ironhide put his cannons to his hips, satisfied with his work as he too allowed himself a good laugh.

Ratchet's emergency lights flashed as he stood up with water cascading off his plating, "WHAT THE SLAG WAS THAT FOR?!"

The black mech pointed a finger at him, "For all those snide little remarks Hatchet. I told you you'd regret it!"

"Just you wait, Ironhide." Ratchet threatened, trudging out of the lake, "You might not know how, you might not know when, but you will PAY."

Shaking his frame, Ratchet went to stand in the sun for a good dry off.

Mikaela stood on the shore next to Sam, a bit disheveled from being washed out of the lake.

"Gee…thanks Ironhide." she announced sarcastically, trying to pull bits of lake grass out of her hair.

"Wheee!" Annabelle squealed, running between Ironhide's feet toward the lake.
In an instant, Ironhide reached down and plucked her up before she could make it to the water.

The three year old wriggled between his gentle fingers, "No! Wanna swim! Wanna swim Ironhide!"

"But…" he began but was interrupted by Mikaela.

"Hey come on, Ironhide. I'm going to swim with her. She'll be fine." the young woman explained.

He thought a moment, glancing at her and then Annabelle. With great care he put the little girl down and she trotted toward the shore. She dipped in a toe experimentally and giggled.

Mikaela smiled at the girl and held out her hand, "You wanna swim with me Annabelle?"

The new three year old beamed, "K."

Annabelle jumped in the shallows, making splashes with her feet which made Mikaela join her. Together the two girls splashed around, not really getting deep enough to swim. Still, Ironhide watched them intently.

"Hey, Bee! Come here!" Sam called the yellow bot.

Bumblebee marched over to his friend and the teen patted his metal ankle, "Could you pick me up?"

Gently, the young Autobot did as he was told. Sam wobbled a moment but stood in his guardian's hands, "Now hold your hands flat like this and put them over the water." he demonstrated.

Bumblebee made a curious noise, "What for?"

"Just do it. This is gonna be sweet." Sam tapped the mech's metal fingers.
Once Bumblebee put his hands flat and over the water Sam planted his feet and jumped. Startled, Bumblebee made a groaning noise and fumbled desperately to catch his charge. He managed to snag Sam out of midair before he could fall very far.

"SAM! Are you alright?"

Sam sighed, waving his arms, "I'm fine Bee! Why did you catch me?"

"You…you fell." the yellow bot's voice sounded perplexed.

The teen smirked at his guardian's blinking optics, "I jumped Bee. I was using your hands as a diving board. You know, for fun."

Bumblebee scanned the word diving board and then nodded his head, "Oh! Ok. I won't catch you this time."

He stood up, holding his hands flat. Sam smiled and took a leap, landing feet first in the deeper water.

Soon he surfaced with a gratifying exhale, "Awesome! That was so sweet!"

Bumblebee gave him the thumbs up and the pair started the activity again.
Very quickly Annabelle caught sight of the amazing game and ran up to Ironhide pointing, "I wanna try! I wanna try!"

Ironhide pulled his head back, "I don't think that is very safe Annabelle."

"Please!" she begged.

The black mech looked to Mikaela who shook her head, "Annabelle, why don't you try jumping off the dock first? I'll be right there to catch you."

Though he wanted to protest Ironhide decided to give the young female a chance. After all, she was a brave human and seemed to be quite capable.

Mikaela took Annabelle's hand and led her to the end of the dock. Jumping in, she positioned herself a couple feet away touching bottom.

"Ok, Annabelle. Now just jump in and I'll catch you." the young woman prompted in a gentle voice.

Toes teetering on the edge of the dock, Annabelle peered down at the water which wasn't more than a few inches down. Somehow, it daunted her and she backed off.

Mikaela waved her hand encouragingly, "Come on Annabelle. You can do it."

Annabelle's face was plastered with uncertainty. The water seemed miles below her. "I can't."

"Yes you can! Just look at me and jump. Don't look at the water." Mikaela insisted holding her hands up.

The little blonde whimpered slightly, the fear still in her eyes.

"You can do it youngling." Ironhide said out of the blue.

She looked back at him, "But it's scary!"

The mech blinked his eyes, "Are you ever frightened when I pick you up?"

"No."

He nodded, kneeling down on the ground behind the dock and held out his massive hand to her. Unafraid she climbed in and he held her over the water near Mikaela.

"Alright. Now focus. Summon your courage and jump. Just remember, I'm right here and won't let you get hurt." he prompted.

Annabelle gripped his large metal thumb eyeing the water uneasily. The metal's unnatural warmth seemed to slowly comfort her. Eventually she squatted down, rocking on the balls of her feet as if daring herself to do it.

"That's it. You can do it." Mikaela bobbed her head with encouragement.

Closing her eyes the little girl hopped out of Ironhide's hand and splashed in the water a few inches below. Mikaela held the child underneath her arms even though the life vest automatically made her bob like a cork.

Annabelle giggled with joy and Mikaela smiled, "You did it, Annabelle! You did it!"

Captain Lennox and Sara, who had been quietly watching, clapped for their daughter. "That's my girl!"

Ironhide merely nodded, inwardly proud young Annabelle found her courage.

"Quite an effective method." Optimus commented, seated in the grass not far away.

The weapons specialist shrugged his truck shoulders, "Eh. It worked on Sparklings who were scared to fire off their first cannons."

Optimus chuckled good-naturedly.

"Again, Ironhide! Again!" Annabelle shouted as she paddled her way back to the shallows. He sighed but complied with her request.

Annabelle jumped from his hand several times before finally it was time for her to open her birthday presents. Everyone who swam changed out of their wet clothes and all the humans and Autobots sat around watching the youngster tear into her gifts. After the gifts, the humans settled in for some grilled burgers and some birthday cake. While they ate, Ratchet flipped open a compartment on his left shoulder and produced several large vials of glowing Energon.

Ironhide's optics widened, "Hey! Where'd you get that?"

The medic smirked, "I converted some earth fossil fuel into an organic form of High Grade."

He passed the vials out to each Autobot and the humans noticed with great curiosity.

"What's that glowing stuff?" Sara asked.

The Autobots gave each other secret grins until Ratchet explained, "It's what we call High Grade Energon. A very, very pure form of energy we Autobots consume."

Will blinked, "You mean like Autobot food?"

"Well…not really. It's more like…" Ratchet tried to put it in human terms. "It boosts our energy but too much can overload us."

All at once Mikaela started giggling, "You mean it's alcohol?"

"Yes! Yes that's the word I was looking for." Ratchet pointed with certainty.

Sam got an uneasy look in his eyes, "How much does it take for you to…you know…get overloaded?"

"Oh, way more than what Ratchet's got." Ironhide answered.

Will shook his head laughing to himself, "Dear God. I can't imagine a drunken Autobot."

"Well it is a special occasion." Ratchet mentioned, swirling the glowing substance.

Optimus lifted his glass a bit, "Would it be all right if I reproduce the human "toast" custom?"

The humans smiled, picking up their beverages as well "Why not."

"Here's to peace throughout the galaxy and the future of the Autobot/human alliance." Optimus stated with great fervor.

Will nodded, "And also, to family and good friends. May our blessings be many and our grievances few."

The group touched glasses as the custom demanded and then they all drank.

Ironhide made a pleased mechanical rumble as the energon heated his wires, "Mm. Not bad Ratchet. This organic High Grade has quite a shock to it."

Bumblebee nodded in agreement, "Got anymore?"

...

Later that same day near evening…

After a long day of socializing and playing, the party came to an end. Captain Lennox loaded up Ironhide and the caravan proceeded back home. As they drove, Bumblebee suddenly broke formation and sidled up next to each member of the team for a brief moment until he came to Ironhide.

"Wanna race?" the yellow car called over his communicator.

Ironhide snorted, "No."

The Camaro sped up a bit and fell back encouragingly, "Aww, come on Ironhide. Optimus and Ratchet are in."

"Then race them. I'm not interested." the black Topkick replied.

A little dejected, Bumblebee fell back, slowing down so he and the other two could be even for the race.

Captain Lennox tapped his steering wheel, "What was that all about Ironhide?"

"Bumblebee wants to race."

"All right!" the man seemed excited by the prospect.

Ironhide made his dashboard lights flicker, "I declined."

"What? Why?" Sara seemed confused.

"What does it matter? I just don't want to race." Ironhide grumbled, not understanding why the humans were asking such things.

The blonde woman patted his dashboard, "Oh come on you spoiled sport. We don't care if you lose."

Ironhide made a grinding sound, "And WHO says I'd lose?"

Knowing she was goading him on, Sara shrugged, giving her husband a wink, "No one's saying you'd lose. But then again we'll never know unless you do race."

"OH no. You're not going to pull any of that human reverse psychology slag on me." the Topkick insisted in a low voice.

Then, from behind the roaring of three high performance engines blasted the air as Optimus, Ratchet, and Bumblebee started their race. Ironhide kept his leisurely pace down the center of the wide dirt road, unconcerned. Bumblebee passed on his right and Optimus on his left and surprisingly Ratchet pulled out in front. Suddenly, both the semi and the Camaro crowded the Topkick on either side, boxing him in.

"Back off you guys." Ironhide growled warningly over his communicator.

Out in front, Mikaela poked her head out of Ratchet's window, looking back at Ironhide.

"I didn't know she was riding with Ratchet." Sara commented.

Her dark hair blowing in the wind the young woman held her arm out the window and in her hand she held a bright blue orb.

"What the…" Ironhide began.

Suddenly, Mikaela released the blue orb and it struck Ironhide's windshield. An explosion of water and broken rubber splattered over the startled Topkick, who couldn't dodge it.

"GAAH!" he roared.

With a spray of road dirt, Optimus and Bumblebee sped away from him laughing. The windshield wipers swiped the film of mud from the glass. Will, Sara, and Annabelle could feel the cab temperature rise just slightly and the leather seats seemed to vibrate with Ironhide's deep growl. Each seatbelt suddenly tightened and with a surge of power Ironhide flattened his gas pedal to the floor. Will grinned hugely, bracing his hands against the door and seat while Sara and Annabelle squealed at the sudden burst of speed. The race was on!

…

In front of the Lennox's house at sunset…

Not surprisingly, Bumblebee won the race to the Lennox's house. But it had very little to do with the fact that he was a high performance sports car built for excessive speed. No, Bumblebee won simply because Ironhide had chased Ratchet off the main road and the two were still hauling balls on every dirt road in the county. Optimus quit the race in lieu of sitting on a hilltop and watching their bold medic being pursued by the vengeful weapons specialist. Ratchet was almost laughing hard enough to blow a sprocket in his voice modulator as Mikaela continued to pitch water balloons out of his window at Ironhide. Optimus wondered just how many of those things the young woman had-thus far he'd counted nine of the projectiles.

Sam hopped out of his Camaro friend and squinted in the distant valley beyond. Dust was billowing in the dim evening light as the Topkick relentlessly trailed the rescue vehicle. Over the communicator line Bumblebee and Optimus could hear Ironhide cursing colorfully in Cybertronian.

Then, all at once the Topkick came to a stop and slowly beat a path back toward the Lennox house.

Optimus was snickering over the Comm line, "Probably wore himself out."

Bumblebee returned the laugh, "Yeah. Ratchet's got lucky this time."

In about fifteen minutes the big black truck rolled into the driveway, lights blazing. Waves of heat rolled off the hood, making the air shimmer. The Topkick's black paint was spattered with red dirt and mud, no doubt accumulated from the wild dirt road chase and the water balloon assault. Bumblebee and Sam could only wonder how dirty Ratchet had gotten.

The doors opened and immediately Bumblebee and Sam could hear Annabelle throwing a small hissy fit.

Bee made a hissing noise, "Ooo. I think he upset Annabelle."

But then the girl's harsh protests were made clear, "NO! Don't WANNA go to bed! NO! NO! DON'T WANNA!"

Sara was firmly chastising her fighting daughter as she carried her to the house, "Stop that Annie! You need to sleep. You've had a big day."

"No! Not tired. Don't wanna." she whined even though her whole form was nearly limp with fatigue

As they entered the house, William jumped out holding the car seat and placed it next to the fence. Ironhide sighed mechanically.

"Sorry about Annabelle, Hide. She just got cranky because she's tired." the man apologized to the truck as he began to unload the stuff from the bed.

The Topkick merely grunted.

Cautiously, Bumblebee and Sam walked up to the truck.

"So…did you catch Ratchet?" Sam asked, even though he knew the answer.

A menacing growl emanated from under the ebony hood.

Sam held up his hands and stood closer to his guardian's leg just in case Ironhide decided to physically express his irritation. Although, Bumblebee might think better of taking on the weapons specialist in his current mood. It didn't improve when Optimus pulled in.

"Hey! You almost had him Ironhide! Why did you quit?" he called out.
A small bit of smoke and flame flickered from Ironhide's stacks as he revved his engine.

Will tried to console the angry Ironhide with a gentle pat to his door before turning to the others. "Well, Annabelle started fussing because it's getting close to her bedtime."

"Ah," Optimus flickered his headlights, "I see."

For a moment the flame decaled semi paused, rumbling in its engine before announcing, "Ratchet is returning Mikaela home and wishes to extend his gratitude to you Captain Lennox and your family for your invitation and hospitality. He also wishes Annabelle a happy birthday."

The man nodded, "Tell him thank you, Optimus and also tell him that he and the rest of you are welcome to come by anytime."

Honking his horn, Optimus rolled out calling back, "My thanks as well Captain. It was truly an enjoyable day with you and your family. Until next time. Oh, and don't worry Ironhide, you'll catch him next time."

The Topkick sputtered something in Cybertronian, which sounded like a buzzing rumble.

Bumblebee waved briefly to the Captain before getting down and transforming, "See ya Ironhide! See ya Captain!"

Sam waved too, climbing in so the pair could drive away into the night. Will continued to unload Ironhide until at last he was devoid of gear.

He patted the Autobot's hood, "There ya go buddy. Get yourself a good night's rest. We'll get you all washed up tomorrow"

Slowly the truck rolled into the garage and hissed on its shocks, seeming to stew.