[RP for ki2k] Welcome home, honey...

[hattie_notqueen]

Hattie had made dinner. Her back was now killing her, but she'd made it. Something she hoped Kitt would like, since she realized that they didn't eat much together. Still, food was food and while she wasn't a big cook-

Oh, who was she fooling? It wasn't very tasty looking at all. A little black on the outside and maybe a little under-done on the inside? Meatloaf wasn't SUPPOSED to be good, was it?

"Hi, honey, welcome home!" She called it, meaning it to be a little on the cute side, wincing at her meatloaf attempt. Tossing the towel over it, she shook her head and grinned as he came down the hall.

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[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"No, I'm good." This was nice. Something they really hadn't done before. Talking, eating, cuddling, watching a movie. He was more than good. He was warm, comfortably full, showered and smelling clean, and enjoying the feeling of his pregnant wife pressed against him. No, he was just fine.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Said pregnant wife was about to fall asleep. Feeling warm, content and safe all cuddled up against her husband, she couldn't keep her eyes open past another half-hour in the into the movie.

Then, she started to snore. For the first time ever, she started to snore, her face pressed into Kitt's chest.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

He eyed Hattie when she started snoring, one eyebrow raised, but decided it was probably something to do with the baby pushing up against her lungs. That must be it. He shifted position so that she could breathe more easily, then turned up the TV a few notches - not enough to wake her, he hoped - before settling back again to watch the rest of the movie. He was still too hyped up from the exhilaration of the track to sleep. If Hattie didn't wake up, he was considering going back out again after the movie.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

It probably had something to do with her position because when he shifted, she stopped snoring and and took a deep breath and let it out, a smile appearing on her face as she snuggled close. One arm snaked around his stomach and she murmured an "I love you" before falling asleep again. If he went to the track, she probably wouldn't notice, not right away.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

That brought a smile to his own face, as he craned his neck to kiss the back of her head. It was the only part that he could reach. And while he was reaching, he leaned over to grab at the DVD case on the nightstand, checking the length of the movie against how long he'd watched it. Hmmm.

After an internal debate, he hit the pause button, then slid himself carefully out from under Hattie's head and arm, tucking the pillows around her. His first intention had been to drive the track again, but he decided to get dressed instead, slipping on a pair of jeans and a cotton T-shirt, then some sandals he'd picked up from... somewhere. He didn't even know. The pleasant day had turned into a warm, breezy night, and he wanted to walk the track instead.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Hattie didn't know how much time had passed when she finally realized she was hugging a pillow instead of Kitt. When she came to, she frowned, called for him once, then realized where he must have gone. She put the leftover food in the bags it had arrived in and took it downstairs to the fridge.

Pulling her robe tighter around her, she slipped on a pair of slippers and stepped out into the night, heading toward the track. She was surprised to see Kitt just walking, though and stopped halfway down the hill to watch.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

It wasn't a bad sort of walk. He just couldn't sleep, and he didn't want to disturb Hattie by watching movie after movie or tossing and turning or worse, changing so that he would be forced to re-charge, a kind of alternate sleep.

So he was walking, instead. Enjoying the night air, looking up at the stars, contemplating life and the events of the past few months. Thinking, with some bitterness still, about Ares. Getting a feel for the track in a different way so that he would better understand it the next time he drove it. Wondering what fatherhood would be like. Feeling the way his hair ruffled over his forehead when it was picked up by the breeze. Wondering how he'd managed to get so damned lucky in his life, in such a strange and bizarre fashion.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

She continued watching his wanderings, crossing her arms over her chest, her thin robe moving in the wind. She wasn't cold, just kind of curious. The baby was sleeping and while her nap had revitalized her just a little, she could have gone back to sleep again on the hill.

Kitt, however, seemed lost in his thoughts and she wasn't sure if she wanted to disturb him. Finally, she took the last little bit of hill and started making her way across the track, hoping he wouldn't be angry with her for disturbing his private time.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

Her slippers were making scuffing sounds on the track behind him, making him aware of her presence a few moments before she caught up to him. He stopped, turning slowly to wait for her, a small smile on his face that didn't quite mask the concern.

"Is everything all right?" He kept his voice hushed; it didn't seem right to disturb the heavy silence by speaking in a normal tone.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"I'm fine."

Hattie saw the concern on his face and dismissed it with a small wave, giving him a smile. "I was just worried about you, saw you out here and was wondering if you were okay." Now that she put it like that, she felt a little foolish. After all, their house, their grounds, his track... why WOULDN'T he be? Unless it was emotionally, in which case... "You looked lost in thought."

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

He nodded in acknowledgement, relieved. "I didn't mean to worry you." He looked away for a long moment, gazing out over the track and to the grounds beyond it. This place was big. He brought his attention back to Hattie and smiled again. "I couldn't sleep. And there are a lot of things to think about." Whole universes, even. "It's a nice night for a walk, and to think."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Hattie looked up at the stars, at the twinkling lights in the sky and gave a small smile herself, nodding at him. "It IS a nice night for a walk." She paused, pondering the sky, outer space, for a moment before looking back at him.

What she saw when she looked at him was so much more than she thought even he realized. Still, it wasn't the time for that kind of talk. "I won't keep you from your thoughts," she told him, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "I just wanted to see if you were okay. If you needed anything."

Dropping his hand she started back across the track. "If you DO need anything..." He knew where to find her.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

He smiled softly, touched by her concern. "I'm fine." He watched her walk away for a moment before calling out after her. "Hattie... walk with me?" She was in her slippers, but, well, the track was smooth enough that they could both probably get by barefoot if they had to.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Turning with a smile when he called her name, she nodded and made her way back to his side. Her slippers really meant nothing since she'd walked across their perfectly manicured lawn already but since he wanted her to stay, she'd stay.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

He slipped his hand into hers, then started walking again, more slowly than before. He didn't want to tax her too much, or put too much strain on her feet.

"Thank you for this, again." He gestured over the track with one arm outstretched to take it all in. "It makes the place feel like home." He couldn't deny the part of himself that still thrilled to the feel of asphalt under tires. "What about you, Hattie? You don't about home much. Is there anything you want, or need, or want to talk about?"

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Hattie loved the way her hand felt in his and she shifted her hand so her fingers were threaded through his. When he started talking about how happy he was with the track again, she couldn't keep the smile off her face and she had to interject with, "I'm so glad you like it, Kitt. You needed it. I really wanted to see you out here. Doing what you do."

Then he asked her a question she hadn't thought about and her thoughts shifted. She was quiet for over a minute, thinking and finally said, "Maybe a range, eventually, but other than that, the things I'm used to aren't things one can just build here. Maybe a lab, a great workspace where I can write down classified things?" She gave a light burst of laughter and shrugged her shoulders. "The things I know aren't things I can share with the world. You? I can probably tell, but other than that..."

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

He swung their hands, not much, just enough to be playful. "I have to be honest, Hattie, for a while there I was wondering if I ever wanted to be KITT again. He just seems so far away. That whole life just seems so far away." He shook his head, glancing over at her to see how she'd react to that. "But seeing the track, I don't know. It reminded me of who I am. Who I used to be. Who I still am inside, when I think about it instead of just burrowing it away." He looked out over the track again, thoughtfully. "I'm grateful to you for reminding me of that. Not only that, but for not wanting me to lose that part of myself. For not only accepting it, but encouraging it. For loving me all the same, no matter what." One corner of his mouth pulled back into a nervous smile that didn't last. There really had been a part of himself that was ready to put the car behind him completely. Hattie had made him realize what a loss that would be.

He waited silently while she pondered over his questions, working them out. He frowned, even as she laughed. "I'm sorry." He'd never really understood that before, or maybe he'd simply never taken the time to understand. "There's still so much I don't know about you, Hattie Jac..." His voice trailed off. They still hadn't decided on last names. "I wish your family was here for you." His voice had grown quiet. He hadn't meant to spoil the mood of their perfect day, but there was something about contemplating life under the canopy of the universe that made him moody.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

The way he talked about how he'd been almost willing to put that part of him, the part of him she had fallen in love with (even if she hadn't known it at the time), aside... it bothered her. She listened and nodded and finally said, "I've told you before that I love you no matter what you look like on the outside." The smile she gave him was almost sad. "That'll never change. Ever."

"Nothing to be sorry for, really." Her smile changed to one of encouragement and she hugged his hand to her chest. "I wouldn't change any of this. I wouldn't have changed any of that and Kitt? This is where I'd want to be if given the choice to do it all over again. With you." She looked back at their house. "Even without all that. I'd just be... with you." A deep sigh and she wondered if melancholy was contagious because it washed over her in that moment. "Hattie Jackson. Hattie..." She lifted her shoulders. "It's all so strange here. Us. Having my family here would be..."

What, comforting? Aggravating? Needlessly confusing? She just shook her head and looked up at the sky again. "I miss being out there, sometimes," she offered.

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"Oh, I know." He looked over at her, trying to make out her features in the shadows. "It wasn't that. It was mostly just me, I suppose. Me becoming comfortable with this form. Realizing that most of my legal problems can be more easily resolved like this. Realizing that I like being human." He shrugged a little, trying to make light of it. "But you reminded that there was too much at stake to choose one or the other exclusively."

Still, he would more than likely choose his humanity as his default form in the coming days. There didn't seem to be much call for a talking car around these parts, and Hattie couldn't hold his hand as she was doing now if his hand was a door handle. He smiled a moment, following her gaze towards the house, his brow creasing into confusion for just a second. "I'd follow you wherever you choose to go, Hattie. So long as you'll have me." He squeezed her hand as she looked to the sky. "Even up there."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Oh! Your legal problems. Our legal problems, that reminds me. I talked to an attorney here who said that as long as you're in your human form, anyone from the Foundation will have a hard time proving you're a car. It's not much of a solution as far as ownership goes, but he also said that suing them for human trafficking would also be an answer." Her smile was made of amusement as she remembered the conversation. "The title, the registration for you being... well, a car, should also suffice in any court battle as long as they're not in the Foundation's name."

At the squeeze of his hand, she sighed. "I'd never take you away from all of this, Kitt. Especially since it would involve flying. In space." She rested her head against his upper arm as they walked. "And I'll always have you."

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"You did?" His brow creased more, but for a different reason this time. "They did?" He listened, nodding, then touched a finger to his lips thoughtfully. "But the title and registration are in the Foundation's name. If it even exists here. I don't want to take my benefactors to court." It felt like a betrayal to even think about it, somehow.

"Flying in space isn't like flying on Earth. No mountains. No turbulence. No ground coming up at you quickly. No crashing." At least, not until the landing. He smiled softly. "Thank you, Hattie. For everything."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Did. His name was Denny Crane or something. He's very sue happy but backed off once I assured him that suing the Foundation wasn't what you were aiming for." Human trafficking indeed. Hattie shook her head even thinking about it.

Looking back up at him, she grinned. "No, flying in space has hyperspace, galaxies, shootouts and if you fall? You'll be falling for a very long time with nothing to stop you. Your chance at breathing would die first, leaving you to suffocate." It wasn't like she was TRYING to scare him. Really.

Frowning through her smile, she asked, "Everything?"

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"Like I said, I don't even know if the Foundation exists here to sue. Or if they'd even know why I'd be suing them." He rubbed his forehead with one hand, trying to stave off a headache. Thinking about all these universes did that to him.

He stared at the ground, hard, picking up his feet in turn and stomping them down again. "I'll be staying here." Maybe she could send him a postcard, instead. He looked up at her and nodded. "Everything."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"I don't think suing them would be the best course of action, anyway." She could see he was getting frustrated with everything and squeezed his hand. "Hey, it's not even an issue here. No Foundation."

Hattie ducked her head to try and stifle her laugh. "I figured as much." Shaking her head, a small bit of laughter escaping, she hugged him impulsively. "I haven't done anything recently and this-" she motioned to the track, "-doesn't count."

[ki2k.insanejournal.com]

"I don't think so, either." He sighed, gave her a tired smile, and shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't checked to see if there is a Foundation or not, and if there is, whether or not they've got a talking car." That would be a strange thing to discover, indeed.

"Mmmm." He had to laugh at himself, so he would have forgiven her laughing, too. "Flying doesn't seem to be my thing in any dimension." He hugged her back, his smile wider. "You don't have to have done anything recently, Hattie. Just being here is enough. Though I'm curious." He pulled back to look at her. "Why doesn't the track count?"