Title: Glow
Author: knightshade
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just wish I did.
Summary: As far as Michael was concerned, there was nothing nicer than sleeping by a bonfire.
Author's Notes: Thank you to gumnut for the beta! Written for the color_i_fic challenge.
Glow
"Well, I'm gonna call it a night." Jason Hallbeck stood up and dusted himself off. "You're welcome to stay out here as long as you want, but just be sure the fire's out before you come in."
Michael glanced up from the bonfire, realizing that he'd been mesmerized by the flickering light. "I'm going to stay out here a little while yet. Wait for her to finish up," he said, tipping his head toward the road.
Jason looked over at the looming shadow of the semi parked along the edge of his property, hidden among the pine boughs. "She hasn't left that truck all day. She's pretty dedicated, huh?"
Michael laughed. "That's one way of putting it, yeah. Especially when it comes to Kitt."
Jason smiled back. "There's a full bucket a water next to the woodpile when you're ready to come in."
"Goodnight," Michael said as the other man nodded and headed back to the rustic log cabin.
Michael slid off the rough hewn bench he'd been sitting on and used it as a backrest. The sand circling the fire pit was warm and deep enough to be more comfortable than the bench.
It'd been a harrowing twenty-four hours. Their current case had them hunting a militia that had been terrorizing a small town. Jason was the local sheriff, and smart enough to know he was in over his head. Michael knew the militia was trouble, but he'd had no idea just how much firepower they were packing. Kitt had taken a nasty direct hit that had knocked out several of his systems, leading Michael to call Bonnie in a panic. She drove all night to get to them. Then she'd worked all day fixing Kitt. Luckily it hadn't been as bad as they feared. After hovering all day, Michael was finally convinced that his partner was going to be okay. He decided to get out from underfoot and joined Jason for dinner and a couple beers around the fire.
Michael rolled his head to stretch his neck. He was tired, drained. But the warmth from the fire was soothing. The smell of the burning wood and the crackle of bark was lulling him into a pleasant stupor. He was starting to think about checking on things when he heard the metallic clink of the semi door opening and closing. Bonnie made her way down the path from the semi to the fire pit.
If he was drained, she had to be exhausted. Her gait was slow and shuffling, and her eyes were little more than dark hollows.
"How's it going sweetheart?" he asked, patting the ground next to him.
She sighed deeply and sank into the sand. "I'm just waiting for his sensor recalibration routine to finish. Then I can make a couple of adjustments and he should be good to go."
"How long does that take?"
She was staring into the fire and it took her a minute to answer. Michael knew that dead-on-his-feet feeling all too well.
"Ah. It'll take about an hour for the calibration to run and another two or so for me to finish up."
"Plenty of time for a nap."
She shook her head ruefully. "That'll make those last two hours just that much harder. Naps make me more tired."
Michael rested his arm across her shoulder. "Not if you take the right kind of naps. According to that super computer of yours, the key is not to sleep too long."
She gave him a half smile and rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious," he protested. "It's something about getting one complete sleep cycle or something. He can explain it better. All I know is that it works."
"How long do you sleep?"
"Well, Kitt monitors my vitals to determine when I come out of deep sleep, but it's usually twenty minutes."
"Hmm," she said, staring back at the fire again. Michael could tell that she was more than a little tempted. Her eyes closed for a couple of seconds and her shoulders fell forward in an exhausted hunch.
"Come on, if you're just waiting anyway, you might as well give it a try." Michael slipped off his leather jacket and balled it into a crude pillow for her.
"Here?" she asked incredulously. "In the sand?"
He grinned at her stained coveralls. "You're already covered in grease and dirt. A little sand isn't going to hurt."
She just looked at him.
"Besides, it's a beautiful, starry night, and we've got a warm fire going. Sounds like a perfect place for a nap to me."
"Except when I roll too close to the pit and my grease-stained clothing catches on fire."
Michael set his jacket down on the ground and said softly, "I won't let anything happen to you."
Bonnie turned back to the fire and he wondered if the red glow from the flames was hiding a blush in her cheeks. But temptation must have won out because she turned back. "Twenty minutes?" she asked.
"Twenty minutes, and not a minute longer."
"I'll hold you to that."
"Believe me, I know." He smiled as she slid down and rested her head on his jacket, her eyes closing immediately. Michael glanced at his watch for a time hack, and then started gently stroking her hair. The radiance from the fire was giving it shimmering, scarlet highlights as his fingers combed through the soft strands.
"Good night, beautiful," he said, but her breathing had already slowed to a slow, steady rhythm.
-knightshade
December 31, 2005
