chapter ten

Michael woke slowly. His breathing was short and erratic, and pain lanced through his skull. He didn't bother to try and move. Already he could feel the helmet protecting his damaged head. It would be there for about a week, according to the doctors. But that wasn't what was really keeping him still. It was the steady supply of worry he could feel, intensely so, coming from a source that wasn't him.

Kitt. As soon as he made the connection, the worry changed to infinite relief. /You're all right?/ Kitt asked anxiously. Michael smiled without ever opening his eyes.

/I think./ he said calmly. /For once – you're freaking, and I'm calm./

Kitt laughed, and the sound resonated through Michael's mind. It occurred to him that the link shouldn't be this strong or clear. Bonnie had said something about the link basically being more of an intuition than a technical communication between them, and yet here he was, talking to Kitt without the comm. and without moving his lips. It was amazing, but Kitt didn't give him the chance to dwell on it.

/Honestly, Michael, are you all right?/

Michael sighed. /Kitt – what happened? The link - /

/I forced it./ There was a hesitant pause, and Michael could feel Kitt trying to pull back, away from his driver, but it wasn't possible. He could retreat, but not far enough. Not so far that Michael couldn't feel the fear and trepidation radiating from him. /You weren't breathing. I had to do something – I couldn't just let you - /

/Shh. I understand./ This time it was Michael's turn to hesitate. /Kitt, this isn't your fault. I wanted it too./

And he felt Kitt's smile. And everything was all right. There was nothing to worry about. Bonnie could deal with the changes in the link. Michael was content to just lay there for the time being, enjoying his anam cara's presence in a way he hadn't thought possible. Kitt was safe, he was safe, and now the others didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of separating them.

/---/

Bonnie sat down in front of Kitt – or rather, in front of the Trans-Am. She wasn't entirely sure that Kitt was in there. She knew full-well he was with Michael. Something painful flashed through her, and it took her a moment to recognize what it was. She guessed it was only natural. After all, she was the closest thing to a mother Kitt had. It was natural of her to be jealous of the person who got to spend more time with Kitt than she did.

Natural, maybe, but it didn't feel right being jealous of Michael. So she ignored it as much as she could.

"Kitt, I need you to talk to me." she said quietly, calmly. "I need to know that the link hasn't made you malfunction in any way, and to do that, I need you here."

The scanner flickered on, then steadily began to track. "I'm here, Bonnie." But he sounded distant.

Bonnie closed her eyes for a moment. "Can you stay with me?"

"Of course." His voice was stronger, no longer as distracted, and Bonnie realized he had been monitoring Michael's condition. "I'm here. Michael's there." He hesitated. "Bonnie, I'm not going anywhere. You're still important to me."

She ignored that, even if it did strike a hard chord. "I want you to tell me exactly what you can do with the link. Every detail. I need to know anything that might affect how you'll perform on a mission." She struggled to keep her voice even and professional. The link was a good idea. She knew that. She just didn't expect it to hurt so bad.

Kitt considered the question. "I can feel him." he said hesitantly. "I – he's in pain, but it's dulled. If it wasn't for the helmet, he would be vulnerable to further injury. I can tell he's exhausted and still a little scared. The surgery was stressful for him."

Bonnie sighed. "So far, so good. Anything else?"

"No."

It was the first time Kitt had ever deliberately lied to Bonnie. Eventually, she would need to know about everything, including the fact that Kitt and Michael could exchange words through the link, but – Kitt wasn't sure he wanted her to know just yet. He wanted to run it past Michael first, preferably when Michael was in a better state to handle things. There was the distinct, abstract fear that Bonnie and Devon would try to rework the link, claim that the communications were a defect from the way the link was activated.

He didn't want them trying to fix what wasn't broken. Not in Kitt's opinion, anyway.

If Michael wanted it fixed, then they would talk. It was the least Kitt could do, considering it was his fault. He had talked Michael into this – it was his fault his driver almost died.

/Didn't I tell you this wasn't your fault?/

Kitt jumped inside his CPU. /Michael, you should be resting!/

/I am. I'm just – experimenting./

Bonnie made a note on her clipboard. "It's more than we could have hoped for." she murmured. She flashed a smile at Kitt. "When Michael's up and on his feet we'll run a few tests. Nothing stressful, I promise." She made a show of crossing her heart, and Kitt had to laugh.

"You don't have to do that, Bonnie." he chided her gently. "I know you're honest." I'm not, but you are.

Bonnie grinned. "Okay. I'm going to let you rest. You're probably going to get a lot of backlash from what Michael's going through while he's recovering, so take it easy. I wouldn't advise trying to fight it, but I'm pretty sure with some practice you could learn to filter out the worst of it." With that she trailed her fingers across the hood one last time and left the garage. Kitt seemed to sigh as he turned his focus back to Michael. This time Michael was in his CPU, not him in Michael's mind, and the feeling was strange.

/Now I know how it feels on your end./ he muttered.

Michael didn't precisely laugh, but Kitt could feel his amusement as though it were his own. /You're used to being hooked up to machines./ he teased. /I'm not. What was that about?/

/Something I need to ask you when you're better./ Kitt admitted. /I'd rather not bring it up now./

/Okay./ Michael seemed to drift from him, but not so far that Kitt couldn't still reach out and touch him. It was easier to connect than it was to pull away for whatever reason. That was another thing Kitt wasn't sure it was wise to tell Bonnie. After all, it wasn't like Kitt was going to put Michael in danger. /But I meant what I said – this wasn't your fault. Never told anyone, but I did the same thing when I went under for my wisdom teeth removal./

/What?!/

Michael smiled faintly. /Check my medical records. It's there./ With that he drifted off to sleep, a calm presence in the back of Kitt's mind.

Kitt checked Michael Long's medical records. And cursed. Michael was right. The fool had agreed to this knowing that since it'd happened once, it could very well happen again.

His anam cara was so reckless.