Chapter 10

Caitlin lay resting in her hospital bed. She felt so much better after having a warm shower and clean clothes. Her mind drifted off to the events of the past few days. Hawke hadn't mentioned anything about what happened the evening before and morning of the crash. She still didn't know why he went off on his own that morning or why he chose to sleep out on Doc's couch. She wanted to talk to him about it but she didn't want to argue with him.

Bored, she began flipping through the channels on the television that was on the wall across from her bed. She eventually came across a news report of their crash. It mentioned the rescue and the opening of Doc's tavern. "Well, what do ya know," she thought. "Doc should be happy that he at least got some free publicity although it did cost him a helicopter."

A few moments later, the door to her room opened and Hawke wheeled himself in. Caitlin almost laughed. "I can't believe you're actually in a wheelchair," she said.

Hawke smiled. "Well, they wouldn't let me out of my room if I didn't promise to stay in this thing," he replied. "Those nurses here are like drill sergeants. It's worth it to get to see you though."

"Aww, thanks," she replied. "I'm happy to see you too."

"Can I join you?" he asked motioning to the bed.

"Sure, why not," she replied. "I think this bed is big enough for the two of us."

Hawke slowly got out of his wheelchair and climbed into the bed beside Caitlin. He put one arm around her and pulled her close to him. He loved how calm and relaxed he felt when she was with him.

"Look," he said. "I really want to talk about what happened the other day and why I acted the way I did."

"Sure," she said quietly, not knowing what to expect.

String took a deep breath before continuing. "You know I'm not usually the jealous type so this kind of took me by surprise," he said. "I needed that night alone at Doc's to clear my mind and figure out what was going on with me. That's also why I took that walk the following morning."

"Makes sense," she replied. "I can understand that."

String continued. "We jumped into this relationship kind of quick and we never really talked about what we both expect from it."

"Quick?" she asked. "How is over two years quick?"

Hawke laughed. "No, I meant, once we decided to be together. We just jumped in. I never asked you if you wanted to date exclusively."

Caitlin turned and gave Hawke a confused look. "String, I know I've dated a lot of men but when have you known me to date more than one at a time?" she asked. "Wait, don't answer that. Okay, there was once but I wasn't serious with either of them."

"Cait, I'm just saying that we never discussed it," he replied. "I wasn't sure what you wanted."

"Stringfellow Hawke," she said. "If you really think that I want to date other men you are out of your mind."

She looked at him for a moment and then continued. "Wait, do you want to date other women?"

Hawke leaned over and kissed her passionately before responding. "No, absolutely not," he replied. "You're the only one I want."

"Then are we okay now?" she asked.

"Well, sort of," he replied. "There's one more thing I need for you to do to seal the deal."

Caitlin laughed. "Uh, what exactly is it that I have to do?"

String's face turned serious as he pulled a box out of his robe. "Wear this," he replied.

"What is it?" Caitlin asked.

"Open it up and see," he replied.

Caitlin opened the little black box to reveal a beautiful double heart pendent necklace. The two hearts were intertwined and there was a diamond in each.

"I love it!" she squealed. "When did you get this?"

"I bought it before I came up here. I was going to give it to you at Doc's opening after you sang. I made Dom go and get it out of my suitcase at Doc's," he said.

Hawke helped her put it on. He could see it in her face that it made her happy.

"Caitlin, I know you're an independent person. It's what I've always loved about you. I know you have your own friends and sometimes you'll go off and do your own thing. But, I hope that wherever you are, this necklace will always remind you of me and how much I love you."

"I love you too," replied Caitlin. "I always will."