Michael liked giving KITT a hard time, but this was getting out of hand. April's cajoling had turned authoritative, almost aggressive, and her appeals to Michael's mischievous side bordered on manipulative. He was willing to put up with her tests and experiments, because sometimes she struck gold; like with silent mode. Michael adored the sound of KITT's engine, but there was just something perversely thrilling about having a car that could sneak up on people. It made it easier for Michael to sneak up on people too. With the windows blacked out, all lights off, and silent mode engaged, KITT was all but invisible at night. Silent mode was enough to encourage Michael to humor April. Her attempts to make KITT aquatic had been amusing even if they'd ultimately failed, though even that had almost been too much. KITT's was an electronic existence, and he could be damaged quite severely by water getting into his circuitry.

But now April really had gone too far. KITT's one genuine, bone-deep fear was flying, and here was April, going off about some obscene idea she'd had in a dream about KITT being able to fly. Michael drew the line at that.

"Abso-fuckin-lutely not, April," he said firmly, crossing his arms and glaring down at her. "Look, I appreciate everything you've done for KITT 'n' me. I know it's not an easy job, and you've had some really good ideas, but no!"

"Why not?" she asked defiantly, not ready to back down and not about to be intimidated. "I'd just need a little time to figure out h—"

"I said no, and that's that!" He pushed past her to KITT's open door. She still had the car's keys but that didn't matter. Like so many other things about KITT, the keys were more of a formality, part of his cover as a normal car, as it were.

As Michael backed KITT out of the stationary semi, he knew he'd have to sit down with April and have a stern talk about boundaries, especially since he knew KITT wasn't very likely to offer much beyond token resistance. He needed to cool off first. If he tried to have a discussion with April now, it'd probably just be mostly him yelling, then apologizing for yelling. Not at all conducive to open conversation…

So for now, they cruised in … Well, not silence, as Michael cranked the radio up and sang along with enthusiasm and slightly questionable intonation. KITT didn't complain, despite his dislike of rock and Michael's drumming. He'd find some way to get back at Michael in kind. They both rather enjoyed their little game of petty annoyances.

Two hours and many miles later, they reached their destination: a rocky bluff overlooking the ocean, well away from civilization. Not many people ever came out here, and that suited Michael just fine. He put KITT in park, then tuned the radio to a soft rock station and turned it down.

The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky with brilliant reds, oranges, and pinks that the ocean mirrored back to it. Michael settled on KITT's hood and leaned against the windshield, the ankle of his right leg tucked under the knee of his left. The ocean and beach so many hundreds of feet below still teemed with life in the lazy evening warmth. Michael couldn't hear them from his vantage point, but it was easy enough to imagine their conversations: What's for dinner? Put on more sunscreen! Moooooooooooom, Chris keeps knocking my sandcastle over! Christopher Reid, get over here right this instant!

He chuckled softly at that, a memory from his own childhood. It dawned on him somewhat obliquely that there was nothing stopping him from building sandcastles as an adult. Maybe he'd try to get Devon to join him. Now that was something he'd like to see. Prim, fastidious Devon, playing in the sand like a child.

"You think we could get Devon to play in the sand with us?" he asked, breaking their companionable silence. It was always 'us', 'we'; he had one hell of a time excluding KITT anymore, to the point that he sometimes forgot KITT was limited to doing car things.

"Why would you want to play in the sand?" KITT asked. "The way you complain about it, one could be forgiven for thinking you hate it."

"I think it's just one of those weird human things that even us humans don't understand."

"All part of the fun?"

"Yeah, buddy. All part of the fun."

"Then I think you could talk Devon into having fun." KITT still sounded slightly baffled. Humans were certainly weird, Michael had to agree.

"I'm not gonna let April try 'n' turn you into an airplane." So much for easing into it… "I'm glad we've got her 'cuz Lord knows we need her, but we've got to set some boundaries."

"She certainly isn't Bonnie," KITT observed. It wasn't an accusation or a criticism or anything beyond a simple observation. KITT was much too kind and much too gracious for such cruelty, especially toward someone to whom he owned his continued existence.

Michael, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel that April took advantage of KITT sometimes, treating him like her personal lab rat. He had to remind himself that April was still getting to know KITT. Bonnie had the unimaginably unfair advantage of having known KITT from his infancy. Hell, she even claimed responsibility for his fear of flying.

Still … Michael had personally made sure that KITT's dislike of flying was noted in his file; that, whenever possible, the two of them would drive, no matter the distance. And April had made it clear through her actions and the choices she made regarding KITT that she knew what the file said forward, backward, inside out, and upside down.

"April knows you hate flying, pal," Michael said. "It's in your file, for fuck's sake! And we've both made it beyond clear that you don't want anything to do with this!" He struck KITT's hood in frustration. "We even drove all the way to Maine in the middle of winter just to avoid flying!" He ranted on for a couple minutes longer.

By then, the sun had sunk low enough that the horizon bisected it; like a postcard. The beach was nearly deserted now, and only a handful of boats remained silhouetted against the sky. Gulls wheeled overhead, occasionally diving down to snatch a bit of food left behind. Michael knew if he looked toward the east, the first stars would be visible. Soon enough, the velvet sky would be ablaze with stars, the polluting lights of the city so far away that even the fainter, more distant stars would be visible.

"KITT, my point with all of this is that April needs to respect your boundaries," he concluded. "Find someone else to experiment on. You're not just some … some thing for her to play with when the fancy strikes! You're a someone and I'm gonna make sure she understands that!"

KITT was silent for some moments, running their conversation and the events leading up to it through his processors. "I trust your judgement on this," he said at last. "But may I make one request, Michael? Don't be too harsh on her."