The sound of a helicopter approaching disturbed Caitlin and she put aside the book she was reading. She had woken with nausea shortly after Hawke had left and after coping with the first bout of sickness, had washed and dressed determinedly before tiredness had sent her curling up on the sofa under a blanket to wait for him to return. She figured he would only leave her as long as it took to reassure Dom and to check out the situation. Her fingers pleated the blanket briefly before she shoved it back and got to her feet. She knew he was worried about her; she was worried herself, she admitted. It was rare for her to be sick and the constant lethargy and vomiting was beginning to take its toll.

She ran a hand through her red hair to straighten it and headed out to greet Hawke. She paused on the porch and blinked in surprise at the white chopper on the landing pier. Her surprise turned into delight at the sight of Marella climbing out. She smiled as the dark-haired woman walked over to her, the chopper taking flight behind her.

'Marella.' Caitlin hugged her friend gently.

Marella's dark eyes scanned over the redhead and frowned at how thin Caitlin looked. The other woman was naturally slender but she seemed thinner somehow and incredibly fragile. 'I heard you were sick and I thought I'd come visit.' She explained.

'Come in.' Caitlin ushered her inside and went to the kitchen to start a pot of tea.

Marella followed her and slid onto a tall stool by the breakfast bar. 'Hawke not around?'

'He had to go to airfield.' Caitlin said. 'There was a break-in.'

'A break-in?' Marella frowned.

'The guys are on top of it.' Caitlin said dismissively.

Marella blinked. Caitlin must be feeling lousy, she thought, she'd never known the other woman not to want to be in the middle of the action. 'How are you?'

'I'm OK.' Caitlin made a face. 'It's just a stomach bug. I'm sure I'll be fine in a couple of days.'

'You've been to a doctor?' Marella asked.

Caitlin smiled at her wryly. 'Hawke insisted on taking me yesterday to see Doctor Peters.'

'What did she say?' Marella asked her own eyes taking in Caitlin's pale face that caused her freckles to stand out in stark relief and the shadows under her blue-green eyes.

'She said it was probably a stomach bug and I'd be fine in a couple of days.' Caitlin rolled her eyes.

'What are your symptoms?' Marella tapped her fingers lightly on the top of the counter. She'd trained as a medical doctor but she didn't often get to practice the skills she had developed.

'I can't seem to keep anything down,' Caitlin admitted coming to stand by the breakfast bar as she waited for the kettle to boil, 'and I'm just tired all of the time.'

Marella frowned. 'Is there a particular part of the day when you're vomiting?'

Caitlin's eyes narrowed at the question. 'No,' she said firmly, 'it happens all day.' She folded her arms and held Marella's eyes. 'I'm not pregnant.'

Caitlin's words were gentle rather than angry and Marella knew she'd softened her tone because of Marella's own situation. She sighed. 'You know morning sickness isn't restricted to just the morning.'

Caitlin frowned but still shook her head. 'We are trying but I…' she fumbled with the explanation; she didn't exactly want to go into the details of her menstrual cycle. She sighed, 'let's just say it hasn't happened yet.'

'I figured you were trying.' Marella said.

'I thought Michael might have told you.' Caitlin said turning back to the kettle and making the tea. 'He tricked Dom into telling him.'

'I think he's worried about mentioning babies around me.' Marella sighed.

'How are you doing?' Caitlin asked.

Marella shrugged. 'Better. I'm not denying that it hurts knowing I'll never be able to have children of my own but I'd rather people didn't walk on eggshells around me.' She looked directly at Caitlin. 'I think it's great you and Hawke have decided to have a baby and I don't want you to feel that you can't talk about it with me.'

'Point taken.' Caitlin said. She picked up the tea tray and carried it over to the seating area. Marella took a chair, leaving Caitlin the sofa.

'So,' Caitlin asked deciding a change of subject was in order, 'Michael told me about your date.'

'You impressed him with your interrogation technique.' Marella said dryly taking the cup Caitlin handed her. 'I admit I'm impressed. It's not easy getting something out of Michael.'

'I'm just pleased for the two of you.' Caitlin said.

'Thanks.' Marella took a sip of the brew. 'Actually we're hoping you might be able to help us.'

'Oh?'

Marella sighed. 'We've decided to keep our relationship a secret from everyone else at the FIRM.'

'Makes sense.' Caitlin said. 'I'm guessing neither of you want to be the topic of gossip.'

Marella nodded. 'Only that makes arranging a date very difficult.'

Caitlin caught on immediately. 'Because you're both being driven around by FIRM agents.'

'Exactly.' Marella said. 'They're discreet but…'

'But it makes it more likely that the fact that you're dating will become common knowledge sooner rather than later.' Caitlin deduced.

'Any ideas?' Marella asked.

'Sure.' Caitlin waved a hand at the cabin. 'You can use this place.'

'Use…?'

Caitlin's smile was conspiratorial. 'Well, everyone's used to you two coming here for dinner. Hawke and I can be here when you arrive and then take off. You can have the cabin to yourselves until you get picked up.' Her smile widened and her eyes gleamed mischievously. 'Or you can stay over and get picked up the next day.'

Marella ignored the last suggestion and homed in on the solution. 'That could work.'

Caitlin nodded. 'It will work.'

Marella sighed in relief. 'Thanks.'

'My pleasure.' Caitlin took a sip of her tea and hastily put it down as her stomach protested.

'You OK?' Marella asked quickly seeing the other woman blanch.

Caitlin waved her back into her seat. 'I'm fine or at least,' she said with grim determination, 'I will be.' She took a steadying breath and felt the nausea pass.

'I should tell you Michael has decided not to say anything to Angelina until we're sure it's going to work out.'

Caitlin nodded. 'That makes sense.' She smiled. 'Don't worry, I won't say anything and I'll make sure Hawke doesn't either.'

'I seem to be thanking you a lot.' Marella said.

'What are friends for if you can't use them to help you have an illicit affair?' joked Caitlin.

'It's not as easy as I thought it would be.' Marella admitted. Her dark eyes caught Caitlin's. 'How did you and Hawke make the transition from friends to a relationship so easily?' She took a sip of tea.

Caitlin smiled smugly. 'We skipped the dating part and went straight to being lovers.'

Marella choked on the tea and it took her a few minutes of coughing before she regained her composure. 'I don't think that will work for Michael and me.' She said eventually.

Caitlin laughed and agreed with her. She shrugged a little self-consciously. 'To be honest, it wasn't planned to happen that way; it just did.'

Marella looked at her curiously but sighed. 'I won't ask.'

'Even though your curiosity is killing you?' Caitlin remarked amused. She shrugged again. 'There's not a lot to tell. When I arrived back from Texas, I went straight to Santini Air and met up with Hawke. I was nervous he was going to reject me but instead he just walked right up and kissed me.'

Marella smiled at the happiness that glowed from the other woman's eyes at the memory.

'Anyway,' Caitlin said continuing, 'we came back to the cabin to talk and it got late. It was before the bedroom extension so there was only the one bed up on the sleeping deck and Hawke offered it to me whilst he slept on the sofa.'

Marella nodded. She remembered the old layout of the cabin very well.

'I had a nightmare about getting shot,' Caitlin remembered, her fingers unconsciously rubbing her shoulder at the old bullet wound. 'I didn't really remember how I'd gotten shot and that was manifesting itself in nightmares.'

'So you had a nightmare?' Marella prompted.

'And screamed.' Caitlin sighed. 'I woke Hawke up and he made me some hot chocolate. We were sitting in front of the fire and I admitted what the nightmare had been about so he talked me through what had happened; how I'd saved his life, how I'd been shot taking a bullet for him.'

'That must have been difficult for him.' Marella murmured. She'd seen Hawke waiting for Caitlin to come out of surgery after the incident; he'd been a mess.

She nodded. 'And then he kinda revealed that when he'd first seen me after I'd been shot, how he'd thought I was dead and…' she shook her head, 'he was in so much pain, I kissed him without thinking and then,' she gestured and picked up the cup she'd discarded, 'one thing kinda led to another.'

'You don't seem to regret the lack of dating.' Marella noted.

Caitlin smiled and her eyes gleamed momentarily with feminine satisfaction. 'I haven't really missed out.'

'You sound very happy.' Marella said.

'I am.' Caitlin admitted. 'There are times I have to pinch myself I'm so happy.'

'I felt like that when Michael asked me out.' Marella admitted. 'I never thought it would ever happen.'

'Well, his ex-wife did a pretty good number of him.' Caitlin commented. 'It's no wonder he's taking it slowly.'

'It suits me.' Marella said. 'Our situation is complicated and there's Angelina to consider.'

Caitlin opened her mouth to speak and stopped at the sound of a helicopter. 'This'll be Hawke.'

Marella stayed behind as Caitlin went out to greet her husband. They walked back into the cabin arm in arm.

'So you're feeling a little better?' Hawke asked his blue eyes scanning over Caitlin's pale face.

'A little.' She said. 'Marella's been cheering me up.'

Hawke caught sight of the dark-haired agent sat in one of the chairs and smiled.

Marella waved a hand in greeting. 'What's the story on the break-in?' She asked as the couple sat back down on the sofa.

Hawke shrugged. 'Michael seems to have an army of people going over everything at the office.' He complained. 'But it definitely looks like someone broke in and tried to make it look like random vandalism.'

'Great.' Caitlin muttered.

'I take it Michael thinks someone tried to find out about Airwolf.' Marella murmured.

Hawke nodded. 'It's possible.' He sighed. 'Jo turned up.'

'Jo?' Caitlin frowned. 'Have you talked to her?'

Hawke nodded again. 'She said she was just scared to tell us about working for the Company.'

'And you believed her?' Marella asked sceptically ignoring the angry flash in Hawke's blue eyes.

'I believe she won't do anything to hurt Dom.' He said repeating his earlier words to Michael. 'And whilst she knows about Airwolf, she doesn't know what we're planning with the fake Airwolf either.'

Marella absorbed the news that Jo Santini knew about Airwolf and sighed at the implacable expression on Hawke's face. 'I'd better call and head back to Red Star.'

Hawke felt Caitlin poke him in the ribs and gestured. 'Don't go on my account.' He gave Marella an apologetic look. 'I'm having a bad day.' His eyes flickered to Caitlin. 'Guess who came to investigate the break-in when Dom called the cops?'

'Who?'

'Marin.'

'Marin.' Caitlin's eyes widened with alarm. 'You mean the detective who tried to arrest me for murder?'

'The one and only.'

'He transferred?' Her voice rose another octave and Hawke picked up her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

'Michael kicked him off the case.' He said.

'Good.' Caitlin said.

There was a beeping noise and all of them turned to the bar at the back of the cabin where they kept the FIRM satellite phone. Hawke got to his feet and stalked over to snatch up the receiver. 'Yeah?'

He frowned and gestured at Marella with the receiver. 'It's for you.'

Marella walked over and took off her earring to answer the phone. 'Yes?' Her dark eyes widened in horror. 'I'm on my way.' She slapped the phone down. 'I need a lift to Red Star.'

'What's happened?' Caitlin demanded.

'It's the fake Airwolf,' Marella said, her voice verging on panic, 'someone's stolen it.'