Brothers In Arms

A/N: 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.

Chapter 3

Several hours later, Hawke walked into the cabin to the welcoming aroma of Dom's famous spinach lasagna and a warm fire burning in the fireplace. He had to smile as he heard Dom humming some off-key, random tune as he tended to various pots and pans on the stove. Glancing over towards the hearth he saw Caitlin sitting in his favorite chair reading a book with a half-empty glass of red wine beside her and Tet, Hawke's blue tick hound, at her feet. While usually quite the loner, String thought to himself that a man could get used to coming home to this.

"Gee, too bad you guys couldn't make yourself at home," he teased as he hung his leather flight jacket up on the hook just inside the doorway. Walking towards Caitlin he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the top of her head as he passed by and headed for the open bottle of wine on the counter and poured himself a glass.

"Hey, su casa is mi casa, String," Dom teased back as he pulled the makings for a salad from the refrigerator. "Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes."

"I hope you're hungry, Hawke," Caitlin said as she closed her book and turned in her chair. "I think Dom thought the whole population of LA County was coming for dinner. There's enough lasagna for an army!"

"Hey there little lady, it wouldn't hurt either you or the kid there to eat an extra plate or two…you're both skinny as rails. A little meat on those bones would do you good!" Dom said with one of his famous "hmmph's" as he turned his attention back to the stove.

"Yeah, well maybe we'll eat your extra plate, Dom…a little less meat on those bones of yours might be a good idea before we have to order you another flight suit!" Hawke shot back with a mischevious grin and a wink at Caitlin.

"Hey! This ain't meat, this is all muscle!" Dom said as he patted his rotund belly.

"Sure, Dom," Hawke chuckled as he went and sat on the hearth next to Caitlin and reached down and rubbed Tet between the ears.

For the next few minutes, everything was quiet as Dom finished up his dinner preparations and Cait and Hawke enjoyed the ambience of the fire. Studying Hawke's face in the firelight though, Caitlin could tell that there was concern underneath the teasing exterior he had just displayed.

"Everything okay, Hawke?" she asked as she leaned forward in her chair and put a gentle hand on his arm.

"No, I don't think it is, Cait. But why don't you and I go and set the table and then I'll tell Dom and you everything over dinner, okay?"

"Sure," she said as she patted his arm and then got up and headed towards the kitchen. Caitlin knew the pilot well enough to know not to push too hard. He would tell them, but in his own time.

Within a few minutes, the table was set and dinner was served and the three sat down to a candle lit table to eat. Over lasagna and wine, Hawke proceeded to tell Dom and Caitlin everything that Michael had shared with him that morning.

"Hawke, I know they were all your friends and good men when you knew them but it was a long time ago. People can change and we all know that war can leave some really big emotional scars. Are you sure that these guys didn't just take a wrong path once they got home?" Caitlin asked as she finished her dinner and pushed her plate out of the way.

"I thought about that, too, Cait and if it were just one or two of them, I might have bought it. But all four? That's too big of a coincidence for me. Still, I went and saw Sam Roper when I left the hangar this afternoon," Hawke explained as he poured himself another glass of wine. "Sam knew Billy Cargill and Max Holden and had kept in periodic touch with both of them over the years. According to Roper, neither one would have been the type to commit suicide , much less commit the crimes they were implicated in. And I can tell you that neither Tomlinson nor Hansen struck me as the criminal type either. Michael is checking into their backgrounds but so far there's nothing to support that kind of lifestyle. If anything, he's finding the complete opposite. They were all family men who had done pretty well for themselves after 'Nam."

"So that brings us back to this Special Ops team you were all a part of," Dom reasoned. "What can you tell us about it, String?"

Getting up from the table, Hawke carried his wine glass over to the hearth where he set it on the mantle and took a poker to the fire as he thought about his answer.

"You know, Dom, there's a lot of things I don't talk about when it comes to Vietnam. Some of it is because I just don't want to think about it anymore and some of it, like this team, are because I couldn't. What we were recruited to do was nothing short of illegal if you looked at the Rules of War but yet our own government was the one sending us in. We were six young and naïve guys hand- picked because we were good at what we did but yet those we were sent to take out wouldn't have suspected us as counter intelligence agents. I think we each agreed because we were too young and stupid to realize what they were really asking us to do."

"And what exactly was that, String?" Dom asked cautiously prodding the younger man.

Sighing, Hawke took a long sip of his wine before turning his gaze back towards Caitlin and Dom. "We were charged with taking down, and when needed, taking out, American soldiers suspected of handing over military strategy and intelligence to the Viet cong or Communists. We thought we were doing the right thing, you know? However, it was years later that we learned that a lot of the intelligence we were receiving on the suspected spies was faulty itself. Chances are, we took out several Americans who had done nothing wrong."

"Mamma Mia," Dom said under his breath.

"Oh, Hawke!" Cait gasped as she realized the implications of what he had just said. "But you were only acting on the information that the government gave you! You know you're not to blame, right?"

"Yeah, eventually we came to understand that but it doesn't make it any easier. Nam was a different time and place, a different world and I guess I've just done my best to convince myself that in war things happened that were beyond my control. Doesn't mean it doesn't tear at my gut every time I think about it though. I'm sure it was the same with the others. "

"But like you said, String, they all moved on with their lives and had done well," Dom consoled.

"Yeah," Hawke agreed quietly as he turned back towards the fire. "But now it seems as if someone's back for revenge and it might be justified. The problem is though that they not only want us dead but evidently they're trying to smear our names by making sure we die under circumstances under which the military will no longer recognize us. For someone who fought in any war, not being able to be buried with military honors is one of the worst things that can happen for them and their families. It's a way to dishonor them. "

Suddenly turning angry, Hawke threw his wine glass into the fire, shattering it into a thousand pieces. "I can't let that happen! These men, they gave everything they had to their government and for that damned war. They don't deserve to have this be their legacy!"

Caitlin stood up from the table and crossed over to Hawke. Slipping her arms around him she pulled him close and held him. "Don't worry, Hawke, we'll figure out who's responsible and we'll set things straight. I don't know how, but we will."

"She's right, kid. We'll do whatever you need us to," Dom concurred.

"Thanks," Hawke said as he gave Caitlin a quick kiss and pulled her close to his side. "Michael will be here tomorrow night with whatever he's got. I suggest we all stay here tonight until we hear what he says. It's probably the safest place to be."

"Just try and make us leave," Cait said with a smile.

TBC….