Sight Unseen
Stingfellow Hawke walked quietly into the hospital room and sat down. He stared a moment at the young woman who was lying in the bed in front of him and then looked around the room. Just an hour before, this same woman had nearly destroyed the room in an unusual rage before a doctor and orderly subdued her. Hawke watched her sleep, wrists now tied to the bed. It hurt him to see her like this but he knew it was for the best.
She slept soundly as Dom came in and joined him. "How is she?" Dom asked in a whisper.
"Michael says they gave her something that will keep her out for a few hours," Hawke replied. "He still won't tell me what set her off though and he was here when it all happened."
"It's not like her at all," Dom sighed. "Worries me."
"Me too," Hawke replied thinking back to the day before when their world seemed to fall apart. "We shouldn't have taken her with us."
"Oh String," said Dom. "This wasn't her fault and you know it. When the cards are stacked against us, Caitlin's someone I'll always want on my side."
"Yeah," Hawke replied softly.
"I need to get back to the hangar," Dom told him. "I have some things to take care of that unfortunately can't wait. Are you coming?"
Hawke shook his head. "No, I'm going to stay a little longer," he replied. "I'll catch up with you in about an hour."
Hawke watched Dom leave and shut the door behind him before turning his attention back to Caitlin. What wasn't bandaged on her face looked pale. Her eyes were covered, bandaged well and there were scratches on her cheeks and neck. He closed his eyes but was unable to get the image of what had happened to her out of his mind.
One day earlier:
"Caitlin, wait right here," he ordered her as he opened the door to the main building of the compound they had been allowed to enter. "I'll be right back with Doc."
"But Hawke I….." she started to protest, getting a sudden uneasy feeling.
"Cait, I said wait," he demanded as he went in and closed the door behind him, leaving her outside.
Hawke was met by two men who led him to the clinic where Doc had been working.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked his long time friend.
Doc smiled. "Thanks for coming for me," he replied. "I'm ready."
As the men headed towards the front of the building, they began to hear explosions coming from outside.
Hawke radioed Airwolf. "Dom, what's going on?" he asked in a near yell.
"Get out of there quick," Dom replied. "It looks like a civil war is about to erupt here. I'll clear a path as soon as I see you. Get out now."
"Got it," replied Hawke as they ran towards the exit.
They were almost to the door when another explosion rocked the entrance of the building. Both men were knocked off of their feet.
Doc jumped up and then helped Hawke stand. "Caitlin!" Hawke yelled as he moved towards the door.
"What?" asked Doc. "Was she outside?"
"Yes!" he yelled as they both finally made it out of the building and surveyed the area. Rubble from parts of the building hampered their movements but within moments they found her at the corner, lying among the debris.
Hawke looked up and saw Airwolf as Doc gently picked up Caitlin and headed towards the helicopter.
Within seconds, the three were inside and Dom flew all of them to safety.
Present Time:
The hospital door opened slowly and Doc peeked inside to see Hawke sitting by Caitlin, staring at her.
"Is it okay to come in?" he asked.
Hawke shrugged. "She's out," he told him. "I guess you heard what happened."
Doc sighed. "Yeah, I did," he replied. "I was pretty surprised. It doesn't sound like Cailtin."
"I know," said Hawke. "I wish I knew what happened."
Doc sat down in a chair across from Hawke and rested his elbows in his lap. "At least the doctor said the surgery went well and she'll recover her eyesight."
"Thanks to you," Hawke replied. "That was fast thinking of you to cover them when we were in Airwolf."
Doc shook his head. "Yeah but it's thanks to me that she was injured in the first place," he replied. "If you two hadn't come to get me, none of this would have happened."
"It's not your fault Doc," Hawke assured him. "We had permission from the government to come and get you. There was no sign of a pending war there according to the Firm. What happened was a shock to everyone."
"Still, I do feel responsible," he replied. "I'm just thankful that she'll be okay."
"I am too," admitted Hawke. "Look Doc, I need to get back to the hangar and help Dom with some things. We could use an extra hand if you have the time. That way we can get everything done and get back here to be with Caitlin."
"Sure," Doc replied. "I don't mind helping out."
Later that afternoon Caitlin awoke to find her hands were strapped down to the bed. "Oh joy," she said to herself. "What the hell did I do?"
"Caitlin?" asked Michael. "Are you okay?"
Caitlin sighed. "Michael is this really necessary," she said as she pulled on the wrist straps. "I was upset but I'm fine now. I didn't mean any harm and I'm not going to hurt myself or anyone else. I promise."
Michael motioned to the nurse that was in the room who quickly removed the straps from Caitlin's wrists.
"Thanks," she said softly. "I'm really sorry about earlier."
Michael sighed. "How can I help you Cait?" he asked. "How can I fix whatever it was that upset you?"
Caitlin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You can keep Hawke and Dom away from me for awhile," she replied. "I really need that Michael. I need time away from them. Can you do that for me? I don't want to see them right now. Not that I can actually see them but, well, you know what I mean."
"Okay," he replied. "You can recuperate at my beach house. I'll have our special nurse Jeffry stay with you. You remember him don't you? He was the one that helped Hawke out last summer when he was injured."
Caitlin thought a moment. "Isn't he a mute?" she asked. "No offense Michael. He seemed like a great guy but with me not being able to see, how can I communicate with him?"
"Oh we have developed some wonderful technology to help Jeffry," he assured her. "He's been loyal to the Firm so they wanted to help him in return. They created a recording device that he wears around and with a push of a button can reply to hundreds of questions or requests related to his job. He also has an option to type in questions and answers. His responses are given by a computer generated voice."
"Wow," Caitlin replied. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that if they can come up with a machine like Airwolf, technology can do something like that. I think Jeffry helping me would be great. When can I leave here?"
"As soon as they doctor gives the all clear," replied Michael. "I'll check and get back with you in a few minutes. You just lay back and rest."
"I will," she replied softly. "Thanks."