The night was long, and Kira and Bulkhead ended up being the only ones to stay up and wait for Agent Fowler to arrive. Arcee and Bumblebee had gone to recharge, Ratchet had dozed off in the medical bay {Bulkhead discovered this when he went to ask the medic if he had any energon treats or candy for Kira (which, he did not)}, and Optimus was most likely still awake, but Bulkhead didn't know where he was. Luckily the TV station had been having a Terminator special; it was playing the movies in order. So far they had finished Judgment Day and Rise of the Machines was just ending.

Kira stretched and yawned, rubbing her eyes. She had no idea what time it was, but boy oh boy was Miko going to be jealous! And Optimus probably wouldn't allow her to go to school tomorrow because she was staying up so late.

"I don't think I've actually seen this one all the way through before," Bulkhead admitted. Kira yawned again before replying.

"I've seen it before but it was much better the second time. It's definitely my least favorite."

She yawned again and Bulkhead began to look concerned.

"Hey, maybe you should get some rest or something," he suggested. "Fowler's obviously not getting here anytime soon."

"Nah, I'm good," Kira said, yawning again. "Besides, Salvation's gonna be on next. I can't miss that one."

"Yes, you can," Bulkhead replied. "Didn't Miko have it on DVD or something?"

"It's not really the same thing," Kira muttered.

"Still," Bulkhead continued, "I really think that you should get some recharge, or whatever it is that humans do."

"Uh, sleep?" Kira suggested as she fought back another yawn.

"Yes," Bulkhead said.

"Ugh," Kira groaned loudly. "You sound like my dad!"

Bulkhead blinked, quickly remembering that Kira had a father before she became an orphan.

"What was he like?" he asked cautiously, afraid of entering a potentially touchy subject.

Kira stared into the distance for a long time before she replied.

"He was strong, and kind too. Well, at least to me," Kira said softly. "They said he was dangerous. They took me from him." Kira's fist clenched. "I wish that I could see him again," she murmured quietly.

Bulkhead had no idea who "they" were, so he decided to change the subject.

"You wanna go for a drive?" he suggested. "I hear the stars are bright tonight."

Kira giggled. "No, Bulk, the skies are clear tonight. The stars always shine the same amount of brightness. At least…I think they do…" Kira trailed off, looking thoughtful for a moment. But then she perked up again a second later.

"Well, what the frag are we waiting for, Bulkhead? Let's go!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Okay," Bulkhead responded.

After listening to hard metal over Bulkhead's radio for about an hour, both Kira and Bulkhead had calmed down and they were both lying in the grass, looking up at the stars.

"Aren't they beautiful, Bulk?" Kira asked in awe.

"Yeah," the green Autobot replied softly.

"Y'know, my dad and I used to stare at the stars too," Kira said.

"Hm," Bulkhead replied simply, unsure of what to say.

Kira sighed happily. "We used to joke about there being life on other planets. Turns out we were right, although my dad never got to know it. Besides," Kira continued in a lighter tone, "he would probably just question them about their weapons and stuff like that. He was really into that kind of thing."

"Hm," Bulkhead said again. He turned to look at the young human as she yawned loudly. "Wanna go back to base?" he asked.

"Nah, not yet," Kira replied. The two of them lay in complete silence for a long time after that.

"Hey, Kira," Bulkhead started, "what do you think about us? I mean, as you said, your father would've been interested in our weapons and technology. What do you find interesting?"

He got no reply. After a moment, he sat up and realized that Kira had fallen asleep.

Very carefully, Bulkhead picked up the young teen and then requested a ground bridge.

He got a groggy acknowledgement from Ratchet, which made the former Wrecker smile. It seems that both Kira and her guardian needed some recharge.

"Bulkhead?" Ratchet asked, sounding more awake all of a sudden.

"Yeah, Ratch?"

"Is Kira with you?"

Bulkhead glanced down at Kira, who was sleeping peacefully.

"Yeah," Bulkhead confirmed. "She's a little tired though."

Ratchet harrumphed. "I bet," he grumbled, sounding irritated. Bulkhead was puzzled at Ratchet's tone of voice, but he shrugged and entered the ground bridge that had just appeared in front of him.

Ratchet met him at the other side, looking immediately at Kira. Bulkhead placed the teenager gently in Ratchet's hands.

After confirming for himself that Kira was okay, Ratchet placed her on the pullout bed that the couch turned into.

"Get some rest, Kira," Ratchet murmured softly so that Bulkhead couldn't hear. "You need it."

A/N: I really appreciate your comments and feedback. Your comments really inspire me to continue this story. Thanks to everyone who commented!