Caitlin Hawke watched her husband sleeping and smiled contentedly. She loved looking at him when he slept with his body sprawled across the bed next to hers, his face relaxed into the boyish features she had first fallen in love with. Her eyes caught on the faint scar still visible through his hairline where the doctors had performed brain surgery to save his life. She was truly blessed, she thought as her hand brushed lightly through his short brown strands. Stringfellow Hawke had survived the helicopter explosion that had taken Dominic Santini's life and in the months since Hawke's recovery, their marriage had grown stronger than ever. In a couple of weeks they would celebrate their one year anniversary and Caitlin knew he was planning something to surprise her.

A faint gurgle from the crib in the corner of the bedroom alerted her to the baby's awakening and she reluctantly eased away from her husband to see to their son. Caitlin wrapped a light robe around her body on her way across the bedroom, carefully sidestepping around Tet, Hawke's dog, who seemed to have decided that his new primary role in life was to guard the baby. For a moment, she simply looked down on her child with awe and let the wave of love roll over her as she smoothed a lock of reddish brown hair away from his face. Nicky's blue eyes, so like his father's, smiled up at her; his tiny hands and arms waving madly. She reached down and picked him up.

'Hello, little man.' Caitlin kept her voice low and breathed in the baby scent of him before she shifted position to cradle him in her arms. His mouth automatically started seeking her breast and she grinned. 'Hungry, are we?' She sat down in the rocking chair and rearranged her robe to allow him to feed. He was gaining weight at a good rate despite his premature birth. She rocked gently as Nicky suckled and wondered at the happiness stealing over her.

A slight movement in the double bed caught her attention and she looked up to find Hawke watching her.

'Hey.' Hawke murmured as his eyes travelled over her. The rocking chair was sat in a shaft of early morning sunlight that turned Caitlin's long red hair to burnished copper and cast a golden glow over the tableau of mother and child.

'Hey.' She smiled at Hawke and lifted Nicky to burp him.

Hawke shoved the covers back and followed his impulse to walk over and kiss her good morning. He eased back to marvel anew at his son and his hand gently stroked over Nicky's head. His eyes glanced off the clock on the mantel over the bedroom hearth. 'He's better than an alarm clock.' He noted.

'Hmmm.' Caitlin nodded and settled Nicky back against her. After almost two months of motherhood there was a consistent routine that she was incredibly thankful for. She smiled up at her husband. 'You should get ready for work.'

Hawke dipped his head and kissed her deeply before he headed for the bathroom.

Caitlin sighed as she watched him disappear. Nicky kept her occupied until Hawke came out and she slipped in to shower while he dressed and kept an eye on their son. He took Nicky downstairs to give Caitlin the space to finish getting ready. He started a pot of coffee and was in the middle of setting up for breakfast when Caitlin joined him. She shooed him out to spend the time with Nicky as she prepared eggs and toast. They ended up at the dining table, Hawke holding his son with one arm as he forked up eggs with his spare hand. Caitlin watched him jiggle his son who blew bubbles of drool at his delighted father. She made no move to take the baby. Since Hawke had begun working at Red Star as the lead test pilot for the world's latest technologically advanced and mach capable helicopter, she knew he missed spending time with Nicky.

Hawke looked across the table at her and saw the indulgent adoration in his wife's face. 'He's growing so fast.' He commented.

'I know.' Caitlin said. 'The doctor's very pleased with his progress.' She sighed heavily. 'We should probably think about organising the christening soon.'

Hawke felt his lips twitch at her disgruntlement and guessed the reason for it. 'Maggie nagging you again?'

'She might have mentioned it.' Caitlin admitted wrapping her hands around her mug. Her mother called regularly and after New Year she had gone from dropping subtle hints about the christening to outright questions. Her mother hadn't been pleased that their choice of godparents had not included any of Caitlin's siblings. Hawke's elder brother, Saint John, was standing as godfather and their good friend, Marella would be confirmed as Nicky's godmother. She bit her lip. Her actual siblings – both her brothers and her sisters – seemed to understand a lot better than her mother and even her father had been quietly supportive that they should choose who they wanted without interference. She sighed.

Hawke reached across the table and snagged her hand. He tangled their fingers. 'It'll be OK.'

'I know.' Caitlin murmured. Her mother would get over it eventually.

Hawke's eyes narrowed on her blue-green eyes. He had overheard the phone call and knew the christening was only part of the reason why his mother-in-law was upset. Caitlin had let it slip that she was going back to work on the last call and from what he had heard Caitlin's mother disagreed with the decision. He was honest enough to acknowledge that he liked the routine they had settled into in the previous few weeks; there was a certain amount of male satisfaction in returning home after a day's work to his wife and child. But he also knew his wife and that staying at home wasn't in her nature. They had agreed as a couple that Caitlin would officially return to work soon after their wedding anniversary.

He rubbed Caitlin's fingers comfortingly. 'I'd better go to work.'

'Yeah.' Caitlin agreed. 'Are you doing more low altitude speed tests today?'

'So Michael tells me.' Hawke said dryly.

Caitlin smiled. Hawke's relationship with Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III had come along way since they had worked together on the first incarnation of Airwolf. The two were close friends and Hawke's recent rescue of the former spy in Washington had only cemented their relationship further. 'Can you check whether they're all coming over to celebrate Marella's birthday tomorrow night?'

'Why are we doing it tomorrow night?' Hawke asked puzzled. 'Isn't Marella's birthday on Saturday?'

'It is.' She agreed and shrugged. 'Michael said he has something special planned for Saturday that doesn't involve us.' She smiled wickedly. 'I think he's going to propose.'

Hawke shook his head at her. 'I don't know. He and Marella seem pretty happy as they are.'

'I bet you ten dollars he proposes.' Caitlin said her eyes glittering with the challenge.

'Deal.' Hawke said easily. He sighed and got to his feet. 'I'd really better go.' He waited until she had put her coffee mug down before he handed Nicky to her. He grabbed his jacket and they walked out of the cabin together. He dropped a kiss on her lips, another on Nicky's head. His blue eyes met hers and saw the longing there she couldn't quite hide. 'You want to come with me?'

Caitlin focused on him in surprise. 'I thought we said we'd wait another few weeks before I went back to work.'

Hawke shrugged and patted Tet goodbye absently. 'Everyone would love to see you and Nicky, and what's another few weeks anyway?'

'To my mother probably everything.' Caitlin retorted.

Hawke repressed the urge to sigh. He was fond of Maggie but there were times he could quite happily tell her to butt out. 'Your mother has nothing to do with this.' He said firmly. 'You know I support you wanting to go back to work right?'

'You're only saying that because you want me where you can keep an eye on me.' Caitlin joked inwardly pleased with his support.

'Well, yeah…' Hawke admitted.

Caitlin laughed. She reached over and kissed him. 'I love you.'

Hawke captured her lips again. 'I love you too.' He said smiling. His thumb brushed over her lips. 'See you later.'

She smiled. 'Later.'

He reached into his jacket pocket and took out his sunglasses. He slipped them on as he swung his leg over the bike. A moment later the engine roared to life and she watched him disappear down the mountain trail. She sighed and shifted Nicky in her arms, her eyes gazing at the silvery waters of the lake and tranquil scene. She headed back indoors and put Nicky down before clearing up.

The morning passed quickly; she had established a routine since Hawke had gone back to work and she sat down with a mid-morning mug of coffee with Nicky happily asleep in his crib having completed a list of chores. She tried to lose herself in the book she had picked up but eventually gave up and wandered over to the crib.

Caitlin leaned against the wall and watched Nicky sleep. It hadn't been an easy pregnancy; she had suffered with bad morning sickness, been kidnapped for her child and had spent two months watching her husband fight his way back to her after falling into a coma. But the moment she had held Nicky, it had all been worth it. She loved her son and she loved being a mother. So why wasn't it enough, she wondered. Her sister Erin was a full time mother and loved it.

She shoved a hand through her red hair. She did consider herself blessed. Marella had been injured saving Michael's life and had lost the ability to have children so Caitlin knew how lucky she was that she had Nicky and it wasn't just Nicky; she had a gorgeous husband who adored her and a home she truly felt was a sanctuary. She had what most women only dreamed about.

Only it wasn't enough.

Caitlin sighed. She had never considered not going back to work and looking back through all her conversations with her husband, she realised Hawke had never indicated that he wanted her to do anything but what she wanted to do. She smiled a little. Hawke was fairly traditional deep down and she was sure a part of Hawke would prefer she stay at home; that he had never mentioned it to her showed how well he knew her, she mused. But then she and Hawke were very similar in many respects; neither of them was very good at staying on the sidelines. She knew she would go stir crazy staying at the cabin every day and there was already a large part of her that was looking forward to returning to work, getting involved with the new Airwolf helicopter, having conversations with adults, flying again…

She pushed away from the wall and went back to the sofa. She curled up and resolutely picked up her book. In another few weeks she would be juggling a job along with her marriage and her child, she should make the most of her time off and stop letting her mother's disapproval get to her. She had lived with it most of her life for one reason or another; this was no different, she told herself firmly. She took a sip of her coffee and reread the page she had abandoned. She was three more pages along when the radio crackled.

'Caitlin. Are you there?'

Caitlin smiled at the sound of Jo Santini's voice. She got to her feet and wandered over to pick up the mike. 'Hi, Jo. I'm here. What's up?'

'We seem to have a problem with the engines on the Lady. You think you could come out to the Lair and take a look?'

Caitlin bit her lip. Dom's niece was part of the team that had taken over custody of the original Airwolf helicopter along with Hawke's brother, an air force major and an agent for the Company, the intelligence agency who theoretically owned her. The new team and the old one were fairly uneasy around each other despite efforts on both sides to build bridges. Still, looking over Airwolf would get her out of the cabin for a while…

'Sure.' Caitlin radioed back. She glanced at her watch. 'I'll be there in about an hour.' She signed off and headed to the nursery area on the top landing; going anywhere with Nicky required planning and packing a substantial bag. It didn't take her long to gather what she needed and she packed everything into the helicopter. She dialled the satellite phone and waited.

'Hi, Caitlin.' Marella's warm voice travelled down the line to her. 'How are you and my favourite godson?'

'We're fine.' Caitlin said. 'How are you? You guys are still coming over tomorrow right?'

'We are. I wouldn't miss it.' Marella said.

'It's just a quick call,' Caitlin said hurriedly, 'can you give Hawke a message for me when he's done flying?'

'Sure.'

'Can you let him know I'm heading over to the Lair? The Airwolf team are having problems with the engines. I don't want Hawke worrying if I'm not back when he gets home.'

'I hope you're charging them for your services.' Marella teased.

'I might mention that to them.' Caitlin said laughing. 'I'll see you tomorrow.'

Marella said goodbye and Caitlin put the phone down. She left the cabin and secured Nicky in his baby carrier into the passenger seat of the helicopter. Her pre-flight checks were done in with a practised efficiency before she took to the skies. There was just nothing like flying to make her problems disappear, she thought happily as she turned in the direction of the Lair.