CHAPTER 4
Hawke absorbed the information intently. "You take care of Le; I'm going after them."
"Hawke, they've got it under control, just let them finish."
"Not a chance," he replied determinately, "you sent Caitlin out there when you know she shouldn't be anywhere near Airwolf, and I', going to bring her back."
Michael tried to stop him; all Hawke had was the jeep, and he'd most likely just be in the way, but he would have no part in it.
"I told you, I'm going. Bye, Michael."
He trucked out to the jeep leaving Le with Michael and Marella. Keying the ignition, he raced out of the parking garage toward the hideout via Michael's directions. Long since having left the main road, he covered the bumpy, dirt road. Eventually even the dirt road disappeared, desert-like orange sand and a cloudless blue sky the only thing visible for miles.
\A/
Camped out in the desert, Airwolf's black metallic skin contrasted against the orange sand. The jeep pulled up next to it.
Saint John came around from the other side, lugging a portable missile launcher with him. "I need to use the jeep," he said abruptly. Not waiting for any comment, he hauled it into the back of the jeep and climbed in.
"You and Cait work out your problems here; I'll take care of the arms dealers."
String looked at his brother confusedly. "What problems?" He didn't know how Saint John would know about their fight-unless…
"I think you can figure it out. Now I have some business to tend to. The communications all seem to work alright, but we had a few troubles on the way out here. If you can get her running ok, go ahead home; if not, I'll come back once I take care of the mission." Saint John left with the jeep, leaving String, Caitlin, and Airwolf alone.
String walked around the nose and opened the door, sticking his head in.
"I don't know why, but we had a little trouble coming in on the way over here," Caitlin told him, avoiding the topic she knew Saint John had left them to discuss.
"Do you know what the problem is with?"
"It's something to do with the engines. Engine two keeps stalling."
After a careful examination, he thought he'd figured out the problem.
"So what do we do?"
"We can't fix her out here, so we'll have to limp home on one engine and if she starts to overheat, we'll have to stop and give her a chance to cool down for a while," he answered.
"Alright, let's get going then."
They started the trip off in silence until Caitlin finally broke it. "You decided you could finally drive again just so you could pick me up and take me home again?" she questioned, still angry that after all this she still wasn't finishing the mission.
"I could drive before," he said defensively. "I just thought I was looking out for you're best interest."
"Yeah, sure, just like you were looking out for my best interest when you decided to send me away."
"Actually, I was. I told you I could make sure you were well provided for. Financially, is no problem, I just physically can't take care of you two."
"You're getting there, and it would be ok; sure, it'll be hard, but you're always up for a challenge. I'm not totally incapable, if you haven't noticed, I can do things for myself. It's not like I'm expecting you to do everything."
"I can't do what I would need to be able to though, I can't even protect you. Look at this; I've always thought of Airwolf as, you know, kind of mine, and I can't even fly her myself."
He looked around the cockpit silently. It was nice to be back in here, but it wouldn't last. No more combat missions, which meant no more Airwolf for him. He knew the controls well enough, but it still seemed so strange to be in the back. His life had been turned upside down-a new fiancé, a kid on the way, not being able to fly, along with other struggles. Things weren't really going that well either; he was sending his chance at a family away because he couldn't take care of them; he knew they deserved better than he could provide, but it didn't make the decision any easier. He just couldn't do what he used to be able to, and there was no way to get around it.
\A/
Michael waited as the final papers were signed and Mike was released from the hospital. Marella would take them back to FIRM headquarters, but that was still two hours away, and he'd already had a long day- a day that wasn't even over yet. Maybe he could catch a little shut eye on the trip home.
\A/
'Elevation 20,000 feet, Engine two stalled, Engine one slightly overheating,' String tried to work on the connection he'd previously had with Airwolf before his accident nearly nine months ago. It was a special link between them, something no one else had gotten the chance to experience; it had been gradually getting stronger with use, but after not using it at all for so long it hardly seemed to exist anymore. The only thing he could get were some simple reading that were right in front of him and he could open his eyes and see them long before he could mentally picture them.
"Cait, the engine's starting to get a little hot, you might want to take her down for a little while," he told her.
"Cait?"
"I think we've got a bigger problem," fear rising in her voice.
\A/
Michael had almost dozed off when his napping time was interrupted by a call to his satellite phone. Opening the briefcase, he answered it.
Hawke's voice was talking on the other end, trying to calm Caitlin while taking charge of piloting Airwolf. Uncharacteristic worry evident in his own voice, he focused his attention in the call with Michael.
"Where's the nearest hospital?" he asked after giving their location.
"The closest FIRM clinic…" he tried to think of the one closest to them.
"I don't car if it's FIRM or not. I just need a hospital right now. I'm at twenty thousand feet, struggling with flying Airwolf, and Caitlin's gone into labor."
"The nearest one is a FIRM hospital, and it's just off the dirt road you drove the jeep in on. You should see a large barn with open fields out front, it's actually an undercover secret operations hospital, but it's got some of the best doctors there are."
"I'll keep you posted," he ended the call abruptly.
Now in the co-pilot's seat beside Caitlin, he had complete control. It felt weird to be flying again, despite the years of practice he'd had; he had been told he would never fly again, and here he was flying. On the other hand, he didn't have much choice.
An alarm went off in the back, warning them that the engines were overheating.
'Come on, baby, just a little farther. We gotta keep going.'
The incessant beeping didn't stop, it only grew louder.
'Restart engine two.'
Nothing.
Fear started to creep up again. What if he couldn't do it? Caitlin, his baby, his own life depended on him doing exactly what he had been told he couldn't do, would never be able to do again, for the last nine months. He pushed the fear into the back of his mind; there was no time to worry about the mess this could turn into; he had to do, there weren't any other options.
He reached over to manually restart the second engine. It would restart.
'Dammit, baby, you gotta help me out here! Restart the second engine.'
Gradually it helped take the load off the first engine.
'Engine two restarted. Stall imminent.'
'Please don't stall,' he mentally pleaded.
At long last, the hospital came into view. "Hang on, Cait; it could be a little bumpy. I haven't done this in awhile."
He lowered the landing gear and started the descent into the field. Michael had already arranged to have a team of medical personnel waiting when he landed. They unloaded Caitlin, helping her into a wheelchair, and taking her inside.
He sat, still in shock from the sudden events, alone in the cockpit. He ached from the sudden exertion, physically and mentally, added to the tiredness of before.