ARGH! Sorry for the delay on this, folks. I wanted to rework a bit of the first part of this chapter before I posted it. And then I got bogged down in work stuff. And then I caught myself a nasty flu, high fever and all. I still have the remnants of it, although at least the fever is gone, but everything's getting better now. I would probably be all better by now, if not for having to work while sick. The perils of self-employment; you can't call in sick and the deadlines don't just go away because your body has suddenly been invaded by a pillaging and plundering horde of viruses. It's not like my work is at all physically active or anything, but having to do it does take time away from, say, drugging myself to the eyeballs and then sleeping all day, which would mean getting better faster. :p
Ah well. I'm on the mend. And I was able to do the bit of reworking that I wanted to do to this, so…here it is. The final "pre-transfer" chapter. I hope it's somewhat worth the wait. I suspect not, but…Oh well. Blame it on the &$#!ing 'flu virus. :)
Once she made certain that all of the connections were properly in place, Bonnie settled herself into Kitt's driver's seat, closing the door behind her. She did so very gently. She knew, intellectually, that it made no difference whatsoever to Kitt if the door was slammed violently or closed gently; he didn't feel sensations like physical pain or discomfort. But for the moment, she wasn't thinking so much with the intellectual part of her brain, and she felt a need to be gentle.
She pulled in a deep breath, and then let it out in a long sigh. Turning in her seat, she set the portable computer she'd brought with her on the passenger seat and then leaned down to connect it with a cable to a free COM port on the underside of the car's dashboard. She'd use the computer to initiate and then monitor the transfer process but also to communicate with Kitt. Talking was difficult and laborious for Kitt now and processing auditory input was almost as difficult. Communicating with him in text was much faster and, more importantly, it was much easier on Kitt.
Sighing again, Bonnie typed in, Kitt?
Almost immediately, the words, I'm still here, appeared on the screen and Bonnie smiled.
We're ready to start the transfer, Bonnie typed at Kitt. Are you ready?
Not really, Kitt answered, but I suppose I have no choice in the matter now.
No, I suppose not, Bonnie responded, frowning as she typed. It'll be OK, Kitt, she added, attempting to be reassuring, although doing so in text wasn't exactly easy.
Will it? Kitt immediately answered, and somehow the fear behind the words clearly conveyed itself to Bonnie.
It didn't surprise her that she could "read" Kitt so well. He was, at least in part, her creation. He had certainly developed since his "birth" in ways that hadn't been her doing and that had been entirely beyond her control, but that was what kids did. They were birthed and from then on, they could be guided here and there as they grew and learned, but in the end, nothing could prevent them from becoming the person that they were meant to be. And it had been much the same with Kitt. Still, Bonnie had brought him into the world, and she had been with him his entire life apart from a sabbatical to write her dissertation. She'd spent long hours in conversations with him that ran the entire gamut from completely inconsequential to lightly joking to profoundly serious and philosophical. After all of that, she didn't need to hear Kitt's voice to know what he was thinking and what he was feeling.
Yes,it will, she typed back at Kitt and then said, aloud, "It will," so that Kitt would hear the conviction in her voice.
You don't know that for certain, Kitt countered after a moment.
Bonnie sighed as she answered, No, nothing is ever certain, Kitt. You know that. But I do have confidence in myself and in my team. And I have confidence in you, of course.
Well, that makes one of us, Kitt replied, and Bonnie could almost hear the wryly self-deprecating tone that she knew his voice would have had had he spoken the words.
You'll be OK, she typed back at Kitt. And she believed it, truly she did. She knew that he was going to have a tough road ahead of him, and that there would be bumps along it, probably some huge ones that none of them could anticipate until he actually ran afoul of them. But Bonnie also knew that Kitt was a tough cookie and that his adaptive and learning capabilities were virtually endless. She'd made them that way, after all. It was just that Kitt was impatient, and he was likely to push himself too hard too fast. More than that, he would expect too much of himself and so make things much more difficult and frustrating for himself.
I hope so, Kitt was answering, meanwhile.
I know so, Bonnie answered. Because above all, I have complete confidence in Jessica.
As do I, Kitt admitted after a thoughtful pause. But perhaps we're jumping the gun. You said yourself that you can't test the new hardware until it's actually in place. If it doesn't work at all, what then?
If it doesn't work, Bonnie typed, swallowing uncertainly at the same time, then we put you in a mainframe. We're building one, just in case. You know that's always been Plan B and, besides, it might be handy to have in the future if something else ever happens to you.
I see, Kitt answered, and Bonnie could easily detect his unease. I can almost hear Devon's complaints about the bills, he added.
Bonnie grinned and answered, I haven't heard any yet. But then, most of the bills haven't come in yet.
And when they do, we'll hear ALL about it, Kitt surmised. There was a pause, and then, So I sit in an isolated mainframe until...what? appeared on the screen.
Bonnie scowled and answered, You sit in a mainframe or, preferably, in that human body up there until I find whoever did this to you and then kill them in some slow, horrible fashion.
No! Kitt immediately protested. No, I don't want you to kill them. I don't want that on my conscience. Or on yours, for that matter. Or on Michael's, since I know he'd be right there with you.
Bonnie smiled at Kitt's answer and then typed, All right, all right. I won't kill them. But I make no promises about severe maiming.
Severe maiming would be acceptable, Kitt decided, and Bonnie chuckled. In fact, Kitt added, I'd expect no less of the mama bear.The affection behind the words was unmistakable, at least to Bonnie.
You know it, Bonnie answered, reaching out to pat the dashboard with affection equal to Kitt's. Why do you think I've been so hard on Michael all these years?
Indeed, Kitt answered. In fact, now that you mention maiming, it's amazing to me that you haven't deprived him of certain body parts of which he happens to be very fond.
Bonnie chuckled, and answered, After seeing the condition he's brought you back in on numerous occasions, don't think that I haven't been sorely tempted.
I know that you have been, Kitt answered. And I admire your restraint. And I thank you for it. Because otherwise, I'd be the one to have to listen to all the complaining after the maiming.
Bonnie chuckled again at that, and then both were "quiet" for a moment. Then: Bonnie…Speaking of Michael, among other things… In case something happens to me and I'm lost or incapacitated, I want you to know some things.
Kitt, nothing's going to happen to you, Bonnie answered, her fingers hitting the computer's keys with much more force than necessary, conveying her determination. You're not going to be lost. I won't allow it.
I know that you'll do everything in your power to prevent it, of course…but as I said, you can't know that for certain, Kitt insisted. Even if everything goes exactly as planned, I know that I will have much adjusting to do, and I'm still not particularly confident that I'll be able to do it. And if everything doesn't go as planned, then…I need to tell you this,Bonnie. Just in case.Please.
Bonnie swallowed, fought back tears that wanted to form in her eyes, and then typed, All right, then. Go ahead.
Most importantly, Kitt began, I want you to know that even if you didn't have those mama bear tendencies, you are still the closest thing that I have to a mother, and that I love you.
Bonnie smiled affectionately. She'd more or less known that he felt that way, even back when he had firmly and loudly insisted that he didn't have feelings. But that didn't mean that she didn't feel a huge wave of warm fuzzies anyway, because he'd never actually said the words before. Still smiling, she typed back, I love you, too, sweetheart.
And, Kitt continued, you are one of the two most important people in the world to me. I think you know who the other one is.
I've got a pretty good idea, yes, Bonnie typed back, smiling again.
And if all of this goes straight to hell, Kitt finished, I know that both you and Michael will be upset.
"Upset?" Bonnie responded, disbelievingly, aloud. Shaking her head, she typed, More like "utterly destroyed," Kitt.
Be that as it may, Kitt conceded, I want… That is, it would make me happier, going into all of this, if I could be certain that if something catastrophic should happen to me, you'll be there for each other. I tried to talk to Michael about this last night, but he doesn't want to hear it, and he certainly won't talk about it.
He's afraid, Bonnie said, and that's not an emotion he's used to dealing with.
No, it isn't, Kitt answered. He doesn't know how to deal with it, really, so he tends to avoid it and deny it instead. Nevertheless, the possibilities that do exist, however remotely, must be acknowledged whether he wants to acknowledge them or not.
I suppose they do, Bonnie agreed.
And I know that you two don't always see eye-to-eye,Kitt continued, but… You will need each other. Or at least, I know that Michael will need YOU. Because without me, he has no one else. You have a life, friends and family and colleagues, outside of all of this. Michael doesn't, and that worries me. Above all, I don't want him to do anything stupid, if something should happen to me.
Bonnie swallowed, tears welling in her eyes again, prompted by the thought of losing Kitt but perhaps even more by imagining what such a loss would do to Michael. Because Kitt was right: Michael's whole world had become Kitt and the work that they did together. He'd lost everything else when Michael Long had died and Michael Knight had risen phoenix-like from the ashes. So without Kitt, Michael's world would be gone, just as Kitt's would be gone if the situation were reversed and it was Michael who was facing the possibility of oblivion.
She'd often wondered if Wilton Knight had had any real idea of what he'd been doing when he'd linked Michael's and Kitt's fates so intimately. She'd wondered if he'd consciously engineered it such that neither had a purpose without the other or if that was simply how things had evolved, unforeseen, because that was how, also unforeseen, Kitt himself had evolved. She deeply suspected that Wilton hadn't really given it all that much thought beyond the initial goal of the project. And it was obvious to Bonnie that Wilton had always seen Kitt as a mere tool, not as a person, a thinking individual. It was obvious that he had seen Kitt as a tool that could be replaced if necessary and, indeed, whenever necessary, as often as necessary. His attitude had grated on Bonnie fiercely, but she'd shoved the resentment aside and focused on her work, only to have the resentment resurface with a vengeance when Michael had, at least initially, seen Kitt in exactly the same way that Wilton had. Fortunately, Michael had changed his tune rather quickly because he'd had the opportunity to do so. Wilton hadn't had that opportunity; he'd died a few days after Kitt had been transferred to the car and brought online there. If only he'd lived to see what Kitt had become…
Then again, Bonnie thought with a small, wry smile, Wilton Knight very well might have been appalled by what Kitt had become.
Bonnie shook herself then. She took a few moments to force back the tears that were still swimming in her eyes so that she could clearly see the screen in front of her. And then she answered, I promise you that if the worst happens, I'll be there for Michael, and that if it's at all within my power to prevent it, I won't let him do anything stupid. That is, I'll be there if he'll let me be there. You know how he is.
I do, yes, Kitt answered. I know him and how he is all too well, in fact. That's why I know that he will let you, specifically, be there when he wouldn't let anyone else be. And even then, he might put up a good fight at first. But eventually, he'll cave. He cares about you, you know.
I know, Bonnie answered simply.
And he really isn't the horrible, womanizing lecher that you think he is, Kitt added.
I've come to realize that over the years, yes, Bonnie answered, smiling slightly.
And even if everything goes precisely according to plan and nothing horrible happens to me at all, Kitt continued, I'd like nothing better than to see you two—
"Oh, don't you start!" Bonnie protested aloud, as she saw the direction of the words flowing across the screen in front of her. "God!" she groused. "First Jessica, now you. I suppose Devon will be next," she complained.
I'm just saying, Kitt responded, defensively, on the screen. But I'll say no more, I promise, he added. I just wanted you to know.
Just in case? Bonnie typed, teasing.
Just in case, Kitt confirmed. There was a pause, and then he added, And now I suppose we should get on with the task at hand.
Bonnie nodded, back to business.
I suppose we should, she typed. Are you ready?
No, Kitt answered honestly, but I suppose that stalling and fretting only makes things worse.
Bonnie smiled and answered, Sometimes. Sometimes it's best to just get a distasteful task over and done with. But this is only temporary, you know. We'll get you moved and then…
And then the REALLY distasteful part begins, Kitt finished, the resignation behind the typed words blatantly obvious to Bonnie.
She smiled and answered, That depends on your point of view, sweetheart. Ready? And don't say no.
I'm as ready as I'll ever be, Kitt answered. See you on the other side, as they say. At least, I hope I will.
You WILL, Bonnie confidently replied. I promise,she added.
And then she typed a few commands into the computer, and the transfer process began…
"I wasn't conned into doing this, Stephen," Jessica indignantly insisted into the phone. "I'm doing this to save a person's life."
"You mean to save a computer's life. Such as a fancy computer with delusions of grandeur can have a life, that is," Dr. Stephen Lane, on the other side of the phone conversation, retorted. He'd been the surgeon to whom, according to Devon, Michael had spoken the day before he'd approached Jessica. And, unfortunately, Jessica knew him all too well.
"No, Stephen," Jessica answered patiently, trying to swallow her irritation. "To save a person's life. If you'd opened up your mind by just a little teeny crack for once in your life and hadn't just dismissed this whole thing out of hand – as you always do when it comes to the tough cases – then maybe you might have come to understand that."
Dr. Lane snorted as he answered, "You know, Mac, I realize that the usual social graces aren't exactly your forte. But here's a hint, for future reference: When you're asking for someone's help, it's usually considered good form not to insult them."
"I'm not insulting you," Jessica answered reasonably, shrugging even though her shrug couldn't be seen over the phone, "I'm merely speaking the truth, and you know it. You're a pragmatist, Stephen, and you don't take on battles that you don't think you can win. Everyone this side of the Mississippi – and maybe even on the other side of it, too, for all I know – knows that. And it drives me, in particular, nuts. But when push comes to shove you're a damned good surgeon."
The other surgeon was quiet for a moment, surprised, before he drawled, "Why, Mac, darling. I didn't know you cared."
Jessica snorted and answered, "Well, I'm a pragmatist, too, in one or two ways. Look…I know this is short notice. And I know that we're sort of…rivals and all."
"Us?" Dr. Lane sarcastically interjected. "No!"
"And I know it's Sunday," Jessica continued, heedless, "so I'm probably threatening your precious tee time and—"
Dr. Lane laughed and answered, "Actually, you're not. Two of my foursome are down with that 'flu that's been going around. So, we canceled for today."
"Well, then, since you don't have anything better to do…" Jessica sniped sarcastically. She paused, bit back the rest of the acid reply she'd intended to spew, swallowed her pride, and finished quietly, "Like I said, I need help with the initial step of this thing, Stephen. And…I can't think of anyone I'd rather have in there with me."
Dr. Lane made a choking noise.
"Jesus, the Great and Powerful Dr. Mac is admitting that she needs my help? All right, who is this, really, and what planet are you invading from?"
Jessica's scowl sharpened her voice as she answered, "If you don't want to help, Stephen, that's fine. I'll just call…Mullen."
"Mullen?" Dr. Lane echoed disbelievingly. "They talked to Mullen?"
"Apparently so," Jessica answered, amused. "He does have a lot of experience, you know."
"Yes, of course," Lane agreed. "But only because he's about a hundred-and-ten years old and should have retired thirty years ago. I'm surprised he doesn't still do therapeutic trepanning to release evil spirits. I wouldn't trust him to clip an aneurysm, much less..."
Despite herself, Jessica laughed.
"Nevertheless," she said, "he is my other option. So, it's you, him, or I fly this puppy solo, and…I'd really rather not do that."
Lane sighed, was quiet for a moment, and then he said, "All right, Mac. How about if I come over, see what you've got, and—"
"There's no time for that," Jessica interrupted. Noticing movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head to see Michael hovering in the doorway arch of the sitting room she was using to make the calls that she needed to make. He was watching her curiously, and she beckoned him inside. To Lane, she said firmly, in a tone that brooked no argument, "I need a yes or a no here. And I need it right now."
Lane sighed, deliberated for a moment, and then he said, "All right. Fine. I'll do it if only to see the Great and Powerful Dr. Mac fall flat on her tiny little ass."
Jessica smiled and answered, "Well, we'll just see about that, won't we?"
"I'll be right over. Are you at your office? The hospital?"
"Neither," Jessica answered. "I'm pretty close to your grand palace, actually," she drawled, and rattled off the FLAG mansion's address.
Lane made a perplexed noise but asked no further questions as he said, "I can be there in…forty-five minutes."
Jessica nodded, said, "I'll tell the front gate to expect you," and then hung up the phone and flopped bonelessly back into the arms of the comfortably padded wingback chair she was sitting in, letting out a deeply irritated noise as she did so.
Michael, who'd sat himself in the matching chair across the width of a coffee table from her, asked curiously, "What was that all about?"
"That," Jessica answered wearily, "was Stephen Lane. One of the biggest pains in my ass. But…I need his help on this."
The name was vaguely, naggingly familiar to Michael, and he frowned as he answered, "You do?"
Jessica nodded and explained, "The…dissection I'll have to do prior to installing Kitt's hardware is some pretty delicate stuff. It occurred to me that I didn't want to do it all by myself. I wish it had occurred to me sooner, but…" Her voice trailed off with a shrug.
"He's one of the other surgeons I spoke to," Michael said, still frowning as he finally placed the name.
"Yeah," Jessica replied. "And if I'd known y'all and known about all of this then, I'd've told you not to bother," she added with a wry smile. "He's as good a surgeon as I am," she explained with her usual lack of false modesty, "but…he doesn't take on cases that he's not reasonably sure that he can win. Might damage both his enormous ego and his nearly-spotless win/loss record, you see."
Michael scowled at that and said, somewhat scathingly, "Nice."
Jessica shrugged noncommittally as she answered, "It not that uncommon of an attitude. In fact, I'd say that it's more the normal attitude amongst surgeons, especially those of us in high-risk fields like neurosurgery. As much as surgeons tend to dislike lawyers, we're really not that much different from them, you see." Michael smirked at that as Jessica added, "I'm just not normal."
"No!" Michael sarcastically protested.
Jessica snorted, stuck out her tongue at him, and then said, "No, not normal. But I'm also not really a 'miracle worker;' it's just that I'll take cases that few others will, and I've had a fairly good success rate with them," she finished with a shrug.
Michael smiled at that as he slouched down in his chair, lacing his fingers over his belly.
"Well, as far as I'm concerned," he said, "anyone who can poke around in someone else's brain and not kill them in the process, is a miracle worker. So…you're just gonna have to deal with me thinking of you as one."
Jessica smiled at that, and answered, "I guess I can live with that." After a moment, when Michael didn't say anything but just sat there looking decidedly troubled, she asked, "Is there something wrong, Michael?"
"Wrong?" Michael echoed, frowning. "All kinds of things are wrong, at the moment, Jess. So…specifically?"
Jessica snorted at that and said, "I meant, wrong with Kitt," she said. "Besides what I already know is wrong with him, that is. I thought y'all'd be…"
Michael shrugged and said with something of a pout, "Bonnie kicked me out." While Jessica laughed at that, Michael added, "But he's OK. I mean, the transfer is going OK. Or at least it was when I left a few minutes ago. But Bonnie kicked me out and asked me to do two things."
"Two things?" Jessica asked.
"Yep," Michael replied. "One was to find you and tell you that if things continue to go well, without incident, the transfer to the temporary CPU will be done in about an hour and a half."
Jessica nodded. "And the other?"
"The other was to get my ass into bed," Michael said with a snort. "You'd think she was my mother or something," he added in a mutter.
Jessica chuckled and said, "Well, I second her on that one, so I guess you have two mothers. I'm afraid y'all do look like hell, honey."
Michael gave her a sour look and retorted, "Hey, you get about five hours of sleep in as many days and see how gorgeous you look." He sighed then, rubbed at eyes that no longer felt like they had grains of sand in them but only because they felt like they had chunks of gravel in them instead, and conceded, "But yeah, I know she's right. And at the moment, there's no real need for me to be hanging around, because there's absolutely nothing I can do, so…" He shrugged and added, "But, I wanted to ask you… Do me one favor, Jess? Please?"
"Of course," Jessica answered seriously.
Michael bit his lip and then said, "If something…happens…something that looks serious, I mean…"
"I'll send for you right away," Jessica assured him very seriously and very sincerely. "I promise."
Michael gave her a sweet, melting little smile.
Jessica smiled in return and said, "Now get. I've got an incoming surgical team to brief, and y'all have an appointment with your bed. Doctor's orders," she added with an impish grin.
Michael smirked at that, then nodded and pushed himself up out of his chair…and then, unexpectedly, he paused. Jessica frowned up at him and was surprised when Michael bent down to plant a kiss on her cheek.
"Thanks, Jess," he said simply, quietly, but very sincerely.
"You're welcome," Jessica answered him equally sincerely and equally quietly. Then she poked his chest playfully with one finger and said, "Now get out of here before I haul out the weapons-grade sedatives and y'all end up spending the next twenty-four hours snoring and drooling over on that-there couch."
Michael turned his head to look at the indicated piece of antique and undoubtedly very expensive furniture and quipped, "That might be fun. If only because the drooling part would totally piss Devon off."
Jessica laughed delightedly at that but then smacked the back of her hand against his chest exasperatedly. "Get!" she demanded
"All right, all right," Michael surrendered. "I'm getting."
Jessica rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement at Michael as she watched him leave, and then she settled in to wait for her surgical team to arrive.
Review replies next time, I promise. For now, I'm going bad to bed. :p