In the still dark early morning hours down the mountain another home was broken into and another woman attacked but this one had been younger and had been prepared. Melissa Jenkins wounded the killer enough that he stumbled away into the snow, leaving a trail of blood. She had been badly injured, but she'd had a radio and was able to radio for help since her phone line too had been cut.

She told the paramedics and doctors and officers as much as she could before she'd had to go into surgery and they hoped to find out more later once she woke up. Meanwhile, the state police and every other law enforcement in the area was tracking the blood in the snow.

Doc awoke on the sofa bed to the squawk of the radio, he stumbled to it and answered. It didn't take him long to run up the stairs to the loft.

"Hawke…" he called softly to wake his friend.

"Hmm, what? Doc? You okay?"

"The sheriff just called, there's been another attack, but the woman fought him off and lived. She's in surgery and she injured the guy bad, they've got a blood trail, they asked if we could offer some air support," Doc said softly.

"I won't leave the girls alone," Hawke said worried that like a wounded animal the guy could end up here.

"I'll call Dom, have him meet you at the lair, the Lady would do better for tracking with her scanners. I'll stay with Cait and Emily," Doc offered.

"Right, lemme get dressed, Caitlin, baby?" he whispered but she was already awake.

"Go. Doc will take care of us. I'll get up now and let Emily sleep," Caitlin answered.

Doc and Caitlin went downstairs where she started a pot of coffee and got out a thermos for Hawke and Doc unmade the sofa bed and set it to rights after he had called a grumpy Dom.

Hawke came down the stairs in a hurry and Caitlin ran over, kissed him soundly, gave him the thermos of coffee and told him to be careful.

The pair watched from the doorway as Hawke took Doc's helicopter and headed off to the lair.

Caitlin went to the satellite phone and called the number of the FBI agents. They were about to head out on the search, she let them know that Hawke was coming with a helicopter equipped with heat scanners. They were surprised but didn't ask questions.

Doc was sitting at the bar when she returned from the phone. "I hope they catch him," she said softly and Doc nodded.

"Me too, Cait."

It was just a short time later that both Dom and Hawke were racing toward the mountain in Airwolf. Dom was working the scanners, audio and heat sensors. They were picking up radio traffic from the various ground search teams.

"Gideon, this is Hawke, if you can hear me, just say," he said into the same band that the radios were tuned to.

"Hawke, are you in the area with that bird of yours?"

"Yeah, I'm coming up the west side of the pass now. Where do you want me to focus my search pattern?"

"Northeast, up toward those caves you guys explored, looks like he thinks high ground would be better," Gideon answered, huffing and puffing a little as he ran over the snow-covered ground.

"String, I got a single heat source, running well ahead of the others. They seem to be weaving like they are wounded. Probably him," Dom said. "I've got a heading keyed in."

"Alright, I'll follow the scanners lead," Hawke answered. He could hear Rossi talking to one of the state police team and knew he was toward the head of the lead search team.

"Rossi, he's dead ahead of you about 60 feet," Hawke told him knowing the men on the ground could barely see, the sun was not up yet and what little light there was from the clear night sky would be blotted out under all the pine trees.

"There is a clearing ahead of him where the mountainside has a natural plateau. I'm going to see if I can herd him that way," Hawke explained.

"Herd him? You do remember you're in a helicopter, right?" Rossi yelled.

"You just worry about the ground, I'll worry about the air and what I can do from here," Hawke announced. He had Dom hit all their lights and got the visual of the man ahead. He was a really big man and was limping. "Come on big guy move up into the clearing…" Hawke murmured to himself.

Just as the clearing was ahead of them, Hawke angled the nose of the Lady down and skimmed over the treetops. He guided her with enough speed to be on top of the killer within moments. He kept pinning the man, either under Airwolf or bumping him with her, knocking him down repeatedly into the snow. It was the best they could do slowing him down for the others at this close range. He couldn't use chain guns this close. Well, he could but he figured they'd want something left of the guy. He also didn't want to ram him so hard he killed him either. Hawke relayed to Rossi and Gideon that he had the man pinned in the clearing but he wasn't sure how long he could keep him there using his helicopter as a road block.

When the others caught up, Hawke backed off Airwolf a little but then the guy scrambled forward and threw a large rock with surprising accuracy, nailing Rossi right in the head.

"Well, shit," Hawke spat and moved to lower Airwolf just inches above the downed FBI agent. He hoped Rossi was okay but he wasn't going to let that guy get another shot at him with a rock or anything else.

The man was out of his mind and threw himself at the cockpit, slamming his body against the black helicopter and growling like a wild animal.

"Jesus," Dom murmured from his seat as he watched helplessly.

"This guy is out of his mind," Hawke said. "Gideon, Mason, anyone! Get your asses up here, Rossi is down," he growled into the radio.

Hawke just continued to use Airwolf to protect Rossi, and let the killer wear himself out fighting against the machine.

Gideon broke through the trees to the right of them and Hawke nudged the cyclic forward enough to hit the guy, pushing him back more away from Rossi's body beneath Airwolf.

It was only a moment later that the man was down on the ground, howling. Gideon had kneecapped him.

Hawke backed the Lady up carefully away from Rossi and set her down. He jumped out with his weapon drawn and kept it trained on the crazed man as he ran over to check on the FBI agent. "Hey, man, you okay?" he asked as he noticed Rossi trying to get up.

"Yeah, thanks to you. I think he might have ripped me apart," the dark-haired man answered as he lifted his fingers to his temple and saw they came away bloody. "He was a damn good shot with that rock."

"Sorry I had to keep you pinned under her, I didn't have much choice," Hawke answered as he helped the other man up.

"I've never seen anyone maneuver a helicopter like that in my life," Rossi said as he weaved on his feet. "Impressive."

"She's an impressive machine," Hawke said and Rossi chuckled.

"Yeah, she is but I was talking about the pilot," Rossi answered then. Gideon ran over, out of breath as the state police and paramedics were trying to control the prisoner. They had to knock him out with some drug and everyone seemed to finally relax.

"I've never in my life seen someone use a helicopter that way," Gideon said shaking his head.

"Necessity is the mother of invention," Hawke said with a shrug as he holstered his pistol.

"You need a lift to the hospital?" he asked Rossi.

"In that? Hell, yes!"

Hawke laughed. "Lemme radio the State Police helicopter so he can swap with me. Not enough room for both of us to land. "You staying here Gideon or you want to go to the hospital with Rossi?"

"I'll stay, wrap things up here and ride in with the prisoner," Gideon answered and held out his hand to Hawke for a firm shake.

Hawke loaded a still wobbly Rossi into Airwolf and headed for Fox Ridge Medical, radioing ahead with details and let them know they'd have a wounded prisoner coming in behind them with the police. Once he dropped the conversation with them he heard the police helicopter take it from there, a paramedic relaying details.

They landed in the rear parking area of the hospital and Hawke told Dom to take the lady home and bring Doc's helicopter back to pick him up. He went in to sit and wait on Rossi and called Caitlin and Doc filling them in on the morning's events.

The doctor came out to see him while he was sitting in the waiting area, "You're the man who brought Agent Rossi in?"

"Yeah, how's he doin'?" Hawke said standing up to talk to the doctor.

"He'll be fine, minor concussion and a few stitches but he should be fine. He might have quite a headache for a while, we've given him some anti-inflammatory medicine to help relieve that. I'd like to keep him overnight just for observation to be on the safe side," the doctor explained.

"Thanks, doctor. Can I see him before I head out?"

"Oh sure, come on," the doctor said leading him to one of the exam rooms. "We'll take him upstairs to a room overnight."

"He has an FBI partner that came in behind us with the prisoner," Hawke explained and the doctor nodded.

"Yeah, understand that prisoner is who killed all those girls and almost got that girl last night."

"Yep, he still sedated? Coz you know ya'll might want to keep him that way," Hawke told him.

"Yes, he'll actually be going up to surgery shortly," the doctor explained as he opened the door for Hawke to enter Rossi's room. "I'll come by to check on him later."

"Hey, heard you got some stitches," Hawke said with a grin when he entered the room.

"Yeah. Hell, of a headache too but I'll be fine. They want me to stay overnight, I don't want to but Gideon will insist if the doctor tells him so I might as well just stay," the man grumbled and Hawke laughed.

"Not much for hospitals myself," Hawke said and looked around.

"I'm waiting on my ride back up to the cabin. Dom took the Lady back to her hiding place," Hawke explained.

"The Lady? So that's what you call her. Hawke, I want to thank you again for what you did. I mean, that guy would have killed me I have no doubt of that," Rossi told him again.

"I know he would have, he's completely out of his mind. It was like a wild animal throwing himself at the cockpit. I've seen junkies act crazy, ya know? I've seen men lose it in a battle but I've never seen anything like that before. He was like some sort of feral animal. Almost like he was rabid or something," Hawke said shuddering a bit as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, if you hadn't maneuvered the Lady over me like that I have no doubt he'd have ripped into me like he did his other victims. After seeing him…."

"He only used his hands," Hawke finished for him.

"We…we didn't want to believe it from the autopsy reports," Rossi said simply and Hawke realized they knew but they just didn't want to know.

"I'm glad I didn't know," Hawke admitted. "Some job you've got there, Agent Rossi."

"We can't all work for the FIRM with international intrigue, spies and super advanced helicopters," Rossi said with a grin.

"If ah, you don't mind can you just say it was a regular black helicopter in your report?"

"Have a feeling if I didn't that I'd get a visit from your friend Michael," Rossi answered.

"Something like that."

"You were the one who took out those rockets over D.C. weren't you? I heard rumors through various agency contacts. I was certain that our jets didn't have time to engage and I didn't see or hear them from my vantage point that day but I did hear a squall that sounded awfully familiar this morning," Rossi told him.

"If I told ya'…

"You'd have to kill me…yeah I know. Well thanks for saving my bacon more than once."

Hawke smiled and turned when the door opened.

"Hey, I hear they are keeping you overnight?" Gideon said as he walked in.

"Good news travels fast," Rossi joked and Gideon turned to look at Hawke. "Thanks for your help this morning."

"No problem. I need to get back to the cabin and my girls. If you guys are ever out this way again, give me a call," Hawke offered as he left.

Hawke had just walked into the parking lot to find Doc's helicopter coming in. It was time to go back home. He was tired, a few hours' sleep was not enough and he was starving. They'd have to take Dom back down to pick up his jeep. He figured he'd go with them and pick up one of the helicopters to bring back up to the cabin. The day was going to be a long one.

It was late afternoon by the time Hawke made it back to the cabin and Doc had gathered his things to return home as well. Dom had come back with Hawke and was going to spend the night and they'd all fly back to the hanger in the morning. The day after would be Esme's funeral and they thought tomorrow they would talk with Emily about it. Tonight, they wanted to just be a family and Dom was just glad that Hawke wanted him there. He didn't want to be alone tonight.

Seeing that man, throwing himself at Airwolf had been startling. He and Hawke had seen a lot of things both had lived through wars, Dom had been through two plus all the things they'd dealt with since the Lady had come into their lives and nothing had prepared him for this morning. To see a man reduced to that sort of wild animalistic behavior had been more than just a little unsettling.

Hawke had been a bit quieter than usual, cuddled on the couch with Caitlin and Emily was in the floor playing with her dolls. Dom had also been a bit more reserved than normal too, both men had been affected by the events of that morning.

Hawke shifted on the couch and slid down until his head was on Caitlin's shoulder this time and her hand was idly threading through his hair as they sat together watching Emily.

"I don't know about you two but I'm looking forward to a regular day of work at the hanger," Dom said out of the blue and Hawke chuckled a little.

"You know, I think I agree with you," Hawke said softly. "I'm looking forward to just a little bit of normal tomorrow. Plus, we haven't gotten to check out what Emily did decorating the hanger."

Caitlin smiled when Emily looked up at Hawke and scooted over to lean against the couch by his leg. "I like the hanger," Emily said with a smile. "Grandpa said I can help him tomorrow."

Dom chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Don't get too excited, it's just a few errands but I figured she might like going with me."

"More fun than I'll be having, there are some ledgers with my name on them," Caitlin said with a sigh and Hawke tipped his head up to look at her.

"Don't even try to offer, String. I know how much you hate dealing with paperwork. Besides I thought you were going to work on that camera mount tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah I almost forgot I need to also work on the cyclic on the MD you said it was sticking a little," Hawke said remembering that Caitlin had mentioned it several days ago.

"What else do you do, daddy?" Emily asked and Hawke looked down at the child and sat up.

"Well, I work on most of the equipment and I fly many of the stunts and do some camera work sometimes. I also work on building things that help us complete our jobs safely," Hawke explained.

"What about you, mommy. I know you fly hellocopters too but what else do you do?" Emily asked curiously.

"I fly and work on helicopters and planes too but don't know nearly as much about fixing them as daddy and grandpa do. I also help grandpa manage his money for the hanger. I help make sure he gets paid for the work we all do for people and I make sure that things that we buy we have records of so we can be properly paid and pay our bills on time. I also teach new pilots how to fly," Caitlin explained.

"When can I learn to fly?" Emily asked and they all laughed.

"You're still too small to be able to learn yet. Once you are big enough and you still want to then one or all three of us will teach you, but you can't get your license to fly alone until you are 17," Caitlin explained.

"Seventeen! But that's so long!" Emily complained and Hawke laughed.

"As soon as you can reach the rotor pedals and are strong enough to control the cyclic you'll be able to start learning, you just can't fly by yourself until you're 17 is all," Hawke explained.

"How can I grow faster?" Emily asked and Dom just about howled at that in laughter.

"Oh, little one, you just pay attention to us when we fly so you can see how we do it, keep eating good, playing hard and you'll grow fast enough," Dom told her with a big smile.

Emily thought about that for a second and then smiled. "So, I'm too little to fly and too little to drive a car can I ask Santa for a bicycle?"

"Planning on going somewhere?" Hawke asked with a grin.

"Nooo, just wanna be able to go faster when I do," Emily said and Hawke cracked up at that.

"We've created a speed demon," Caitlin said with a grin. "I think Santa would love to bring you a bicycle but it'll be awful hard to learn here at the cabin."

"I could ride it at grandpa's hanger," the smart child answered in return.

"You sure could!" Dom said.

"But I already talked to Santa and didn't ask him for one. What if he doesn't know?" Emily said in a defeated tone.

"Well, we can write Santa tomorrow if you want, we can drop it in the mail at the hanger," Caitlin suggested and the little girl beamed at her. That way, Caitlin could find out what other things the child had asked Santa for.

Hawke realized that the events of the day seemed to fade a bit. Just like that, Emily's enthusiasm to learn to fly, her desire for a bicycle, heck even her asking about what work they did had made him feel more settled. It had pushed away the dark thoughts of how horrible everything had been the last week and reminded him of all the wonderful too. His relationship with Caitlin, his love for this little girl that had only grown more in the few days she'd been his ward…really his daughter. It also reminded him of what a good friend Doc was and how lucky he was to have the people in his life that he did. Maybe if that man had someone, anyone who cared, none of this would have happened? Hell, some part of him had thought that could have been him at one point in his life but it was Dom's persistence and love that kept him from dwelling too much on the losses he'd suffered.

Hawke had never considered himself a lucky man, cursed he'd thought but now he realized yes, some bad things had happened to him, just like he'd told Emily, the other night. But he was also lucky to have loved ones who wouldn't let him fall into a pit of despair. He even found himself thankful for Airwolf, without her he'd never have met Caitlin or Doc or become as close as he had with Michael and Marella in the last few years.