Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 4 – The Knight Before Christmas
Chapter 3
F.L.A.G Underground Compound Kat was slow to wake up. She knew that she was drifting back to consciousness, but she didn't want to open her eyes. She was unbearably tired. Her body ached, especially her leg. She just wanted to sleep more.
There was a soft knocking noise not too far away. She heard a chair creak and footsteps. Then a door opened. “David said you weren't allowed anywhere near the main lab.” That was Dustin's voice.
“Look, I promise you, I'm not working. Can I just see her?” It was Pierce. He sounded pretty anxious.
“Of course. I was just reminding you what David said.”
There were more footsteps, coming closer to her, then the sound of a curtain being pulled back. “Katherine?” There was a sound at her side as Pierce sat down next to her.
Reluctantly, she opened her eyes a little. The lights were dim, it must be pretty late. “How long was I out?” She mumbled.
“A few hours.” Dustin told her. He was standing by the foot of her hospital-type bed. “You lost some blood and we gave you a transfusion. How are you feeling?”
“Tired.” Kat said. And it was so, so true. She was beyond exhausted.
Dustin gave Pierce a stern look. “Five minutes, then she needs her rest.”
“Five minutes.” Pierce nodded. Dustin left them alone. Pierce watched him leave and turned back to Kat. “Are you in pain?” He asked her.
His expression was so tortured, Kat felt bad for him. “No.” She lied. “I'm fine. Dustin gave me some good stuff.” The wound in her thigh was starting to burn, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.
Pierce's relief was overwhelmingly evident. “When I heard what had happened, I-” He looked embarrassed. “I was worried.” He gazed at her face.
“You shouldn't worry about me.” Kat told him. “Worry about KITT, someone out there knows his weaknesses, they've been exploiting them.”
“They're trying to get to you, Katherine.” Pierce's expression was deadly serious. “They nearly did.”
Kat waved one hand feebly. “It looks worse than it is.”
He gave her an incredulous look. “You were shot.”
“It still looks worse than it is. I will recover just fine.”
Pierce put his hand over hers, staring at her intently. Alarm bells started going off in her head. “We don't want to lose you, Katherine.” He whispered.
Kat pulled her hand out from under his. She searched for something to fiddle with. She settled on the tape on her arm which held her IV needle in place. “I'm not going anywhere.” She kept her voice neutral, not looking at him. “I'm going to stick with the Team until the end. Which won't be for quite some time.” She glanced at Pierce, gauging his reaction.
He looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. He looked down beside the hospital bed, retrieving something from the floor. He lifted up a shopping bag.
“What's that?” Kat asked.
“It's Christmas.” Pierce said. He pulled a wrapped present out of the bag and handed it to her. She took it in her hands, sitting up a little. “It's not from me.” Pierce said nervously. “I mean, I don't really celebrate Christmas. This is from Sam.”
Kat gave him a wondering look. She put a finger under the tape holding a flap down, but hesitated.
“He was my roommate.” Pierce explained, speaking quickly and stumbling over his words. “He did his Christmas shopping early, in September I think. He told me that this was for you. I wrapped it for you, if you don't mind.”
Kat's vision blurred. Her eyes felt hot. She drew in a shaky breath. Pierce watched her for a long moment. “I'll leave you alone, give you some privacy.” He stood and retreated. Kat heard the door close behind him.
Kat's hands trembled as she ripped the paper off of the package. They shook as she opened the box and pulled out the snow globe.
It was made of cheap plastic. A snowman in front of a wooden cottage with a sign that said 'North Pole' next to it. It probably hadn't cost more than five dollars.
Kat cradled it in her hands as if it was the most precious thing in the world. She brought it to her chest. Her shoulders hunched and she bowed her head as she sobbed.
After a long moment of crying, she quieted to a sniffle. She wiped at her eyes, looking down at the snow globe again. “It's like he's still here.” She said through her tears. “That's he's not really gone, he's still watching me from somewhere.”
“He saved your life.” K.I.T.T answered quietly in her ear. “Dustin used his blood to save you. Blood he collected while Sam was still alive.”
“He's dead. He's gone.” Kat said as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “But he's still being my big brother. He's still taking care of me.”
“He's protecting you.” K.I.T.T told her. “He left me here too. I'll protect you.”
Kat wrapped her arms around her torso as her body began to shake. “We have to finish this, KITT. We have to find out what happened. We have to find Sam, wherever he is. We have to find his body. We have to say goodbye.”
“We will.”
Kat felt her heart aching, like it would tear in half, cut right through the rest of her. She desperately held herself together.
“Pierce likes you.” K.I.T.T said suddenly.
Kat blinked in surprise. “Are you trying to distract me?” She asked weakly, unbelieving.
“Yes.”
Kat's smile was small and shaky. “KITT-”
“Do you like him?” K.I.T.T interrupted.
Kat's chest shook with something that was almost like laughter. She gripped herself tighter. “You're not really interested in that kind of stuff, are you?”
“Not really, no. Maybe on another day. But I am trying to distract you.” K.I.T.T pointed out. “You pulled your hand away from his.”
Kat wiped at her wet cheeks. “You saw that? Am I still wearing my contacts?” The word 'Yes' appeared before her eyes in green. “I keep forgetting I'm wearing them. That can't be good. What if I go blind or something?”
“The contacts disintegrate after 48 hours.” K.I.T.T told her. “They are only amino acids.”
“Well, that's good then. I'll have to make sure I have plenty of spares on long missions, though.” Her voice was thin and wavering. Her tears were only just held back.
“What's wrong with Pierce?” K.I.T.T asked.
“There's no deflecting you, is there?”
“I'm not as easily distracted as you are.”
“I thought you didn't find this sort of stuff interesting.”
“Still not deflected. Well?”
Kat scowled. “There's nothing wrong with Pierce.” She said. “But I don't know him that well, do I? I'm not the type to rush into things like that. It took Daniel four months of trying to get me to go on a date with him.”
“Wait, I know this one.” K.I.T.T paused. “You play 'hard to get', don't you?”
Her chest swelled, a laugh almost fell out of her mouth, weak and small. “Where are you getting this from? Are you downloading teen magazines or something?”
“I got you to laugh.”
“Granted. You managed to distract the slow-witted human. Happy?”
“Immensely.”
Kat laughed again. “Thanks.”
“It's a good thing, that you're not interested in Pierce.” K.I.T.T said.
Kat stiffened. “Oh, why is that?”
“I don't have to protect you from Carmen.”
Kat blinked in surprise. “Carmen? You're kidding! Those two hate each other.”
“If you say so.”
Kat shook her head. “No way... Where did you get this from?”
“Observations. You would be surprised how often people forget that I am more than mere background. Especially if I stay quiet.”
“Nah, no way. Carmen and Pierce? I don't believe it.”
“I didn't say you had to.”
“And you. Stop spying on people, that's wrong.”
“We'll see.”
********
The next morning, Dustin handed Kat a clipboard. “What's this?” She asked.
“Medical leave papers. I am submitting them to David. You shouldn't be on any more missions until you are fully healed.” Dustin told her.
Kat's eyebrows shot up as she read the paper. “Two months? I was only-”
“Shot in the leg.” Dustin said gravely. “The muscle is torn, the bullet hit the bone, fracturing it. I'll fit you with a brace before you leave. Two months should give you enough time to recover.”
“What am I going to do for two months?” Kat asked incredulously.
Dustin placed his hands on the metal railing at the foot of her bed. He leaned closer to her, his expression serious. “Rest.” His dark eyes were stern.
Kat signed the paper meekly.
********
“David approved my medical leave.” Kat said to K.I.T.T sourly as she made her way to the cafeteria. “I was hoping he would stay true to form and be a hard ass about it. At least cut the time in half. But no, he agrees with Dustin. God, I hate that man. I can't even rely on him to be evil when I need him to.”
“I agree with the both of them.” K.I.T.T told her.
“Don't you start.” Kat said as she pushed the cafeteria doors open and limped inside. Dustin had given her a cane so she could walk around. She felt utterly ridiculous with it, but it did make things easier.
Angela had done a nice job on the cafeteria. There was gold and red tinsel everywhere. A radio was playing Christmas carols. A large plastic tree sat in the corner, lit up merrily.
Angela herself stood facing a table that had been pushed against the wall. It was covered with a black cloth. There were many lit candles in glass holders on it.
Kat walked over to her. Her head was bowed, her shoulders slumped. She was staring down at her hands, which held a small red box. “You okay?” Kat asked gently.
Angela started. She turned to Kat quickly, hiding the box behind her back. “Oh, hey Katherine.” She said. She smiled brightly. “What's up?”
Kat glanced at the table. There was a picture on the wall over it. It was of Sam and K.I.T.T. They were in the main lab. Sam was sitting on K.I.T.T's roof, his legs dangling over the windshield. He was grinning like a madman.
She turned back to Angela. “Did Pierce come see you this morning?” She asked quietly.
Angela looked surprised. “What? Oh... yeah. Briefly. Just wanted to say Merry Christmas.”
Kat gave her a sympathetic look. “Pierce doesn't celebrate Christmas.”
Angela bowed her head again. “Yeah.” Kat put a hand on her shoulder. Angela stepped back quickly, raising her head. “Why did he have to get me this?” She asked, showing the red box. “Why did he have to go and do that?”
Kat just watched her as a pleading expression came over her face. “I liked Sam. A lot. I thought that maybe he liked me too, but he never said anything. Nothing. Why did he have to do this?” Her eyes filled with tears. “Why? Why didn't he say something while he was here?” She pressed the heel of her free hand to her cheek, her face crumpling.
Kat put her arms around the other woman's shoulders. Angela leaned her forehead against Kat's collarbone miserably and sniffled. After a moment, she drew away from Kat. “I'm fine. I'll be fine.” She said, composing herself.
“I'm here if you want to talk.” Kat told her. “I don't mind.”
Angela nodded. “Thanks, Katherine.”
“Call me Kat.”
Angela smiled. “Thanks, Kat.”
Kat nodded to the present. “Are you going to open it?”
Angela shook her head. “Not right now. I'm not ready.” She looked down at the small red box. “Maybe one day.”
