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

Chapter 9

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Michael slowly opened his eyes to the sound of Bonnie's voice. He looked around and it took him a moment to remember where he was. Then it came back to him. He was in Bonnie's parents' house, in her sister's bedroom. Bonnie was standing next to the bed and was holding a mug of coffee in her hand. She was already fully dressed and looked as beautiful as always.

"Morning." Michael mumbled drowsily. "How long had she been standing in the room? Had she been watching him? This thought made him nervous and he quickly checked whether he was still covered with his sheet. "Why are you up that early?"

"It's not early. It's already 10 a.m. I tried to wake you up earlier, but you slept like a stone. Bonnie laughed as she pointed to the teddy bear that Michael in his arms. "Looks like you had company tonight."

"Me company? What are you talking about?" Michael asked and looked around in the bed. "I'm all alone here."

"I'm talking about Bernie, the bear. Did you feel lonely last night?" Bonnie teased him.

"Bernie? So that's his name. You know, he was the one that felt lonely, that's why I let him sleep in my arms. I would have knocked on your door had I felt lonely." Michael grinned and waited to see how Bonnie would react.

As he had expected, she blushed and avoided eye contact. "Well, um…you could have…." Bonnie stuttered wondering if this was only part of his usual flirting routine or if he really meant it. She liked the thought of him knocking on the connecting door. She would have opened him hoping to share another tender moment with him.

The grin on Michael's face finally reminded her that she was still holding the coffee mug. "I brought you coffee" She placed the mug on his nightstand. As always, she chose to keep her feelings buried inside her and directed Michael's attention to their plans for the day. "You should get dressed. There's a lot to see in Boston. KITT and I have already figured out where to go first."

"You are so cute when you are embarrassed." Michael laughed. "I'll be ready in a few minutes."

He climbed out of the bed and grabbed his towel when he realized that he was only wearing shorts. He could tell that Bonnie was watching him and he enjoyed it. Although Bonnie had seen him without his shirt many times, she couldn't help but stare at him as he headed to the bathroom.

"Um…okay. I'll wait for you downstairs." Bonnie said quickly and left the room. Closing the door, she paused outside for a moment to clear her head. Why had she been staring at Michael? And why did he suddenly make her so nervous and insecure? She figured that it had to be this house, her mother, everything here. She hadn't felt and behaved like this since the first year they worked together, when he had tried to ask her out. She had banned these feelings from her heart after she had met Stevie and seen that Michael was still in love with her. She didn't want her heart to get broken but couldn't deny much longer that Michael was only a friend.

XXX

Michael quickly took a shower and changed into his jeans and shirt before heading down for breakfast. He was surprised that Bonnie was alone in the living room. "Where is everyone?"

Bonnie looked up from the newspaper she was reading and stole a glance at him hoping he wouldn't notice. "My mother is shopping. She would never admit that she loves the day after Thanksgiving. She always buys clothes and toys for Lilly. She won't be back until after lunch. My father is in the study." She got up and headed to the kitchen. "Are you hungry? We have enough time for breakfast."

"It's okay, Bon. I'm not really hungry. I'll grab something later. By the way, thanks for the coffee. I could get used to room service like that." He quickly offered Bonnie his arm and she took it before her face could blush again. "Ready to go sightseeing, milady?"

XXX

"Good morning, Michael! Where's your new friend?" KITT was already waiting for them in the driveway.

"You told him about Bernie?" Michael playfully scolded Bonnie.

"Michael, Bonnie didn't have to tell me. I was on surveillance mode. I couldn't help noticing that you slept with a teddy bear in your arm. It's nothing you have to be ashamed of, Michael. You are not the only one who doesn't like to sleep alone." KITT replied.

"What are you talking about?" Michael asked the AI.

"We should get going." Bonnie interrupted Michael and KITT. She knew that KITT would spill her secret if Michael kept asking questions and Bonnie didn't want Michael to know that she had a stuffed animal in her bed in her apartment in Los Angeles as well.

"Alright. So, KITT, Bonnie said that you already figured out where we should go." Michael slid into the driver's seat.

"Yes, Michael. We are going to the tea party ship first. From there we will head to Quincy Market. If you feel hungry by then, this would be the perfect place to grab something to eat there. You shouldn't eat too much, however. You and Bonnie will be meeting Luke and Lauren for a late lunch in the afternoon. We might have enough time for the Museum of Science before Luke expects you." KITT explained Michael the sightseeing tour.

"Sounds good to me. Let's get started." Michael leaned back and let KITT do the driving.

XXX

Michael was exhausted a few hours later. They had decided to explore the area around Quincy Market on foot, and they had walked a lot. He was impressed with how beautiful Boston was. Bonnie had showed him the tea party ship and had given him a mini lecture on its history. Michael had been forced to admit that he hadn't paid too much attention to history at school, but he enjoyed listening to Bonnie. He was glad that Bonnie hadn't made him go shopping. Sightseeing was a much better option. Getting to know Boston also helped him getting to know Bonnie better. He had thought he knew everything about her, but he realized that here were still a few things he hadn't yet known. Since they had grabbed a bagel at Quincy Market, they called Luke and told him they'd visit the Science Museum before meeting him at the restaurant. Michael had to admit that he enjoyed the museum, not only because he loved seeing Bonnie all excited about the experiments and the exhibits on display there. Michael figured that she had spent a lot of time there while growing up. Bonnie explained the model experiments to him and showed him how everything worked. Her eyes were sparkling the whole time. It was easy to tell that she was happy.

"Why are you smiling?" Bonnie asked Michael when they left the museum. They were finished with the sightseeing tour and headed to Luke's restaurant.

"It's nothing." Michael replied.

"Michael…". She had noticed the way he had glanced at her at the museum.

"Fine. I was thinking that the science museum wasn't that bad because I had a great tour guide. You should teach science if you ever decide to leave FLAG again." Michael immediately regretted his last sentence. There was no way he would ever let her leave again. "Science is actually interesting if you have a great teacher, who by the way is also very beautiful."

"I….I'm glad you had a good time. I told you, the museum is fun. I knew you would like it." Bonnie replied quickly. She hoped he didn't notice that his flattering remark made her heart beat faster. "Turn left into the parking lot."

Michael pulled into the parking lot next to Luke's restaurant. "So, this is Luke's restaurant?"

"Luke opened it three years ago and it has become very popular. The food is delicious." Bonnie explained proudly.

"Didn't Luke and Lauren have the rehearsal dinner at his restaurant?" Michael asked remembering that Bonnie had mentioned the details of the wedding to him

"That's right. They also catered the food for the reception." Bonnie sighed. "I wish I could have been there for her wedding." She was still disappointed about missing Lauren's wedding. She often wished she had chosen another airline or a different day to fly to Boston.

"Lauren knows that you wanted to be there." Michael put his arm around her shoulder and tried to comfort her. He knew Bonnie had been very upset about missing the wedding. Zurich had tried to kill her, but all Bonnie worried after he had saved her was missing her sister's wedding. He regretted not having driven her to the wedding after the hijacking. But KITT had been damaged slightly when driving through the mine fields in Cactus and needed to be repaired first.

"I know." Bonnie quickly changed the subject. It was still painful for her to talk about the hijacking. Even the thought of it brought back the fear she suffered when Zurich had pointed the gun at her ready to kill her. "Are you hungry again?"

"You know I am." Michael opened the door for her and followed her inside.

XXX

Michael immediately fell in love with Luke's restaurant. It reminded him of a few places he had eaten while he was on an assignment. Even Devon would like it because it was not only a hamburger joint as he preferred to call diners but also had elements of a fancier restaurant. Lauren and Lilly were already sitting in a booth and were waiting for Michael and Bonnie.

"There are you. We were wondering whether Bonnie had lost track of time at the science museum." Lauren teased her sister.

Bonnie decided to ignore Lauren's remark. "Where's Luke? Isn't he eating with us?" Bonnie asked as she and Michael sat down across from Lauren and Lilly.

"Someone called in sick, so he had to help out. But he'll stop by later." Lauren explained and handed Michael the menu. "How do you like Boston so far, Michael?"

"It's beautiful. Bonnie showed me everything there is to see. And we did indeed lose track of time at the science museum." Michael laughed when he saw the look on Lauren's face. "I didn't think it would be interesting, but I was wrong."

"Really? I always thought it was boring." Lauren laughed.

Bonnie gave her sister an annoyed look. Lauren always made fun of Bonnie's interest in science and computers.

"Welcome to my diner!" Luke smiled at Bonnie and Michael as he walked up to their booth. "I'm sorry that I can't join you for lunch but order whatever you want. It's on the house."

"Thanks Luke. I really like your restaurant." Michael told Luke.

"Thanks, Michael. The planning and the design took forever but this is how I've always wanted it to look like." Luke proudly explained. "I have to get back into the kitchen. I'll see you guys later."

"Have Mom and Dad ever eaten here?" Bonnie asked Lauren. Her parents often went out for lunch or dinner, but she couldn't remember if they ever mentioned having eaten at Luke's.

"Not very often. At the rehearsal dinner and a few other times. They do like the food, but Mom says she doesn't like the design of the restaurant. But that's Mom. We don't care. I, however, think she doesn't like sitting in a booth because the material is too soft. Dad sometimes comes in for lunch or orders take-out." Lauren laughed. "What are your plans for tonight?"

"We don't have plans yet. We are probably driving back to Los Angeles tomorrow so we shouldn't stay up all night long. What do you want to do?" Bonnie looked at Michael.

"I haven't thought about it. Maybe we all can go out for a beer. Or meet at your place if that works better with Lilly." He suggested and Bonnie and Lauren nodded.

"Sounds good. But you two have to promise that you won't get drunk this time." Bonnie gave Michael and Lauren as stern look. She didn't want to either of them to have a hangover while they were staying at her parents'.

"We'll behave. Don't worry." Michael pressed her hand lightly. He wouldn't do anything to upset Bonnie or her parents. "Lauren, I met Bernie last night. He's a nice guy, but a bit lonely. You should consider letting him move in with you."

"Who's Bernie, Mommy?" Lilly looked up from her drawing.

"Bernie is my old teddy bear. Don't tell me that he slept in your arm, Michael." Lauren laughed as she pictured Michael sleeping with her teddy bear.

"Actually, he did. KITT even has it on tape." Bonnie added.

"Well, thank you, Bonnie. I thought that was our secret." Michael tried to sound offended.

"The two of you were so adorable, Michael." Bonnie grinned.

Michael considered telling her that she would have looked even more adorable in his arms when Luke came back to take their order. He was relieved that Bonnie and Lauren forgot about teasing him after they had ordered. The sisters continued talking about old times while Lilly explained Michael what she was drawing.

XXX

Lauren and Lilly left with Bonnie and Michael after they had finished eating. The food had been delicious, and Michael promised to return to Luke's restaurant the next time he was in Boston.

"Are you going back to the house?" Lauren asked and Bonnie and Michael nodded. "We'll come with you. Mom called earlier and told me that she bought some clothes for Lilly. We'll meet you there."

"Michael, I will delete the recording of you and Bernie if you don't want anyone to see it." KITT offered as soon as Michael started the engine.

"It's okay, buddy. I don't care if Devon or RC see it. Apparently, we looked pretty cute, right Bon?"

Bonnie started laughing. "Yes, you did. But I doubt Devon would think so."

"Probably not." Michael tried to imagine how Devon would react if he saw the picture of Michael and the bear. "That food was really good. Too bad Luke's restaurant is not in Los Angeles. I would eat there every day."

"I'm sure Luke would cook for you the next time he and Lauren come for a visit." Bonnie smiled. She was glad that Michael and Luke got along so well.

"That would be nice. I like him." Michael said. "I can tell that you enjoy spending time with Lauren."

"That's true. We talk a lot on the phone but it's not the same. I wish I wasn't afraid of flying. It would be so much easier if I could simply get on a plane and see her whenever I want." Bonnie sighed. "It didn't scare me as much before the hijacking. Now I can't even think about it."

"Well, KITT is not a plane but he's pretty fast too. If you want, we could drive you again." Michael offered.

"You would do that for me?" Bonnie's eyes began to sparkle as she looked at him.

"Yes, Bonnie, I would do that for you." Michael smiled at her as they left the parking lot and KITT began plotting the course to Bonnie's parents' house. "You know I'd do anything for you."