Fanfiction: Homecomings - Part I

[rachel500]

Fandom: Airwolf
Series: The Lost Season (Story 9)
Summary: Hawke and Caitlin get into trouble as they travel to Texas...
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Hawke/Caitlin. 
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.  Written for entertainment purposes only.


Homecomings

Part 1

Stringfellow Hawke leaned against the bright yellow rail, crossed his legs at the ankle, folded his arms across the partially zipped lilac flight suit and scowled at the sleek, black helicopter in front of him. Dominic Santini watched the frown cross the younger man’s boyish looks and gestured impatiently.

‘I’m telling you, String,’ Dom said taking his red satin cap off to reveal the flattened grey wisps of hair as he rested a foot on the railing, ‘there’s nothing wrong with her.’

Hawke glanced at the man who was by turns a surrogate father, mentor and friend to him. It seemed to him that Dom looked older than ever before with his craggy face deeply lined, and the dark eyes without their usual hint of mischief. Hawke sighed. It had only been a couple of days since Dom had escaped being killed by a woman he had thought he loved and who he had thought loved him; it was going to take time for the older pilot to bounce back. He wrenched his attention back to the matter at hand…

‘Something’s not right.’ Hawke pushed off the railing and took a couple of steps towards Airwolf, rubbing his hand through his short brown hair. She was the world’s most technologically advanced helicopter; mach capable, with fourteen weapons and a highly sophisticated surveillance system. Her systems were always sensitive and temperamental but he’d been flying her for too long not to know when something was seriously off.

‘I don’t see why you think there’s a problem.’ Dom said dismissively.

Hawke’s blue eyes caught Dom’s in a steady gaze. ‘You know what happened the last time she went screwy.’

‘That was totally different.’ Dom said heatedly. ‘That was that logic bomb and we fixed that!’

‘She’s taking control like she did then.’

‘We don’t know that!’ Dom denied.

Hawke pointed at the machine. ‘Somebody opened the basement door for me on our last mission when the building security system was linked into the Airwolf computer. You said it wasn’t you. So who does that leave?’

‘OK,’ Dom reasoned, ‘maybe it was Airwolf who opened the door for you but like you say String, her computer was linked into that security system…’ His voice trailed away suddenly.

‘What?’ Hawke demanded seeing something in the other man’s eyes.

Dom met Hawke’s determined gaze reluctantly and straightened. ‘It was probably nothing.’

Hawke raised an eyebrow.

Dom gave a dismissive shrug. ‘Well, she kinda…she kinda gave me an assist when we hacked into the system.’

‘What do you mean she gave you an assist?’

‘She kinda took over…’ Dom admitted reluctantly, ‘but it wasn’t what you’re thinking!’ He said hurriedly as Hawke spun away from him and paced over to the helicopter’s wing. ‘She figured out what I was doing and she just did it quicker and maybe…maybe she recognised the code when you entered it and opened the door for you thinking that security system was an extension to her own programming.’

‘Maybe.’ Hawke rubbed his chin and tapped the black amour lightly.

Dom sighed. ‘Should we tell Michael?’ He said referring to the deputy director of the FIRM, the intelligence agency that had built the helicopter, and the man who had made a deal with Hawke for the pilot to fly her on missions of national importance in exchange for the FIRM finding Hawke’s missing brother.

Hawke sighed. ‘Not yet.’ He shrugged. ‘Besides, according to you there isn’t anything to tell him.’

Dom gestured heavenwards.

Hawke checked his watch and started to unzip the Airwolf uniform. ‘We should get back.’

Dom followed him to the lockers Michael had installed along with the communications, security and computer systems when they’d finally revealed the location of the Lair to him. They changed clothes and clambered into the Santini Air jeep they’d parked just inside the entrance. Dom gunned the engine they moved out of the Lair and into the Valley of the Gods, the jeep bouncing off the rough trail.

Dom glanced over as Hawke stared out at the stark landscape. ‘You want to tell me what else is bugging you?’

Hawke looked back at him surprised enough that it showed in his blue eyes but he didn’t answer the question.

‘You and Caitlin OK?’ Dom pressed. He’d been pleased when Hawke had finally settled into a relationship with Caitlin O’Shaunessy, the young female pilot that made up the final third of the Airwolf crew. The couple had recently moved into Hawke’s cabin together and the only small cloud on the horizon seemed to be the disapproval of Caitlin’s parents.

‘We’re OK.’ Hawke said, his blue eyes warming as he thought of his girlfriend.

‘Are you worried about attending this wedding of her sister’s with her in Texas?’ Dom tried another angle.

‘No.’ Hawke shifted in his seat, aware of the defensive tone and crossed his arms against his chest anyway. ‘Although I don’t think either of us is exactly looking forward to it with the way her parents feel about us being together.’

‘You’ll be OK, String.’

‘Yeah.’ Hawke nodded.

‘So if it’s not that, then what?’ Dom asked.

Hawke fidgeted for a moment and sighed giving in to the urge to confide. ‘I was thinking about the information that Michael gave me the other day.’

‘You mean the folder on your brother?’ Dom swung the jeep onto a better track and the bouncing eased. ‘It was a stroke of luck Tania Bening finding that buried in her father’s papers.’

‘Maybe.’

‘Maybe?’ Dom’s eyes shot across to the younger man. ‘Kid, that folder did everything but tell you where he is.’ The information had confirmed that Saint John Hawke had been rescued from the Vietcong two and a half years after being captured. It had noted that Hawke’s brother had joined a Special Forces unit which had operated highly secret incursions into enemy territory, confirming information Hawke had found previously but there had been more…Saint John had ultimately left the army to join an unidentified intelligence agency working deep undercover. Michael was sure the new information would lead them to Hawke’s brother eventually.

‘I know, it’s just…’ Hawke began.

‘Just what, kid?’

‘Just…I’ve been thinking,’ Hawke took a breath, ‘if he’s been alive all this time and not a POW, why hasn’t he ever contacted me?’

Dom sighed at the younger man’s plaintive tone which echoed with the memory of the boy he’d raised. ‘We don’t know for certain he was in any position to contact you. You know what deep undercover work is like, String.’ He gave a huff of laughter. ‘Hell, I seem to remember when you joined the FIRM as an operative, you almost fell off the map for two years.’

Hawke flushed. It had been true that when he’d worked as an operative he’d barely stayed in touch with the older man. ‘Sorry about that, Dom.’

‘You were out saving the world, I forgave you, kid.’ Dom said.

‘And Saint John’s out saving the world so I should forgive him for not bothering to pick up the phone in the last fifteen years?’ Hawke said sharply.

‘That’s not what I’m saying.’ Dom denied.

‘Maybe he blames me for leaving him.’ Hawke said past the lump in his throat.

‘How can you think that?’ Dom demanded. ‘Your brother wouldn’t have blamed you for something like that. He knew full well what the risks were when he went to ‘Nam.’

‘Maybe.’ Hawke sighed deeply. ‘I can’t help but think about how Mace acted last year though.’

‘Huh.’ Dom grunted. ‘He was just plain wrong, String. Just…’ he waved a hand in an absent-minded gesture reminiscent of his Italian heritage, ‘just give your brother the benefit of the doubt, don’t go jumping to any conclusions.’

Hawke could see the wisdom in the advice but it didn’t change the hurt that was gnawing at his gut and would be until he could ask his brother the same question; why hadn’t he gotten in touch? He sighed again and slumped back in his seat.

Dom turned his attention back to the road unsettled by Hawke’s words. If he stopped to think about it, he really didn’t understand why Saint John hadn’t been in touch himself. The Hawke brothers had been close as kids and as young adults they’d been inseparable; the shock of losing their parents seeming to strengthen the bond between them even further. Hawke had even followed his brother to ‘Nam, into a hellish war, as soon as it had been humanly possible to do so. It had almost destroyed Hawke to leave Saint John behind in the jungle and it seemed to Dom that the younger man had spent a good proportion of his adult life searching for his brother. He hadn’t exactly wasted time but…Dom sighed. If Saint John had truly chosen not to contact Hawke all these years because he blamed him…the happy ending that Hawke wanted, that Dom himself had always hoped for, might not be possible.

Dom pushed his thoughts aside as he joined the main road and headed for the Van Nuys airfield. ‘So you packed already?’ He asked.

‘Just about.’ Hawke said. ‘Caitlin wants to leave early tomorrow.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want to take the Lady?’

Hawke shook his head. ‘I think we’ll have enough to deal with without having to explain Airwolf.’

Dom chuckled. ‘It might not be so bad you know.’

‘Jo still coming to give you a hand?’ Hawke asked changing the subject. Dom’s niece was due to arrive the next day for a visit.

Dom nodded. ‘It was a stroke of luck her calling and asking to come for Christmas.’

Luck had nothing to do with it, Hawke thought. He’d made the call to her himself. The older man had been through a lot and Hawke wasn’t comfortable leaving him on his own even for a few days. Dom had a soft spot for all his nieces and nephews but Jo was his favourite; she’d lived with Dom and the Hawke brothers for a while when they were kids. She’d been surprised to hear from Hawke but had quickly agreed to come and visit when he had explained what had happened.

‘What she up to these days?’ Hawke asked. He hadn’t asked her during their brief conversation.

‘She’s still freelancing as an interpreter or as a pilot or as both.’ Dom said. ‘She must have mentioned half a dozen countries in one breath telling me where she’d been in the last month. I tell you my brother Tony did a number on that girl.’

Hawke smiled wryly at the outraged tone. ‘It wasn’t Tony’s gypsy ways that she had the problem with, Dom; it was the being left behind when he went off again.’

‘Hmnph.’ Dom grunted. ‘She should be settled down with some nice boy by now.’

‘Maybe you can convince her to stick around.’ Hawke said idly.

‘You think she would?’ Dom said delighted at the idea.

Hawke shrugged. ‘Never hurts to ask, huh?’

‘You’re right, kid.’ Dom sighed dramatically. ‘Ah but it’d be good to have her home.’ The pleasant thought kept him quiet the rest of the journey back to Van Nuys.

Part 2

Hawke shifted in his seat, looked out at the blue sky in front and inwardly sighed with contentment. There was nothing like flying for making everything, anything seem possible. It was cramped in the small two-seater plane they’d hired but he didn’t mind the close quarters. He glanced over the cockpit at Caitlin sitting beside him and wondered again at how lucky he was. With her red hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing jeans and sweater under a brown leather flying jacket, she looked younger than her years. Her freckled face with its delicate features and curious blue-green eyes did nothing to detract from the impression of youth and for a moment Hawke had to remind himself that the age gap between them wasn’t a chasm. Thinking he was too old for her had been one of the reasons why he’d initially resisted a relationship with Caitlin.

Caitlin’s eyes flickered to him as though she was aware of his regard. ‘You want to take over?’ She was currently at the controls.

Hawke shook his head. ‘Nah.’ He smiled at her. ‘I was just enjoying the view.’

She smiled. ‘You know we could have stayed another hour if you’d wanted.’

He shrugged. ‘I’ll see Jo when we get back.’ Dom’s niece hadn’t arrived by the time they’d left.

‘You’ve never really said how well you know her.’

‘She lived with Dom for a while when we were all kids. Her father Tony is a bit of a flake; a nice guy but a flake and a bit of a gypsy. Her mother couldn’t cope with his absences at times…’

‘So Dom stepped in?’ Caitlin asked.

Hawke nodded. ‘She came to live with him the first time the summer after we lost our folks. Mostly she was like a pesky younger sister. She worshipped Saint John, followed him around everywhere, but we were all pretty close back then. Dom taught us all to fly.’ He shook his head, dislodging the pull of childhood memories. ‘It was a long time ago. We’ve kind of lost touch except for the odd Christmas card, that type of thing.’

‘What does she do?’

‘Freelance stuff mostly according to Dom.’ Hawke said. ‘Flying but interpreting, mainly; she speaks some ridiculous number of languages, travels around a lot.’ He gave a small huff of laughter. ‘As much as Dom would like to deny it she has as much gypsy in her as her father.’

‘It sounds like she kept her word and pretended you didn’t have anything to do with her coming to visit.’

‘Yeah.’ Hawke nodded. ‘I’m just glad she agreed.’ He glanced across at her again. ‘I wouldn’t have felt right leaving Dom on his own after what happened with Rosa. He says he’s fine but I can tell it hit him hard.’

‘We could still go back.’ Caitlin said with a smile.

‘Nice try,’ Hawke said, ‘but we’re going to your sister’s wedding.’ He sighed. ‘Besides, Jo’s real fond of Dom. She’ll make sure he’s OK.’

‘She sounds nice.’ Caitlin said.

‘You’ll like her.’

‘I hope so.’ She murmured a little uncertainly; the last niece of Dom’s she’d met, Holly, had tried to kill her.

‘Don’t worry,’ Hawke said picking up on her worry, ‘Jo’s completely sane.’

‘Well, that’s a good start.’ Caitlin grinned at him. ‘You know,’ she said thoughtfully after a few moments silence, ‘Dom never talks about Holly.’

Hawke raised his eyebrows in surprise at her comment. ‘Well, I think it’s kinda because he’s worried it’d upset you.’

‘She wasn’t well. I understood that.’ Caitlin said.

‘Yeah.’ Hawke sighed deeply.

‘It’s funny, though.’

‘What?’

‘Well, the reason why she tried to hurt me was because she thought you and I were going to end up together…’

‘…and now we have?’ Hawke finished.

‘Hmmm.’

‘I guess she saw the chemistry between us better than we did.’ Hawke said quietly.

‘We were both trying to pretend it wasn’t there.’ Caitlin pointed out.

‘That too.’ He admitted ruefully.

‘In fact I had to get shot before we stopped pretending.’ She continued.

‘Don’t remind me.’ The image of her lying motionless on the ground, blood seeping from the gaping bullet wound in her shoulder flashed in front of his eyes and his heart lurched with the momentary panic that he would lose her like he’d lost so many before. He took a deep breath; steadied himself.

‘I’ve been thinking that finding out about what I really do after I got shot has a lot to do with my parent’s attitude towards us being together.’ Caitlin commented. ‘They never really liked the fact that I wanted to be a cop and when they found out I was doing something similar…’

‘I think maybe it was that you got shot.’ Hawke pointed out.

‘Maybe.’ Caitlin sighed. ‘And it probably didn’t help that I chose to return to LA against their wishes afterwards.’

Hawke sighed. After the shooting and strongly encouraged by her mother, he’d told Caitlin to stay in Texas where she was safe; his fear of losing her raising its head. He’d hurt her badly although she’d given into his request, thinking it was what he really wanted. He’d lasted a month before he realised that his decision had caused him to lose her anyway…he’d been about to leave for Texas to ask her to come back when she’d turned up at the airfield. Her mother had confessed to interfering and Caitlin had decided that she had nothing to lose by returning to LA. Their reunion had been the start of their relationship.

Hawke frowned. ‘Dom reckons they just need to see us together.’

‘He does?’ Caitlin worried at her bottom lip with her teeth. ‘I hope he’s right.’

Hawke silently agreed as he realised that her face was pinched with tension. ‘It’s going to be fine.’ He assured her.

Caitlin looked over at him. His blue eyes were hidden behind the aviator sunglasses but she figured they were fixed on hers. ‘You’re right; it’s not too late to turn back.’ She joked.

‘Why don’t you brief me on your family?’ He asked trying to distract her from worrying.

She rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve told you all about them a dozen times.’

‘Well,’ Hawke said firmly, ‘just assume I wasn’t listening before.’

Caitlin gave him a sharp look; she had a feeling he was actually telling the truth.

‘Come on.’ Hawke encouraged her.

She sighed. ‘Well, my eldest brother Brian works on the ranch with my Dad. He’s married to Elaine and they have two children…’

‘Jacob and Rebecca.’ Hawke interjected smoothly.

‘So you have been listening.’

He glanced across at her and quirked an eyebrow upwards, not admitting to anything. ‘So your eldest brother…’

‘He’s a good guy, a little reserved. He was always serious because of knowing he’d take over the ranch from my Dad.’ Caitlin paused for a moment as she adjusted their course. ‘He served in ‘Nam and came back even more serious.’

‘It had that effect on a lot of people.’ Hawke said quietly.

Caitlin nodded and cleared her throat. ‘His wife’s OK. They were childhood sweethearts. She’s very religious. ’

‘Kinda got that from the names of the kids.’ Hawke gestured. ‘What about your other brother?’

‘Callum’s only a year younger than Brian. But he was the one all my friends swooned over; school quarterback, Prom king, class president. He works for my grandfather’s business now and before he got married to Jenny he was a bit of a…a rake. He’s been married a couple of years now, seems to have settled down.’

‘The kids aren’t his, right?’ Hawke murmured.

‘Right. Emily and Justin are Jenny’s from her first marriage.’ Caitlin confirmed. ‘Nice kids though. Jenny’s very grounded.’

‘You like her.’ He commented.

‘Yeah, I do.’ Caitlin agreed. ‘Then there’s Erin.’

‘Your elder sister.’ Hawke had met Erin in the hospital when Caitlin had been shot. He’d liked her; she’d been the only one who’d been friendly towards the Airwolf team and she’d reminded him a lot of Caitlin.

‘Erin’s only a year older than me.’ Caitlin continued. ‘She’s married to Paul who’s a nice guy even if he is a little dull and the baby is very cute.’

‘What did they call her again?’

‘Sophie.’

Hawke mentally counted up the siblings. ‘Which leaves your younger sister.’

‘Yeah, Fiona.’ Caitlin sighed. ‘She’s five years younger than me and I think she was a bit of a surprise to my parents. She’s spoiled and a brat but I love her anyway.’

‘And the guy she’s marrying is your ex?’ Hawke was still astounded that her sister had hooked up with someone Caitlin had dated. There had always been an unwritten rule between him and his brother that they avoided each other’s exes. He’d thought the rule was standard in most families.

‘Kinda.’ Caitlin gestured weakly. ‘Tom’s from the neighbouring ranch. We’re the same age, grew up together. Our families always joked about the two of us getting together but I think they kinda expected it. We dated in high school, went to the prom together, exchanged friendship rings.’ She hesitated. ‘He proposed to me when we graduated.’

Hawke yanked his sunglasses off to stare at her. ‘You haven’t told me that before.’

‘I know I…’ Caitlin shrugged awkwardly and glanced over at him apologetically. ‘I wasn’t sure how to bring it up.’

‘So you turned him down?’

‘We were eighteen. Neither of us was ready for that kind of commitment.’

‘You guys must have been serious though for him to have proposed.’ There was a question in the statement and Caitlin bit her lip.

‘Actually, I think he proposed mainly because he wanted to have sex and thought that was the only way he was going to get it.’

‘You guys didn’t…’ Hawke let the question trail away; he wasn’t sure whether he wanted the answer.

‘No.’ Caitlin quickly confirmed. ‘We didn’t do more than some heavy…’ She stopped as Hawke’s searing blue gaze met hers. ‘Anyway, we were teenagers. We might have thought ourselves in love but we were only playing at it really.’ Her heart sank at his stern profile. ‘Hey.’ She waited until he glanced over at her again. ‘Compared to how I feel about you, well, there is no comparison.’

Hawke took a deep breath and reached across to squeeze her shoulder. ‘Sorry. I guess the proposal thing kinda threw me.’

‘I should have told you about it before,’ Caitlin admitted ruefully, ‘but really both Tom and I put the whole thing behind us years ago. We’re friends, I mean we’re not close, but friends enough that it wasn’t going to be awkward if we bumped into each kind of friends, and we’re kinda nostalgically fond of each other but nothing more than that.’

Hawke briefly wondered if Tom felt the same way before he mentally kicked himself; the guy was about to get married to another woman, Caitlin’s sister no less. If Tom had any residual feelings for Caitlin they’d obviously been sorted out long ago. Maybe. He found he was suddenly looking forward to the wedding and seeing the other man get hitched.

‘So…anything else I should know about?’ He asked dryly.

Caitlin pressed her lips together. ‘Well, I guess I haven’t really explained about my grandfather.’

‘I get the feeling I’m not going to like this either.’ Hawke said sighing at her nervous tone.

‘My grandfather’s Chester Mitchell.’ She confessed.

‘Chester Mitchell.’ Hawke repeated. ‘The Chester Mitchell? The oil tycoon?’

Caitlin nodded. ‘My mother’s his daughter.’ She explained hurriedly. ‘But it doesn’t really make that much difference. He might be very rich but we aren’t; my Dad was pretty insistent that he wouldn’t let him get involved with the ranch or help out at all. The only thing he agreed to was letting Grandpa put us all through college.’

‘He’ll be at the wedding I take it?’ Hawke asked.

‘Yeah.’ Caitlin sighed.

‘How did your folks meet?’ Hawke asked curious. Chester Mitchell was Texan high society; he couldn’t quite work out how his daughter had ended up marrying a rancher.

‘My Mom was on her way to a ranch my grandfather owned near by and decided to take a detour. She broke down at the bottom of our ranch drive. My Dad helped her out and by the time she got back on the road, she knew he was the man she was going to marry.’ Caitlin shrugged. ‘Apparently, she and Dad got married in secret and there was a big estrangement for a while until Brian was born.’

Hawke glanced over at her. ‘Any more big secrets?’

‘That was the last one.’ She promised. Her eyes caught his. ‘Do you have any I should know about?’

The corners of his lips tilted upwards. ‘Well, you know about my uncle Alex and he was pretty much the family secret.’ His mother’s brother had been a spy who’d deserted the orphaned Hawke brothers; he’d turned up a couple of months before claiming to have found Saint John only for Hawke to discover that it was a con to get Hawke to save Alex’s son, a cousin he hadn’t known anything about. Alex had been killed in the rescue.

‘How did your folks meet?’ Caitlin asked.

Hawke smiled. ‘Alex. He and my Dad were in the army together with Dom. They were injured and brought back to a VA hospital to recover. My mother was visiting Alex and was introduced to my Dad who is in the bed beside him. Two months later they were married.’

‘Wow.’ Caitlin said. ‘That was fast.’

‘My Dad said he wanted to get the ring on her finger before she had a chance to change her mind.’ Hawke remembered fondly. ‘He used to tell the story of how he proposed every year on their anniversary.’

‘I wish I could have met them.’

‘Me too.’ Hawke said.

They smiled at each other before she returned her attention to her flying.

Another thirty minutes passed and Hawke took over the controls to give Caitlin a break. He’d been flying for only a short time when he frowned suddenly and turned his head.

‘What’s the matter?’ Caitlin asked.

‘Do you hear that?’ He responded.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. ‘Sure. I developed super-hearing overnight.’

Hawke shot her a look. ‘There’s a plane.’

‘Where?’ Caitlin glanced out at the blue sky, craning to spot the plane. ‘I thought air traffic told us we had a clear path.’

‘They did but this guy’s definitely above us.’ His eyes were glued to sky trying to peer into the blue above. ‘Getting closer.’

‘Real close.’ Caitlin frowned. ‘I can hear it now.’

Hawke’s whole body was tense with anticipation; there was something very wrong…the plane was too close.

‘Doesn’t he know we’re here?’ Caitlin asked. Her heart pounded in her chest as the noise of the light plane engine got louder and louder. ‘He’s right on top of us.’ She switched on the mike. ‘This is Sierra-Delta-Foxtrot to the plane at angels-twenty. We are directly below. Do you copy?’

There was no reply but the sound of the plane engine filled the cockpit.

‘This is Sierra-Delta-Foxtrot. Do you copy?’ Caitlin said urgently.

‘Hold on.’ Hawke saw the shadow of the plane and reacted without thought, veering left suddenly. It was an instinctive move that saved their lives as the plane nosedived on their right side, slamming through the space they had just occupied, and close enough that Caitlin cringed away from the door. There was a horrible crunching sound and their small aircraft spun and lurched. Hawke wrestled with stick trying to keep them steady; Caitlin desperately gripped her seat, her knuckles turning white as she looked out the side window and swallowed; the right wing was mangled.

‘He caught the right wing.’ She fought to keep calm and then felt the engines stall. She reached forward tried for a restart. The plane rocked precariously, losing altitude.

Hawke swore loudly and tried to keep them level, fought against the pull of gravity and physics as the plane tilted ominously; the engine restart was unsuccessful. He could dimly hear Caitlin calling through the mayday on the radio giving their last known coordinates but his whole being was focused on controlling the machine, trying to keep her straight, trying to keep her balanced, trying to glide her down in a controlled way. He used every trick he could to slow the descent and desperately searched for a landing site in the rocky, mountainous ground below.

‘There!’ Caitlin pointed at a tiny strip of flat land in the barren landscape. He steered them towards it and knew they were going to hit the ground too fast.

‘Brace yourself!’ He yelled roughly, still wrestling with the controls, still trying desperately to make the landing.

The plane’s wheels hit the rocks below; they bounced once; twice. He got the plane down; it jolted hard as they landed throwing them forward. His expression tightened at the sight of the stony wall racing up towards them and he hit the brakes hard. The plane skidded over the ground, barely slowed. They both threw up their hands protectively as the nose hit the wall, crumpled. The plane gave a wrenching screech and came to a sudden stop. The cockpit was silent except for the harsh pants of their shallow breathing.

Hawke immediately turned to Caitlin. ‘You OK?’

She nodded and sniffed the air, her eyes widening at the smell of fuel. ‘We need to get out. Now.’ Her hands shook as they unlocked the straps holding her.

Hawke tried his door; it was jammed. ‘Out your side.’

Caitlin shoved against her door. ‘It’s not moving.’

Hawke frowned and leaned back almost in her lap to get enough room, enough purchase to kick his door open. He jumped out and reached up to help Caitlin. She threw out a rucksack of emergency equipment stowed in the cockpit before she followed him out. Hawke grabbed the bag and Caitlin’s arm. They ran away from the plane. It exploded suddenly behind them; the force lifting both of them off their feet and sending them sprawling.

Hawke hit the ground hard, felt the breath leave his body in a rush. He shifted and looked back at the burning debris of their aircraft briefly before his eyes sought Caitlin. She had landed close by him and she was in a similar position; her shocked blue-green eyes pinned to the wreckage. He crawled over to her and she reached for him, hugging him tightly. Hawke could feel her body trembling against his and wrapped himself around her; he couldn’t seem to get close enough. They stayed that way for a long moment; both needing the reassurance of holding the other to steady them.

Hawke eased back and kissed her before he pulled away just enough for his eyes to lock back on hers furiously. ‘Marry me.’ It was a demand.

Caitlin’s eyes widened and she reached up to brush his fringe out of his stormy blue eyes, her fingers lightly touching his face as she cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand. It wasn’t how she’d imagined and she figured he would probably change his mind once they were safely home but it didn’t matter, it wouldn’t change how she would answer. ‘OK.’

He breathed out in relief and kissed her again. They might have stayed locked in the embrace but for a cold brush of wind that sharply reminded them of their situation. They eased away from each other ruefully and gingerly made to stand up.

Caitlin’s face blanched white as a flash of pain shot up her leg and she yelped, staggered. Hawke’s arm immediately locked around her waist and he lowered her to sit on a rock as she hopped keeping the weight from the injured ankle. He crouched down next to her and put the ankle through a couple of simple physical tests without removing the boot; if it was broken or sprained it would provide her with support.

He looked up at her. ‘I think it’s a sprain.’ He said finally.

Caitlin nodded. ‘I must have landed on it badly. Damn!’ Her eyes smarted suddenly and her shaking fingers wiped away the tears that spilled onto her cheeks.

Hawke framed her face with his hands. ‘Hey.’ His eyes held hers firmly. ‘We’re going to get through this.’

‘I know.’ Her voice was thick with emotion. She took a deep, wobbly breath and breathed out slowly. ‘I’m OK.’

Hawke saw the resolve creep back into her eyes, start to push out the shock. He gave a small sigh of relief and glanced around at the surroundings. The landscape was mainly grey rock with brown dry ground peeking out here and there with green brush breaking up the unremitting barrenness.

‘Do you know where we landed?’ Caitlin asked.

Hawke sighed. ‘We were clipping the top of the White Sands Missile Range over the San Andres Mountains when we got hit by that plane. It’s possible we’ve come down just inside the boundary.’

‘Maybe the military picked up on the mayday.’ Caitlin said hopefully.

‘Maybe.’ Hawke gestured at the smouldering wreckage. ‘Staying in the plane isn’t an option and we can’t stay with it; this place is too exposed.’ Another gust of harsh wind underscored his point and had them both shivering.

Hawke reached for the rucksack and pawed through the items to find the map. He spread it out on the rock next to where Caitlin was sitting. ‘What were the last coordinates you radioed?’

She gave them to him and he stabbed a finger at the location. ‘That’s where we were.’ He took out the compass, checked his watch and the position of the sun. ‘I think we’re here.’ He traced a finger across the map; they’d drifted a good fifty miles from their last known position. It was going to take time for any rescue party to find them. He frowned. The nearest road was a good twenty kilometres away over rocky and barren terrain; the nearest town wasn’t even a remote possibility. His eyes drifted to Caitlin. She couldn’t walk on the ankle, at least not far.

‘We need to find some shelter close by and wait for them to come get us.’ Caitlin surmised. She could read the map as well as he could.

Hawke nodded.

‘Or…’ She took a deep breath.

‘Or?’ Hawke asked wondering what other option she figured they had.

‘You could leave me. You’d make good time walking out on your own…’

‘No.’

‘Hawke, you’d be able to bring a rescue team back within twenty-four, forty-eight hours tops.’ She argued.

‘I said no.’ Hawke caught her eyes in a fierce gaze. ‘I’m not leaving you.’

She nodded slowly. She knew his answer was rooted in the memory of leaving his brother behind and losing him. ‘We need to find some shelter then.’

‘I need to find us some shelter.’ He corrected her.

She raised an eyebrow. ‘What happened to the ‘I’m not leaving you’ position?’

He sighed and gestured at her. ‘You need to rest that ankle and I won’t be gone long. Whatever I find has to be close by.’

‘I can help…’

‘Caitlin.’

The slightly exasperated tone had the words dying on her lips.

He looked around. ‘I’m going to help you over to the wall. It’ll give you some protection. You stay on the radio and have the flares ready if you see a rescue plane.’

It only took a few minutes to make his words a reality. He handed her the radio, the flare gun and a water bottle. He hesitated by her side.

She’d been involved with him too long not to see past the impassivity and pick up on the minute clues to how he was feeling. She caught his hand in hers. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.’ She attempted a wry grin. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

Hawke didn’t smile but he dipped his head and kissed her. ‘I’ll be back soon.’ He let go of her hand and walked away before he could change his mind.

Part 3

Dom grinned and waved wildly at the chopper coming into land. He barely waited for the rotors to slow before he was ducking underneath them to help the small blonde pilot from the cockpit and wrap her in a bear hug. He pulled back and gave his niece a gap-toothed smile as her blue eyes sparkled back at him.

‘Ah, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.’ Dom said.

‘You look good, Uncle Dom.’ Jo Santini smiled. Her eyes scanned over him anxiously. Hawke’s phone call had been brief and to the point; Dom had met a woman in Italy, fallen for her and she’d tried to kill him. That Hawke had called her at all was a worrying sign of how badly he thought their surrogate father had been affected and now she could see for herself the tense deep lines on her uncle’s face and the hint of sadness lurking in his eyes even as they smiled at her in welcome, she agreed with Hawke’s assessment that the older man needed company. Jo also figured there was more to it than Hawke had told her but she knew better than to try to get the answers from him; she would have more luck with her uncle. She hugged him again.

‘What’s that for?’ Dom asked with a laugh.

‘I just missed you.’ Jo said pulling back.

‘Well, maybe you should come visit more often, huh?’ Dom chided her gently and without heat; he’d accepted a long time ago that his fledglings had left the nest.

‘Maybe I should.’ She admitted surprising herself at how much she meant the comment.

Dom released her and reached into the back of the chopper for her bag. ‘Well how about we get you settled into my place and have some lunch whilst we catch up properly?’

‘Sounds good to me.’ Jo slipped an arm around his expansive waist as they walked over to the Santini Air hangar.

Dom’s apartment was only a short drive from the airfield, the noise of the landings and take-offs clearly audible as they walked up the path. Dom ushered her inside and Jo smiled as they walked straight into the small sitting room. She’d never stayed on her previous visits back to see him and she hadn’t been back to the apartment since she’d graduated high school. It hadn’t changed at all, she thought. The wallpaper was still the same green and yellow lurid print that screamed of the Sixties; the matching green carpet was clean but worn and the pale beige leatherette sofa and chair were original Sixties design. A battered coffee table took up floor space in the centre; an old sideboard crowded one wall, its surface covered with pictures of family and friends along with an old record player. A Formica table and four chairs took up the back wall where an open door led to a narrow corridor.

It was smaller than Jo remembered and she wondered with some bemusement how three teenagers and her uncle had managed to fit into the small space as she followed her uncle through to the bedrooms. He opened the first door on his right and placed her bags on one of the twin beds. Jo scanned the room and gave a brief sigh of relief that Dom seemed to have updated this room at least. It had been the Hawke brothers when they’d lived there but their old stuff had been cleared out, the walls painted in a fresh blue colour, the floorboards in a whitewash. The bedding was simple and not overly fussy, a deeper shade of blue that didn’t quite match the paint or the curtains hanging at the window.

‘I hope this is OK for you.’ Dom said.

‘It’s great, Uncle Dom.’ Jo smiled at him reassuringly.

‘Good, good.’ He said. ‘Kitchen’s across the hall, my room is just next door like always and the bathroom’s down the hall to your left.’

‘I remember.’

‘Well, I’ll get started on lunch if you want to get settled in.’ Dom rubbed his hands together and backed out of the room, leaving her alone. Jo took another look around the small space. She hadn’t been allowed in the room when she’d lived in the apartment with the Hawke brothers; it had been a real no-go zone. Not that it had stopped her from trying she remembered with rueful amusement…

Jo skipped into the apartment, threw her school bag onto the sofa with a careless abandon, turned on the old transistor radio on the sideboard on her way to the kitchen. The music blared out; a Beatles song…she started singing along, slightly off-key, as she grabbed some cookies from the jar on the kitchen counter and made her way back to the sitting room. Jo was half-way through the first cookie when it occurred to her that she was alone in the apartment.

She turned eagerly and made her way to the forbidden door; the Hawke brothers’ room. The sign on the door said ‘Keep Out’; she paid it no attention but slowly lowered the handle and swung the door open. Her nose wrinkled at the musky smell. The room looked as though it had schizophrenia. The half by the window was a mess; the bed was unmade, dirty clothes littered the floor, the dresser was covered in junk, books, socks, other stuff she didn’t want to examine too closely. The half by the door was orderly, neat with everything put away in a certain order; a cello and bow hung neatly from the wall; String was such a neat-freak, so uncool not like his brother, she thought with the type of disgust only teenagers could muster, casually forgetting her own belongings were similarly ordered.

She ventured in and made immediately for Saint John’s haphazardly stacked record collection; he’d bought the Rolling Stones album and she wanted to listen to it. She flipped through the records till she found it, holding it aloft triumphantly. Her glee was short-lived. The sound of the apartment door opening had her dropping the record back into the pile and hastily making for the door. Jo stopped in her tracks as she heard the brothers’ voices coming closer. She was going to be discovered. Quick as a flash she noiselessly closed the door and scurried under the first bed just as they entered.

‘…I don’t see why you want to go to Vietnam, Saint John.’

‘I was always going to join up, String, you know that.’ Saint John replied.

‘But why now? You haven’t even finished school.’

‘I told you.’ The bed creaked as the brothers slumped onto their respective bunks. ‘It was just like Pauley said, the new recruitment officer didn’t even look at my id.’

Jo’s eyes widened; Saint John was leaving? He was going to join the army and go to Vietnam? She shivered. She didn’t know much about the war but she did know soldiers went there and didn’t come back. She frowned; String was asking what he was going to do if Saint John went…

‘You’ll be OK.’ Saint John said. ‘You’ve got Dom.’

‘It’s not the same, Saint John.’

‘We were going to have to go our separate ways eventually, String. I mean, you want to go study the cello like Mom wanted you to, don’t you?’

‘Yeah but…’

‘And I want to be an army pilot.’ Saint John insisted. ‘Like Dad.’

‘But does it have to be now?’

Saint John sighed. ‘You’re going to have to stand on your own two feet sometime, little brother.’

Jo’s nose suddenly twitched. She made a futile effort to stop the sneeze which exploded from her and brought the conversation between the brothers to a sudden halt. There was a moment’s deathly silence before hands grabbed her and yanked her from under the bed. She struggled and managed to kick Saint John’s shin whilst she elbowed String in the stomach.

‘What the heck is going on here?’ Dom’s grumpy voice had all three of them breaking apart and looking guiltily at their guardian. They stayed quiet, bound by the unwritten teenage rule that you didn’t squeal even if it meant you all got into trouble.

Dom crossed his arms and stared at the three teenagers. ‘I’m not going to ask you again.’

‘It was my fault, Uncle Dom.’ Jo said hurriedly knowing the older man would go easier on her than on the boys. ‘I was in their room. I wanted to borrow a record.’

‘You know you’re not allowed in here.’ Dom chastised her. His dark eyes flickered to the boys. ‘But that’s no excuse for manhandling her; she’s only twelve and you don’t treat a woman like that. Ever.’

‘No, Uncle Dom.’ The brothers said in unison.

‘Well, we’ll figure a punishment out later. String, you’re due at Mrs Gantree for your music lesson. You’d better get going.’

‘Yes, sir.’ He took his cello and bow off the wall and reached for the cello-case in the wardrobe.

‘Jo, you can start the dinner.’ Dom gestured at Saint John. ‘I need to have a word with Saint John.’

Jo opened her mouth to protest and closed it again at the stern look her uncle gave her. She shuffled out of the room and into the small kitchenette across the hall as String made his way out of the apartment. She glanced back and saw with surprise that her uncle had closed the bedroom door. What was so important he’d closed the door? She hurriedly put a large pot of water on for the pasta and tiptoed back to press her ear up against the wood.

‘…better example.’ Dom finished.

‘Yes, sir.’ There was a sulky undertow to Saint John’s voice.

Her uncle must have heard it too because he sighed loud enough for the sound to travel through the door. ‘I had a call earlier from the army recruitment office. It seems you tried to join up today.’

There was a silence.

‘Nothing to say for yourself?’

‘I want to join up, Uncle Dom, you know that.’

‘I know, we talked about it but this…this isn’t the way. Lying and cheating. You’re lucky the guy in charge down there is an old buddy of mine and your Dad’s; he recognised your name and called me.’ Dom said. ‘You’re too young.’

‘I’m almost eighteen…’

‘And you haven’t finished school yet.’ Dom interrupted. ‘Look, Saint John, if you knew what war was really like you wouldn’t be in such an all-fired up hurry to get there. It’s bloody and it’s brutal and it’s hard. I could tell you stories…’

‘I know. I’m ready for it.’ Saint John insisted.

‘And is your brother?’

‘He’ll be OK here. He has you.’

‘But he won’t stay here, will he? He’ll follow you. You know that.’ Dom pointed out.

‘I can’t live my life always thinking about String.’ Saint John’s voice rang with frustration.

‘I know that and he knows that.’ Dom said. ‘But there’s a time for these things, Saint John and this isn’t it.’

Another silence.

‘Saint John, you’re not going. Not yet anyway. You understand?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘And if I catch you at that recruitment office again before you finish school, you and me are going nose to nose, you understand that?’

‘Yes, sir.’

Jo hurried back to the kitchen and was putting the pasta into the furiously boiling water when her uncle joined her.

‘So what you’re cooking?’ He asked her.

‘Pasta.’

‘Pasta, huh?’ Dom smiled at her. ‘What sauce do you want to go with that?’

‘What sauce do you want to go with your pasta?’

Jo shook herself free of the memories and turned to smile at her uncle who was stood a little awkwardly in the doorway.

‘You OK? You seemed miles away.’ Dom noted.

Jo’s smile widened. ‘Just thinking about how I used to sneak in here all the time and how it always made the guys mad.’

Dom returned the smile. ‘So, tomato and basil sauce OK?’

‘Sounds perfect.’ Jo gestured. ‘I’ll just finish unpacking.’

Dom nodded and headed back to the kitchen. It took her no time at all to put her few clothes away, arrange her cosmetics and lotions on the dresser along with a cherished picture of her parents. She sighed. Her mother was long dead and she hadn’t seen her father for years…Dom had always been more of a parent to her than either of them, she thought. Another wave of guilt curdled in her stomach; with all her travelling she was as bad as her father at staying in touch. She shook herself and headed out to join her uncle.

An hour later, she threw her napkin on the table and groaned dramatically. ‘I’m going to need to run an extra mile tomorrow to get rid of the damage that chocolate cake’s just done.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Dom gestured at her. ‘There’s hardly anything to you. Ah, you girls are all the same. Caitlin’s always complaining if she eats this or that, she’ll put weight on and there’s hardly anything to her.’

Jo smiled. ‘What’s she like?’

‘Caitlin?’ Dom shrugged. ‘What do you want to know?’

Jo rolled her eyes. ‘I mean is she pretty, smart? You know, what’s she like?’

‘Sure, she’s pretty and smart.’ Dom said agreeably.

‘Uncle Dom!’ Jo laughed. ‘You know what I mean.’

Dom smiled. ‘She’s a good pilot.’

‘Ah, a good pilot. Well, I guess that is the highest form of compliment.’ Jo said.

‘And she’s a sweetheart.’ Dom finished. ‘She left you her car. It’s parked out front if you want to use it whilst you’re here.’

Jo smiled; she liked the sound of the other woman already. ‘She must be special if Hawke’s serious about her.’

‘Oh he’s serious about her.’ Dom said. ‘Like I told you, they’re all moved in together.’

It had been a surprise to hear that Hawke had moved in with somebody. She’d always thought that he would end up as some crusty old hermit living alone on his mountain. She sighed. ‘I take it she is the same Caitlin that Holly tried to…er…kill?’

Dom’s eyes narrowed on hers. ‘How’d you hear about that?’

‘Please. It was like Auntie Marie’s favourite story last year. It was in her Christmas letter. I don’t know if there was someone in the family who didn’t hear about it.’

‘Hmmm.’ Dom pressed his lips together. ‘Well, Holly’s doing OK.’

‘She still in the…er…’ Jo gestured unsure what to call it.

‘Yes, she’s still at the clinic but she’s doing much better.’ Dom said quickly. ‘You should go see her. She is your cousin.’

‘Does she know Hawke and Caitlin got together?’ Jo asked avoiding the subject of her visiting; she’d always thought Holly was weird.

‘No.’ Dom shook his head and gestured. ‘The doctor thinks it might bring on a relapse after the way she kinda fixated on String.’ He sat back in his chair and regarded Jo fondly. ‘So String called you, huh?’

Jo shifted uncomfortably. ‘What makes you say that?’ She reached for her coffee. They’d never been able to fool him, she thought ruefully.

He raised a bushy eyebrow at her.

‘OK,’ she caved under the parental stare, ‘he called me. He was worried about you.’

‘Well, you don’t have to be. Either of you.’ He gestured. ‘I’m fine.’

‘Hawke didn’t tell me much about what happened.’ Jo said. ‘Just that you’d met someone and they’d tried to kill you.’

‘That pretty much sums it up.’ Dom said. ‘But I’m OK. I don’t need a babysitter.’

‘You want me to leave?’ Jo stiffened surprised at how much she really wanted to stay.

‘Of course not!’ Dom smiled at her and reached over to pat her hand. ‘I love having you here but I want you to know you don’t need to worry about me, that’s all.’

Jo nodded and was about to say something when the phone rang.

Dom shoved his chair back and went to answer it. ‘Santini.’ He said curtly as he picked up the receiver.

‘Dominic, why aren’t you at the airfield? I’ve been trying to contact you.’

Dom rolled his eyes at Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III’s exasperated tone. ‘Hello to you too, Michael.’ He said sweetly. ‘Make this quick, huh, because my niece is here…’

‘Dominic,’ Michael interrupted the older man, ‘Hawke and Caitlin’s plane went down over White Sands Missile Range this morning.’

Dom froze. ‘Are they…?’

‘All I can tell you is that Caitlin called in a mayday.’ Michael said. ‘There’s more but I can’t tell you about it on the phone. I’m at the Lair, can you meet me?’

‘You’re at the…’ Dom’s brow lowered angrily. ‘I thought we told you…’

‘Dom, this is serious.’ Michael snapped. ‘Now are you coming to meet me or not?’

‘I’m on my way.’ Dom slammed the phone down and met Jo’s questioning gaze. ‘I have to go out. That was…an irate customer.’

‘I’ll come with you.’ Jo took a step toward him.

‘No, no.’ Dom waved her back. ‘You stay here. I’ll be back in a little while.’ He was already shrugging on the bright blue Santini Air jacket and adjusting the red satin cap. ‘Bye now.’

He quickly stepped out the front door and closed it. He sighed worriedly; if anything had happened to Hawke and Caitlin….he headed for the jeep and his meeting with Michael.
Continued in Part II.