Knight Rider characters copyright Glen A Larson
Tag scene for Scent Of Roses (again! :-P)
Thanks to Knightshade for the beta and the word :)

Blinded
by Tomy

        Sitting on the well manicured grass in the back regions of the Foundation gardens, Michael sighed deeply, thankful for some time to himself. They were only trying to be supportive, to show their love - he knew this - but their constant attention continued to irk him. He needed to be alone, to grieve, to beat himself up for not saving her, for allowing her to sacrifice herself for him. The guilt was eating him alive. That mixed with the bone crushing grief was suffocating him.

        Kitt had been unusually quiet. He'd walked in on his partner and Bonnie talking a few days after Durante was taken into custody. Kitt had been expressing his guilt, woefully confiding in her that if he'd remained in surveillance mode, he could have prevented Stevie's death.

        Hearing those words from Kitt, knowing that he himself had thought those exact thoughts in moments of deep rage - it all collapsed in on him. Kitt was the farthest from blame.

        Michael knew exactly who had caused his wife's death - he looked at him every time he looked in a mirror.

        There was no solace anywhere. Nowhere he could go, no one he could turn to. Even in sleep his mind replayed the events, slowly torturing him with the memories.

        "If they kill you, they kill me." Did she not realise that worked both ways? Her death had killed something inside him, taken more from him than the initial shooting had.

        The sudden glint of sunlight blinded him as the turbine whine reached his ears. His eyes tracked the sleek form of his partner, blinking against the glare as the Trans Am rounded the corner at the top of the rise, crawling towards him.

        The sun reflected off the hood and windscreen directly into his eyes, but he couldn't tear them away. Shifting to sit facing the car, he waited for Kitt to join him, knowing Kitt alone had found him.

        The car stopped, prow level with his face and idled softly, waiting.

        Conflicting emotions warred within him. Kitt had always been there, caring, comforting, just being. It was something the others couldn't give him. They didn't know him well enough, or maybe they simply didn't have the patience the gentle AI did.

        Without a word he tipped his forehead to the nose, listening to the scanner track from side to side over his head. As soon as he relaxed against the car, the engine shut off.

        The wetness on his cheek surprised him. It had run from his eyes along the warm skin of the molecular bonded shell, gathering in the groove under the slowly swaying lights.

        He opened his eyes to the trembling pool of dampness, caught in the twinkling light of the sun. Turning his head sideways, he sank against the car, wanting the light to blind him, to overshadow the memories as his partner's silent companionship comforted him.

fin
July 6,2004