Recovery: A Sequel to Thicker than Water

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 10

Caitlin hesitated with her hand over the phone as she started to call her parents to tell them she would be coming home on the first flight she could get. She would use the excuse that she wanted to see her sister's new baby but Caitlin knew that it wouldn't take her mother long to figure out that there was more to her return than that. The thought of her mother's constant nagging and the "I told you so's" she was sure to hear were the very reason that Caitlin was hesitating on making the call.

Deciding to put off that particular phone call a little longer, she dialed the Santini Air number instead. Dom was supposed to be bringing her things that she had left at String's cabin back to her and if she was going back to Texas, she would need them sooner than later. Several rings later with no answer, she hung up the phone. "Maybe he's already on the way to get them," she thought as she stood and headed back to her bedroom to pack the other things she would need.

AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW

Hawke grew more nervous the closer he got to Caitlin's apartment. He had never been a man of many words and he had no idea how he was going to convince Caitlin that it was her and not Inge Janek, or any other woman for that matter, that he wanted in his life. Hawke chuckled to himself as he thought about what Dom had said earlier. Give him a sky full of heavily-armed MIGs or let him face down the wrong end of an AK-47 and he would willingly face them head on and fight his way out. But give him a cute, freckle-faced, 110 pound, red-headed, ex-Texas State Trooper and he felt like turning tail and running.

As he drove into Cait's apartment complex, he found a parking spot and turned off the Jeep. Unable to make himself move, he sat behind the steering wheel just staring at the door to her building. Wishing he had at least brought flowers or something with him that he could hide behind, Hawke finally came to the conclusion that since he was more a man of action than words, then maybe he should stick with what works. Goodness knows that the last few times he had tried talking to Caitlin, things surely hadn't gone well.

Leaning over, he opened the glove compartment of the Jeep and reached in and grabbed a small key ring that contained three keys, one for Dom's apartment, one for String's cabin and, most importantly, one for Caitlin's apartment. The three had decided long ago that it would be a good idea for each of them to have access to the other's homes in case something were to happen as was prone to be the case when dealing with the types of things that they did on their missions for The Firm.

Taking a deep breath and gathering his courage, Hawke got out of the Jeep and headed towards Cait's apartment.

AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW

To try and keep her mind off of Hawke and the reason she was packing, Caitlin had turned her bedside radio on to one of the local pop stations. Hearing Phil Collins singing "Separate Lives" however wasn't exactly the distraction she had been hoping for. On the other hand, those sad songs had an almost cathartic effect as she continued to pack with tears streaming down her face. Leaning over to turn the music up louder, she jumped when she turned back around to find Hawke standing beside her.

"What the hell?" she yelled as she jumped and began to stumble back from the surprise.

Reaching out to keep her from falling. Hawke grabbed her around the waist with both arms.

"Hawke? What the hell do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that?," Caitlin said in anger. "And how did you get in here anyways?"

"I used the spare key," he said simply as he pulled her a little closer, his eyes boring deeply into her own.

"Dammit, Hawke! That's not what that key is for and you know it. You can't just come waltzing in and out of my apartment, and my life for that matter, whenever you feel like it!" Caitlin exclaimed as she tried unsuccessfully to tear her own gaze away from his piercing stare. Oh those blue eyes of his. They had been the first thing to catch her attention, even way back in Pope County, Texas when she first saw him through the cell door bars. She knew if she focused in on them for too long she would fold and she wanted to stay strong. She couldn't let him take her under again just to break her heart the next time another beautiful woman came along.

"Dammit, Hawke, let me go!" she said as she tried to push off of him with her one good arm. But it didn't work. Instead, Hawke seemed to draw her in even closer. Keeping one hand firmly around her waist, he reached up with the other and gently wiped the tears that had earlier fallen onto her cheeks.

"If you're not careful, you're going to wash away all of those pretty freckles I like so much with all of those tears," he said softly as he smiled at her tenderly still never removing his gaze from her eyes.

God, she loved the touch of his calloused hands on her skin, she thought as he continued to caress her lightly. She could already hear her heart telling her to give in but she knew she couldn't go through another rejection from him. Caitlin knew that Hawke could never be a one-woman man, not after Gabrielle and how he felt about his curse. She had to save herself from the heartbreak she knew she could no longer stand, no matter how much she wanted him.

"Hawke, please…" she whispered hoarsely trying to once again back out of his grasp. "I can't do this, no I won't do this. I won't be just another woman on your list," she pleaded.

Hawke was surprised to feel Caitlin actually start to shake in his arms. It wasn't until that very moment that he realized how much she must really love him. It was also the same moment that he realized how much he cared for and loved her as well. To see her so hurt because of something he had done, by words that he had said, it was almost more than he could bear to see. He knew there was nothing he could say to her that would fix things between them. Instead he did the one thing he had wanted to do since the day before at the cabin. He placed his hand around the back of her neck and gently but firmly pulled her in close, bringing his lips down on hers. At first he could feel her start to protest and try to pull away but soon her body gave in as it melded into his and she couldn't resist his touch and his taste any longer. Soon it was if they were one and a primal hunger that had resided in both of them for so long took over.

Cait's mind was swirling with emotions as Hawke's kiss overtook her. She wasn't sure if the reaction of her body was because of love, hatred, anger or hurt. She just knew that it was the most intense thing she had ever experienced and she needed to feel him, touch him and taste him. It was as if nothing else mattered.

Finally, however, her brain caught up with the rest of her and she immediately pulled back and cried as she began to pummel his chest with her fist. "Dammit! You can't do this, Hawke! You can't just kiss me like that and then leave me here alone. I told you, no matter how much I want to, I can't do this!," she cried, exhausted and spent from the emotions that flowed through her.

"Caitlin," he said as he grabbed her fist trying to get her to stop and listen to him. "Caitlin!" he said again, this time quite loudly and firmly to grab her attention. "Look at me, baby," his voice dropping to almost a whisper as he cupped her chin and brought her eyes up to meet his once more.

"Oh God, Cait, I never meant to hurt you like this," he said as he read the pain and heartache written all over her face. "And I swear to you, I'll never do it again. Please, don't be scared of loving me. I promise you, Inge means nothing to me. No one but you, Cait; you're the only one I want."

"And is that why you kissed her?" Caitlin almost snarled, all of the reasons she was so upset with him in the first place coming back to her.

"Cait, I know this is going to sound lame but she kissed me. Not the other way around. Ask Dom, he'll tell you…he heard her admit it."

"Yeah, well maybe so but that doesn't explain why you backed off at the cabin. Am I supposed to think something has changed since yesterday when you couldn't get away from kissing me fast enough?" Caitlin asked as she finally managed to pull herself out of his arms and sat down on the bed.

Sitting next to her Hawke cringed as she moved away slightly so that their bodies weren't touching. "Yeah, well I guess it was my turn to be scared. You know what happens to the people I love. When you kissed me, I got scared because I knew then that I was falling in love with you. I wanted nothing more than to scoop you up and show you just how much I cared but I was afraid that if I did then the inevitable would happen. I couldn't lose you, Cait."

Hearing the vulnerability in his voice, Caitlin turned to look at him. She knew he was telling her the truth. Reaching over she took his hand in hers. "You won't lose me String, not by loving me. But if you keep pushing me away, you will…can't you see that? I can't stay here knowing how much I love you and just watch you give that love away to someone else. I need you Hawke but I can't sacrifice myself for you. I need you to love me too and I need you to love me so much that you'll risk losing me. That's what love is, can't you see that?"

"You know what you're asking of me, don't you Caitlin?" he asked as he moved closer, slipping his arm around her waist. "I love you and I can't stand the thought of losing you but I'm scared. You and Dom, you're all the family I have and the thought of losing either one of you…" his voice trailed off as the words stuck in his throat.

"String, look at me," she ordered him gently. "I can't guarantee that something won't happen but what I can guarantee you is that I'll love you like no one else. I think what we have here could be the start of something unbelievable and amazing and I'm willing to risk everything for it. But you have to trust me and you have to be willing to let me in. I know you're scared. Hell I'm terrified of how much I love you but as long as we know that then we can face our fears together, right?"

"I don't deserve you," he said softly as he pulled her in closely to his side, amazed as always at how well she seemed to fit there. Bending down he kissed her hair and even with that light gesture, both of their bodies seemed to react. Soon she was turning her face up to him and their lips met once again. Only this time, neither one resisted or pulled back and it would be morning before they separated again; Caitlin's plans to go back to Texas abandoned. She realized she was finally in the only place she had ever wanted to be, Hawke's arms.

THE END!

A/N: I hope you liked it! This was a difficult chapter to write in order to get the emotions out from each of them that I wanted to, I hope they came across well. Anyways, I like this version of them so well, I think my next story will be a continuation of this story line. I want to develop their relationship even further so we'll see what happens. Have a great weekend everyone and thanks so much for all of your support for this story