Disclaimer: 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.

Thicker than Water

Chapter 10

During Hawke's telling of what had happened and what they had figured out subsequent to the crash, Dom had cranked up the head of Caitlin's bed a little so she could sit up slightly and listen better to Hawke.

When Hawke was done speaking, the room became quiet, a palpable tension hanging in the air while Caitlin tried to digest everything she had just heard. Looking back and forth between the two men, Caitlin began to read in their faces what the last 24 hours or so must have held for them. What she saw in their eyes told her everything she needed to know.

"I don't believe it…" she started to say as she shook her head.

"Caitlin, honey," Dom broke in trying to salvage what he could, "String and me, we can't tell you enough how sorry we are," he said, tears forming in his eyes.

Looking to the older man, Caitlin spoke before he could continue. "No, Dom, I don't want to hear that!" she said. "Not from you and not from you either, Hawke," she said sternly as she looked over to him.

"Caitlin…"Hawke tried to break in but stopped when he caught the glare she threw his way.

"Stop it! Just, stop it, both of you!" Caitlin said softly but firmly. Still tired and weak from the surgery and her injuries Caitlin had to stop and take a breath before she could continue. Dom and Hawke had prepared themselves for the worst but neither expected what they heard next…Caitlin was actually laughing softly.

Dom looked worriedly at String who just shrugged his shoulders. "Must be the medication," he mumbled.

"No, it's not the medication," Caitlin said as she stopped laughing. "It's just that I should have known the two of you would find some way to blame yourselves for this. Such typical Hawke and Dom, it just made me laugh."

"Well of course we blame ourselves, Cait!" Dom exclaimed. "We should have tested that radio ourselves, we should…."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…would have, should have, could have," Caitlin interrupted. "Just like I should have never allowed the flight to happen when I heard the radio interference from the get go, I should have told you guys that I was having trouble hearing you clearly, I shouldn't been so damn egotistical trying to show you how I could do such a dangerous stunt, be damned the conditions!" Caitlin said. "But we did or we didn't do those things and this happened. We can't go back and change it but we can learn from it and I can bet something like this will never happen again. Dammit, fellas, I'm alive, I'm going to be okay and we're all here. What's there to be sorry about?"

"Oh, c'mon Caitlin," Hawke said in disbelief, "you can't be serious. This was a preventable accident but because Dom and I were being such stubborn jackasses, you almost died. Don't tell me you're not angry at us!"

"Hawke, come here," Caitlin said softly as she saw the pain in his blue eyes. "Come sit here next to me." Almost reluctantly, Hawke came back over and sat tentatively on the edge of her bed.

Now with Dom on one side of her and Hawke on the other, Caitlin looked them both squarely in the eyes. "Okay fellas, now listen up and listen good because I'm too tired and sore to say this more than once. Yes, you are both stubborn jackasses…in spite of myself it's part of what I love about you. Yes, this was a horrible accident that, in retrospect, probably could have been prevented…hell, that's why it's called an "accident". But, NO, I do not blame you or anyone else."

"So you guys had a fight. You were angry at each other and were probably distracted. And I was distracted worrying about the two of you. It happens. It's all part of being a family. And we ARE family. Yes, blood may be thicker than water but as I was telling String very recently, love trumps them both. And the three of us…we got a lot of that between us. I'll get through this…no, WE'LL get through this, together. You understand?"

"Caitlin O'Shannessy, you're pretty amazing, you know that?" Dom said as he smiled at the red head. "I think String and me here, we could both learn a thing or two from you."

"Well, I've been telling you two that for years now," Caitlin shot back with a wink. "It's about time you figured it out."

Dom let out a huge belly laugh as Hawke leaned in and gave Caitlin a quick kiss on the cheek. Leaning back he took her hand. "Well, I still feel guilty, so as soon as the doctor says you can get out of this place, you're coming back with me to the cabin to recuperate, for however long you need."

"Well, I knew that," Caitlin said with a grin making Hawke smile at the inside joke. Worn out from the conversation, Caitin yawned and her eyes started to close. "Look guys, can we talk about this later? Keeping you two straight is a tough job and I'm beat."

"Yeah, you get some rest, Sweetheart," Dom said as he got up with a grin.

Hawke stood to leave as well but leaned back over so he could whisper in Cait's ear. "I'm going for a short while but I'll come back soon. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Well, I knew that," Caitlin mumbled softly with a slight smile as she drifted off to sleep.

THE END!

A/N: So I actually wasn't planning on it ending with this chapter but the muse determined that it should…lol. Anyways, I hope you liked it. I'm thinking of doing a sequel dealing with Cait's recovery at the cabin, a relationship forming between her and String during that time and a more conventional Airwolf adventure. Hopefully that will pan out. In the meantime…thanks for all of the follows and reviews….this one was a little bit of a different kind of story for me so the feedback was helpful and much appreciated.