By TT Snim

Dream

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The first thing that came to him was the scent. Plastic, when new, has a pungent and sickly sweet smell. Mingled with the sent of oxygen and antiseptics, it makes the world white and lifeless. He could smell it, everywhere, the world reeked with it. Cold and dry, the scent flowed over him on a regulated and uniform breeze. The source was everywhere, over equipment, covering tables, chairs, the windows... It was even draped over him, clouding his view, a silent and impersonal barrier between him and any thing that might suggest the natural world.

This was the room he hated the most. The room called “emergency”.

He forced his groggy consciousness to focus through the plastic and scan the area. Distorted and misshapen through the clear covering, a woman sat at a computer, drinking coffee. “B-bon-nie?”

She turned and, at least it looked so through the transparent sheet, smiled. “Kitt.” She stood and walked closer, stopping about two feet way. She was cradling her cup in her hands. “How do you feel?”

Pain wasn't something Kitt could feel, at least not in human terms. But there was a sensation when the black, formerly invulnerable body was damaged; a sensation that would overload his mind with panic and hyper awareness. This would be followed by a dull numbness that would join itself with fear and darkness. Pain wasn't a physical thing for him. It was, however, and affliction of the mind. And it had exhausted him.

“I'm tired.” He replied honestly. “Exhausted.”

She sat down near him. “You really gave us a scare, Kitt.”

“What happened?”

She sighed. Not the sigh of a frazzled woman who had been asked to many questions, which she did a lot around him, or the sigh of tiredness that accompanies a long night of problem solving. It was a very different sigh. One that seemed riddled with guilt.

“Your engine had a small crack in it, so small the instruments didn't detect it. You nearly threw a rod.”

“That's impossible.” He said; his voice was terribly dry sounding. “I have the most advanced systems in the world.”

“Even so, Kitt, your body has always been put under stress. That stress caused the crack, and will only get worse if left alone.” She sipped her coffee calmly, but her face showed that she had been worried. She reached up and ran her hands through her hair and set the cup down.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. He had been fine when he had left the foundation; perfectly whole and functioning at one hundred percent. It had been a spectacular day. After a short trip into town they had intercepted someone who was speeding away from a robbery. He raced to catch up and when they had cleared the town...

“Where is Michael?”

She looked up a little in thought. The light from the covered window was catching in her hair and it made her look almost ethereal in her white coat. “I don't know. I think he went to talk to Devon about something.” She looked down at her lap. “He was the one who called us. I think you scared him most of all.”

They had cleared the town and left it in the dust. After about a mile or so, however, some thing literally burst within the purring engine. He had instantly gone off the road and rolled. He could remember something else; hearing Michael’s voice. At the time, everything was so clear and perceived perfectly. But most of the detail was now lost in oblivion, save a scattered handful of words he had tried to focus on then.

“I thought I was done for.” It wasn't an exasperated exclamation, stated with relief to be alive, rather a humble awareness mixed with the sense of mortality. “Michael kept repeating things to me.”

She picked up the cup again and took a long drink. “Yeah, I know.” She set it back down. “He told me. He wanted you to hang in there long enough for support to come. I'm amazed he was able to do what he did.” She turned and looked straight at Kitt. Her auburn eyes clear despite the colorless distortions. “Even though you were losing power, he somehow managed to practice emergency repair work on you. Later, he told me that you had warned him the engine was threatening to rupture. It would have killed him instantly. Do you remember?”

“No.”

She gathered her cup in to her hands and stood. “He wouldn’t leave you alone, Kitt. He risked his neck for you, even though he was never supposed to do that.”

It should have never come to that. Kitt was supposed to be the most advanced technology on the planet. How could something to small to be seen be so powerful and distructive?

“I should have seen something like this coming.” His voice was quiet, too quiet.

“Kitt, don't say foolish things like that.” Bonnie scolded gently. “You couldn't see something like this coming. No one could have. Now rest. You need to save your power reserves. I haven't completed all the repair work I must do yet.”

“Bonnie, will you be here for long?”

She reached out and set her hand on his slightly bent hood. “I'm not going to leave you alone.”

“Thank you.”

~*~

Vertigo was something he hated nearly as much as being in the 'emergency' room. At the moment he was experiencing it *in* the 'emergency' room. Bonnie and a dozen or so other people were around him, talking amongst themselves. It was a situation he was suddenly frightened of. Not for any real or logical reason, but for the sheer hatred of it.

He wasn't aware that he had started his engine or started to rev until a familiar and calm voice reached him.

“Easy pal, easy. They're just running some tests on you. Remember?”

“Michael?”

“Yeah. Concentrate Kitt. Remember what we just talked about?”

He felt a new swell of panic. “No...”

“It's OK; we knew this would probably happen. The tests they are running are blocking your short term memory from reaching your hard drive.” Michael leaned against the dark frame and dangled his hands in to the window. His finger traced the seams of Kitt's leather door padding.

“What are they doing?”

“They just want to look at your sensors. So they have them hooked up to some fancy equipment. Other stuff is being checked out as well.”

As the last words were spoken, Kitt was hit with another wave of dizziness. He instinctively slammed on the brakes and turned against the direction of the false spin. He felt the door open and weight settle in to his seat.

“Kitt, focus on one point in the room, OK?”

Wordlessly, Kitt complied. The spinning stayed, but his scans anchored him firmly enough to settle down the urge to brake.

“How much longer will they be?”

“They said that they would be done in a second. You shouldn’t forget again.”

Michael was right and in a minute or two, the men started to unhook Kitt from the devices and leave. Bonnie was left, clutching a clip board to her chest and leaning against the table.

“Well?” Michael asked.

“They said there is nothing they can do to reliably fix the damage in the engine.” She looked up, sorely disappointed. “We'll have to wait for a new one to be built.”

“What do I do until then?” Kitt asked, still reeling from the tests.

“As of now you're very limited. You can't go over sixty... maybe seventy miles an hour. If you do you will throw a rod.” She reached up and brushed some of the hair from her face before shoving her self off of the table. She walked quietly and got in to the passenger side. Still clutching the clip board she sat down. “I'm sorry it has to be this way.”

“It's all right, Bonnie.” Michael said with a smile. He looked out of sync with the situation, smiling like he was all gentle and kind. But his eyes were being honest and showing his true feelings; feelings of sadness and worry. “You are a great fix it all, I know you'll get the new one in no time.”

“But it hasn't even been built yet.”

“So? Kitt and I needed a vacation.” He patted the dash. “Right, pal?”

There was no answer. Michael’s smile faded and finally he was looking completely honest.

“Kitt?” Bonnie probed gently.

“Will this have a chance of happening again?”

Both Michael and Bonnie looked at each other. Finally, Michael spoke. “Kitt, listen, things happen, things we don't expect. It could happen again, but we'll have taken all the precautions possible, so it shouldn't.”

“It *shouldn't* have happened *this* time.” Kitt replied. He sounded wholly dejected. “You risked your life for me.” He added. “I don't want that to happen.”

“And I didn't want you to... to...” Michael sighed and hung his head for a moment. “Every time I've needed you you’ve been there, even when it put your life at risk. I was just trying to repay the debt.”

“You don't owe me, Michael.” Kitt retorted.

“Yes, I do.” He lifted his head and looked out the window. “The first time I saw you, it reminded me of the night in the desert. The first time I heard you speak; it reminded me that nothing is allowed to stay simple. The first time I put someone behind bars you reminded me that there is more to life then pity or anger. The first time you saved me, it reminded me that I was alone in the human race. But, the second I remembered all of these things I remembered some thing else. I promised that I would try to serve, and protect. I couldn't have done that without you. So, when I saw you needed me, after all the times I couldn't help because I was in too much danger, I decided that it was still my duty to serve... and protect.” The sunlight swayed a little in the white room and over the black hood. An emerald tree outside was giving the sunlight a dappled effect. Red and gold blossoms filled the folage and tanted the trembling shafts of light. “Life is what you keep giving me Kitt; I wanted to give it back.”

“Th-thank you...”

~*~

“Three months. That's how long the technicians said it would take to build another engine, until then you might be able to use an engine salvaged from some place else. Until then, you are severely restricted to town and back road travel only. The largest load you can handle safely is a thousand pounds.”

“So I can still drive around until then?” He asked, hopeful.

Bonnie nodded. “Yes, but you must follow the guidelines. If you don't, you could endanger Michael... or yourself. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

She gave him a warm smile and turned back to her computer. She sat down and there was a rather long silence. “Kitt, I mean it, don't risk yourself.” The formality of the job was gone, the required lines spoken; now there were only feelings left. “I've come so close to losing you so many times.”

“I'll be careful.” He braced for the discomfort and pulled up to her chair. “Each time I've been hurt, you were there, helping me. But each time I can tell it hurts you too. I don't want to hurt any body, especially not you.”

She reached down and stroked the red sensor light. “You can never hurt me, Kitt. Ever.”

~*~

Kitt edged out into the fresh air cautiously. It was a perfectly fine day. Two butterflies, mostly pure white, floated past on a lilac scented breeze. They danced close to his hood before going on and disappearing behind some shrubs.

Kitt pulled further out. Now he was completely sun soaked and free of the garage's confining walls. Bonnie, who was behind him, walked out and leaned against his hood.

“Do you want to take a drive around the estate?”

“Yes. I'd like that.” He opened the door and she walked around to get in. Before sitting completely down, she paused. Her head turned and she frowned.

“Is something the matter?”

“No.” She settled all the way in, but left her leg out the door. Quickly and quietly she touched some buttons on his dash. “Just as I thought.”

“What is it?”

“Your pistons are leaking a bit. And I don't like the smell of the ozone that seems to be following you.”

“Why can't I detect this?” Kitt asked, worried.

“Well, for now I have tuned down your internal reception.”

“Why?”

She tried to smile for a moment, but failed. Leaning back, she sighed and looked out at the gardens surrounding them. “I'm sure you would find it very unpleasant, Kitt. I didn't want the next three months to be painful for you. So until I can do the rest of the temporary repair work, I'm going to leave half of your sensors off line.”

“I understand.” Kitt said quietly. “Thank you.”

“Of course, now let’s go once around the estate and see how you perform, OK?”

Kitt wordlessly pulled forward, away from the garage.