'So,' Michael pushed his glasses up his nose, 'why the clandestine meeting?' The spy was sat in one of the new chairs at the console in the Lair and trying hard to ignore that Hawke was leaning on a piece of equipment that had cost over a million dollars.

Hawke looked over the steel platform at Michael and suppressed the urge to sigh. It was a necessary evil, he told himself ruthlessly. No matter what Dom thought, Rosa needed checking out. He'd called Michael almost as soon as Dom had left the Lair. There were now two white jeeps parked in front of Airwolf.

'I need a favour.' Hawke said sighing when Michael raised an eyebrow inquisitively and rested his clasped hands on his cane. 'I need an immediate background check on Rosa Delmitri.'

'Dominic's new lady friend?' Michael checked.

Hawke nodded.

Michael looked at him steadily. 'You think she's a threat?'

'I don't know.' Hawke said. 'That's why I want to check her out.'

'Without Dominic knowing.' Michael surmised, understanding why he'd been summoned to the Lair for the rendezvous.

'If she's clean he doesn't have to know.' Hawke pointed out.

'And if she's not?' Michael asked.

Hawke shuffled uncomfortably. 'I'll cross that bridge if it happens.'

Michael stroked his moustache. 'You could always tell him that it was my idea.'

'If it happens, Michael, it won't help any my lying to him about it.' Hawke said unhappily.

Michael nodded slowly. 'Why the urgency?'

Hawke sighed. 'He's thinking of asking her to marry him.'

'Marry?' Michael's eyebrows shot up under his fringe.

'He says he doesn't want to waste any time.' Hawke muttered.

'I see.'

'I don't.' Hawke couldn't believe he'd blurted the words out. He was too tired for this, he thought. He pushed away from the console and headed off the platform to Airwolf.

Michael followed him and wondered whether to say anything. He sighed and adjusted his glasses again. 'Hawke…'

'Forget it, Michael.' Hawke laid a fist on Airwolf's armour, his back to the other man. 'I'm just worried about him, that's all.'

'He seems OK.' Michael said gently.

'Sure,' Hawke replied dryly, 'if you ignore the fact that he's about to rush into a marriage with a woman he hardly knows.' He shook his head and folded his arms as he turned and leaned back against Airwolf's closed door to look at Michael.

'I guess the chest pains gave him a wake up call.' Michael commented.

'That's what he says.'

'And with you getting together with Cait, especially now the two of you have moved in together, he must be wondering what the future holds for him.'

Hawke stared at him quizzically.

'He might anticipate that you won't need him in your life as much, Hawke.' Michael clarified. He saw the realisation hit in Hawke's blue eyes before the younger man's guard went back up. He tapped his cane on the ground. 'I'll get on that background check.' He walked over to one of the jeeps, throwing the cane into the passenger seat. 'By the way, Angelina wants to know if she can come up to the cabin this weekend.'

Hawke almost smiled. 'Sure. Cait and I don't leave for her sister's wedding till Monday.' He gestured. 'Actually you could do me a favour and take Tet whilst we're away.'

'Angelina will love that.' Michael said thinking briefly of his pristine house and sighing. He was about to leave when he hesitated. 'I have something else to tell you.'

'Oh?'

'You're not going to like it.' Michael warned.

'I never do.' Hawke commented wryly. 'What is it?'

'I talked to Zeus.' Michael said. 'I asked him why the FIA wanted to kidnap him.'

'He give you a straight answer?' Hawke asked surprised.

'I didn't give him much of a choice.' Michael smoothed his tie. 'This review the Senate Oversight Committee is doing…'

'What about it?' Hawke had a feeling he didn't really want to know the answer.

'They're looking at amalgamating some of the agencies.'

'Including the FIRM?'

'Including the FIRM.' Michael confirmed.

'You're right.' Hawke said. 'I don't like it.'

'No more than me.'

'You going to be OK Michael?' Hawke asked.

The spy shrugged. 'It depends on what happens. It could all come to nothing.' He gestured. 'Thanks to you and Miss Connolly we scored a big success today. But we need more.'

Hawke frowned. 'You want Airwolf back?'

'Thanks for the offer but…no.' Michael smiled. 'We'll be OK.'

Hawke lips tilted upwards momentarily and there was a moment of awkward silence. He cleared his throat. 'By the way, thanks for yesterday. If you hadn't turned up when you did…'

Michael shrugged and his good eye twinkled. 'You probably would have gotten out of it without me.'

'Well, thanks anyway.' Hawke said crossing his arms and leaning a shoulder against Airwolf. 'I definitely wouldn't have been able to get into that basement without you.'

Michael looked at him quizzically.

'Opening the door.' Hawke clarified. 'If you hadn't spotted the Airwolf code and let me into the basement, I would never have found Zeus.'

Michael frowned. 'It wasn't me.'

Hawke's eyes narrowed. 'Funny, Michael.'

'Seriously, Hawke. It wasn't me.' Michael commented. He shrugged again. 'It probably happened once I left the console to come in after you. Dom probably caught it.'

'Yeah.' Hawke agreed a little uncertainly. 'That's probably it.'

Both men looked at each other for a moment.

Michael shook his head and gunned the engine. 'I'll be in touch.'

Hawke watched him back out of the Lair entrance. He rubbed a hand through his short brown hair and frowned. It probably made more sense that Dom had been the one to recognise the code and open the basement door.

He sighed. The older man seemed so happy and was so supportive about Hawke's relationship with Caitlin that it had never really occurred to him that Dom might be feeling left out or worried that he would be left out in the future. Hawke swore loudly in the empty Lair. How was he supposed to deal with Dom's feelings about it all for crying out loud? God knew he was having a hard enough time dealing with his own. He was tired. Bone tired. He needed to get home and get some sleep. He could sort it all out when he was able to think straight.