Stringfellow Hawke cradled his son against him, breathing in the scent of baby powder before he gently lowered him into the crib. He stroked the tiny fingers that waved up at him and smiled unreservedly into the bright blue eyes. His son was a mere two weeks old and Hawke still regarded him with a sense of awe. He smiled as the baby's eyes drifted shut. Hawke glanced behind him as he sensed he was being watched. His wife, Caitlin smiled back at him from their bedroom doorway. Her red hair was caught up in a ponytail and she was wearing the sweats that seemed to have become a uniform for her since the birth. She still carried a little of her pregnancy weight and the additional curves softened the lines of her boyish body. Hawke thought he'd never seen her look so beautiful.

'He's supposed to be sleeping.' Caitlin said, her Texan accent rolling through the stage whisper as she wandered into the bedroom to stand next to him and slipped her arm around his waist.

He hugged her to him. 'He woke up.'

'Are sure Daddy didn't wake him up?' Caitlin asked wryly.

Hawke gave her an abashed look; he was complete enamoured with their child and she knew him too well.

She patted his chest and dropped a soft kiss on his lips. 'Come on. Let's leave him to get some sleep.'

Hawke allowed her to pull him out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the living area of the cabin. He glanced at the baby paraphernalia that littered the space and sighed in contentment. His dog, Tet, padded over and Hawke patted his head absently as he followed his wife into the kitchen. She filled the kettle and set in on the hob. He slid his hands around her waist and cuddled her. 'Your folks get away OK?'

Caitlin's parents had arrived the day after the birth and had helped the couple with the transition from the hospital to the cabin. Hawke had to admit it had been good to have them there despite the lack of privacy. In truth, although he and Caitlin were more than thrilled at becoming parents, they'd also both been daunted by the sudden reality of having a tiny human being dependent on them. Patrick and Maggie had been provided plenty of practical advice on simple things like diaper changes and bathing the baby that Hawke had appreciated and whilst Caitlin was much more experienced, having looked after her nieces and nephews, he knew they'd both found the presence of the older couple reassuring. But they couldn't stay forever and Caitlin had taken them to the airport earlier.

'They did.' Caitlin smiled. 'Mom was still trying to convince me we should all go to the ranch for a while especially with Christmas coming up.'

Hawke pulled back to look in her eyes. 'Are you sure you don't want to?'

She nodded and brushed her fingers through his short brown hair. 'Like I said to Mom, I want to stay in our own home.'

He smiled and hugged her closer. 'I know. It's been a hell of a year.' His mind ran over the past twelve months tiredly; kidnappings, faked deaths, the real loss of his surrogate father and mentor, Dominic Santini and an injury that had almost cost him his own life. His hold on his wife tightened. There had been some highlights in amongst the pain though; their marriage, their baby and the long anticipated return of his missing brother, Saint John – which reminded him…

'I called Michael.' Hawke said referring to their close friend, Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III. 'Asked him to give us the weekend.'

Caitlin nodded. 'When's Saint John due to arrive?'

'He said he'd be here in time for dinner.' Hawke murmured. His brother had only managed snatched visits in the previous two weeks to visit his new nephew and he'd finally arranged to get a weekend off from his job as part of the Airwolf team.

The Airwolf team. The phrase resounded in Hawke's head. It felt strange that he no longer had responsibility for the original Airwolf helicopter. The technologically advanced and mach capable machine was now in the hands of the Company, an intelligence agency, following their take-over of the FIRM. It amused Hawke that they still operated pretty much with the set-up he had established with Dom; a small team working in secrecy from the Lair, a cave in the Valley of the Gods. His brother was part of that team and he wasn't; Hawke felt a twinge of envy that he quickly smothered. They might have the original machine but what they didn't realise was that Airwolf was more than just nuts and bolts. The machine had developed a full blown artificial intelligence which had saved Hawke's life and the lives of the rest of the old Airwolf team on more than one occasion. It was the intelligence that was Airwolf not merely the helicopter.

The old team had believed it was too dangerous for the Company to get their hands on the artificial intelligence and Caitlin had arranged to have it transferred into a brand new ship, one that Michael had been building for a quite a while; the next generation of Airwolf helicopter. Hawke didn't understand the details of what had happened but the intelligence now resided in the new machine and the original's programming had been altered to prevent another intelligence from forming. Of course, that didn't seem stop Airwolf from linking back to the old machine on occasion and Hawke believed Michael allowed it only so the spy would have better information about the activities of the current Airwolf team. Michael had been replaced as the official agency contact by a Company man called Jason Locke. Hawke was just pleased that Michael still retained control of the new project especially as he was joining it in the New Year as the lead test pilot for the new helicopter; his start date had been delayed with the birth of the baby.

Michael had been really generous, Hawke thought. The spy had not only offered Hawke and Caitlin job's on the project to provide them with protection but he'd been there for them through the difficult months following Dom's death. Michael had even tracked down Dom's killer, a woman called Rosalind Bening, and given Hawke unquestioning back-up during their confrontation with her. The confrontation had precipitated Caitlin going into labour and Michael's partner, Marella, getting shot protecting her. Hawke sighed. They had all come out of it alive and with the bonds of friendship between the four of them stronger than ever. He knew it was something his brother was finding it difficult to comprehend.

He let Caitlin pull away as the kettle boiled and watched her contentedly as she made a mug of coffee. It had been Caitlin who had typically picked up on the tension between Saint John and Michael the week before when both men had shown up at the cabin at the same time. If he thought back, he could see how taken aback Saint John had been with how comfortable Michael had been at the cabin, how the spy had been treated like family by Caitlin's own parents who had been meeting Saint John for the first time, how close Michael was to Hawke. His brother had left early and when Hawke had complained to Caitlin as they'd gone to bed, he'd been surprised at her gentle admonishment that Saint John had probably felt out of place and jealous. Whilst one part of Hawke felt his older brother had no-one but himself to blame for that – it had been his decision not to contact Hawke for over sixteen years after all – another part of Hawke wanted to regain the closeness they had once shared as brothers. Hence his call to Michael; the spy had agreed not to visit over the weekend so Hawke and Saint John could have time together. The older man had understood the situation, had even been sympathetic in an amused kind of way. Although the spy had commented that his own daughter, Angelina and Marella were both going to be disappointed at not getting time with Nicky. Michael was a good friend, Hawke mused, and his older brother was just going to have to get used to that. The weekend together would give them the opportunity to talk at least.

'Hey, Earth to Hawke.' Caitlin waved a hand on front of his face before she hooked her arms around his waist. His automatically went around her in response. 'You OK?'

'Yeah.' Hawke nodded. 'Just thinking.'

She smiled at him. 'Did your thinking include how we have the whole afternoon together, just the two of us?' Her fingers walked their way up the buttons on his shirt.

Hawke's blue eyes twinkled. 'Well, now you mention it.' He kissed her gently. 'How about we bundle up in a blanket by the fire and make out?'

'Make out, huh?' Caitlin smiled. 'Sounds good to me.' She tipped her head up and his lips met hers softly. She eased out of their embrace to collect their drink and Hawke went to stoke the fire. They were soon cuddling under the blanket with their limbs tangled together as they held each other and shared the coffee.

Hawke sighed contentedly. Whilst he had appreciated the help from his in-laws and the visits from their friends, Hawke mused, it was nice to have some time with his wife. Caitlin snuggled against him and he pressed her closer. 'This is nice, huh?' Hawke said.

'Hmmm.' Caitlin was tempted to close her eyes. She was shattered; she had definitely underestimated how tiring having a baby actually was.

'Are you falling asleep on me?' asked Hawke laughing.

'No.' She raised her head to look at him. 'Thinking about it.' She admitted.

He urged her back down. 'You close your eyes.'

'Yeah?'

'Yeah.' Hawke dropped a kiss on her freckled forehead.

Caitlin let her eyelids droop closed. She was asleep instantly. Hawke drew the blanket around her. He was happy just to have her asleep in his arms. He let his own eyes drift shut.