Brand New Endings
by Sammie

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. "Airwolf" belongs to Belisarius Productions and CBS and USA and Universal.

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: A few years after "Severance Pay", Larry Mason returns to Los Angeles and looks up his old friend.

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."
- author unknown

The small man stepped off the transport from LAX and looked up at the old familiar doors of the Van Nuys airport. He shouldered his bag and turned toward the private hangar bay, making his way leisurely through the various hangars until he saw the one wanted.

He saw a pair of legs ending in white sneakers sticking out from underneath a helicopter and walked up. "Hello."

"Can I help you?"

He recognized the voice and grinned. "Looking for Stringfellow Hawke."

"Who's asking?" came the suspicious voice as the owner rolled out from under the helicopter. The antagonistic tone quickly disappeared as Hawke pulled himself up, a grin crossing his face. "Larry!" he grinned, and the two hugged quickly.

"Hawke," Larry Mason greeted the other man warmly. "It's been real long."

"You look good, Larry." Hawke grinned, wiping his hands on a rag. "I guess that marina in Mexico is treating you well."

"It is, it is."

"And your friend's widow?"

Mason smiled sadly. "She's well. Doing well enough. We're turning a profit, so at least she doesn't have to worry about finances." He looked around. "But it looks like you're still doing fine!"

Hawke grinned. "Yeah. Yeah, thanks." He clapped him on the shoulder. "It's good to see you well, Larry."

"Larry? Is that Larry Mason?" boomed a friendly voice. "Larry, welcome back!" The smaller man found himself enveloped in a huge hug. "Boy, do you look rested and tanned." Dom Santini gave a big grin of approval. "This brand new start has been good for you."

"Well, not really a brand new start, but certainly a good change," Larry smiled.

"I think I need to get myself a marina in Mexico," Dom announced.

"You and Hawke should come down and visit," Larry offered. "Every time I ask, Hawke says everybody's busy."

Santini's smile fell off his face as he looked indignantly at his younger associate. "You what?"

"Well, twice Michael had us on Airwolf missions, and the third we were doing that big stunt for the director from Universal," Hawke defended himself.

"You MAKE time to go to Mexico!" Dom exclaimed, gesticulating widely. "Larry, next time you ask to speak with me."

Mason just laughed and nodded.

"So what brings you back?" Hawke grinned, his hands resting lightly on his hips.

"Just looking up old friends," Larry smiled. "It's been a few years. Just wanted to see how everybody's doing. Business OK?"

"Oh, business is great," Dom dismissed with a wave of his hand. "But I got something even better to show you," he bragged, bouncing his bushy eyebrows in anticipation. He pushed Larry along towards the office. "Come on, come on."

Hawke dropped his head to his chest, trying to hide his smile, and then trotted after the two other men.

"Hey, hey!" Dom carefully lifted the small child from the playpen straight into the air, high above his head; the baby giggled, and Dom laughed at him before before gently bringing him down to his chest to hold him. "Meet my future pilot, the newest Hawke!"

Larry's eyes went wide as he looked from the child to Hawke, and then back and forth once more. "Really?" He only got a smile from his old friend.

"Boy finally got married," Dom boomed proudly, clapping the younger man on the shoulder. "And look what they gave me!" He bounced the small baby happily. "Wanna hold him?"

"Oh, I don't know," Larry looked nervously at the small infant, who had the middle three fingers of his chubby hand happily stuffed in his mouth and now watched this new stranger curiously. "Me and kids don't mix."

"Oh, don't worry about it! St. John's a tough little guy, aren't ya, kid?" Dom carefully slid the baby into the other man's arms. "St. John Robert Dominic Hawke. Named after St. John, and his grandpa on his mother's side, and after me!" he offered proudly.

"St. John, huh?" Larry carefully bounced the baby gently in his arms. 'Please don't cry, please don't cry, please don't cry', he silently begged the child. Baby St. John didn't; he just looked at the new face with big, curious eyes.

Hawke gave him a slightly pained smile. "Yeah." He didn't offer any more.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a minute, and Larry couldn't help but feel that he'd said the wrong thing to turn such a joyous occasion solemn. The baby, however, didn't seem to notice to silence, pulling his slobbery fingers out of his mouth and reaching for Larry's beard. "Such a long name for a little kid," Larry joked to lighten the mood. "How old is he?"

"Twenty-two weeks," Hawke replied, watching the proceedings with a small smile.

Dom leaned over with a grin and stage-whispered to Larry, "He hasn't stopped smiling since he found out his wife was pregnant!"

Larry ruffled the bit of hair on the child's head. "So where'd baby St. John get this shock of strawberry blond hair?"

"My wife."

"At the rate he's going," Dom nodded at the baby, "with this pale skin like his, he's going to get her face full of freckles, too, and he's got her big eyes. But he's got String's face - nose and mouth and cheekbones. At least I think so." He puffed out his chest like a proud grandparent. "Isn't he just the cutest kid you ever saw?"

The small baby blinked at Larry, his hands full of Larry's beard. Apparently this odd thing on the face was extremely intriguing, since neither his daddy nor his grandpa Dom had one. He was completely preoccupied for the next several minutes.

"He's a real quiet baby," Dom continued boasting. Larry just looked amused; Hawke was not one to brag, even about his own child, but clearly Dom had no such compunction. "Eats, sleeps, plays, and studies anything he can get his hands on."

"I can see that," Larry commented, not unkindly, as he felt his sunglasses get pulled off the top of his head. Clearly the beard no longer interested the child. Hawke started to intervene, but Larry waved him off. "Oh, no, that's OK. I've got them on a chain here, so they won't fall." Larry watched as the small baby raised the pair of glasses up and pulled them down towards him, getting tiny little fingerprints all over the lenses. He then tried to stuff the lenses into his mouth.

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Outside the office, a cheerful voice rang out, echoing off the walls of the hangar. "I got the parts you wanted, Dom." There was a pause. "Guys?"

Hawke raised his voice a little. "In here!" A minute later a woman came running in, slightly breathless. She looked familiar.

It took Larry a moment, and then it registered. It was Caitlin O'Shannessy. Her name and picture had shown up in the Airwolf project's records a little under a year after Airwolf was first recovered. He remembered her from his research in the FIRM records after the Russian report on the island contamination problem.

He had never gotten to meet her. When he used to meet up with Hawke for a meal or a drink, it was after hours, and Hawke normally came alone. In the days right after his retirement, he interacted with both Hawke and Dom Santini, but it seemed O'Shannessy was out of town. He'd heard of her, through Hawke; Hawke used to speak of her rather fondly, though Larry could see now that perhaps it was more than fondness.

The reddish-blond - or just flat out red - hair and the freckles were a giveaway, and he absently patted the soft hair of little St. John. So Hawke had married close to home.

Larry looked from the pair over to Dom, who was nearly busting at the seams with a proud grin as he watched his two younger pilots.

She handed over to Dom a bag filled with miscellaneous parts. "They're out of the tail rotor parts for the Jet Ranger. They should be getting some in tomorrow." She quickly turned to Larry, extending her hand. "Hi!" she greeted warmly. "Caitlin Hawke."

Her action spured her husband to move. "Cait, this is Larry Mason," he introduced as Larry shook Cait's hand. "He's a friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you!"

"He's, uh." String lowered his voice. "He's the one who told us about the Russians finding out about Airwolf so soon after our missions."

"Oh," Cait murmured, and her friendly expression turned to one of recognition, then of understanding and gratitude. Larry assumed that she most likely knew the whole story, including how Hawke - well, her husband - had helped get him out of trouble. She didn't mention the part, though. "Thank you," she said softly. "For watching out for us."

Larry just nodded, blushing. "Congratulations, by the way," he offered, raising the small child, who was squirming now and reaching for his parents. "Oh, OK. Back to Mommie and Daddy."

Hawke reached over to take his son, gently prying the small fingers from Larry's glasses as he gathered the child into his arms. Caitlin handed Larry the tissue box, offering one to him to them.

He had to admit to not a little surprise, watching as his old friend carefully adjusted his son in his arms. Hawke had never been demonstrative, but his affection for his son was unmistakable. He murmured something in the child's ear; the baby rubbed his face tiredly with his small fists, then snuggled into his father's chest. Hawke's free hand rested on his son's back, absently rubbing even as he listened to the conversation.

It wasn't just the child, either. Larry had known that Hawke was a popular one with women, and he'd met a girlfriend once, but with Caitlin he seemed different than he'd been with her. Again, he was not demonstrative, but the normally reserved man seemed especially affectionate (for him, anyhow); he seemed to crave contact with her. When Hawke'd done introductions, his hand had been resting lightly, subtly, on her back; now that his hands were full, he'd slid closer to his wife, his shoulder brushing hers. Every once in awhile, when the conversation - and her attention - was directed elsewhere, the former FIRM employee, out of the corner of his eye, would catch Hawke looking at his wife. Larry wondered if he realized he was even doing it.

"Dom lets us keep St. John here with us," Caitlin was explaining. "It does make things easier."

"Do you take him on set?"

"Depends," Dom put in. "Everett stays back here at the hangar, and he'll stay with him sometimes."

"Le's been great as well, though we don't want to impose too much," Caitlin continued. "He's a teenager. No teen wants to be saddled with a baby that much."

"Le?"

"Le Van Hawke. My nephew, St. John's son. Caitlin and I have custody of him."

"You really should meet him," Caitlin added. "He's a great, great kid."

Larry stared at Hawke, trying to make sense of all that was happening. Hawke had a nephew? A son? A wife? He looked back and forth at all three with a stunned look on his face.

Caitlin realized his shock first. "Don't worry," she reassured him. "You are in the right place. And this is the man you're looking for." She paused a beat, then added, "Name like Stringfellow Hawke? You can't miss him." She smiled and winked.

Larry grinned, wide, as Hawke just looked at his wife, a look of vague indignation on his face at her jibe. She just smiled cheekily at him.

"Well, you have been gone three years, you know," Dom put in. "A lot's happened since you left!"

"I can see that," Larry added dryly. "You guys still flying Airwolf for Archangel?"

"Yeah."

"Even with - ?" Larry waved at the small child, now playing with the lapel of his father's mechanic's uniform.

"St. John'll stay here sometimes when we take the Lady out," Dom acknowledged. "Or with Le Van. Though we've really got to rotate duty on the Lady now - we try to make it so that at least one of us is on the ground."

Larry looked from the baby's parents to Dom, and he could see the seriousness of the circumstances. He could just imagine what one mission gone bad would mean for the baby and the tot's cousin, and it was not hard to see the wisdom of the decision that the three no longer fly Airwolf together.

"Most of the time," Caitlin offered, seeing the darker turn in conversation, "we're just here, so he's with us. Though we're going to have to think of something else when he gets bigger."

"Of course we will!" Dom planned enthusiastically. "I'm cleaning out that back office, and we'll make the whole thing into playroom for them" - Larry wondered if 'them' referred to more of Hawke's family, appearing out of nowhere - "with a corner that'll have small bunk beds and a crib and a changing table. They'll need the room for my other grandbabies!"

At this proclamation, Larry looked over at his old friend, who had his eyes closed in resignation. His wife's freckles had disappeared under her blush. Apparently this was not the first time Dom had hinted at this.

For a moment he wondered if Dom realized how much he was embarrassing them. Then the older man winked, and Larry tried not to laugh. Santini appeared on a personal mission to shame the younger pair into giving him more grandchildren to spoil - and Larry had little doubt that Dom was doing all he could to spoil this one.

"Dom. Helicopter parts." Hawke changed the subject.

"Oh, right." Dom picked up the bag of chopper parts but didn't head back to work yet. "Larry, you gonna stick around a bit? Lunch, perhaps?"

"Dinner, perhaps, if that's all right. I've got a meeting this afternoon."

"Meeting?" Hawke repeated.

"Archangel," Larry explained.

"Something wrong?" Hawke frowned, looking over his son's head at his old friend. Dom and Caitlin exchanged concerned looks.

"No, no." Larry shook his head. "Getting a bit bored, to be honest. Thinking about taking him up on his offer to work, at least part-time. I'm scheduled to meet him in an hour."

"Do you need a ride?" Cait offered.

"Sure, I'd appreciate one. I took the FlyAway here from LAX."

"Come on, then," Hawke's smile had returned. Larry watched as his friend carefully eased his son into his wife's arms. "I'll take you." He put his arm around his old friend, leading him out of the office.

They headed out to the Jet Ranger, and Larry climbed in. He turned back to see Dom Santini and Cait Hawke standing inside the hangar. Dom was pointing towards them and speaking to the infant, then waving vigorously at them. From inside his seat in the helicopter, he could see Hawke's wife say something to her son, and then gently raise her son's hand to help him wave at them as Hawke started the engine.

Dom beamed proudly as the smallest Hawke waved at them on his own, and Larry smiled and waved back, vigorously enough so that the small child could see, a grin of amusement crossing his face. Imagine - Stringfellow Hawke with a son.

He stole a look over at Hawke, who had his hand on the controls, ready to lift off. He'd seen Hawke smile before, of course, but this kind of soft smile was different. He raised his hand to say good-bye, lingering a brief moment, and the expression on the other man's face as he looked at his family was one Larry had never seen before in all the years they had known each other. He couldn't even describe it, the kind of emotions that seemed to be all wrapped up in that one look.

It was there a moment, and then that look was gone, replaced by the smile Larry normally saw, the friendly and concerned one Hawke gave to his friends. With that, they were off.

On the flight over, Larry chitchatted about all sorts of things about his marina and his small business, Hawke grinning and offering commentary along the way. They landed in front of the FIRM, and Hawke offered to accompany him upstairs.

Larry could tell the offer was genuine, but he was not about to detain the man, considering he didn't know how long all this will take. "That's all right. You go on."

"Call me when you're done." Hawke smiled. "We'll take you up to the cabin; you can spend the night up there, too."

"Sounds great!"

The two men stood in an awkward silence for a moment, and then Hawke clapped him on the shoulder. "It's good to see you well, Larry. I'm glad everything worked out."

Larry just smiled. "I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks for helping me."

Hawke just shook his head, signaling that no thanks were needed.

Larry reachd for his old friend's hand, squeezing it tight in a handshake before using his left to cover their hands. "Hawke, I - " he paused, then blurted, "I'm really happy for you. I don't think I've seen you this - well - happy, you know. For the entire time I've known you."

Hawke just gave a short laugh. "That bad, huh?" he asked, and Larry thought he could see his friend's eyes twinkling behind his aviator glasses.

"I'm really glad. You deserve all the happiness you get. Your wife, your son." Larry nodded. "Perhaps not a brand new start, but things are different with you."

He smiled, and there was pain behind it. "I realized where I would end if I continued how I had been." He paused. "And I wanted a new ending."

Evidently, Larry thought. Hawke never talked about these things at all. That redhead had done him a lot of good. "And you have it."

"I'm lucky," the pilot said quietly, and his voice was hoarser than it normally was. "

"Blessed," Larry corrected. "And so are they," he said stoutly, "to have you."

"Larry Mason, are you coming up here or not?" Michael's voice boomed over the intercom inside the helicopter. "I see that gaudy Santini chopper taking up precious space in my parking lot!"

"That's my signal." Larry rolled his eyes. "Call you later?"

Hawke grinned and nodded. "See you then."

end