Falling

Disclaimer – As usual, DPB or Universal own the characters, I'm just playing with them, since DPB and Universal won't, anymore.

A/N – This is another one-shot that was suggested to me by starclipper01. It will have no effect on any of the story arcs I'm working with ("Musings," "What Now?," etc). Just a cute little bit of fluff.

Summary – Hawke and Caitlin do something crazy...even for them.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Stringfellow Hawke asked his friend, and immediately thought to himself, I should be asking, 'Remind me again how I let you con me into doing this, Caitlin'. He recalled suggesting that they start doing more things together, as they had begun spending more time with each other away from the hangar; and Caitlin had suggested skydiving. She figured that as much time as they spent flying, it would be an activity they could both enjoy. Now Hawke was beginning to wonder if this had really been such a great idea. Why anybody would voluntarily jump out of a perfectly good airplane, is totally beyond me, Hawke said to himself.

"We love flying, right? Well, this is just like flying, only without the airplane...or the helicopter," Caitlin O'Shannessy grinned at him as she tightened up his parachute harness. She had convinced him that skydiving might be a fun activity, and she had done it a few times before they met. "Trust me, Hawke."

"Oh, I trust you, Cait. It's the idea of trusting my life...and yours, mind you...to a parachute that scares the hell out of me," Hawke continued as they clambered into a Santini Air chopper, and Dom started the engines. "Dom. How did you let her talk you into this, anyway?" Hawke demanded.

"Ah, String...live a little, will ya? The guys who packed those things are the best around. I know – they do a lot of work for me when I use stunt pilots...and they haven't lost one yet," Dom grinned as he lifted the chopper up into the blue California sky. A short time later, the chopper settled into a steady hover at 3,000 feet. "Okay, you two. We're ready. Have a nice time, and I'll see you when you hit the ground!"

Very funny, Dom, Hawke said as he and Caitlin stood up and moved to the door. Once the door was opened, Hawke looked down and immediately thought, this was not a good idea.

"Okay, Hawke. You ready?" Caitlin looked at him worriedly, and he gave her his best and bravest expression.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really, no. I told Dom not to let you chicken out on me. See you on the ground, Hawke. Geronimo!" Caitlin yelled as she jumped out of the chopper. Hawke took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and jumped out as well.

A few seconds later, Hawke felt something tug at his arm. "Hey! Open your eyes there, tough guy!" Hawke forced his eyes open to see Caitlin holding his right arm. "See? No problem!"

Right. Unless one, or both of these chutes fails, Hawke said to himself. "I have to admit, this is a lot different than flying in Airwolf!"

Hawke couldn't believe his eyes as he watched Caitlin let go of his arm, execute a perfect flip after drifting away from him a few meters, then expertly guide herself right back to him. Guess there's something she knows more about than I do, Hawke admitted to himself. And, she'll never let me live it down, either.

As they continued to fall, Hawke began to get nervous. That ground seems like it's rushing towards us awfully quick. Wonder how long of a delay these chutes have on them?

Just then, he felt a sharp tug at his shoulders, and looked up to see the parachute canopy unfurling. Looking to his right, he saw Cait's chute already opened. Well, I guess that answers that question, Hawke admitted to himself. Boy, it's still a long way down, he thought to himself. Almost before he knew it, though, the ground had rushed up to meet him, and he barely had time to bend his knees the way Caitlin had taught him before he hit the ground. Fortunately, though, he did, and while it might not have been a three-point landing, it was still pretty decent, he thought as he gathered up his parachute and saw Caitlin doing the same. A few yards away, he also saw Dominic standing in front of the helicopter, grinning broadly.

"Caitlin. I know I said I was falling for you, but don't you think this was going just a little too far?" Hawke asked her, but the grin on his face gave away his true feelings.

"Oh, come on, Hawke...it wasn't that bad, was it? And besides, didn't you tell me you had to go through parachute training in the Army?"

"If it'll make you feel better, Cait...no, it wasn't that bad. It was actually...kinda fun. And yes, I did do some parachute training in the Army. It's just been a while, you know?"

"I know, Hawke. But don't you think you need to try new things, every now and then?" Her smile could have lit up the entire Van Nuys airport, and Hawke returned an easy smile of his own as he slipped an arm around her shoulders and they walked back to the chopper.

"Okay, Cait. Yeah, trying new things now and then isn't a bad idea...just...let's pick an activity a little closer to the ground for next time, okay?"

Caitlin grinned impishly at him. "Okay, Hawke," she told him, just before she kissed him. He was startled at first, but quickly relaxed and returned her kiss. When they separated, Hawke asked her, "What was that for?"

"Oh, nothing, really. Just saying, 'Thank you' for doing this with me. It wouldn't have been the same, without you," Caitlin said truthfully as she grinned at him.

"Well, Caitlin...you can say 'thank you' like that...any time you please," Hawke answered her before he kissed her back.

"So, you wanna do that again sometime, Hawke?" Caitlin asked when they were back at the hangar.

"Maybe," he answered her. "As long as I'm with you."

"What? You think you're going skydiving...or anything else, for that matter, without me? Not on your life, buster," she told him with an easy grin. "Like it or not, you're stuck with me."

Just before they walked back into the hangar, Hawke turned Caitlin so she could look into his eyes and told her, "Oh, I like, Caitlin. I like it very much," and gently kissed her again. And if I have anything to say about it, he told himself, we'll be 'stuck' with each other, as you put it...for a very long time.