It was the early hours of the morning when Marella stopped by the clinic to check on Michael. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and ignored the ache in her shoulders. It had taken her longer than expected to deal with the fallout from Michael's injury not to mention a tense meeting with Zeus over Michael's jaunt to Antarctica. She sighed and opened the room door, slipping inside noiselessly.

Her eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness in the room. Michael lay sound asleep swaddled in blankets with only his head peeking out. A cage lifted the blankets from his knee and created a misshapen appearance in the bed. Marella picked up the chart and flipped through it. She frowned at the scrawled writing and squinted in the half-light trying to read it. A sound had her turning sharply to look toward the sofa near the window on the far side of the room. Her eyes met Gemma's.

'Excuse me.' Marella murmured quietly. 'I didn't realise you were here.' She replaced the chart and walked swiftly out. She was half-way down the corridor when she heard Gemma call her name. She stopped and turned back to face the other woman.

Gemma was wearing a night-dress and terry-cloth robe, her feet in slip-on slippers. She felt at a disadvantage compared to Marella's pristine white suit. Her chin went up. 'I think we should talk.'

Marella shoved her hands in her pockets. 'I don't think we have a whole lot to talk about, Gemma.'

'How about Michael?' Gemma pinned Marella with a frank stare. 'And the fact that we're both still in love with the same man.'

Marella stiffened. 'I wasn't in love with Michael five years ago.'

'Please,' Gemma rolled her eyes in disbelief, 'I didn't believe it five years ago and I certainly don't believe it now.'

'Whether you believe it or not, it's the truth.' Her dark eyes flashed. 'And besides, it's hardly any of your business anymore.'

Gemma's brown eyes hardened. 'I let you drive me away from Michael once.' She crossed her arms over her chest. 'I won't do it again.'

Marella took a steadying breath. 'You're free to do whatever you want.' She walked away.

The conversation was in Marella's head when she alighted from the FIRM limo and headed into the Santini Air office the next day. She gave a knock and went in at Caitlin's yell to enter.

Caitlin welcomed her with a smile, holding up a finger whilst she finished the phone call she was taking. 'Yes, tomorrow at two. Bye for now.' She leaned back in the chair and stretched, her blue-green eyes taking in the shadows under Marella's and the paleness of the smooth coffee coloured complexion. 'Want some coffee?'

Marella hesitated and then nodded. Caitlin waved her into a chair and got up to pour them both a mug.

Marella took hers with a smile of thanks. 'I came for the shopping list.' She took a gulp of the bitter hot liquid.

'Here.' Caitlin flicked the braid of red hair over her shoulder and handed Marella a sheet of paper.

Marella's eyebrows shot up at the long list of Airwolf parts. 'Is there anything that doesn't need replacing?'

Caitlin laughed. 'Not much.'

'How did they break the landing gear?' Marella frowned.

'Apparently a rhinoceros charged them.' Caitlin shrugged at Marella's astounded expression. 'I know it sounds like one of Dom's tall tales to me too.'

Marella folded the list and put it in her handbag. 'I guess this means the Lady's going to be out of commission for a while.'

'Hawke thinks at least a couple of weeks,' Caitlin agreed, 'and that's if we get the parts quickly.'

Marella picked up her mug again. 'Some of these are custom items; it could take a couple of weeks just to get them commissioned.'

Caitlin sighed. 'Figures.' She sipped her coffee. 'How's Michael?'

'Resting comfortably.' Marella said evenly.

Caitlin caught the flicker of something in dark depths of Marella's eyes. 'You want to talk about it?'

Marella avoided her gaze. 'There isn't anything to talk about.'

'I know how I felt when Hawke spent a lot of time with his ex-girlfriend.' Caitlin commented.

'It's hardly the same.' Marella argued, her finger rubbing at the rim of the mug, 'you and Hawke are together, I mean.' She sighed and massaged her temple. 'Michael and I are just colleagues.'

Caitlin hesitated before she continued. 'Hawke said Gemma left because she thought you and Michael were having an affair.'

Marella's eyes flew to the younger woman's. 'I didn't realise…' she squirmed in the chair, 'I didn't realise it was common knowledge.'

'I doubt that it is.' Caitlin said. 'You know Hawke; I had to wheedle it out of him.' She tapped the side of her mug. 'What happened?' She gently prodded and waited patiently to see whether Marella would confide in her.

Marella was used to keeping secrets but the temptation to talk to someone was seductive. Caitlin was a good choice of confidante; she was trustworthy, discreet and importantly nothing really to do with the FIRM. She set her mug down and leaned back in the chair capitulating. 'You can't ever let on to Michael that I told you…he doesn't know some of this and…'

'He won't hear it from me, Marella.' Caitlin assured her.

Marella got to her feet and paced to the window. She folded her arms and looked out sightlessly at the bustling airfield beyond the pane of glass. 'I was assigned as Michael's senior aide six years ago. I was thrilled. As far as I was concerned it was like winning the lottery. I got to be at the heart of the business and I got to work with Michael, one of our best intelligence operatives.' She rubbed her arms. 'He'd recruited me but I hadn't really worked with him up till then because I was out in the field. As soon as I started working as his aide, we just clicked straight away,' she turned back to Caitlin who was listening intently, 'with this really great working rapport.' She leaned back on the window sill and shoved her hands in the pockets of her skirt. 'I knew Michael was married so I never thought about him in any romantic way in fact…' she gave a small laugh, 'when I first met Gemma I thought we could be friends especially as Gemma had been Michael's senior aide herself.'

Marella sighed and walked back over to the chair. She sat down and gestured. 'It became obvious fairly quickly though that the marriage was in trouble. He never said anything but there were signs. I figured the best way for me to support him was by ensuring everything at work ran smoothly.' She swept her dark hair back off her face. 'Anyway, initially it was small comments when Gemma would call or visit the office, just snide hints that I was providing Michael with more than professional services. At the end it was outright hostility.' She met Caitlin's eyes squarely. 'Gemma came to see me at my home. She accused me of having an affair with Michael, that all the problems in the marriage would be resolved if I just went away and that if I cared about Michael, I would leave.'

'Wow.' Caitlin murmured wondering at the desperation and jealousy that had driven Gemma to confront Marella in such a way.

'The crazy thing was that I did what she asked and asked Michael for a transfer.' Marella said with a disparaging laugh. 'Only he wouldn't agree to release me.' She sighed deeply. 'Looking back I think maybe he knew why I'd asked. Not about Gemma's visit but the underlying reason.'

'So you stayed.'

'So I stayed.' Marella reached for the mug of cooled coffee and swallowed some wincing at the lukewarm liquid. 'And a month or so later, about a year after I'd been assigned, Gemma left him.' She sighed. 'I went to see Michael after his surgery last night to check he was OK. She was with him and she made it pretty clear that she's considering reconciling with him.'

'It doesn't mean that Michael would consider reconciling with her.' Caitlin pointed out.

Marella gestured almost slopping cold coffee over the floor. 'You didn't see how long it took for him to get over her and she's the reason why he won't…' she stopped abruptly; she hadn't meant to reveal that much.

'She's the reason why you two still haven't moved beyond the great working rapport.' Caitlin stated wryly.

Marella felt the heat of a blush across her cheeks even as she replied. 'I accepted a long time ago that's all it would be.'

But that's not all it is, thought Caitlin.

'I guess I'm just wondering if they do get back together…' Marella sighed. 'I'm not sure I could carry on as Michael's aide if he was with Gemma again.'

'Talk to Michael before you decide anything, Marella.' Caitlin said.

Marella set the mug back down. 'I'd better get back. Thanks for the chat.' She got to her feet and picked up her handbag. 'Tell Hawke I'll get on the list immediately.'

Caitlin nodded. 'We'll be by the clinic later. I'll see you then.'

Marella closed the office door behind her and headed for the limo. She climbed in with an absent thank you at the driver. Marella sighed. Her talk with Caitlin had helped clear her head. She had been honest with Caitlin when she had said that she had accepted the boundaries that existed with her relationship with Michael but she knew some of her defensiveness with Gemma was rooted in the knowledge that she cared more about Michael than she should given their positions. Michael was a good man, an honourable man, someone Marella knew she could very easily fall in love with if she was given the opportunity. She leaned back against the cool leather and closed her eyes; that opportunity was unlikely and if Michael did reconcile with his ex-wife…Caitlin was right; she shouldn't anticipate what would happen and if it did; she would talk to Michael.