chapter four

Michael waited inside Kitt while Lauren made a pit stop at a local gas station. With a sigh, he leaned back in his seat, resting his head against the leather. He could feel an odd mix of contentment and worry filtering through the link from Kitt, and automatically he pressed his hand against the dash. /What's wrong?/

Kitt chuckled. "You enjoy that particular parlor trick, don't you?" he teased. Michael grinned.

"Actually, yes." he conceded. "And you're avoiding the question, which isn't like you at all." Kitt hesitated, and Michael continued to speak. "Come on, pal. You know you can tell me anything. Anything at all." They had been through too much together to not be able to tell each other everything. Michael figured Kitt knew that. He also knew Kitt had a hard time trusting his own newly developing instinct. He trusted Michael's, but computers weren't supposed to have instincts.

Kitt hesitated a moment longer, struggling with the words. "I – I don't like that woman." he admitted finally. Michael nodded.

"None of us really do. Personally, I really don't think she's cut out for this kind of work, but I didn't think I was either at the beginning." he said. "So what is it you don't like about her?"

Instead of responding with words, Kitt sent him images. Michael's eyes widened in shock as he saw the past few conversations with Lauren through Kitt's eyes, as well as feel Kitt's reaction to them. It made sense, if Michael thought about it. After all, every time Michael hooked up with a girl, Kitt usually wound up getting left behind. It made sense that Kitt would be jealous of the attention Lauren was demanding, and even scared that she just might get it. He was afraid he was going to lose his partner, and Michael couldn't blame him for that. He gently stroked the dash.

"It's not going to happen, Kitt." he whispered. "I won't do that to you again." A sudden thought occurred to him. "Okay, so who would you not mind me being with?"

"Bonnie."

Michael choked. "Say what?"

Kitt was laughing at him – he knew it. "Bonnie appreciates both of us." he pointed out reasonably. "She would be the only one who would truly understand anything about our relationship."

"You have a point, but I only tell you that reluctantly." Michael groused. This time Kitt really did laugh at him, and Michael couldn't help but chuckle. "Seriously though – you wouldn't mind me dating Bonnie?"

"No." Kitt assured him. "It would be preferable to the other women you've dated."

"And if something went wrong and we broke up?" Michael pointed out.

"Nothing would go wrong." Kitt said with all the confidence an AI had. Michael shook his head – he didn't even want to know where Kitt was getting that idea from. He watched as Lauren left the gas station, a cell phone glued to one ear. He shook his head.

"Sad."

"Like you're one to talk. You have a cell phone in your head."

Michael made it a point to glare at the dash, for all the good it did him. "I just want to get this done and over with." he grumbled. "Out of all the times Devon could have gotten us an extra partner, why now?"

"He tried before with RC." Kitt pointed out. "I never did find out why he left."

"Because it pissed him off that I trusted a mechanical partner more than him." Michael said simply.

It took Kitt a moment to process that. "Say what?"

"Devon was getting frustrated that I was basically using RC as backup when we had no one else." Michael explained. "He wanted RC to be more fully involved in FLAG, especially since he helped rebuild you. We had an argument about it – I basically said that I didn't feel safe with any human guarding my back anymore and that was his fault for pairing me up with you." He flashed Kitt a smile, and his partner could feel his amusement through their link. "RC overheard. At least, I'm assuming he did – he left the next day."

"That would explain why he didn't say good-bye." Kitt mused, but there was no hurt in his voice. "Hey – she's finally off the phone."

"Finally." Michael muttered. "Any idea who she was talking to?"

"Unlisted number, and unfortunately there's too much ambient noise for me to tell you right now what the conversation was about. Give me a few days and I'll have the audio cleared up."

"And people wonder why I like you." It was a gentle tease, and Kitt took it as such. There was no time for a retort – Lauren quickly opened the passenger door and slid inside. It took all of Kitt's self-control to not eject her immediately. He didn't want her there, inside where his MBS couldn't protect Michael. It unnerved him. Lauren smiled at him.

"So, where to?" she asked, a little out of breath. Michael didn't need Kitt to tell him her last phone call had been stressful. He could hear it in her voice.

"Having problems?" he asked.

Lauren shrugged. "Oh, it was just a wrong number. I don't know someone named Renee – why would they want me to take a message for her?" She rolled her eyes. "Idiot telemarketers. Third time this week too."

Michael chuckled. "Stubborn fools, aren't they?"

Kitt couldn't help his trepidation. Lauren was trying to establish a relationship with Michael, maybe even win his trust. Was it wrong for Kitt to doubt her motives? Was it selfish for him to want Michael to stay with only him, even though a woman might be good for him? Probably, but that didn't stop the need to keep Michael to himself. He had the sinking feeling that somehow, Lauren was going to accomplish her goal, no matter how many times Michael said it wouldn't happen.

He couldn't stop the hurt, and he couldn't keep it from his driver. Michael reached through the link, trying to reassure him. Kitt accepted the warmth and put the thoughts from his processor. For now.