A/N: Sword Art Online: A Father's Love rewrite has begun. All the previous chapters have been put into a new story called A Father's Love: Extra Edition. It's a collection of one-shots, drabbles, and "deleted scenes", that didn't make it into the main story.
Special shout-out to Adelaide's Anagram for your review! Thanks!
I grew up in Okinawa, the son of a Navy Chaplain and a Marine Corps Major, so it was no surprise that I decided to join the military right out of high school. At well over six feet tall, I wasn't interested in life aboard a ship, so I joined in the Army. I spent the first several years of my career as an Infantry "grunt", and later a Platoon Leader, with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea before applying for Special Forces.
I passed Selection in late 2018 and spent the next few years kicking around the South Pacific as a Team Leader and as an Advisor/Liaison Officer to the Japanese and South Korean Special Forces. So when North Korea made the push south back in early 2020, due my boots-on-the-ground experience and the fact that I was trilingual (English, Japanese, and enough Korean to get by), I was tasked with helping to direct the combined forces from the air.
The plan was simple: I would ride in on a helicopter that was landing a SEAL team behind the North Korean lines as forward observers, and then stay on the helicopter as an "eye-in-the-sky", relaying information from the SEALs and my own observations to the allied commanders. Unfortunately, Mr. Murphy decided to come along for the ride too, and we were hit by the Korean version of a Stinger missile about fifteen minutes after we had left the SEALs. The pilot was killed in the crash, and the co-pilot and I suffered severe injuries. The co-pilot's leg had been broken in three places, and the impact had broken my back. Our own troops were still several klicks out when a North Korean patrol had shown up. We were in no condition to fight back and so we were captured. They kept us isolated for roughly a week without proper food, water, or medical treatment before the real interrogation started.
"Please state your name and rank for the record", a heavily-accented voice ordered from behind the light shining directly into our eyes.
"Captain Scott William Cooper, US Army", I obliged, trying hard to keep any pain or fatigue from showing in my voice. The first rule of interrogation was to never show any weakness.
"Warrant Officer Andrew Gilbert Mills, US Army", my fellow POW replied, likewise fighting to keep his voice level. Because of the lack of medical care, his broken leg was severely swollen and painful, and it looked like it was starting to gangrene.
"Now, if you will turn your attention to the document in front of you," the voice continued, "you will notice that we ask very little of you. Simply sign the statement saying that the actions of the United States are not in the best interest..."
"Before we go granting your request", I cut in, "I'd like to ask that you honor our request as 'guests' of the People's Republic of North Korea and allow a doctor to see to my friend's leg."
"Of course!" the voice responded cheerfully. "Simply sign the document and you will be released to your military! The request is not unreasonable, after all."
I looked over at Mills, apologizing with my eyes. He stared back, resolute, and nodded slightly.
"I'm sorry, but we cannot take any action that would cause us to betray our country", I stated as firmly as I could.
"Of course." The interrogator switched off the light and stepped out from behind the desk, smiling congenially. We had already had the "bad cop" treatment the week prior, so in contrast, this guy was trying to play "good cop".
Mills and I blinked as we were finally able to take in the room. It looked like any other cheap hotel room you might find in Korea, except for the armed guards at the door, two half-starved POWs, and the treasonous paperwork sitting on the desk in front of us.
"Your country is very special to you, as is mine to me!" he continued, "But that is not all you hold dear, now is it?"
We turned a skeptical eye to him as he pulled a cell phone of his pocket and dialed a number. After a brief conversation in Korean, he held the phone out and hit the Speaker button.
"Say hello to your Daddy, Sachi!" he said with a wicked sneer.
"Daddy?" my stepdaughter's frightened voice quavered from the phone's speaker. My eyes widened in horror and I felt Mills stiffen beside me.
"Sachi?!" I finally managed, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. How was this possible? How had they found my family? "Where are you? Where's your mother?"
"I...I don't know", she sniffled. "They keep Mommy in a different room, b-but I can hear them hurting her. She... She keeps screaming and..."
The phone snapped shut and the interrogator's sneer widened. He gestured at the papers on the desk. "Now, back to the issue at hand..."
"YOU SONOFABI-" Mills launched himself at the interrogator, bad leg and all, only to have the man sidestep and throw him into the desk, knocking him out cold. I could only watch mutely as he pulled out his sidearm and calmly shot Mills in the back of the head.
My stepdaughter's voice rang in my head. The smell of blood and burning cordite filled my nostrils. The world spun as I stared at the piece of paper in front of me. I couldn't think. I couldn't move.
"Scott!" the interrogator shouted at me. He grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me as he continued to shout louder and louder. "Scott! Scott!! Scott!!!"
"Wake up!"
My eyes flew open to see my wife, Kimiko, leaning over me, her worried features illuminated by the soft glow of our bedside lamp. I slowly reached up and touched her face. I wanted to make sure that she was real. That she was safe. She smiled at the contact and laid her hand over mine, her fingers cool against my skin.
"Kimi," I whispered, relieved.
"Hey you," she smiled back, turning her head to kiss my palm. I let out a shuddering sigh and felt my heart rate start to settle.
"Another nightmare?" she asked gently, leaning over and smoothing the hair back from my forehead.
I nodded, closing my eyes and willing myself to relax as she stroked my forehead.
"You're sweating," she said. "Let me get you a glass of water."
"Thanks," I mumbled as she shuffled into her slippers. I just lay there, focusing on my breathing, and letting my mind re-collect itself.
Mills and I had been held in that hotel room for almost two weeks, I think, before we were rescued. And while they had beaten us, starved us, and refused us proper medical treatment, they hadn't executed either of us or kidnapped my family. In fact, I hadn't even met Kimiko at that point.
My thoughts were interrupted as the lady in question walked back into the room, her hair pulled back into a messy bun, and her loose nightgown bouncing against her knees as she walked. She flashed me a smile when she caught me staring and my stomach suddenly felt like it became a butterfly sanctuary. I guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought.
She set the glass of water down on the nightstand and then put her arms around my shoulders, helping me sit up in bed. She wasn't very big, average sized by Japanese standards, but she had been a physical therapist for several years now, and she was stronger than she looked. That's how we had met, actually. She had been my therapist while I was recovering at Yokosuka hospital, just outside Tokyo. One thing led to another, and I finally asked her out. She turned me down at first, afraid that I would lose interest when I found out she already had a ten-year-old daughter, but I kept asking, she finally said yes, and a year later we were married.
She handed me the glass once I was upright, and I gulped the contents greedily.
"Slow down, Scott," she admonished gently, "you'll make yourself sick!"
I sat the empty glass back on the nightstand and leaned back against the headboard, breathing heavily. Nightmares always took a lot out of me. I heard Kimiko crawl back into bed, and a moment later felt her lean her head against my shoulder. I turned my face toward her and buried my nose in her hair. She smelled like warm skin and coconut shampoo. She smelled like home. I breathed in deep and let out another sigh. She hummed contentedly in response and twined her fingers into mine. We sat like that for a while longer until I felt sleep begin tugging at my eyelids.
"How's Sachi?" I asked with a rueful grin, once I was horizontal again. "I didn't scare her too badly, did I?"
"She's fine", Kimiko said, turning off the bedside the lamp. "I think she fell asleep listening to her music."
"Is she still wearing those headphones?"
"Of course."
I grinned in the dark. I had gotten Sachi a pair of Miku Hatsune headphones, complete with twin pigtails, for her birthday. I don't think I had seen her take them off since.
"She really loves those things, doesn't she?" I mused.
"It's the giver, not the gift." Kimiko replied, shifting closer and laying her head on my shoulder again. "You've been good to her, and this is her way of saying Thank You. I've given my little girl everything I possibly could, but you've given her something I never could. Something she desperately needs."
"What's that?" I asked sleepily.
"A father's love."