For the Love of a Hawke

Disclaimer—Bellisario owns the characters, not me. I just take them out to play every so often.

Summary—Caitlin makes a confession that startles everyone, putting her life, along with Hawke's, in danger.

A/N: This story serves as the antithesis to Surprise Confession, so some of the early dialog from that story makes an appearance here, in the opening. There will be action sequences, but this will primarily be a relationship story, so if that's not your cup of tea, please don't read. Enjoy!—robertwnielsen

Chapter 1

As Stringfellow Hawke and Inge Janek walked out of the hangar over to the limousine where Archangel stood waiting, Hawke glanced over at his good friend, Caitlin O'Shannessy. She was standing against the hangar door, her arms crossed, with an expression on her face that Hawke could not read. What is she thinking? Hawke wondered, even as he heard Michael speaking to Inge.

"Remember, your asylum doesn't depend on your sharing any information with us, but we would appreciate an opportunity to talk," Michael said.

"I understand. You'll have my full cooperation," Inge promised, then turned to Hawke. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in close to him. "Goodbye, Hawke," she whispered, pulling back and looking him in the eyes. "Take care of yourself." Without another word, Inge pulled him close to her and kissed him, passionately.

"TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF HIM, YOU BITCH! I LOVE STRING! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?" Caitlin shouted, angry. Hawke quickly disengaged from Inge's kiss and turned to stare with shock at his good friend. What did she say? Hawke thought, then noticed Inge's expression. She looks almost as angry as Caitlin, Hawke thought, anxious. Well, I guess now I know, he thought, remembering that he'd wondered what Caitlin was thinking when he glanced at her standing against the hangar wall. Does she really love me that way? He wondered.

"Inge, I don't think Caitlin meant what you think she did," Hawke said, his tone anxious.

"What do you think she meant, then, Hawke?" Inge demanded. "That woman said she loves you. What else could she mean?" Hawke glanced over her shoulder and saw Caitlin run into the hangar.

"Hawke," Inge said, "I-I know that young woman has very strong feelings for you. Not just because of what she said a minute ago; but I saw her expression before I embraced you just now and it definitely looked like the expression of a jealous woman. But there's something you can do, if you want to. First, don't be too upset over what happened. And most of all; don't let her get away from you. I think, I think you would be good together." That is, if I don't kill her first, Inge thought, keeping her expression neutral so as not to arouse Hawke's suspicions.

"Inge," Hawke said, "I'm-I'm sorry that you heard that. I don't know what Caitlin was thinking, but as soon as I can, I'm going to talk to her." He remembered the look on Caitlin's face just before she ran into the hangar, when everyone had turned and was staring at her. I've never seen anyone so embarrassed in all my life, Hawke thought as he turned to Archangel.

"Hawke, I hate that I have to do this," he said, and I nodded. "But, rules are rules, you know."

"I know, Michael," I said, "it's just..."

"Not fair. I know that, Hawke. But, I'll push to allow you to visit, since you're the one who rescued her. And, please tell Caitlin that we won't hold what she did against her."

The FIRM may not, Michael, Inge thought, but I damned well do. Stringfellow Hawke is mine and I won't let anyone take him from me! Especially not that little bitch! Finally, Michael said, "Ms. Janek, are you ready?"

"Yes, Michael," Inge replied as Lauren opened the rear door of Michael's limousine. "Good-bye, Hawke," Inge said just before she climbed in. Once she was inside, Michael turned and said, "We'll talk soon, Hawke." Then, he climbed in across from Inge, and a short time later, Lauren drove the limousine away from the hangar.

"What the hell was Caitlin thinking, blurting out something like that, Dom?" Hawke demanded.

"I dunno, String," Dom said, shaking his head. "Somethin' tells me she wasn't thinking. She just…did it. Y'know?"

"Yeah, I know," Hawke replied. "It's not like I've never said anything without thinking before. My only question is—why did she say that?"

"You'll have to ask her that, String." Just then, they saw Caitlin walk out of the hangar, her eyes red from crying.

"Dom, I-I gotta get outta here. Do you mind?" She asked hesitantly.

"Nah," Dom said, smiling reassuringly at her. "Go ahead, if you think you can drive okay. I'm gonna shut this place down and take String home anyway. We'll see you tomorrow?"

"Maybe," Caitlin said just before she climbed into her car. As she drove off, Dom stared worriedly after her rapidly receding taillights. I sure hope you come back, sweetheart, he thought. If you don't, that'll just kill String.

Meanwhile, in Michael's limo…

"Michael, who was that woman? The one who yelled at Hawke?"

"Her name is Caitlin O'Shannessy," Michael replied. "She works with Hawke and Santini at the hangar, and I've gotten the impression that she has feelings for Hawke that are stronger than just friendship, even before what happened. Of course, I remember what she said in here not too long ago; when Dominic told her he would deliver Airwolf to Horn by himself.

"Dom, don't do that to me. I care about him too, y'know. Probably more than you know," Caitlin had said.

Well, if I didn't know what she meant before, I sure as hell know now, Michael thought.

"Thank you, Michael," Inge said. It should be easy to find out more about this Caitlin, she thought, struggling to mask her anger. And once I do, it will be that much easier to eliminate her, so Hawke can be mine, the way he was before.

Santini Air

"Dom," Hawke said, "why the hell would Cait say something like that?"

"Oh, I dunno, String. Maybe she just said what was in her heart. You know what I told you she said to me in Michael's limo that day, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Hawke replied. "And I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about her, too. Just-just not that way. I can't care about her like that, Dom. Not with"—he was suddenly and rudely cut off.

"Oh, for God's sake, String! Don't give me that curse crap again!" Dom shouted, and Hawke was thankful that Caitlin had left. "I've heard it so damned many times that I'm damned sick and tired of it! Look here, String. If the fact that I'm still here, after all the cockamamie things Michael's had us doing with Airwolf, doesn't prove to you that curse isn't real, then I guess I don't know what does! Not to mention Saint John, or did you forget that he's home now?"

Hawke stopped for a moment, considering how his older brother Saint John had returned a few weeks ago from an assignment with a Special Operations Group, which had been classified Top Secret Umbra, which explained why no one, including Michael, had been able to find out any information on him.

"No, Dom, I haven't forgotten that Sinj is home," String admitted.

"Okay, then! Between those two, plus everything Cait's been through since she came here lookin' for you, I think that curse is pretty well busted, y'know? And," he said quickly, seeing Hawke's expression, "don't start about Gabrielle! You know as well as I do how out of his mind Moffet was! Even if he did know about you two, which I seriously doubt he did, that wasn't why he killed Gabrielle, for God's sake!"

"You-you're right, Dom," Hawke admitted. "I guess I've got some thinking to do."

"I guess so," Dom said as they finished closing down the hangar, "and you'll probably be better able to do it at home, so let's get the heck outta here." Hawke nodded and the two men quickly climbed aboard a chopper so Dom could fly Hawke back to the cabin.

FIRM Headquarters

"Inge, this is Sergei Terasimov," Archangel said as the younger man came forward. "He'll debrief you and arrange for everything you might need."

"Ms. Janek, it's a pleasure," Terasimov said, then added in Russian, "Dobro pozhalovat' v Ameriku. And, welcome to America."

"Spasibo," Inge replied, using the Russian word for 'thank you.' "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Terasimov."

"Please, call me Sergei," he replied, smiling at her. She's even more beautiful than I imagined, he thought, having seen pictures of Inge.

"All right, Sergei. And you may call me Inge," Inge replied. Very handsome, she thought, although his eyes are not quite as expressive as Hawke's. But, it does not matter. He will be very useful to me, when the time is right.

"Spasibo, Inge," Sergei replied as they sat down. "As Archangel said, anything you need, I will be more than happy to provide. Now, can we get down to business?"

"Yes, Sergei," Inge said, even as her mind drifted back to Hawke, "I think we have a lot to discuss." She smiled warmly at him as he opened his notebook to begin her debriefing, but Inge's mind was on the young woman she had seen at the hangar. Yes, it's obvious that she has feelings for Hawke, but she doesn't deserve him. And, that little bitch will never have Stringfellow Hawke, as long as I have anything to say about it, Inge thought. And you're going to help me, Sergei Terasimov.