Stringfellow Hawke settled back in the pilot's seat of Airwolf and allowed himself a small smile. He took her up, clearing the walls of the Lair with ease. Airwolf's restrained power seemed to vibrate through every bolt and wire as though she was asking to be unleashed. He nudged her into mach speed with a flick of his thumb. His smile widened as she responded immediately and she shot forward, cutting through the clouds like a knife through butter. He was grinning, his blue eyes shimmering with exhilaration as they streamed forward. He never got tired of this feeling; just him, the most technologically advanced helicopter in the world and the sky.

Hawke eased up and sent Airwolf into a climb. He waited until they were clear of the clouds before settling into a hover. He sighed as he took in the view of the fluffy white mounds like a layer of pillows below them as his mind turned to the reason why he had taken Airwolf out for a spin.

He'd returned from Seattle that morning having left Le, the boy who he had believed to be his nephew, with Le's newly-found mother, Ana and her late husband's family. Hawke missed him already. It was for the best, Hawke thought. He felt the weight of his failure descending on him, tightening his gut. In the silence of the cockpit, looking out on the clouds below, Hawke could admit that he had made a mess of being a single parent. Le deserved a normal carefree existence with a parent who would be there to help him with his homework and attend his baseball games shouting encouragement from the sidelines and arguing with the umpire. Hawke hadn't managed either during his time as the boy's guardian. He should have given up Airwolf, assumed full responsibility for Le rather than trying to pretend that he could juggle everything. He sighed and sent Airwolf into a dive, pulling her up mere feet from the ground and sailing over the contours of the land.

Hawke let the motion of the flight relax him. He owed his friends an incredible debt of gratitude, he mused. Dom Santini had been there for him like always; the voice of reason and wisdom. Well, Dom had been there and done it, Hawke told himself, thinking back to how the older man had taken him and his elder brother, Saint John in when their parents had died. It had been Dom who had pointed out that maybe it was time to give Airwolf back to the FIRM, the intelligence agency who had built her, and accept the fate of his MIA brother. It was the FIRM's deputy director, Michael Coldsmith-Briggs who had found an alternative solution; finding Le's missing mother.

Of course, the spy also known as Archangel, never operated from completely altruistic motives; Michael needed Hawke to continue flying Airwolf missions or he'd lose the ability to control the machine. Hawke shook the thought away. Michael's head might rule his heart but generally the spy's heart was in the right place. He'd been the first to offer sympathy at the news that Le wasn't Hawke's nephew after all and Ana wasn't Saint John's long lost wife. Not that it mattered, Hawke thought. Le would always be family to him, blood or not. Like Caitlin.

Hawke adjusted his course and frowned. Caitlin O'Shaunessy had gone above and beyond the call of friendship through everything with Le. He couldn't imagine how he would have coped without her. She'd helped with everything from the practical stuff like giving them a place to stay and sharing the burden of raising Le to putting her own life on the line to find Ana. His conscience twinged; he hadn't really thanked her for any of it. He sighed. Maybe she would settle for a lazy weekend at the cabin. He headed back to the Valley of the Gods and Airwolf's hiding place.

The sun was beginning to set when Hawke pulled into a parking spot in front of the Santini Air hangar and ran his hand through the short crop of brown hair as he climbed off the bike and made his way inside. He immediately caught sight of Dom's substantial frame parked under the belly of the Jet Ranger.

He wandered over to him and crouched down. 'Need a hand with that?'

Dom raised his head an inch. 'Huh. Nice of you to turn up.' He shoved himself out from under the helicopter and viewed Hawke grumpily. 'I thought you were getting back this morning. Where've you been all day?'

'Around.' Hawke said dismissively as he patted the older man's shoulder and headed for the coffee percolator. Dom pulled himself to his feet, rearranged the red baseball cap on his mussed grey hair and followed him.

Dom accepted the mug of coffee with a gap-toothed smile and considered his young friend, seeing past the impassive expression to the lurking guilt. 'It was for the best, String.'

'I know.' Hawke rocked back and forth on his heels as he sipped on the stewed brew. He stared at the floor, then at his mug before returning to look into Dom's craggy, kindly face.

'You'll still get to see him though right?' Dom's eyes gazed at him worriedly.

'Yeah.'

'Well,' Dom gestured helplessly, 'maybe it's for the best. We weren't doing a great job at juggling everything.'

'You mean I wasn't doing a great job.' He shook his head. 'Y'know Dom, it never occurred to me that living with me wasn't the right thing for Half-pint.'

'String….'

'You were right Dom.' Hawke gave a short humourless laugh. 'Everyone saw it – even Half-pint – but not me.'

'You were trying to do your best for the boy, String. Give yourself a break.'

Hawke nodded and drank the rest of the coffee. He looked around the hangar with a frown. 'Where's Cait?'

Dom put his own mug down. 'She took a flying lesson out.' He checked the clock. 'She should be back by now.'

'Who should be back?' Caitlin's distinctive Texan drawl sounded from the hangar door and they both turned to smile a greeting at her as she walked over to join them. She was dressed in her favourite red flight suit and tennis shoes that had seen better days. Her red hair was escaping the loose ponytail to frame her freckled face that still bore the scrapes and bruises from her heroics at rescuing Ana.

'Is there any of that coffee left?' Caitlin asked as she slumped into the only available chair. Hawke shook the percolator and then shook his head.

'Sorry.'

'Typical.' She made a face at them.

Hawke shrugged. 'How about I make it up to you?'

Caitlin looked at him suspiciously and she sent a questioning glance towards Dom who gestured that he had no idea what Hawke was on about. 'How?'

'How about a weekend at the cabin doing nothing?'

Caitlin's eyebrows shot up. She'd thought he'd want to spend the time brooding on his own given what had happened with Half-pint. She didn't even have to glance at Dom to know he was just as surprised.

'Really?' She murmured as she caught the sincerity in his gaze.

'Really.' Hawke shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. 'Consider it a belated thank you for everything.'

Caitlin felt the blush heat her cheeks. 'It was no problem.'

Hawke shrugged and with a mischievous glint in his eye, quirked an eyebrow at her. 'You can have the bed.'

She laughed. The cabin wasn't exactly built for guests; normally she bunked on the sofa. 'Then OK. When do we leave?'

He shrugged again. 'Whenever you're ready.'

Caitlin sprang up. 'I'll grab my overnight bag. I'll meet you by the chopper?'

Hawke nodded and watched her retreating figure before he caught Dom's amused expression. He ignored it and invited Dom to join them.

Dom shook his head at Hawke. 'I've got a job heading for Miami first thing in the morning.' He wiped his hands on a rag and jerked his head in Cait's direction. 'That's a nice thing you're doing.'

Hawke shuffled his feet. 'She deserves it.'

'Hey you won't get any argument from me! We'd have gone bankrupt without her holding the fort this last month.' Dom chuckled as he gave Hawke an affectionate hug. 'See you on Monday.'

'See you.' Hawke walked out to the chopper to join Caitlin.