Disclaimer:I do not own anything pertaining to Transformers, or anything else related to this material of which I written about. All rights are reserved by the original owners.

Author's Note: Second to last chapter! I can't believe the story's almost over… If you haven't read the full thing (or haven't done so in a while) please do. I haven't read the entire story at once, so I'm hoping that it all connects.

Chapter 11 (Mileage to Midnight)

The planes were basically loaded and ready to go – even the Autobots were inside already. The last of the NEST soldiers said their goodbyes to the Royal Australian Air Force personnel who had so generously shared their base with them for the past few days, and filed onto their respective planes. Currently on the tarmac was a pair of F/A 18 Hornets taxiing to the airstrip; soon it would be their turn.

Sam and Mikaela went over to Captain Graham who was standing beside his Diego Garcia-bound C-17. He gave the couple smile; "You're going to miss the last call, and Epps will leave you here in Darwin."

"We wanted to thank you," Sam started, "for looking out for us and everything."

"I don't think we could've survived without your help," Mikaela added.

"It was my pleasure. Thank you for making such a sacrifice. Both of you take care. I'm sure we'll see each other again at some point."

They shook hands with the British agent and hurried to their transport, as Epps was indeed making the last call. He looked eager to get going, especially since it was going to be a long trip. Soon enough, the massive aircraft took off smoothly and they were flying away from the Australian city.

"It looks so beautiful from up here!" Mikaela commented. "It's so warm and sunny… we've got to come back here. I never really got a chance to see it, or Indonesia either."

"Maybe in the summer, if I could convince my parents to pay for it, though they'd probably want to come along…" Sam muttered the last part.

"It could be fun. I would love to travel like that with my dad. I was thinking that we'd do a road trip some time this year, maybe in the fall."

"You could drive out to my college and visit for a bit."

"We'll see," she replied with a coy smile.

The interior of the plane had been set for vehicles and a medical configuration, which did not leave much room to move about. Nevertheless, Sam and Mikaela managed to keep themselves occupied on the first leg of their journey. When they had flown out to Indonesia it had only taken them about fourteen hours, but they had had the advantage of traveling in a private jet. Since the C-17 didn't have a very long range, the route back home would be considerably more involved. The first fueling stop came five hours later when the landing gear touched tarmac at Taipei, Taiwan.

"That took forever!" Sam exclaimed with a tired sigh. "So now we fly to Hawaii, then California?"

"I wish," Epps replied. "We're taking a northern route – a fueling stop in Russia, then Alaska, then California. It's going to be another five hours or so until we reach Russia."

Sam and Mikaela muffled disappointed groans and realized just how fortunate they were to use that Bombardier jet.

"If I ever have to do anything that involves lots of airplane travel, I'm buying one of those."

"Well you'd better plan on being some sort of executive," she remarked.

"Maybe I'll just hire one…"

Somewhere over Korea Mikaela had dozed off while reading a magazine, when she became aware of a person softly calling her name. With effort she opened her eyes and saw one of the medics standing in front of her.

"Mikaela Banes, I'm sorry to wake you. Major Lennox has asked to see you."

"Lennox? He's awake?"

"Yes, you can speak with him briefly, but he's on a lot of painkillers and other drugs so he's pretty groggy right now."

Sam had also nodded off beside her and woke with a start. "Are we there yet?"

"No hun, it's Lennox. The medic said he's awake."

"Really?"

"I'll tell him you'll both be over in a moment; give you a chance to wake up."

Mikaela scrunched her shirt in her hands. "I can't talk to him. He's all bashed up… he's going to remember what happened. It's my fault that he's hurt in the first place…" She could feel those same guilty emotions rising up again and her eyes began to brim with tears.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. We talked about this, remember?" Sam took her hands into his own. "I know you feel bad. Lennox is a strong guy and it's scary to see him like this, but he wants to talk to us, so that probably means that he doesn't hate you. Ok?"

He looked up at her and she gazed down into his large hazel eyes that were full of compassion. Already she felt calmer. "Alright," she whispered.

They walked over to the specialized hospital cots that could vertically stack people three high, she holding Sam's hand tightly. Lennox was in a folded cot that came up to waist-height. He was positioned in a slightly raised position, though with all of the casts, bandages, IVs, and other monitors he didn't really look comfortable. His eyelids fluttered, as though he trying hard not to fall asleep.

"Sam, Mikaela – hey are you?" he mumbled drowsily upon seeing them.

"Hi Lennox, we're doing alright. It's good to see you," Sam replied with a big smile. "How're you feeling?"

"All things considered, not too bad; just really foggy, like everything's in a haze. I remember the battle… I guess we won?"

"Yes, most definitely. I'll have to tell you about it later."

Lennox closed his eyes for a long moment, then strained them open again. "Sorry… this all feels really strange. Is that Ironhide over there?"

Mikaela finally spoke up; "Ironhide's going home with you, and Bee's coming back home too."

"That's great – say hi to the big guy for me."

The medic came over, signaling the end of the brief visit. "He really needs to rest, but I'll let you know when you can talk to him again."

Sam and Mikaela returned to their seats. "See, that wasn't so bad," he reassured her.

"Yeah, I guess…"

Another fueling stop in Magadan, Russia and in less than four hours they crossed over to North America. It would be approximately five hours until they landed in California. That gave Mikaela plenty of time to think about what to do when she got home. There weren't really any windows to look out of, so it was impossible to tell the time, unless she checked a clock; but it didn't matter.

The last time that Lennox had been awake he and Epps spoke for a bit. It must have been difficult for Epps to see his friend so badly injured. Mikaela had been avoiding the man as much as possible, not even wanting to make eye contact. Surely he harboured some resentment for what had happened. With those thoughts in her mind it was all the more surprising when she looked up to see the sergeant standing in front of her. It took her a moment to register what he was saying.

"You can sleep on one of the empty cots."

"No, it's alright, I'm fine here."

"These seats are meant for sitting, and sitting only – I know they aren't comfortable. Even Sam is camping out in Ironhide's cab."

Mikaela got up and walked over to a lower cot that was near to the floor. There wasn't a lot of space, but the blanket and pillow looked like the softest things in the world at that moment. "Thanks Epps."

"No problem." He gave her a small smile and strode off.

Nestling down like she was going into hibernation, Mikaela felt more at ease than she had in quite a while.

The C-17 touched down at Edwards Air Force Base at quarter to eleven that night. Waiting ambulances rushed all of the injured off to hospital, leaving the two Autobots and limited number of NEST personnel standing beside the aircraft. It took some time to get through all of the procedural stuff, but the two civilians were soon allowed to leave. At least they had Bumblebee to drive them home and not another government SUV.

"You kids will be alright from here?" Epps asked them.

"Yeah, Bee will get us there safely," Sam replied. "Thanks for everything, Epps. See you around."

"I appreciate you two putting yourselves out there like you did; it means a lot. Take care."

"I think that's the most affection we've ever gotten from him," Sam remarked as they got into the Camaro.

They had already phoned his parents to tell them that they were headed home. Mikaela knew that he really missed them. He'd probably never admit it, but there was nothing like being in the embrace of one's parents, no matter how much they might have embarrassed him in the past. She had also called her dad to let him know that she was back in the country – he was already aware of the Autobots, and had been content knowing that she was with Sam and Bee, and uninjured. How much she would reveal about her Indonesian adventure she would have to decide later.

Though she expected that they would both fall asleep and let Bee drive the entire two and a half hours to the Witwicky house, Sam and Mikaela sat and watched the dark scenery go past. It was all familiar and yet so surreal at the same time, like a strange dream.

Pulling into the driveway just after one-thirty in the morning, the couple quietly entered the house. The dogs hadn't heard them come in – thank goodness – but they weren't known for having any guarding abilities. They didn't really have any luggage, only a couple small bags, since the things they took to Indonesia had gotten destroyed in the battle. His parents had left a light on for them and a note about food in the refrigerator. After having a quick, late-night snack, both of them were stifling yawns.

"Do you want Bee to take you home?"

Mikaela couldn't bare the thought of any more travelling, no matter how short the distance. "Could I just stay here with you tonight? Would your parents mind?"

"You could do no wrong in their eyes. I don't have anything you could change into though, unless you want my mom's…"

"Just lend me some of your sweatpants and a t-shirt and I'll be fine."

Since the appliance-bot incident, the Witwickys were undergoing a renovation which involved completely changing Sam's former bedroom. Now he was staying in the guest bedroom. Mikaela put on her boyfriend's clothing and crawled into the plush bed. She was far too tired to take a shower first, planning on doing that tomorrow when she got back to her home. Sam came into the room a moment later and looked surprised to see her already under the covers.

He grinned broadly. "You weren't joking when you said you wanted to stay with me tonight." Snuggling in next to her he wrapped an arm around her body, pulling her close. "Good night," he whispered.