Disclaimer: Glen A. Larson and Universal own the Knight Rider characters in this story.

A Knight's Christmas

Chapter 2

To have more privacy they spent most of their time at Bonnie's apartment whenever they weren't working. Michael barely remembered the last time he had spent a night at his apartment. Not that he minded. His apartment had only served one purpose – to sleep there when he felt the urge to be alone. It was sparsely furnished and not homely, unlike Bonnie's apartment which was a home even though she hadn't been home often before they became a couple. If they stayed at the mansion overnight, they were careful when sneaking into each other rooms. They never kissed or touched when Devon or RC or anyone from the staff were around or could walk in.

There had been a few close calls though. Once, a date had been interrupted because by chance Devon had showed up at the same restaurant which Michael had chosen for their date night. He had quickly thought of a good reason why he had taken Bonnie out of dinner – a belated birthday invitation. This sounded plausible to Devon who had decided that it would be nicer to join them at their table than to eat alone. Of course, he had applauded that Michael had taken his advice and had chosen a fine restaurant for his invitation and not one of Michael's favorite hamburger joints. Both Bonnie and Michael had been relieved that Devon had believed this explanation. Michael, however, wished he had indeed chosen a restaurant which Devon would never set foot in.

This wasn't the only time they'd almost gotten caught. While working on a case in town, Bonnie and Michael had spent the nights at the mansion. This was more convenient for both as Michael wouldn't have to drive across town if Devon received new information and Bonnie could work until late in the night during these assignments without losing any time and sleep when commuting back and forth. They were always careful when sneaking into the other's room and when leaving it. They couldn't rely on KITT's help as they'd promised not to use him to hide their secret.

One morning, after a quick peek through the half-open door to make sure no one was around, Bonnie had left Michael's room early. She had to finish running a test on KITT while Michael had decided to catch up on his sleep. As she walked out of his room, she ran into Devon who suddenly showed up around the corner while heading to his office. Devon was quite surprised to see her leave Michael's room at such an early time of the day. With her face turning red, Bonnie desperately tried to come up with a logical explanation why she had been in Michael's room. Quickly, she explained to their boss that Michael had run out of toilet paper and had called her for help. This excuse was the first thought that had come to her mind and it sounded like something which could happen to Michael. Since it was also a good reason to explain her embarrassment, Devon hadn't become suspicious and had only shaken his head about Michael's negligence. By the time Michael showed up for work, Devon had already told RC about Michael's emergency situation and RC had enjoyed making fun of Michael for the rest of the day.

Fortunately, those had been the only incidents which had almost exposed their secret. Sometimes, Michael and Bonnie wondered if Devon suspected that they were closer than they were letting everyone believe. Their boss could read people, even strangers, like a book. Wouldn't he have noticed that they were in love? Was he being polite and was waiting for them to tell him?

Both pondered about this question. They came to the conclusion that they had been friends for so long that Devon would probably never assume that their feelings could run deeper even if he had noticed any change in their behavior. There had been enough chances for them to fall in love sooner if they had been brave enough to admit their feelings. However, they agreed that they had to tell Devon soon. But when would be the right moment to confess that they had fallen in love and how would Devon react? The answer to this question scared Bonnie more than the thought that someone could see her again sneak out of Michael's room.

Bonnie was the reason Michael felt alive again and because of her, Michael was looking forward to the holidays again. He couldn't wait to celebrate his first Christmas with her. But first, he had to make sure to start his mistletoe tradition again. Last year, while he had been hurting too much to even think about mistletoes or Christmas, he could have cared less about whether he would be successful again in tricking Bonnie to kiss him. Though he still mourned Stevie, he was glad that this year he felt ready to enjoy the Christmas season. This year, he wouldn't need an excuse to kiss Bonnie. He knew that she was more than willing to kiss him – but only when no one was watching them. Therefore, his tradition would be the perfect cover up for stolen kisses and decorating all the rooms with plenty of mistletoes would give him numerous opportunities this year to kiss Bonnie without Devon or RC noticing that they were a couple.

With a mischievous smile on his face, he opened a huge box and began to put up mistletoes above each door, on the walls and on several garlands. Once he was finished in the mansion, he started decorating the garage and the semi. He contemplated whether he should dare to decorate KITT with a mistletoe. However, since KITT complained and refused to open the doors to the cabin, Michael chose to leave his partner out of this.

He proudly admired his work once he had returned to the mansion. He hadn't missed a single spot. He and Bonnie could now kiss wherever they wanted, and no one would become suspicious because there were mistletoes everywhere. It was the perfect alibi and of course, Bonnie would pretend to be annoyed every time he'd kiss her.

Seizing the opportunity that Devon wasn't back in his office, he quickly hung up his last mistletoe above the doorframe before he headed back to the living room to wait there for Bonnie. She would be back from her lunch date with Devon soon and Michael couldn't wait for her to see – and appreciate – his work.

Michael was looking forward to Christmas again and he was happy that he had gotten another chance at love.