Thank you for the reviews. I'm glad you enjoy my fic.

Disclaimer: Glen A. Larson and Universal own the Knight Rider characters in this story. Bonnie's family and her family background were created by me.

Chapter 5

Jack Barstow had watched the Thanksgiving parade on TV, then switched the channel to watch the football games, a ritual he did every Thanksgiving. His granddaughter Lilly had fallen asleep on the sofa next to him.

"Jack, Lilly? Are you still watching TV?" Emily poked her head into the living room to see what her husband and her granddaughter were doing.

"Grandma, I saw Garfield and Tweety." Lilly woke up when Emily walked in and jumped up from the sofa, still excited about the balloons she had seen on TV.

"That's wonderful, sweetie. Listen, I have to borrow your grandfather for a minute. Why don't you go to the kitchen? Your mommy is waiting for you there, and we have a surprise for you." Emily smiled at Lilly and gently petted her head.

"A surprise? Really? I love surprises." Lilly beamed with joy and ran to the kitchen.

"Well, I don't like surprises." Emily mumbled quietly. Everyone knew that she preferred to be in control and liked to be informed about visits and other plans beforehand. Bonnie showing up unexpectedly was actually a pleasant surprise for her. Neither Lauren nor Jack knew how deeply disappointed Emily had been about Bonnie's decision to miss their family's holiday dinner because of her fear of flying. Her family was complete now, and there was even an additional guest. A guest that Emily decided not to like. She was grateful because he cared about Bonnie and made it possible for her to be here though she would never admit it. However, she sensed that Michael cared more about Bonnie than Emily thought he should, and that Bonnie seemed to have similar feelings. She wanted her daughter to be happy, but Emily believed she knew exactly the right person for that. Michael Knight certainly wasn't this person and his presence could be an obstacle for her plan. "Jack, dear, do you know a Michael Knight?"

Jack gave his wife a surprised look He wondered why she suddenly mentioned Michael's name. "Of course, I do. He was Wilton Knight's protégé. He's working for the Foundation with Bonnie. Why do you ask? Did something happen?"

"Well, he is sitting in our kitchen." Emily said quietly. She could tell that Jack was confused by her question and her answer, so she clarified. "He is here with Bonnie."

"Bonnie is here?" Jack made sure he had heard correctly. "But didn't you say she wasn't coming because of her fear of flying?"

"That's what I thought too. But apparently, Michael Knight couldn't stand the thought of Bonnie being alone on Thanksgiving. That's why he drove her to Boston. And he also invited himself for dinner." Emily's tone sounded offended. She was fully aware that Michael hadn't invited himself to her house. It was Bonnie's idea and it was the least Bonnie could offer for his nice gesture.

Michael Knight must have upset Emily and Jack knew why. His wife didn't like any changes in her plans and Michael's presence was an unexpected change. Bonnie could have brought Devon and even their dear friend would have messed up her carefully planned dinner.

Michael Knight. Jack remembered the first time he met Michael. It was shortly after he and Wilton had saved him in the desert. Wilton had thought of Michael as a son and Jack had the impression that Devon thought so too. Jack barely knew Michael because he had retired after Wilton's death. He had read Michael's file though and was informed about Michael's interest in woman. Therefore, he was worried when Bonnie began working closely with Michael. He feared that Michael could somehow hurt his little girl, Bonnie. Devon often reassured him that he didn't have to worry about Bonnie as she knew how to handle Michael and took her work seriously. Bonnie had complained about Michael countless times at first, calling him a nut who abused her baby which let Jack believe she had little sympathy left for her co-worker. But later, after Bonnie had come back to the Foundation, their relationship changed, and she and Michael became close friends. While Jack and Emily missed Bonnie, he was glad that she had another family in California who would take care of her – Devon, Michael, and KITT.

"I'm sure Bonnie told him that is okay for him to stay for dinner." Jack tried to calm Emily down. "It would have been rude not to, unless of course he had other plans."

"Of course, she did. But Jack, he is not only staying for dinner, he is also staying here until they drive back." Why didn't Michael offer and decide to stay at a hotel? Did he really miss being part of a family or did he want to stay with Bonnie? These questions were popping up in Emily's head. "I know it's only my first impression but I don't think I trust him, Jack. He also ruined our driveway." Emily kept complaining.

"Emily, try to be nice to him. He's a friend of Bonnie's and Wilton thought very highly of him. He trusted him, and so do Bonnie and Devon. He was nice enough to drive Bonnie here. You know that he doesn't have family and I'm sure he'll appreciate a nice family Thanksgiving dinner." Jack knew Emily wouldn't change her mind. She was stubborn and even if she wanted to be nice to Michael, she couldn't.

"Well, Bonnie tends to trust the wrong men. Just like her sister." Emily shook her head. She would never understand why her daughters seemed to prefer men who were different from her family friends' sons. "I'm glad I invited Scott for dinner. He's such a nice young men and he shares Bonnie's interests."

"Emily, as far as I know Bonnie and Michael Knight are just friends. And he's one of the good guys. Didn't she and Lauren tell you to stay out of their love life?" Now it was Jack's turn to shake his head. "Let's go to the kitchen. I want to see Bonnie."

xxx

Michael and Bonnie didn't stay upstairs for more than a few minutes. They decided to unpack later and quickly joined Lauren in the kitchen.

"Coffee is ready!" Lauren smiled at her sister as Bonnie and Michael sat down on the white table in Emily's beautifully decorated kitchen. "I hope you aren't scared now, Michael. I kind of forgot to warn you about my old bedroom."

Bonnie looked at Michael and both began to laugh. Lauren's bedroom reminded him of a Barbie doll house. The walls were pink and plastered with posters and photos. Lauren's cheerleader pom poms were also on one of the shelves.

"It's…interesting. I hope your favorite color isn't pink anymore." Michael sipped from his mug. It felt good to have some coffee. "I'm sure I will dream of all kinds of pink things tonight."

"I bet." Lauren joined in their laughter. "I decided to leave it like that. It reminds me of my wild days as teenager. And it's always fun to see how different Bonnie and I were when growing up."

"You were one of the cool girls and I was a science nerd." Bonnie explained. Michael had seen her bedroom before they went back to the kitchen. It was very plain but comfortable and reminded him a bit of her apartment in Los Angeles. Bonnie had showed him her first computer and he had admired all her awards she had received in high school. He could easily tell that Bonnie and Lauren didn't have many common interests when growing up, but they had still been very close. "Still hasn't changed." Bonnie loved that she had turned her interest in research and technology into a career. A job with a team she loved more than anything else. However, there were times when she envied her sister because she had a child and a husband. It was so easy for Lauren but was it so hard for Bonnie to allow herself to fall in love?

"Mommy? Grandma said that you have a surprise for me?" Bonnie's thoughts were interrupted by Lilly who ran into the kitchen. She saw Bonnie and her face lit up. "Aunt Bonnie! Are you the surprise?" She threw her little arms around her aunt's neck and snuggled into Bonnie's shoulder "That's a cool surprise."

Bonnie pulled Lilly into a tight hug. "Hi Sweetheart, you've grown since I last saw you. I missed you."

"I missed you too." Lilly beamed, then noticed that there was someone else in the room. She pulled out of Bonnie's arms and turned to Michael. "Hi, I'm Lilly. Who are you?"

Michael smiled at the little girl. "Hi Lilly, I'm Michael, a friend of your aunt. I've heard a lot about you."

"I know you, Bonnie has told me about you too. You are the one who always wrecks KITT." Lilly said bluntly. She remembered what Bonnie once told her about the co-worker she then considered impulsive and irresponsible.

Michael tried to sound offended. Secretly, he wondered who else Bonnie had told her family about him. "I haven't wrecked him in a long time, right Bonnie?" She nodded and he continued. "KITT is here too. He's in the driveway. I'm sure he wants to meet you since Bonnie has told him a lot about you. Why don't you get your sweater and then we all go outside and say hi to KITT?"

"Cool!" Lilly smiled and ran towards the door. "I'll be right back."

"She likes you." Bonnie said to Michael. It always amazed her how good he was with children. They immediately liked and trusted Michael. "I told you she would like you."

"You know, I'm irresistible." Michael grinned and Bonnie rolled her eyes. "She's a wonderful kid, Lauren."

"So, you and Lauren have met before?" Luke asked Michael and his wife. "Lauren told me so much about her visit with Bonnie and she mentioned so many names and things she and Bonnie did so that I got confused with people and their names.

"Yes, I met Lauren when she visited Bonnie a few years ago. I went out for dinner with them one night, and then we ended up in a bar where we met RC." Michael told Luke. From the look on his face, he gathered that Lauren had also talked about this evening

"RC started this drinking game. We had too much beer and some other alcoholic beverages. Well, Bonnie wasn't drunk, but Michael was and he ended up sleeping on Bonnie's sofa. I think I made it to the guest room, right Bonnie? Or did you have to carry me there?" Lauren tried to remember while Luke fought hard not to laugh.

"And I had to make sure you guys didn't make a fool of yourself. Michael and RC started singing and I had to keep Lauren from joining them. And then Michael kept me up all night because he felt sick. I had to tell Devon the next day that he suffered from food poisoning. Devon believed it since he had never trusted the places where Michael likes to eat." Bonnie still felt guilty about lying to Devon. She had enjoyed the evening even though she had been embarrassed more than once.

"We should chat about that weekend a bit more at dinner later. I'm sure Mom would be shocked to learn how badly I behaved." Lauren always liked to provoke her mother.

"I don't think this would be a good idea. She might kick me out of the house." Michael replied quickly. He usually didn't get drunk and knew when to stop drinking. He had worked on a troubling case before and that together with RC's stupid game had made him drink more than he could tolerate. Lauren talking about his behavior that night certainly would not help him to make their mother like him. "I don't think she is happy I'm here."

"It's not like that, Michael. She just wasn't expecting that I wouldn't come alone. I told you, she doesn't like surprises, and this was too much for her." Bonnie felt bad for how her mother had treated Michael earlier. She didn't want him to regret his offer. "She will like you once she gets to know you better. Remember that it took me a while too?"

"And she probably thinks you and Bonnie are more than friends. This might be another reason for her behavior because you aren't a lawyer or physician. Bonnie is her last hope of getting a lawyer or doctor as son-in-law." Lauren explained to Michael before she decided to ask him what their mother was wondering about. "You aren't a couple, are you?"

"No, we are not." Both Bonnie and Michael quickly and avoided looking at each other. They couldn't be more than friends. Even if Bonnie secretly hoped there was a chance that she could bring up the courage to tell Michael that she had feelings for him.

"Too bad. It would have been so much fun otherwise. I would have loved to see the look on Mom's face. Can't you pretend that you are in love?" Lauren grinned deviously. She already pictured her mother's expression. "You should know, Michael, I love to tease our mother."

"I can tell." Michael replied when Jack and Emily walked into the kitchen. Bonnie quietly sighed in relief. This conversation had taken a turn into a direction that made her uncomfortable. Michael on the other hand didn't seem to object to Lauren's suggestion.

"Dad!" Bonnie walked over to her father and hugged him. "It's so good to see you."

"Hi sweetheart. You are really here." Jack hugged his daughter back. He had missed her. Bonnie and her father had always been very close and even though Jack was glad that Bonnie enjoyed working for FLAG he was also sad that she lived so far away from her family.

"Hello Michael, it's been a long time since I've seen you. How are you?" Jack turned to Michael who he had last talked to at Wilton Knight's funeral. "Thank you for bringing my girl home for Thanksgiving. It's good to have you both here for the holiday."

"Good to see you again, Mr. Barstow." Michael remembered meeting Bonnie's father. Bonnie had been with him, but Michael hadn't known her yet. It was only shortly afterwards that he found out they would be working as a team. "And thanks for letting me stay at your house."