Thank you for the response to the first chapter in this. It may seem somewhat formulaic to have a chapter by chapter look at one pair after another, and then look at the long term, but I felt that the initial elements for each pair needed to be examined. I hope you enjoy this glimpse at Bulkhead and Miko. Gregg.

Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Miko couldn't help but look out the passenger window forlornly. It seemed like everything that was positive and good in this world was in ruins. Bulkhead was silent, and had been for the last three hours since they had emerged from the ground bridge. The defeated look on Jack's face when she and Bulkhead had rolled out had been jarring. For Jack to be so down then this had to be incredibly bad and not just some temporary reversal of fortune. She also was worried about her host parents. She had never given them the real respect they deserved, but they weren't bad people. Hopefully they got away from Jasper. That brought her to thinking about her parents in Tokyo. They were probably worried sick by now, and she had no way of communicating with them and not give away their location.

"We're almost there, Miko," Bulkheads voice rumbled in the cab.

"Where's here?" she asked, her voice not having any of her usual enthusiasm.

"One of the temporary bases we built over the past year," Bulkhead told her. "We'll be safe there."

"Okay," Miko said morosely.

Bulkhead didn't know what to do. He had never seen Miko like this, and he was her guardian. He wanted nothing more than to find Starscream and rip his spark out for kidnapping the kids and taking them to Cybertron. He wanted to pay Knockout a little visit, too, for that matter.

"It's gonna be okay, Miko," he tried to assure her as he sent out an encrypted low band signal. He went through a slight shimmer and down a long metal entryway to a large, very sophisticated control room.

"Woah," Miko said in wonder. She didn't feel like being impressed with anything, but this place was amazing. She could tell that this was Cybertronian technology, not human leftover equipment Jerry-rigged like at the old base. She watched as Bulkhead went over to one of the main consoles and began tapping out commands and she saw the base come alive.

When Bulkhead was satisfied that they were beyond detection he turned and looked down at his best friend. For perhaps the first time since meeting her he saw how truly small she was, just like all humans were small compared to Cybertronians. It was disturbing since he considered her part of the team. An integral part in the fight against the Decepticons. He knew she had the abilities to do some serious damage, and she had an intuitive grasp of combat, despite her inability to take on a 'Con face to face. It hit him that he would need to bring her out of her depression and show her that it wasn't all lost. He also wanted her to know that they were in this together.

"Come here, Miko," he told her and placed his large hand down for her to climb onto. When she was in his palm he raised her to a main level where they had designed stations for this human friends. When she took a seat on one of the chairs he spoke again. "We're gonna be here a while. There's food, quarters and everything you need here."

"What about the others?" Miko asked, her voice catching a bit thinking about Jack and Raf, as well as the other Autobots. She and Arcee were beginning to have a real friendship, and she admired the other Autobots, including Ratchet.

Bulkhead looked grim. "Bee and Raf got away, and so did we, but everyone else? I don't know," he admitted. "I'm sure that at least Arcee and Jack did, but at the very least Optimus is probably dead."

"Dead?" Miko gasped.

Bulkhead nodded. "Someone would have to stay behind and make sure that no one could find out where we were all bridged out to," he told her. "There ain't no way Optimus would let anyone do that but himself."

"What about Fowler and Wheeljack?"

A surge in his spark flared when he thought of Fowler and Jackie. "They were trying to buy us some time, but I can't imagine them lasting for long against all that firepower," he admitted. "And just as I was getting to like Fowler, too."

"What was it like when you had to leave Cybertron?" Miko asked. She had never asked him that, and had not really thought about it, but the overwhelming sense of loss she was feeling right now made her wonder about how the Autobots had held it together when they had to recognize that they had to abandon there planet as it was going dark.

Bulkhead knew she was asking about when they left Cybertron a few centuries before, and not this latest time when Optimus had destroyed the Omega Lock. He let his processors think back on those final days on Cybertron and the feelings of defeat and despair even as the Decepticons were launching everything they had at them while they were trying to escape. For the first time he realized something important.

"It was tough," he admitted. "No one wanted to admit our home was dying. We still wanted to stomp Old Bucket Head into slag. We wanted to revive Cybertron. But I'm not upset about that anymore. I have something better."

Miko felt small and tired. She lifted her head when he said that. "What's that?" she asked.

"The best friend I've ever had," he told her. "The one person who has my back no matter what. The person who wouldn't let me sit on my can and give up when Hardshell shot me in the back. And the person who I will fight for until I go offline. We've got better days coming, Miko. And I know that because I've got you right with me knocking some 'Con heads together."

Miko swelled with pride at those incredible words of confidence from her best friend. She may not be all there yet, given all that had happened, but she was getting there. "I'll always have your back, Bulk," she echoed the words she said to him that time when she took the picture of the Energon during that mission to Greece. "So what do we do now?"

Bulkhead nodded. He now knew that Miko was ready. "We wait and plan for when we get the signal," he told her. "That means I teach you about combat tactics and what I need from my partner when we finally strike back at those 'Con scum. For now, though, you need to get something to eat from supply, and then some rest. No argument."

Miko grinned. "No argument," she told him with a nod. When he told her where the food supplies were she walked in that direction but turned around before she got too far. "Thanks for having my back, Bulk," she told him.

"Always, Miko," he told her as she rounded the corner. Then he turned to the bank of monitors and took on the situation in the outside world, not liking what he was seeing. This was going to be a long fight. But they were going to win. For Miko. For Fowler. For Jacky. For their new home. This time the Decepticons would know that they had stepped one step too far, and would come to seriously regret it.

A/N: Sorry about the delay on this one, but I wanted to try and write this pairing a couple of different ways. I hope the result is one that you all can enjoy. The next chapter will be Fowler and June, followed by a chapter on Bumblebee and Raf. Gregg.