A portion of this is from one of the previous chapters I originally had up. But, there are some changes.
Chapter 3
Caitlin felt her mind drifting. She opened her eyes and looked around. She found herself walking in a dense fog. She looked down at herself and was shocked to find that she was wearing a hospital gown.
"What's going on?" she asked. "Where am I? String? Dom?"
She continued to walk towards what seemed to be a bright light. It was so far away and she was growing tired. "What is this place?" she asked. "Is anyone else here with me?"
When no one answered she felt herself start to panic. "Am I dead?" she asked. "Is there anyone out there? Please, someone talk to me. Am I alone? I'm so afraid."
"No, you are not alone beautiful Caitlin," said a deep and familiar voice.
Caitlin stopped and turned around. When she saw him, she closed her eyes and then opened them again to clear her vision. As he came closer to her she shook her head before speaking. "No, you're dead," she said softly. "Then I must be too."
The man smiled at her. "No, you're not dead," he replied. "It's true that I am but you're still alive. You are, however fighting to stay alive. You've been hurt badly."
"I don't understand," she replied. "If I'm still alive Gustavo, how can I see you?"
He walked up to her and took her hand. "Don't try to understand it," he replied. "I'm here to help you."
"Help me with what?" she asked. "Help me with dying?"
"I'm here to help you let go of the past so you can embrace your future, whatever it may be," he replied.
"So my future could mean life or death then?" she asked.
"I don't have that answer," he admitted. "In time you'll know."
Moments later, she found herself sitting inside Airwolf with Gustavo by her side. "How did we get here?" she asked.
"You brought us here," he replied. "You are taking us on this journey. We'll go wherever your heart leads us."
Caitlin closed her eyes and tried to relax. There was something about Gustavo that she felt she could trust. It was same when she first met him.
"Was this the reason you came to California in the first place?" he asked.
Caitlin sighed. "Yeah, I guess it was. I wanted excitement and I finally found it."
"But it wasn't what really kept you here was it?" he said.
Caitlin felt herself blush. "No, String was the reason I stayed. I didn't realize it at first. Maybe I just didn't want to admit to myself but I was drawn to him," she said. "He was deep and mysterious yet fun and exciting all at the same time. He had saved my life in Pope County. I liked how he cared about others and helped total strangers. It's a quality you don't find too often."
"So you found yourself falling for him," stated Gustavo.
"Yeah, but he wasn't interested so I ended up dating different guys," she replied.
"And that didn't go so well," said Gustavo.
"No, not well at all," she replied.
"Robert Villers," he said flatly. "He broke your heart."
"How do you know about that?" she asked.
"Trust me," he replied. "I know everything that I need to know to help you through this."
"Then you know that was a tough time for me," she replied. "I don't think I ever really got over it. It's made it difficult for me to trust anyone."
"Even Hawke?" he asked.
"Yeah, sometimes," she admitted. "But he was the one who made me feel better after what happened with Robert. He made me smile when I didn't think I'd ever smile again. There was just something about how he handled me that night. It's like he knew exactly what to do."
"Now you find yourself pulling away from him," said Gustavo. "Why?"
Caitlin shook her head. "I don't know," she replied. "I love him and I know he loves me but….."
"But what?" he asked. "You can tell me."
"I don't know if I'm good enough for him," she finally replied.
"Why do you think that?" he asked.
"I wasn't good enough for Robert," she replied. "I was only good enough to use. He never wanted me for me."
"That wasn't your fault," said a voice from behind her. Caitlin jumped as she looked behind her to see Robert sitting there.
"Robert?" she asked. "God in Heaven."
"I wish I were," he said sadly. "I did some regrettable things that I'm trying to make amends for," he said. "You are one of them."
"Why?" she asked.
"Greed," he said. "It had nothing to do with you personally. Honestly, if we'd met under different circumstances, I would have loved having you in my life."
Caitlin stared at him for a moment and then a tear ran down her cheek. "Thanks," she replied. "I needed to hear that."
"Don't let my foolish mistakes affect your life Caitlin," said Robert. "You deserve to be happy. Don't ever forget that."
Before Caitlin could reply Robert faded away from sight.
