Chapter 4

Dom showed up earlier than normal the next morning. He stopped on the way and picked up a hot breakfast for the two of them. He knew Caitlin hated the food at the clinic she was in and he enjoyed seeing a gleam in her eyes whenever he could. As he headed towards her room, he heard her scream. He quickly threw open the door and ran inside. Caitlin was sitting up in her bed shaking and crying.

Dom ran to her. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he pulled her into his arms.

"It's going to be okay," he said soothingly. "Take it easy. It's okay."

"No," she said softly. "It's never going to be okay."

Her words shocked him. It wasn't what she said, but that she actually said them. She hadn't spoken to anyone since she woke up from her surgery.

Dom pulled away from her and gently cupped her face with his hand. "I'm here for you," he told her. "Whatever you need me to do, I will."

Caitlin sighed softly. "I can't get what happened out of my mind Dom," she replied. "I don't think I'll ever get over it."

"A part of you never will," he told her. "I experienced something similar in the war. Eventually it will just live in the back of your mind. But, no, you'll never forget. Still, I promise you that things will get better over time."

Caitlin smiled at him. It was the first genuine smile he had seen from her since she was injured. "Dom, you've been wonderful," she told him. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You even managed to get my mom to go back to Texas. I don't know how you did it but she was driving me crazy. I didn't think I could take one more day with her in here."

Dom laughed. "Well, your momma is a pretty feisty woman," he replied. "Let's just say I had an ex just like her once so I learned a thing or two about women like that."

Caitlin grinned at him. "Thanks Dom, you always know how to make me feel better," she replied before asking. "Is that breakfast I smell?"

"Huh, oh yeah," he replied. "I stopped at your favorite place."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Two months earlier:

"Wow that was as easy as the first stunt I had to do for Santini Air," Caitlin said as they wrapped up for the afternoon and headed back to the hangar.

"You thought that first stunt was easy?" asked Hawke. "It was pretty dangerous considering what happened."

Caitlin thought for a moment and grinned. "Yeah, that kiss was pretty dangerous,"
she replied. "Good thing we didn't have to do a second take."

Dom couldn't help but laugh.

Hawke grinned. "It was just dangerous to you because I made you blush," he insisted.

"No, you didn't," she replied while shooting him a dirty look.

Hawke walked up close to her and pulled her to him. "Want to bet?" he replied.

Before she could say anything he leaned in and kissed her. Shocked, she pulled back quickly.

"See," he said softly as he saw her cheeks turn slightly pink.

Caitlin couldn't help but give him a crooked smile. "Let's get going flyboy," she replied, trying to change the subject. "Michael won't like it if we're late."

Hawke picked up his backpack and followed Caitlin to the Jeep.

"You two be careful," Dom said.

"Oh it'll be a piece of cake," Hawke teased.

Caitlin rolled her eyes at him. "Let's go," she said.

After retrieving Airwolf, Hawke and Caitlin headed to Florida to pick up the woman name Sheri and her daughter Melissa. Marella sent the coordinates as soon as they were airborn.

"I feel really sorry for them Hawke," said Caitlin. "That poor little girl witnessed a murder and now they have to leave behind everything and everyone they know. It's got to be difficult."

"Yeah," he replied. "Well, hopefully Michael will make sure they are well taken care of in the mean time."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Dom couldn't help but stare at Caitlin as she quickly finished off her breakfast.

"You sure have an appetite this morning," he said with a smile. "That's good."

"I just wish the food in here was better," she admitted. "Dom I really want to go home."

"Cait, you're making great progress," Dom replied. "The doctors are impressed with the mobility you've shown this past week. I'm sure you'll be out of here in not time."

"I hope so," she replied. "I just want my life to get back to normal, if that's possible."

"Of course it is," he replied. "Does that mean you want to work out things with String too?"

Caitlin sighed. "Dom, I'm not ready to talk about Hawke," she insisted.

"Cait, you surely don't blame him for what happened?" Dom asked.

"Dom, you've been great about letting me work through this at my own pace," she replied. "Can you please let me do the same when it comes to Hawke?"

"Sure," he replied softly. "I'm sorry for pushing. I really don't mean to."

Caitlin reached over and grabbed his hand. "I know," she replied. "You're heart is in the right place but the whole thing with Hawke is just complicated. Right now, I can't get past the anger I feel."