Chapter 5: A Little Miracle, Part 2
Devon sighed rather sadly as he sat in his apartments. After the night in the hotel, he and Bonnie had gone looking for Michael, Kitt and Marissa, but to no avail. It was as though all three of them had disappeared from the surface of the planet. He had, reluctantly, taken the plane back to California with Bonnie. She had convinced him to not let the local authorities know what had happened just yet…just in case they were alive and on their way somewhere.
Now, though, he looked out at the tree that was in the living room. He and his niece had decorated it the day before this entire disaster began. Over the fireplace was an extra stocking, with Marissa's name embroidered in red…another reminder that it was now Christmas Eve.
"Lord," he whispered, "Whoever is listening to me…I…I pray to you…all I want is for them to come back to me. Michael Knight, Kitt and my niece, Marissa…I don't care what it takes, but…please…I can't bear the thought that all three of them might be gone forever…I don't want anything else but for them to be all right and here with me…"
His voice trembled and a pair of tears fell down his face as he spoke, "Please…I beg you, please let them be alive…let them come home soon…I…" I love them and need all three of them in my life…
He remained still for a moment, trying to regain control over his emotions and himself, but to no avail.
"Rissie…Michael…Kitt…"
Devon laid his head on the couch arm and cried.
Just outside the window, a young red-haired girl with pointed ears floated in mid-air as she watched the scene before her. The older man in front of her had been speaking quietly…and with the window closed, she could still hear every word that was said. Now, that same man was half-lying on the couch, arms and shoulders shaking as he wept.
She sighed and shook her head. She had heard about conditions like this from Papa, but never expected to see it for herself.
This human in front of her was falling apart.
"Just a little longer," she said through the window quietly, "Hold on a bit more."
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Mama looked to her husband, who was getting ready for the long trip. After all, it was Christmas Eve, and he had quite a night ahead of him…moreso than usual. After a long talk between them, it had been decided that Papa would be having company on this flight.
"That way," she added, "You can also get those three to their home. One of the little elves peeked into the Foundation home a few moments ago."
"Oh…? How're the other two holding up…?"
"Not too well. Bonnie's trying hard to find them, but…when Ursa last looked, Devon had fallen asleep, crying. Their absence is tearing him apart inside."
He nodded, "Well, you know Kitt agreed to it, and so did Marissa…now all we need to do is to talk to Michael."
"Talk to me about what, Papa…? Or should I say, Santa?"
They turned and saw the young man in the doorway, looking much better than he did when the three of them were found four days ago.
"Call me whichever name you want. I'll still be just as real."
"So I noticed."
"Michael, as you know, tonight's Christmas Eve. Before the three of you go home, how about you all come with me on the sleigh ride tonight…?"
His eyes widened as he asked slowly, "Kitt, Marissa and I, come with you delivering toys to the kids of the world…?"
"Certainly. When we get to your area, you can get off then. How's that sound?"
He grinned slowly, "That's something I always dreamed of doing when I was a kid."
"I remember…and now that you're an adult, you get to go on one."
"Have you asked Marissa or Kitt?"
"We did, and they're all for it."
At that moment, they heard the sounds of a pair of children playing hide-and-seek, then the sounds of footsteps running through to the living room. Before anything could be said, Marissa appeared, deciding to hide behind the door leading into the kitchen.
His eyebrow went up as he asked, "Marissa…? Was that her I saw playing?"
"Why yes, dearie. As good as she is, it's wrong that she's never known how to play, much less been allowed to do so. A bit of play mixed in with what she does every day is always good for her."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Sa—Papa, what time do we leave?"
"We go in a couple of hours. Oh, Marissa…" he said, smiling.
"Yes, Papa…?" she asked, giving her location away to one of the children—no, elves, that tagged her.
"Something you might want to think about…" he said as he motioned for her to come to him. When she did, he whispered, "It wouldn't hurt if you called him 'father', you know. It seems that though he won't say so to anyone, he longs for it."
"You sure…? I figured that he'd feel overwhelmed, like things were moving too fast."
"Oh, I'm quite sure. There's a song that people made about me…one of the lines is 'He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake'. Well…it's very true, for adults as well as kids."
"I'll remember that."
The elf that had been playing with her asked, "So you're going, little missie?"
"Yeah, Polaris. I'm really gonna miss this place, but I'm worried about Uncle Devon and Bonnie."
He grinned and tapped her on the nose. "Tell ya what…how about around this time every year, 'till you grow up, you come up here? That way you'll remember how to play an' can even help Papa get ready?" He quickly added, "Um…with Papa's permission, of course."
The jolly, old man laughed heartily and added, "That's a great idea. Just until you do grow up for real, though."
Marissa grinned and said, "I'll do that! Thanks!"
Michael chuckled as he said, "We go in two hours." He paused for a moment before adding, "This is gonna be one trip we're not going to forget."
"You can say that again. Traveling through the entire world, helping deliver packages for someone that most people do not believe in, actually catching a bird's-eye view of several monuments…"
"Ho ho, I see Kitt's ready now."
"But of course, Santa. And I still have the bunch that Michael and Rissie bought for Devon and Bonnie before we ran into that blizzard."
"Don't you worry, Kitt dearie," Mama put in, "We made sure to gift-wrap those ourselves. Now, how about a nice, tasty early dinner and some hot chocolate to go with it?"
"Sounds good," Michael and Marissa agreed, then the little girl asked, "You having a meal too, Kitty?"
"Yes, I am. Papa truly knows how to treat an AI in a car. This is the best grade of fuel that I've had in a long time. It's compatible ethanol, made with a special kind of corn, so Papa says. And a few of the elves were already making sure that I'm at optimal capacity. Bonnie would be jealous."
She grinned and Michael said into his own comlink, "Well, the flight of our lives begins in 2 hours. Best get ready for it, Michael and Wendy."
Kitt replied just as the operative knew he would, "I beg your pardon!"
Marissa didn't. "Hey, this may be as close to a real Never-Neverland as we'll get. Peter Pan might not be real, but this whole time since the blizzard is. I'm worried about Uncle Devon, but I'm gonna enjoy it anyway. Besides, when we get home, it'll be in style!"
Papa whispered to Mama, smirking, "Peter not real…that's what she thinks."
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Bonnie sighed as she looked at the hardware that she had been working on since before the disappearance. Ever since they had gotten back two, almost three days ago, Devon had been staying in his apartments…and the times that she had gone up to talk to him, he was either sleeping, or…
She had completed the project…just when Kitt, Michael and Marissa had vanished from the face of the planet. She had been trying to keep optimistic, that they would turn up, alive and well. It was hard, especially when she overheard the Englishman cry out for them. If they weren't found soon, they would have to think about accepting the worst.
And Bonnie knew if that was the case, Devon would lose the will to live.
"Please," she whispered, "I need your help…we need your help. The three most important beings are gone. Please…bring them back, alive and well."
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Exactly two hours later, the huge, red sleigh was ready. There was a large bag, just full of toys sitting in the bag, almost overflowing. The reindeer were also being hooked up to it, including Rudolph, who was eying a black trans-AM warily.
Said trans-AM, Kitt, was parked behind the sleigh, nervous, yet ready to go. He was still afraid of flying, but he knew that considering where they were, the North Pole, the only way they would be able to get home was to do this. Papa had explained that as soon as both were airborne, Kitt would be flying alongside the red sleigh. He already had the flight plan recorded, courtesy of Polaris.
Michael would be in the car, while Marissa…
"The little one will be riding with me in the sleigh," Papa had said.
"Lucky you!" the operative had said tapping her on the nose.
Papa, Michael and Marissa were bundled up, more than usual. Mama had found three layers of coats, mittens and the like for each person, and surprisingly, they all fit.
"A few areas are going to be especially cold, so the extra layers will really help," she had explained.
Michael nodded and got into Kitt while Papa took his place on the sleigh. Mama put Marissa right beside him.
"Everyone ready?" he called out.
"Ready, Santa!"
"Ready to go, Papa," came from a grinning Michael.
"Yep!" Marissa nodded.
"Then let's go!" He grabbed the reigns and sent a small wave into the cords. "Now Dasher, Now Dancer, Now Prancer and Vixen!" The old man nodded at her encouragingly.
She grinned and called out, "On Comet, On Cupid, On Donner and Blitzen!"
"To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!"
They both said at the same time, "Now dash away, dash away! Dash away all!"
Michael had to smile when he saw this…and Kitt gave an amused chuckle as the reindeers started on the trot…and after they had gone a few yards, Kitt began rolling as well. Within moments, both were airborne.
Marissa looked as the house and workshop grew smaller and the small group went higher in the sky.
"Wow!"
"It's just the start, little one!"
And indeed it was. Marissa would, at times, ask about some of the places…such as a huge wall that went from one end of the country to the other…seemingly endless at first.
"That would be the Great Wall of China," Michael had said. He and Kitt would be talking to her and Papa using her comlink. "It was made long, long ago."
There was a large tower, maybe one of those communications towers, although it was in a place where the people had slanted eyes and dark skin.
"The Tokyo Tower," the man beside Marissa said when she asked, "Quite an important structure here…nowadays, that is. Used for sightseeing and for broadcasting entertainment."
Whenever Papa would land the sleigh at a house, Michael and Kitt would as well. Surprisingly, thanks to whatever had been done to make the car able to fly, it was also extremely light and did not cause the roof even the slightest amount of damage. The oldest one there would alternate between Marissa or Michael going into the houses with him and placing the presents under the trees, sometimes putting coal in the stockings, depending on the child's (or at times, children's) behavior for that year.
As they traveled, they all saw different kinds of living places, ranging from palaces, regular houses to places made out of wood, or sticks and grass. There were even underground houses, with kangaroos either sleeping or out and about.
"There're all kinds in this world," Michael had said once while in the air. At the time, they were over one of the Safaris of Africa.
"Yeah…who'd have thought that some entire families, parents included, could be so rotten…or the parents be so bad and the kids still be good," Marissa replied.
At one spot, they saw another structure, somewhat similar in design to the Tokyo Tower, although it was far away, where the people looked just like the ones in the US…but had very odd accents. Also in that city was a strange, square-like bridge that had an almost round, inner curve that people and cars passed beneath.
"That's the Eiffel Tower, and the strange square-ish place is the Arc de Triomphe. This is incredible, we're just over Paris, France!" Kitt exclaimed, "It's been called the city of romance!"
Papa chuckled and said, "Some things are extremely exaggerated…and others are true. This country is a bit of both."
At another time, they came across a land that was lit up, with large buildings…although there was one that caught the little girl's eye.
It was a huge, rectangular building, not all that wide, but certainly tall. It seemed as though it had been made out of lots of things, including gold. Near the top were four clocks, and all of them had Roman numerals on the faces instead of English numbers.
"Wow…that's gotta be the biggest clock I've ever seen!"
"That's called Big Ben, Marissa," Papa replied, "We're in London, England."
"So this is where Uncle Devon comes from. He said that he had been born and raised here."
"That's right," Michael agreed, "From the air, it's one he—heck of a city. What a view."
At another point, they flew across a land that was truly beautiful…the grass on the hills were much greener than even at the Knight Estate…and the cities weren't quite as modern as other places…but seemed right, all the same. The accents were somewhat closer than she would hear from Devon.
"Ireland, also called Eire," Papa said with a grin, "next up is Iceland, then the Western Hemisphere, starting with Canada. If you all don't mind, I'd like to save the United States until last…so that all of you can get a good look at South America, Mexico and Canada."
"Be my guest," Michael agreed. He and Kitt were truly enjoying this trip, and he could tell that Marissa was, too. After all, it wasn't every day that an adult, a sentient car and a little girl got to accompany Santa Claus on a trip around the world.
On and on the trip went, until the only presents left were the ones for the United States…then they all homed in on the area where the Foundation headquarters were.
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Right before this stop, Michael had gotten out of Kitt and climbed into the back of the sleigh, where the now relatively semi-empty sack of toys sat. The AI went into autopilot. It had been decided that when they arrived, Kitt would go to the garage, where he stayed when at the Foundation headquarters, while Santa, Marissa and Michael all handled this last delivery.
"They all seem to be sleeping, Bonnie included," he reported when they were approaching the building.
"Good, good," Santa grinned, "The Miles apartments will be the very last stop. I want to be there when you two are reunited with Devon."
The group of them quietly went through the place silently, moreso than they would have thought possible. At every apartment that had children in it, they stopped and dropped off presents…including Laura Mariz's.
"Even though she's grown up enough to not believe in you?" Marissa asked.
"Your family and hers has a very special lineage," Papa replied, "It's not for me to say what it is, but they're prime exceptions to the rule."
Eventually, they all entered into the apartments that Devon and Marissa stayed in. Michael had been about to knock, but Papa put a finger alongside his nose, shook his head and simply touched the knob. It opened easily and silently.
"You two first," he whispered.
The operative and little girl nodded and entered the house.
Both of them looked around, then saw what they had been looking for.
Devon was laying on the couch, sleeping. Even he could tell it wasn't a peaceful rest, as his expression was etched with pain, and his face was still a bit damp.
Marissa saw this and hurried over to him, gently shaking him.
"Uncle De—" she stopped when she saw Papa's expression and remembered the advice that he had given her at the North Pole.
She shook him again, gently, and said instead, quietly, "Father…father, wake up. Please…"
The Englishman's eyes snapped open and he looked disoriented for a moment. He stared at the little face in front of him and said quietly, sadly, "Another dream…and I know it's just a dream…"
"No it's not. This is real. We're back, all of us."
Devon sat up, slowly, then reached to touch Marissa's face with a trembling hand, just as he did in Montana.
"Rissie…? Michael…?" Even his voice trembled.
"Yep, it's us, Devon," Michael replied.
"That's right."
The Englishman stared at both of them for a long moment…then surprised them by quickly holding Marissa close to him in a bearhug and then including Michael into the embrace, with the little girl between them.
"Devon…?" he asked, telling that the older man was shaking.
There was a sniff, then the reply, "You're alive…you're both here, and alive! Thank God…Th…" The rest of what he was about to say was cut off by a sudden fit of sobbing.
Michael was rather surprised, to say the least, at the reaction, although in a way, he felt that he wasn't supposed to be. He tightened his grip on Devon.
"It's okay, we're here now," he replied softly.
"Yeah, we would have been goners if a couple hadn't rescued us," Marissa added, her voice muffled.
"We were so worried when we got the SOS…and then when we arrived…and couldn't find any of you…I've been scared…"
Behind them, there was the sound of a more quiet ho-ho-ho, making Devon look up…and his eyes widened by what he saw, even through a haze of tears.
"I…I don't believe my eyes…"
As the trio let go, Michael turned and said with a grin, "Devon…I'd like you to meet the real Saint Nicholaus…"
"Although he says to call him Papa," Marissa put in.
"Father Christmas works just as well," Papa put in with a grin, "Devon Miles…I thought you looked familiar. All grown up, but still familiar. You weren't always a good little boy, but you've become a fine man. And don't worry, Kitt's downstairs in the garage…with everything those two bought before the entire thing got started."
"He and his wife were the ones that saved us," the little girl said, "And we've had quite a trip tonight. Around the world!"
He nodded, stood and took the jolly man's hand into a firm handshake.
"Thank you…for saving them. I'm…"
Papa smiled warmly, knowing already that the man was truly grateful, more than could be put into words. "It's truly no problem, Devon. I want to talk to you a little bit. Michael, why don't you and Marissa go get Bonnie and wake her?"
"Great idea. She's really gonna feel better," Michael agreed, then helped the little girl go downstairs.
A few minutes later, they returned upstairs, with Bonnie. She had really been startled to see Kitt in his usual spot…and had thought, like Devon, that it was just a dream…until Michael and Marissa came downstairs. Then she realized that a true miracle had happened…and that all three were alive and well.
She was surprised to see a familiar figure from her childhood…although this was real…talking to Devon, who was nodding and wiping his face with tissue.
"I don't believe what I'm seeing," she said quietly.
"Believe it," the Englishman replied, "it's exactly as it looks. He and his wife saved their lives, took care of them…and they've been on the trip of their lives. I think it'd be a good idea, though, to keep that part just between us. As far as anyone knows, a couple found and helped them, then waited until the blizzard stopped before bringing them home."
"No problem there," she agreed.
"It's time for me to get home," the oldest there said with a smile.
"Thanks, Santa," Marissa said, "It's been a lot of fun!"
Devon nodded, "And it starts again next year…without all the scaring me to death, of course."
The man nodded then stepped over to the fireplace, which had been put out.
"See you all next year…and Merry Christmas!" he called out, put the finger alongside his nose…then disappeared up the chimney.
Michael, Marissa, Devon and Bonnie hurried to the window and opened it. Within a few moments, they could see, against a full moon in a clear sky, the sight of Santa's sleigh and the reindeer.
They all waved as they heard in the faint distance, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"
As the sight disappeared into the distance, Marissa turned to Devon, who picked her up and held her close to him.
"Merry Christmas, father," she said quietly.
He looked deeply into her eyes…then smiled warmly, in a way that none of them had ever seen before.
Papa was right, Michael thought, Devon was longing to hear it from her.
"Merry Christmas to you too, my dear," he replied softly.
Everyone quickly went downstairs to the garage, not caring that it was still, technically, Christmas Eve for another hour. Devon kept refusing as they walked, saying that the only thing he wanted this year he had already gotten.
In the backseat, as well as in the trunk, there was a large number of presents…in the first area were the ones that they three of them had bought before the blizzard…although in the trunk came from someone else altogether…and they had a feeling they knew who.
After a number of them were opened, Bonnie grinned and picked up some thin, translucent, black material, as well as the hardware that had been on her work station, and installed both while Devon was opening one of the presents from Papa…and smiled warmly as he saw a tea set, with pictures of the North Pole, as well as children and elves playing in the snow.
"Just what is it you put in, Bonnie…?" Kitt asked.
"Something that I've been working on ever since we got back from Montana…and completed when you disappeared." She then pressed a single button, one that was next to the large, white "C" button.
As soon as it was pressed, the material came out of a section near the trunk, then smoothly flowed over the car.
"Oh my goodness…Oh my goodness! Is this what I think it is…?"
"Yep. A special tarp, just for you…and the mechanism that expands and contracts it. The mechanism also controls the temperature that the tarp emits…and it won't interfere with your Surveillance Mode."
"Wow, I…I…Thank you, Bonnie. I love it!"
She chuckled, "You're welcome, Kitt."
Everyone chuckled warmly as they sat around Kitt, talking until sunrise.