Short chapter for now. I plan to post two more chapters sometime today.

Chapter 4

A week later Hawke was out of the hospital and back home in his cabin. It had been set up so that he could easily get around and he was adjusting to not having his sight. After two weeks of learning the new layout of the cabin String had progressed a lot and felt confident that he was going to be able to take care of himself in the short term of things. He no longer had to wear the bandages on his eyes. Instead, he wore dark glasses to protect them from further injury. He couldn't see anything yet although at times he could make out shadows if the light was just right. He prayed that eventually his eyes would heal and he'd get his vision back.

Hawke settled down on his couch after making a small dinner for himself. He had eaten only a few bites when he heard the sound of a helicopter landing on his dock. "Must be Dom," he thought.

A few minutes later, Dom knocked and then opened String's front door. "Care for a visitor?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that," he responded. "I was hoping you'd come. I know you've been upset with me lately."

"Humph," Dom snorted. "Upset is putting it lightly. But, I care too much about you to never talk to you again."

String smiled. "Thanks," he replied. "How is she?"

Dom sat down on the couch beside String and put his feet up to relax. "She's doing okay," he replied. "She came back from Florida yesterday."

Hawke was surprised. "I figured she'd stay out there," he said. "What brought her back?"

Dom sighed. "Turns out things are going okay as far as her brother in law's handling of the business," he said. "She decided to come back and find an apartment here. Archangel offered to help her find a place and he told her that she could have a job with the firm if she wanted it."

String didn't like what he was hearing. He didn't want Caitlin involved with the Firm anymore than she already was while working with him and Dom.

"No Dom, she can't do that," replied String. "It's too dangerous."

"String, you know you can't stop Caitlin when she sets her mind to something. Fortunately, she isn't keen on the idea. She told him she'd rather continue working at Santini Air and flying Airwolf missions as needed."

"Flying Airwolf? Why would she be flying Airwolf?" asked Hawke.

"Well, Cait and I are going back for those packages," replied Dom. "The real ones that is."

"What the hell?" Hawke yelled. "No Dom, you can't do that. It's too risky. I don't want what happened to me to happen to the two of you. No Airwolf mission is worth that."

"String, we made Michael a promise and I intend to keep it," he replied. "I'm sorry if you disagree but until you get your eyesight back, Caitlin and I will continue doing what we have to do."

"So that's why you came here isn't it?" Hawke asked, not really wanting the answer.
"I figured you should hear it from me and not Archangel," said Dom. "Caitlin and I head out in the morning. Apparently, these packages hold a key to national security."

String got up from the couch and put his plate on the bar. "I've suddenly lost my appetite," he said. "I thought when I lost my eyesight that meant all Airwolf missions were over."

Dom got up and walked over to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "String, you're going to get your eyesight back. Life can't stop just because we hit a bump in the road," he said. "Caitlin and I are going to continue on. You seem to be doing that here. You're getting along just fine. I don't understand why you put a stop to everything else in your life, especially Caitlin."

"Dom, it's complicated," he replied. "I still love her but I just can't be with her like this."

"Well, by the time your sight returns it might be too late," replied Dom. "I need to get going. Caitlin and I have to meet with Michael."

"I guess there's nothing I can say to get you to change your mind," said String.

Dom frowned. "I could ask you the same thing," he said. "I guess that's a no for both of us."

Dom left abruptly, leaving String with a lot of things to think about. Mostly, he was worried about the two of them continuing Airwolf missions without him. "Please be safe," he said to himself.