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i envy you you have everything i wish i had you have life i doubt i will ever see
 

* * *

The late-afternoon sunshine bathed the house in an amber glow.  Lying back on the warm epoxy hood, he watched the clouds drift across the clear, cold sky.  The world was at peace, his tiny corner of it at least, and he was safe in the knowledge that, for the moment, he could relax.  Life had changed.  If he thought back on what it had been, how things had started out, the leap to the present seemed unfeasible, impossible in many ways.  But then, his life had always been impossible, a miracle.  That�s what people had called him for a long time.

But miracles happened.  The impossible was the easy part, acceptance had been the key.  Very few had ever truly accepted.  Even those closest to him had, on occasions, questioned how they felt because there was nothing natural about him.  Yet still, a second miracle had occurred, although only he saw it as such.  This relationship, the one that had finally led to this place, this time, had once seemed out of his reach.  He smiled to himself.  Considering how far from it they had once been, he and his partner had indeed bridged the gap between them with little concern for the norm, for what society expected from both of them.

He heard footsteps in the gravel, and then the back of the car dipped.  He closed his eyes and let his lips part in an open smile.  There was the sound of someone behind him, and then a gentle breath moved his hair, and soft lips dropped to claim a kiss.
�Thought I might find you here.�

Kitt opened his eyes to see Michael leaning over him from above, lying out on the roof of the car, down over the windscreen against which he was resting.  �And what made you decide to disturb my Chi?�
Michael chuckled.  �Your Chi?�
�Yes.  I was meditating.�
The human of the pair slid down a little further, trailing a path of kisses over his lover�s jaw, down the side of his throat to where the neck of his soft linen shirt fell open to reveal a tantalising peek at a delicate collar bone.  �I can do meditation.  I�ll just lie here and think about how sensual you look in that shirt and those jeans�.�

Without a thought, Kitt tilted his head to one side, giving Michael easier access to his neck.  �That�s not what it�s about, as well you know.�  He lifted his hand, combing his fingers through his partner�s thick hair where it hung from his upside-down head.  He tried to stay indignant, indifferent to Michael�s lips on his skin, but his treacherous body had other ideas.
�Come inside,� his lover�s whisper over his ear sent a shiver down his spine.
�Why?� but he was already lost, his head tipped back and to the side, the windscreen as his pillow.
�Because I can�t make love to you out here.�
Kitt grinned.  �That�s not what you said last week.�  He didn�t have to open his eyes to feel Michael�s blush.
�The wiper blades make it very uncomfortable.�  Michael stifled his own and Kitt�s laughter with a deep kiss.  After a moment, he felt the light block drop between them and experienced the warmth of the bright white presence coming closer in his mind.

Michael drew back slightly.  �Coming?�
Kitt�s eyebrows rose.  �You offering?�
Mouth dropping open in mock-surprise, Michael reached out and caught the edge of the car�s roof as he turned himself to slide down the windscreen and kneel next to his lover.  Taking Kitt�s face in his hands, he kissed him, moving his mouth over the bountiful smile, sliding his tongue between welcoming lips to slip into the warm wetness.  Kitt returned the gesture, reaching one arm up to anchor his partner for a long few minutes in which there was nothing but the two of them.

Finally, Kitt broke the contact.  �Let�s go inside,� he murmured, humour replaced by heat.  Michael nodded.  Kitt was sending waves of need and desire through the link and his own body was responding in kind.  They slid off the car�s hood together, leaving it to cool in the fading afternoon sun while they walked hand-in-hand over the gravel drive into the house.

Michael had bought the extravagant barn conversion a year ago.  It was secluded, about twenty miles out of town, fifteen from the warehouse that still acted as a base of operations.  The barn had been converted a couple of years before.  The front door led into the main room, reaching from the south end patio doors (that went out into the sprawling garden) almost the length of the house, ending in a corridor off which was a guest bedroom with en-suite and the luxurious kitchen.  (Kitt loved to cook.) Stairs went up from the left of the dining area to a balcony area that they used as the master bedroom.  It too was en-suite, this time with a large corner back as well as a shower big enough for two.  The large area downstairs was a lounge and office, with a dining table in front of the patio doors that was very seldom used.  A white leather suite faced a glass coffee table, a log fire and a beautiful deep grey rug that had seen many long, enjoyable winter nights.

This was their place, somewhere they could retreat to after days, weeks on the road or working from the warehouse.  This had been their treat, long after the contract with the Foundation had finally ended, when they�d decided that it was time for their lives to change.  A friend of Nick�s had installed the security system, state of the art sensors, a link to the warehouse, silent and audible alarms.  The house itself and the area around it was under constant monitoring for anything out of the ordinary.  They�d made some very dangerous enemies in their time, and they�d wanted somewhere that they could feel as secure as possible, where they could completely let their guards down.

Still holding hands, Michael led his lover to the leather couch and sank down into it, catching his breath as Kitt straddled his thighs and settled into his lap.  Slowly opening his lover�s shirt, button by button, Michael teased Kitt�s sensitive skin.  He pulled back the clean, white linen and brushed his thumb over one delicate nipple to be rewarded by a sharp gasp and Kitt�s fingers twisting in his hair.  He loved to do this, loved to touch his lover, to excite him until rational thought was as far from his electronic mind as it could ever be.

This android body in which Kitt now walked was the second generation �Jez�, as Swan had called it.  She�d learnt a lot from the data and findings Kitt had provided her with during his brief existence in the prototype model almost ten years ago.  They�d stayed in touch, and Kitt had helped design this new android.  At the time, he�d had only fleeting thoughts about one day inhabiting one of her creations.  Now it was real.  And finally he felt he was home.

He could feel Michael�s arm around his waist, urging him forward.  But instead, he backed up, his buttocks against Michael�s knees as he slowly reached between his lover�s thighs, teasing while he unfastened first Michael�s jeans, then his own.  Michael glanced down at Kitt�s active hands, then up to watch the expressions cross the delicate features.  Different model android body, but the same almost angelic looks, now uniquely Kitt.  The dark blond hair like spun silk, liquid brown eyes like malt whiskey.  His love for Kitt had never wavered, but instead had intensified over the years, and now they had it all.

One trick Kitt had quickly learnt was to conceal small tubes of lubricant in various places around the house.  They weren�t a couple for always taking it to the bedroom, and although Kitt could easily tune down the pain it was still uncomfortable.  With sensual agility, he rose on to his knees, helping Michael remove his jeans before removing his own, then he leaned down and retrieved the hidden tube from under the sofa.

Moving forward, sitting up, Kitt touched his mouth to Michael�s, parting his lips, sliding his tongue across his lover�s.  Slowly, he moved, reaching behind to grasp Michael�s erection, and as he lowered himself on to it, he threw open his mind, wrapping his lover�s amber presence in his own white light, echoing every feeling back through to his partner.  When they�d first done this with the link hardware in place in the android�s mind, they�d almost collapsed from the overload.  The mental caresses they�d learnt to give over the years, the orgasms they�d shared had all been intense.  But added to that the physical sensations, which they�d also shared with one another, the resulting feedback from one to the other had been overwhelming.  They�d had to learn to control it, to understand what each was sending across the intimate link as well as the touches to sensitive flesh.

They could drown in one another.  Michael could feel Kitt�s tight body around him, squeezing him, at once grasping and pushing at him.  Yet he could also feel the sensations of being filled, of being stretched and forced to open up.  The pleasure of that always bordered on an exquisite pain and Michael found it an addictive feeling even if he had only ever experienced it through Kitt�s projections.

Kitt�s fingers made light work of Michael�s shirt buttons, and just as he had the material parted, he lifted himself, dropping again slowly, every movement controlled and deliberate.  At the same time, he stroked a long caress over the amber light in his mind, adding to the pleasure, beginning to lose himself in the link as Michael started to lose himself in his lover�s body.

Whispers of sensual ideas and sexual thoughts accompanied their love-making.  Verbal exchanges and mental images ran between them, back and forth, drawing them closer, deeper.  Michael came hard, driving himself into Kitt�s body, his orgasm triggering his lover�s.  Michael bit back his own cry of ecstasy, but Kitt gave his voice.  The climax in their minds was an explosion of sparks, each one touching the cores of their presences, sending them ever higher even after their bodies had collapsed one against the other into a deep embrace.
 

Neither had any idea of the time when the phone�s insistent ring brought them back to reality.  Kitt was still on Michael�s knees, wrapped in his arms, snuggled to his chest.  Carefully, he moved off, dropping unceremoniously to sit next to Michael, letting his lover try to rub some feeling back into his legs while Kitt reached for the phone on the glass table.  He pressed the �connect� button but as usual he let the caller speak first.
�It�s Nick, are you busy?�
Kitt could hear the strain in his voice and the slant to his tone that said his question really hadn�t been a question.  They hadn�t heard from their colleague for a few days, since he�d taken off on some private case before the weekend.  He could also hear the background to the call, Nick was back at the warehouse.  �What�s up?�
�We could do with you both here.  Now.�
�We�ll be there in ten.  Anything we should be aware of?�
He could sense Nick almost smiling.  He�d learnt a lot from Karr over the years.  �No.  Be careful anyway.�
Kitt ended the call and threw the phone back down on to the table.  Leaning over, he gave Michael a quick kiss.  �We�ve been summoned.�

A minute or so later they were both cleaned up, dressed and heading out for the car.  The security system automatically set into the correct mode.  Michael glanced at his partner, but Kitt shook his head.  �You drive, I want to contact Karr.�

After Kitt had vacated the Knight Two Thousand, Michael had let Justin go to work on it.  The colour had been changed from the basic black that Kitt had always insisted on, to a strange, metallic paint that changed colour depending on the light.  Sunlight gave it a golden hue, while the moon and stars made it seem more silver.  It appeared to shimmer under close scrutiny.  Michael loved it.

Inside the car, computer control was now in the hands of a complex but non-sentient AI.  It no longer talked, but Michael found he could handle that even though it had taken some getting used to.  They always used this car for work and usually for pleasure.

But six months ago, Kitt had bought a stunning, jet black Ferrari Maranello which he�d handed over first to Justin, and then to Bear.  It wasn�t computer controlled but it was just as safe and almost as fast as the Knight Two Thousand and Karr�s Stealth.  He loved to take it out, late at night, and break speed limits with it.  It was his one and only vice.

Michael gunned the engine and tooled them out of the driveway, down toward the road.  As they built up speed, Kitt settled back into the seat and closed his eyes.  His link to Karr, like his link to Michael, had been transferred into the android body at his request.  He could communicate with his brother as he�d used to.  The private channel had gone but since they�d discovered the link they�d not really used the channel for anything but long-distance calls.  It had taken some new learning at first, Karr had been used to connecting to an AI mind the same as his own.  Now he linked to an android mind, different in every way except for the presence � the soul � he communicated with.  But the other option, not to have Kitt there at all, had been unacceptable to both of them and so they�d persevered and Karr had slowly gotten used to it, coming closer and closer until they�d reached the point where the AIs could once again cross into one another�s minds.

Still, to link like that took a little more concentration, and after Nick�s call, when Kitt had reached for his brother, he�d felt slightly sick all of a sudden.  Something wasn�t right but he hadn�t been able to discover exactly what.  Now, as he went deeper into the link between them, he knew he�d been right.  The usually dark, silky ebony presence was distant, almost as it the physical miles between them were great.
<_Karr?
There was a reply, but it was broken, like a bad telephone line.  He couldn�t make out words.  But there was a feeling.  Fear.  That was almost tangible.  He opened his eyes.  �Speed up.�
Michael glanced over but he pressed the accelerator down just slightly.  Knowing how to handle the Knight Two Thousand was a skill learnt a long time ago.  To floor the pedal in this car was like launching a nuclear missile and suggesting that people duck.

*

The warehouse doors were open and Michael brought the car to a screeching halt just behind a vaguely familiar looking truck.  He glanced at Kitt, who was out of the car and running toward the small group of people in the diagnostic area.  Michael took a second to gauge the situation.  His heart was pounding.

The Stealth was a wreck.  Bear was in-situ, working feverishly under Karr�s crippled hood, taking out the CPU from the looks of it.  Nick was perched on the workbench, head in his hands, and as Michael approached he could see the visible injuries.  He let Kitt handle his brother and went to stand in front of their colleague.
�Nick?�  As he spoke, the head lifted and Michael gasped.  There was a deep gash in his forehead from which blood was dripping at a steady rate over his swollen, closed left eye down along a path of angry bruises on his cheek and along his jaw.  His hands were cut and covered in blood, Michael presumed for now it was his own.  His left arm looked misshapen, broken.  The front of his shirt was bloodied, and Michael couldn�t tell if it was more blood from his other injuries, or whether there were more wounds.  �Right, I�m assuming you haven�t been to a hospital?�  Nick moved his head from left to right, slightly, wincing as he did.  �I�m getting you to one.  Now.�
�No.�  The word was half-muttered, half-spat through the blood in his mouth.
�Like hell!�
But the other man raised a shaking right hand to his head.  �Karr�.�
It took a moment, and then Michael realised.  �Shit�.�  He turned to where Kitt was helping Bear now.  They had the CPU on the far workbench and Kitt was fetching some cables from the store cupboard.  He didn�t really want to question them, but Michael had a terrible feeling.  �Kitt?�  His partner glanced over.
//He�s jumped to Nick, I�m going to bring him to me//  It was a direct reversal of what had happened over eight years ago.

Michael took a deep breath, but he didn�t say another word.  He sent reassurance and calm over the link to Kitt, who spared him a thankful smile and a quick hug before he seated himself on the workbench.  Reaching to the back of his neck, he painfully peeled some of the skin away from the base of his scalp to reveal two small input sockets.  Plugging the end of the cable into one socket, he showed Bear where to plug the other end, into Karr�s CPU.  He was aware of Michael�s concerned gaze upon him as he closed his eyes and retreated.

Quickly, he moved through to the familiar surroundings of Karr�s CPU, using the personal link they shared, and the hardware connection simply to boost his abilities.  The CPU was badly damaged, shattered by whatever had wrecked the Stealth.  Circuits had burnt out, boards were smashed.  There was a frightening aroma of frying ozone.
<_Karr?
Kitt looked around, searching for his brother�s presence in this chaos.  There was nothing of the dark energy that usually inhabited the CPU, but he knew at least a tendril of Karr had to be here somewhere because he�d felt him.  He moved through, taking in the devastation, keeping out of his mind any guesses about what had happened.  He found where his brother�s link to Nick was located, and could make out a silken strand barely holding on to this side of the implant.

Kitt stared at it for a fraction of a second.  It seemed to him like an eternity before he decided what to do.  Moving forward, he wrapped a slightly thicker tendril of his presence around the thread of Karr�s, using his own essence to strengthen his brother�s hold to his CPU.  And then he started to gingerly follow that strand of ebony through the second link.

He kept a firm grasp on his own central processor inside the android�s head, using the physical connection as well as the virtual one to ensure he didn�t fall.  He was stretching himself further than he�d ever done, but he was strong and confident.
<_Karr
His words brushed over the close AI presence.  Wrapping more of himself around the dark, Kitt started to pull.  He didn�t want to go too much further.  Nick�s mind was overloading with just Karr in it, he certainly wouldn�t be able to cope with another being present.
<_Karr, you�re hurting him, you must come with me
Like this, they were too close, Karr was everywhere and his words meant nothing.  His feelings, his terror and desperation for survival were all-encompassing.  Kitt could understand in a way.  This was where they�d differed at the start, but when this had happened to him, he�d done the same as Karr was doing now, he�d clung to Michael�s mind like a lifeline.
<_I�m here, Karr, come with me, you�re killing him

Wildly, Karr lashed out at the force trying to drag him away from the safety of Nick�s mind.  He had no idea who or why, just that his own CPU could no longer support him and all he had left was his driver�s implant.  He could survive here!  He would survive!
<_But Nick won�t
Kitt had picked up on the raging emotions and thoughts whirling around Karr�s stormy presence.  They were running out of time.  This was why Nick had called he and Michael to the warehouse, not to watch them die but in the hope that Kitt could perhaps save their lives as Karr had done for him so long ago.
<_Karr!  Now!  You must come back with me!

Again, Karr hit out harshly at the other, intruding presence.  But Kitt held on, pulling, using his own strength and concentration to exert the required force on his brother.  From the other end, Nick was trying to push Karr from his mind, knowing Kitt would catch him.  He was fighting to put up blocks and keep them up, despite the terrible screams of the confused, frightened AI.  Why was his own partner trying to kill him?  Why was Nick rejecting him now, when he needed him more than he ever had?

Furious, he gathered himself, readying to strike a crushing blow at the fragile blocks starting to stand in his way.

Kitt caught him, wrapping the majority of himself around Karr, dragging the raging force back from the wounded human mind into the ruins of the AI�s own CPU.  Karr howled with anger, struggling to break out of the tight bond of white light that held him.  But Kitt clung on, moving through the devastated unit to where the strong link joined his processor to Karr.

With one last surge of strength, he pulled his brother through, leaving a tendril of himself with Karr�s inside the CPU, still wrapped soothingly around the ebony thread, protecting it from the fire around it.  He could withstand the pain and the heat for a while, Karr was in no state to.

Gently putting up a light block between them and Karr�s CPU, Kitt released his hold only to be thrown viciously against the wall of his own processor.
<_Karr!
The dark presence came closer, pulsing with rage, not knowing where he was or what had happened, just that he had been torn from his life support.  A single, sharp tendril of harsh ebony side-swiped at the white light, slicing into the bright essence.  Kitt yelled out, too late to stop the flood to his partner.  But he gathered himself and as the next attack came, he grabbed Karr�s �arm� and locked it in place with his own presence.
<_STOP!

Karr ceased his fight, seeming to look about him.  Kitt slowly, cautiously released him, and relieved, he caught his brother as he fell.
<_Kitt�.
<_I�m here, it�s okay, I�m here

For a time, Kitt stayed there in his mind, calming his brother, keeping a close watch on the jumpy AI.  Michael knew it was over when Nick fell forward, moaning, finger�s clutching the sides of his head.  Michael steadied his friend, hands gripping his shoulders, and eased him off the workbench.
�Now we�re going to a hospital.�
Nick wasn�t going to argue this time.  He knew his arm was broken, and his forehead and hands probably needed stitches.  Kitt would protect Karr, he didn�t have to worry about his partner for now.  But there was one thing he had to take care of.  Opening his good eye, he caught Bear�s attention.  �Get him to call Swan if it�s the only way.�
Bear nodded, glancing back at the android on the bench.  It had been an odd sight at first, now he was used to Kitt being around in this form.  It was no big deal.
 

Michael drove the ten miles into town to the hospital, glancing over at Nick every minute, helplessly watching him bleed all over the upholstery.  Once, Nick gave him a wry frown, but other than that he kept his eyes closed and his mind focused on blocking out the pain.  As yet, Michael had refrained from asking what the hell had happened.  It could wait.  A few hours wasn�t going to change the cause, just the effect.  That was the part he was worrying about right now.

Along time ago he�d thought that they should have their own parking spot.  Countless times Kitt and / or Karr had parked in ambulance bays or doctors� allocated spaces, only to reverse out when someone came along who needed the space more than they did, or had prior claim.  When Kitt had moved out, that had been one draw back.  The car no longer drove itself.  Kitt could remotely control it, bring it to them if needed or use it as a weapon in their defence.  But Michael obviously couldn�t.  Luckily, he found a spot close to the Emergency Unit.

Nick was barely able to walk by himself now.  He leaned thankfully on Michael as the man led him into the hospital.  The duty nurse, a big black woman with a large friendly smile, took one look at him and called for a gurney and a doctor.  Michael took a seat and waited.

Half an hour passed before the same nurse who�d originally met them approached him.  �You�re with Nicholas?�  Michael nodded.  �If you�d like to come with me.�  She led him through into a small recovery ward where Nick was sitting up on the edge of the bed, looking a good deal paler with all the blood cleaned up.  He was giving a young doctor a hard time.  �Your friend here�s got quite an attitude,� the nurse told Michael sternly.
�Yes, he has.�  He was rewarded by a glare from Nick�s one eye.  The other was dressed, a sterile bandage that also covered the stitches in his forehead.  �What�s the damage?� Michael asked, directing his question to the nurse and only smiling at his awkward friend.
�A total of twenty-eight stitches in his head and hands, severe bruising to his chest, stomach, hands, arms and face, including his left eye.  There�s no blindness but he won�t be using it for a couple of days.�  Nick scowled at the nurse as she pointedly spoke the words straight at him.  �And he won�t tell us what happened.�

The doctor backed off and Michael saw the light-weight cast on Nick�s left arm.  The nurse stepped forward, and taking a pen from her uniform pocket, she scribbled her name and a big kiss on the cast, laughing as she did so.  �There, something to remember me by.�  She turned to Michael as she put the pen away.  �He�ll be wearing that little fashion accessory for the next three weeks or so.  And to top it all off he�s cracked his chest bone and three ribs, so as little movement as possible for at least five days.�

Her humour lightened the air in the ward, but Michael was seriously concerned.  This, for Nick, was all in a day�s work.  He�d mend, he�d recover, and he�d go on.  But someone had done this to him.  To them.  He reached for Kitt, but his partner was distracted, and Michael thought it best not to disturb him at the moment.
�Are you keeping him in?� Michael asked the doctor as he backed away from his patient.
Nick dropped down off the bed.  �No, he isn�t.�  The swelling in his face slurred his words slightly.
The doctor stared at Nick for a moment, then glanced at his seemingly more sensible friend.  �There�s not a lot more I can do, and although I would like to keep an eye on him, I can�t force him to stay overnight.�

Nick nodded in absolute agreement, but before he could make a run for it, the nurse blocked his path.  �Not so fast.�  Taking a triangular bandage, she made and fitted the sling around his arm and tied it off at his neck, ensuring it was comfortable.  �Can�t have you doing yourself more injury now can we?�
Nick grumbled.  Michael couldn�t help but bestow a dazzling smile on her.  She almost blushed.

*

Kitt opened his eyes to see Bear leaning on the workbench beside him.  �How�s he doin�?�  For Bear, ever since Nick had first made contact, normality had been slightly skewed.  What was impossible and what wasn�t was more a matter of opinion than a fact of science.
Kitt regarded the big man with absolute trust.  When Nick put so much faith into a person, it was hard not to follow suit.  �Not great.�
Bear huffed.  �Nick said to call Swan if you thought you had to.�
Kitt carefully considered that, keeping his thoughts away from Karr with some difficulty.  �Maybe.  Could you find me a laptop?  I�m not too sure about moving about.�
Bear found a computer on the edge of the diagnostic workbenches.  �Li�l one, if I had Karr in my head, I wouldn�t want to be shifting about either!�

With the laptop on his knees, Kitt typed in the email address he knew so well and asked a single question before clicking on �send�.
<_Where�s Nick?
Kitt turned in on his mind.  <_Michael took him to the hospital.
<_I hurt him
<_No, you did what you had to do.  What happened, Karr?
 

�Someone hit us with something huge.�  Nick dropped his head back against the seat and closed his eye.  �I have no idea what it was, or even why.  Some sort of� missile.  A heat-seeker I think.  It hit us direct, coming in through the windshield.  Karr opened the door a moment before and tipped the car, chucked me out.  We were doing seventy and I hit the ground hard.  That�s where these came from for the most part.�  He indicated his bruises and bandaged hands.
�Really?�  Michael eyed his sceptically.  They both knew how to exit a moving car.
�Okay, some of them.  The rest came from trying to pull Karr out of the wrecked engine compartment.�
That made more sense.  Been there, done that.

�So what were you working on?�  Nick sighed, hesitating.  �You don�t want to tell me.�
�You�ll get mad.�
Michael frowned at the unusual statement.  �Me?  Why?�
�There was a break-in, at the research lab, last week.�
The driver turned for a moment, glancing over.  �The research lab?  You mean, Knight Industries?�
�Yeah, the robotics lab.�
He couldn�t believe it.  �Why haven�t you told me this before?  Why didn�t they ask Kitt and I to look into it?�
Nick did his best to look apologetic.  �I don�t know.  Devon just asked Karr and I.  You and Kitt were on the bank fraud.�
There was something he wasn�t saying.  �Come on, Nick, spill it.�
Another sigh.  �Karr thinks they were after the blueprints for Kitt, I mean, Kitt now.  He thinks whoever did it reckons Kitt�s a Knight Industries� creation.�

Michael took in that news.  �Someone�s after Kitt?�
�I didn�t say that.  Someone�s after the design.�
�Have you contacted Swan?�
Nick nodded, moving his head once before he decided it was a bad idea.  �Her security is excellent, believe me, she was taught by the best.�  There was a flicker of a smile on Nick�s lips for just a moment.
Michael was still trying to make a connection.  �How far had your investigations got?� but the other part of his mind, the part ruled by his heart, was furious.  �Jeez, Nick,� he said suddenly, �when were you going to tell us?!�
�You.�  Nick sighed.  �Kitt knew, Karr had already told him.�

*

Kitt reached for the laptop when the answer came back.
 

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Reply-To: [email protected]

Hey darling, how are you? It�s ready, I can be there in an hour.  Choice of clothing? :-)  Don�t strain yourself, sweetheart, wouldn�t want you to blow that gorgeous mind of yours.  Devoted, Swan.
 

He smiled to himself, and sent a reply before turning to his brother.  The silken, ebony presence was curled into one corner of the strange CPU.  He understood now where he was, what had happened.  He could remember Kitt being with him, the overwhelming influence of the white light over him, and he�d sunk back as far as he could, trying not to override Kitt, trying to make it easier on his younger brother than it had been on him.

<_Karr?  Kitt reached out, wrapped a little more of himself around Karr.  <_They will need to fix your CPU
<_I know
<_I can�t hold you for that long
<_I know that too, Kitt
<_Swan has a second android, we designed it together.  It can hold you, if you�ll allow me to transfer you

The sea of emotions that flooded him at his suggestion almost overwhelmed him.  Karr�s panic, his fear of what was being proposed.  He had no wish to be anywhere but in his CPU, and he had no wish to be so disconnected from his driver.  It was more than he could take.
<_Karr!  Please�.
Kitt struggled, trying to stay afloat on the sudden changes in his surroundings as they pulsed with Karr�s existence.
<_Karr!

It stopped, as abruptly as it had begun.  And Karr was hugging him.
<_sorry
<_It�s all right.  Stunned, he returned the hug.  <_I won�t let anything happen to you
<_I know, I trust you, but�
<_Think about it?  Swan�s awaiting a reply
Karr backed off a little, moving slowly.  Kitt did his best to give him the space he needed.  <_What�s it like?
Kitt didn�t have to ask him to clarify his meaning.  <_It�s freedom to me
<_I have freedom now
<_I meant� freedom to live, to love.
He quieted, unsure of his brother�s reaction.  Karr had never judged him.  The older AI been distressed when Kitt had first told him of his choice to work with Swan on an android body that would become his permanent home.  Karr hadn�t wanted to lose his brother, neither the link that connected them nor the physical closeness they shared, odd as it was.  Since Jennifer�s attack they�d taken to resting together, one car�s fender pressed into the side of the other�s.  Kitt had reassured him that the link would still stand, that the hardware would be transferred from the CPU to the android mind.  And when they were living and working at the warehouse, Kitt would spend some nights resting on the hood of the Stealth.  It was a sight that never failed to amuse Nick.  It was amazing to realise how close the two AIs had become in the ten years they�d been able to know one another without having to be enemies.

There were other worries, of course.  Michael�s safety, Kitt�s safety.  They�d taken as many precautions as possible; Kitt�s remote, computer control of the car, a type of MBS shell covering the body under the flesh and skin, protecting the inner workings of the body and most especially the mind.  More risks and solutions that Kitt had thought of that Swan had never even considered.

<_It is not a lifestyle I wish to consider
<_I never suggested it was.  You don�t even have to open your eyes
Karr remembered saying that to Kitt while he tried to reassure the frightened AI stuck in his CPU back when their roles were reversed.  He smiled.  <_Do you feel� more human like this?
<_No.  Kitt�s answer surprised his brother.  <_I won�t ever feel human, I don�t wish to feel human.  I�m an AI, your younger brother, something I�m very proud of
<_But� you look�.
<_And you look like a car

Kitt watched his brother �pace� the small area of the CPU in which he was containing himself.  These units weren�t designed to house two separate AIs, Karr was trying to keep his presence as small and un-intrusive as possible.
<_Michael�s going to kill me, Kitt muttered, trying to lighten the atmosphere
Karr gazed at him.  <_Your partner would never� it was a joke, wasn�t it?
Kitt grinned.  <_You�re learning.  He almost chuckled at the huff of response.  <_I didn�t tell him what you told me about the break in at the R&D lab.
<_Why not?  Karr sounded genuinely shocked.  <_I had believed you told him everything
<_Not everything.  I thought� he would worry
<_He should worry, they were after your blueprints
<_They were after the android blueprints.
It was the same discussion they�d had when Karr had first informed him of what Nick was investigating.  <_You don�t consider that grounds for concern?
<_I didn�t at the time
Karr felt the emotion pass him.  <_You are not to blame for this!
<_If I�d told Michael�.
<_Neither of you would have been able to prevent this
<_How do you know?

Karr stroked a tendril of dark silk over his brother�s white light.  <_Trust me.  Kitt twisted a part of himself around that tendril.  <_Mail Swan
<_Sure?
<_No.  But you�re right, you can�t hold me indefinitely
<_She�ll be gentle with you
Karr�s response wasn�t translatable into words.
 

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Reply-To: [email protected]

Behave yourself.
Clothing, all black.
An hour, I�ll hold you to that.
K.

*

Karr�s decision had slightly surprised him, Nick had to confess, but it was simple survival that had driven his partner to accept the android mind.  Watching Kitt through tired eyes, he wondered for the umpteenth time how Karr was.  Having Kitt reassure him that the AI was reasonably okay under these circumstances just wasn�t enough.  Their link was strained to the max and he had no idea what was going on at the other side.

There was enough going on with his own body.  He felt beaten to pulp and this was still while the painkillers were working.  He should have stayed in the hospital, but he harboured a deeply ingrained dislike of any medical facility, and there was also the burning fact that Karr was dying out here.  His partner needed help and if Nick�s mere presence could assist in any way, he would be here.

Nick settled back into the couch, wincing.  He felt fatigued, actually he felt worse.  Blood loss, shock and body trauma warred with the drugs in his system and the adrenaline that had kept him going.  Yes, he had been worse off in the past, but it had never coincided with Karr getting that badly damaged as well.  It had been a real trial to get out of the TransAm and he had barely made it over to the couch alone.

Kitt caught his eye and Nick tried to find anything of his partner in the brown depths.  There was nothing; just Kitt.  And somewhere inside him, Karr was clinging to life.  A noise from the doors made Nick look up and he discovered the hulking dark form of Bear enter the warehouse.  The man was as always dressed in faded work pants and an old, black shirt.  He was carrying a case that contained all his electronic first aid tools.  When he caught sight of the Stealth, he whistled softly.
�Now that�s what I call busted.�  His dark eyes found Nick.  �You look like shit, Nick.�
Nick smiled. �Hell, Bear.�
The large mechanic placed his tool box on the table.  �What happened?�
�Missile.�
His dark face became even darker.  �How many times have I got to tell you that missiles aren�t healthy for the two of you?� Bear looked over the twisted form of the Stealth.  �This is big.  I need the Shop�s back-up and some people.  What about the CPU?�
�Take it out.�  Bear frowned.  �Karr�s in transit.  He�ll have a new temporary home,� Nick explained tiredly.
The mechanic shrugged, accepting that.  �I�ll do a short diagnostic, then call the people I need.  We�ll set up the Shop and get the car over there.  I�ll work on the CPU here.  Ed�s not in town for a day or two, but he has a beeper.�
�Thanks.�
�Hey, you�re the one paying me for the overtime, kid,� Bear joked.

Nick smiled wryly.  He closed his eyes, fighting the exhaustion.  In the end, he lost.  He drifted off into a doze only to be woken when Swan arrived.  She greeted Bear like an old friend, then turned to Kitt and Michael.  Nick had managed something coherent, but the drugs were pulling him under once more.  He had watched the android being unloaded like from far away.  His mind was a woozy mess.  Finally, he drifted off once more.

*

Michael stood back.  There was nothing more he could do now but watch and wait.  Bear had left to fetch some parts he hadn�t originally had on him.  Nick was lying on the couch in the diagnostic area.  He should have been in bed, sleeping under the effects of the painkillers, but none of them had even tried to make him move.  They�d assisted Swan with the second android, placing the inert form on the workbench.  She didn�t ask questions, but she did raise one eyebrow when Kitt confirmed it was Karr who would be transferring into the positronic mind.

Kitt had brought their car to the workbench and was sitting cross-legged on the hood, arms crossed on the work surface next to the android�s shoulder.  Gently, her fingers caressing his hair out of her way, Swan used the second input socket in the back of Kitt�s neck to connect him to the second positronic brain.  Michael caught her slightly flirtatious move and smiled to himself.  She and Kitt had worked closely together on the android upgrades, and Michael knew that several times she'd made moves on his partner, while he was in the car and once he'd transferred.  But while nowadays Kitt was happy to return the flirting, back then he'd been more than a little confused and very unwilling to allow anyone else as close to him as Michael was.

He�d been selfishly glad of it.  Sharing Kitt with someone wasn�t something ever wanted to contemplate.  It had taken him long enough to get used to having Karr linked to his partner, but he knew first-hand the effect Kitt could have with words alone.  He wasn�t sure he liked the idea of anyone else being on the receiving end of that.  Michael took a deep breath, amazed at the ease with which thoughts of his lover could arouse him.  He felt the distant amused smile in his mind and returned his concentration to the goings on before him.  Kitt was keeping a light block in place, protecting Karr from Michael as well as the other way around.

�You can start the transfer when you�re ready,� Swan murmured to Kitt, backing off to watch the scrolling data on the monitor also connected to the android.  She waited, and knew the moment Karr started to move.

<_We�re ready
Karr nodded, beginning to untangle himself from his brother.  Kitt let him go for the most part, but kept the tendril of the presence wrapped around the silken strand connecting back through to Karr�s CPU.  <_Thank you
<_I�ll be here, Karr.  Nick�s here
<_Sleeping
<_How did you know?
<_I can feel him dreaming
Karr smiled gently at his brother before starting down the connection to the android.  Kitt went with him, wanting to make sure he would settle into the strange surroundings.  At least it wasn�t as strange as it might have once been.  Karr had been through into Kitt�s positronic mind several times, once in necessity, but mostly just to be with his brother.

The upload took time, but not as long as it had taken previously � Kitt had helped with the design of the new processor and neural nets.  Stepping just beyond the connection, the younger AI showed Karr how he could operate the various body functions, if he chose to.  By the time the transfer was complete, Nick had woken.

He opened his eyes and looked around him.  Kitt was still sitting cross-legged on the hood of the car, leaning on the work surface, forehead rested on the backs of his hands.  He was completely still, yet Nick could feel activity through the link.  He was amazed that he could feel anything from Karr, but a strand of his partner still had hold of his own CPU via Kitt�s mind, strengthened by Kitt�s presence.  Nick definitely did not want Karr to let go of that final, tenuous connection.

Michael was sitting behind Kitt on the hood, one leg either side of his partner�s body.  He was lightly stroking Kitt�s back, keeping up the gentle, loving caresses ceaselessly.  Presumably their usually deep link was blocked, at least for the most part.  Nick could feel Kitt�s bright presence at the edges of Karr�s mind.  He hated this.  He wanted this to be over and have his partner back where he was supposed to be.

When Kitt had been ousted from his CPU by Jennifer�s Tarasine attack on the car all those years ago, it had been a true turning point in his and Michael�s relationship.  They�d experienced what it could be like to physically be together as lovers.  In Nick�s humble opinion, the possibilities had always been there, they�d always been very close, and the link had provided them the ability to touch one another.  He�d found it ironic that only after they�d slept together as two human males did they start to realise what they could do with the link, as human and AI.

He knew Karr had worried when Kitt had finally taken the decision to move out of the car.  It hadn�t been an easy decision.  It had taken him a year to make it.  And he hadn�t made it alone.  Michael, Karr and Nick had all spent hours upon hours talking to him, letting him work out his feelings, pros and cons.  Both Nick and his partner had been worried about safety primarily.  They�d upgraded the android, sure, but Michael and Kitt had worked together for twenty years as AI and man, car and driver.  It was never going to be easy.

Michael had lost count of the number of times he�d spoken to the car and been poked in the ribs by Kitt standing next to him.  The Comlink still worked because Bonnie had made Kitt one.  Mind you, Kitt had insisted on an analogue watch, expensive looking, that complimented his grace and elegance as well as his favoured white shirts.  Michael had been slightly insulted when Kitt told him that his Comlink looked like a �cheap-looking, 1980�s digital watch�!

Under different circumstances, Nick might have smiled at the memory.
 

<_Are you all right?
<_I�m far from all right
<_I�ll stay
<_You don�t have to
But Kitt could sense the unspoken something that Karr was obviously afraid or unwilling to ask.
<_Karr?
<_Kitt� I do not want to separate from Nick
<_They need to repair your CPU, Karr, you can�t remain connected to it.  Neither can I.  I�m sorry

Kitt could understand Karr�s desperation.  It had been years and years since either AI had been separated from their human partner for very long.  This would be a shock, and having seen Nick�s physical state, Kitt wasn�t sure what effects that parting would have on either of them.  He thought for a microsecond.
<_I may have an idea, Karr.  Give me a few minutes?

Very carefully, Kitt moved the core of his presence back through into his own mind.  Minding he didn�t disturb his stretch across from Karr�s CPU into the second android, he touched the block between he and Michael.
//don�t flood me// he warned quickly.  Michael immediately backed off.  //I need you to do something for me//
//anything.  you both ok?//
//as well as.  ask Swan to set up an advanced Bluetooth connection between myself and the other android.  tell her not to disconnect me from either Karr�s CPU or the android//
//then how�?//
//she�ll need to put in a third port//
Michael winced.  //Kitt�.//
//there�s more.  we need you to attach the implant sensor to the back of Nick�s neck.  And we need the protocol and encryption keys for Karr�s link hardware in his CPU.  Karr doesn�t want to lose the tenuous link he has to Nick.  The generic link we put in this android from Sachias� CPU can be configured to mirror Karr�s own link to Nick.  I can boost the signal from the sensor to the generic link using the Bluetooth chip//  Kitt knew his partner wouldn�t be happy, but he sensed his agreement.  //did you get all that?//
Michael sent mock-offence and a nudge.  But he was smiling.  //I got it, Beauty.  take care//
He felt Kitt slide a light block back into place and sighed softly as he opened his eyes.  �Swan?�

She listened.  And then she slapped her palm to her forehead.  �That partner of yours, Mike, he�s a total fruit loop.�  But she was already moving to the back of her van.  Nick, meanwhile was on his feet, much to Michael�s displeasure.
�You should be resting.�
Nick ignored him.  �How�s Karr?�
�He�s hanging in there.  Did you hear what I told Swan?�
A nod.  �I have the sensor Bonnie designed and the data I took from Sachias� computer.�  He thought for a moment, �I didn�t realise that�s where the link from Sachias� CPU had gone.�  He shrugged anyway.  �Kitt thinks he can boost the signal?�
�If Swan can install the Blue� whatsit.�
Nick sat himself on the side of the TransAm�s hood, next to Michael.  The painkillers were starting to wear off and he hurt everywhere.  �Karr doesn�t want to lose the link?�
�According to Kitt.  I think he�s a little scared, not that he�d tell us.�
�And Kitt wouldn�t tell us either?�
Michael shrugged gently, �Not in so many words.�
�Sometimes it�s like pulling teeth with those two.�

Michael couldn�t help but smile at Nick�s mumbled comment.  �I�ll get you some more painkillers.�
But Nick shook his head.  �You should stay where you are too.  Kitt must be teetering.�
�He�s holding it together.  He�ll be exhausted at the end of it all.�
�You?�
Michael frowned.  �I get the easy job.�  He looked Nick up and down.  �Get some painkillers and get back to somewhere at least partially comfortable.�
A few seconds later, Swan appeared in front of Nick, dropping two small pills into his good hand and holding out a glass of water.  Both men looked up at her as Nick swallowed the pills, refusing the water.  �I have to work, I can�t have you two bickering about who�s got the hardest part here.�  She raised her eyebrows at her own innuendo and stalked away.
 

It took Swan an hour to rig together the advanced Bluetooth chips that would connect Kitt and Karr.  Nick grabbed his laptop and settled back onto the nearby couch.  Michael watched Swan attach the Bluetooth chip to the second android.  Karr hadn�t activated any of the body functions yet, unwilling to do so even with Kitt at his side within his mind.  The AIs talked quietly between them, Kitt reassuring Karr all the time.  He hadn�t even connected to the opticals, aurals or voice modulator, leaving him blind, deaf and dumb.

Once she�d connected up Karr, she had to connect Kitt.  The flesh on Kitt�s android was different, a higher grade, with tiny sensors every square millimetre of skin, acting as nerves.  The arms and legs had tiny, sensitive, light blond hairs as human bodies did.  He felt heat, cold, touch, and pain.  Added to that was the fact that under that skin was the MBS protecting the inner workings of the android body.  Swan approached Kitt and Michael, tapping her diamond laser into the palm of her hand.

Kitt was still too deeply linked with Karr to notice her there, but Michael regarded her suspiciously.  �I need to speak with him.�
Michael closed his eyes and reached for the blocked link between them.  He knew Kitt would sense him there and would answer him in his own time.
//Kitt?//
It was a second or so before the white glow came toward Michael.  //is she ready?//
//she wants to speak with you//
//through you//
Michael opened his eyes.  �This is starting to wear him down, what do you want me to tell him?�
�I�m going to need to cut through a small section of MBS to introduce the Bluetooth chip.  It�s not going to be pleasant.�
Michael relayed the information to his partner.
//tell her to go ahead//
//Kitt�.//
//you�re here with me//
Michael brushed over Kitt�s presence, and returned his attention to the outside world.  He nodded once at Swan and she raised her eyebrows.  �Okay�.�

Michael wrapped one arm about Kitt�s body, around his waist and across his chest, his palm resting over his heart.  Kitt had always spoken of searching out his driver�s heartbeat using the Comlink.  Since Kitt had been in this body, Michael had delighted in reversing the situation.  With his other hand, he held Kitt�s hair away from the ports, tipping his lover�s head to one side to allow Swan easier access.  Both partners winced as the laser ignited and started to cut through skin and the hard shell beneath.  Michael had kissed that neck a hundred times, lavished it with wet caresses, moved his lips over the soft skin in desire and affection.  Now he could smell the slightly aroma of charring flesh and it rolled his stomach.

Smelling the same nasty scent, Nick turned and looked up.  From his angle, he could see what Michael couldn�t; the pain etched on Kitt�s soft features.  The whiskey-brown eyes were closed, and as he moved to stand with the small group, Nick could see the tiny lines in the android�s face.

Michael looked up at him and mouthed, �You should be resting.�
Nick gave him a half-smile.  �I have the information Kitt needed.�
�Let her finish before I give it to him.�
�Sure.�  Nick watched, wincing in sympathy as Swan cut away a small circle of flesh and MBS, cauterising the wound, sponging damp water on it to try to soothe the burning.  Kitt had let go of Michael�s hand and dropped his grip to the prow of the car under him, knowing it would be able to withstand the strength of his grasp.  It hurt, and he was shielding both Michael and Karr from the searing pain.

Finally the cutting stopped, and Swan backed off for a minute, giving him time to recover a little from the ordeal.  There was more to come.  The connection had to be wired into the port card so that Kitt could access it.  But it wouldn�t be as bad.  There were no sensors on the port card.

//Michael�//  Immediately Michael went to him, wrapped his mental presence around Kitt�s bright light and held him, hugged him, trying to make the agony go away.
//Beauty�.//
//I�m all right.  Karr�s starting to access the aural functions, he doesn�t like not knowing what�s going on//
//Nick has the information you requested//
//thanks.  could he pass it through you?//
 

With Kitt�s help, Karr brought the aural and optic sensors online.  At Kitt�s suggestion, Nick moved himself to stand where Karr could see him.  Karr just stared at him for a long time.  Then he said to Kitt, <_He looks as he looks to my visual sensors
Kitt held back his chuckle.  <_Of course he does, he hasn�t changed
<_He is injured
<_Nothing that won�t heal, you have my word
<_I failed him
<_You did not fail him!
<_I should have done more to protect him
Kitt sighed.  //Michael, ask Nick to tell Karr that all this wasn�t his fault//
Michael made the request and Nick unconsciously tried to use the link before he opened his mouth.  �Karr, listen to me.  I know you�re not at your best right now, but we�ll fix you up like the doc fixed me up.  None of this was your fault, Partner, you couldn�t have avoided that missile, they were gunning for you.�
<_For us!  Karr roared his frustration at not being able to communicate directly with his driver, but the vibrations passed only to Kitt, who, metaphorically speaking, rubbed his face in wariness.
<_Use the voice modulator that comes with the android
Karr didn�t respond at first, although Kitt could sense him approach the service port for the serial voice output.  <_How will I sound?
Kitt filtered his amusement to Michael, along with the reason, which Michael duly passed to Nick.  Who laughed.  �Karr, talk to me.  As long as you don�t sound like Kermit the Frog, I won�t care.�

Karr heard him and glared angrily at his brother, sitting across from him in the android mind.  He sensed Kitt�s �shrug� and muttered something to himself.  Angrily, he accessed the service.
�Nick?�
The voice was deep and low, almost sinister if Michael had been asked.  He chose wisely not to comment.  Nick thought it suited Karr.  It wasn�t a million miles from his tone and accent in the car, a modulation that had come with the CPU Nick had salvaged.  �I�m here, Karr.�
He hesitated before speaking again.  �I said, they were gunning for us, not me.�
�How do you know that?�
�Why would anyone be after me, specifically?  It�s you who�s made all the enemies.�
Nick smiled, shaking his head.  �I would have said that there are easier ways to get at me, but I�m not going to have this argument with you.�
Karr fell silent for a moment.  �What�s happening?�
Surprised, Nick glanced at Kitt, who was watching them both now, from out here as well as inside Karr�s mind.  �Swan�s installing the Bluetooth chip into Kitt.  She�s done yours already.  Twenty minutes and we should be able to see if this bodge of hardware and protocols actually works.�
On the outside, Karr�s inert body showed no signs of any response.  But inside the AI processor unit, Karr was regarding his brother carefully.  <_Does it hurt?
Kitt reached out to reassure him.  <_I�m fine
<_Does it hurt?  There was a more determined tone to the communication this time.
<_Yes, Kitt admitted, <_It hurts
<_I�m sorry
<_Don�t be.  You would do the same for me, you would do anything to allow me to stay linked to Michael
<_I wouldn�t have asked you to suffer, had I known�
Kitt interrupted him.  <_I would have done it anyway.  Talk to Nick

Karr moved a tendril of his silken presence close to Kitt, next to the thread of himself that led back to his CPU, the thread that was surrounded by his brother�s ivory shine.  He went back to the voice modulator.
�Nick, you are injured.�
�Just a broken wrist, cracked chest bone��
��which should be stopping you from moving about,� Michael interjected, to be rewarded by a glare.
�I�ll mend, Karr,� Nick reassured his partner.  He reached out to touch the android�s shoulder, glancing at Kitt to see him shake his head.  Karr saw his driver�s movement.
�I have not yet activated the nervous system of this body.�

Swan stood up straight, cracking her spine back into place, looking carefully at her handiwork.  �Okay, Kitt, can you try to access the chip?�
Michael lifted his head from where it had been pressed against the back of Kitt�s, to take a look at the new addition to his partner�s body.  The area around the new chip was burnt, a dark red colour that looked excruciating.
�I�ve got access, Swan,� Kitt told her after a moment.  �I can communicate with Karr�s chip.�  Absently, he reached up to touch his painful shoulder.  Michael caught his hand, stopping him from touching the raw wound.
�It�ll heal,� Swan told them gently, touched by Michael�s care.  Despite working so closely with Kitt, she�d rarely seen them together like this.
 

<_Karr?  Have you configured the link?
<_Yes.  Is Nick wearing the sensor?
<_Yes, we�re ready to try this
<_Kitt� what if it doesn�t work?
<_We�ll deal with that if it happens.  Activate the link
Kitt carefully backed out of Karr�s CPU.

Watching his brother�s white presence going away from him, Karr nervously reached for the service port and accessed the link using the protocol and encryption key Nick had downloaded all those years ago from Sachias� computer.  At first there was nothing.  Then that was replaced by a  tingling sensation, a shiver of energy that started at the link and reached out to surround him.
<Nick?>
Kitt heard Karr�s quiet call and activated the Bluetooth chip.  The drain on his own system began immediately, and he shut down a few unimportant processes � heartbeat, body fluids, interrupt service to the TransAm � to conserve energy.  The moment he did so, his heart stopped.

Michael started.  He�d been absently feeling Kitt�s beating heart against his hand and when it missed a beat, and then another, he blanched.  But he said nothing, knowing instinctively what Kitt was doing even if he didn�t like it.  After a few minutes, Kitt�s skin started to cool.  Michael felt it where his fingers were laid against Kitt�s neck still keeping his hair away from the new chip and the painful wound.  The AI had stopped the bodily fluids that usually cycled through the realistic, synthetic skin and kept it warm and healthy-looking.  Nothing, for a very long time, had reminded Michael so starkly that Kitt wasn�t human, however human he looked.  Accepting that he was in love with an AI hadn�t been easy at first, but over time he�d fallen so deeply for Kitt that it hadn�t mattered any longer.  It didn�t matter, but the reminder still struck him hard, and for a moment he found himself letting his embrace slip.

Ashamed, he tightened it again, and guilty looked over at his partner�s faded presence sitting in the back of his mind.  Kitt was distant from him, but Michael could still sense some sadness.
//sorry.  I love you, you know that//
//I can�t keep everything running//
//I know, I know.  I understand and I don�t mind.  you just startled me, that�s all//
Michael sensed his partner nodding, but this was definitely something that he�d have to revisit later, because Kitt would remember his reaction in every detail.  Michael sighed softly, and touched his lips to the back of Kitt�s cold neck.  //my Beauty// he murmured, more to himself.  But he felt the AI smile.

A moment after Kitt had activated the boost, he heard Karr call to Nick again.  And he sensed an answer.
<Karr>  Nick�s reply was quiet, didn�t have the strength of a communication that would come directly from implant to link, but it was something to keep Nick and Karr sane.  <Partner>
Kitt could sense his brother�s relief, felt it flooding through to him, and he smiled.  He couldn�t block Karr, not if he was going to continue to support the older AI.  But he backed off, settling into Michael�s soothing embrace for a while.
//how long until this drains you?//
Kitt sighed, he�d hoped his lover wouldn�t sense the energy it was taking to support the Bluetooth boost.  //forty-eight hours//
//and then?//
//I�ll have to back off and get some sleep//
Michael hugged his partner, let him settle down for a rest, calming his own mind so that Kitt could relax for a short time.

*

<_You need to let go of the CPU now, Karr
Kitt felt his brother�s sudden fear and soothed him as best he could, sensing Nick do the same.  The problem was that linking deeply enough for Karr to really be able to hear him was draining, and Nick wasn�t at his best either.  <_I�ll be here with you

Kitt retraced his own essence back through his mind into Karr�s CPU.  Very, very gently he pried Karr�s final hold on the link there and took the end of the dark strand with him, all the time caressing his brother with his own presence, reassuring, quieting.  Karr would have loved them all to believe that he wasn�t phased by this latest turn of events.  But the network of links that joined them didn�t allow that.  Kitt knew first-hand, being where Nick would usually be.  Through the boosted link, Nick could feel it too.

Kitt watched as Karr pulled his own over-stretched essence together.  The strength of the link had dimmed a little, but it was still there at least.  <_Do you want me to show you how to interface with the android, or shall we just stay here?
Karr frowned, crossing back and forth across the mind of the android.
<_Karr, I know you�re scared.  I was too.  But if you do access just some of the functions I would feel better about your safety
Kitt knew that would get a response.  Karr�s safety was linked inseparably to Nick�s safety.  Kitt�s first sojourn in the android body had terrified him simply because of the threat to Michael�s life.
<_All right, Kitt,  the AI mumbled, <_show me the basics

*