Second Chances Part 1 - A Second Chance

Second chances Part 1 by Bethhawke

Chapter 6

Hawke and Beth stood together for a long time just staring out at the lake. He wanted to ask her what Andrea had said to make her get out of bed and dressed but thought silence was the better option. He didn't want to spoil the peaceful mood that had settled over them as the tension of the last few days seemed to drain out of her.
Finally she turned to him, put her arms around his neck and kissed him. He let her stay in control, just resting his hands on her hips, body held away from her. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off with a strong response. When they eventually parted she smiled at him cautiously, “I'm sorry about last night.”
“It's OK,” he replied, happy to just be holding her, “but don't do anything that stupid again. You scared me.”
“I know, I'm sorry. Can we just forget about it, please?” Hawke nodded reluctantly and she continued, “Archangel brought Andrea here because she went through a similar experience a few years ago. The Firm only had male psychiatrists then and Andrea didn't feel happy talking to them so Archangel arranged for her to train as a counsellor. Any of the female operatives can see her if they have problems; she was with Marella last night.”
“Why didn't he get her here sooner.”
“She came as soon as she could. She was on vacation in Australia. Flew home specially at Archangel's request.”
“So you're feeling a bit better?”
“She said it would take time, but yes, I feel better for having spoken to her.”
“Good!” he smiled and pulled her in for a quick hug, “we'd better get back before your boss decides to come and get you.”
Inside the cabin Caitlin approached Hawke cautiously. “There isn't enough food here for us all so I called Dom and he's going to bring some groceries over tonight. He's picking Marella up from the hospital too.”
“I suppose he told you we had a fight?”
“Yeah, he didn't want to come but I sweet talked him around. We really do need his input, after all he will be in Airwolf with you.”
“I suppose so,” Hawke agreed reluctantly.
While the others all sat around trying to come up with a strategy to trick Hunter and the Russians, Hawke grabbed his fishing gear and took his boat out on the lake. Dom would bring plenty of meat and vegetables but usually ignored the fact the Hawke preferred fish, leaving Hawke to catch his own trout. Not that he was complaining, it was peaceful on the lake, with only fish and eagles for company, and he needed time to think.
He'd caught two trout when something occurred to him. He rowed quickly to shore and then ran to the cabin, leaving his fishing gear and the fish in the boat. He burst through the front door and four faces turned to look at him, surprised by his sudden entrance. Archangel and Andrea jumped to their feet and pulled out their guns, thinking that Hawke was being chased.
“Where's the pager?” Hawke demanded, out of breathe.
“Marella's pager?” questioned Archangel, putting his gun away.
“Yes! Where is it?”
“I presume Hunter still has it,” he pulled out his own pager, realising what Hawke was thinking. “Hang on, I'll see if it's still traceable.” he pressed a few buttons, “My God Hawke, I can't believe we missed this, he can't still have it, it's too easy!”
“How else is he going to get Airwolf? He has to hide out 'cause we know he's involved, but needs us to know where he is so we can deliver the Lady to him.”
Andrea looked over her boss's shoulder at his pager, “Sir, how much battery life does Marella's pager have left?”
“Probably less than mine. I had mine on charge while Marella was having dinner with Hunter but she had hers with her. I estimate no more than 36 hours, depending on whether he switched it off, which I doubt he did if he wanted us to trace it.”
“Well now we have our time scale,” said Hawke, “we have to move tomorrow. I suggest dinner, a good night's sleep, then attack tomorrow morning. Hopefully they won't have had much sleep while waiting for us to arrive.”
“Let's have a camp fire!” suggested Caitlin excitedly, “we'll cook trout and steak and wrap potatoes and vegetables and put them on the fire too.” She glanced at Hawke and then at Michael, ”It'll be so romantic.”
The men groaned. “The fresh air will help us all sleep,” commented Hawke, keeping a straight face.
“Men!” said Cait, but she was smiling as she helped Hawke to collect wood for the fire.

Just before Dominic arrived with Marella, Andrea said her goodbyes and flew back to Firm Headquarters, promising Beth she would return if she was needed. When Dominic arrived he headed straight for Hawke, while Marella hugged Michael.
“Hey kid, we okay?” he looked apologetic and Hawke was relieved.
“Yeah, we're okay. But Beth is going nowhere. I can't make you like her, but at least try to get along with her until this is over.”
Dominic gave him a fatherly hug then went to help Caitlin unpack the food. Hawke carried two chairs outside for Michael and Marella, who would have been uncomfortable sitting on the ground, Dom and Cait sat on camp stools, and Hawke and Beth laid a blanket on the ground. They discussed the next day's events while the food cooked and only when they had gone through it several times did Hawke let them start on the food.
“Now we relax, have some good food, a couple of beers and forget about tomorrow,” he insisted.
During dinner they all chatted together about anything and everything, except what the next day might bring, but when it got dark they instinctively quietened down and started talking quietly in pairs. Caitlin was the first to rise and offered to make coffee, taking Dominic with her to help carry the dirty plates out. When she returned there were only four cups of coffee on the tray.
“Dom and I are going to have a bath and an early night,” she informed the two couples.
Hawke raised an eyebrow and Beth and Marella laughed.
“Not together,” she laughed at her faux pas, “I've claimed the first bath and Dom gets one if there's any hot water left!”
She went back into the cabin and drew the curtains so the only light left outside was from the fire and the moon. Beth glanced over to the other couple and nudged Hawke. “They seem closer since Marella got kidnapped, don't you think?”
“None of my business.”
“Oh, come on String, aren't you a little curious?”
“I'd sooner concentrate on my own love life, if I've got one?” He wasn't sure how far to push Beth. Sometimes she got close, other times she pulled away. Her emotions seemed to be all over the place, which he could understand. She would have to make the first move; he just wanted her to know that he still wanted her.
She looked back him shyly. “Well, this is kinda romantic.” They were lying close together on the blanket and she leaned over to kiss him. He stole a glance to see if either Michael or Marella was watching them, then decided that it was his home and he could do whatever he liked. So he kissed her back. Soon they were wrapped around each other, kissing and caressing, all thoughts of an audience forgotten. Hawke was brought to his senses when a cool breeze caught his back where his shirt had lifted slightly. He raised himself up on one arm and grinned. He whispered to Beth, “Shall we stay out here tonight? It'll be more private than inside. Michael and Marella can have the bed, it's got clean sheets.”
Beth nodded and Hawke cleared his throat. “Er, Michael?”
Michael had been talking quietly to Marella, but turned to look at Hawke when he heard his name. “Welcome back to planet earth Hawke, we thought we'd lost you for a while there,” Michael sounded amused.
“Cute, and there was me about to offer you two a comfortable bed for the night.”
“I think it's you two who need the bed,” Michael quipped back.
“Seriously Sir, we've decided to camp out tonight and Marella won't be comfortable sleeping in a chair with that wound.” Beth knew that Archangel wouldn't deprive Marella of a better place to sleep even if he ended up in a chair himself.
“Well....” Michael looked at Marella who just shrugged.
“Just don't forget to set the alarm,” said Hawke lying back down.
“What about you?”
“Sunrise'll wake me,” he leaned over to kiss Beth again.
Michael stood up and held out a hand to help Marella,“Well if you're sure...”
But Hawke wasn't listening any more.
When he heard the cabin door close he gently eased away from Beth, looking into her eyes. “I'm not trying to rush you into anything, We can just go to sleep, I just thought you would be more comfortable away from the others, the loft is hardly private.” The overwhelming need to protect her that he had felt on their first night together came rushing back and took his breath away as he realised how much he loved her. “I love you Beth,” the lump in his throat made it difficult to talk but he had to tell her.
Hearing the emotion in his voice brought tears to her eyes, “Oh String, I love you too. I don't want to make you wait, I don't want to wait. I'm just not sure how I'll react. I'm scared I'll panic.”
“It's OK, we'll go at your pace and if you say stop, I'll stop, no recriminations,” he couldn't believe that she was prepared to make love so soon after her ordeal, “but it's so soon, are you sure? I mean won't it bring back memories,” he hesitated, there was something he wanted to ask but wasn't sure how to word it. She waited for him to finish, sensing he wanted to ask something and hoping she would be able to answer. “Beth....did he hurt you, you know, well.......will it hurt if I make love to you?” the words came out in a jumbled rush but she understood.
“No, you won't hurt me, not unless I tense up. And you'll have to be careful of my arm. String, when we kissed earlier I kept my eyes open. I need to see you, smell you, then I'll know it's you I'm with and I won't be scared. Do you understand?” He thought he did and felt real hope for their relationship for first time since she had arrived at the cabin. He wanted to know the details of what happened to her, so that he could avoid doing anything that would upset her, but at the same time he didn't want to know anything. He decided that he would leave it up to her; if she wanted to tell him he would listen, but if she didn't then he wouldn't push her.
He was disturbed from his thoughts by her hand trailing across his chest, still covered by his shirt. She started to undo the buttons, kissing each bit of skin as it was exposed, familiarizing herself with every inch of his chest. She had all the buttons undone now and her mouth was hovering just above the waistband of his jeans. She had the button opened and was about to slide down the zip when he put his hands on her head and gently lifted it off him. He should be aroused by now, the anticipation of things to come usually did that, but he wasn't. It was over 6 weeks since they last made love so he should be crawling the walls by now, but he wasn't. In his head he was but it was further south that mattered. He had to tell her what was wrong, he didn't want her jumping to the wrong conclusion, thinking that he no longer desired her. That couldn't be further from the truth, he loved her too much and the need to protect her was overwhelming. He was scared of hurting her, of not being able to stop if she asked him to. He was feeling too protective.
“Beth, we have a problem,” he hesitated, unsure how to continue, “I may not be able to do this. I want to, more than you could possibly know, but my protective instincts are overpowering my sexual ones. Do you understand?” She thought for a moment before nodding. “And it's probably for the best. I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to stop and I'd hurt you,” he gently pushed her hair out of her eyes so he could look at her, “I want to touch you. Can I?” he added shyly. She nodded again, taking his hand in hers. “Take off my clothes. I hate these virginal white things. Even the underwear is white. I can't wait to get my own clothes back.”
“And I can't wait to see you in them,” he responded with a grin, “especially the underwear.” He was nervously undoing her top, then reaching behind her he undid the skirt and slipped it off her. Getting the top off was a bit more awkward, her plaster cast kept getting in the way, but it lightened the atmosphere. Her underwear was stunning and he feasted his eyes before gently removing it. Beth slipped off his unbuttoned shirt and reached to undo his zip. Aroused or not, she intended to have him as naked as she was.
Lying naked, a cool breeze caressing their skin, Hawke held her tight, letting her get used to the feel of him again. When he felt her relax completely he started to touch her, her face first, then he moved gradually lower, stroking every inch of her skin. He lightly moved his fingers over her thighs, gradually moving inwards, watching for any sign from her telling him to stop. She gave no sign, rather she moved her hips so that his hand ended up between her legs. Worried about her reaction he stilled his hand.

“It's okay String, don't stop. I want this, I need this.”

He captured her lips in a kiss and when she relaxed again he gently pleasured her, until her breath was coming in short gasps and she bit down on his lower lip, her nails digging into his back. He was getting breathless too, the kiss had started things stirring down below and although it was only a twitch it was enough to make him want more. He eased off the kiss and looked at her. She had tears in her eyes and he felt a moment of panic, “Are you okay?”
She nodded, the tears now streaming down her face, “Beth please! What's wrong? Did I hurt you?”
“No,” she managed to say, holding her right hand up in a 'wait a minute' signal. He waited. After what seemed like forever she stopped crying, “Relief. I was so scared that I would feel nothing. After all that time with him touching me and me feeling no pleasure I was worried I......” she couldn't finish the sentence as his lips were crushing hers in a hard and hungry kiss. Their tears mingled as they both cried out their relief, their lips never separating and as their tears gradually stopped they were both aware of his erection pushing hard against her stomach.
“Make love to me String,” she whispered. He let her take control and soon the only sound in the still night was their laboured breathing as they gave themselves up to their pleasure.