Second Chances Part 4 - The Holly and the Ivy

Second Chances Part 4 – The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.


The weather had been closing in for a while but in the last hour the snow had started falling heavily and the sky was grey and solid with it. Dom got Airwolf into the air and they had travelled only a few minutes when it became obvious that they were not going to get much further.
“Marella, call up the weather reports. I can't keep her up much longer if this continues,” Dom was struggling with the controls and although it should have been daylight, visibility was zero.
“Dom, we've flown through blizzards before,” Hawke reminded him.
“No String. You've flown her through blizzards before, but I haven't. I can't hold her, not today. Maybe on a good day, after a decent night's sleep and a hot meal, but not today,” Dom was obviously unhappy about the situation. If Hawke hadn't been injured they could have flown out no problem, but Airwolf was Hawke's bird, not his, and even though he had flown her several times, this was beyond his capabilities.
“Blizzard should blow itself out within a couple of hours,” Marella reported, “there's a clearing up ahead with no life signs. You want to set her down?”
“Yeah,” Dom lowered Airwolf carefully to the ground and her wheels sunk into the deep snow.
“Sorry guys. I wish I could have picked a better day but needs must,” Adriana's tone was light but Marella knew of was just a cover for her worry, “I'll look after Hawke, after all it's my fault he's injured. You want to radio home, let them know about our delay?”
Marella selected the secure channel and radioed Archangel.
“Airwolf to Angel 1, are you receiving?” A few seconds passed then the radio crackled to life.
“Angel 1 receiving. Marella, have you got Medusa yet?”
“She's here, but Hawke is injured and we're stuck in a blizzard.”
“What's your ETA?”
“Not too sure at this point. Depends on the weather and Hawke's condition. Probably late evening your time.”
“What is Hawke's condition?”
“Treatable. He can't fly but he'll live.”
“I'll inform Beth. Andrea will be going over there later this morning.”
“Tell her not to worry. Oh and Michael, if I'm late home keep the bed warm, it's freezing here. Airwolf out.”
Marella was smiling as she shut off the connection and turned to see her cousin staring at her in astonishment.
“Marella! You and Archangel? No way!”
“Yes way!” Marella teased back, “you know I've always loved him.”
“Yes I know but that's different from actually doing something about it. How long?”
“Just over a year,” Marella smiled fondly at the memory, “even though we haven't seen that much of each other. The committee found out about us and reassigned me. I've been in Europe for most of the time, but the separation just makes us stronger.”
“Hey ladies, less of the chatter and more of the treatment,” Hawke, who was sitting next to Adriana, was hiding a grin as he pretended to be disgusted by their gossip. In truth he was happy for Michael and Marella but wanted to stop the conversation before it got too personal as they seemed to have forgotten he was there.
“Sorry Hawke,” Adriana wiped up the melting snow that was starting to drip down his arm and replaced it with fresh.

They sat in Airwolf for a couple of hours while around them the blizzard reached it's peak then slowly started to subside. The pain in Hawke's arm had become bearable and he needed less snow to control it. While they were waiting Medusa and Marella had read the professor's notes which showed the results of the tests. In most cases death occurred within a couple hours of being shot with the laser depending on which organs were close to the entry site but if the wound was immediately cooled down for a minimum of an hour then the victim usually lived as long as no major organs had been penetrated.
Hawke's arm had been packed with snow for over two hours now so they decided to try him without it. The pain was still there, and the wound was bleeding slightly but the burning had stopped and Marella bandaged the wound, gave him two painkillers and insisted he wear a sling.
Hawke was walking around, stretching his legs and moving his arm around, testing it, when he suddenly bent forward, clutching at his stomach.
“Hawke, you okay?” Marella's voice penetrated the nausea, “Hawke!”
He straightened up trying unsuccessfully to control his churning stomach and ran towards the trees.
He returned a few minutes later looking pale and shaken.
“Must have been the painkillers,” he croaked, picking up some fresh snow and sucking on it.
“You feel up to leaving now?” Dom asked. The snow had stopped and he had spent the last half hour digging the landing gear free. He was ready to leave but was worried about Hawke getting sick in the air.
“I'll be fine. Let's go. I'll sit up front with you, take over if you want a rest.”
“Humph!” Dom grunted but let him take the left seat.
“Let's get out of here,”! Hawke said as they all took their places and started Airwolf up, “I've got an uneasy feeling.”


As they left German airspace the weather improved and wanting to get home quickly Dom requested turbos.
“Turbos,” confirmed Marella, “hold on Adriana, this is like nothing you've ever experienced.”
They flew at Mach 1 for a while, Adriana straining to see out of the cockpit window from her seat in the back.
“It's amazing!” she told Marella through her helmet mike, “if I knew about this I'd have requested to leave sooner.”
Marella laughed at her cousin's enthusiasm until she became aware of jagged breathing through her helmet mike, “Hawke? You okay?” she asked.
He had been trying to control the nausea for a while but was losing the battle and really needed to get out. “Need to stop,” he managed to say, embarrassed by his lack on control.
Dom took Airwolf out of turbos and Marella scanned for a landing site, giving Dom coordinates.


After they landed Hawke once again made for the privacy of the trees, undoing his belt as he ran, leaving the others to discuss the situation. They were just debating whether to continue or rest a while when there was a beeping from the back of Airwolf. Pressing the descrambler button, Marella found himself facing Michael's concerned face on the screen.
“Michael, is something wrong?”
“Is Hawke listening?”
Marella looked outside. Hawke was still in the trees, “No, he's sick, we've had to make another stop.”
“Good, you need to decide whether to tell him this now or when you get nearer home.”
“Michael, spit it out, you're scaring me,” Marella knew that it wasn't like Michael to beat around the bush.
He took a deep breath and told her, “Symphony is missing. We think Holly has taken her.”
Dom had been listening and interrupted, “They've probably gone for a walk or something,” he suggested hopefully.
Michael sounded annoyed when he answered, “Do you think I'd bother you if they had just gone for walk? Holly has packed her case and taken Symphony somewhere in your car in the middle of the night. When Le woke late this morning with one hell of a headache he found them gone. He thinks that Holly drugged his bedtime milk that she made him.”
“What about Beth? She would have been in the same room, and she doesn't drink milk, she can't, it makes her sick,” Dom asked, still not convinced that his Holly would do that.
“Beth had taken a sleeping tablet prescribed by Andrea, so she also slept late. Look, I'm sorry Dom but there is no doubt in my mind that Holly is responsible. We have every available agent on it and the police and FBI have been notified.”
Marella was about to answer when she saw Hawke returning. If she told him now then he would insist on flying Airwolf home himself, turbos all the way, whether he was sick or not. But if she didn't tell him she didn't think he would forgive her, especially if something happened to his baby as a result of their delay, besides he was very astute and would notice the atmosphere in Airwolf had changed.
“I'll tell him now. Michael, arrange for refuelling in two hours time, same place as before. Hawke will fly using turbos, Dom can sit in the co-pilot's seat in case he needs to take over. And Michael, don't leave Beth alone, not for a minute, understand?”
“I'm not sure I do, but I'll have Andrea stay with her. She's managing remarkably well considering.”
“No, she isn't. Believe me. I need to go now, Airwolf out.”


Despite his obvious discomfort Hawke immediately noticed that something was wrong.
“What's happened?” he asked them, not liking the look on their faces.
Marella was the one to tell him, “We need to get home as quickly as possible. Are you up to flying, preferably with turbos?”
“Yes, but why?” he demanded.
“Symphony has gone missing, we think Holly has taken her.”
Hawke's face was already pale but now he looked like death. He slumped against the side of Airwolf for support, “How can she be missing?” he asked quietly. He wanted to shout but didn't have the energy.
“Easy String,” Dom said, putting a supporting hand on his shoulder, “Michael is looking for her. I'm sure Holly will look after her.”
“Dom, you're blind where that girl is concerned. She's sick! She tried to kill Caitlin and now she has my baby and you tell me to take it easy,” he had his fist raised at the older man, who was standing firm as though expecting the blow. Marella stepped between them.
“This isn't helping. Hawke, if you're up to flying I think you should get in there now. Dom can co-pilot.”


Hawke eased Airwolf into the air, testing his arm. It was a little uncomfortable but that would help him stay alert. They flew using turbos until they approached the refuelling site. After taking on the fuel Dom took over for a while to give Hawke a much needed rest.
When Hawke took the controls back again Dom tried talking to him.
“String, I know what you think but I'm sure Holly won't hurt her. She's probably just a bit confused. What's the betting we'll get home and they'll both be there?”
“Dom, I don't blame you for this. I should have seen it coming. Holly has been possessive of me since she arrived.”
“Yeah, but if I'd......”
“Dom, I really can't discuss this now. I'm having enough trouble just trying to control Airwolf without throwing up.”
The rest of the journey was done in silence as Hawke and Dom took it in turns to fly. They were all exhausted by the time they finally landed at Knightsbridge. Archangel was waiting for them and led Marella, Medusa and Hawke inside, leaving Dom to take Airwolf back to the Lair.


Inside Hawke excused himself and made his way to the bathroom. He rested his head against the pristine white tiles and took deep breaths. He felt awful, as though he had eaten something bad and didn't know how he had made to back without disgracing himself in Airwolf. His body needed attention but he had to deal with his emotions first. The deep calming breaths had the effect of quelling the nausea and he thought he had himself under control when a sudden image of his daughter flashed in his head causing him to rush to the cubicle, slamming the door.

Standing outside in the corridor Archangel had been undecided whether to enter the bathroom and talk to Hawke. He finally decided that it would be an intrusion unwelcome by Hawke whether he was just using the facilities or, as Archangel suspected, taking time out to compose himself before the briefing. When he heard the door slam he rapidly walked away until he reached a bend in the corridor where he turned and walked slowly back towards the bathroom. As he came level with the door it opened and Hawke stepped out.
“Ah, there you are Hawke.”
Hawke just stared at him with that cold look he was so good at. He knew that Archangel would have had him monitored the minute he entered the building, as he would all visitors, and knew exactly where he had been for the last 20 minutes.
“Yeah,” he growled, following the spy to his office.