Michael didn't understand a word Bonnie and Kitt were saying. It sounded vaguely like English, but beyond that, he was clueless. He'd tuned out quite early in the conversation and was just concentrated on helping Bonnie keep her head above water. He was sitting beside her and had grabbed hold of the shelf so that she could rest her head in the crook of his arm while Kitt kept her talking. Michael wasn't sure if he was doing it to keep her conscious – shock was his biggest fear right now -- or if his partner was just trying to keep her mind off things. Kitt had mentioned some intermittent problem he was apparently having and their conversation had quickly become indecipherable. Michael knew Bonnie was smart, but he was rarely around when she was truly in her element. She occasionally threw out technical terms when making repairs or installing upgrades, but this was a steady stream of tech jargon. He hadn't even been aware until now of just how much she must tone down her conversations when he was around.

He tried not to think 'dumbed down' but he couldn't help it.

"Yes, Bonnie, I do think that might help," he heard Kitt say.

"We'll have to try it when we get back to …" Her voice trailed off.

Michael immediately decided it was time to jump back in. "Hey, no pessimism here," he said, scolding gently.

"Sorry. It's just …" she trailed off again and stopped. Then she changed subjects abruptly. "I guess we've been leaving you out of the conversation. Sorry about that."

"That's okay. But has anyone told you recently how smart you are? It's a good thing I don't need to know any of that, or Kitt and I would be in trouble."

He felt her shrug. "It's not your job to know." She paused. "And knowing it isn't exactly helping me much right now, is it? Your knowledge is a lot more practical."

"I'm the brawn and you're the brains, huh?"

"I didn't say that," she said smiling. Her head was tilted back as far as possible, and Michael was dismayed to see the water pooling in the corners of her mouth.

"How're you doing?" he asked, serious again.

She shrugged again. "It's starting to hurt -- keeping my neck stretched like this."

He nodded and glanced at her face. He wasn't sure if it was just the lapping water or the reflections bouncing off everything inside the remains of the truck, but her eyes looked shiny. "There's probably not much time left," he said softly.

"I know." There was an awkward silence, and then she said, "Michael, I just wanted to tell you, in case I don't get out of this …"

"You will. You're going to be fine."

"Just let me finish, please," she said softly. He nodded but really didn't want to hear it. He wanted -- needed -- to stay positive right now.

"I'm sorry that I haven't always been good about recognizing all that you do. I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time about taking necessary risks."

"It's okay. You're just doing your job." He wasn't comfortable with the mood -- it was going to choke him up so he added. "Besides, I know you've always liked Kitt better."

She closed her eyes and said, "That's not true."

He looked away, feeling happy but a little embarrassed as well. "Well, let's just get through this so you can get back to giving me a hard time."

There was another awkward silence as the water kept creeping up her face. It was covering her closed eyes now in a thin film and her nose was just barely above the advancing water line. Michael's earlier conviction was beginning to falter -- the stakes of the situation were starting to get to him. What if they couldn't do this? What if she lost consciousness or went into shock or just panicked.

Unfortunately he knew the answer; he'd be left to sit here and watch her die.

Michael forced himself to shrug it off. She'd be fine. He was going to make sure of it. Seven minutes wasn't really that long.

"I think we're going to have to do this now," he said.

"Okay." She nodded slightly, just bouncing her head a little bit.

"Michael? Bonnie?"

"Go ahead, Kitt." Michael had wrapped his comlink through the netting on the shelf and put it in constant transmit mode so that he didn't have to worry about pressing the button or keeping it out of the water.

"I just wanted to let you know that I think it would be best if I don't interrupt much once Bonnie's under water. But I am here and monitoring everything. If there's anything you need or anything I can do, just say so."

"Thank you, Kitt," Bonnie said.

Michael sighed and gave her another look, trying not to feel like he was memorizing every detail of her face, like this might be the last time he really saw her. "Just try and find a comfortable position and relax. Think about your breathing." He took her hand. "If you get nervous or something isn't right, give my hand a long squeeze, okay? If things are alright, give it a short one."

She gave him a quick squeeze which he took as a 'yes'.

"You ready?" he asked.

"I think so."

She took a deep breath, covered her nose with her hand, and then he felt her slip away from him as her head bobbed under. Michael slid out from beside her and turned so that he could get to her more easily. He moved his free hand to the back of her neck, and taking a deep breath, went under with her. Bonnie's hand had already tightened in his and the sick feeling that somehow this wasn't going to work rushed back in. He quickly shoved all that to the back of his mind and pressed his lips against hers so that she could breathe. Her lips were cold and he could feel her shivering. She took in his air and he went back up, pausing briefly to watch the bubbles as she exhaled.

Then he went under and did it again.

This time when he came up he turned toward the comlink and whispered, "Kitt, is she in shock?" before ducking back down again. He hadn't wanted to ask when she could hear him.

When Michael surfaced again, Kitt said, "Her body's showing some symptoms of shock and hypothermia, yes; however, her vitals are only slightly elevated. She is bleeding, but the rate is slow enough that I don't think it's going to be a problem -- assuming the fire department can get her out quickly."

Slightly relieved, he ducked back down again. Again and again he went up and down. Bonnie's grip on his hand slowly loosened and he felt like they had gotten into a rhythm. He came up; he went down. So far, so good.

The next time Michael broke the surface he turned to the comlink again. "Kitt, where are they?"

"They're on their way, Michael. It won't be long now."

Michael wasn't blind to the fact that his partner didn't tell him how long. He went under again, feeling tired himself. Bonnie had gotten somewhat lethargic and he was worried that a lack of good oxygen was getting to her. He knew there was plenty of oxygen left in recycled air – the lungs only ever used a portion of it – but she was getting tired. He could feel it. Be it the oxygen or her injuries or shock, the result was the same.

He sunk under again and felt the pull of her lungs against his, but this time her hand suddenly crushed down on his and her eyes flew open. His brain took only a fraction of second to register the fact that she must have somehow breathed in water. Michael snapped his hand out of hers and clamped it down over her hand and nose. He crushed his lips against hers and held fast with the hand on her neck as she started coughing and gasping. He was startled by the feel of the harsh, rasping coughs and the sharp pushing and pulling of the air they were sharing between their lungs. He didn't let up on his grip, determined that she was not going to breathe in any more water.

Bonnie's coughing slowed and he quickly broke away and gulped in as much air as he could. Michael dropped down again immediately and managed to get to her before she coughed again. They sat there, breathing the same air back and forth while her coughing subsided. He went up and quickly grabbed more air. She coughed once more and seemed to settle back to normal breathing.

After a minute he pulled his hand away from her face and took her free hand again. She gave it a quick pulse. Michael looked into Bonnie's eyes, searching through the blurry water. She seemed to be okay and she was definitely now a lot more alert than she had been. Michael realized he was still holding her neck tightly and eased up, trying to clear the adrenaline from his own body.

He came up again feeling flustered and angry. "Kitt!" he yelled toward the comlink.

"The fire department and paramedics are here, Michael."

Thank God.

"But it's going to take them a minute or two to get out to you. Is Bonnie still okay?"

"Hanging in there, pal," he said dropping his head down again.

Soon afterward Michael heard clanging against the semi's ruined undercarriage. A few more times up and down and then someone was coming through the side door and dropping to the floor. "You got someone trapped in here?"

"Yeah, she's down here."

"Is she still conscious?"

"Yes." He went under again, not wanting to make her wait. Although she must be able to hear that something was going on.

The man had made his way over by the time Michael surfaced again and he lowered a scuba tank into the water. "I'm Justin. The guy outside is Dale." He handed Michael a regulator. "Just have her breathe normally." Michael gratefully took it, then went back under and shook Bonnie's hand to get her attention. She squeezed back but didn't open her eyes, so her he lifted her chin. Her eyes opened and he held the regulator up to her mouth. She took it and bit down. The bubbles were slow in coming at first, but then she seemed to get the hang of it. Michael surfaced and let out a sigh of relief. "It's about time you guys got here," he said to the paramedics.

"Yeah, sorry about that. You picked about the worst possible place to have this little accident."

"I guess so." Unfortunately it was no accident. He and Kitt were going to have to deal with that, but in the meantime he was just glad that it looked like they were going to get out of this in more or less one piece.

Another man appeared in the doorway and started handing his partner cutting rods. Michael figured they knew their jobs and turned his attention back to Bonnie. He watched as the bubbles rolled to the surface every few seconds. He slid back down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. His own mouth and nose were barely out of the water, but it was the most comfortable position he could find. Bonnie's hair was fanned out around her, tickling his chest and floating back and forth across his arm. Michael noticed the goose bumps covering her arms and pulled her tighter as he settled in to wait. The bubbles rising to the surface were slowly mesmerizing him. It was a testament to how mentally and physically exhausted he was.

The guys from the fire department were efficient and set to work at clearing the debris. Michael was just wondering how long it was going to take when suddenly he realized that Bonnie was free. He felt her body float up just as Justin said, "Pull her loose if you can." Michael pulled her up to the surface and gently took the regulator from her. "You okay?"

She took in several ragged breaths and nodded before finally looking up at him. Then she slid her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Shh. It's okay," he said smoothing her hair. "It's alright. You're going to be okay now."

Michael held her for a moment before pulling back to take a look at her. Her lips were blue and she was beyond shivering to the point of actually shaking. He kissed her forehead, brushed the strands of wet hair out of her face, and pulled her close again. Then he looked up at the guys and at the hole where the door was. "Okay, how do we get out of here?"

Justin was already in the forward part of the trailer. "By cutting a hole. Hold on, it's going to get a little more flooded in here. Michael heard the sizzle of the cutting rod and then the water rushing in. It was deep enough now to swim past the debris, so he turned half on his back and wrapped his arm around Bonnie's waist to pull her with him. Justin had cut a good-sized hole in the side of the semi and Michael was able to swim out, followed by the two rescuers.

They were quickly out of the shadow of the semi and into the direct sunlight. Michael had hoped that would help Bonnie's hypothermia, but they were still in the cold water. As soon as they were reasonably close to the shore, Michael stood up and lifted her out of the water, carrying her carefully through the breaking surf.

The paramedics were waiting on the beach behind the ambulance with a stretcher. Michael headed for it and was immediately mobbed. Suddenly there were paramedics around him with a blood pressure cuff, oxygen mask, and blankets. He set Bonnie down on the stretcher and took a step back, feeling like he was in the way.

"Michael?" Bonnie asked, grasping his hand. She looked tired, confused.

"I'm just going to check on RC and then dry off a bit. I'll be right back, okay?" he said, giving her hand a squeeze.

She nodded and he gave her forehead a quick peck before backing away. It felt ridiculously chaste given the situation, but he was suddenly feeling overwhelmed.

He made his way over to the other ambulance and peered into the back as the paramedic inside finished the task of strapping RC into his stretcher. "How are you doing?" he asked.

RC looked up. "Fine, man. But I think my brains got a little scrambled … again. You know, no one told me that driving a truck would be this dangerous."

Michael smiled. "Yeah, try driving the car sometime."

RC grinned. "Bonnie okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm sure they'll take her to the hospital though."

"Yeah. They aren't letting me go without a ride either."

Michael laughed. "Hospitals aren't hard to break out of. I'll give you tips if you want."

"You're on."

Michael clasped hands with him and stepped back as the paramedic closed the door. He watched as they turned on the lights and the ambulance pulled away before he turned to head toward Kitt.

"Are you okay, Michael?" his partner asked, as he leaned heavily against the door.

"Fine, pal. Just tired."

"There's a towel and a change of clothes in the trunk."

Michael knew that, but it was nice to be reminded.

"You really should get out of those wet clothes. Your jacket is in the passenger's seat when you're ready."

Michael nodded. It was nice to have Kitt taking care of him. He walked around to the back of the car and Kitt popped the trunk for him. He dug around until he found the towel in his bag and rubbed his hair down, feeling way too tired to deal with the issue of clothes at the moment. But if he was going to go to the hospital, he was going to have to change. He wrapped the towel around his neck, grabbed the duffle bag and eased the trunk slowly closed. He pulled open the driver's side door to collapse for just a second in the seat. He was relieved that Kitt didn't even protest over his wet, salty clothes. Michael leaned his head back on the seat and took a few deep, even breaths -- more aware than usual of how precious those breaths were. He looked out the windshield in front of him at the flurry of activity around the stretcher.

"She's going to be alright, Michael," Kitt said softly.

"I know." He knew he didn't sound convinced. "I'm fine, Kitt. It's just …" He stared at the bustle of activity, but the colors from the ambulance lights started to run together.

"It scared me too," Kitt said softly.

Michael nodded and ran a hand through his tangled hair. He pulled the towel from around his shoulders and scrubbed his head again. She was fine. They were all fine. Once more into the jaws of death and once more they had averted catastrophe.

It just hadn't quite sunk in yet that everything was okay.

He pulled open the duffle bag, found the pair of jeans inside, and shed the wet pair he was wearing. New jeans, a clean t-shirt, and he felt at least a little bit better. He took one more deep cleansing breath, trying to get rid of the excess adrenaline and get his body to relax, aware that his lungs were now only supporting one life instead of two.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kitt asked.

"I will be." He paused and looked down at the voice modulator. "Thank you, pal."

"I didn't do anything."

Michael smiled a bit. "Yes you did." He pushed open the door and went back to see about Bonnie. The paramedics had loaded her in the second ambulance and it looked like the hovering had subsided. Michael wandered over and climbed in back. Bonnie's eyes were closed, her face was covered with an oxygen mask, and she was bundled in blankets up to her chin but at least her color looked better.

Michael slid quietly along the bench next to her, assuming she was asleep. But as he sat down, her eyes fluttered open. She reached up to pull the mask away from her mouth.

"How's RC?" she asked.

"He'll be okay. Another concussion probably. I think he's going for a record."

She smiled wanly and he took her hand. "Pretty crazy day, huh?"

"That's one way of putting it."

One of the paramedics popped his head in. "If you guys are all set, we'll head out." Michael nodded and the man climbed in, closing the back doors and taking a seat on the bench on the other side of Bonnie's stretcher.

Bonnie turned her head toward Michael, her eyes catching his in the darkened interior. "You saved my life. Again."

He held her hand up and pressed it against his cheek. He didn't like to think about how often their job put her in danger too. It was an illusion to think that any of them were really safe. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Bonnie cast her eyes down. "It got a little scary down there for a while."

He nodded. "Yeah it did." He was amazed that despite the fact that she wasn't trained for this and didn't have the kinds of experiences that he, Devon, and to a lesser extend RC, all had, she usually managed to handle herself well in a crisis. "But you did fine."

She smiled weakly and Michael could see the exhaustion in her eyes.

"I think this is supposed to stay on though," he said, gently taking the oxygen mask from her to move it back toward her mouth.

She reached for his hand, stopping him briefly. "Thank you," she said, her voice filled with an emotion he wasn't sure he could identify.

"Anytime, sweetheart." He settled the mask gently back on her face and looked away, feeling way too exposed in the dark confines of the ambulance. He had thought he'd put these feelings to bed a long time ago, but here in the dark he couldn't help thinking about the what ifs. What if he and Kitt hadn't gotten there time? What if she hadn't stopped coughing? What if he'd had to watch her die?

What if he never had the chance to...

He stuffed down those thoughts. It hadn't happened. Not today. He leaned over and rested his forehead against hers, trying to banish all the other thoughts as the ambulance pulled away from the beach.

She was alive. He was alive.

And for today anyway, the world was still full of possibilities.

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-knightshade
September 18, 2006