A Thousand Years
By Whitebird
Chapter 1: Email
If anyone asked, he would not be able to recall a date when this all started. He just knew that one afternoon it had been pouring buckets when he and Kitt made it back to the semi after a case and Bonnie had been there waiting for them as usual, but something was different.
When he thought of Bonnie, and he often did especially recently, he thought she was brilliant, beautiful, caring and fiercely independent. On the day he was remembering, she was the total opposite and he could not put his finger on it as to why. He had of course tried to find out, by any means necessary. She seemed to be taking extra time with Kitt when it did not seem to be required and every time she sat down at her computer, she seemed nervous, scared even. Michael had even asked Kitt if there was anything unusual on her computer, but Kitt had replied that it was not polite to spy unless he had a good reason. He had tried to tell Kitt that he had never seen Bonnie act like this before and he was really concerned. Kitt replied at the time that he had noticed, but he was not able to discern a reason either.
"I'm sure it's just temporary Michael. Whatever it is, if Bonnie needs our help she will ask for it. She is very independent and deserves her privacy just like anyone else" Kitt had explained to him. They had left it alone, and that had been 4 weeks ago. When he thought about it now, he was regretting not pushing Kitt harder about spying on Bonnie's computer.
Now of course, Michael and Kitt were going thru Bonnie's computer. Every email, every application or file and all of her browser history for the past 12 months. It all seems to have started with just threatening emails that Bonnie had paid no attention to. She had stored them in a folder titled 'alpha' and she had forgotten about them. When the emails had started 4 weeks ago, they had seemed innocent enough. Bonnie had meet one Barrett Jackson at a local computer and electronics convention that she had attended over a long weekend. Bonnie always kept up on the latest and greatest advancements in computing, electronics and of course, artificial intelligence. She was always coming up with new upgrades and enhancements for Kitt. Kitt was the most complex and intelligent computer in the world, and Bonnie wanted him to stay that way. Michael knew that Bonnie no longer thought of Kitt as a computer, that had stopped a long time ago, but Kitt's continued survival depended on Bonnie's knowledge and she always wanted the best for him and Michael.
Michael's investigation had uncovered that Barrett had taken Bonnie out to dinner, exactly one week after they had met. Bonnie, eager to meet someone new had introduced herself and told Barrett enough that he was seemingly very interested in Bonnie. At least that is what Bonnie thought at the onset it appears. The 2nd date Bonnie had agreed to had been completely different, and Michael recalled that Bonnie had told him she was never seeing him again and they were done. The next day, the 1st email arrived, and the sender called himself 'alpha.' Michael was trying to find out if Barrett Jackson and Alpha were the same person. Michael and Kitt were certain that was the case.
Bonnie had confided in Michael that Barrett was so interested in Bonnie's work that all he wanted to know about was Kitt and what he could do and how he worked. Bonnie had told him the basics and then had refused to tell him anything else. She had told him that if he was only interested in Kitt and not her, there was no point in continuing this charade. Bonnie would never endanger Kitt, or Michael, but definitely, not Kitt.
The emails from 'Alpha' had become increasingly harassing and threatening. Telling Bonnie that she was worthless and that eventually she would give him what he wanted. He had claimed that he was able to track Bonnie, and the people she cared the most about wherever they go day or night and that unless she gave them Kitt they would never stop.
Now it made sense, why she always wanted to go over Kitt and his systems whenever she got the chance. She was trying to locate a tracking device. She had already gone over the semi, and even Devon's beloved red convertible to no avail. Bonnie never responded to the emails, but she never deleted them either, just tucked them away in case she needed to refer back to them for some reason.
Michael could recall now, whenever Bonnie had received a new email from 'alpha,' she always seemed like she had just seen a ghost, but she would never accept Michael's help. She would never offer any kind of explanation, She just went over Kitt again and again looking for the tracker that she never found. Michael is sure now, there was never any tracker on Kitt or anyone of them for that matter.
They had just returned from a particularly difficult case. It had taken a lot out of Kitt and Michael, both physically and otherwise. Michael needed some sleep in a real bed and Kitt needed to offline to recharge. The Semi had gone on ahead and returned to the mansion about 45 minutes before our exhausted heroes. At some point during the drive, Michael had fallen asleep and Kitt had assumed control. He kept up a continuous scan ahead of them for anything unexpected. He woke Michael up a few miles from the mansion.
"Michael, the gate to the grounds has been destroyed" Kitt observed.
Michael assumed control and punched the pursuit button in frustration. "Can you tell if our visitors are still inside?" Michael asked.
"I can detect no other vehicles than the ones that are normally present and already authorized to be here Michael" Kitt scanned.
Coming around to the back of the property, Kitt's voice became frightened.
"Michael, Bonnie is missing, and there has been a struggle inside the semi" Kitt told him.
"Let's go over there and take a look. Can you see if the cameras around the property got the vehicle or the license plate?" Michael requested.
"Right away Michael" Kitt replied.
The camera showed a white Ford van ramming the main gate and speeding around to the back of the property to Kitt's garage where the Semi had been parked inside with the garage door open. Bonnie had been waiting for Michael and Kitt to return so she could run a check on Kitt while Michael got some rest.
Now Michael was regretting that Bonnie had returned to the mansion with the Semi. She would have been protected if she would have ridden home with him and Kitt. Angrily swiping tears from his eyes, he tried to keep himself calm so he could concentrate on locating Bonnie as quickly as possible. Michael knew from experience that missing persons cases did not normally have happy endings, especially after the first 48 hours and Bonnie had been missing for just over 24 hours at this point.
Chapter 2: Darkness
"I'm only going to ask you this once more Bonnie" Barrett began again.
"I want to know what the weaknesses are in the car you told me about, or how I can get control of it" he told her.
"and for the 6th time, you will have to kill me. I will never give you any information on Kitt" Bonnie replied matter of factly.
"Fine, I guess we will see how you feel tomorrow morning. Take her in back and tie her up tightly" Barrett told the two goons with him.
Bonnie was taken into another room with no windows and no furniture. Her feet were tied at the ankles and then together above the knee. She was made to kneel at their feet, her wrists still bound behind her back. A rag was stuffed into her mouth, and duck tape was placed over that. Before she heard them leave the room, a black hood was put over her head and then the lights were cut and she was alone.
There was a time Kitt had told her about when Michael had been asked to turn him off and Michael did not have the heart to do it. He had to do the most difficult thing he had ever had to do since joining their family, he had to ask Kitt to deactivate himself. Kitt had told her how scared he was when he was not able to see, or speak or move, but he was aware the whole time.
Bonnie now understood exactly what Kitt had gone thru. She could not move, she could not speak and since she was blindfolded, and the lights were out, she could not see. She was sure Michael and Kitt were looking for her, but she was so scared she was not strong enough for this and she was afraid Michael would not find her before it was too late. No matter what happened to her, one thing would not change. She valued Kitt's life more than her own, and she would never give them the information they wanted.
"I found 4 real estate holdings tied to Barrett Jackson Michael. One is a 2 bedroom townhouse in the downtown area, 2 are industrial warehouses near the harbor, and the last is a 15 acre ranch 25 miles from here" Kitt reported.
"Sounds like we have our work cut out for us Pal, and we are running out of time" Michael replied, sounding frustrated.
"I feel so terrible, Bonnie is in this situation because of me Michael" Kitt told him.
"Its not your fault Kitt, I don't know why this goon is so interested in you. For now that is not important, what is important is finding Bonnie and getting her back to us" Michael said.
"Ok Kitt, I think the downtown location is out, that sounds like his residence. Hopefully they are not using the ranch, so we will skip that for now. Can you tell if the warehouses are empty?" Michael asked.
"Jackson has been leasing the warehouses for just over 6 months, as far as I can tell they are empty Michael, should we go check them out?" Kitt asked him.
"Ok Kitt, let's get over there and hope we get lucky. Bonnie has been gone for 48 hours now, and we have not even heard from the kidnappers yet. I have no idea what they want with Bonnie, but we gotta find her quick, Pal" Michael told him. Both partners were afraid to think what was happening to Bonnie at this moment and were terrified they were already too late.
At some point before the lights came back on, Bonnie's knees gave out beneath her and she had fallen to the cold concrete beneath her landing on her shoulder and hitting her head on the floor. She saw stars behind her eyes and heard the bones in her shoulder snap. Just when she thought this couldn't get any worse. The two overgrown kids were back with Jackson, they picked her up painfully by her arms and placed her in a chair. Jackson sat in another in front of her as the gag was removed from her mouth.
He smoothed the hair out of her face and wiped the tears from her eyes as her looked at her and smiled.
"good morning, sleeping beauty"
In response, Bonnie spit nastily into his face.
Wiping the spit away with the back of his hand, he glared at her.
"so I guess this means you have not changed your mind? You will not give me the information I asked for?" Jackson asked.
"You have my answer already" Bonnie replied.
"Ok, you know I don't know why your going to all this trouble to protect your friends. They are not coming for you, you are worthless to them, and protecting them is just making your situation worse" he told her.
"Before you leave her back there this time, remove as many of her clothes as possible. We will see how she feels in the morning when she is freezing cold and exhausted from not being able to sleep tonight" Jackson told his goons.
With that he left and the two guys did as they were ordered to. They used a pocket knife to cut away as much of her clothing as possible without untying her. She was then gagged and blindfolded again and left in the dark. When she heard the doors close and lock behind them, she started to cry. 'where was Michael and Kitt? Are they coming for me or not?'
Chapter 3 Light & Dark
Michael and Kitt had searched the first warehouse. The first 2 floors were above ground and Kitt had easily found out it was empty. The basement level was underground and for some reason Kitt was not able to scan it, so Michael had to go in and search room by room. By the time they had left that empty warehouse, 3 hours had passed. Michael was 90% sure Bonnie would be at the other warehouse location, he just wished that would have been his first choice. He only hoped he was not to late.
As soon as they were in scanner range, Kitt scanned the property. He was able to scan the whole warehouse, and he knew Bonnie's biorhythm. It was almost too easy.
"Michael, Bonnie is alone in the building" Kitt told him.
"That is strange, there is no one else waiting for us? Maybe in a vehicle parked outside or anything?" Michael asked.
"No Michael, I detect no one in our vicinity within a 2-mile radius" Kitt told him.
"Michael, you need to go in there and get Bonnie out now! My medical scan is indicating she is in immediate need of medical assistance" Kitt reported.
Michael had his hand on the door handle when Kitt stopped him.
"Michael, take the blanket from the backseat, trust me. I will adjust the temperature to make it more comfortable for her until we can get her to the hospital that is approximately 3 miles away" Kitt advised.
Michael did not like what Kitt was implying, but he followed the directions. He had no idea what he was going to find, but he needed to get Bonnie to a hospital ASAP.
Kitt followed closely behind him as he sent a signal to the inside of the building to open the garage door in front of them leading into the warehouse. Kitt's red scanner, and headlights being the only illumination into the building.
Bonnie was lost in a haze of pain. She could feel the pain in her wrists and her ankles. Her jaw also ached from having a large rag stuffed down her throat for several hours now. She could not see, speak, or move. She was freezing cold from laying on the cold concrete after they had cut her clothing away from her body and left her there all alone. She had no idea how long she had been there. The concept of time seemed vastly different in her own mind when she was alone with just her thoughts and the freezing cold floor she could feel beneath her.
Her ears perked up at the nearby sound of a garage door opening. Then she heard the familiar hum of a turbine engine. She would know the sound of that engine anywhere! It was Kitt!
"Michael!" she tried to yell, but it came out as a very muffled 'mmmmmmmllllll' to her own ears.
"Kitt, where is she?" Michael asked, walking slowly thru what looked to be the main floor of the warehouse.
"There is a doorway on your left at the other side of this room, she is in that room, laying on the floor. Her arms and legs are bound. Please hurry Michael" Kitt told him sadly.
Michael took off at a run with the blanket ready, even though Kitt had described to him what he would find, nothing could have prepared him for what he found when he entered the room.
As soon as Bonnie heard someone enter, she started struggling again against the ropes that held her wrists tightly behind her back. She was so tired and her own voice sounded like she had swallowed a frog.
"Bonnie?! It's ok, It's Michael. I'm here, your safe now. Kitt and I are here to take you home. Calm down, let me get you untied" Michael was not sure who he was trying to calm down more, Bonnie or himself.
Taking the pocket knife from his pocket, he winced at the bloodied scars under the ropes that bound her wrists behind her back. (Whoever did this would pay dearly! And why was she lying on the cold concrete floor with no clothes on, he wondered to himself) But for now, he had to get her to the hospital and away from here.
Making short work of the ropes around her ankles also, he draped the thick blanket over her slim form and picked her up as gently as he possibly could. She no longer had any strength to hang onto him and felt like dead weight in his arms. Now that the ropes were no longer covering her wounds, they started bleeding freely. Kitt had said they were alone, but he did not want to stretch their luck to far. Kitt opened the passenger side door and he laid her down gently before closing the door and running to the driver's side. Kitt took off in reverse before he had even closed the door.
Kitt immediately did a complete medical scan, and plotted a direct course for the nearest hospital 3 miles away. Kitt had darkened the car's interior so that Michael could remove the blindfold covering her eyes, and gently removed the gag over her mouth. As soon as Michael removed the blindfold, Kitt noticed Bonnie seemed to be even more afraid. She seemed to try to make herself smaller, and hide more of herself in the blanket if that were possible. Her eyes darting wildly all over the inside of the cabin. He had to use the rag to try to help with the wounds on her wrists. She barely allowed Michael to touch her. Kitt had the heat going on full blast, but he was not sure he could raise her body temperature fast enough even with the blanket covering her. Kitt did not want to add hypothermia to the long list of medical problems she currently had.
In the most gentle voice Kitt had ever used with anyone, he addressed Bonnie.
"Bonnie, it's ok, your safe now and we are going to the hospital. Please calm down, nothing will hurt you" Kitt tried to soothe her.
"Kitt can you call the hospital, and let them know we are coming and what's wrong with her please?" Michael asked.
"Already done Michael, the ER is expecting us" he replied.
"What's wrong with her Kitt? He wondered, clearly scared. He had a pretty good idea, but he knew his partner could be more precise.
"Her left shoulder is dislocated, possibly broken. She has severe swelling and bruising on her wrists and ankles. I believe she is dehydrated, and I am also still concerned with her low body temperature, if we can't get her warmed up fast enough, she will go into shock" Kitt told him.
"How much further Kitt?" Michael wanted to know.
"We are 1.75 miles away. ETA is 3 minutes, 25 seconds" Kitt replied.
Michael reached into the backseat to grab a small water bottle as Kitt turned a corner. He quickly unscrewed the cap and held it to her lips as he tried to get her to drink it slowly. She was so tired she was barely conscious.
"Come on Bon, stay with us. Sweetheart, you're safe now" he told her as he gently moved the hair from her face. His anger was growing as he was witness to her suffering, but he could not hunt down the ones responsible until she was safely out of the woods.
As soon as she felt the water on her lips, she tried to down it all at once but Michael stopped her.
"Easy, easy Bon, best to do it slow at first. I don't want you to choke. You can have all you want, just slow down and you will feel a bit better" he told her.
Michael and Kitt were both worried that she had been silent so far. The way she was acting was completely against her character, and it was scaring both partners who had no idea how to help her. Once she got down a bit of the water, even though she was not able to hold the bottle, Kitt noticed some of the tension leave her and she seemed to relax into the seat a bit more.
She kept trying to cover more of herself with the blanket. She did not want to be mostly without clothes around Michael, and she most definitely did not want Kitt to see her either.
Michael was trying to figure out how he was going to get her inside the ER.
Kitt turned the last corner and pulled up outside the ER entrance. Michael got out as Kitt opened Bonnie's door. Michael ensured she was still wrapped in the blanket as he carefully lifted her into his arms as gently as he possibly could, trying to whisper to her that it would be ok and she would not be hurt. Kitt closed the doors and pulled himself into one of the parking spots for ER patients.
Chapter 4 The ER
Michael carried her inside at a bit of a jog, thankfully he did not have to go to far as he was meet with a middle-aged nurse name 'Kathy' who brought him a gurney. He lowered Bonnie onto it as Kathy asked him, "are you family?"
"No, I'm just a real good friend, I don't know if she has any family" Michael answered honestly.
"Ok, you can stay with her for now then, let's take her into exam room 2" she decided.
Michael gratefully followed her. He was happy he did not have to fight her too much, however he did not want to leave Bonnie alone right now.
Once they got to the room, Kathy drew the curtains around the bed Michael stepped around to the other side of the curtain and turned around so as to give Bonnie some privacy as Kathy helped her into a hospital gown.
"Ok, you can come back in now" she told him.
Bonnie was sitting up in bed in the hospital gown with the blanket Michael had provided covering her for warmth.
"Good gracious my dear, how did you get these wounds?" the nurse asked Bonnie, trying to examine the wounds on her wrists without touching them to much.
"She was kidnapped about 4 days ago. I found her about an hour ago, and when I found her, she was tied up at her wrists and ankles and she was freezing cold. I brought her straight here. I think she may also have a dislocated left shoulder" Michael explained." Michael explained.
"Well it's a very good thing you did" Kathy replied as she took Bonnie's temperature.
"She is still not as warm as we would like, but this blanket has helped a bit. I will go get a few more blankets out of the warmer, and then we will bandage those wounds up and get you some pain killers. I will be right back" She told the pair kindly as she left the room and shut the door.
Michael gingerly sat down in the chair next to her bed, wanting to hold her hand but not wanting to hurt her at the same time. He just did not know what to do with himself.
Bonnie noticed that Michael still had the bottle of water with him, and she pointed at it, not trusting her voice yet. He opened it for her and held it against her lips, again trying to help her drink it slowly.
"Mic…hael" she asked, in the smallest, most quiet voice he had ever heard from her.
"I'm right here Bonnie, what do you need?" he replied.
"Can you please stay with me? I don't want to be alone" she told him, sounding embarrassed.
"Nothing could keep me away, I am staying right here" he promised her.
The door opened again, and the nurse came back into the room with some pain killers and 3 hot blankets. She covered Bonnie with the blankets and ensured she was able to swallow the 2 small pills. Turning around, she started digging around in the cupboards in the room to get gauze, and bandages.
She placed a clean towel over Bonnie's lap and asked her to lay her hands flat on top as she started to clean the wounds with some hydrogen peroxide.
"Who are you young man?" "Who are you, young man?" Kathy addressed Michael as she worked.
Michael had a hard time trying to ignore Bonnie's discomfort, but he would answer her questions.
"I'm Michael Knight, and this is Dr. Bonnie Barstow, we work together" Michael told her.
"Ok dear, just as soon as we clean this up and bandage it, we will take a look at those ankles of yours. I know it stings, I'm sorry, we just have to make sure it does not get infected" she told her.
"And you said before that Dr Barstow here, had been kidnapped, and you were able to rescue her?" Kathy asked.
"Yes, that's right, we both work for the Foundation for Law and Government, sometimes we have more enemies than friends" Michael explained.
"I imagine that's true, unfortunately, I'm required to call the local police when someone comes in here with injuries like thesethis, I hope you both don't mind speaking with them?" Kathy told him.
"As long as I can stay with her, I don't want to leave her alone at the moment, you can understand that" Michael stated.
Kathy nodded at him, as she finished bandaging her wrists, then she took Bonnie's temperature again before going to the foot of the bed and examining much the same wounds she had on her wrists as on her ankles.
"Her temperature has gone up satisfactorily, so that is good. The bandages on her wrists and ankles will need to be changed once every 24 hours to prevent infection. She won't really be able to do much with her hands until that starts healing. I believe she will be able to walk with the pain killers that is, but she should probably keep activity to a minimum until these wounds heal also" she gestured to the wounds around Bonnie's feet.
Bonnie looked extremely disappointed, but she was so exhausted she just thought she would figure it out later. She listened to Michael tell the nurse that he would make sure Bonnie followed her instructions. Bonnie hated not being able to do anything for herself, she was fiercely independent.
"I will also send you home with some antibiotics just in case you develop a cold or a fever from being exposed to the low temperatures for so long" Kathy told them.
"I seem to be short some bandages, I will be right back. Do you need anything else?" she asked.
"Can you please bring her some more water also?" Michael asked, discarding the empty one in the wastebasket.
"I sure will" she said, closing the door behind her.
Now that Bonnie's hands were bandaged from her wrists almost to her elbows, Michael was able to take her hand and softly squeeze it. Michael saw she was dozing in and out, probably because of the pain killers and her exhaustion.
"Hey, don't give out on me yet sweetheart. I don't know if these guys are going to come looking for you, but if they do, we will have to leave in a hurry" Michael told her, stroking her cheek.
At the implied threat of the kidnappers, Bonnie instantly became alert. "come looking for me, Michael what do you mean?" Bonnie pleaded with him.
"Bonnie, it's ok. I'm here and Kitt's right outside. Your safe and no one is going to hurt you anymore. I promise" Michael calmed her.
When the nurse came back, she brought 2 pill bottles, and 2 police officers were also with her. The nurse gave her both bottles, one with antibiotics in case Bonnie developed a fever, and one with pain killers that would also help her sleep. She also brought in the needed materials so that she could bandage the wounds around her feet that were very similar to the ones on her wrists. The nurse also told Michael that Bonnie would need an X-Ray of her shoulder before they could treat it.
The police officers wanted to interview Michael in a separate room, but at the mere mention that Michael was leaving, Bonnie had almost fallen out of bed as she tried to stop him, so they interviewed him there. Of course, Michael had not been able to tell them much other than what He and Kitt had discovered during their investigation, and what they found when they rescued Bonnie.
Once they were done interviewing Michael, the nurse insisted that Bonnie go up for the X-ray on her shoulder before she answer any questions. The police officers stayed behind in the exam room while Kathy took Bonnie up to the X-Ray room, and Michael accompanied them.
Kitt was correct, Bonnie's left shoulder was dislocated in 2 places. Her shoulder would need to be reset and she would be placed in a sling for 4 weeks time. Since the damage was so severe, the bones would have to be set via surgery. Michael and Bonnie were not happy when they received that news, but the surgery was scheduled for the next morning, and Michael was on the phone with Devon to give him an update.
"Devon, I'm not going to have this conversation with you right now, but I wanted you to know that I found Bonnie and I had to bring her to the ER. They did an X-Ray on her left shoulder and she needs to have surgery. I don't even know if the kidnappers are still out there looking for her, but I don't feel comfortable keeping her here any longer than we need to" Michael told him.
questions
"Yes Michael, I agree. Bonnie is not safe there, I know you and Kitt can not guarantee her safety all the time in such a public place. See if you can check her out of the hospital, so we can have the Foundation's doctor look at her here. We can get access to the X-Rays and offer more security here at the estate" Devon advised.
"Ok Devon. Thanks, see you soon" Michael ended the phone call.
Michael told the nurse Kathy that Bonnie would not be having surgery there in the morning and that they needed for her to leave AMA. Bonnie would go ahead and give her statement to the police officers, but they would be having another doctor review the X-Rays.
"Mr Knight, I think this is a very bad idea" the nurse had told him.
"She just got out of a very traumatic situation and we just don't know yet if she is safe. I need to get her home to a familiar environment where we have more security. The Foundation has a doctor that will be reviewing the X-Ray, and if she needs surgery, she will receive it but not at this hospital. Now we are leaving this hospital, and I am taking her home. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you" Michael finished.
"I will go inform the doctor and get your discharge paperwork" she replied.
"thank you" Michael said.
Kathy left the room and left Michael and Bonnie alone with the 2 police officers.
"Dr Barstow, can you tell us who kidnapped you?" the one who had introduced himself as Officer Martin asked.
questions
"A man that I went out with on a few dates, his name is Barrett Jackson. We meet at a computer convention about a month ago. I tried to break up with him after going out on two dates with him, but he wouldn't leave me alone. He told me he would let me go if I gave him information that he wanted on the Knight Industries Two Thousand. I refused and he told me he would keep me until I told him what he wanted to know. I'm just so grateful that Michael finally found me and now I'm here" Bonnie finished.
"Was Barrett Jackson the only one involved?" the officer asked.
"No, there were always 2 really big guys with him that did everything he asked. I don't know who they are" she finished.
"Do you still have contact information for this Barrett Jackson?" he continued.
"I have emails and phone calls I can give you. I don't know the vehicle they grabbed me with. I was blindfolded the whole time" she told him.
"Officer, we can get you copies of the emails and you can have her phone if you need it, but I need to get her out of here in a place with more security" Michael told the officers.
"Yes I will give you a business card and I will need your phone number and address where we can get that information from you at a better time" he told Michael.
Michael gave his business card with the address for the estate and a phone number, the officer also supplied a business card and they left it at that.
Kathy then returned with a wheelchair and the paperwork she needed Bonnie to sign. Once that was done, Michael was wheeling Bonnie out of the hospital wearing the hospital gown and a blanket. Kitt had pulled up to meet them outside the door.
Michael helped Bonnie into the passenger side and shut the door. "pop the trunk please Kitt" Michael asked.
Michael reached inside for his overnight bag, and went around to the driver's side. He handed the bag to Bonnie.
"Go ahead and find something to wear in here. I will have Kitt darken the windows and I will be right out here. I promise I'm not going anywhere" he swore to her.
Bonnie seemed a bit unsure but she nodded and he shut the door to wait outside. Kitt did darken the windows, the LEDs on his dash lighting the interior of the cabin.
"Kitt?" Bonnie asked in an unsure voice.
"Yes Bonnie" he asked as she unzipped the bag.
"Its not your fault, but I don't think I like the dark anymore. Can you just turn on one light please?" she asked.
"Of course, Bonnie" Kitt turned on a small light in the backseat and that seemed to satisfy her as she pulled out a shirt and jeans.
"Bonnie, I know you're really scared, but you don't have to be. Michael, and I will ensure nothing else happens to you. I am also a good listener if you ever feel like you need to talk" Kitt told her.
"I may indeed do that Kitt, just not right now. I want to go home and get some sleep" Bonnie told him.
Kitt opened the driver's side door to signal that Bonnie was ready and they drove back to the estate.
Once they got to Kitt's garage, Michael turned to her. "We will have the foundation doctor look at the X-Rays tomorrow Bonnie" he told her gently.
"Thank you, Michael I will try to get some rest for now, but maybe we can talk later?" she asked.
"You bet, I will be around" he told her with a smile.
They watched Bonnie get up to leave the garage. Both of them worried that this was not over. Bonnie got to her room and changed into some pajamas, this room had been her own for such a long time, she was not sure why today it seemed so foreign to her. It was like it belonged to someone else. She pulled a robe around her and slipped into some blue fluffy slippers and padded back to the garage.
Unsurprisingly, when Bonnie walked back into Kitt's garage, Michael was still sitting in Kitt's drivers seat with the door open. He hopped out when he saw her enter.
"Bonnie are you ok, what do you need?" he asked her.
"I don't know, I can't sleep in my room. It's just not the same, I was hoping if Kitt would not mind that is, can I just sit with him for awhile?" she asked. He noticed she had tears making tracks down her cheeks.
"Of course you can Bonnie. I don't mind at all" Kitt told her gently.
Michael took her good hand in his and lead her over to the driver's seat. Michael holding her hand seemed to be the trigger for Bonnie. She looked at his hand in her own and then up into his eyes, and she just collapsed against him as she broke down in tears. Michael gently drew her closer against his shoulder and held her in a hug as he heard her sobs. He stroked up and down her back and gently swayed them back and forth. Michael did not say anything, just let her cry as he held her to give her something substantial to hold onto. Michael recalled briefly that he had once told an enemy that there was no place on Earth they would be able to hide if they harmed Bonnie. He had meant every word of it then, and he still meant it now. He knew he would be out for blood once she was on the way to recovery. She was too exhausted to be able to cry for long, but he did notice her trembling as her sobbing seemed to subside.
"I'm Sorry Michael" Bonnie told him, seemingly embarrassed.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. Would you like me to stay with you?" he asked her.
"I think I will be ok as long as Kitt is here. I just don't want to be alone anymore" she admitted.
He helped her sit down in the driver's seat, and shut the door. Then he left the garage himself for his own room, knowing Kitt would get him on the commlink if needed. The garage was locked and nothing was going to happen to Bonnie with Kitt around.
Bonnie sank into the seat once Michael left and started sobbing again as she covered her face with her hands.
"Bonnie, I know you have been thru something that is extremely difficult to deal with by yourself. Please talk to me, I thought there were no secrets between us?" Kitt asked her.
"Kitt, do you remember when Michael was forced to deactivate you while on that case and Cameron Zachery was trying to kill him?" Bonnie asked.
"How could I forget. It was one of the worst experiences I can recall from my memory banks" Kitt stated.
"I think I now understand what you went thru, I think I had the same experience" Bonnie began.
Kitt was shocked, he would not wish that on his worst enemy. He now understood why Bonnie seemed to want to shut everyone else out and why she was so quiet. He was determined to try to help her be more like herself again, and put this terrible experience behind her.
"Can you please tell me about it Bonnie. I know it helps to talk to someone that cares for you" Kitt explained gently.
"I was waiting for you and Michael to come back. I was trying to organize the Semi, and they snuck up on me and overpowered me. They took me away in this white van and tied me up. Barrett told me he wanted to know what your weaknesses were, or how he could get control over you. He told me if I told him what he wanted to know, he would let me go. He was sending me threatening emails for weeks. In one of them he claimed that he put a homing device on you so that he could find you and Michael anytime he wanted and destroy you both" Bonnie explained.
"Oh Bonnie, I am so sorry" Kitt told her, he felt terrible. Now he understood why Bonnie had always been spending extra time going over his systems like she was looking for something she may have lost. It was his fault Bonnie went thru all this. He should have listened to Michael and noticed the threatening emails.
"No, No Kitt this was never your fault. I was never going to give them the information that they wanted, but this is most definitely not your fault!" Bonnie told him firmly.
"If you insist Bonnie, please go on" he told her.
"When we got to the warehouse you found me in, Barrett told me that I would change my mind after spending the night in the warehouse all alone in the dark with no way to escape. They tied me up and they blindfolded me and gagged me. Then they turned off all the lights and left me there. I could not see anything, I could not speak or scream. I could not move. All I could do was hear and feel. They came back the next morning, and asked me if I was ready to answer their questions yet, when I refused again they did the same thing to me, except this time they cut off my clothes with a pocket knife and they put their greasy hands all over me. Then they left me in the dark again by myself. I have never been so happy to see you and Michael than when you found me Kitt" Bonnie explained.
"I don't know if I can go to sleep now without seeing his face Kitt. I can't stand the dark now, and I don't want to be alone, but I especially don't want to be alone in the dark. Is this what you went thru also?" Bonnie asked Kitt.
"It is similar, but not to the severity of what you went thru. Please tell me what I can do Bonnie? How can I help?" Kitt pleaded with her.
"Kitt you are helping, just by being here and talking to me. I don't know if I can get over it, but maybe it will get a bit easier now. I wish my shoulder did not hurt so much, the pain killers don't seem to do much to help. Do you think Michael is right, are they going to come back for me Kitt?" Bonnie asked.
"No! they are not going to come back for you. I promise Bonnie, Michael and I will make sure nothing else happens to you. Your home now, and you're safe. Michael said the doctor would be here in the morning to look at your shoulder" Kitt promised her.
"Why don't you lie back, and close your eyes and try to relax. I can leave the lights on if you prefer. I will keep a lookout while you try to get some rest Bonnie" Kitt soothed her.
Bonnie nodded and reclined the seat back. Kitt left a few lights on in the cabin and there were a few lights on in the garage which seemed to help as she could see what was going on around them. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes as she laid her head back on the headrest and tried to ignore the pain in her left shoulder.
Kitt monitored her breathing and was able to determine when she had finally fallen asleep. He increased the temperature a bit to encourage her body to relax and because he was still worrying about her becoming ill. Kitt was happy the doctor would be here in the morning to look at her shoulder. It was becoming bruised and swollen, it would need to be set correctly soon so that it could heal properly.
Bonnie slept for about 2.5 hours until Kitt picked up some changes in her breathing and sleeping patterns. She was becoming distressed. He quickly did the same thing that he used to do for Michael when he would have trouble sleeping. He played Bonnie's favorite music at a low enough volume that it would not wake her up but distract her from the visions she had been thrown into so as to lull her back to sleep. She rolled over onto her right side in the passenger seat and with a sigh, she fell asleep again. The same thing happened about 3 times that night, and every time Kitt was able to distract her enough to get her back to sleep. He still felt an awful sense of guilt that this had happened to Bonnie because of him. He had all the faith in the world that she would never give up secrets about him that would jeopardize his safety, or Michael's, but when Bonnie was the target he was hoping what he could do would be adequate.
The next morning, Michael came down to the garage with a wheelchair and as promised the Foundation's doctor was inside examining the X-rays when Michael wheeled her into Devon's office. Michael wheeled her up to Devon's desk and then sat in the chair next to her. Devon gave them both a kind smile as he looked up at some papers.
"Mr. Miles, this is very unorthodox but if you insist that the surgery must be done here we will proceed this afternoon as we discussed. It should not take long to set the shoulder correctly, but the patient will not have the use of her arm for 6-8 weeks thereafter" Dr Albert explained.
"It is absolutely essential to the patients' safety! We can do the surgery here, as we have done previously. We have all the equipment here already. Do you need any additional staff or medicine?" Devon inquired.
"I have already asked my nurse to be here at 1:30pm today. She will bring the required medication, so we will proceed at that time" he replied.
"Very well, I will have the equipment set up in the same room we used for Michael's surgery" Devon stated.
The doctor glanced at Michael as he was holding Bonnie's hand gently. "She will only be able to have ice water and broth until after the surgery" he instructed.
Michael nodded that he understood. "thank you doctor, we understand" he replied.
And with that the doctor left the office to make yet another phone call.
They both heard Bonnie sigh deeply and she let go of Michael's hand. "Devon, who will take care of Kitt for 6-8 weeks while I only have one hand?" Bonnie asked exasperated.
"If you like I can hire an assistant for you, and you can direct them on how it's done" Devon offered.
"Actually, I have always wanted to know more about Kitt and I think this would be a great time to learn. I would really like the chance to know more. That is, if I had a great teacher that I could learn from?" Michael asked her honestly.
"Oh all right, but if you don't follow my directions to the letter I will have Devon hire someone instead and you will not touch Kitt's systems again. Am I understood?" She told him.
"Yes ma'am, anything you say" Michael told her, holding up his hands in surrender.
Devon was hiding a smirk behind his hands, but otherwise said nothing.
"Michael, are we any closer to being able to catch the people responsible for this madness?" Devon asked.
"Kitt and I are working on it, but we can't leave until after the surgery is completed and I know you will both be safe, especially you" Michael told her as he kissed the back of her right hand.
Bonnie blushed prettily. "Thank you Michael" She did not want to tell him exactly how grateful she was for his and Kitt's presence. They were the only ones that could give her the security she craved.
Michael did not know how else to explain it to Bonnie to make her understand how
important this was. She had already done more than was expected of her and he only
wanted to do what he was supposed to do and protect her from further harm.
He stood up from the chair in front of Devon's desk and kneeled before Bonnie who was
still seated next to him. He gazed into her deep brown eyes and took her right hand in
his.
"Bonnie, I don't know how to say this, so I'm going to try to get this out. Please let me
finish before you say anything" he started.
"I have been blind all this time, all these years, and I know there is nothing I can do or
say to make it up to you. You have already done so much, so much more than what
would be expected, and now its my turn. I realize now that if Kitt and I would not have
been able to find you, there would be nothing left for me. If you were not here for us to
come back home to, if you were not here to yell at me for damaging Kitt like you always
do, I would not be able to keep going. Now I know what you mean to me, and now that I
have finally figured it out, I'm not going to let the bastards that did this get a second
chance to finish the job. As long as you're here I have something to keep fighting for. As
long as you're here, Kitt can help me and we will win together as we always have. I just
hope that I mean as much to you as you mean to me. Please tell me I'm not to late"
Michael told her.
For once, Bonnie was at a loss for words as her tears made tracks down her cheeks,
and she made no move to wipe them away as she looked into his eyes as if she was
trying to gaze into his soul.
"You're not too late Michael. You are not the only one who has trouble with feelings. I
have just been scared. I have been scared that I was not good enough for you. I was
scared that I was not beautiful enough for you. I was scared that there was already
someone else who you cared about, and then you came for me when they told me you
would not, and you have done nothing but be there for me and care for me ever since
you came to my rescue" Bonnie told him.
"I will always come for you, there is no where on this Earth that Kitt and I would not be
able to find you and bring you home. I know it seems like I have been with a lot of girls,
but none of them compare to you, none of them could even come close, and none of
them could ever take your place in my heart Bonnie. I love you"
Not able to wait anymore and no longer afraid of her own feelings Bonnie threw caution
to the wind and with all the passion she had been feeling for Michael for lord knows how
long she kissed him, and her heart sang when she felt him respond and kiss her back.
Michael wrapped his arms around her neck to pull her closer to him as he deepened the
kiss.
Michael did not leave Bonnie's side at all that day. Kitt stayed in Surveillance mode, not trusting the security personnel working on the estate to keep an eye out for intruders, or anything else that may harm the occupants of the mansion.
Bonnie was a nervous animal in the few hours before the surgery was to begin. She was hungry because she was only allowed water and chicken broth, which Michael and Kitt made sure she stuck to. For instance, Bonnie had tried to eat a KitKat bar she had hidden in her desk drawer and Kitt had caught her.
"Bonnie, the doctor said you are only to have broth and water before the surgery. Chocolate is not something you can have until approximately 2 hours after the surgery is completed" Kitt pointedly told her.
"I just want this to be over Kitt. I'm nervous and hungry" Bonnie told him.
Chapter 6: Surgery
"Ok, nurse we are ready to begin. Bonnie, I would like you to start counting backwards for me from 100 please. I promise, when you wake up that shoulder will feel much better" the doctor told her thru the oxygen mask she was wearing.
"99, 98, 97, 96…..95…94" Bonnie counted until her voice faded out and the drugs they had used pulled her under.
The doctor waited about 15 more minutes for her breathing to even out and for her readings on the equipment to show that she was truly unconscious and then they started repairing Bonnie's shoulder.
Michael had been a nervous wreck ever since Kitt had told him that they had started. The only one more nervous than him was Kitt. Kitt was not able to be right outside the temporary operating room like Michael was. The only thing he was capable of doing was patching in to the medical equipment that was being used to monitor Bonnie himself, and he was patched into the security camera in the room to watch the surgery himself.
The doctor had said he did not think the surgery would take more than 2 hours, but
When Michael had been pacing outside the door for going on 3 hours, Kitt was trying to determine what the delay was.
"Any idea what is going on or if they are about done Kitt?" MIchael asked into the commlink.
Barrett Jackson