Disclaimer: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only.
Summary: Hawke and Cait are just embarking on a new relationship when Caitlin gets caught up in the middle of a bank robbery. Will Hawke and Dom be able to get her out alive or will even Airwolf not be enough to save her this time?
For The Love of Money
"Good Morning, Fellas!" Caitlin sang out happily as she walked into the Santini Air hangar carrying coffee and pastries.
"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine this morning?" Hawke said with a cocked eyebrow as Caitlin put down the box of sweets and handed out the coffee. "Any particular reason?"
"What? A girl can't be happy just because it's a beautiful Fall day and she gets to spend it flying with her two favorite guys?"
"Nope, I don't buy it," Hawke said as took a sip of the steaming liquid.
"Awww, don't listen to him, honey" Dom said with a dismissive wave of his hand in String's direction. "You be happy all you want. Goodness knows we could use a little happy around this place!" he added with a glance in Hawke's direction.
"I guess that's a dig at me huh, Dom?" Hawke retorted back.
"You know it wouldn't hurt for you to smile a little more, kid. Although you might want to be careful, your face might crack," Dom said with a smirk.
"I'll see what I can do," Hawke respond. Turning his attention back to Cait, Hawke resumed his questioning. "So, c'mon Cait, what's really got you so chipper this morning?"
"Well, truth be told, there is a reason," she said with a smile.
"See, I told you, Dom," Hawke said. "So?"
"Okay, so you know that little Cessna 170B I've had my eye on, the yellow and red one that Joe Reynolds has over at his hangar?"
"Well of course we know, it's all you've been talking about since you found out he wanted to sell it," Dom said as he bit into an oozing raspberry pastry.
"Well, my loan approval came through and I'm going to the bank today at noon to sign the papers! By the end of the day I'll be the owner of my very own plane!" Caitlin said with a grin a mile wide.
"Oh, honey, that's great!" Dom said as he reached over and patted her on the shoulder.
"Yeah, Cait, that's great. It's a big expense though, you sure you can handle it on the peanuts that Dom pays us?" Hawke asked with a wink.
"Hey!" Dom said with a 'hmmph' as he glared at String.
Laughing, Cait nodded her head. "Yeah, I'll be fine. You know I've been saving for a long time and I only had to get a loan for about half the cost so payments will be low and shouldn't take me too long to pay off."
Before anyone could say anything else the phone rang in the office. Dom turned and rolled his eyes. "Guess I better get that. We're going to have make sure the jobs keep coming in so I can keep you paying you those peanuts!" he said as he headed for the office .
"Hey Hawke, could you do me a favor?" Caitlin said as she turned back to the blue-eyed pilot.
"Probably," he answered with a grin.
"I was wondering if you could come with me to Joe's when I pick up the plane this afternoon. Dom said I could keep it here so I want to get it as soon as I get back from the bank but I want someone to go over it again with me…just to make sure it's all in good order. I trust Joe but honestly, I'm not as familiar with the Cessna engines as I am these choppers."
"Sure, I'll go with you," Hawke said as he came up and slid his arm around her waist. Leaning over he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I really am happy for you, Cait," he said with a smile. "And me, too."
"You?" Caitlin asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"Yeah, because this means now that you've made this big purchase you won't be going anywhere for a while. I've grown accustomed to having you around."
"Hawke, I've been here for two years. What made you think I might be going somewhere?"
"No reason, I guess," he said as he took a step back and faced her head on. "Look, I just know that with everything that goes on around this place, Dom and I sometimes think we ask too much of you. Sometimes I wouldn't blame you if you'd had enough and wanted to move on to something a little less 'exciting'. I know there are times I'd like to do that myself."
"Yeah, I know what you mean but you know something, Hawke? I wouldn't change a thing that's happened since you showed up in Pope County. You and Dom have become family and as for the rest, well, what girl doesn't need a little excitement in her life?" she asked with a grin.
"Well you surely found that!" Hawke agreed. For a few seconds there was a strange tension in the air between the two of them. Cait could sense that Hawke wanted to say something further but he seemed almost….well, nervous. Very unusual for Stringfellow Hawke.
Finally he broke the silence. "Cait, what you said about Dom and me being like family…I hope you know we feel the same about you. But…"
"But what?" Caitlin urged. Suddenly she was nervous wondering what Hawke was thinking. Was he actually trying to push her away and, if so, why?
Taking a glance back to the office to make sure that Dom was still busy, Hawke pulled his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket and put them on. Then slipping his arm back around Cait's waist he asked her to walk with him outside.
Once they were out by the Steerman, Hawke leaned back against the antique plane so that he was facing Cailin and looped both hands around her waist, pulling her closer. "Caitlin, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while but I guess I just keep losing my nerve," he started. Caitlin opened her mouth to respond but Hawke gave her a quick shake of his head indicating that he just needed her to listen for a moment.
Reaching up he pulled his sunglasses off so that he could look into Cait's eyes. He needed her to really know that what he was about to say was sincere. "I think I know how you feel about me, Cait. I see it in the way that you look at me sometimes when you think I'm not looking or how you look when I'm with another woman. And then when everything happened with Horn, well, it wasn't too hard to tell how you felt." Caitlin's cheeks grew red and she hung her head in embarrassment. Cupping her chin in his hand, Hawke gently pulled her gaze back up to meet his. "No, Caitlin, it's okay. I just want you to know that I know what those looks mean because I find myself looking at you the same way. I just haven't acted on them because honestly I've been afraid that you would stay out of an obligation to me. I wouldn't want that. I needed to know that you were staying because you wanted to. Buying this plane shows me that you want to put down roots of some sort here, though. Am I wrong?"
"No, String, you're not wrong…about any of it." Caitlin said quietly as she looked into those blue eyes. "But where does that leave us?"
"I don't know exactly," Hawke said with a sigh. "But I do know I'd really like to find out. It's up to you Caitlin, the last thing I would ever want to do is ruin the friendship that we have now. If you think that moving things to the next level would do that than I don't know if I'm willing to risk that. You mean too much to me."
"We've never been ones to shy away from risk," Caitlin said with a slight smile.
"That's true," Hawke returned with a smile of his own. "Look, why don't we just take things slow and natural? I don't want to force anything. All I know is that I have feelings for you that I can't continue to deny, no matter how much they scare the hell out of me. I've lost so much, I don't think I could take losing you, too."
Knowing that Hawke was subtly referring to his 'curse', Caitlin could understand his fears. "You'd never lose me, Hawke, no matter what. But I think you're right. Let's not rush it. I've waited two years to hear you say these things. I'm in no hurry and I'm not going anywhere. Anyways, I like the thought of getting to know each other all over again in a different, more intimate way."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Hawke said as he pulled her a little closer. "What do you say that after we get that plane back here this afternoon, we celebrate and you let me take you out to dinner?"
"And dancing?" Caitlin said with a gleam in her eye.
Laughing, Hawke nodded his head. "You're not going to make this easy, are you?"
"Nope. As I said, I waited two years for you. You should have to work a little to make it up to me."
"I guess I deserved that. Okay, dinner and dancing it is," he said as he pulled her in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Wanting more but determined to keep his word to take it slow, Hawke pulled back.
"What about Dom?" Caitlin suddenly asked.
"Uhm, I don't think I want to dance with, Dom," Hawke replied dryly.
"No, silly," Caitlin said with a chuckle as she gave Hawke a playful swat on his arm. "I mean, he'll want to celebrate, too. I hate to leave him out of this. After all, he was the one who told me about the Cessna to begin with."
"Don't you worry about me, kids," Dom said as he walked towards them from the hangar, a wide grin covering his face.
"Dom! How long have you been there?" Caitlin asked, her cheeks once again turning red.
"Just long enough to know I like what I see. String, it's about time you came to your senses and asked our girl out. I'm not about to get in your way, now! You two go out and have fun. There'll be time enough to include me later."
"Thanks," Hawke said simply as he nodded his appreciation to the older man.
"Now, if you two are done with all of this googly-eyed stuff, we still have work to do," Dom said, putting his hands on his hips. "We have a lot to do around here before Cait has to go to the bank at lunch. Quit wasting time!"
Pushing himself off the plane, Hawke put his sunglasses back on. "C'mon Caitlin, you heard the man. Time to go earn our peanuts," he teased as he and Cait walked arm in arm back to the hangar, Dom smiling after them.
TBC…
A/N: Next chapter the action/angst/drama begins. Let's hope the muse can get her butt in gear and get this one going faster than this first chapter which took me two days to get right! Ugh!
A/N: Just some info on the Cessna 170B. Although it may sound unreasonable for Cait to buy her own plane, this is a small 4-seater. I was lucky enough to take a flying lesson in one for my birthday this year, about three weeks ago. You can buy a used one today for around $30,000-$40,000 and I know that back around 1985 they were much less expensive than that. So for Cait, buying such a plane would kind of be like buying an expensive car or even a payment on a house.