Hawke turned from the sink and caught sight of Caitlin wiping the table down. He had caught some fresh fish from the lake, pulled together a salad and they'd eaten the simple meal in candlelight with an expensive wine that he'd been saving for a special occasion. He dried his hands on the side of his jeans and took the couple of strides forward to get to Caitlin. He whipped the cloth from her hands and pointed sternly at the sofa.

'Sit.' He said. 'You're supposed to be relaxing.'

'I am.' She protested.

He offered her the glass of wine she'd put to one side and raised an eyebrow at her. She sighed and took the glass before subsiding onto the couch, curling up with her legs underneath her. Tet wandered over to her and she stroked his silky head. Hawke smiled at the homely image she presented. Her hair was damp from a long bubble bath; her face was bare of make-up revealing the freckles that were liberally scattered across her creamy skin. She was dressed in old jeans that were moulded to her body and she'd borrowed his blue sweater and some woolly socks. He'd done the right thing inviting her, he realised contentedly. He turned his attention back to clean up and within a few minutes was settling beside her, his own glass in one hand and the bottle in the other. He refilled the glasses.

'This is very good wine.' Caitlin commented.

Hawke shrugged. 'I've been saving it. Seemed like the right time to open it.'

'Oh?'

'You deserve it.' His glass clinked against hers.

Caitlin eyed him over the rim of the glass as she took a sip. 'You know you really don't need to this.'

'Do what?' He got up briefly to stoke the fire.

'Pamper me.' She said flushing.

He sat back down and picked up her hand, running his thumb over her bruised knuckles. The scrapes were healing but she still flinched. 'Seems to me you need a little pampering.'

The wine was giving Caitlin a fuzzy inner glow and she decided that she was imagining the look in his eyes. 'Just bumps and bruises.' She murmured. 'A bit like yours.' Her finger traced the faint scar of a cut over his left eye.

The soft touch startled him and he was abruptly aware of their closeness and at his own ease with it. Alarmed, he moved, retrieving his own wine and taking a healthy gulp before settling back, a little bit more distance between them. 'You were right.'

'I often am.' She quipped to hide her disappointment at the subtle change in him. 'About what?'

He shifted to look at her fully, propping his head up on his hand, his elbow resting on the back of the sofa. 'When I saw you taking down that creep Darrow when we rescued Ana I realised that I do underestimate you.'

She covered her surprise with an awkward shrug. 'I was pretty naïve when I started with you guys.'

'Yeah but you stopped being the rookie member of the team a while back.'

She glowed under the praise and wondered if he had any idea how much the words meant to her. 'Thanks.'

Hawke regarded her with a curious expression. 'You never talk about being a cop.'

'Sure I do.'

'No you don't.' Hawke frowned. 'Why'd you decide to join the police force?'

Caitlin shifted. 'Oh you know. I wanted to be one of the good guys, bring evil criminals to justice.'

'And Highway Patrol because…'

'Because I wanted to fly.' Caitlin smiled sadly. 'Little did I know I was signing up to be a flying meter-maid.'

'Bogan only called you that to rattle your chain.'

'He was right though.' Caitlin admitted. 'I graduated at the top of my academy class, I have two degrees, one of them in criminal psychology but because I was the only female in the unit, I got assigned out to the boondocks.' She sipped her wine. 'It had its moments but it was usually pretty quiet duty.'

'Not quite the chasing the bad guys you anticipated?' Hawke asked.

She shook her head. 'You got the odd cattle rustler and the occasional armed robbery at a convenience store but that was about it.'

'Did you say cattle rustler?' Hawke teased her.

She gave him a playful slap and pulled a face. 'I stuck it for a couple of years before I asked for reassignment.

'And got Pope County?'

'And got Pope County.' She confirmed. 'Seeing your friend Jimmy run to ground by Sheriff Bogan, that was my first day.'

'Hell of a first day.'

'And I blew it.' She confessed. 'I should have stayed with him.'

'Bogan would have killed you too.' Hawke laid a comforting hand on her arm. 'You know that.'

'I know.' Caitlin sighed. 'But it doesn't stop me feeling guilty about it sometimes.'

'I know.' Hawke had his own guilt about Jimmy's death; he'd turned up a day too late to save him. 'Least we saved each other.'

'You mean you saved me.' Caitlin said laughing.

'You let me make that call to Dom.' Hawke pointed out.

She nodded and let it go.

Hawke cleared his throat. 'Do you miss it? Being a cop?'

She bit her lip. 'Honestly? A little but in some ways I get to chase the bad guys more now then when I was a cop.'

'When I'm not assigning you to the boondocks.' Hawke commented wryly thinking of the number of times he tried to keep her out of the action with background checks or investigative work.

Her lips twitched. 'Flying Airwolf kinda makes up for it.'

'Yeah.'

She smiled at the understated agreement. 'Not to mention I get to hang out with you and Dom.'

His blue eyes suddenly twinkled at her. 'We kinda like having you around too.'

She warmed at the comment and snuggled back into the cushions, taking a sip of her wine. A comfortable silence fell over them.

Hawke sipped his wine and watched the flames flickering in the hearth. The crackle of the fire was practically the only sound filling the cabin. It was strange, he thought frowning, for it to be this quiet. He'd gotten used to Le being around; the youngster rarely stayed still or silent for very long.

'Hey.'

The soft murmur had him turning back to Caitlin and he felt a rush of warmth race through him at the worry and concern in her eyes; there was nothing like knowing someone cared about you.

'I was just thinking the cabin seems real quiet without Le.'

Caitlin nodded. 'I know what you mean.' She shifted a little. 'How was Seattle?'

'OK.' Hawke sighed. 'His father's family, the Kelsey's, seem like nice people. They made Ana and Le both feel welcome.' His voice caught in his throat remembering the way the Kelsey's had looked at Le, like a part of their son had been returned to them. He stood up to stoke the fire to cover his slip in control, leaving his glass on the floor by the couch.

'You want to talk about it?'

He straightened and stiffened a little; his muscles tensing. 'Nothing to talk about.'

Caitlin hesitated. He wouldn't thank her for pressing it. She set her glass aside and got to her feet, moving in front of the fire as though to warm her hands. 'You're allowed to be upset you know.'

Hawke sighed and his eyes flickered briefly to her. 'I'm fine.'

'Sure.' Caitlin agreed readily, seeing the warning glint in the look. She rubbed her arms. 'Well, if you do want to talk about it, I mean, when you're ready…I just…'

He felt his lips twitch automatically as she stumbled over her words.

'I mean I miss him too.' She concluded plaintively with a sigh.

Hawke felt his chest tighten on a sudden rush of emotion and he couldn't speak.

'Well, I think I'll head up to bed…' Caitlin said taking a step back, despondent at his lack of reaction.

Hawke glanced back. 'Cait…' She stopped and turned back. He reached out to pull her into a hug. It was meant to be a friendly gesture to thank her but when his arms went round her, they tightened and he buried his face in her hair. She held onto him, offering wordless support. He didn't know how long they stood together before the simple comfort of holding her shifted into awareness; her scent, the way her hand was stroking the back of his neck…

He shifted back, loosening his hold to look at her sheepishly. 'I don't think I'm quite living up to the spirit of the weekend I offered you.'

'Hey, what are friends for if you can't lean on them a little?' Caitlin smiled up at him.

'And you are the best.' Hawke unthinkingly bent to drop a kiss on her lips. She shivered against him as his lips lightly touched hers. He eased back from her and was suddenly aware that they were still stood holding each other. Their eyes caught and held. Hawke looked down at the drowsy vulnerability in her face and knew she wouldn't stop him if he kissed her again. His gaze dropped to her lips. He could imagine one kiss leading to another. The urge to just lean forward and…he pulled back.

Hawke cleared his throat and stepped out of their embrace, shoving his hands in his pockets. Caitlin crossed her arms over her chest and inwardly sighed. For a moment, for a long moment, she'd thought he was going to kiss her again. Too much wine, she chastised herself, you'll be imagining he's proposed next.

'I…uh…I think I'll head up now.' She said.

Hawke nodded and responded absently as she said goodnight. He pottered for while before he grabbed the blankets from the window chest and stretched out on the sofa. He found his gaze drifting unwilling to the upper deck of the cabin for what seemed the millionth time. He jerked his head away and turned to face the fire. What on earth had he been thinking almost kissing Caitlin like that? He'd almost taken advantage of her and ruined their friendship. He sighed. There'd always been chemistry between them, he admitted to himself, but…hell. He shifted onto his back restlessly.

Maybe…maybe what had happened wasn't unexpected. After all, he and Cait had been living together; taking care of Le together. It had created an intimacy between them and the evening alone in the cabin without the safe buffer of Dom had only added to it. He'd enjoyed coming home with her, he thought wistfully. He sighed and turned over again. They just needed to get back to normal and their friendship would settle again. He drew the blankets nearer and closed his eyes firmly.