Airwolf is somebody else's, probably Universal's or Bellisarius', and I freely admit that whoever's it is, I'm borrowing their show and they retain all rights, etc. There are flashbacks to a couple of episodes but to say which ones would be to give the plot away…

NOTE: Reality Check has been posted as a complete story rather than 2 separate 'episodes'. For those readers who normally jump to the end to read the conclusion first, try not to with this one as it does have a twist, and on the subject of the twist I only have two words: trust me.

UPCOMING: The Other Blackjack: Stringfellow Hawke receives a mysterious message from his brother but tragedy strikes before a rescue can be mounted... (This is the season 4 premiere episode retold primarily from the original Airwolf's team perspective). Closure: Those left behind deal with the repercussions of the events of Blackjack.

Reality Check combines the twenty-first and twenty-second stories that I'm writing to cover the period between the end of the 3rd season and the beginning of the 4th. It is effectively the finale of the 'in-between Season' as upcoming stories are set at the beginning of the 4th. If you have read the other stories (Single Parent Hawke, The Jade Wolf, The Truth About Caitlin, Old Friends New Enemies, Hawke's Wolf, Father Figures, Personal Business, Hidden Truths, Homecomings, The Ex Factor, A Question of Loyalty, You Are Cordially Invited, The Odd Couple, Spirit of the Wolf, Ghosts, A High Price to Pay, Prime Suspect, Traces in the Mist, Duplicity I & II), you can skip straight to the story in the next chapter…or read this brief recap of the story so far:

When Stringfellow Hawke reunites Le, the boy he incorrectly believed to be his nephew, with the boy's newly found mother, it is the start of a hectic time for the Airwolf team as a series of missions test their ingenuity, abilities and even the strength of their relationships…

An attempt to take Airwolf by a power hungry General brings Dominic Santini's niece, Jo, back into his life and provides new information on Hawke's missing brother, Saint John which eventually leads Hawke on a mission to Cambodia to find Saint John; the mission is ultimately unsuccessful and the deputy director of the FIRM, Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III, continues to try and find Hawke's brother – now believed to be working for an intelligence agency called the Company, the same agency the FIRM is being amalgamated with by order of Congress.

The imminent merger of the intelligence agencies prompts a number of revelations and events: Michael knows the Company will not honour the deal he has made with Hawke and the spy confesses to Hawke that the FIRM is building a third Airwolf. It is a fortunate project as the original Airwolf starts showing signs of developing artificial intelligence and provides them with an opportunity to devise a strategy to keep an artificially intelligent Airwolf out of the Company's hands. Their first strategy – a duplicate fails and the team are reliant on hoping a transfer of the intelligence might work.

In addition, the whole idea of the merger incites Zeus, the director of the FIRM, to make an attempt to take back Airwolf to consolidate his own position that leaves Michael's former senior aide, Marella badly injured. The incident encourages Michael into moving his relationship with her to a more personal footing, asking his former senior aide on a date. Although their first attempt is interrupted by Michael's daughter, Angelina running away, a second child friendly date has better success…

The merger also reveals that Jo Santini may be a Company spy – it adds to the stress that Dom is already under, having recently been taken hostage by an old enemy – one that he and Hawke's father faced years before. Whilst Dom is rescued by Hawke, it prompts Dom to question the fate of Hawke's parents; could they be alive? Dom confides in Michael in the hopes the other man can find out the truth but decides not to reveal his theory to Hawke who has found happiness by marrying his close friend and the third member of the Airwolf team, Caitlin O'Shaunessy. When the couple are reunited after Hawke's Cambodia trip, they discover they are expecting their first child but the news comes on the heels that someone is after Airwolf and when Caitlin is almost injured, she reluctantly gives up her place on the team. Hawke suggests a vacation for his wife in Texas with her parents as she comes to terms with all the changes that her pregnancy has prompted…

And now the next instalment: Reality Check.