Knight Rider and its characters are the property of Universal Studios.

This story is fictional and solely for entertainment purposes, no copyright infringement is intended.

Authors Notes:

This story takes place 6 months after the events in my story "A New Beginning". It's probably best if you read that story first or some of this one might not make sense.

I want to thank Shay-Monyou, my beta reader, for remembering high school grammar better than I do and for some wording suggestions.

Line breaks indicate a flashback or a return to current time.

Rating: PG-13 for language and sexual content.

Snow Bound

Chapter 1

Michael was bored. He'd been cooped up in the mobile unit with nothing to do for over five hours now. They were in the middle of an assignment waiting for a break in the case; this was their seventh case in a row. Devon was trying to make up for lost time caused by Michael's injury so they had been on the road for almost six months straight.

This most recent case was a mad bomber, blowing up sheds, barns, out buildings, and other property belonging to seemingly random citizens. 'The guy must have a bug up his ass about something and had gone off the deep end' Michael thought when Devon briefed them about the case. The bombs had been carefully placed and timed so that no one had been seriously hurt so far. However, Michael and Devon both felt that it was only a matter of time before someone was hurt or even killed.

FLAG was called in by the Mayor of Lake City, a little town in the mountains of Colorado, against the better judgment of their local sheriff who believed he had the situation under control. That was four bombs ago and they weren't much closer to catching the bad guy now. Their bomber was using easily attained household products and chemicals to create his bombs, so KITT and Michael had no luck tracing the components. Luckily, for them, the bomber was getting bored too and had started taking more chances. He tipped off a reporter at the Arrow Head newspaper before his last bombing. Michael hoped he'd do it again and KITT placed a tap into Amanda Singer's home phone. So now they played the waiting game.

Michael was currently sitting on a chair next to the workbench that ran along a portion of one of the semi's walls. About a year ago Bonnie redesigned the mobile unit, he called it redecorating. She installed a short "L" shaped work bench that started about two feet in from KITT's parking place with the back of the L along the semi wall. There were three computers on this bench. Why she needed three was beyond Michael's imagination, but apparently Devon bought her explanation and the equipment. Another four-foot workbench picked up where the L bench ended. This is where Michael was now resting his feet as he kicked back in the tall chair. The one good thing that came out of the redecoration was the addition of a more comfortable work area in the center of the semi, including a couch and two very comfortable swivel chairs with a table between them. On the wall opposite the workbenches Bonnie installed large poster-sized wiring diagrams and circuit schematics of KITT's systems. She had these covered with plexi-glass and was often writing or drawing on the glass with dry erase markers as new ideas came to mind for upgrades or changes to KITT's systems.

He watched Bonnie as she worked on one of the three computers. She had no trouble keeping busy, and he had no idea what she was doing. She buried herself in those computers or under KITT's hood for the better part of the last six months. Though Michael thought she was making progress on her recovery from the wounds that Chad left behind, it hadn't been easy. He remembered coming back to the mobile unit, about two weeks after Chad's arrest, to find it parked along the road and Bonnie missing. His mind drifted back to that afternoon.

"Michael we are quickly approaching the mobile unit I suggest you slow down" KITT said. "It doesn't appear to be moving."

"What? Is anything wrong?" Michael replied as a little bit of worry crept into his thoughts.

"Not that I can detect, and there was no mayday signal from Bonnie. According to my sensors the semi is in perfect order."

"Is she inside?"

"No, I am picking up one person in the cab. However I am registering a heat source about a quarter of a mile away on the ridge to the right." KITT used his video camera to zoom in on the heat source and found it to be Bonnie sitting on the ridge. "Do you think she is alright?" KITT asked. He too was worried about Bonnie, she had been so quiet lately, not quite depressed, but defiantly not happy.

Michael had stopped the car at the edge of the ramp. He looked at the video monitor and Bonnie sitting alone on a large rock. "I don't know Pal." he said as he opened the car door and got out. "Go on inside and secure the mobile unit, I'll go check on her." He had been waiting for the secondary breakdown so to speak. She had not spoken of Chad since the afternoon of his arrest when she cried herself to sleep in his arms, and he knew that she was not done talking about it.

KITT rolled into the back of the semi and the ramp started closing as Michael made his way up the hill.

Bonnie heard him coming and glanced down. She knew that he would come up here when he got in. She thought that she had wanted to be alone to think for a while in the open air. However when she caught sight of him climbing up the hill she realized that she really wanted him to comfort her.

"Hey" he said as he reached the top. "Beautiful day."

She looked up at him. "Yes it is."

"Got room on that rock for one more?" he asked.

She moved over a little bit and made space for him as he sat down. "Everything going okay with the case?"

Michael was enjoying the scenery and breathing in the clean fresh air. She had picked a beautiful spot to stop. The hill he climbed wasn't all that steep or high on the side facing the road, but the opposite side looked out over a large desert valley about two hundred feet below. There were desert flowers and cacti growing all around. The afternoon sky was a perfect blue with a few wispy white clouds here and there.

"Yea" he said without looking at her. "The case is moving right along. We should wrap it up later tonight."

He turned away from the valley and looked at her. She was so beautiful he thought and she looked so vulnerable at that moment. He had this uncontrollable urge to touch her face, and kiss her, but he knew he couldn't do that. It was way too soon and he didn't want to drive her away. He looked back over his shoulder down the hill to the semi. "You just taking a little breather?"

"Yes. I guess I needed some fresh air." She looked away out over the desert valley. "Actually I think I was getting a little cabin fever and wanted some open space."

"Well you picked a helluva great spot."

"Thanks." She looked back at him "How's KITT? Any problems I need to go fix?"

"Nothing that can't wait half an hour or so."

They sat in silence for a while then Michael asked, "You want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"What ever it was that got you to stop the semi and take a hike up this hill." he said with a smile.

She sat quietly for a few more minutes; so long in fact that Michael began to think she either wasn't ready to talk or just didn't want to talk to him.

"I must be some kind of idiot or fool or something." She finally said in a soft voice that sounded close to tears.

"What makes you say that?"

"How could I not have seen through that jackass? I played into his hand perfectly." she said as she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the tops of her thighs and partially covered her face with her hands.

"No, you didn't. And you're no fool or idiot. You're just human like I said before. We have all fallen into that category once or twice in our lives. Look what happened to me when I trusted Tanya Walker." He leaned forward too and tried to look into her eyes. She moved her hands away from her face and stopped hiding.

"Besides he was a professional, and he really didn't get past you, ya know." Michael added, when he could again see her face.

"That's only because of you. I would have delivered KITT right into his hands. I don't know how I would've lived with myself if that had happened." She had thought about that possibility so much in the last two weeks, it had haunted her dreams at night. If she really admitted it she was more scared of the possibility of loosing KITT, than the humiliation and hurt that Chad had caused her.

Michael turned on the rock and sat facing her. "Hey, give yourself some more credit. I think even without my interference you would have figured it out and not let him get KITT." He paused before continuing, "You're forgetting something in all of this."

She looked up at him with a little look of surprise on her face. "What?"

"KITT. Do you think he would've let someone take him away from us that easily? I mean come on, what was that goofball's plan to get KITT off the grounds? Did he think that KITT would just follow him like a lost puppy?"

Bonnie smiled a little at the mental picture of Chad trying to lure KITT away. "You don't know what his plan was. Like you said he was a professional."

Michael laughed, "Yea at stealing inanimate objects. Can you imagine trying to steal KITT with that attitude he has?"

Bonnie joined him in his laugh. This was why she had come out here, she knew that Michael would pickup on her feelings and would be able to cheer her up. He always had a way of making her feel a little better.

She moved one foot up onto the rock, rested her chin on the top of her knee and wrapped her arms around her bent leg. Her mind began to wander again and as usual, of late, it found it's way to wondering if she would always be alone. She turned her head towards Michael and rested her cheek on her knee. "What amazes me is how I believed that he accepted my life. I mean we don't have a normal lifestyle and I can't see any normal guy being okay with what I do and how often I'm gone." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "When I told him about KITT and how he usually comes first Chad had no problem with that. That should have been a big clue; nobody would put up with that, or understand it."

"Yea, I kinda know what you mean." Michael said. He thought about Stevie and the fact that she didn't want to be a part of his life until he left FLAG.

Bonnie had been watching him as she spoke to him, he was looking out over the valley and it appeared that he was miles away. He did actually understand what she was talking about maybe he was the only one who could truly understand. KITT meant the same to both of them and would probably always come first.

Michael stood up and turned to climb back down the hill. He stopped at the edge for just a second and said, "You know there is one person who could handle it and does understand." Then he walked down the hill and back to the semi.

Michael realized that Bonnie had actually begun to lighten up a bit after that day. She had smiled more and even laughed some. He decided that he had made some progress too.

But right now this boredom was killing him. He opened a drawer under the workbench looking for a distraction of some kind and found it immediately. He pulled out a hand full of rubber bands and set them on the bench. He put one on the tip of his thumb took careful aim and pulled it back. He fired it and hit right on target. The rubber band smacked Bonnie's computer monitor ricocheted off and hit her left arm. He was rewarded for a perfect shot with her startled jump and squeak of alarm.

She turned to him with a look of annoyance. "Can't you find something to do?"

"I have found something to do!" he answered innocently.

She noticed the pile of rubber bands next to his elbow and rolled her eyes. She turned back to computer. 'He could be so immature at times' she thought.

After a minute or so Michael picked up another rubber band. This time he aimed for the roof of the semi and fired. The weapon bounced off the roof and landed right in her coffee mug. She looked at the mug, and then at him.

"You're really starting to aggravate me." she said, but actually his playfulness was beginning to rub off on her.

'Good' he thought when he caught the slightly playful glint of her eyes. He was getting through to her. He chuckled at her and quickly picked up another rubber band and lightly fired it at the top of her thigh. It hit its mark, and she feigned loosing her temper. She quickly picked up a small travel size bottle of hand lotion sitting on the bench and flung it at him. He was so startled at her retaliation that he fell out of his chair trying to avoid the flying projectile.

He quickly crawled behind the chair he was sitting in; peeked over the top and yelled "What the hell was that?"

She had turned back to her computer and lazily answered, "You started it." If he could have seen her face at that moment he would have witnessed her fight to hold back the laugh at his graceful exit from the chair.

"Oooh, this is war." He said from behind the chair.

She stood up and replied "You want war? You got it." she grabbed the two rubber bands that Michael had shot at her as well as a few small articles from the workbench and took cover behind one of the swivel chairs. She wasn't sure what had come over her, playing along with Michael in his games was not something she usually gave into.

Michael was amazed at her response he hadn't actually expected her to play along and he was encouraged by it. He reached up to the workbench and grabbed his stockpile of weapons. "You don't stand a chance." he taunted her and leaned out from cover to fire on her position. Her leg was sticking out from behind the chair and he scored a direct hit on her calf.

She yelped from surprise and jumped up to return fire. Her shot was way too high and missed him by several feet. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this good or had this much fun and laughed at her own ineptness.

He laughed at her as well and then fired a round of his own. This time she ducked and the missile soared past where her shoulder had been. She looked through the pile of weapons that she had grabbed and found a pink rubber eraser. She lobbed it at him hand grenade style and scored a direct hit to the top of his head.

He yelled in mock pain and acted out a long and drawn out death scene finally falling down in the middle of the semi. She laughed until her stomach began to hurt and bent over holding her midriff. She was also trying very hard not to pee her pants.

KITT made a sound as if clearing his throat. "I hate to break up this intellectual debate, of sorts, but I have an incoming call to Miss Singer's phone. It could be our bomber." He really was sorry to break up the moment. He hadn't seen Bonnie that happy in a long time and Michael was entertaining as usual.

Michael sighed loudly and got up quickly "Record it Partner." he said as he made his way through the semi to KITT. He paused next to Bonnie as he passed her, casually put his hand on her arm and gave her that dazzling smile. "Next time you won't get so lucky." he said. Then he jumped in the car and KITT backed out of the semi.