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 25

They reminded KITT not mention their relationship to Devon. KITT still didn't like the idea of having secrets from Devon but he understood the reasons why Bonnie and Michael didn't want to tell anyone that they were now more than co-workers and friends. He was delighted that his two favorite people had finally realized that they belonged to each other. However, he couldn't help worrying that their relationship could influence and even endanger their work relationship and he hoped Michael wouldn't do anything which could upset Bonnie. He had already spent over an hour warning Bonnie of Michael's bad habits the day before while they had still been on the road. More than once, Michael had wished KITT would have told jokes again. But even KITT noticed how happy Michael was after his first night with Bonnie.

"Home sweet home." Michael mumbled as they passed the gate at the entrance of the Foundation mansion. Usually, he was relieved to reach the safety of the Foundation again. Today, he wished their commute was longer. "Looks like Devon's already in his office."

"That's correct, Michael. He arrived yesterday. Based on the data on transatlantic travelling, I would assume that he is feeling jetlagged. He hadn't been long enough in England to get accustomed to the difference in time before he had to fly back." KITT informed Michael and Bonnie. "My current position, however, is too far way to check his vitals to give you more information on whether he is still feeling tired from his flight."

"That's okay, KITT. We'll find out soon anyway." Bonnie answered while she already made a mental checklist on which of KITT's systems she would check first.

"You mean his biorhythm is screwed up?" Michael laughed. "Can't blame him. I feel a bit jet-lagged too. We also travelled through different time zones and didn't get much rest either. Not that I minded last night."

That grin on his face. Bonnie hoped he wouldn't look at her like that when they were around Devon. She would be embarrassed and wouldn't be able to hide her feelings for Michael.

"Well, Michael, it is proven that even an hour can affect one's biorhythm. Do you want me to check your vitals too?" KITT replied dutifully. He hadn't been on surveillance last night but judging from the grin on Michael's face, Bonnie's face showing signs of embarrassment and based on the data on human relationship he had looked up in his databases, it was obvious to him why Michael and Bonnie hadn't gotten much sleep.

"Nah, don't worry, buddy. I'm fine." Michael quickly answered, relieved he didn't have to go into a further discussion on his lack of sleep.

They pulled into KITT's garage where Bonnie immediately hooked him on to the systems to see whether any work needed to be done before he and Michael would leave again. She doubted that there would be any damages as they'd been careful, and she had done a thorough check of his systems before they had left Boston. She wasn't sure however if using Super Pursuit Mode most of the time had affected KITT. The only time Michael had ever used it for a longer period of times was when he'd raced to Cactus to save her from Zurich and the other hijackers.

The feeling of Michael's lips on her neck startled her. She hadn't noticed that he'd walked up to her while she had started the computers. "You know how to distract me, Mr Knight."

"I've been told I'm really good at it." Michael mumbled into her hair and took in the smell of her shampoo. "I'd love to stay here and distract you a bit longer, but it's time to report back to work."

Bonnie nodded. "Devon is probably already wondering where we are."

Michael grinned. "I'll tell him that I kept you busy." He saw the look on her face and quickly added. "With KITT of course."

"Michael, we agreed that you would leave me out of your secret." KITT immediately objected. "I'm not programmed to lie."

"I know, buddy." Michael laughed. It wouldn't technically be a lie. Bonnie was actually busy with you when I distracted her." Sometimes, he wished KITT had a face and he could see the look on in situations like this one. "But Bonnie's right. We shouldn't keep Devon waiting. Don't forget the Sloppy Joe's."

She pressed the button on her computer to start the system check on KITT, then grabbed the takeaway box. He took her hand and led her to the exit where he briefly stopped to kiss her one last time before they would act as if they were still co-workers and nothing more in Devon's office

XXX

Devon Miles had started the day early as he was indeed jetlagged. After a long breakfast during which he had caught up with reading several newspapers, he had gone to his office to start working on the cases he and his teams would have to solve before Michael would show up for work.

He was glad he had spent longer than normally at the breakfast table as Michael was late as usual. He was surprised however that Bonnie who he often caught at her workstation or in the garage before he even set foot in his office was late as well. This was rather unusual for the cyber technician.

Devon had seen KITT enter the gate to the mansion and noticed the lights go on in his garage a few minutes later. One of his team members was at least finally at work. It would now only be a matter of time until he or she would show up in his office.

His assumption was proven right when about fifteen minutes later, he heard a knock on his door and not just one, but both of his co-workers walked into his office.

"Bonnie, Michael, it's so good to see you." Devon stood up from his desk and hugged Bonnie. "I was starting to get worried that I was the only one who'd remembered that our vacation was over. Not that this would be surprising for you, Michael." Michael pretended to look offended. "But it would be rather unusual if you hadn't shown up for work, my dear."

Devon's words made Bonnie feel embarrassed again. She was glad that she had chosen to sit down on the couch in the office and not somewhere closer to Michael who tried hard not to grin. A glance at her watch made her aware that she was indeed late for work. As Devon had pointed out, this wasn't typical for her. Even after a night with only little sleep or no sleep at all, Bonnie Barstow had always arrived at work in time, if not earlier than anyone else. "I'm …. sorry…. I….." She began, trying to think of a good excuse for her tardiness.

"It's my fault, Devon." Michael quickly interrupted her. He would take the blame for them being late. Devon was used to him forgetting about deadlines and appointments. Last night and this morning with Bonnie were worth getting reprimanded by Devon.

Devon turned to Michael, his eyebrows raised while Bonnie sighed in relief. "Your fault, my dear boy?"

"Yes, sir." Michael nodded while sitting down on Devon's desk which caused the older man to worry about the neatly arranged files and documents on there. "You see, I gave Bonnie a ride to the mansion this morning and I kind of lost track of time this morning." This wasn't even a lie as he had forgotten about the time this morning. "That's why Bonnie was late for work this morning."

"I see." Devon glanced over to Bonnie who looked at him apologetically. He remembered that she had complained about problems with her car before he had left for England. "You should consider looking for a new car, dear."

Bonnie nodded quickly. "You are right. I will."

Devon sat down on his desk again. "So, did you both have a nice holiday, Bonnie?"

"I had a fantastic holiday. It was wonderful so see my parents again. They send their regards." She was so relieved that he dropped the subject that it didn't occur to her at first that his question now would force her to tell him that she had spent the holiday with Michael. "How was your holiday?" She quickly added hoping he wouldn't ask her any further questions.

"Cold and rainy compared to sunny California. And the flight was dreadfully long. But it was fabulous to see some of my relatives again." Devon told her. He wasn't going to admit that he was still very tired. "So, Michael, I hope you had enough time to relax and are well-rested for the next assignment. Let me guess - you went to the beach?"

Michael and Bonnie exchanged a furtive glance and she signaled him that it was okay to tell Devon. "Well, I did have a great break. But you are wrong, I didn't go the beach."

"But wasn't that your plan?" Devon looked at him in surprise. He noticed that Michael wasn't tanned so he wondered why he had changed his plans.

"It was. But I changed my mind and drove Bonnie to Boston when I found out she had cancelled her flight because she was afraid to fly."

It was wiser to tell Devon the truth. Michael figured Devon would find out from either KITT or Bonnie's parents anyway if they talked on the phone. And there were still the Sloppy Joe's which Norma had packed for Devon. "We even brought you a souvenir from a stop on the road."

Bonnie grabbed the box and placed it on Devon's desk. Devon looked at it carefully, unsure whether he should open it.

"Norma sends her regards." Michael said with a big grin on his face. "She remembered how much you enjoyed her Sloppy Joe's."

Bonnie burst out in laughter at the shocked look on Devon's face as he realized who Michael was talking about.

"Norma? You stopped in Holbrook?" He asked Bonnie and Michael.

"We did, Mr Bagshaw." Michael laughed and helped Devon open the box. "They are fantastic. You should try one."

"Maybe later. I'm not feeling hungry at the moment." Devon closed the box again and placed it on the shelf next to his desk. Maybe Michael or RC would take care of them if Devon just left the box there. "I better hide them from Reginald."

They had successfully diverted Devon's attention from their trip to Boston to the Sloppy Joe's. By leaving out more intimate and personal details, neither of them had been forced to lie to Devon.

"But to answer your question. Yes, I'm ready for the next case." This time, Michael lied to his boss. He wasn't ready at all and he hoped the assignment wouldn't require him to leave Los Angeles. He wasn't looking forward to being on the road for days. Right now, he only wanted to be with Bonnie.

"Well, Michael, I hate to disappoint you." Devon opened the files on his desk and closed them again. Michael looked at him in surprise. "The only files I was sent are files of assignments you already finished. It seems like I don't have the files of the next case yet."

Was this fate? Was Devon telling them that he wouldn't have to leave right away?

"There was probably a mistake and I was sent the wrong documents. But this means I'll have to make some phone calls and we probably won't be able to work on the case until tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow." Devon continued with an upset tone in his voice. He would find out who was responsible for the mix-up.

Bonnie noticed the big smile on Michael's face as he winked at her.

"Well, maybe it is wiser not to start working today. Reginald reported back to work earlier today but he looked very tired, so I told him to catch up on his sleep until we were ready to leave with the semi." Devon looked up from his desk and caught Bonnie who was trying to hide a yawn. "And judging from the tired look on the face, Bonnie, you could use some sleep as well after you will have made sure that KITT's systems are working properly. You can transfer all data to KITT when I will have the files and brief you and Michael about the case."

Bonnie's face turned red and she nodded quickly.

"And Michael? I hate to say it but there's nothing for you to do right now." Devon explained anticipating that Michael would be excited about this. "I will call you as soon as the files are here. So, Bonnie you better get some sleep, and you Michael, go to the beach, eat some junk food, or do whatever you want. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

"You are serious, right? This is no joke?" Michael asked in disbelief. It was definitely fate that they were given another day off.

"Yes, I am serious, my dear boy. So, go before I change my mind and find something here for you to do." Devon laughed.

"We'll see you tomorrow." Bonnie said before they left.

XXX

"He gave us the day off. Are we sure that this is really Devon Miles in there?" Michael asked Bonnie once they had walked out of the mansion and returned to the garage.

"It was certainly him." Bonnie laughed remembering the incident when an imposter had pretended to be Devon. "Maybe he's tired too. He didn't seem too sad that we couldn't start with the next case right away." She checked the data on her computer and removed the cables from KITT. "It sounded like he had a wonderful holiday too."

"He should fly home more often." Michael sat down in one of the chairs next to her computer and looked over to KITT. "I may have an idea who is responsible for the files getting mixed up."

KITT's scanner began to move faster than usual, showing Michael that he was dead on with his suspicion. "Really, Michael. You should know me better.

Bonnie laughed. "Let's not worry about Devon or the reasons why he got the wrong files now. We have another day just for us before we'll have to get back to work. KITT's checkup is already finished. All systems are working perfectly. So I'm all yours. Any ideas how we are going to spend our day off?" She switched off her computer and turned to Michael who wrapped his arms around her.

"I have a few ideas. You'll find out soon." Michael grinned and gave her a kiss. "And I wouldn't mind repeating the events of last night."

"I'd love that." Bonnie blushed again. "But it not fair that you aren't telling me what else you have in mind. You know that I don't like surprises." She turned to KITT for help. "KITT, what is he up to?"

"I'm sorry. I have no idea, Bonnie." KITT replied "You know that I'm not able to read minds."

"Okay, fine, no surprises. How does a nice walk on the beach sound to you?" Michael smiled at her and lead her to the car.

"That sounds wonderful. I had no idea you were that romantic. You are full of surprises, Michael Knight." Bonnie smiled and pulled him into another passionate kiss before he could get an answer.

So much had changed in only a week. Neither of them was aware how they truly felt about each other. They were both thankful that they had listened to their heart and finally given in to their feelings.

"Well, there so much for you to find out about me, Dr. Barstow." He smiled as he kissed her back.

THE END (for now)