"Yeah, it is, and will you please stop thinking sciencey words at me? I'm about two inches away from falling into some flashbacks, here--" Beneath his words was an undercurrent of memory, far too close to the surface for his liking. A deep, dark, demanding voice growling, Merge with me, whispers of the name Karr, and, chasing it all, the feeling of safety in the single word Kitt. "--and I won't be any good to either of us that way."

Bastards, they knew, they had to know, they're going to die, okay, Mike, shut up, calm down, plan--

"So. So why did they pick you? Why did they stick you with me?"

He turned away from the door to ask that, giving her the space, giving her room, keeping himself near the entrance so that if he heard footsteps, he could act.