Part VIII:

            "How is he?" Rachael asked as she sat down next to Devon and Bonnie after she had just been released from the emergency room.

            "He's in surgery," Bonnie said.  She looked up at Michael who stood facing a wall.

            "I'm really sorry," Rachael apologized.

            "This is hardly your fault," Devon told her. 

            "It should have been me though," she said.  "Kitt's been through enough as it is."

            "I'm the one who should've stopped him from going in the first place," Michael said to the wall. 

            "Stop blaming yourselves," Devon scolded gently.  "The authorities have Miss Sampson and Mr. Mitchell and are on the tracks of Andrew Jacobs.  Once he's in prison, we won't ever have to worry about him again."

            Michael shook his head and headed towards the nearest bathroom so he could wash the soot off of his face.  He couldn't get out of his head that Andrew Jacobs was supposed to be in jail as it was, but he still was behind of this entire crisis.

            It was half an hour before they received any word on Kitt.  "He's in critical condition.  With his past history, we're afraid that he might slip into another coma."

            "And?" Bonnie asked, afraid of the answer.

            The doctor had taken a deep breath.  "If he does, I doubt he'd pull through this time."

            Kitt's four friends sighed and looked away in a state of deep worry.  They all cared for Kitt in their own special way.  To Devon, Kitt was the most important thing to his own best friend, Wilton Knight.  He had grown to respect Kitt very well since the car first came out of the lab. 

            Kitt was Bonnie's biggest achievement in her career as a computer programmer.  If there was anyone that was proud of Kitt's capabilities, it was she because he was able to do more than what she programmed him to do in the first place. 

            Rachael hadn't known Kitt for very long, but since she first met him she had strong feelings for him; more than just a common friendship.  Kitt was the first person to actually listen to her and think of her as an equal besides just a young girl he were dating like previous boyfriends.

            Michael Knight, on the other hand, was the most affected by this incident.  Ever since he "died" as Michael Long and came to work for the Foundation for Law and Government, Kitt had been there for him.  He didn't want to have to look after anyone else after his last partner was killed the same night he was shot in the face.  But after working with Kitt for a few months, he discovered that the talking car was more than that; he was a true friend.

            Kitt had saved his life numerous times.  They had been through the toughest things anyone could possibly think of, and every time they'd pull through it with their spirits even higher than before.  Kitt was Michael's best friend; the finest friend he ever had in his life.  When he left FLAG, he still considered Kitt to be his best bud, but even though they wouldn't be around each other all the time, he still had the knowledge that Kitt would be there for him.  But now…now Kitt might not ever be there again.

            The nurses had moved Kitt into a private room and had given his friends the approval to stay with him, even though he was in the Intensive Care Unit.  Devon and Bonnie spent a great deal of time walking around the hospital, seeing that the room Kitt was put in was a bit small for four people to sit in.

            However, Michael and Rachael devotedly sat by his side.  Rachael knew how Michael must have been feeling.  She saw it in his eyes.  The man she knew to be FLAG's greatest employee sat on the edge of his seat, his folded hands covering his mouth and his eyes fixed on the figure that lay under an oxygen mask.

            "I'm really sorry Michael," she said suddenly, not taking her eyes off of Kitt's still face. 

            Michael leaned back in his chair, although his hands still were pressed up against his chin.  He closed his eyes for a brief moment and then opened them to look at the beautiful young girl on the other side of the bed.  "Not as sorry as I am," he replied hoarsely.

            "Why should you be sorry?" She asked.  "You saved both of us.  And I know how close you guys are."

            Michael looked from her face to Kitt's and then back to her's again.  "You and Kitt barely had a chance together.  He thinks the world of you and I think you're great for him.  That, and I should've known better than to let him go alone after what happened with that other woman.  I can't help but blame myself."

            Rachael didn't know what to say.  She looked away to Kitt's immobile hand, placing her own gently on top of his.  She studied his face through the mask and listened to the synchronized beeping of the heart monitor.

            Later that night Devon and Bonnie had returned with take-out food from the hospital cafeteria.  They ate in silence and disposed of their partially eaten dinner, returning to their seats and sat silently with Kitt.  All had feared that he was drifting away, for the reason that he hadn't given any response since he went unconscious with the rescue workers.

            However, the one thing they didn't expect was a visit from a young boy who was brought in a wheelchair by his mother to see the only person who had meant something in his short life.  Keith barely had the strength to knock on the door to ask for permission to go in, but they all were thrilled to see that he had made the journey from his own room.

            "Mary Jane told me that Kitt was back and was hurt," Keith said slowly.  His voice sounded extremely distant.  He had his favorite baseball cap covering his baldhead, and wore the same dinosaur pajamas he met Kitt in.  They all felt terrible for him, especially seeing his pale face and the dark circles under his eyes. 

            "I'm sure Kitt would be delighted to know you came to see him," Devon said happily.

            Keith smiled and held up a piece of paper in his lap.  "I made this for Kitt.  And my mom got him a Get Well card."

            Michael took the paper and card from his outstretched hand and was amazed at what he saw.  The paper was actually a drawing; an admirable drawing of a 1982 Trans Am.  "Keith, this is excellent," he said.

            "You're a very good artist," Bonnie said when she caught a glimpse of the picture. 

            "Keith loves to draw," his mother said.  "He's been working on this picture for a long time now."

            "I wanted to give it to Kitt to thank him for what he did for me," Keith said.  "I'll never forget it."

            "And he'll never forget this," Devon said.

            Keith looked at Kitt, his heart shattering at his unknown hero.  "I hope he'll be alright."  He paused for a moment and then pointed to the card.  "Could you open that for him?"

            Michael nodded and opened the white envelope and pulled out the card.  He smiled to see a child's version of a cartoon stick figure holding a balloon with the words "GET WELL SOON" written on them.  He read it allowed.  "Hope you feel better, Love Keith."

            "Tell him thank you again, for me," Keith said.  Michael could've sworn he saw the young boy's eyes begin to fill with tears, but they never came out. 

            "Keith, I think you better get back to bed," his mother said.  She had gone into the hallway for a brief moment to talk to Devon, but returned to bring her son back to his own bed.

            "Bye Kitt," the boy said.  "Feel better."  He gave one last smile and was wheeled out of the room to return to bed.

            "Cute kid," Rachael said once he was gone.

            "Yes, and he's dying," Devon said.  "His mother was told anytime now."

            Michael's stomach began to twist even tighter.  If Kitt found out, it would crush him.  He could only pray now that everything would turn out for the best.  Before returning to his seat, he placed the card and picture on the tiny nightstand that stood by Kitt's bed, so that he would be able to see it when he woke up.

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            Kitt's eyes slowly opened the next morning to see his "family" sitting all around them, all fast asleep.  Although when he moved his eyes to his right he noticed a head of blonde hair resting on the mattress, her hand holding his.

            Kitt gently turned his hand over to hold hers, which was enough movement for her head to lift up and bright green eyes to stare back happily at him.  A large white smile spread across her face when he said, "Hi."

            "Welcome back," she said softly, her thumb brushing over his hand.  "How are you feeling?"

            Kitt thought for a moment before saying, "Like I drove through a brick wall.  Are you okay?"

            "Just fine," she replied as she reached up with her other hand to push away a few stray strands of hair out of his face.

            Just then Michael sat up in his chair, hearing the muffled voice of his friend and noticing the blue eyes staring at the young girl opposite of him.  "Hey, pal," he said leaning over.  "Feeling up to Super Pursuit Mode?"

            "Perhaps tomorrow," Kitt said, letting out a small chuckle.

            "You gave us a real scare," Michael said.

            Kitt's smile softened.  "I let you down, Michael.  I almost got all of us killed."

            "Kitt," Michael started.  "You did nothing wrong.  Andy Jacobs is behind bars now and will most likely get the death sentence after his trial.  You did what you had to and you did a great job at it."

            "Thank-you Michael," Kitt said, although his conscience was still troubled.

            "Oh," Michael realized, reaching over to take the drawing off the table.  "You had a small visitor last night."

            Kitt gave a jovial laugh when he saw the picture of the car.  He was thrilled to see the words, "To Kitt, From Keith" written at the bottom.  "I'll have to go see him when I'm able to leave."

            Later that afternoon Kitt was almost back to his old self, with the exception of his arm strapped to his waist to prevent any pain infliction from moving his wounded shoulder.  But he was happy to have the oxygen mask removed and able to sit up in his bed.

            Rachael helped him eat lunch so he wouldn't strain himself.  Devon and Bonnie had gone out to eat upon Kitt's request because he felt bad that Devon would've had two cafeteria meals in a row.  Michael had gone down the hall to the candy machine to grab a Snickers bar and to get a drink of water.

            "When you get home, I'm going to give you the best massage you've ever had," Rachael informed him.

            "Well, the only massage I ever had was a bi-weekly wax job," Kitt joked, referring to his time as the Knight Two Thousand.

            "Then it'll be even better," Rachael promised, placing a small peck on his cheek.

            The two were caught in their small kissing moment when Michael walked in, although seeming to be dreadfully cheerless than he had been before.  Kitt knew that his friend usually would've made a comment on his small romantic action, but Michael Knight said nothing as he sat down and placed his unopened candy bar on the nightstand.

            "What's wrong Michael?  You look as if you've gone to the beach and never saw a single girl in a bikini," Kitt said optimistically.

            Michael looked at Kitt with saddened eyes.  "I've got some bad news pal," he started.

            Kitt's smile disappeared when he heard the seriousness of Michael's voice.  "What is it?"

            Michael shifted his position in the chair and looked to see if anyone was at the door.  His sight returned to his wounded friend, but couldn't look him in the eye.  "Keith died last night."

            Kitt's mouth opened faintly at the sudden news.  He never expected to hear such terrifying words.  "You mean…he's gone forever?"

            Michael shook his head and gave a faint, "Yeah."

            Rachael's hand holding a spoon full of Jell-O came back to rest on the tray, in a state of shock herself because she just met the boy the night before.  Kitt had told her about Keith and her heart went out to him, especially because he was fighting cancer.

            "Keith's mom just told me in the hall.  She asked if she could come down to see you later, if it's alright with you," Michael said.

            "Of course," were the only words Kitt could get to come out of his mouth.  His emotional state took a terrible fall to the ground.  Only days ago he saw the smiling face of his young friend when he got the chance to ride in his favorite car.  He had been so happy.  He had acted as if he was never sick, but instead as a ten-year-old should be acting.

            When Keith's mom knocked on the door, Rachael and Michael got up and left so she could talk to Kitt alone.  Kitt could see that the woman had been crying for some time.  Her cheeks were beat red and her eyes were bloodshot.  He had never been a parent, nor had he ever had one, but he knew he couldn't relate to the pain she was feeling at this moment.

            "I'm very sorry," Kitt said softly, forcing the words out of his mouth.  "I wish I could have been there to help."

            To his surprise a smile appeared on her red face.  "You did help him, Kitt," she said.  It sounded as if she was about to cry again at any moment.  "You gave him something that no one ever could give him."

            Kitt thought she was referring to the car ride.  "I wish I could've given him more than just a car ride."

            "Kitt," she said touching his hand.  "You gave him the one thing he needed most: a friend."

            Kitt thought about her sentence for a long time after that.  He didn't know what to say.  He didn't know that he really meant so much to such a young person.

            "He told me last night, right before he went to sleep, that he prayed.  He said 'Mom, I prayed to God that Kitt will feel better.  I want one of us to live longer than ten.'"  A stray tear escaped from her eye and Kitt tried to reach to give her a tissue from his nightstand but she shook her head to prevent him.  "Its alright," she said finally after getting a hold of her emotions.  "He was suffering.  No child should have to go through what he did."

            Kitt's release day was the same day as Keith's funeral.  And much to Devon and Bonnie's disapproval, he made it a point to attend.  He felt that it was the least he could do.

            When the service was over and the people started to return to their cars from the grave plot, Keith's mom personally thanked Kitt, Michael, Devon, and Bonnie for coming.  "He would've been happy to know you came."

            "Keith was a very special young man," Devon assured her before she departed to return to her chauffeured car.

            Kitt remained behind only a few minutes longer as Michael and the others made their way to FLAG's limousine.  With his hands in his pants' pockets, he stared at the head stone.  He hoped that his young friend wouldn't have minded the picture of him sitting on the Knight Two Thousand matted to the bottom corner, a token of Kitt's own remembrance.

            "You okay?" a gentle voice asked as a hand wrapped around his back.  Although he no longer wore the sling for his arm, she was still careful not to bump the bandaged shoulder.

            Kitt put his good arm around Rachael's shoulders and nodded.  "No one should have to miss out on life like he did."

            Rachael turned and put her other hand on Kitt's chest.  "I agree."  Rachael forced him to look down at her by pulling his head towards her.  "I'm just glad that I didn't lose you.  I wasn't planning on giving you up like that."

            Kitt's lips curved in one corner and then gently kissed the top of Rachael's forehead.  "Lets go home," he said. 

            Kitt sat by the door of the limousine and watched head stones start to disappear as they began to drive away.  His eyes were focused on the headstone of his young friend until the car turned the corner and it was out of sight.

            One thing that Kitt didn't understand was why he started thinking of Wilson Knight during the ride home.  Mr. Knight, in a way, was Kitt's father.  He was the founder of FLAG and the one who started the Knight Industries Two Thousand.  If it weren't for him, Kitt wouldn't be holding a beautiful young girl in his arms, riding in a vehicle with the finest people one could ever know, and heading home to a life as a man who does not exist…living in the world of the Knight Rider.

T.H.E  E.N.D

From Cassie:  Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's reviewed already!  Hope this was enjoyable for y'all.