A/N: Chapter 1, finally! I've been having technical issues with spotty Internet and an old, cranky iPad, so I appreciate you all sticking with me through the rough spots. Enjoy!

Sachi

I was panting heavily as my therapist, Kimiko Hamayura, helped me back into my wheelchair. The last hour had consisted of an exercise regimen designed to keep my leg muscles from atrophying. Although I would probable never walk unassisted again, I was starting to gain some feeling back in my legs.

"That was good, Scott!" Kimiko said as I took a long drink from a water bottle. "You're upper body is still strong, so that is definitely helping."

I grinned at her as I replaced the cap. "Well, you know what they say. If the women don't find you attractive, they should at least find you handy, right?"

She colored slightly at my comment even as she consulted her tablet, scheduling my next therapy appointment. That was Kimiko. She was a gentle, caring, and compassionate woman, but she was also all business. In spite of that, we had grown close over the last few months, to the point that I had begun asking her out. She had declined. Politely, of course, but she had declined. She never gave me a reason though, and I was determined to change that.

"Look, Kimiko," I said, sitting up a bit straighter in my wheelchair and hoping for all the world I didn't sound like an idiot, "I've been asking you out for the last two months now, and you still haven't given me a reason for turning me down. This isn't high school. We don't have to play games or..."

She cut me off with a wave of her hand. "It isn't that, Scott," she said gently. "And it's not you either," she added quickly. "You really are charming, and I am flattered that you've asked me, it's just... I..." she faltered after a moment.

I leaned forward slightly. This was more than she had given me up to now. "What is it then?" I pressed. "Some kind of therapist-patient confidentiality I'm not aware of?"

"No," she answered, smiling. Oh, how I loved that smile. "It's Sachi."

"Sachi?" I asked, intrigued.

"My daughter," she said, looking me in the eyes, waiting to see my reaction. I simply waited, quietly.

"You're not the first man to ask me out, Scott," she signed, her eyes dropping back to her tablet, "but there's a reason I'm still single. And Sachi's that reason. Men are always falling all over themselves to ask me out. After all, I'm young, single, and successful." She smiled sadly, "But as soon they find out that I have a 10 year old daughter, they run for the hills. I just don't know that she can take that kind of rejection again."

I nodded thoughtfully. It made sense now, why she had been dodging my advances without flat-out rejecting me.

"I'd love to meet her." I said quietly, feeling a new sense of respect for her. Not only was she working full-time, dealing with the physical and emotional wounds of Veterans like me, but she was also raising a daughter on her own. Seriously, this woman had iron in her soul.

"That's very nice of you," she began, not looking up from her tablet, "but I... Wait, what?" Her eyes snapped up to lock onto mine.

"I'd love to meet her," I repeated, smiling.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she found her voice again. "You're serious?" She asked, disbelief written across her face.

"Of course!" I answered. "Besides, if she's anything like you, I'm sure she's a charming girl. Do you have a picture of her?"

"Um... Yes," she stammered, fishing her phone out of her pocket and handing it to me. There was a photo of a young girl with shoulder-length black hair, wearing a plain, tan skirt and a flowing green top with a white fringe around the hem and collar.

"Kanojo wha utsukushi (she's beautiful" I said, handing the phone back. "No wonder you named her Sachi."

"Thank you, Scott", she whispered, tears standing in her eyes. "That-that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said!"

"Well you'll have to get used to it if you're going to keep hanging around me!" I grinned. "So, dinner? A movie?"

She laughed at that. It was an honest-to-goodness genuine laugh, that sounded like it hadn't been used in too long.

"I-I'd be happy to accept, Scott", she said, smiling and wiping her eyes. "I Just need to ask Sachi."

"Of course. Take your time." I indicated my medical files, "You know where to find me!"

She laughed again. I could really get used to hearing that more often! Then, after a moment's hesitation, she scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

"Here, this is my personal cell." I took the offered paper. "J-just in case you need to get ahold of me outside of work." she finished, a coy smile playing at the edge of her mouth.

"I will do that," I said, smiling, "and I look forward to meeting your daughter!"