Disclaimer: I own nothing except the story idea. Hasbro or the Hub or whoever owns Transformers. Special thanks to Kittie1 her story "Turn Your Head Away" was the inspiration for this, and thanks to Knightryder007 for being a fantastic Beta! Warning: *Tastefully done* instances of Violence/Rape

Too Late

As usual, Miko was bored at school. Staring at the clock, willing and encouraging the hands to go faster and end the dreary school day, she sighed. Her last period class was History, one of the few intergrade classes. Thankfully, Jack had the same class too, which made it slightly more bearable. Unfortunately so did Vince, who liked to give Miko a hard time just for her association with Jack and would frequently throw spit balls at the back of her head just to irritate her. Her host parents were always telling her that boys did things like that when they had feelings for a girl. Miko could care less about whatever feelings Vince had for her. She was plain and simple NOT interested. She had Bulkhead, and of course, 'bots were way cooler than boys.

Just before the bell rang, Mrs. C, her History teacher started droning on about a group project she wanted done over the weekend that would be due Monday. Miko hoped she'd have a good partner, namely someone who wouldn't mind doing all the work so she could go to the Slash Monkey concert with Bulkhead she'd been excited about for eons. No one was going to ruin her weekend plans! She listened halfheartedly as the teacher called out the pairs of students who would be working together. "Please be Jack, please be Jack, please be Jack..." mumbled Miko to herself. Jack would be easy to charm into doing all the work for her, just for the sake of not hearing her whine. Finally her name was called, followed by Vince's. Scrap! Not him of all people. Now she'd HAVE to do work! So much for a lazy afternoon with the 'bots.

Moments later the bell rang and Vince appeared at her desk before she could blink.
"So, looks like we'll be working together. Huh?"He swooned "Guess so...Vince..." snarked the annoyed teen at her suitor, who ran out without another thought. She caught sight of Jack, leaving with his partner who gave her an apologetic smile. For once in her life Miko didn't have detention, which made her slightly less annoyed. Seating herself at the front of the school, she idly waited for Bulkhead. Bulk had said he might be late, He and Optimus were scouting an Energon mine and if the Decepticons got wind they might take a while. Hoping to steal a ride back to base with Raf or Jack, Miko looked around, but they were no where to be found.

Just then, a hand fell on her."Hey, pretty lady." cooed Vince.
"Hey, Vince..." she replied curtly. Slapping his hand off her shoulder roughly, Miko turned to Vince. "Thought maybe we should go to the Library and work on that project." replied Vince. "The sooner the project was done the better my chance of making the Slash Monkey concert", thought Miko."Sure thing.." Miko shrugged indifferently, hopping off the wall and following Vince toward his car.
***
"Hey you passed the library, Vince!" exclaimed Miko as she saw the grand building go by. Vince had offered a ride to take Miko to the library, and Miko had stupidly obliged. Miko started to feel uneasy, cursing herself in her head.

"Thought we'd study at my place. 'Nets the same everywhere anyway." He reached down into the console, grabbing a cigarette from the pack stored there and the lighter beside it, Pressing the stick to his lips, Vince lit it in one quick motion.

"Gross!" yelled Miko, rolling down her window and sticking her head partially out. "Kill your own lungs, but leave mine OUTTA it!" She was regretting this whole thing already. Before she knew it they had pulled up into the driveway of a ranch style, single story home. Vince parked the car and grabbed for his backpack heading for the front door without a second thought to Miko. "Wait UP, Vince!" she yelled. Heaving her backpack over her shoulder and slamming the car door, she trudged behind him into the house and into his room.

Both bags were unceremoniously thrown into a corner of the room after the necessary supplies had been divulged. A laptop appeared from somewhere and Miko began the task of looking up resources on the Internet while Vince took pertinent notes from her history textbook. Not long after, Miko felt a pair of eyes staring down. Her dark hazel eyes peered up slowly from the screen. "Yesss...?" she hissed, irritated at anything that would slow the work process down.

"You know you're pretty hot...for an Asian chick." Miko's gaze fell back on the computer screen, agitated at Vince's 'compliment', oblivious to Vince's true desires. "Boys can be so weird." She thought.

"Come on Miko.." Vince crooned. "I see you checking me out in class." Miko continued to ignore him as he moved closer to her, whispering in her ear. "You know you want me, Miko." Before she could react he reached over to kiss her, straddling her in one swift move.

"Get OFF me you creep!" she yelled, pushing him away. She tried backing away but only succeeded in backing onto Vince's bed.

"So that's the way you want it?" he laughed. Vince leapt roughly onto the girl and began kissing her, invading her mouth with his tongue, the smell of cigarettes making Miko gag in disgust. Miko growled at the unwanted invasion of privacy and tried to push Vince off, but failed. Vince was just too damn heavy. At times like this Miko truly wished she had the strength of Bulkhead. Vince's hands moved over her body, briefly caressing her breasts, before travelling down between her legs . her shorts and tights overcome much more quickly than she ever thought possible.

"Vince...No!"She screamed continuing in her attempts to fight him off. He then went to task removing his own pants with one hand as the other continued probing her.

"Come on pretty girl, you know you want me...all the girls do." Before she could utter a word in protest he kissed her deeply, plunging his tongue back into her mouth as he invaded her, taking her innocence. Miko screamed as Vince claimed his * prize*. Never one to give up without a fight,Miko bit hard into Vince's tongue, drawing blood and a scream from the boy above her. Vince pulled back, causing more damage to himself as he yanked his tongue out of Miko's still-clenched jaw. Screaming in agony over his now split open tongue, Vince yelled at Miko, all while a large stream of blood escaped his tongue via the huge gash in it."You're going to pay for that, you ...!"

Before either of them knew what was happening, a large wrecking ball crashed through Vince's window and Jack flew through the broken glass. Jack grabbed at Miko's assailant, throwing him off of her and to the side. Miko moved back in fear, still spitting Vince's blood and skin from her mouth until a familiar face poked through the large picture window in Vince's room.

"Bulkhead!" The large green 'bot extended a servo in her direction, which she scurried into without a second thought. Through the window Miko could see Jack wailing away angrily at Vince.

"Look away, Miko!" he said, drawing her closer to him."Turn your head away!" Miko obliged for once, staring with terror into Bulkhead's soft blue-green optics.

"How did you..?" She stammered, curling against him as his servo lifted her up to his chestplates.

"The comm. on your phone must have activated...I went to look for you at school and when I heard you scream..." He shut his optics momentarily, he would never forget that scream. "Ratchet tracked you with GPS and... I'm sorry Miko." His large thumb stroked the small girl's back. "I'm so sorry I didn't get here in time."
Miko did her best to right herself as she heard Bulkhead call out."Jack, enough! Let's go!" Jack finally released Vince who landed on the floor, coughing and sputtering as Jack took off out the front door. Agent Fowler could deal with this mess later. Their first priority was to get Miko somewhere safe. Bulkhead set Miko down long enough to transform into his vehicle mode. Jack helped Miko in and then got in beside her, driving off toward base.

Once they were back at the Autobot base Jack helped Miko to the couch gently. Bulkhead hovered over her as Ratchet turned to have a look at what all the commotion was about.

"What happened to, Miko?" Ratchet inquired.

"Vince...attacked her."Bulkhead sputtered out, still angry at himself for not getting there sooner. He was her guardian, he was supposed to PROTECT her. Ratchet sprang into action.

"By the AllSpark! Bring her over to the Medbay." ordered Ratchet. Jack scooped up Miko as carefully as he could but she still managed to yelp loudly in pain. Raf turned away from the video game he and Bumblebee had been playing.

"Are...are you Ok, Miko?" he asked concerned as always about his friends. Miko smiled at him and reassuringly stated,

"I'm ok Raf, Vince is no 'Con." After Jack had Miko comfortably on the gurney, he pulled out his cell phone and dialled his mother, June.

"Mom, we need you at the Base...Yeah, it's Miko, please bring a...rape kit...It's nothing, she'll be fine, we just need to make sure...Ok. Love you, Mom." Jack then hung up.

Bulkhead had transformed back into his usual 'Bot self and was standing over Miko, guarding her. He felt terrible about not being there when she needed him most.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there, Miko." His large servo cupped her head, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"It's ok Bulk..." she sighed softly."

"You're here now, that's all that matters." However, that wasn't near good enough for the 'Bot. He took his job as guardian incredibly serious, and he felt as if he had failed both Miko and the Wrecker name. His neural-cluster was a mixture of sadness and anger. He wanted to break something...badly, but right now Miko needed him, and that was all that mattered. His desires could wait. Even Ratchet felt helpless, peering over at the girl from behind his computer from time to time and sighing, giving the occasional shake of the helm and 'tsk'ing. As the other Autobots came back from patrol and learned what had happened, there was an air of heaviness in the room. One of their own had been injured, even though human and not in a battle with the 'Cons. They all felt Bulkhead's perceived failure to protect his charge. Miko stared into Bulkhead's bright optics, hoping to reassure the hulking giant who she cared for so much and hated to see her this sad.

"It'll be Ok, Bulk. I'm tough. I'm a Wrecker!" She tried to crack a smile for his sake. Just then June drove up into the base.

"OK! Everybody clear out!" She ordered, setting out the medical kit she had bought. Bulkhead started moving away slowly

"Stay Bulk...Please..." Miko's voice shook, she was trying so hard to be brave, be a Wrecker. Typical invincible Miko, but she needed him with her in that moment. June sighed.

"Usually I'd object to a male in the room, but these are clearly special circumstances. This might hurt a bit." Miko smiled again slowly, her eyes glued to Bulk's optics.

"I'm so sorry I failed you Miko." he said, his large servo resting gently on her head again once she had adjusted herself. June first examined the dried blood in Miko's mouth, fearing the blood may have been caused by an internal injury. She sighed in relief as Miko told her she had bit down on Vince's tongue, therefore drawing blood. June rinsed Miko's mouth out with mouthwash, and continued her exam. Pulling up her shirt, Miko allowed June to examine her body, which had a few bumps and bruises on it. June ordered her to pull down her pants, and it was there Bulkhead wisely decided to avert his optics, saving Miko's dignity. June examined her, looking for any signs of recent sexual activity. June bit down on her own lip as thier worst fears were confirmed, taking samples for Agent Fowler to use later should Miko so choose.

"I was too late...I failed Miko." Growled Bulkhead. Miko winced momentarily as June continued her exam, before clearing her throat.

"Will you STOP saying that Bulk. You didn't fail me, you're here. You're with me now. "

"But I'm supposed to protect you."

Miko scowled softly" I'm with YOU, I'm PROTECTED!"

June had finished the exam and brought her a glass of water and a pill. Miko looked at the items curiously. "To help with the pain." Answered June. She stroked Miko's cheek softly. "You ok, do you need anything?"

"I'm ok thanks, Ms. Darby." said Miko, snuggling closer to Bulkhead. June nodded slowly. "Miko? Do you want me to come with you to tell your Host Parents?"

Miko shot up suddenly."My Host Parents?! Why would I tell them?" she took a defensive pose on the gurney.

"Miko.." Bulkhead spoke up "You were attacked...assaulted. You need to tell them." He started to say more, but was cut off swiftly.

"NO!" she growled, harsher than she had meant to be. "I'm not telling them!" Bulkhead sighed.

"At least tell Agent Fowler?" His optics looked to her pleadingly. Jack had joined them from somewhere.

"We're going to need Fowler to explain what happened to Vince." he interjected. Bulkhead nodded and Miko sighed.

"Fine...we can tell Fowler, and that's IT! No Host Parents!" June sighed softly as she nodded. "Alright, Miko." June pulled out her cell phone and dialled Agent Fowler to explain what had happened.

Fowler arrived at the Base, his usually surly self. "What the hell happened, Prime?" Optimus moved toward Fowler.

"A human, one of Miko's classmates, attacked her." said Prime, his large servo gesturing to the small girl on the gurney. Fowler's expression changed, softening as he saw Miko, Bulkhead still taking up a protective stance beside her. June flanked the other side of Miko protectively as Fowler approached, taking her hand. Miko may have known Fowler well, but rape victims could be easily triggered, even by well meaning people who meant them no harm. Ms. Darby felt a motherly role toward the girl in the moment.

"Would you like to tell me what happened?" Fowler asked gently. Miko took a deep breath and began recounting the events of the attack. Slowly the shock and fear of what had happened was disappearing and being replaced by anger as she spoke. She smiled up at Bulkhead reassuring him. His optics had been glued to her this entire time. "Thank you, Miko." he said patting her hand. His eyes went from the girl's to Optimus. "Don't worry, Prime. I'll take care of this." He nodded.

"Thank you, Agent Fowler." the leader of the Autobots replied as Fowler turned and headed out of the base.

Miko leaned against Bulkhead softly, the large 'bot scooping her up into his servos.

"Can we get outta here , Bulk? I need some air." Bulkhead nuzzled her softly before setting her down and transforming into his vehicle mode.

"Sure thing, Miko. Anything for you." The girl climbed in without hesitation.

"Crank up Track 7!" laughed Miko. It was calming to the 'bot's spark to hear that sound coming from his charge again.

"You got it Miko!" They drove along in relative silence except for the blaring of thier favorite tune for quite some time.

Finally, Bulkhead and Miko came to one of their favorite cliffs. Miko jumped out of Bulkhead and settled on the edge of the cliff. Bulkhead transformed and sat beside her, remembering the first time they had been out here together.

"Miko..." he began, slowly pausing to find the right words.

"What is it Bulk?" She stared up at the big, green 'Bot lovingly.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I'm your guardian, it's my job to keep you safe. This time I was...too late". He made a whirring sound, the Cybertronian version of a sigh.

"Stop it Bulk!" Miko scoffed "You're being ridiculous! You have the 'Cons to worry about, and helping Optimus scout Energon mines! You CAN'T be with me every second of the day! You CAN'T! This was NOT your fault!" She moved into the palm of his servo and he lifted her up to rest on his shoulders. She snuggled into the warmth of his neck cables with a contented sigh. "You have to quit blaming yourself, Bulk." Bulkhead reached up, resting a servo on the girl's back.

"Ok, Miko...for you." The girl smiled

"Vince is gonna have his backside handed to him on Monday... the whole school will know what he did!" Bulkhead patted her softly.

"That's my girl...If Fowler doesn't have him in custody by then." Miko nodded, agreeing with him, giggling at the thought of that bully being locked up and fed prison food. The pair sat quietly for a moment, watching the setting sun.

"I love you, Bulk. We'll get through this." said Miko, leaning against him. "Love you too, Miko. Forever." said Bulkhead as he took Miko from his shoulder and held her against his chestplates, close to his Spark.

Too Late Soundtrack (in alpha Order)

Amy Grant -"Ask Me"

Apocalyptica- "I don't care"

DC Talk-"Between you and me"

Disciple-"Dear X ( you don't own me)"

Eminem-"Like Toy Soldiers"

Eminem-"Love the Way You Lie"

Eminem-"Soldier"

The Fray- "How to Save a Life"

Lifehouse - "You and Me"

Linkin Park- "My December"

Seether- "Broken"

Staind- "It's been a while"

Tori Amos-"Silent All These Years"