Chapter 9

Hawke and Dom had to secure Airwolf before meeting the others at the Firm's hospital. Hawke was growing furious and by the time he got there, Dom couldn't reason with him.

They walked down the long corridor towards the ICU. Michael and Marella were waiting for more news on Caitlin. Hawke approached him and before Michael could say a word, he punched him squarely in the jaw.

Archangel's men quickly stepped in and grabbed Hawke.

"Let him go," yelled Michael as he rubbed his chin. "I deserved that."

"You deserve more," scowled Hawke. "How could you drag her into this?"

"She had a right to know the truth Hawke," Michael replied. "What were you going to do? Were you going to leave her out there in Florida, never knowing what really happened?"

"I was going to tell her on my own terms, Michael. I wanted this to all be over. All you cared about was your precious information. You got it. Now you need to put all this to rest. But in the mean time, stay away from Caitlin!"

Michael took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall. "I know you don't understand this right now but we needed her. She was the only one I trusted to fly Airwolf. In time, you'll see it was the only choice I had."

Dom, who had been silent throughout the exchange, finally spoke up. "How is she? Is it bad?"

Marella spoke up, "We haven't had a recent update. Doc is with her now. She was lucky. One bullet went through her shoulder and another just grazed her head."

"You call that lucky?" replied Hawke. "Lucky would be for her to have gotten out of there without a scratch. When can I see her?"

Doc walked in behind the group. "You can see her in a few minutes," he said. "They're moving her to a private room."

Hawke turned to look at his friend. He wanted to be angry with him for helping Michael drag Caitlin into this whole thing. But, he had been brought in at the last minute too. Besides, he did help to save Caitlin's life.

"How is she?" Hawke asked. "Praying he'd get the answer he so desperately needed to hear."

"She's going to be just fine, Hawke," replied Doc. "The bullet went right through her shoulder. She'll need some physical therapy but it's not serious. The other bullet just lightly grazed her head. We expect her to wake up soon. You can sit with her if you'd like, but only one person can see her at a time."

Hawke glanced over at Dom who was standing there patiently listening to the others. Dom smiled at Hawke. "Go ahead String," he said. "I'm going to hang out here for awhile."

Caitlin felt like she was a fog. Her head hurt and she couldn't move her left arm. "What happened to me?" she thought. "Where am I?"

Slowly, she opened her eyes. She could see that she was in a hospital. Her left arm was in a sling and she felt some numbness in her shoulder. To her right, she saw him. Hawke had pulled a chair up to her bed, facing her. His right hand was holding hers and he was sound asleep. She wanted to be angry with him for what he put her through. But, looking at him sleeping there next to her, she couldn't. She knew he cared even though he had a lousy way of showing it.

She tried to move her head but the pain was unexpected. "Ow," she said.

Her groan startled Hawke. "Cait? Are you okay?" he asked, squeezing her hand lightly. "Do you need anything?"

Caitlin's voice was hoarse. "Just for you to stay right here," she replied. "Please don't leave me."

Hawke smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Oh, believe me. I'm not leaving alone until Michael assures me that everyone involved in our investigation is taken down and you're safe."

"Oh, okay," Caitlin replied as she drifted back to sleep.

When Caitlin woke again it was morning. She looked around the room and her heart sank when she didn't see Hawke. "Was I dreaming? She thought. "He was right here. He said he wouldn't leave me." She felt a moment of despair. "What am I doing? I was fine before I came out here and got into all this mess. I'll be fine when I go back."

Dom walked into her room and saw her lying there with a frown on her face. "Hey, he said. I'd say you look better but I've never seen such a long face."

Caitlin gave him a half hearted smile. "Sorry, I just expected Hawke to be here when I woke up. He said he wasn't going to leave."

"I see," replied Dom. "Well, don't worry. String just went up to the cabin to check on a few things. He'll be back soon. They're going to let you out of here tomorrow morning and we'll be staying up there for about a week or so until Michael gives us the all clear.

"A week?" Caitlin replied in a panic. "Oh, no! What about Stacey? I've left her all alone to take care of our business. She's never going to forgive me for being gone so long."

"Honey, don't worry," said Dom. "We've contacted her. Not only did Michael send some of his men there for protection but he also sent her some free labor. Everything's going to be okay."

Cait relaxed and Dom pulled up a chair and sat beside her. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "We were worried sick about you, ya know."

"Well, at least you didn't think I was dead for a year, only to find out it was a lie," she replied.

Dom sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I'm really sorry about that sweetheart. You know the last thing String and I ever wanted to do was to hurt you. But, there just didn't seem to be any other way."

Caitlin grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly. "I'm trying to understand Dom. I really am. I just don't know why you didn't think I could take care of myself."

Her comment took Dom by surprise. "Oh, Cait, we never thought that you couldn't take care of yourself. That was never the case. This thing just got so big and it was evident that it was more dangerous than anything we've ever done. We had already dragged you into so many dangerous situations. This time, we just refused to do that. Look, String will tell you all the details once we're safe and up at the cabin. Right now, the less you know the better. Will you please trust me on that?"

Cait studied her friend's face. He looked tired and she knew the past year had been rough on him too. "Okay," she replied. "I'll try and be patient."

Dom spent the next couple of hours with Caitlin. They talked about old times and she filled him in on what she had been up to the past year.

A new visitor finally dropped in to see her. "Cait, can I come in?" asked Doc.

Caitlin smiled. "Of course you can. I was hoping you would come by. Dom needs a break from his babysitting duties. He's getting a bit jittery. I think it's time for some coffee."

Dom grumbled at Cait. "Oh, all right. Maybe you're right. I'll be back in a little bit."

"Don't worry Dom," replied Doc. "I'll stay with her for awhile."

After Dom left the room, Doc sat in the chair that he had vacated beside Caitlin's bed. She stared at him for a moment and gave his a twisted smile. "So," she said. "It's your turn to watch me, huh?"

Doc feigned a look of shock which amused Caitlin. She couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Now that's better," he said. You sure look a lot better today. You really gave me a scare up in that helicopter."

"I'm kind of glad I didn't know what was going on," she admitted. "At least I woke up when it was all over."

Doc's expression became more serious. "Cait, I'm really sorry that I dragged you into that. I feel really bad about bringing you back here."

Caitlin shifted to a more comfortable position in her bed. "It's not your fault, Doc. I think I would have been more upset if you hadn't contacted me. I'm grateful that I finally know the truth."