Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or back story of Airwolf. All characters are property of Bellasario, CBS and whoever else created them. I only borrow them for short periods of time, harass them and put them back on the shelf My stories are for entertainment purposes only.

Summary: Cait and String finally contemplate moving their relationship to the next level when tragedy strikes. Now it's not a question if their love will survive but if one of them will survive!

Survival

Chapter 1

It had been 36 hours since Caitlin O'Shannessy had spoken to another human being. For the first 12 hours, it had been the way she wanted it. For the last 24, not so much.

Two days earlier, Cait had been looking forward to a rejuvenating weekend at a secluded, mountain spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she had read about. She had told no one, not even Dom or Hawke, where she was going. Just that she was going to get some rest and relaxation and that she'd see them in four days after taking a few extra days off of work to make it a long weekend.

Work had been hectic for the last several months with a heavy schedule of stunts and flying lessons. Add in a few harried Airwolf Missions for The Firm on top of that and Cait was ready for some time to herself . She loved her work, Dom and Hawke, and even the Airwolf missions that kept her life exciting, but sometimes she just needed some alone time to think, get her head back on straight, and "be a girl".

She could have just spent the weekend at Hawke's mountain cabin but, truth be told, she needed a little time away from Stringfellow Hawke, too. For three years, she had hoped that her relationship with the steel-blue eyed, brooding pilot would move to something more than co-worker and friend and for the past couple of weeks, String seemed to be coming to his senses and things seemed to be moving in that direction. While she was happy about it, she wanted time to think everything over and make sure it was really what was best for them. As much as she longed for a romantic relationship with him, she didn't want to jeopardize the bond they already had. She knew any relationship with Stringfellow Hawke would be difficult and challenging and that if it didn't work out, things could never go back to the way they were. While she believed the risk would be worth it, it was a lot to think about.

So, she had rented a convertible, packed up, and headed out towards Santa Fe, New Mexico. The drive would take her about 12 hours but she had always enjoyed traveling on her own, top down and music blaring, as she sang along at the top of her lungs. The first day would get her to the spa that was located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Then she'd spend two days getting massaged, pampered, steamed and manicured, before heading back on Tuesday. It was just what the doctor had ordered.

Or, it would have been if it hadn't been for the detour that took her off the beaten path. Entering the foothills, where the road began to curve up and around the mountain, Cait had encountered a fresh rockslide blocking the road. Seeing no way around it, she stopped and pulled out her map that she had brought with her. Searching the sparsely populated area, she spotted what appeared to be an old logging road about a half mile back that should take her on a 3 mile detour that would wind around the slide and get her back on the main road without too much time wasted.

Glancing at her watch as she folded the map back up, she realized it was almost 8:30 p.m. It would be getting dark soon and the mountain air would be turning cool, even in this early summer month of June. She pressed the button to put the top back up on the car and turned around to find the road.

Shortly after turning onto the detour, she soon realized that it was little more than a rutted dirt path. As her car bumped and scraped along the narrow lane, Cait began to wonder if this was such a good idea. Knowing she had already come about a mile, she decided to stick it out and continue on. Almost immediately she realized she had made the wrong decision.

As the sun set, Cait was having a harder and harder time seeing what was already a difficult road to travel. Even the headlights weren't helping much due to the overgrown, dense foliage that lined both sides of the dirt lane. At this point, however, turning the car around was no option as the road was too narrow. Pushing forward, Cait suddenly felt the car lurch forward as she failed to see the sharp turn to the right and veered straight off the road. Before she could even react, Cait and her car were barreling down a steep mountainside, gaining momentum even as she crashed against trees and rocks and underbrush.

Cait felt the car rolling and tumbling and she could hear herself screaming as she was thrown around the interior of the car as it flipped over and over. By the time the car came to a rest, stopped by a row of trees, Cait had been partially thrown from the car with the lower half of her body still trapped underneath the wreckage. She was bleeding from several cuts on her head and torso and arms and she was sure that at least one of her legs still trapped under the vehicle was broken. Within minutes, she passed out.

AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW

"I don't get it, String," Dom said as he shook his head and threw the stick he'd been whittling on into the campfire that String had built earlier. The two had decided to spend the weekend up at String's cabin anyways even though Cait had declined the invitation. "Why'd you let her go? You two kids were finally getting something started and then you just let her take off for four days to God knows where. I just don't get it."

"Look, Dom. I'm not happy about it either but who am I to stop her? It's not like I have any right to keep her from going," Hawke replied as he continued to stare into the flames.

"No right?!" Dom exclaimed as he looked as his surrogate son in disbelief. "Dammit String, you two have been dancing around each other for three years, both harboring feelings for each other but both of you too damn stubborn to admit it! You finally get up the nerve to ask her out on a real date and the first thing she does is run off! It's Saturday night, you should be leading that girl around a dance floor somewhere, not here sitting around a campfire with an old fuddy duddy like me."

"It's not that easy, Dom, and you know it," Hawke stated simply as he looked across the fire at his mentor. "She needed to time to sort things out, to make sure we were doing the right thing."

"Well, of course you're doing the right thing!" the older man said with exasperation. "Who else understands you better or would put up with all she has had to put up with for so long? That girl loves you and I'm pretty sure you love her back. It doesn't get more simple than that, String."

"Yeah," was all Hawke said with a sigh as he turned his gaze back into the fire knowing he wouldn't be able to convince Dom, the hopeless romantic, any different. Truth be told, however, he felt that Caitlin was right…they needed to make sure that getting involved was the right thing to do. She had become a very special part of his life and if a romantic relationship were to turn sour, he was afraid he'd lose her all together. He'd rather keep her as just a friend then for that to happen. A little time away would allow both of them to make sure of what they wanted.

As he stared into the fire thinking about Caitlin, a cold chill swept across the hairs on the back of his neck. Standing up, Hawke took a quick scan of the area surrounding the cabin.

"What is it, String?" Dom asked with concern. He'd seen that look on the younger man's face before and it usually didn't indicate anything good. Hawke had a proven track record of having an almost sixth sense for trouble.

"I don't know but something's wrong," Hawke stated matter of factly. "Let's take a look around," he said as he doused the fire and indicated for Dom to go around the North side of the house as he headed around the South side.

Meeting up at the back of cabin, both men indicated that they had found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Everything's appears to be alright," Dom said as he took one last look around.

"Yeah, maybe," Hawke replied with a skeptical look on his face.

"Hey kid, we're both tired and whether you want to admit it or not, I know you're feeling kinda lonely without a certain red-headed pilot here tonight. Why don't we call it a night, huh? We can get up early tomorrow and get some good fishing in first thing. It'll get your mind off her. "

"You go ahead, Dom. I'm going to take one more look around and make sure the fire's out. I'll see you in the morning."

Dom nodded and started to head towards the door. After a few steps, a thought hit him and he turned around to call for Hawke. "Hey kid!"

"Yeah?" Hawke asked as he looked back at the older man.

"Don't you go creating worry where there ain't none to be had. I know you're thinking about that so-called curse of yours. Cait's fine and she'll be back in a few days. Then you two can pick up where you left off. You'll see. Get some sleep. "

Hawke just nodded wearily in response. In all honesty, Dom had just hit upon his worst fear. Having found nothing out of place at the cabin, he could only surmise that something might be wrong with Cait. But he couldn't just go running off after her on a hunch. For one thing, she'd chew him up one side and down the other if he was wrong and interrupted her long weekend. And two, he had no idea where she was. Maybe Dom was right. Maybe he was just making trouble where there was none. Now, if he could just get the sick feeling in the pit of his gut to convince him otherwise.

TBC…

Well it's been a long while but the muse finally came up with something new to write about. I hope you enjoy