I apologize for the long delay in updating this story. This one isn't as proofread as I usually like to do these things, so there will probably be some grammatical errors and what not. Hopefully it won't be too bad.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. The characters and events in this story are purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual Autobots or their human allies is coincidental and completely unintentional.

Tailgate considered the human female in the truck in front of him. She was the first human to take even a passing interest in him. Granted, she had been concerned there might have been an injured driver in his cab, but she had not run away when she found out what he was not what she thought he was. Of course, he had only seen two other human vehicles on the road since he had discovered it – a mere twelve hours after that last battle.

He vented a sigh, then winced as his battered rear axel was jarred as he hit a rough spot. As an after thought, he devoted his internal repair efforts to his vocorder so that he could at least communicate more clearly. It was undignified to sound like an overcharged, slag-headed, glitch.

It was humiliating enough to be towed by his chassis by an organic, and he was glad none of his fellow Autobots were around to witness this.

Even so, he was grateful.

Tailgate did not know what the human might actually be able to do to help him, but even just a quiet, concealed place to recuperate would place him in the Femme's debt.

They traveled for another handful of miles before she slowed and turned onto a dirt road. Tailgate was prepared to adjust his own course, but the human was obviously experienced with towing another vehicle and handled the turn expertly. Then they were shortly rumbling over yet another gravel road, throwing dust in their wake.

It was an exercise in discomfort as his damaged shocks and struts struggled to absorb the jarring vibrations as they followed the winding drive. It was impressive mile or more before they rounded a low hillock to see a moderately sized human dwelling. It was a two-story building backed close to another structure of matching color but which far more open. Four indigenous creatures – which a quick search of the information he had downloaded from the Internet identified as horses – milled about in a neatly fenced pasture.

Across the drive from the house was an empty building with two wide rolling doors. The interior of that building would almost allow Tailgate to stand upright. Almost.

An even smaller creature – a canine – came bounding off the dwelling's porch.

The human slipped from her vehicle and greeted the clearly excited dog.

"Hi Starbuck, its good to see you too." She laughed, openly radiating pleasure as she cuddled the dog's head. Then she turned back to Tailgate.

The dog followed her, tail wagging, but did not give the Autobot a second glance.

"So… uh… here we are. Home sweet home." She gestured aimlessly around. "There's the garage there." She pointed to the building across from her house. "Or you are welcome to stay outside."

Tailgate considered the human. "Which e'er is less…" His voice disintegrated into an electronic hiss. He continued when he reset his vocalizer. "…of an inconvenience… to you."

That elicited a tiny smile from the woman and an alarmed bark from the dog. But the animal quieted at a hand gesture. "Well, either way. You're the first visitor I've had in months."

She gave a little shake of her head, almost as if she could not believe what she had just said. "Grandpa kept a fully stocked shop, including welding torch."

That surprised him, even as it perked his interest. "You know how ta repair me?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, no. I'm a nurse, not a mechanic. But dad made sure I knew my way around an engine. 'Don't want my little girl being dependent on anyone.' He used to say."

A quick search revealed what a nurse was. A human who helped other humans heal. Perhaps that was the source of her willingness to help him, since compassion was generally considered an asset in that field.

Though her body language was remarkably similar to Cybertronian's there were differences and Tailgate knew that could be misleading when dealing with aliens.

"I am a field medic for my own kind." He stated cautiously, wanting to gauge her response carefully. "Perhaps together we can do something for my more serious injuries."

She just stared at him for a moment as if horrified at the thought. Then she cocked her head to the side. "Isn't that like a surgeon assisting in a surgery on his own body?"

He looked up surgery and thought he understood her horrified expression. He was quick to reassure her. "Not… exactly. But if that thought disgusts…" Another blip of static. "Wit' time most of my damage will heal."

Slowly her discomfort gave way to pure scientific curiosity. "So you… have some regenerative ability then?"

Tailgate suddenly wondered how much he should tell this human. "Yes, though the process takes longer… without repairs."

She was looking at him with narrowed eyes. Then she nodded as if coming to a conclusion. "Makes sense really. One of the standards that characterizes life is the ability for self repair." She walked closer to him. "I'd wager, what ever you are, you're way beyond human tech. That means you must not be human made. You already sound better than you did back on the road."

Tailgate could not hold back a chuckle, even if it ended in an electronic, warbling wince.

"I'll take that as a 'yes.' So. What are you?"

Tailgate went still, suddenly remembering Prime's transmission: "Wehideamongitspeople,now…"

Slag his pain and damaged warped processors.

The woman crossed her arms at his silence, leaning away from him. "Uh, uh. Lemme guess, if you told me, you'd have to kill me?"

That startled Tailgate. She did not seem scared, but rather suddenly irritated.

When he did not answer immediately she pointed and accusing finger at him. "Look, you. I just towed your sorry tailpipe to my home 'cause you looked like you got spit outta the wrong end of a tornado. The least you can do is tell me just who and what you are."

Tailgate was struck dumb, his vocal processor glitched. He remembered she had already thrown a crowbar at him once.

With an electronic gurgle, he reset his vocorder. Again. "You are right. I am a member of…" Electronic mush interrupted him again. "…a race of Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"An alien robot?" She stared at him, eyes going wide. Then she shook her head slightly. "Yeah. Okay. I can buy that."

But then her eyes grew sharp, looking over his frame. "An alien robot that just happens to look like a Ford F-150?"

Tailgate vented a sigh. "That is a long story."

"Yeah, I'll bet." She glanced down at her dog which had started whining piteously. She sighed and gestured to the garage. "I have some hungry mouths to feed. Feel free to use the garage. I'll be back"

She started to walk away, then smiled in a way that was almost sheepish. "Ooops." She hurried back, ducked under Tailgate's engine block and hastily disconnected the towing cables. Taking them off of her truck, she tossed them almost negligently in the bed. "Sorry 'bout that. It's been a long and… well, weird day."

Tailgate watched the human female walk back towards he house, the dog running circles around her feet.

Curious to learn more about his unexpected host, he continued to monitor her. She went to what appeared to be an organic food preparation area. Moments later she walked back outside, a ceramic dish in one hand and a compressed protein bar in the other. The dish she placed on her porch and then hopped to the ground as the dog ravenously attacked the contents in the dish. Taking a bite out of what was clearly a human ration bar, she hurried to that other, mysterious structure.

The human female walked through the building to the far end and let loose a shrill whistle that startled Tailgate, both with its sudden unexpectedness and also with its volume. The noise engendered an instantaneous reaction in the four horses. They charged the building. All of them.

Tailgate was initially concerned for the woman's safety. Each of those animals outweighed her considerably. But she stood still, waiting for them, so he watched with increasing curiosity as each animal went on their own to individual, smaller containment areas and the woman went behind them, shutting them in. She then went into a separate area only to take a collection of buckets from there back out to the animals. Scans indicated they were filled with a form of grain. She distributed the food to the large (relatively) creatures and then was shortly walking back to Tailgate.

She was wiping her hands together. "So, not going to use the garage?"

"I will…" Tailgate hesitated, not sure how to diplomatically tell the Femme he had been watching her.

She frowned. "Are you not able to get there on your own?"

"I… am not sure." A distressed whine escaped before Tailgate could stop it. "I have not tried."

"Perhaps you should." Her tone hinted at a challenge

With a respectful grunt, Tailgate ignited his engine and rolled toward the garage. His frame creaked and he groaned at the effort. The woman paced him. Easily.

"That sounds painful."

Once he was inside the building, the woman pulled up a rolling stool "So, what first?"

Tailgate considered her carefully. She had lines of exhaustion on her face, if he was interpreting the medical texts he had downloaded correctly. "Do you not require recharge?"

She stared, then blinked. "You mean sleep? Not yet. Its only eight p.m. and I have the weekend off." She shrugged her shoulders. "I figured I'd at least try to help you with the worst stuff tonight. No point in making you wait if we didn't need to. It's a thing I have with patients being in pain."

Tailgate smiled internally. "Thank you." He researched the appropriate terms. She was clearly tired, but still wanted to help him. He suspected she would be insulted if he did not let her do something. It might not be the most severe damage, but it was by far the most painful. "If you could help straighten the damage to the plating on my right side?"

She looked at him, almost startled then seemed to shrug mentally. With a nod, she went to a tool locker and rummaged around. She came back out with what looked like a sledgehammer.

"Think this'll do it?"

Tailgate sighed. Of course he could not expect a human to have the highly technical tools an Autobot medic would. But he was a field medic. He had had to make do with worse before. "Yes, it will do."

She smiled slightly as she walked back toward him. "You don't sound so sure."

Tailgate forced a chuckle. "I'm jus' 'membering you an' a certain crowbar…"

She pointed the tool at him with a shake of her head, started to say something, then stopped. "So, where do I start?" She pointed to the panel covering his front wheel. "There?"

"If you would be so kind."

She laughed lightly at that. "Just don't run over me."

"You saw how fast I could move." He huffed as she crawled under him. "You'd be able to get out of the way."

He was rewarded by another laugh. As she set to work, Tailgate realized he actually enjoyed the human femme's laugh. It was spark-lifting. It had been a long time since he had heard another sentient being express mirth. Even longer since he had felt any himself.

It stung, as would be expected, but Tailgate was impressed by her remarkably gentle touch. Especially considering the tool she was using. It took nearly three Earth hours before she stood back at looked at the fruit of her efforts.

"Looks better. I guess."

Now that the crumpled armor was not pressing on more sensitive systems, most of the pain was fading. Tailgate would be forever in the little organic's debt for that alone even if she could not help in any other way. "Feels better. Thank you."

She looked at him oddly, then laughed again. "I've had people thank me for sticking them with a needle. This is the first time I've been thanked for hitting someone with a sledgehammer."

After researching the words, Tailgate could see the humor. He chuckled too.

She lay the hammer down on its head, its handle resting against a workbench. "So, anything else?"

"I think that is sufficient for now." He scanned her again, noticing the clear evidence of increasing exhaustion. He would not let her harm herself for his sake. "The rest can wait until you have taken care of yourself."

She looked at him, arms crossed over her chest. "You aren't just saying that, are you? I mean, I don't want to go inside and go to bed only to find a dead alien robot pretending to be a truck in my garage tomorrow."

"I have survived worse." Tailgate remarked dryly, even though he was equal parts amused and warmed by her rough concern. At least he assumed he was reading her correctly.

To his consternation however, her spine went rigid. "Really…? How?" But before he could respond, her eyes widened. "You're a soldier, aren't you? Some kind of warrior."

Tailgate went stiff. Surprised she had figured it out so fast. "How… why would you assume that?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You mean how did I guess? By your reaction, I would guess I guessed right." She waved a hand. "I was an Army nurse in the opening years of the Iraqi war. Don't know why I didn't see it earlier, except your physiology is so different. But if you are really an alien robot I don't think you would be so severely damaged in a regular old car wreck. Heck. I don't think you would even allow yourself to get in such a car wreck to begin with." Her arms crossed across her chest. "Humph! You were attacked, weren't you?'

Tailgate's vocalizer glithced again and this time it was several seconds before he could reset it. And when he did, he spoke the first thing that was on his processors. It was not the most eloquent of responses.

"Are all humans like this?"

Her eyes narrowed again, her hand reaching for the sledgehammer. "Answer my question. Please."

Tailgate froze, considering her. He doubted she could actually damage him. She was just a tiny organic. But then she was also a Femme. "Um… yes. I am a soldier. A field medic and scout, actually."

"Humph. Scout? For an invasion?" He noticed her fingers tightening around the hammer's handle.

He snorted. "Hardly."

"Uh, uh." She clearly did not believe him.

Slaggit! Tailgate did not want to have this conversation with her. He had not even known her longer than several hours. That realization brought him up short. She had not known him that long either and had just discovered he was not only an extremely advanced alien, but a soldier too. Why would she trust him?

With a gust of air heaving through his intakes, Tailgate transformed, careful of damaged systems and wincing as armor plates protested, grinding against each other. The CMO would not be happy when he got his hands on him, and he found himself almost hoping it was not the infamous Ratchet. But at the moment, that was neither here nor there, so he pushed the line of idle processing away and forced himself to focus on the moment.

Tailgate avoided standing, staying hunched over on one knee so as to fit into the building.

The woman's eyes had widened, her mouth having opened and her face paling. She slowly lowered her would be war-hammer to the ground again. Scans of her systems showed evidence of shock and that she was hovering around a flight or fight reaction. To her credit, she did neither.

"You wanted to know what… I am, Femme." Tailgate told her solemnly, thankful that his vocalizer was holding, praying it would last. "I show you my base form so tha' you may know I speak the truth. I am a scout, but not for an invasion of your world. The ones… who attacked me. They're tha ones planning such an invasion. It's intelligence of that plan that I bring to my leaders… an' was why I was attacked."

He paused, that long speech tiring him more than it should have and Tailgate realized it had been well past 48 Earth hours and two battles since he had had any recharge.

The woman did not back away, though her voice was quieter than before. "How… how can I believe you? How can I know that it wasn't the other way around and you're just saying that so I won't try to stop you or something?"

Optic ridge quirking up at the question, Tailgate transformed his right hand into a weapon, though he was careful not to power it up. He made sure she could see it, though he did not point it at her. "If my intention was to do harm to you, I do not think you could stop me. I am an Autobot. Our duty is to protect all sentient life. Including those on this world."

"Protect life?"

"From our enemies, the Decepticons." Tailgate could feel his processors start to become sluggish and forced his vocalizer to work, transforming his cannon back into his hand. "They have no… regard for life. E'en of they're own kind. We believe all… life is precious."

The human female was silent for a long moment, just staring at him. He had no idea how to read her body language. What was she thinking?

He could guess.

Slag his recharge-deprived, spark-driven vocorder. Always putting his pedes in his glossa.

Tailgate sighed. "You are… frightened. I apologize. If it is your wish, I will leave your property…" His vocalizer mushed the last syllable into an electronic gurgle.

He watched her wince at the obvious malfunction. Then, remarkably, she relaxed slightly. "No, I offered you the use of my garage, that offer stands. I… I just need some time to process this.

The two continued to stare at each other for a long moment.

"Thank you." He mumbled softly, hoping he had handled the situation properly. He had not been on Earth long enough to understand human culture. He had addressed the woman as he would a frightened, almost-adult youngling.

Then she was gone, hurrying back to her house with quick steps. Tailgate watched her disappear inside and then, giving into damaged systems, he collapsed into his alt-mode and surrendered to recharge.

… … …

Gloria sat in the small rocking chair in her bedroom and stared out the window for a moment before leaning forward to rest her arms on the windowsill. She did not know why she should trust the… truly alien being currently residing in her garage. He was a robotic warrior for crying out loud. And, well, an alien.

But there was something…

Maybe it was the way he had patiently dealt with her snippiness.

Maybe it was what he clearly could have done to her and did not.

Maybe it was how badly he was damaged and the remarkable humility with which he had accepted her assistance.

Maybe it was the way he had addressed her with respect, despite how much more advanced and far stronger and larger than she he was.

Maybe it was all of those things.

Whatever the reason, Gloria was feeling strongly inclined to believe this… Robot. No, not robot, Autobot. He had called himself an Autobot. But even that did not sit right. He was clearly an individual, he had even referred to himself as 'I' numerous times. Surely he had a name. She'd have to ask him. Find out more about him.

That was definitely a good thing to do before she decided to trust him completely.

Gloria frowned as she considered what he had already said. Something about intelligence that his enemies… Decepticons?... were planning an invasion of Earth. If these Decepticons could cause that much damage to someone as powerful as this Autobot, what could they do to the people of Earth?

She needed to find out more.

But not tonight. Exhaustion tugged at her. Then she realized something else.

When she had asked him if he wanted her to do anything else tonight, he had looked at her with an intensity that had unnerved her at the time… to the point she felt her skin crawl a little. It had been clear he was still in a good deal of discomfort, but he had insisted she take care of herself.

She smiled slightly. Not even all of her human patients cared about her wellbeing that much. Not when they were that bad off.

Standing, Gloria made her way to her own bed. If the Autobot spoke the truth, she would do whatever she could to help him get that intel he had to his leaders.

Hope it was worth the wait. Please review, let me know what you think.