Title: Wild Oats
Author: knightshade
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Knight Rider.
Author's Notes: I was suffering from some Michael frustration after watching Knight of the Phoenix and A Good Day at White Rock. I've vented and I'm back to liking him again though. ;-)
Wild Oats
Michael wasn't sure why he had decided to come back to Millston -- he had just gotten behind the wheel and somehow found himself here. Kitt had suggested that it was something subconscious, given that today was the fifth anniversary of him becoming Michael Knight. For some reason he had gone back to the beginning. Well, not the very beginning. He had no desire to visit that lonely stretch of highway outside of Reno, but this was close enough.
Michael nursed his beer, and watched a scantily clad waitress make her rounds from table to table. This place was pretty much the same. Comtron had closed up shop, but a new manufacturing company had bought the building, probably keeping this place alive.
Glancing around the room, Michael spotted a beautiful blonde woman, heading his direction. She was wearing a short, loose skirt that swung with the movement of her hips, and showed off a very nice pair of legs. His eyes moved to admire the swell beneath her low-cut top. After eyeing her while trying not to stare, it finally dawned on Michael that she looked a little familiar. She smiled brightly at him, and pulled out the empty barstool just to his right. Then he remembered.
"Maggie?" he asked as she grinned and nodded.
"Michael Knight," she said. "How are you?"
"I'm great. What are you doing here? How are you?"
"I'm good. It's been tough raising Buddy on my own, but I've been managing. How about you? Where have you been the last five years?"
"Where haven't I been is a better question. Kitt and I have pretty much been everywhere."
"That must be exciting."
"Yeah, it is, but it gets tiring sometimes too."
"And lonely, I bet," she said, smiling sympathetically.
"Sometimes." He remembered the first time they had met in this bar. "You don't still work here do you?"
"No, no. I got a better job when Ryber Industries moved into the old Comtron place. It's really been good for me. I'm disappointed though. You said you'd stop by and visit but you never did."
"Yeah. Sorry. The Foundation keeps me really busy."
"I don't know, you managed to get time off to spend with me on your birthday," a new voice said from over Michael's left shoulder.
He turned on his barstool to see D.D. Howard standing behind him. "Ahh, hi," he said, completely confused. Where did she come from?
"Of course, after your birthday, I never heard from you again," she continued.
Michael looked back nervously at Maggie who was smiling just a little too brightly. "Ah, Maggie, this is D.D."
Feeling very uncomfortable with the situation, Michael glanced over Maggie's shoulder and happened to spot another familiar face, headed his direction. It was Lori Wainwright, the woman whose son had helped Kitt when he lost his memory. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Michael's stomach. Something really wasn't right here.
"Michael, you promised you'd call. Doug asked about you and Kitt for months."
"I'm sorry. Kitt and I got kinda busy."
"Yeah! Too busy to give me that ride you promised me!" Michael looked past Lori into the livid brown eyes of Liberty Cox.
"I never promised you a ride!" he said feeling frustrated. If he was going to be in trouble, at least he wanted to get in trouble for things he'd actually done.
"Hmph! What else have you forgotten about that night in your hotel room?"
"Liberty, I . . ."
Michael stopped as yet another woman appeared behind Liberty.
"I bet you don't even remember my name, do you?" the newcomer asked, perching her hands on her hips angrily.
What the hell was going on here!? Where had all these woman from his past come from? He turned a charming smile her direction. Damn, what was her name? "Of course I do, Sheryl."
She cocked her brow and shook her head 'no' while giving him a pursed smile.
Damn. "Sharon," he amended.
The brow went higher. "Sherry. From White Rock!?"
"Right. Of course. I'm really bad with names," Michael said desperately and leaned back against the bar, hoping to scout a way out of this mess. But as he looked up, he realized that there were more and more woman coming into the bar and the crowd already surrounding him was three deep. Their high, angry voices badgered him like crows around carrion.
"You never called or wrote!"
"Where have you been hiding?"
"You had that sweet British man give me the run around!"
"You sent flowers and then I never heard from you again!"
"I should have known you'd have a girl in every port!"
Michael was starting to feel claustrophobic. He needed to get out of there. Inconspicuously, he lifted his wrist to use the comlink. "Kitt, I need you, pal. Right now!"
There was a long pause and the accusations from around the bar pressed in on him, making the seconds seem to drag by.
"Kitt?"
"You don't seem to be in any real danger, and I'm busy talking with Karen Forester. Did you know that her dissertation on us was very well received?"
"Kitt?!"
"Besides, Michael, I think it might be good for you to reap what you've sown."
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-knightshade
August 23, 2004