*I know I have a story that has been sitting unfinished for awhile and I promise to get back to it as soon as possible. In the meantime, here is part one of a short three part story.

Reflections

Part 1 of 3

Hawke opened his eyes and squinted as the sun slowly drifted through the window and woke him. He sat up slowly and looked around. It had been a long night and one he could barely remember. He sat up and managed to drag himself out of bed and into the bathroom where he put on a pair of jeans and washed up before heading down his loft stairs.

He'd barely made it to the bottom when he heard the familiar sound of a helicopter. He plopped down on the couch and waited for his visitor.

"What the hell happened in here?" asked Archangel as he let himself into the cabin.

Hawke sighed. "What do you want Michael?"

"Why do you always think I want something?" he asked sarcastically.

"Because you always do," came a sharp reply. "Why else would you be here?"

"Maybe I just wanted to check up on you," Michael replied as he sat down on the arm of the sofa. "From the looks of this place, my visit is warranted. What the hell happened here?"

Hawke looked around and shrugged. "Just letting off a little steam," he replied matter of fact like.

"Looks more like a lot of steam," said Michael. "I just don't get it."

"What don't you get?" asked Hawke.

"Why you let her go," he replied softly. "It's obviously tearing you apart. How could you just let her walk away?"

"Better than the alternative," Hawke replied as he got up and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator.

"Beer for breakfast?" Michael asked. "That's new for you."

Hawke found the bottle opener and pried open the top before taking a large gulp. "Takes the edge off, I guess," he said softly.

"What's the alternative?"

Hawke stared at him. "Come on Michael, you know the drill. You know my life story," he replied. "She's safer away from me. You can't deny that."

"I'm afraid I can," Michael said as he stood up and walked across the floor. "Do you know where she went?"

Hawke sat the bottle down on the coffee table. "No," he admitted. "I don't."

Michael took a deep breath before continuing. "She's been working for me," he told him.

"What?" asked Hawke. "How could let her do that?"

"She came to me and asked," Michael told him. "She liked what she'd been doing with you and Dom. She wanted to continue. She's a great pilot and was a good cop. She makes a great operative."

Hawke stood up, grabbed the bottle and went back into the kitchen before pouring the beer down the drain. "Why are you telling me this now?" he asked. "Or should I ask, what aren't you telling me Michael?"

"Okay," he replied. "It's the main reason I'm here anyway."

"Go on," Hawke nearly ordered.

"Caitlin was working with one of our new operatives. And well, let's just say he was a bit careless."

"Careless? How?" asked Hawke, nearly afraid of the answer.

"He managed to get them both shot," he said matter of fact like.

"Damn it Michael," Hawked yelled as he grabbed his shirt off the couch and put it on. "Let's go. You can fill me in on the rest on the way."

Hawke nearly tripped over his own feet as he quickly made his way out of the cabin. Michael followed him to the door and watched him walk about ten feet from the porch before stopping cold in his tracks.

Slowly he turned around and stared at the bench that sat in front of the cabin.

She sat very still, looking at him, unsure of what to say. He noticed her arm was in a sling and she looked very pale. Slowly he walked back toward her and sat down on the other end of the bench.

"Are you okay," he asked, looking off into the distance.

"Yeah," she replied. "It's just a flesh wound. Michael insisted I come here and take some time off. He worries too much."

"You look pale," Hawke said as he finally turned and looked at her again.

"I always look pale Hawke," she joked, shooting him a timid smile.

"Well, I'm heading out now," Michael told the two. "Hawke, I assume that it is okay for Caitlin to stay here for a few days?"

"Yeah," he replied softly. "Of course."

With that, Michael headed back down to the dock. Caitlin and Hawke remained silent as they watched him climb into his helicopter and fly away."

Neither said a word for what seemed like an eternity to Caitlin. Finally, the sound of thunder in the distance broke the silence. Hawke looked up at the growing dark clouds in the sky.

"Looks like a storm is rolling in," he finally said. "Let's get inside."

Caitlin stood up and nearly fell forward. Hawke caught her by her good arm and steadied her. "Are you okay?" he asked, worried.

"I'm fine Hawke," she assured him. "You know pain medication makes me a little woozy."

"Yeah," he said softly as put his arm around her shoulders and helped her up the cabin steps and inside.

Once inside, he helped Caitlin settle in on the couch and brought her a blanket to wrap up with.

"I really am fine Hawke," she told him as she surveyed the living room. "What the heck happened in here? Did you have some kind of party?"

"It's nothing," he lied. "And you don't look fine to me. I shouldn't know that pain medicine makes you sick. You've been hurt too many times in this line of work. What in the world were you thinking Caitlin? Why work on your own for Michael? It's too dangerous."

"Hawke, the only other time I've taken pain medicine is when I fell off that horse last summer," she reminded him. "And why do you even care if I work for Michael? It's my business what I do."

Hawke stared at her a moment. He wanted to reply but he was too angry. He was still upset that she had left in the first place and he didn't want to say something he'd regret. Instead, he turned and stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door after him.

Caitlin took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was too exhausted to even try to think straight as she'd already been through so much over the past few days. She hadn't wanted to come but Michael had insisted and left her no choice if she wanted to continue her employment with him. So, she pulled the covers up over her shoulders and drifted off to sleep.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep but when Caitlin woke she looked around and noticed that Hawke had cleaned up the mess in the living room. She smelled pizza in the oven and saw a glass of ice tea by her side.

Noticing that she was awake, and sitting up, he came and sat down beside her.

"Look Caitlin, I don't want to argue," he admitted. "But we do need to talk about this. How about we eat lunch first though?"

Caitlin sighed. "Sure," she replied softly. "I'm actually pretty hungry. I haven't eaten much lately."