Homecoming - Chapter 12

When Sinjin left String and Caitlin at a room to get some rest, he headed back to the command center to talk to his CO about the mission and his future.

Once he finished his debrief on the mission, Sinjin looked up at his commanding officer, Brigadier General Lucas Chandler and the man knew Sinjin well enough to know he had more on his mind.

"You want to go home, don't you, son?"

"Yes, sir. I didn't know it was going to take this long and now that we have Magasawai and his network is broken up I just would like to transfer my commission to the NRO at Knightsbridge where my brother works," Sinjin explained.

"You aren't cashing out you're just moving the game then," the General said with a grin.

"I suppose so, you know my first love was always flying, General and my brother has need of another pilot for that rig of his," Sinjin explained.

The General laughed at that and nodded. "We are going to miss you, Sinjin. You've become quite an excellent team leader."

"Thank you, sir but it's time. I want to settle down while I'm still young enough to enjoy it. A wife, kids, you know the drill. Champion is ready, he can run the team just as good if not better than me, sir," Sinjin told his commander and the General nodded.

"We can do this pretty quick if you want, after all, you're dead," the General said with a laugh. "If you want to return with your brother I'm sure we can do that. In fact, why don't I call up Archangel and see what we can arrange?"

"You know him, sir?"

"Yeah, he was a good man in Desert Storm, worked with him back then. He was torn up pretty bad in an IED attack. Lucky to be alive," Chandler explained.

Meanwhile, in their room, Hawke and Caitlin had pulled the two cots close together and were cuddled up as best as they could be.

"They didn't exactly intend these for couples," Hawke laughed and she giggled as well.

"We need to rest anyway," Caitlin told him.

"Hmm, yeah, kinda hard to fall asleep though after tonight."

"I know. Isn't it great he wants to come home now?" Caitlin asked him as she lay facing String on her own cot just inches from his.

"It is. I'll believe it when it happens though. He's been here so long. I worry that he's going to regret leaving behind his buddies and all this excitement," Hawke admitted.

"I think you worry too much," Caitlin told him with a grin. "Airwolf, rescue missions and stunt pilot work is pretty exciting too."

"Yeah, it is. I guess it's just been so long I'm a little afraid he'll change his mind," Hawke said softly and Caitlin reached out and caressed his cheek.

"String, have a little faith," she whispered and he turned and kissed her palm.

"You're right, I'm worrying over what I'm afraid of, not what I know."

The next morning the couple was awakened by a sharp few raps on the door.

"Come on, love birds, time for breakfast!" Sinjin barked at the door and they heard someone with him laughing that sounded an awful lot like Champion.

"Be there in a few!" Hawke called as he and Caitlin got out of the cots and dressed. They always packed go bags and were thankful they had for this mission too. Cait quickly brushed her teeth in the tiny bathroom and gave it over to Hawke to do his, they couldn't both fit in there at the same time.

When they got to the cafeteria Sinjin was sitting with his whole team. Hawke led Cait over to the chow line and they got some food and coffee and joined Sinjin and his men.

"Everyone, these folks were our backup last night from the NRO. But more importantly this is my brother, Stringfellow Hawke and his engineer Caitlin O'Shannessy, she's also his girl so no hitting on her," Sinjin announced.

Caitlin blushed a little when all the men stood until she sat down next to Hawke.

"So, you're the infamous little brother, good to meet you, Stringfellow," one of the men said. "My name is Alex Jones, you can call me Jonesy."

"Nice to meet you," Hawke told him and they shook hands, they then made the rounds, being introduced to the full team.

Once everyone was settled in to eat Sinjin leaned over to String. "I talked to my CO last night and to Michael, I'll be flying home with you after I wrap everything up here," he whispered.

Hawke's head snapped back and looked at him in shock. "Seriously?"

"As a heart attack. I'm done, Champ is going to take my place here," Sinjin told him. "He already knows."

The smile on String's face was so open and happy that Caitlin immediately knew it had to mean that the brothers were talking about Sinjin coming home. Nothing could make String that happy besides that.

"You gona tell us what this family breakfast is all about Major?" Jonesy asked.

"Well guys, you know that finding and taking out Magasawai has been my objective for many years now. Getting his arms out of the hands of all the different terror networks has been my main focus and now that we've accomplished that with our raid and the Beta Team's raid in Sudan last night, well, I'm going home," Sinjin told them and all of the men started protesting.

"Guys, come on now, you know he's always had this plan," Champion said.

"Yeah, you guys are going to be in good hands with Champ here and hopefully I'll see you all again stateside sometime, right? I need to get home. I'll still be in the military, I'm going to join my brother at the NRO so heck, I might be backing you guys like they did us last night, ya never know," Sinjin explained and the guys nodded.

"We'll miss you, man," Lieutenant Cody Banks, the youngest on the team told him and Sinjin nodded.

"I'll miss all of you guys too, but it's time guys. I've been over here 16 years," Sinjin told them and the team all nodded in understanding.

He had the most years of any of them on the team and he deserved the chance to go home but he'd been an amazing team leader for them the last eight years.

"We all know that your name, the name we know you by isn't your real name. Who should we look up stateside?" Jonesy asked. The only one who knew his real name on the team was Champ.

"You'll be looking for Saint John Hawke, or Sinjin Hawke," he told them, having not said his real name in a long, long time.

"No shit? That's one fu...um, weird name," one of the guys blurted, censoring himself when he remembered Caitlin was at the table.

String started to laugh. "Nice to hear someone else get picked on for the weird name for a change," he teased and Sinjin shoved him.

"So, goodbye Major James St. John and hello Sinjin Hawke? What the hell kinda name is Sinjin anyway?" Jonesy asked and Sinjin laughed.

"Old English so I've been told. It was kind of nice having a normal name. We both caught hell as kids because our parents had to name us after family members with weird names," Sinjin explained.

"Well, I've known you as James for six years, it might take me a while to get used to it," another man who'd obviously had a broken nose more than once said, he'd been introduced as Grissom earlier to them.

"When are you leaving?" Banks asked.

"Today, I'll need to finish packing up my stuff and we'll leave today."

"How quick will you guys get back to Cali in that beast you flew in with?" Champ asked.

"About 6 hours 27 minutes," Caitlin answered.

"No kiddin'? That's what Mach 2?"

"A little under unless String decides to push Airwolf a bit, if so, we could probably get there under 6 hours," Caitlin explained as she finished up her eggs. "With a third person and Sinjin's gear though probably 6.5 hours and we'll refuel off the East Coast."

"That thing can do a midair hook up?"

"Yep," Caitlin answered with a grin over her mug.

"Ain't that cool, no wonder you want to go back if you get to fly something like that, Major. I know you been missing flying again," Banks told him and Sinjin smiled.

"Yeah, that does sweeten the deal a bit but I'm looking forward to just going up to the mountains where it is cool and green and fishing for trout and just relaxing for a bit too. Man, I've missed that," Sinjin said honestly, he truly had missed just relaxing without worrying about getting his butt shot off.

"That does sound nice, man," Champ admitted. "Maybe in a few more years I can do something similar."

"Any of you would be welcome," String told them and Sinjin smiled at him.

Leaving that afternoon was a little bittersweet for Sinjin, he was finally after 16 years going home but he was going to miss his team. They had become best of friends, brothers and each other's caretakers at times. They'd experienced lost team members together and they had shared in each other's failures and triumphs over the years.

String and Caitlin left Sinjin to say goodbye to his team in private as they did the preflight on Airwolf, getting her set for the trip back halfway across the planet. They double checked all of her systems since she'd taken quite a bit of fire the night before but she was in good shape, needed a wash down but other than that she was in good order. They'd been refueled by the hanger team and were just waiting for Sinjin to join them. He was wearing an Army flightsuit since they didn't have one that fit him.

Sinjin popped the countermeasures hatch and got in. His duffle and backpack had been stowed earlier and String handed him a helmet.

"Hope this works over all that fur, you going to shave that monster off or you keeping it?" String asked as Sinjin got settled.

"Ha, ha. I thought I'd at least let Dom see it before I remove it I've had this thing for more than 12 years now."

"Ugh, how do you stand it?" String said and Sinjin laughed.

"It's helpful out in the desert though, I'm going to look weird when I shave it too, half my face white and the other tanned," Sinjin commented and Caitlin giggled.

"What?"

"I had a girlfriend who fell asleep on the beach with her sunglasses on. She looked like a reverse raccoon," she said still giggling and he started to laugh too.

"That's not exactly a look I want to go for, maybe I'll just trim this thing down," Sinjin said with a grin and she laughed.

"That might be a good idea," she told him as they took to the air.

They talked about changes back home a little while they were flying. Hawke filling his brother in on old friends they'd had and things going on back at the hanger, what they'd been doing with the NRO and so on.

"So, how'd you two meet?" Sinjin asked and Caitlin laughed.

"The first time I laid eyes on your brother he was a mess, he'd been beaten up and was in a jail cell," Caitlin said and Sinjin looked over at String.

"What the hell were you doing in jail?"

Hawke and Caitlin filled him in on his friend Jimmy and the problem with the Sherriff in Pope County, Texas.

"So, that's how a former Texas Highway Patrol officer ended up at Santini Air, I did wonder," Sinjin said. "Glad you took out that Sherriff he sounds like he was really sadistic."

"He was, his lackeys tried to rape me twice," Caitlin said not even thinking and Airwolf actually shuddered as Hawke spun to look at her with a glare that surprised her.

He knew about the first time in the back of that pick up but she never once mentioned a second time.

"Twice?"

"Uh, well you saved me both times, the time on the road and then when you came back to town with Airwolf, they had me locked in a cell and those same rednecks wanted to try again saying that I wasn't going to be saved a second time. I fought as much as I could but if you hadn't shown up when you did…well, I might not have been able to hold them off much longer," she admitted.

"Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"Well, it isn't exactly casual conversation, String," she told him.

He looked at her oddly for a moment and then turned back to edge Airwolf back up to speed. She could have been raped and she never even mentioned it.

It was a bit tense in the cockpit for a few minutes and Sinjin cleared his throat.

"Uh, didn't mean to bring up a bad memory for you, Caitlin," he told her seriously and she sighed.

"It's okay, Sinjin," she said with a slight waver to her voice, unsure if String was angry with her or not.

Hawke caught the waver in her voice and let out a big sigh. "I'm not mad, Caitlin. Just wish you'd told me is all but I can understand why you didn't bring it up."

"You sure as hell better not be mad at her or I'll beat your ass," Sinjin said sternly. "You don't ever blame a woman for not talking about something like that. I've seen what it can do to a lady during my time in Afghanistan, String. Just take solace in the fact it didn't happen and you took out the assholes that tried it."

String felt a bit like a scolded teenager for a few moments and realized what Sinjin said would be exactly what Dom would say to him. "I know, I'd never be angry with Caitlin about something like that. Now fighting over the laundry being sorted right, that's a different thing."

That made Caitlin laugh and Sinjin turned to look at her.

"That was the biggest fight we've had since I moved in with him. He doesn't sort enough, he says I sort the laundry too much."

"Well, hell if that's the worst fight you've had in four months of living together you might as well get hitched," Sinjin said teasingly and String looked over at him and grinned.

The look in his little brother's eyes told him that Sinjin had hit on something his brother was already thinking about. He looked back at Caitlin who just had a surprised look on her face and Sinjin winked at her and she found herself grinning at the man under her helmet.

The refueling for Hawke and Cait was routine but Sinjin was fascinated by it, almost with a childlike wonder on his face as he leaned forward.

"I never, ever thought I'd see a helicopter with the ability to do a midair refueling," Sinjin said in awe and String smiled at him.

"It is pretty cool," String admitted and Caitlin seconded him.

When they began moving over land on the East Coast, Sinjin had a profound feeling of relief pass over him. He was back in his own country again after so long, the country he fought for, bled for, hurt for and gave 16 years of his life for. He closed his eyes for a few minutes and Hawke looked over at his brother in concern.

"You okay over there?"

"Just enjoying the idea of being back in American airspace again," Sinjin told him and opened his eyes to look at his brother. "Sixteen years since I've been in my own country."

Hawke swallowed hard and Caitlin had tears in her eyes.

"Are you going to go through post-deployment assessment?" String asked and Sinjin nodded.

"Yeah, as long as I've been deployed it might be more than just one or two interviews. The General let me know about it though. It'll be part of integration at Knightsbridge. I never really had too many nightmares or trauma issues like some guys. Our CO made sure we got plenty of time to decompress between missions when he could," Sinjin explained. "I think the way we grew up kinda helped me more than some guys."

String understood that, seeing their parents die in the earthquake was not something most folks had to witness. They were raised by a single man and veteran himself who taught them how to deal with pretty much any situation too. Dom took them camping, boating, river rafting, hiking and stuff as kids plus taught them how to fly. He was always making sure they knew how to do what they needed to get by no matter what situation they were in. It had helped both boys when they entered the military.

"You ever finish that degree you were going for?" Sinjin asked.

"Hmm, oh yeah, I finished it up on the GI Bill after I came home. Took me a bit since I was working for the NRO at the same time but I got my applied physics master's degree," String told him.

"Good, mom and dad would have been really happy about that. Obviously, I finished up mine," Singin said with a grin and Hawke laughed. He wouldn't be a Major now if he hadn't. "I finished mine online while on deployment, I had downtime between missions so myself and several other guys did it. It was kinda weird, taking an art class learning about Da Vinci and Klimt in the morning and blowing up terrorists at night."

Both Caitlin and String laughed at that and shook their heads. "I guess that would be a little surreal," Cait said and Sinjin laughed too.

"Just a bit. I remember one night we had been waiting hours to move out and we started quizzing each other for a test the next day. I remember one of the guys saying, 'What Anatolian Peninsula mountain range parallels the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey?' and another saying 'Hint?' and I said, 'You don't get hints on a test moron, it's the Taurus range.' Then one guy piped up, 'If I didn't know you could kick my ass, I'd say you were a nerd, St. John' and Champ piped up 'I'd rather be a nerd than a dumbass.'"

Hawke laughed and so did Caitlin. "Nerds do get paid more," she quipped and Hawke and Sinjin really laughed at that.

"Well, Sinj, we are about to cross into Californian airspace," Hawke announced and Sinjin leaned forward in his seat a little to take a look. Home. They were almost home.

"We'll be meeting Dom in the Valley of the Gods," he told him.

When they flew over the red rocks dusted with snow, Sinjin remembered them going there as kids with Dom. "Still beautiful here," he said and String agreed with him.

When they hovered over the chimney and started going down into it, Sinjin marveled at it as they descended. It was a unique experience hovering into something like this. It also impressed him at just how steady String was flying Airwolf. He always knew he was a talented pilot but his brother had impressed him during that battle the night before. That hover over the building when he got in was incredibly hard to do.

When they finally landed, and the lights came on, Sinjin shook his head in disbelief. There was a full security system in place, they had solar power and a generator backup for it.

Standing just beyond the area where they landed was Dominic Santini. Sinjin practically ripped off his helmet and jumped out of Airwolf as her rotors continued to slow. He ran to the man who had raised him and Dom opened his arms and the man just collapsed into them.

Caitlin was beside String in the cockpit witnessing their hug and she looked at String happily. "That's a beautiful sight, look at Dom's smile!"

Hawke felt tears gather in his own eyes and reached up to touch Caitlins's cheek. "I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to make you think I was upset at you."

"Oh, that's already water under the bridge, String," she told him.

"I love you, Caitlin," he whispered and kissed her gently.

"I love you too," she said and then moved back to grab her go bag and handed Hawke his. They got out and Dom and Sinjin were coming back to Airwolf.

"Let's get your things and get you home," Dom told him and Sinjin was smiling happily.

He jogged back over to the helicopter and Dom walked up and ran his hand over the nose of the Lady. "Thank you for bringing my family home," he whispered to her.

As they set the security system and headed toward Dom's helicopter the older man reached over and flicked his fingers against Sinjin's beard.

"What the hell is that?"

"Necessary where I was," Sinjin told him. "Don't worry I plan to trim it up."

"Not going to shave it off?" Dom asked incredulously.

"I might look a bit weird, I've had it for 12 years, Dom I'd look weird for a while until my face tanned up."

Dom shook his head at him as they climbed into the JetRanger.

"You at least going to cut that mop on your head?"

"I dunno," he answered.

"What the hell is our military coming to letting you look like that?" Dom complained and String couldn't help but laugh.

"Special forces over there all have beards and long hair to blend in, Dom," String told him.

"I don't have to like it," Dom grumped and Sinjin laughed.

"Should I just go back?"

"Hell no!" Dom immediately answered as he powered up the helicopter.

"So, to the hanger or straight to the cabin?" Dom asked.

"You're welcome at the cabin, I added on to it a few years back so that I had room for Dom and other guests to come up and stay over without having to sleep on the couch. So, we've got plenty of room for you," String told him and Sinjin smiled happily.

"I'd love that," he admitted.