Tinman: The Untold Chapters

Wee Surprises

"Always the smooth one aren't we?" she purred.

"Would you have me any other way?" he replied.

His femme laughed gently and kissed him. It was a wonderful kiss, one he returned with great fervor. He never wanted it to end. Chromia pulled away slowly, playing with his etched audio caps.

"Ironhide?"

"Yes, my sweet spark?"

"There's something I must tell you." she whispered.

"Yes?"

Chromia parted her lips and leaned closer.

SQUEAK!

Ironhide pulled his head back with confusion.

"Huh?"

Chromia opened her mouth again.

MEW!

Ironhide blinked and slowly booted up his optics.

Oh...just a wonderful holographic flux.

He didn't have what the humans called "dreams" very often but that one had been very pleasant.

Why did he come out of recharge and interrupt such a wonderful dream?

SQUEAK!

It was in that instant that Ironhide felt a tiny patch of warmth in the front corner of his truck bed. Then he felt another alight on his tailgate. His sensors were fully online when he "saw" Sprinkles balancing on the top of his tailgate.

"Oh! So there you are. Annabelle has been looking for you." he stated quietly.

His sensors then detected the black and white cat had something in her mouth—something small and fuzzy. Ironhide's wires went tense.

"What is that you have?" he asked even though he knew the animal would give no answer.

MEW! SQUEAK!

The tiny, high-pitched squeaks were coming from the front of his truck bed. Sprinkles made a muffled trilling noise and jumped down into the truck bed, moving toward the sound.

"Hey! No, no, no! Get out of my bed you nuisance!" Ironhide demanded sternly, "Shoo! Shoo!"

Though he was perfectly capable of destroying the cat with a mere flick of his plating he knew he had to preserve its well-being for Annabelle's sake. Sprinkles padded across the Autobot's bed and then deposited the lump she carried. Ironhide's sensors went wild trying to figure out what she'd put there. He could feel the warmth and then the squirming of little fuzzy bodies.

"What is that? What are you...?"

MEW! MEW! SQUEAK!

"OH NO." he moaned in horror.

In a nanosecond the weapons specialist speed dialed the Lennox phone to wake them up. It rang a couple times before Will answered.

"Hello?" he croaked.

"Will, it's Ironhide."

"Why are you calling at this hour Hide?" the man groaned, "In fact WHY are you calling at all? You live fifty feet from the house."

"Will, get out in my shed NOW." the Autobot demanded intensely.

"Why? What's wrong?"

Ironhide squirmed impatiently, "NOW, WILL!"