A/N

annkathrin2511
Thank you for taking the time to review each chapter! It's such a great feeling to know that people appreciate the time and effort is put in creating a story. Even if I can see that a story gets plenty of views, it's just not the same. I'm very glad that so far you like what you are reading. I hope you'll like these chapters just as much. There's plenty of stuff more to come!

BarbT
I always love these different takes on characters. I think it can spark interesting discussions. I can understand you're not really sure how you feel about the way String instigated having sex. In fact, (my) String agrees completely and he sorely regrets his actions. As to that you don't feel it's something he'd do... there I have to, respectfully, disagree. Especially in season 1, he could really be ill-mannered, crude, hot-headed and impulsive. He sure didn't seem to always be in control of his emotions. And that's basically what happened in that moment too. Actions first, regrets later. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these next chapters!

There will be 22 chapters, so we still have a ways to go!

\A/

Through some miracle and expert handling, the young, female pilot managed to land the Learjet safely, though be it somewhere in the middle of the desert, thanks to the intervention of that big black machine.

A white SUV was standing by, waiting to return her to the inhabited world, but Liona held her hand over her eyes as she scanned the sky, searching for a sign of that miracle machine she owed her life to. There was not even a cloud in sight. Just a clear blue sky and a scorching sun.

With a sigh she turned to a man in uniform who nodded politely at her and informed her he was to transport her someplace else. White jet, white car, white uniform… this had Michael written all over it even though she still didn't know what he did… exactly.

The moment she got into the waiting SUV, the driver took off with such haste and speed, it threw her off a bit. When the driver suddenly veered off deeper into the desert, that's when her astonishment turned to complete dread. Her eyes met the driver's in the rear-view mirror, and she noticed his sardonic smile. Her lips began to tremble and she knew she was going to die. There was only one possible explanation… Dumaine had found her!

Paralyzed with fear, Liona could only stare ahead and regret the way she'd been forced to leave the safe harbor of the cabin in the mountains. Though he was an absolute jerk, at least Stringfellow Hawke did not want her dead.

"Last night was lust. It had nothin' to do with makin' love."

Her nostrils flared in anger at the memory. Damn you, Hawke! she thought to herself. I hope my death will haunt you for the rest of your life!

The car stopped and soon the driver dragged her outside by her hair. Liona started to scream and kick in fear and then she yelped when the man hit her across the face snapping it to the side. For a moment she could only see white and a stabbing pain shot through her skull.

Liona panted for breath and spat out some blood from her mouth. It felt like she was there, but no longer really there, as a strange sensation gripped her. She swallowed hard and slowly turned her head to face her attacker. If she was going to die anyway, she'd be damned to just stand there and eat a bullet.

Suddenly she screamed, from the top of her lungs and completely stunned Dumaine's goon into immobility, before she balled her right hand to a fist and decked him in the face. Immediately she cried out in pain. That was not supposed to happen! Her hand felt as if it didn't have an unbroken bone left inside!

Then she stared at the dickhead who groaned from somewhere on the ground. Wait… had she done that? And – the man groaned again and started to scramble to his feet – why was she still standing around, waiting for him to put a bullet inside of her?

Without thinking any further, Liona started to run. She gazed regretfully at the car as she ran past it. Too bad she'd never learned to drive. With her luck, she'd drive the car off a cliff before she had a chance to get to safety. It was pure folly, she knew that, but as long as she still had a breath in her body, she'd do anything she could to stay alive. Right now that was running.

The scorching sun was beating down on her without mercy and she had no idea it would be this hard to run in the sand! Behind her she heard yelling and then her ears started to ring when an earsplitting warning shot was fired. Liona had no idea why that idiot fired a warning shot, instead of trying to shoot her period, but she was not picky and so she kept running.

She stumbled through the sand, fell multiple times and, even without looking back, she knew her pursuer was gaining on her. Another shot beheaded a cactus right next to her. Bad aiming saved her this time.

Liona gave a startled shriek and swerved sharply… and nearly tumbled from an overhang with a mighty steep drop. Her heart nearly leaping from her throat, Liona quickly scrambled into a different direction when another shot seared her upper left arm. She cried out in pain but fear propelled her forward and she didn't stop to look at the wound once. It was a bona fide miracle she hadn't died of a coronary yet!

Another ridge stopped her flight, forcing her to change her course yet again. Dumaine's man was getting closer and she was running out of options.

A loud angry screech made her fall to her knees and cover her ears. A big black blur shot right past her.

"I suggest you leave the lady alone," a voice suddenly boomed.

Liona looked up and saw that big, black machine hovering in the air not far from her. For a moment she thought she was saved when another bullet went flying by, perilously close to her. She started running again, but she couldn't see a damned thing with all the sand that machine was kicking up.

Behind her she heard the sounds of rapid gunshots and then a bloodcurdling scream. Sand was getting blown into her mouth, as well as fists full of her own hair. The humming sound that machine was making was all over and around her.

She scrambled to her feet but just as she straightened herself, the ground shifted and crumbled and before she realized what was happening… she was already plummeting down and she screamed in blind panic.

Liona wildly thrashed her arms around and any moment now she expected to splatter against the unyielding ground beneath her. Instead, the wind got knocked out of her with a light 'thud'. Thud?

Her eyes flew wide open and she found herself right on top of the nose of that big gunship! Her hands found a ridge to cling on to and she did so for dear life. Slowly the helicopter rose up at a steep angle so she wouldn't fall off.

"You can let go now," a voice said to her. "It's safe. The ground is just a few feet below you."

That voice…

She did as she was told and soon she fell backward. Her butt hit the ground first, but she didn't mind. When she looked up, that huge thing was still hovering right in front of her. She tried to see who was flying the thing, but all she could see was a helmet… the sunlight scattering off the window making it impossible to see anything else. For some reason it felt as if that pilot was checking every inch of her. She thoroughly hoped he only did it to check for wounds and other injuries.

After a while, the hulking machine flew over her, just to land a short distance away.

Liona simply sat in the sand, unable to believe that she'd been saved by this person not once, not twice… but three times today! The doors opened with a hiss and then she saw not one, but two people scrambling out. The person with the bulkier frame took off his helmet and even from a distance she recognized the toothy grin.

"Dom!" she cried out. She leapt to her feet and not even a moment later she threw her arms around his thick neck. "I was so scared. I really though I'd had it!"

"Nah, not on our watch, Lio. You were lucky though we already had this Lady up in the air when Archangel told us Dumaine was goin' after ya." Dom said, holding her in a tight embrace.

Oh God… Dom was one of the pilots. And that voice… Liona stiffened and quickly pulled away.

"Thank you, for saving me," she said, making sure her voice was cool and polite. "Obviously you have a means of transportation, so I'd appreciate it if you could now take me to the safe address Michael has arranged for me."

"No."

She whipped around to face the man who'd seduced her the night before and then cast her aside as if she meant nothing. "What do you mean, no?" Liona grit her teeth.

"It's a simple enough reply. No means no. Whatever Michael arranged is no longer safe. I'm takin' you back."

"No!"

String's lips curved up into a tiny smile. "I don't think you have a lot of choice. Either you come back with us, or you can walk your way back to civilization."

"You can't be serious!"

"Try me."

For a moment Liona could only gape at him. Then she narrowed her eyes at him. "I hate you!"

He knew she was lying. The arrogant, insufferable jackass actually had the audacity to shrug his shoulders. "You still gotta make a choice. Fly back with us… or start walkin'."

He actually thought he could bully her into complying! Well, he had another thing coming! On impulse, Liona bent down to grab a fistful of sand. When she got back up she hurled the tiny particles in his direction. Of course, a tiny breeze carried them way off target. He quirked a brow at her and his lips twitched in such a way, Liona knew he was stifling a laugh.

"Fine." She turned on her heels and started walking.

"Yeah, just keep walkin' that way, Liona. You might even reach New Mexico in a few days."

She turned around and gave String a baleful look, before she sat down on a large jutting piece of rock. What awful thing had she ever done to deserve the curse of Stringfellow Hawke? It wasn't as if she'd consciously chosen to get captured by Dumaine! Then what was it? What had she done that was so terrible? God gave the Egyptians the twelve plagues and to her He gave Stringfellow Hawke. Even Job would have thrown in the towel if he'd had to deal with this man!

"String, why don't you, eh, check on the Lady. We got nicked a couple of times and we don't want her limpin'. And hand me that first aid kit, I'll take care of her arm."

It was silent for a bit before Liona heard him huff and retreat. Then she heard Dom's boots crunching against stone and sand, coming closer.

"I'm not going back with… with him," she said through clenched teeth. She didn't even look at Dom when he sat down right next to her. "I don't care how sensitive you claim he is. He's not. He's mean, and unpleasant and… and..."

"Lio," – Dom placed a hand on her shoulder – "you should have seen him when Michael told us about the danger you were in. If we'd been any further away, even by just a few miles… we wouldn't have made it back in time. He had the fear of God struck in him."

"Please, Dom… don't," Liona pleaded. She was so tired of all of this.

"I think, Lio, it's about time you heard the rest of his story."

She shook her head. "I don't want to hear it." Her voice started to crack and Liona furiously wiped at her eyes where she could feel tears burning already. She didn't want to cry. And she sure as hell didn't want to feel any sympathy for Stringfellow Hawke. She needed to be angry at him right now.

"I'm afraid you have to, Lio. You remember, don't you, when I told you about his parents and, and Lou? How it messed with his head?"

At first, Liona didn't feel like responding at all. In the end, she quickly nodded her head.

"There's more…"

The way he said it, as if his own big heart was breaking all over again, it made her close her eyes. Her throat was closing up and she knew she wouldn't be able to ask him to stop talking if she wanted to.

Dominic sighed deeply and started to dress the wound in her upper arm. "You've probably wondered about why you haven't met String's brother yet…"

Not really. I can take an educated guess… Her vision was now blurry with tears and no matter how hard she fought… more kept coming. She sniffed, trying to hold them back, but one had managed to escape and was now trickling down her cheek. "Sinjin," she said softly, "their parents sure had a way with names."

That made Dom chuckle and he put the first aid kit aside when he was done. "That was mostly their mother, Rose. When their first son was born, they called him St. John, after the patron of love, loyalty and friendship. The very things they'd, well, they'd come to value most in their relationship. Sinjin… that's just how we say his name.

"And String, when he was born, there were… complications. Both he and his mother just barely made it through the jaws of death. And for some time, we all believed that String was simply not meant for this world. Except Rose, she never gave up believin' and she gave him the name. It's an old English name used for a strong person if I remember correctly."

Liona remained quiet. She didn't want to admit it, but she always felt the name suited him. Though she didn't like him, she did admire him… even had fallen in love with him because he reminded her of her two heroes who'd saved her so long ago. How messed up was she?

"In Nam, at first St. John looked out for his little brother like a mother hen. Thing was, String was back then already a genius strategist and if it had an engine and wings or rotor blades, the kid could fly it. Soon, it was him leadin' emergency evac missions."

The story Dom was telling her, was unfolding with startling clarity in her mind, as if she were witnessing the events first hand. Again, she listened to his tale closely, hanging to his every word.

"The entire platoon St. John was in got into trouble. All four squads had to retreat and dust-off helicopters were called in to pick up the survivors of the ambush. String was flyin' one of 'em. When he reached the extraction zone, it was… it was terrible. Men runnin' for their lives, gooks hot on their tails…" Dom's voice betrayed just how much this still hurt him to talk about, after all these years.

"By the time St. John reached the extraction zone, another man jumped on the last free rope before he could. String… he had no choice, he had to do his duty and save these men. He swore that he'd be back again to pick up St. John but… we never saw him again. Lio, he had to leave his brother behind."

Lio clamped a hand against her mouth. The impact of Dom's words sent her falling to her knees. The tears she'd been trying to hold back were now starting to fall down her face. She couldn't see a damn thing. She managed to muffle a groan by keeping her hand clamped down.

"When String came back, he retreated to the family summer cabin and made it his permanent home. He completely withdrew himself from society. It took me months to get him to even talk to me and years before he started to resemble a functionin' human being again. And then, Gabrielle… he fell in love, hard. I was there with him… when she died in his arms."

A last ditch effort. Liona clamped her other hand over her mouth as well. There was an awful ringing noise in her ears and she curled into herself when her heart began to painfully constrict inside her chest.

She'd known, from the very first moments their eyes met, that String too knew a pain beyond what anyone should ever be allowed to endure. Just like her. That shared pain should have build a bridge between them, but, it had only torn the chasm wider, more jagged, and deeper.

Images started to swim around in her head. She could see herself as a scared little girl, huddled in a corner of a strange room, crying for her mommy and daddy. She imagined a small boy with sun streaked brown hair, knocked into the lake by the blast of an explosion… his tears and despair when he found out he'd never see his parents again.

She gagged, nearly choked and when she had to move her hands away, a harsh wail ripped from her throat. Liona shuddered in an attempt to regain control.

Strong arms wrapped around her, hauling her against a firm chest. "Cry, Liona!"

It was String.

"Leave me alone, damn you!" she choked out, and tried to shove him away, but he wouldn't let her go. "Just cry, dammit!" Though he sounded angry, he gently stroked her back with his hand. "If you try and hold it all in, you'll break."

A lonely childhood filled with empty promises of one day being reunited with her family if she was a good girl. A young man, orphaned, but still with the capability to love and be loved, staring at the empty, unblinking and unseeing eyes of his girlfriend.

Then the sobbing began. Harsh, raw and convulsive sobs… the kind that rent and wrenched her entire body, as earthquakes did to the earth.

A young woman having to barter for even the most basic of necessities, almost all of her time devoted to study programming. A young man wracked with guilt over having to abandon his brother and leaving him behind in the depths of the Vietnamese jungles.

Two people who lost their families.

How broken they were.

Then the screaming began. High-pitched screams alternating with deep, low ones because she didn't know how to expel all this pain from her body. It was if a dam broke through. Years and years and years of pent up tears and crying, suddenly all came bursting through with the same intensity and destructive force of a flood.

Liona pressed into his chest and shoulder, ramming her chest with her fist where she could feel her heart cramping up, refusing to do what it was created to do. It was scary the way she lost all control over her body, but two strong arms supported her as each sob that wrenched from her chest and throat, threatened to do some real damage to her ribs.

One hand kept making those soothing motions over her back. Another one cradled her head. A cocoon had formed around her, holding her up, embracing her, as she was falling apart. At some point she tightly clutched her arms around her pillar of strength, trying to draw some of that strength into her own body.

She had no idea how much time had passed when her voice finally gave out, her throat hoarse from crying. There were no more groans or screams, only some pitiful guttural sounds and a weak shudder every now and then.

Through the entire ordeal, String had only said two words. And she was real glad he'd not bothered with the meaningless platitudes she'd come to hate so much. All he said was, "I'm here." And she'd clung to him in desperation because those two words were real and actually meant something.

A last shuddering sigh seemed to be the end of the emotional onslaught, but Liona was in no hurry to remove herself from his arms. She was basking in the first genuine source of comfort offered to her that she had so desperately longed for from the moment she'd been freed. String was lightly swaying and rocking her in a soothing motion and Liona noticed she felt exhausted and completely drained.

Slowly she became more and more aware of her surroundings. Somewhere in a desert… in the middle of nowhere. From the looks of it, evening was slowly setting in. She started to feel a bit embarrassed for losing it so completely and she faintly tried to push herself away. But String seemed to be in no real hurry of letting her go. Not having the strength for another fight with him, Liona let her head fall back on his shoulder. "What happens now?" her voice was nothing but a hoarse whimper.

"We go home."

If she hadn't already spent every drop of fluid in her body on tears, that comment would have brought fresh ones to her eyes. "I don't know where home is," she stated miserably.

"Yeah, you do."

Liona lifted her head again when she heard the thickness of his voice. Had he been crying too?

"It's a small cabin up in the mountains. It's right next to a lake." There was a light tremor in his voice. "There's an eagle and… and a dog."

She leaned back so she could look into his eyes. They were moist. He had been crying.

"And you?"

He had trouble swallowing and it took him a few attempts. Then he nodded his head. "Yeah."

She saw his gaze drop to her lips and her heartbeat tripled when he leaned in. "You don't like me." Liona softly helped him remember.

"I do," he said, his voice raking over gravel, "that's why I was so hard on you."

Before she could offer him any more objections, his lips seized hers with an aching tenderness. It was a slow kiss, very light, almost hesitant. Last night he'd overwhelmed her, this time he was inviting her to participate, not merely to yield.

She pressed against his chest and pulled back, shaking her head. "You did this before," she whispered, "and then you pushed me away."

"I won't again. I..." – He closed his eyes briefly and touched his finger to her lips – "I'm done fightin' this."

His hand curved round her nape, stroking it softly, holding it in place when his lips sought hers again. String held her like that, close to him, one hand buried in her hair and his other drifting up and down her spine in and endless caress. His parted lips moved back and forth on hers, gently persuading her to open for him, and Liona surrendered with a sigh. She matched the stroking movements of his mouth, and felt his lips part more, his tongue sliding against hers.

Oh, this is very nice…

She followed his example and suddenly all of her senses became involved. She could smell his zesty cologne, she could hear the gentle sounds their lips and tongues were making, she could taste him, feel him as she slid her hands up the taut muscles of his chest, over his shoulders and brought him closer to her.

Time ceased to exist for her, obliterated by the turbulence of a sensual mouth that was now teaching her the passionate art of kissing. His tongue caressed hers, drove into her mouth, sending shivers of delight through her entire body and she clung tighter to him, kissing him back.

Suddenly his hands stilled and he tore his lips from hers so abruptly that Liona felt completely disoriented. When she opened her eyes and saw an awful expression on his face, she was afraid to breathe. For a moment she feared he was about to shut her out again, until it dawned on her that he was paying attention to something else, his brows drawn together into a dark frown.

"Dom!" he yelled. "Start the engines! He's goin' for round two!"