A/N: For those of you missing Dom, don't worry, he's on his way back

VIOLATION

Chapter 3

"Michael, if you don't stop pacing you're going to wear a hole in the floor!" Marella said as she watched her boss walk endlessly from one end of The Firm Clinic's waiting room to the other.

"I know, I know, Marella. But I have a right to be a little nervous don't you think?" Michael stopped and adjusted his glasses as he looked over at his ever-calm assistant. "Between the doctors taking forever with Cait, String being God knows where doing God knows what and Dom's reaction when I called him it's a wonder I'm not doing a hell of a lot more than pacing!"

"So when is Dom expected back?" Marella asked.

"Hopefully by first thing in the morning; I was able to get him on a Firm flight that was leaving almost immediately, " Michael explained as an exhausted look came over his face and he took a seat next to Marella. "The Committee wasn't happy about it but they couldn't very well refuse when I explained the situation now could they?"

"No, Sir, I would think not. Sir, are you okay?" Marella asked with concern as she observed the look on Michael's face.

"Yeah, I will be but I just can't get that image of Cait when we first walked in the hanger out of my mind. I don't know if I ever will," Michael sighed with the memory.

Before anything else could be said a doctor walked in.

"Doctor Wells, how is she?" Michael asked in anticipation as he stood to meet him.

"Physically, she'll be okay. She's got a lot of cuts and bad bruises and she has a few after effects from the electrical jolts she received including a couple of nasty burns on the back of her neck, all from which she should have a complete recovery." The doctor explained as he took a cursory look through the chart he was holding. "We will want to keep her here for a day or so just to make sure there's no concussion or internal injuries we may have missed. "

"Emotionally, well that's another story. That's one scared young lady you brought us, Archangel. Stubborn, too. That's what took so long. I think we spent the first hour just convincing her to let us get close enough to her to do an examination, " the doctor acknowledged as he motioned for Michael and Marella to sit back down.

Taking a seat across from them, Dr. Wells continued, "Michael, she's going to need a lot of tender loving care for a while. Someone who can be gentle and patient with her and most importantly, someone she trusts. Eventually I would suggest someone with training in rape counseling but it's probably too soon even for that. What she needs now is some time to digest what has happened to her and to find a way to deal with it. And I don't want her left alone for any amount of time, at least not for a while. Is that understood?"

"Yes, doctor, I think we can handle it from here," Michael said as he stood back up and shook the doctor's hand. "Can we see her, now?"

"Sure, but she's probably not going to be very responsive. She's still in shock and we gave her a sedative to calm her down and allow her to sleep. I'll have a nurse come down in a few minutes and take you to her."

"Understood, Dr. Wells. Thank you." Michael said.

AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW AWAW

String rubbed his eyes as he began scrolling through the computer screens on Airwolf for the umpteenth time. Archangel had done as asked and uploaded all intelligence information that The Firm had on John Bradford Horn to date. However, there was still little known about the criminal's whereabouts or activities since he last escaped from capture in San Pedro when trying once again to steal Airwolf from String and The Firm.

Hawke was well aware the dangers of being the caretaker of such a machine as Airwolf presented and that there would always be people that would do just about anything to get their hands on The Lady but the measures that John Bradford Horn had gone to to try just that made Hawke believe there was a special place in Hell being held just for Horn.

Several months earlier, Horn had even used his own daughter to lure Hawke so that he could kidnap and brainwash the pilot into bringing Airwolf to him. The brainwashing worked so well that Hawke even "willingly" shot Dominic Santini, a man he always considered and loved as a second father, at Horn's direction. Fortunately the gun had actually been loaded with tranquilizers and not bullets and Horn had had no idea that Caitlin O'Shannessy had also been trained to fly Airwolf. In the end it was actually Cait who was able to infiltrate Horn's compound and save Hawke and Dominic and keep Airwolf out of Horns hands. However, Horn and his daughter had managed to escape during the confusion.

And then just a few weeks ago, Horn had showed up again. This time Horn had a business associate and his girlfriend taken out to the desert to be killed. While the man was eliminated, the woman managed to escape and by chance ended up in The Lair where she discovered Airwolf. Once Horn learned she had survived the assassination attempt, he wasted no time trying to use her to get to the state of the art helicopter and came damn near close to succeeding in his attempt to steal it. Once again, however, while Hawke and Dominic were able to retrieve Airwolf, Horn managed to escape.

Since then, at least according to Michael's intelligence reports, the man had seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. Until earlier tonight anyways, when he had sent someone after Caitlin.

"Damnit!", Hawke thought as he punched the computer console in frustration, "I should have seen this coming!. I knew Horn wouldn't just give up and I knew he would use any measures necessary to get his hands on Airwolf. I should have been more attentive. I should have insisted that Cait not be left alone. I should have..."

Hawke sat back in the seat and sighed as the thought that was really bugging him came into his mind…"I should have never fallen in love with her. The moment that happened, her life was in imminent danger, just like Gabrielle, and St. John and my parents."

And then it hit him, just like a ton of bricks, the reality of what had really just happened to Cait and how he knew she would never be the same again. Maybe it was the guilt he felt for not being there, or the adrenaline wearing off or maybe it was that he was just so tired of it all, String hung his head and cried, harder than he ever had in his life. When the tears were gone, String realized what he must do. Making use of Airwolf's video system he began taping a message…

"Caitlin, I will never be able to take back what's been done to you or fix things but I swear to you, I will find Horn and make him pay for what he's done, even if it takes the rest of my life, I will find him. And then when Horn has been eliminated and I know that threat is gone, I'll leave. I know it will hurt for a while but you will come to understand that I just can't keep putting you and Dom in danger. I'll take Airwolf and go somewhere where we can't be found, some place where I'm no longer bringing harm to those I love the most. I love you so much Caitlin, please never forget that. I know I never let it show but you broke down the walls around my heart from the moment I first met you. I think I've loved you from that first moment we spoke and I KNOW I love you more now than I have ever loved another woman. It's tearing me apart to leave you but it's because I love you so much that I must go. I need to know that you will always be safe. Let Dom know that I am forever grateful for the guidance and love he has shown me and that he will always be my family. Tell him that I am leaving him the cabin. I know he'll take good care of it. I will take the memories of the times the three of us spent there together with me and it is those memories that I will cherish the most when I think of you. I wish things could be different but I know now, that they cannot. Not now, not ever. Always remember, I'm doing this because I love you so much that I have no other choice."

When he was finished, Hawke's finger lingered just for a split second before he pressed the send button. Michael would have the tape in minutes and then Caitlin could get on with her life. With a heavy sigh, Hawke slipped on the heavy flight helmet and prepared to take Airwolf out of the lair for perhaps the final time.

TBC….

A/N – Well the muse kind of took this one in an unexpected direction but it just seemed to come naturally so I let it progress how it wanted to I hope you are still enjoying the story and don't worry, Dom will be back in the next chapter!