Hello, everyone!
First of all, thank you all for your kind replies! It means the world to me that you take the time to read my pages and give me a piece of encouragement.
Deyse, sister, thanks a lot. You know I'll give you plenty of chances to sigh, hehe!!
Audra and Joanna, I'm glad to know you also like Bonnie and Michel together! So this story is also dedicated to you, girls! Enjoy in fanfic what we hardly got in the show! That goes for you too, MrlovesDC! I'm sorry to be posting little by little 'cause I don't have the story complete yet, but I promise you three will have what you want!
And Trolly Prolly... I followed your advise by trying to cut my veins with cookies previously wet in milk, and too bad... it didn't work. So I've decided I'm quite happy living and that you will have to bear my horrible stories for a long while.
Why don't you do yourself a favor, huh? Stop showing the world one only true thing: your jealousy. I've checked your profile and if anyone wants to read the largest collection of insults, they should try this: Quite recomendable, btw!! Why is it that there isn't a single story in your profile page but only critics? You are the best writer, aren't you?
Now, as we're all clear, let's go back to our bussiness! Please, R&R.
CHAPTER 1
Michel drove Kitt up to the very front door of the house and all but jumped out of the car to rush inside. He ran into Devon's office without knocking, but Bonnie wasn't there. "Where is she?" he asked to his boss, who was sitting behind his desk, his forehead resting on his hands as in deep thought.
"In her bedroom... She asked me to leave her alone until it was time to leave..."
"I'm going with you too. I won't leave her alone..." he said determined.
"I didn't expect less from you... We're going in the limousine... or would you rather have Kitt?"
"I guess Kitt will want to be close too, Devon... and perhaps he could be useful 'cause I have the feeling you're not telling me the whole story..."
Devon smiled sadly. "You know me well, my boy... This I haven't told Bonnie... The police reports that the first murder was a drug dealer case, and if this man thought of killing Bonnie's father just for the occasional glimpse he could have had of him, he won't doubt about finishing the other witness..."
"Bonnie's mom..."
"That's right..."
"Then Kitt's going too, Devon. Now, can I go see her?"
"Come in..." Bonnie replied weakly to the soft knock on her door. There was a pair of black pants and a blouse in the same color lying on the bed. She just felt she didn't have the courage to wear them already. Somehow she felt it was all a nightmare she would wake up of in any minute...
Michel opened the door carefully and walked up to where she was leaning over the door frame that led into the balcony. The view of the gardens of the house and the surroundings was beautiful from there. He stayed behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders rubbing them lovingly. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"
"He was a wonderful man..." she whispered. "He was my biggest supporter, he was so proud of what I have done..." She started to cry and he gently made her turn and pulled her into a hug. "I'm going to miss him so much! I was planning to invite them to come and meet you and Devon and Kitt, and see what I do here at the Foundation! And now he won't come, I won't see him anymore!"
"I know, baby, I know..." Michel felt a knot forming in his throat just as Bonnie's tears wet the fabric of his shirt. This was a totally different Bonnie from the one he was used to, the self-secured, bright professional she normally was, the one scolding him for every tiny scratch Kitt could possibly get, more to tease him than to really blame him guilty. He had barely seen her this weak, clutching at his shirt like to dear life, and in those rare times, more than ever, he felt the strong need of protecting her. Only that this time he couldn't.
He let her cry for a long, long moment until Devon knocked at her door. "The limousine is ready, Bonnie. It's all up to you to tell us when we leave..."
Bonnie untangled herself from Michel's hold. "I will be ready in a few minutes... Thank you, Devon..."
"Let me go get ready too then," Michel said.
"Michel, you don't have to go... You're supposed to be on vacation..." she argued feeling rather guilty.
Michel looked at her with the most serious expression she could remember. "You're kidding me, right? There's no way I'm not going with you."
Bonnie felt fresh tears stinging in her eyes and swallowed hard before she dared to speak again. "Thank you..." she murmured reaching for his hand and holding it tight.
"I'll see you downstairs..." he said and left after Devon.
In both cars the trip to Bonnie's childhood home was a rather quiet one. In the limo, Devon didn't dare to interrupt Bonnie's silence knowing she had to be dealing with the idea of not finding her father there anymore. In the black Tans-am, neither Kitt nor Michel seemed to find out what to say, so they mostly drove in silence.
As soon as they pulled over, Michel jumped out of Kitt to help Bonnie out. He noticed how cold her hands were and how she was trembling slightly, so he circled her shoulders to guide her to the house. It was obvious she wasn't ready for this, she just couldn't reach and ring the door bell. It was Michel who finally called.
A woman in her middle thirties opened the door. Bonnie recognized her as her "friend-of the next door" when she was a little girl. "Oh, Bonnie, it's so good you're here now!" the woman reached to hug her friend. "I'm so glad to see you... despite the circumstances!"
"Thank you, Debbie..." Bonnie replied smiling sadly. "Let me introduce you Michel and Devon..."
Both men reached to shake the woman's hand, who didn't miss the way the so called Michel kept his hand on Bonnie's shoulder, and then followed the two women into the house. Bonnie stood for a second before they reached the dinning room, sighed and gulped. A woman who seemed to be in her late fifties was sitting by another one who was crying softly. Michel guessed she was Bonnie's mom.
"Mom?" Bonnie whispered and the woman turned to look at her. She stood up and Bonnie went to hug her.
"You're here..." the woman murmured and sobbed again. "Thank God..."
"I had to come... How are you?" Bonnie asked pulling away softly.
"I still can't believe it..." the older woman replied. "We were just leaving the restaurant, he had insisted we went out more often, he said we didn't need to celebrate something special, we just needed to be in the mood to go out like when we were younger... We left the place and saw two men arguing, I cried when I heard the shot gun, he then turned to look at us and shot your father... It was all so fast... I think I still saw the gun up after your father fell, but then people from the restaurant went out and the guy ran away..."
Michel and Devon exchanged a glance. It looked like Devon was right.
"Let it go now..." Bonnie told her mother, guiding her to the chair again. "You're fine and that's what matters the most..."
"If I hadn't cried, he wouldn't have shot him!" she exclaimed and covered her face with his hands. "It was my fault!"
Bonnie shot Michel a helpless look and he walked to knelt by the woman's side. "No, it wasn't... In cases like this, crying is a natural reaction you can't be blamed for. We have word this man was a drug dealer, he was probably under the influence of some substance that didn't allow him to think of what he was doing. It was all his responsibility, not yours..."
Something in the tone of this man's voice made Bonnie's mom trust him immediately. She look at his blue eyes for a long moment before she managed a slight smile and a nod. "I'm sorry, but you are...?"
"Oh, mom... This is Michel Knight, my friend from work I've told you about..." Bonnie intervened, "and this is Devon..."
"You're both so kind in coming with Bonnie..." the woman said.
"We wouldn't leave her alone, Mrs Barstow..." Devon stated. "She's important to us, we're family!"
"Please, call me Iris..." she said drying her eyes, "and I really appreciate your coming Mr Miles. Bonnie was always talking about you and Michel to her father..."
"Now, you please call me Devon..." Devon said and he took a seat by Iris' side. "I would like to help you with the unsolved things that are still to be done... We've told Bonnie we would be with her all the way, and we will..."
Devon has been right about many unsolved things they had to work in before the funeral. With Bonnie busied in keeping her mother all right, he and Michel arranged the police release of the corpse and set the ceremony for the following day. Michel too took the chance to pass by the police department and have all the information he could find about the murderer and the other guy who had been shot too. He didn't like something he found: the dealers seemed to belong to the biggest drug organization of the city, well known for not leaving a single witness alive if they risked to be discovered.
"What are you thinking, Michel?" Devon asked after he read the file too.
"I dunno, Devon, but for Bonnie's sake I really wish her mother hadn't cried or better that they hadn't gone have dinner at that place at all..."
"Me too, but that cannot be arranged other way... I have all set for the funeral... I guess we will attend to it and then we will have to leave Bonnie... She can take as many days as she needs..."
Michel turned to look at his boss rather taken aback. "Leave her here? Alone?"
"I guess she will want to spend some time with her mother, Michel, and we have assignments to attend too..." the older man explained.
"But, Devon..." Michel tried to find an argument. "If what we fear it's true, we cannot leave them alone!"
"I know Michel, I'm just praying that I was wrong and the guy won't try to look for Bonnie's mom... I thought of what you said, about him being drugged and I think you may be right... He then shouldn't recognize Iris so easily..."
Michel sighed and said nothing more. He knew his boss was right, yet it was something that still had him worrying about Bonnie. He couldn't point it clearly, so he decided to follow Devon's orders so far. Only that he wouldn't leave Bonnie alone if something happened these days...
"You're awfully quiet..." Kitt interrupted Michel's silence while they were driving behind Devon's limousine.
"I'm thinking about all this situation, pal... I hadn't thought Bonnie might need some time alone with her mother and I just don't want her here alone..."
"Me neither... I can't really understand what she might be feeling, but I guess she is feeling rather lonely. I wish she had come talk to me at least for a while..."
"I'll tell her to drop you a visit, Kitt, I promise..." Michel smiled. He used to tease Bonnie telling her she was Kitt's mother, and as weird as it could sound for Kitt's responses were nothing but programs, he was pretty sure the car loved Bonnie dearly.
"Thank you..."
They didn't talk more until they arrived to Bonnie's house, but just as they turned around the corner, Michel saw a blue sedan parked in front, and a man inside it, with binoculars, obviously studying the house.
"Kitt... is this man doing what I think he's doing?" Michel asked just as he slowed down and pulled over the sidewalk.
"He's obviously looking at the house..." the car replied.
"Take the license plate number and check it for me, will ya?" Michel said opening the door. He crossed the street slowly and walked to the car, but as soon as the man saw him, he turned on the car and left quickly. "Kitt!" Michel shouted and the car started immediately, moving to meet his driver.
The sound of the wheels alerted Devon, who jumped out of the limousine just as Bonnie opened the door of the house. "Michel?" she asked just as she saw his friend jump into the car. "Bonnie, please, get in the house!" Devon walked fast to her and grabbed her arm.
"Did you get the name?" Michel asked Kitt while he drove as fast as he could.
"Peter Bellows. He's got a long history in drug charges, come in and out of jail several times", the car replied.
"Then he will have a few things to explain!" but just as Michel said this, he turned around a corner to find a policewoman showing him a stop sign. Michel hit the brakes hard, and stopped just in time as a bunch of kids ran out of the school in front. "Darn!" Michel shouted hitting the wheel.
"He just left my scanner radio, Michel, I'm sorry".
"That's ok, pal. Let's go back to the house..."
