Favor Returned

*Sequel to "A Matter of Trust" (I'm not sure how many chapters this one will be yet.)

Chapter 1

Caitlin slowly opened her eyes allowing the room to slowly come into focus. The sun was streaming into the window and the glow of it gave the room a warm and cozy feeling. She rolled over and pulled his pillow to her, taking in the smell of him. She smiled at the thought of Hawke letting her sleep in. She had worked extra late at the hangar with Dom in order to get ready for an upcoming job and he knew she needed the rest.

"One month today," she thought. It had been one month since Hawke finally admitted how he felt about her. It was one month of spending nearly every night together, making love or just snuggling and sharing stories. Caitlin knew that she had never been as happy in her entire life as she was now.

She slowly got up and out of bed and made her way downstairs. Hawke had left her breakfast on the stove along with a little note on the counter.

"Dom and I have a meeting at eleven with the producer," it read. "I'll be back to pick you up sometime after noon. Take it easy and rest. We have a lot of work to do tonight."

Caitlin smiled. She didn't mind the hard work. She loved it and was excited by it. She put the note down and reheated her breakfast, nibbling on it as she grabbed a book she had recently started reading and finished the fourth chapter. Looking at the time, she decided to go and shower so that she wouldn't have to rush to get ready when he came for her.

As the warm water poured over her head, Caitlin thought about their first night together. She couldn't believe how tender and loving he had been and how careful he was not to rush her into anything she wasn't ready for. She laughed when she thought about the expression on his face when he realized just how ready she actually was. She loved it and had wanted to be with him for such a long time. For her, there was no more waiting.

Caitlin climbed out of the shower and put her hair up in a towel before drying off. She threw on her terrycloth robe and sat down at the edge of the bed. She opened the nightstand drawer and took out a small book that she liked to use as a kind of diary. Opening it, she grabbed a pen and began writing down her thoughts about Hawke. It was only then that she thought she heard a noise coming from downstairs.

"It's too early for Hawke to be here," she said out loud to herself as she got up from the bed and made her way down the steps of the loft.

"Tet?" she called out. "Where are you?"

Not seeing the dog anywhere inside, she moved to the front door and opened it before stepping outside. "Tet!" she called out again but there was still no sign of her.

"Hmm, she must be down at the lake," Caitlin thought as she turned to go back inside.

As she walked inside, two men grabbed her tightly by each arm. She screamed out and tried to fight them off but hey proved too strong for her.

"Let me go!" she yelled as they dragged her down the path and towards the small plane that they had waiting for them on the lake. Just before reaching it, another man came up to them. "Hold her still," he instructed as he pushed up her sleeve and injected a liquid into her arm.

Caitlin screamed out again before her mind suddenly got fuzzy and everything went black.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Hawke sighed as they finally wrapped up their meeting with the producer and headed back to their Jeep.

"That took way too long," he complained. "I've never seen anyone so overly picky in all my life."

"Well, he's got a tight budget," Dom reminded him. "I can't say I blame him for wanting everything to go right on the first take. We'll just do our best as always."

"Yeah," replied Hawke. "You want to ride with me to pick up Caitlin?"

"Sure," Dom replied. "We can have lunch there before heading back to the hangar."

"Is that all you think about?" Hawke teased. "Food?"

Dom feigned a hurt look. "Hey, I haven't eaten in hours," he replied. "A man can't live on one meal a day you know."

Hawke laughed. "Yeah, I know."

Dom smiled as they jumped into the Santini Air helicopter and headed up to the cabin. "She's been really good for you," he said. "It's nice to see the two of you so happy."

Hawke smiled. "Yeah, I have to admit that she really has been good for me," he replied. "I just wish I hadn't wasted so much time."

Dom reached over and gave him a squeeze on the arm. "Don't look back String," he told him. "Just keeping looking towards the future."

Hawke landed the helicopter and the two joked around and teased one another as they headed down the path towards the cabin. As they got close, Hawke stopped a moment as he noticed the door was left wide open.

He moved quickly towards porch and nearly leaped up the steps. "Cait!" he called out. "You left the door open. Cait?"

Dom quickly followed him inside as Hawke made his way upstairs into the loft. He saw Cait's diary on the bed and opened the bathroom door. "Caitlin? Where are you?" he asked.

"String?" Dom called up to him.

Hawke quickly bounded back down the stairs, his heart pounding. "She's not up there. Her clothes are on the bed and her robe is missing."

"Where could she be?" asked Dom.

Before Hawke could respond, he saw a note on the counter beside the one he had left for Caitlin. He picked it up, his heart sinking as he read it out loud.

"This is what you get for helping Lisa and her husband," it read. "Now you will help us find them or your lady will pay the ultimate price. She will stay alive as long as you follow all of my instructions to the letter. Stay close to your hangar. We will be sending your first set of instructions there. In the meantime I suggest you use all of your resources to find them for me…..or else."

"Damn it!" Hawke screamed. "I should have known this wasn't over. I should have never left her here alone."

"String, you had no way of knowing," Dom replied. "Michael assured us that we had nothing to worry about when it came to you or to St. John and Lisa."

"Michael!" yelled Hawke. "Let's go Dom. He's got a lot of explaining to do."