Airwolf screamed joyously over the Valley of the Gods on the way back to her Lair. Her chosen pilot, Stringfellow Hawke, eased back on the stick and sighed contentedly as they came to a halt above the funnel of the cave. He slowly lowered the world's most technologically advanced helicopter into her hiding place. He pushed the helmet off his head as the rotors slowed and the noise of the engines died away before settling back in his seat and running his hand over the front console of the machine.

The special bond between him and Airwolf seemed to have deepened since the previous week when it had been revealed that the helicopter occasionally operated using a self-preservation code that enabled her to act independently for her own survival. It had rightly worried Hawke as the original intention of the code had been to consolidate her creator, Moffett, as her only pilot. But after the first initiation of the code, Airwolf had examined her records under her educational programming and determined that her choice of pilot was the man who had taken flying first; Hawke. Airwolf had rewritten her own computer code and the team were comforted that they could fly her safely without fear that she would take control but it had left an important question unanswered…was the helicopter exhibiting an embryonic intelligence?

Hawke sighed and ran a hand through his short brown hair. He glanced at his watch and swore. He'd been due at the airfield an hour ago; Dom and Caitlin were going to kill him, he thought as he hastened to the lockers, stripping his uniform as he went. It took him minutes to secure the Lair with practised efficiency and he patted Airwolf's flank fondly before heading out on his motorbike. His mind turned to his small family as he gunned the engine and sped across the Valley floor to the main road.

His marriage to Caitlin O'Shaunessy was only a month old but it was built on the firm foundation of their existing friendship and their trust in one another; it felt solid and something he could – did – lean on. He was enjoying being married, he realised. He liked the stability of knowing Caitlin was sharing his life yet knew him enough to give him space when he needed it. He liked being a husband and he loved his new wife with an intensity that scared and humbled him in one breath. He wasn't alone anymore, he thought with satisfaction. He was looking forward to adding kids to the mix even if they had decided to wait a while although he was beginning to think that they might not wait as long as they had previously discussed…

He smiled inwardly. He knew Dom was disappointed that the couple were waiting before starting a family; no doubt the older man was hankering after a new generation of kids to bounce on his knee and be a wise mentor to like he'd been for Hawke and his elder brother, Saint John. Dominic Santini still remained a surrogate father to Hawke and had been since his parents had been lost in a tragic boat accident at sea.

Dom had been more than a father figure to just him and his brother, Hawke thought. Dom's niece, Jo Santini, had also benefited from Dom's generous and warm hearted upbringing. The feisty blonde had recently visited with her uncle seemingly determined to stay more in touch after a visit late the previous year had helped renew old familial ties between them. Hawke was still a little nervous at having her around. Jo had discovered Airwolf's Lair and had helped her uncle save Hawke and Caitlin but he couldn't help thinking that despite her assurances that their secret was safe, that something was going on with her. He sighed. Jo had left that morning for another exotic location to do a job as an interpreter so he wouldn't need to worry about her presence again for a while.

Michael would be pleased that Jo had moved on again, Hawke thought with a twinge of amusement. If he was worried about Jo's presence then the deputy director of the FIRM, even though he was still unaware of Jo's discovery of Airwolf, was even more so. Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III worried about everything, Hawke reflected with less amusement. The reason for his hasty ride back to the airfield was because they were going to be late attending a meeting with the spy to discuss Airwolf's future. Whilst it had been established that Airwolf could fly safely under the self-preservation code, Hawke knew Michael was still concerned at whether Airwolf was developing her own intelligence. They were all meeting at the newly rebuilt Red Star complex at Devil's Anvil to discuss the situation.

Hawke scowled; as far as he was concerned there wasn't a discussion to have. Besides, it wasn't as though Michael wouldn't have another Airwolf soon enough; the spy had finally admitted to him that the FIRM was building another one, supposedly faster and more technologically advanced than Airwolf. He'd even put his valued senior aide, Marella, in charge of the project although Hawke was tempted to think there were some personal motivations behind that decision.

Hawke braked hard to make a turning. Michael could keep the new Airwolf; Hawke would keep the original. He frowned. If Michael ever found Saint John, Hawke was going to have to make a tough decision; could he hand Airwolf back to the FIRM? He focused harder on the road. The FIRM was being amalgamated with another agency called the Company and Hawke felt even less obligation to them than he did to the FIRM. The only aspect of keeping Airwolf that truly bothered him was the knowledge that it would mean reneging on his deal with Michael. His relationship with the other man had evolved since Michael had first sat in his cabin and offered Hawke the deal; they were friends and that meant something to Hawke. He just hoped he wouldn't have to choose between that friendship and Airwolf.

He sighed as he entered Van Nuys airport. At least the amalgamation of the FIRM with the Company in July would bring them all a step closer to finding his brother. They'd discovered the previous year that Saint John had made it out of 'Nam; had joined a Special Forces group running covert operations after being rescued by them from the Vietcong. He'd left the Special Forces and joined an intelligence agency doing something similar; Michael was convinced it was the Company and that as soon as they were joined up he would be able to get to the answers.

Hawke eased off the accelerator as he saw the familiar sight of the Stars and Stripes banner of Santini Air. He hated to admit it but the after years of fruitless searching he was nervous that he might actually find his brother and a lot of that had to do with the fact that he wasn't sure Saint John wanted to be found. His older brother had never contacted Hawke since the moment he'd left him in the 'Nam jungle except for a goodbye letter left in an old footlocker. It left Hawke wondering whether his relationship with his brother would ever be the same again; every time Hawke thought about the lack of contact it added to the ball of hurt gathering inside him.

He braked as he pulled up and switched off the engine. He'd think about Saint John another time; he had his current family to deal with first…and Caitlin was already headed out the hangar towards him. Hawke hopped off the bike and before his redheaded wife could say anything, spun her around and kissed her.

Caitlin smiled and brushed his fringe from his blue eyes. 'Don't think that's going to stop me ragging on you.'

Hawke quirked an eyebrow. 'Maybe I didn't do it right.' His head dipped again and they were both breathless when he eased back. 'How am I doing now?'

'Better,' said Caitlin, 'I may even forgive you for having to phone Michael with the news we were going to be late and getting yelled at.'

Hawke winced. 'He gave you a hard time, huh?'

Caitlin patted his arms sympathetically. 'It's was nothing compared to the hard time he's going to give you.'

Hawke sighed. 'I guess we should head out.' He glanced back at the hangar. 'Is Dom coming?'

Caitlin nodded. 'He said he was but…'

'But?' Hawke frowned at the concern gleaming in his wife's blue-green eyes.

Caitlin gestured at a black sedan parked outside the office. 'Some guy arrived about an hour ago and Dom's been sequestered in the office with him ever since.' She bit her lip. 'It looks like a standard issue Fed vehicle to me.'

Hawke's blue eyes scanned over the vehicle and he silently agreed with Cait's assessment. 'And he's been here an hour?'

'Over an hour.' Caitlin folded her arms across her chest.

Hawke looked at the closed office door and back at Caitlin's worried expression. He rubbed his chin. 'So what are they talking about?'

Caitlin sniffed. 'And what makes you think I would know?'

'Because your curiosity wouldn't have allowed you to go a whole hour without listening at the door.'

'Hey!' Caitlin threw him a mock punch. 'I'm not that bad.'

Hawke dodged the punch and sent her a knowing look.

'OK,' she admitted, 'I tried to listen in. Once.' she stressed at the roll of his eyes, 'And I couldn't hear anything anyway,' she said ending on a sigh.

Hawke pulled her into his arms and rubbed a hand over her back. 'Have I told you today how much I love you, Mrs Hawke?'

'I love it when you call me that.' Caitlin hugged him as she smiled up at him.

The office door suddenly opened and they broke apart a little self-consciously, their arms remaining around each other's waists as they turned to watch Dom bustle out of the office with another mature man.

The visitor was about the same age as Dom and around the same height but there the similarity ended. He was heavier than Dom and carried the weight badly, his gut hanging over the tightly belted trousers of the ill-fitting dark suit under the crumpled overcoat. His face hung with jowls of flesh reminding Hawke of his dog Tet and the guy had a full grey moustache that swamped his upper lip. The look was completed with the bad comb-over. The man held out a meaty paw to Dom who shook it briskly.

'Thanks for coming out and telling me.' Dom said seemingly oblivious to the young couple standing nearby.

'Only doing my job, Santini.' The man's brown muddy eyes slid away from Dom and landed on Hawke.

Hawke stared back icily.

Dom followed his guest's stare and his eyes widened. He cleared his throat. 'Well, you'd better get going.'

'Yeah.' The brown gaze returned to the older pilot. 'Look after yourself, Santini and remember…'

'I know, I know.' Dom waved away the other man's concern as he hurried him into his car. 'I'll call you if I hear anything.'

The guy sighed and finished hauling his body into the car. A couple of minutes later the black sedan drove away from the air service heading out of Van Nuys.

Dom watched the car leave before he turned to face Hawke and Caitlin. His heart sank at their curious expressions.

'What was that about?' Hawke asked his head jerking in the direction of the departed car.

'Ah nothing important.' Dom said with a false cheerfulness that set Hawke's teeth on edge and had him exchanging a concerned look with Caitlin.

'Dom…'

'Look, why don't we all head out to lunch?' Dom said talking over the younger man. 'My treat.'

Hawke's eyebrows shot up. 'Now I know there's something wrong. What is it?'

'Nothing.' Dom gestured vaguely. 'Pete's an old friend who just dropped by to say hello.'

'Who happens to be a fed?' Hawke asked suspiciously.

'Come on, Dom.' Caitlin added. 'We can see something's wrong.'

Dom sighed. 'I'm going to say this only once; nothing is wrong and besides,' he gestured, 'it's my business so I'm going to thank you both for staying out of it.' He held their gazes for a beat and the stern paternal stare had both Hawke and Caitlin shuffling their feet like guilty teenagers.

'We're only worried about you, Dom. That's all.' Caitlin said.

'I know, honey,' he smiled at her, 'and I appreciate that. Now why don't we get that lunch, huh?'

Caitlin sighed. 'As much as I hate not to take you up on an offer of lunch – we can't.' She shoved her hands in her pockets. 'We're supposed to be meeting Michael at Red Star, remember?'

Dom slapped his hands to his cheeks dislodging the red baseball cap on his head and looked heavenward for a brief moment. 'Mamma mia. I'd forgotten all about that.'

'Well, if you two guys are ready now?' Caitlin gestured at the Jet Ranger. 'Maybe we ought to get moving.'

'You go ahead and get her started,' Dom said, 'I'll just lock up.'

Hawke nodded at Caitlin and she sighed as she walked away to comply with the suggestion. He caught Dom's arm before he could move. 'Hey, Dom. I know you want us to leave it alone but if you're in some kinda trouble…'

'Nothing like that, kid.' Dom reassured him. 'Pete was just catching me up on some old friends, that was all. Really.'

Hawke held his gaze for a heartbeat before slowly nodding. 'I'll help Cait with the pre-flight.'

'Good idea.' Dom managed a small smile. He watched Hawke walk over to the helicopter before he hastened back inside. He closed down the computer and turned to leave but hesitated and unlocked the desk drawer where he kept his personal papers. His hand rested on a tattered file…an old photo poked out and he was holding it before he knew what he was doing. It was of the Hawke family taken shortly before the tragedy that had left him with two orphaned boys. Dom sighed and returned the picture to the file before he relocked the drawer. His craggy face was lined with worry but he knew Hawke would come to find him if he stayed in the office for any longer; he would deal with it later.

'That's right. Everybody stay still now.' Dom lined up the shot carefully and depressed the button on his brand new camera. He lowered the equipment and grinned at the Hawke family gathered on the picnic blanket in front of him. 'Perfect.'

The two boys immediately moved, grabbing the discarded baseball gloves and ball to continue the game of catch that had been interrupted with their father's best friend's insistence on taking a picture.

'Boys!' Jane Hawke pointed at the bottom of the garden. 'You know the rules. Move away from the house.'

Both boys rolled their eyes at their mother but immediately followed her order.

Alan Hawke chuckled and stood up. He was a tall man, near to six foot, with blonde hair that was still neatly cut short in an army style he hadn't quite been able to ditch. He offered his petite wife a callused hand and pulled her to her feet.

'Dominic, you'll have to let me have a copy of that picture.' Jane's brown eyes twinkled at him as she swept the grass off her skirt.

'Sure.' Dom held up the camera. 'No problem.'

'The boys are growing up so fast.' Jane murmured softly her gaze drifting back to her sons.

Alan squeezed her hand that he was still holding and his wife turned to smile at him.

'I'd better get these things cleared away.' She looked dispiritedly at the debris from their barbeque piled on the wooden table on the patio.

'I'll give you a hand.' Dom offered.

Jane dismissed the offer with a shake of her head. 'We didn't invite you to do dishes. Stay and talk to Alan. You two have barely had a chance to talk all day.' She didn't wait for a reply but picked up a stack of plates and disappeared up the back porch steps, through the French doors into the house.

Alan picked up a couple of bottles from the cooler and gestured at the seats to their left. They settled into position and clinked the bottles together in a friendly toast.

Dom took a long pull on the cold beer. 'Ah I needed that.' He glanced up at the sun beating down on them. 'I tell ya, there'll be a heck of a storm needed to break this.'

'You're not wrong.' Alan reached into his pocket and offered Dom a cigarette before lighting one for himself. He blew out a thin stream of blue smoke and his sky blue eyes landed on his boys. 'She's right you know.'

'She always is.' Dom quipped.

Alan pointed at his sons. 'They're growing up too fast, Dom. String'll be thirteen this fall.'

'Thirteen.' Dom whistled. He shot his best friend a curious look; it wasn't like Alan to be so introspective. 'They're turning into fine young men, Al.'

'Yeah.' Alan leaned back in his chair. 'They are. I kinda worried about String for a while there, back when my Dad died last year. He's a sensitive kid, takes things to heart.'

'They were close.' Dom pointed out gently knowing Al's own relationship with his father had been fraught.

'Yeah.' Alan glanced at Dom. 'Dad left him the cabin.'

'You upset about that?'

Alan shrugged. 'Mainly I was worried about String. He seems to be working it out though.'

'He's tougher than he looks.' Dom noted wryly. 'Smart as a whip too. They both are.'

'You got that right.' Alan said proudly.

'What's this about?' Dom asked unable to wait for the other man to come around to whatever it was that was bothering him.

Alan blew out another stream of smoke and stubbed the cigarette out in the oversize ashtray on the small table between them. 'Jane's pregnant.'

'Jane's….' a smile started spreading across Dom's face, 'but that's great…congratula…'

Alan hushed him mid-word and sent an anxious look down the length of the garden. 'We haven't told the boys yet.' He sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. 'And don't tell Jane I told you; we're meant to be keeping it secret until she's a bit further along especially after what happened last time.'

Dom looked down at his shoes and sighed. The Hawke's had lost a baby girl to a stillbirth a few years after their younger son had been born. It had devastated Jane and he knew Alan had grieved for his daughter in his own way. His own eyes slid to the boys; they had been too young to remember they had even had a baby sister at all. 'Is Jane OK?' Dom asked quietly.

Alan nodded. 'I'm trying to get her to take things easy but you know how she is.'

'She'll be fine.' Dom reassured him.

'Guess it's rattled my cage.' Alan admitted ruefully. 'I wasn't expecting to go through it again.'

'Surprise, huh?' Dom said a little amused at the chagrined expression on Alan's face.

'Kinda.' Alan took another gulp of beer. 'We're getting too old, Dom.'

'Nah. You're only thirty-five, Alan and Jane's just a couple of years over thirty.' Dom laughed. 'My mama had my baby sister Francesca when she was forty-five.'

'I guess I'm worrying how the boys'll take the news.' Alan confessed.

'They'll be thrilled.' Dom said. 'Look how close they are.'

Alan's gaze flickered back to the game of catch and he suddenly found himself wondering if his boys were too close; Saint John was extremely protective of his little brother and String worshipped the ground the older boy walked on. He worried whether one day in the distant future Saint John would tire of his role and String would have to deal with discovering his idol had clay feet. Maybe adding a new sibling would help balance things out. He sighed. He guessed everything would work itself out in time. He dragged his attention back to his conversation with Dom and decided to change the subject.

'I have some news.'

'Oh?' Dom raised a bushy eyebrow at the change in Al's tone. It usually meant one thing; trouble.

'Alex came to see us the other day.' Alan said.

'Alex.' Dom's brow lowered ominously. Alex Brannigan was Jane's brother but he was also a bad lot.

'He had a lead.' Alan reached for another cigarette. 'On Sallis.'

'Sallis?' Dom's dark eyes widened. 'You can't seriously be thinking of going after that guy again, Alan.'

'You were there too, Dom. You heard what he said.' Alan blew out the match and flicked it into the ashtray. 'He all but admitted he did it.'

'I know.' Dom gestured. 'That's why I think we ought to stay out of it. Let the authorities deal with it.'

'The man murdered my father, Dom.'

'You may be right,' Dom acknowledged, 'but that's even more of a reason for us to stay out of it.'

'They can't catch him.' Alan pointed out. 'Sallis is too well protected.'

'And what makes you think we can catch him?' Dom asked with exaggerated patience.

'I have a plan.' Alan said.

'No.' Dom shifted in his seat. 'No. Leave me out of it.'

'I need someone backing me, Dom.'

There was silence.

Dom sneaked a peek at Alan and saw his friend gazing back at him seriously. 'I said no.' He repeated exasperatedly.

'But you're going to say yes,' Alan replied, 'especially when I tell you the plan.'

'Doesn't my saying no mean anything to you?'

'Only when you mean it.' Alan slapped a hand on Dom's shoulder. 'Besides, who else is going to keep me out of trouble, huh?'

Dom sighed and handed Alan his empty bottle. 'I think I'm going to need another one of these.'

Alan grinned and one of his eyebrows quirked upwards. 'You might be right.'