Chapter 7
Hawke tried to get some sleep after everything settled down and the rest of the staff went to bed. He tossed and turned but his mind kept focusing on Caitlin. He loved her so much. "How could I just let her go to the hospital without me?" he thought. "I know Dom is with her but I should be there too."
Finally after a sleepless hour, Hawke got up, jumped into Caitlin's car and headed to the hospital. He ached all over and wondered if he had made a mistake not allowing them to take him in as well. He stopped at a nearby gas station for directions and twenty minutes later he pulled into the hospital parking lot.
Hawke talked to one of the women at the information desk and found out where Caitlin's room was. She informed him that visitor hours were over but that he could still go up to that floor. String wasn't going to let that stop him. He found Dom sitting outside in the nearby waiting room. He was sound asleep and snoring loudly.
"Dom, wake up!" he said soundly.
Dom opened his eyes and looked at his friend. "It took me an hour to fall asleep," he said. "I thought you were going to wait for me to call?"
Hawke tried to smile. "How can you call when you're asleep? I was worried about her," he replied. "I couldn't sleep. I convinced the nurse to let me go in and see her. I just wanted to let you know I was here."
"And you couldn't have done that after you visited her?" asked Dom. "Now I'll never be able to get any sleep."
"I'm sure you'll manage," said String as he walked towards Caitlin's room.
Hawke slowly opened the door to Caitlin's room. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw her. She was still being given oxygen but now had a nasal cannula. She seemed so pale and still to him. He walked over and pulled a chair up beside her bed and sat down. He picked her hand up and held it gently in his before falling asleep.
About an hour later String was startled awake by a sudden movement from Caitlin. She was moving her head back and forth on her pillow and began to cry out his name. Hawke jumped up quickly and sat on the bed with her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Shhh…Caitlin, you're okay," he said gently. "I'm right here."
Caitlin slowly opened her eyes and stared at him. "Hawke?" she said. "What happened?"
Hawke leaned over and kissed her on the forehead before brushing the hair out of her eyes. "You got caught in a fire in the stable," he replied. "Don't you remember?"
It took her few moments before responding. "Oh, yeah," she replied. "Someone hit me on the head and locked me in. I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die."
She looked up at String and could see the sadness in his eyes. "I'm okay though," she said. "Don't worry."
Hawke leaned over and this time kissed her on the lips. "I'm so sorry I got you into this," he said sadly. "It's my fault. We shouldn't have come here."
A thought suddenly had Caitlin in a panic. "Dom! Is Dom alright?" she asked.
"Take it easy," he replied. "He's asleep out in the waiting room."
"Oh," Caitlin smiled in relief. "What about you? You look kind of pale," she said. "Are you okay? Were you hurt too?"
Hawke relayed the events of the night to Caitlin including Kim's attempt to sleep with him. He didn't want to keep anything from Caitlin. Honesty meant everything to him. He also told her about getting hit on the head while trying to see her.
"I'm sorry but the fact that she tried to sleep with you doesn't surprise me Hawke," she said sarcastically. "It was easy to see that she still has a thing for you. By the way, was Sarah in the room when you got there?"
"Actually, no," replied String. "I didn't see anyone in the room. But, I only looked in for a moment before I was hit on the head. How did you end up in the stable?"
Caitlin filled him in on her conversation with Sarah including the fact that Kim had dated this land developer Paul Lewis and that Lisa's accident happened before she declined to sell the land. She also explained how she was on the way to tell Dom the information when she smelled smoke in the stable and went inside.
"I'm beginning to think that it's time to confront this Lewis guy about what's been going on," said Hawke. "We're getting nowhere at the ranch. Kim claims none of her staff are disgruntle or would do anything like that. She also had the nerve to ask me if you smoke."
"Well, if Sarah's right about her jealous tendency, she probably just wanted to discredit me," replied Caitlin. "I can't blame her you know. Sarah did say you were a sexy guy and well, she's right."
Hawke couldn't help but laugh. He felt relieved at seeing the smile on Caitlin's face. She was going to be alright. But, he decided from that point on he was going to watch over her more carefully.