Chapter 6

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Cara was being dragged through a dimly lit hallway. 'I have to get away! She'll kill me!' were her thoughts as she hurried to find a way out. She tried to fight the blond woman off, but she was too weak. She then was pushed into a cold room with a steel slab as a table. She was strapped down and two pads with wires were put on both sides of her head.

"Who would have thought you'd go nuts." said the blonde, smugly. Her green eyes danced. "Pleasant dreams." She walked away.

"No! Dedra! Don't!" came a male's cry. Cara saw a white flash and felt a scalding hot jolt to her head…

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Cara woke with a start. She was in a cold sweat, clinging her comforter to herself. 'Thank god it was just a dream.' She got out of bed. She was too shaken to go back to sleep. She didn't want to wake Devon, but she didn't want to be alone right then. She changed into a blue sweater and jeans and headed outside.

A guard stopped her on the way out. "It's okay. I just need some air." He let her pass and she wandered around for a while. 'What a horrible nightmare.' Then she heard piano music being played. She followed the melody to it's source. Kitt's garage. There was a light on. She didn't want to bother him. Maybe she could just go visit for while out of the cold. She made her way down.

Kitt was enjoying Debussy's 'Arabesque No. 1' when there was knock at the garage door. "Kitt? It's me! Can I come in?"

He detected a slight sense of urgency and nervousness in her voice. He turned the music down and used his micro jam to open the door. "Cara? What on earth are you doing out at this hour? It's raining out as well."

She brushed the wet hair from her face. "I…I couldn't sleep that well and went for a walk. I can head back if you want."

"No, it's too dark and wet out for you to walk back. You can stay here tonight. Get in." He opened the driver's side. She hesitated. "It's all right. I don't bite." She smiled and got inside. She put her hands on the wheel. "You're cold." he said. He turned on the heater, but not even that could stop the chills her nightmare had given her. She didn't realize it, but tears were starting to flow from her eyes. She sighed.

"Are you alright?" asked Kitt. "You look quite upset."

"I had a dream. A really bad one." she said.

"Want to tell me about it? I've been told I'm an excellent listener."

She told him about the nightmare she had and they voices she was hearing. He listened very carefully. What kind of place did she come from?

"You don't think it's true, do you?" she asked him. "What that woman says?"

"No, Cara. Of course not. You're perfectly sane as far as I can process. And that notion of you're being evil is ridiculous."

"But those guys at the center, when I…"

"Young lady, they were asking for it." Kitt interrupted. "If you hadn't taken care of them, and I didn't have my dominate program I would have…"

"Dominate program?" she asked, interrupting him this time.

"Yes. It's the preservation of human life. Your life." he said.

"My life? Why is my life so important all of a sudden?"

"Because you're my partner now. Believe me, Cara. She's wrong. Trust me."

She sighed. Well, she did have to trust someone with her heart sometime, didn't she? "I trust you, Kitt."

"Good." he said, relieved. "Would you like to listen to some of Debussy's works with me?"

"Love to. Sounds beautiful."

"I agree. I enjoy him as much as I do Vivaldi. But I could never get Michael to sit down long enough to enjoy them."

"Who's Michael?" came her innocent question. "I heard Devon mention his name a few times."

A picture of a man came up on the monitor. "Michael was my first partner. Wilton Knight chose him personally." He's the most unique person I have ever met." She could hear a smile in his voice just remembering Michael. "The stories I could share. Uh, may I?"

"Of course, Kitt." she said. "I'm curious to hear about this Michael Knight."

Cara listened as he told her about how they met, how Michael had been left for dead, and how they brought down Tanya and her friends. She listened with baited breath as he told her how they were nearly destroyed by Garthe Knight, Wilton's son who looked just like Michael. Garthe sounded nuts. Kitt told her about the time he was dropped into an acid pit, and how Michael had raised his spirits. She even learned that both partners had lost their own memories at one point.

"Wow, you two were quite the pair." said Cara.

"Yes, I suppose we were."

"So, what happened to Michael? I mean, it sounds like things were going great."

"They were." said Kitt. "For a few years at least. Then Michael was wounded early on in one of our cases. He pulled out of it, but he wasn't the same Michael Knight I knew. He didn't even know if he wanted to stay on at the Foundation." It hurt Kitt to remember Michael lying there, lifeless, only to pull out of it a different person. "Devon found his fiancée, Stevie, from his previous life. They were going to get married, but it didn't happen that way."

"Why? What happened?"

Kitt hesitated. It was painful to his memory banks to remember that day. He still wished there had been way for him to stop it. "One of the men from the robbery came out of nowhere shortly after the wedding. He tried to kill Michael, but Stevie threw herself in front of him. I'm afraid she didn't make it."

Cara was silent. How sad, but what a brave thing for Stevie to do. She hoped she'd find someone she cared that much about for herself one day, someone she would risk her life for. "Poor Michael."

"He stayed at the Foundation a bit longer, but I could tell he wasn't the same. He finally decided to retire and leave FLAG. No one has heard from him since."

"He never even came back to visit?"

"No." said Kitt. "I didn't really understand at the time, but I wanted Michael to be happy." Actually, in a sense, he did understand now. If anything ever happened to Cara…

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. I just hope I can live up to everyone's expectations."

"I have watched you train, Cara. You're more than qualified as far as I'm concerned." He paused. "And I'm certainly glad you're here. Remember that night when you said that perhaps I didn't want you hear?"

"You heard that?"

"Yes. And Cara?"

"Yeah?"

"Nothing could be more further from the truth."

"Thanks." she smiled. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

"You better get some sleep, Cara. It's already two in the morning. There's a blanket behind the passenger's side." She reached behind and wrapped the blanket around herself. "Comfortable?"

"Yes. Actually this is more comfortable than my bed." She reclined the seat. "Oh, and Kitt?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you want me here. I'm glad you're here too." She curled up against the seat. It felt soft as she laid back. She laid on her side, holding the blanket to her. Finally she felt safe from the visions and voices in her memory.

Kitt let his heater warm her and started to shut his systems down. It did feel good to have someone sleeping in the driver's side again, to have a partner again, and yet…this was different. Cara gave him a strange feeling, one that was new to him. He watched as she drifted off.

"So am I. Goodnight, Cara." He shut his power packs down.

"Goodnight, Kitt."

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Devon got out of bed the next morning feeling very tired. It was as if he hadn't slept in months. He was glad he had finally found a new operative and had her in training. He could rest easy knowing Kitt would be in good hands, and vice versa for Cara.

He got dressed and headed to his office. There he found Bonnie. She seemed to be looking for something. "Morning, Bonnie. Is something wrong?"

"Have you seen Cara, Devon? We were supposed to go over some of Kitt's programming, but I can't find her."

"Take it easy, Bonnie." Devon told her. "Maybe she's in her room."

"I'll go check." She left for a few moments, then came running back in. "Devon, she's not there."

"What?" He and Bonnie set out to look for her.

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Kitt turned on his systems when he felt Cara stir. She was still curled up in the seat under the blanket. He monitored her. She looked happy and peaceful for the first time since they met. The sun shone through the windshield. It hit Cara's hair, making the red color shine. In other places, it was dark brown. It reminded him of…he disregarded the possibility. Michael had no living relatives. He continued to watch over her.

Cara, meanwhile, was having a wonderful dream. She was a little girl again. She saw pine trees, evergreens, beautiful mountains. There was a river. The smell of wildflowers, candles, and cooking in the air. She ran into the kitchen of a small house where she saw a large black woman in a long flowing dress. The woman held her arms out to embrace the little girl.

"Mama?" Cara said in her sleep.

Kitt didn't want to disturb her. It looked as though she was having a rather peaceful night's sleep for once. Cara reached over and hugged his seat close to her, as she reached for the woman in her dream. She felt safe here.

Kitt rather liked the sensation. It felt like a hug. He then noticed the time in his data bank. He hated to wake her, but someone was bound to notice she was missing by now.

"Cara. Come on, it's late. Bonnie's expecting you."

"Just a few more minutes." She rolled onto her other side.

"Come now, Cara. You wouldn't want for me to get into trouble, would you?"

Cara reluctantly came to. "Mmm. Morning, Kitt." She stretched and put the seat up. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven in the morning. Ten fifty-five to be exact."

"What!?! Oh no!" She folded the blanket then straightened herself up. "I am in so much trouble. I better go back before Devon finds out."

"Too late, Cara." said Devon as he and Bonnie came into the garage. "We've been looking for you for over an hour." They were a little shocked to see Cara had spent the night there. "Were you here all night?"

Cara cleared her throat and quickly exited the car. "Devon, I can explain. See, I was out walking around last night when I saw the garage light on. It was too dark to head back so I stayed here." They both looked at her, then at Kitt. "Honest."

Devon smiled and laughed. "All right, Cara. I believe you. Just leave a note next time. You had us worried."

Bonnie was confused as she looked at the three of them. Why wasn't Devon more upset? "Come on, Cara." she said. "I still have to go over some of Kitt's main functions with you."

"Ok. Goodbye, Devon. Bye, Kitt." She walked away with Bonnie.

Devon walked over to Kitt and gently sat on the side of the hood. He saw Cara glance behind her once more, looking at the Pontiac. "Quite amusing, isn't it?"

"What, Devon?"

"She knows I would not be upset, yet she insists on protecting you."

"Devon, please, nothing happened last night." Kitt said almost immediately. "She had a nightmare and needed someone to talk to. That's all."

"I believe you, Kitt. I know you care for her. Whatever does happen between the two of you is none of my business." He patted the hood. "Just remember you're both partners for FLAG and you must work together when it's necessary."

"Yes, Devon. But surely you're not implying that I'm in…"

"Ah, ah, ah." Devon held up his hand, stopping him in mid sentence. "None of my business. Now, if you'll kindly excuse me, I have a phone call to make." He got up.

"Devon…!" said Kitt. But Devon walked away before he could say anymore.

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Devon went up to his office and sat down. He took a deep breath. Yes, this phone call had been a long time coming. He needed someone to do him one last favor. He wanted everything to be in order when his time came.

He looked down at the phone number in front of him. It had been hard tracking this man's number down, but Devon knew it'd be well worth it. His fingers shook slightly as he dialed the number.

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Mr. Bailey ran into his small office when he heard the phone ring. His assistant, Mel, was busy reading a car magazine. "Oh no, Mel. Let 'me' get it." he said sarcastically to the younger man. He picked up the phone. "Hello? Mike's Bait and Trade Shop. What can I do for ya?"

"Hello, Michael." came an older man's accent on the other end of the line.

At first, Mr. Bailey was shocked, but then a smile came to his face.

"Hello, Devon." said Michael.

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