See Part 1 for Disclaimer, and Author's Notes.

Rating Information: Yes, the rating has gone up to a T, as a result of the language used by Hawke in the last chapter.

Author's Note: This chapter is a little shorter than I'd intended, but the end felt like a natural stopping point. The chapter also introduces (or at least mentions in passing) a few new characters. It hadn't been my intention to have any original characters in this fic, but they wanted to come and play, so I said, "Sure, why not?" The characters of Cassidy Dahl, Dr. Noah Dahl, and Dr. David Winchester are all mine, but if anyone would like to borrow them, feel free to ask.

Airwolf~~~Airwolf~~~Airwolf~~~Airwolf~~~Airwolf

Chapter 4

Dr. Noah Dahl had just finished signing handoff orders at the nurses' station, and was preparing to head home at the end of a very long day, when he caught a glimpse of something unexpected. I have to be seeing things. There's not a snowball's chance in Hell that Stringfellow Hawke just walked in here of his own free will.

Turning to face the entrance fully, Noah realized why Hawke was there… and knew he'd have to run interference or be one resident down at the start of his next shift. Damn it, David hasn't taken "Introduction to Stringfellow Hawke," yet. He doesn't know that trying to separate Cait from Hawke when she's injured is a Very Bad Idea.

The experienced eyes of the FIRM clinic's Chief of Staff did a quick inventory of Caitlin O'Shannessy, even as he hurried down the hall to play referee. It was easy enough to note the apparent dizziness, the pale complexion with a slight greenish tint implying nausea, and the rather large bruise over her cheek and temple. Though he wasn't yet close enough to tell, he would lay odds that there was also an uneven pupil response to visual stimuli. Concussion, and not a nice one, but I'll still run the tests to confirm it… after I save my resident.

"David." Noah kept his voice just loud enough to make sure he was heard, but hopefully not loud enough to cause Cait any additional pain. "I'll see to Miss O'Shannessy. You have rounds coming up."

"But..."

"Go, David." Dr. Dahl's tone was not one to be argued with and he knew it. He hoped David had picked up on that by now as well. The younger man was a brilliant doctor, but definitely needed more familiarity with the concept of 'good bedside manner.' At the moment, Noah wasn't even certain that term was in the other doctor's vocabulary. Thankfully, he was able to take the hint, and walked away, unknowingly, but fortunately, removing himself from Hawke's line-of-sight. Noah hoped that he would stay out of sight for a while, and that 'out of sight' would become 'out of mind' for Hawke... he wouldn't count on it, but he could hope.

Noah ushered both Cait and Hawke into an exam room, knowing it was futile – and likely not beneficial to his own health – to suggest that Hawke wait outside the room... besides, from what he was seeing, Cait didn't seem in any hurry to let go of the other pilot's hand. Hmm, I wonder if someone finally got his head out of the sand where Cait's concerned.

He ran through the usual list of tests... not really to check for concussion in the first place, as that was rather obvious, but to check the severity of said concussion, and verify that there was nothing more serious in the making. "How, I wonder," he said, as softly as he could while making sure that Cait could still hear him, "did you get out of here without anyone noticing this last night?"

Though he'd directed the question at Cait, it was Hawke who answered, and Noah was startled to see Cait relax when he spoke, almost as though his voice hurt less than anyone else's. "She was too busy shoving all the doctors towards Dom and me to notice that she'd gotten knocked around, too. Said nothing hurt last night and she didn't notice anything until this morning. She's been seeing double ever since she woke up, more or less."

"So the adrenaline hadn't worn off, yet, and it just didn't occur to you to get checked out, as long as you were here anyway?" Noah felt a grin tugging at his mouth. Cait's response to this injury was actually fairly typical of several FIRM operatives he could name that never tended to notice a wound until someone pointed out they were bleeding. I'll have to put a standing order in her chart to match Hawke's... and Michael's... and Marella's. Even if she appears to be without injury, if she's coming off of a mission and coming in here with a team-mate, she gets checked out before she leaves... whether she likes it or not.

"Yeah, pretty much," her soft voice answered, pain thickening her Texas drawl, and a blush creeping up her cheeks to combat the unnatural paleness that had been there before... and would probably stick around for a while, until she really started to heal.

Ah-hah, so she realizes that she should have been checked, and honestly just forgot about it. Good... that means she won't fight the order quite as much as Hawke. Sometimes I feel like I should have a tranq gun handy when I'm dealing with him.

"Looks like a moderate concussion, and while I won't make you stay overnight, since you already made it through the first night after the injury without any major complications, I do want you to stay here for a few hours yet, just as a precaution. While you're here, we'll see what we can do so that when you head home, you're a little less green. How's that sound to you, Cait?"

"Absolutely wonderful, Doc. Thank you."

"This place is pretty quiet today. Get some rest. We'll be in periodically to check on you and I'll send a nurse in with something for the nausea. Since you're not staying overnight, we won't even make you change." And he certainly didn't miss the look of relief on Cait's face. No one likes hospital gowns. "You might be more comfortable without your shoes, though."

As he headed out the door, Noah turned back for another look, pausing when he saw Cait wince as she tried to lean over to untie her shoes. Hawke gently eased her back, and then took her shoes off himself, putting them by the bed, before covering her with a blanket and tenderly sweeping a lock of hair off her face. He kissed her gently and whispered something the doctor couldn't hear, before sitting in a chair at her bedside and taking hold of her hand.

Hmm, looks like Hawke did get the hint. I wonder who won the pool? With a light chuckle, Noah turned again and continued out the door.

Airwolf~~~Airwolf~~~Airwolf~~~Airwolf~~~Airwolf

Michael and Dom had been sitting in the Waiting Room – patiently, more or less – for some time before spotting the physician they'd been told was in with Cait. Both men immediately stood and approached him, in hopes of hearing what, precisely, was going on.

"Dr. Dahl."

"Archangel," the other man said with a smile, green eyes twinkling at some joke he hadn't seen fit to share with them, yet. "I'm going to go with a hunch and presume you're here to check on the youngest of a certain slightly wayward flight crew?"

"You presume correctly."

"Enough with the pleasantries already," Dom broke in, impatient and visibly worried about his 'kids.' "How's Cait?"

"She'll be fine, Mr. Santini. She has a moderate concussion, and under normal circumstances, would be staying overnight. However, as she's already gotten through the first night with no problems, she should be fine for release in a few hours, so long as she has someone staying with her... which I don't think will be an issue. Aside from that, the only puzzle to solve is how to make sure my newest resident doesn't go into the room. He hasn't had the required class on the proper way to handle Hawke, yet, and I've already had to rescue him once. If he pushes any harder, Hawke might actually start to growl." Despite the evident amusement, the good doctor was also quite obviously tired, and didn't need to be rubbing at his eyes for Archangel to notice.

"Weren't you here last night, as well, Noah?"

"Indeed, I was, Michael, and should have been off-shift this morning. However, when I realized that young Dr. Winchester was about to make a serious – and possibly fatal – mistake by attempting to separate Hawke from an injured Cait, I thought it best to run interference. Speaking of the pair... who won the pool for when Hawke would get his head out of the sand? The kiss I saw when I left Miss O'Shannessy's room a few moments ago was not in the slightest bit platonic. Gentle, yes, but not the kiss of friends."

Michael laughed outright at the look of astonished joy on Dom's face, and tried to remember who had this day in the pool. "I'd have to check with Marella to be certain, Noah, but I think Cassidy has it."

"Wouldn't surprise me, Michael. Haven't you realized it yet? My wife knows everything."

TBC...