AIRWOLF™ is a Trademark of and licensed to NBC Universal Television Studios © 1984. This fiction story in no way intends to infringe upon the Copyrights and Trademark held by Belisarius Productions or NBC Universal Television Studios. I just like to play with the characters.

A note from the Author:

For those of you who are familiar with the Airwolf series, you will quite likely pick up what is being put down and settle in easily.

This is my version of a continuation of Airwolf starting from parts of the first episode of season four, for continuity of my plot into the modern day.

So, if you liked the last season, sorry, in my world it is only acknowledged as the nightmares and premonitions of a rambling Stringfellow Hawke, but I think it's a good read, so hopefully you'll give it a go.

If you're like me and would rather not think about season four, then I hope you will enjoy my story.

For those of you not familiar with the mighty Airwolf. Google is your friend and it would be helpful to you to watch the pilot movie and key episodes which, I'd be happy to forward to you if you ask nicely

The Lady

Prologue

Jo thought back to that day that changed all their lives forever.

Not the one where her uncle Dom was killed, though that was certainly change enough. No, it was the day the String woke up from his illness induced coma caused by Legionnaires Disease.

String had been behaving more erratically then what was usual for him and true to form, he was also too stoic for his own good. Coming down with what he thought was gastro from bad seafood at that new restaurant he'd taken Caitlin to, he elected to stay at the cabin. In his bed and with a raging fever, he didn't make it to the radio to call someone and collapsed before becoming gravely ill. Barely able to breath, and alone, he had lost consciousness before Dom found him and got him to hospital just in the nick of time.

Only days later, Dom had been killed under mysterious circumstances, devastating everyone at Santini Air. It was likely no coincidence that just before the bomb was planted, Saint John received notice of Strings bleak condition and was finally relieved from his duty after serving eighteen years on a deep uncover assignment in Guatemala.

Saint John was flying back to the States at the time, so he didn't even know that Dom had been blown to smithereens until he landed at LAX.

String had briefly woken up, almost as if he knew Saint John had finally come back after all this time. String begged Saint John to not let him die in that hospital and after his extended absence, he sure as hell wasn't going to let his brother down.

Unfortunately, not long after he had been transferred into the care of a private medical team, Stringfellow Hawke slipped back into unconsciousness.

Back at his cabin by the lake with Tet, his ever faithful Bluetick Coonhound by his side and with the dulcet tones of the cello music that he loved so much. Its sorrowful melodies resonated from his sound system and it was twenty-three days before he finally woke again.

As always, String played to his own tunes and against the better judgment of his doctors, he just had to get out what had been on his mind while he'd been out. All the dreams and nightmares spilled from him, the missions flown by a bunch of clowns, "The Company" taking over from The -now defunct- FIRM's missions. Some of which Airwolf should never have been part of, risking her unnecessarily and her trivialising her purpose. He said they knew where Saint John was all along, that he wasn't MIA and he hadn't been anywhere near Nam since String got out. String was all over the place and rambling in his weakened mental state.

Nothing anyone could do would calm him, he was coughing and spluttering so hard that he was bleeding from the lungs and their only option was to sedate him.

The last words from his mouth where "They killed Dom, don't let them have Airwolf," before he passed out again and stopped breathing twenty minutes later. The medical team threw everything they had at him, but it wasn't enough, Stringfellow Hawke was pronounced dead at 1512 on a Monday afternoon.

"How did he know? "Jo said to herself for what seemed like the thousandth time as she thought again of the day of String's Funeral.

Saint John received a call from a Mr. Jason Locke, from "The Company", not even an hour after String had been laid to rest up on the hill above the lakeside cabin and next to the woman who's dying wish was that she wanted to see the eagles. He was ordered to bring them Airwolf as was promised in the deal once Saint John had been found.

Saint John laughed mirthlessly, resentful of all the lies told, not only to his brother and the Santini family- his family- but also to him all this time. Changing the name of the agency wasn't going to absolve them of their culpability.

Archangel disappeared just as quickly, Locke revealing that he'd been suddenly reassigned to the middle east. With the FIRM now dissolved, there was nothing left of what was already a tenuous alliance. Saint John would never forgive them.

Not being able to trust anything that The Firm, The Company or any other Government agency would say or do, it was hardly a shock to Jo and Caitlin, that it was likely the last time they would see Saint John and "The Lady" again.