Back at home in California, Dom and Emily were on their way to meet with Meg for a late lunch. He'd let the little girl sleep in and they had a late breakfast too so everything was a bit off today. She'd stayed up well past her bedtime at the wedding the night before.
"Grandpa Dom, are mommy and daddy already in Hawaii?" the little girl asked, not quite mangling Hawaii but close.
"They should have landed a little bit ago, princess. They said they'd call this evening before bedtime for you," Dom explained as he drove.
"I hope they have fun on their trip, mommy looked so pretty last night," she said happily.
"She really did, and so did you, princess. Was it what you hoped it would be like?" Dom asked, knowing the couple had included the little girl in their plans.
"It was better! I had fun dancing too," Emily said with a big grin. She'd gotten to dance with grandpa Dom and Joe as well as her uncles and her dad and even Le danced with her. He was the easiest to dance with because he wasn't so much bigger than her. "I think even Le had fun dancing."
"I'm sure he did. You looked very sweet when you danced with String," Dom said as he remembered that String had just picked the girl up and danced with her in his arms that way. It had been adorable. He was thankful that the photographer and Doc both had gotten pictures of that.
"Mommy and daddy looked beautiful when they danced though," Emily said remembering just how pretty her parents had looked as they danced. They had kissed often too and even though she and Le made faces at each other about it they were both glad that they loved each other so much.
"I've never seen them look happier, that's for sure," Dom said with a smile as he remembered his foster son and the girl who he thought of as a daughter dancing the night before. He may have grumbled about the snow at first but it was probably the most beautiful and unique wedding he'd ever been a part of.
They arrived at the restaurant to meet Meg and Emily ran to her teacher to give her a big hug as soon as she saw her. Meg laughed and hugged the exuberant little girl in return and gave Dom a kiss on the cheek. "You look happy today, Dom," Meg said with a knowing smile.
"I am, Meg. I'm very happy," he admitted as he opened the door and escorted the two ladies in.
The last few months had been busy for Michael, Marella, Karen and their new team and they hoped to have everything set for when Hawke and Caitlin made it back from Hawaii.
Airwolf was to start upgrades the Monday after they returned. Karen was planning some pretty major overhauls to the helicopter including new graphics processing that was at the cutting edge of computer tech and setting up a connection machine for Airwolf. It would be useful for artificial intelligence processing for the Lady but also computational science needed for some of the research they were going to be doing now. Karen and her team was also upgrading the operating system for the entire operation to a new version which she was sure Dom and Cait would love.
As she was setting up the information in the computer she grinned when she entered Secondary Pilot/Engineer Caitlin Hawke. Karen was happy for String finally finding someone to really settle down with. From what she understood, the man was happy and as his friend and as someone who really respected the pilot she was happy for him.
Michael too was thoroughly enjoying setting up the new operation and Marella and he were no longer dancing around their feelings either. The night of Hawke and Cait's wedding had given him the prompt to finally talk to Marella about his true feelings. Now that they were no longer tied to the FIRM and no longer would he have to send her into dangerous situations he felt it would be easier for them to be involved.
Michael was a very happy man who was not bothered at all working the weekend to get things finalized at their new location. They were just down the street from Santini Air and he couldn't wait to surprise the old codger with that little secret. He'd told them they'd be here at the airport but hadn't told them just how close. He felt it was the right thing though, keeping everything close, everything where he could finally make sure his people were safe. Plus, with the addition of children to the mix he figured that the new facility being close to the hanger was a good thing in that regard too. He couldn't very well send the team off on any mission without someone to watch over at least Emily if not both she and Le if it came down to it.
Hawke had also told him that he and Caitlin were already discussing having their own children so it just made sense to have Marella set up a child friendly play area and hire someone trusted to work in it. That would be the hardest part of this little plan, Caitlin and especially Hawke won't trust just anyone to watch their daughter or any other little ones that come along. Then there was his relationship with Marella, if it progressed the way he hoped, they might need use of a day care facility too one day plus other employees could use it.
So, a former deputy director of the FIRM, now the director of special projects for NRO with the public name Tala Star Avionics, a man charged with making upgrades to a multi-billion-dollar helicopter and creating a whole new division was being stumped by who to hire as a day care teacher.
Michael grinned as he looked at the letterhead on his desk. Tala Star Avionics. He thought it was rather an ingenious name, another hiding in plain sight as Hawke had said. Tala was the Sioux name for wolf. Star because it was nice to keep a part of the original Red Star name though mostly it was because the NRO generally used satellites. Tala Star and Santini Air were about to become business partners at least that was what it would seem.
Michael picked up his cane and decided to go for a short walk. He had a smirk on his face when he entered the hanger and Dom looked up from whatever part he was working on and then did a double take. "I didn't hear your car," Dom said, thinking he really must have been concentrating on his work.
"I didn't bring my car," Michael answered and leaned against the desk that Hawke often used.
Dom took his glasses off the end of his nose and stared at the other man. "Well if you didn't bring your car and I know you didn't fly in…how the hell did you get here?"
"I walked," Michael answered.
"You walked?" Dom asked. "Okay, you said your new digs were going to be close, how freakin' close are we talking?"
"Just about a block and a half away," Michael said with a grin.
"A block and a half? You mean that new Tala something er other is it?" Dom asked incredulously.
"Tala Star Avionics…we'll be close enough to walk if need be and Marella and I are working on a special little project for Hawke and Caitlin, we don't want them to have to worry about Emily or even Le if they need a place for the kids if all three of you are busy. I just can't seem to figure out the best person to hire to oversee it. Thought maybe you might have some idea on someone trustworthy, good with kids and can keep secrets," Michael said with a shrug.
"You mean you're asking *me* for a recommendation? That's a first," Dom said taking off his cap and scratching his head. He looked back at the other man dressed rather casually in dark slacks and a grey sweater. He still wasn't used to seeing Michael in anything but all white. It was a bit disconcerting sometimes.
"Well? Do you have any ideas? Teachers of small children aren't exactly my forte," Michael admitted.
"I run an air service, it isn't exactly crawling with kids until recently," Dom said with a laugh. "Meg would be my first notion but she's happy running her own place, she might know someone and of course there is Sister Marguerite."
"A nun?" Michael asked a little unsure about that.
"Not her specifically no, but I bet she can help me come up with a few possible people to interview," Dom said wiping his hands on a rag.
"Well, I suppose they'd be trustworthy if suggested by Meg or a nun," Michael said with a shrug.
"Yeah, and I wouldn't want to leave Emily or Le with just anyone and I know Hawke will be wary of anyone we suggest," Dom said as he walked over and got a cup of coffee. "You wanna cup?"
"Sure," Michael said joining the other man. "Besides we need to have a talk about business, I believe that Santini Air and Tala Star Avionics are going to be developing a business partnership so that things don't look unusual with our people and yours going back and forth between the two places."
"Oh, I see. That makes sense and gives just the right cover I'm guessing. So what sort of partnership are we talking, at least publicly?" Dom asked.
"I figure the simplest will be your pilots are testing our equipment. We do tech and you guys test the tech, simple, straightforward and basically the truth in the long run anyway," Michael said and then took a sip of coffee.
"Works for me, so if anyone asks, that's the cover story," Dom answered and kicked back in his chair. He liked it, simple and keeps it easy to answer anyone and they wouldn't even be lying. Dom preferred that really. Easier to remember when it's the truth.
"Where is the little munchkin anyway?" Michael asked.
"Emily is at Meg's daycare today. She goes there a couple times a week. She made some really good friends right before Christmas when the kids came here to tour the hanger. It is good for her too, Cait was worried about the child not having friends of her own age, she was so often around adults now," Dom explained.
"Makes sense. Hard to believe how quickly Hawke and Caitlin have taken to being parents to that little girl. She's certainly changed all of our worlds for the better," Michael said thinking that so much good had happened for the Airwolf team since little Emily's tragic beginnings with them.
"She has at that. I don't think I've ever seen String this happy, not since before his folks died to be honest. Between Cait and Emily and even Le, they have that boy on cloud nine," Dom told him and Michael nodded in agreement.
"Too true. Well, I'm going to leave a few of these cards with you so you can give them to Meg and Sister Margarite in case they know of someone to send over to interview. I will leave final choices on who we pick to Cait and Hawke though. I'll let you get back to work now, if you need me, you can reach me at that number or just take a short walk down the road," Michael told him and Dom gave him a little mock salute with the cards.
In Hawaii, it was the next to last day of Hawke and Caitlin's honeymoon and they had spent the last five days exploring the island, they went horseback riding and had visited the Garden of the Gods. They'd swam in the ocean, made love practically every place in the house including the porch and had relaxed. They both missed Emily terribly though and had called each night at bedtime to talk to the girl. Caitlin even read her bedtime stories over the phone which Hawke thought was adorable.
They also called Le each evening as well wanting to check up on the boy and check in with Minh as well. She was enjoying her job at the 94th and they had spent the evening with Dom and Emily last night.
This morning the newlyweds were still in bed, it was almost noon but they hadn't wanted to get up yet. They'd be flying home in less than 30 hours and wanted to spend as much time just enjoying one another as they could.
When Hawke woke this morning, it had been to soft kisses, one on his shoulder, his ribs, down lower on his side and when he opened his eyes it dawned on him that Caitlin was cataloging his scars.
"Whatcha' doin'?" Hawke asked her and she looked up from the curtain of her hair and smiled at him.
"Where did you get all these?" she asked about his scars. He had a few wounds in his life that had left their mark.
"Some from the war, some from the time I worked for the FIRM after it, surprisingly enough most are all from before Airwolf. Heck a few are from when I was a kid. The one on my leg I got surfing," Hawke explained.
"Where did you get this one?" she asked about a scar on his hand.
"That one was just an accident working on an engine, hand slipped and jammed a tension rod into it," he explained and smiled when she kissed it. "Shoulder was in 'Nam, same with the one on my ribs and side from shrapnel a second time in 'Nam, the marks on my upper back are from when I was a POW," he explained.
Caitlin shook her head and leaned down to kiss him tenderly and he returned the kiss. It was slow and loving and he felt as if the memory of those scars were fading even more from the love she offered him.
"I love you, Stringfellow Hawke…scars and all," she whispered to him and he smiled up at her sweet face.
"I love you too, Mrs. Caitlin Rose Hawke," he whispered in return. His hands slid down her naked body to her hips and she wiggled against him a little. "I know we just got married and we already have Emily to take care of but a part of me really hopes that by this time next year we have a new addition to our family."
Caitlin's smile was radiant as she leaned down to kiss him. "Me too and seeing how we've hardly went a few hours without having sex this last week it's a good possibility," she teased him.
"Isn't that what a honeymoon is for?" Hawke teased and she laughed.
"Making babies or sex?" she asked and he laughed.
"Well, maybe a little of both?"
That made Caitlin giggle and she leaned down and kissed the tip of her husband's nose. "You amaze me sometimes. I never knew you'd ever want kids like this. I mean I knew you liked children and were good with them but…I'm so glad you want to have children with me."
"I have to admit to you that you are only the second woman I've ever imagined having a child with," Hawke told her honestly.
"Who was the first?" she asked, wondering if it was his high school girlfriend or Gabrielle, his answer surprised her.
"Do you remember Tess Dixon?"
"The woman you had to escort to D.C. to testify? The woman you obviously did not like when you first found out it was her you were taking?" Caitlin asked.
"Yeah, she and I had been involved when I was just a little older than you are now. She was…well, she was pregnant with my child. I wanted her to marry me. She chose instead to leave and terminate the pregnancy," he told her and Caitlin gasped.
"Oh my, God. I…I am so sorry she chose to do that," Caitlin said with tears in her eyes. She understood not bringing an unwanted child into the world but Hawke had wanted the child.
"We weren't ready to be parents, she really wasn't ready. She wanted too much, had too many plans. Wanted me to be someone I'm not. It never would have worked out even if we had married and had the baby. I guess she knew that too but I would have loved that child. No matter what I would have loved them," Hawke said softly. "They would have been a few years older than Emily is now."
"Oh, String," she whispered not sure what to say. If they had married, there is little chance she would have met String so she wasn't sure how to feel about it. But she ached inside for the loss of his child.
"It was a long time ago but I still wonder what he or she might have been like. Would they have loved flying or would they be musical? Would they have my eyes or hers…things like that I still wonder about," Hawke said softly as his hands moved over Caitlin's body, comforting himself by touching her.
"You have a second and hopefully a third and fourth chance now. I want your children, I want to be your wife and most of all…I don't want you to change. I love you just as you are, even when you are being bossy and moody," Caitlin teased him a little.
"So, you're just fine with our lives as they are? No glitz and glamour and Hollywood parties or climbing the ladder at the FIRM? That's what she wanted, she wanted me to have a job like Michael's," Hawke said.
"Oh, gosh. No. No way. You'd be miserable. I wouldn't want that. It's fun to dip our toes in the water once in a while going to a party sometime for Dom and the studios or working with Michael but I wouldn't enjoy that either. I do the books for Dom because he needs the help, I don't do it because I like it. And I wouldn't want that whole rich housewife thing. I like flying and the stunts and the excitement of our Airwolf missions. I love being able to help people, why do you think I was a cop? I wanted to help people. No, I wouldn't change you for all the gold in the world, String," Caitlin said softly.
Hawke was smiling up at the woman he married, grateful to whatever higher power there was that brought her into his life. "I'd never want to change you either. Well maybe one thing…"
"What?" Caitlin asked confused and maybe a little hurt, leaning up from him but he pulled her closer.
"Your love of the Dallas Cowboys," Hawke teased her and she started to laugh.
"You can take the girl out of Texas…" she said.
"…but you can't take Texas out of the girl, I know," Hawke teased her.