Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or Stargate SG-1. Not making any money…you guys know the drill!

Chapter 3: Learning is hard…

Hajime woke Saturday morning but immediately decided not to move. Tokio was still asleep curled up next to him with her head on his chest. He closed his eyes and relaxed. Their lovemaking had gone on late into the night and he was still tired from the 3 day mission that turned into a week and a half. He was just starting to drift off again when the doorbell rang jolting him awake. Tokio startled awake and her arm suddenly tightened around him.

"It's Saturday…who could it be?" she asked Hajime with a frown. She released him and he got up quickly grabbing a pair of jeans from a drawer and starting to pull them on. Tokio got up too, grabbed her favorite robe and pulled it on.

"I'll go check…wait here," he announced solemnly hurried out of the room. She nodded as he left the room and sat back down on the bed. She grabbed her phone and began to look through her messages wondering aloud if she forgot something…

"Hi Haji!" was the cheerful explosion Hajime was greeted with as he opened the door. Lisa and Kelly were standing at his door and he sighed with a mixture of amusement and annoyance as he hugged them and invited them in. He was not surprised to see them. They owed Tokio a face to face apology but had hoped he could get a little more alone time with her before the interruptions started.

"Sorry we're late! We had a conference call with Victoria and it ran a little long," Lisa began cheerfully.

"Believe me it wasn't long enough," grumbled Hajime slightly annoyed. The two women chuckled teasingly. Tokio called out from the room that she would be out in a few minutes.

"We tried to call but your phones went straight to voicemail," Kelly added an apologetic smile on her face. She explained they had agreed to come see Tokio this weekend to get measurements from Sam, Janet and Cassandra.

"Ok. Wait here while I go throw on a shirt," he said inviting them to sit. Lisa and Kelly made themselves comfortable at the sofa. He went back to the bedroom and found Tokio had gone into the shower already. He grabbed a t-shirt from his drawer and went to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.

"I totally forgot! Sam sent me a text asking if I was still coming over today! I think she kind of forgot too," called out Tokio rushing through her shower. They were supposed to get together for lunch then go to Janet's house for the measurements and to look at some materials. Tokio was supposed to make up her mind this weekend on what color she wanted her bridesmaids dresses. She wouldn't make a final decision without input from Sam and Janet.

"Don't worry too much it's just a little after ten you have plenty of time," Hajime called out asking her if she wanted some breakfast or at least a snack to hold her over until lunch.

"Really? Ten? They're super early then! No I'm alright. Would you take care of Lisa and Kelly while I finish here?" she asked finally.

"Yea," he sighed annoyed that his nice quiet morning with Tokio would end so abruptly. He pulled on his shirt as he left the bathroom with Tokio calling a thank you to him…

"Is anyone from Oniwaban with you guys?" Haji asked as he returned from the room and went into the kitchen to make himself some breakfast and offer his friends something to eat or drink while they waited. They declined the food but took some juice from him and moved to sit on the stools at the island between the kitchen and the living room area.

"Eric flew out with us," Lisa replied but her smile faltered. Lisa and Jesse's stepbrother had an on again off again relationship since high school that depended on whether they were sharing a zip code or not. He wondered aloud why the relationship was not on at the moment.

"Oniwabans aren't talking to us much these days," Kelly replied her tone slightly accusing. Hajime nodded calmly. He had expected this. Aoshi, Sano and Kenshin's devotion to Tokio would most likely bleed through to those most loyal to Aoshi.

"Even Tori seems annoyed with us all the time and we can't get her to tell us why," Lisa added annoyed. He took a moment to think how he wanted to approach his defense of Tokio without breaking his promise of protecting her privacy. From their tones though it seemed they were intending to defend their actions rather than apologize. They owed Tokio an apology and he would make damn sure she got one!

"I understand what you were trying to do for me but why did you feel the need to do it?" Hajime began with a tone of mild curiosity. Lisa launched herself immediately into her defense. She explained how Tokio and the Prince seemed so familiar with each other and how Tokio looked too much of a princess around him…too comfortable. It was so easy to misinterpret their attitude as something more than friends.

"So you assumed by just the way they looked and acted that Tokio was gonna run off with the Prince? That because she was familiar with him and he's rich and handsome she was just gonna mail me back the ring and take off with him?" he asked but this time he gave her his signature interrogation stare. Lisa faltered after all how many times had Jesse been forced to defend her intellect and her grades on account of how she looked. How many times had Tori and Jesse been accused of sleeping with the boss to get promotions just because they were friends with Hajime? How many times had people assumed that she was sleeping with Hajime just because they were good friends and were comfortable around each other?

'Too many to count,' thought Lisa exchanging a chastised look with Kelly. She didn't have a problem with her shallow façade but Tori and Jesse especially hated being pegged that way. It was the reason they didn't work on the catalog anymore. Jesse's last modeling assignment had been for Lisa's new line and she did it only because Lisa had asked her.

"They were so familiar with each other though…so cozy," Kelly added though uncertainty plain to hear in her voice.

"I'm cozy with you Kelly…and you too Lisa. Has she ever jumped on either of you for it?" he asked casually as he pulled his cup of hot milk from the microwave, poured it over his oatmeal and stirred it. Lisa opened and closed her mouth. No, Tokio had not once begrudged them any moment that they pulled Haji aside to talk to him, dance with him or just hang out with him. Tori had even thrown it in their faces that Tokio asked Shuura for permission to date Hajime as she had been his last girlfriend.

"Tokio has known Prince Marco for half her life. Why should she act stiff or distant around him? They've been friends for years and have been through some pretty extraordinary situations together," he lectured as he continued to stir his oatmeal. He took a spoonful as he watched them mull over silently what he had just said.

"They were a couple very briefly but before you pat yourself on the back for guessing that…Tokio ended that romance by turning down the half million dollar diamond he used to propose to her last year," Hajime added and took another spoonful then explained that Tokio felt his lifestyle was not for her. He added that though she cared about him she didn't feel strongly enough about him to leave everything she had worked so hard for behind just for him.

"But…but…" Lisa stuttered shocked that anyone in their right would turn down the chance of being a bonafide princess! But the revelation was also a slap in the face for both women.

"All that drama went down well before she met me. She told me about him when we first started going out. The night after she met Yolanda in fact…By the way, did you know she's selling her house to live in mine even though hers is bigger?" he commented casually digging the nail a little deeper. Kelly cringed and Lisa frowned and looked away. Tokio had defended Hajime on their first date. They had all been so excited for Hajime that he had met someone so trustworthy who could be such a good influence on him. They had repaid Tokio's trust with a stab in the back.

'And worst of all…we came to defend it,' she thought finally understanding why everyone had been angry with them. Hajime had not paused for long.

"You know, 3 months ago you were lecturing me about not treating Tokio like all the other women I dated because she was better than they were. But then you went ahead and assumed she was gonna be a skank like all the others - including my ex - just because she was friendly with a good-looking rich guy. I really don't get that," he continued with a confused look on his face.

He continued to dig the nail in as he switched subjects slightly without letting them answer. He regaled them with tales of Tokio's adventures trekking the globe with Oniwaban. Most of the time she was coming in with Nightraven to pull Oniwaban people out of some jam or patch them up after a rough mission. Lisa and Kelly listened amazed and ashamed. Tokio had even traveled to Helmajistan to save Hiei and Aoshi. Lisa understood why Eric wasn't flirting with her right now. He had been one of the men who had gone there with his bosses on that mission.

"I know it's my fault that my opinion was not convincing enough but was Victoria's opinion not enough? Or my mother's? Didn't she even come to your rescue Lisa when your grades were falling? Did she ever ask you for anything in return?" he continued in the same casual tone he'd been using since they arrived.

"No she didn't…you're right that was shameful of me," Lisa added contritely. In hindsight now she wondered how she could've brought herself to doubt Tokio. She had been wary of Hajime dating Tokio because he had the reputation of a heartbreaker and Tokio was a nice girl. She couldn't understand now why she had taken this horrible of a reversal.

"Of us you mean! You're right Haji! It was wrong what we did to her and we will apologize," Kelly added equally remorseful.

"Absolutely," Lisa agreed firmly. He nodded satisfied. He finished up his oatmeal quickly.

"Let me go check on her and see if she's done yet," he said putting his empty bowl in the sink and left them there to think on what he had shared with them and give them time to come up with an appropriate apology.

When he entered their bedroom Tokio was busy chatting on the phone with someone whom he quickly learned was Eric. She passed the phone to him after saying good bye to Eric. She left the room after giving him a quick peck in the cheek.

"Hey wolf! How's it going?" greeted Eric cheerfully. They chatted for a few minutes. Eric was in town doing a prep of the house. Aoshi was on his way with a client that needed to lay low for a few days while they dealt with an unsuccessful kidnapper that managed to elude his old security. He told Hajime that Tokio had suggested he come over to hang out with him. He was almost done with his work and the client would not be there until Monday. Aoshi had to make sure they weren't followed. Hajime agreed easily enough. With Tokio off doing wedding stuff he was left with nothing to do. He would have to go out to buy some "guy provisions" of which there were none in the house so they agreed to meet after noon. It should give him enough time to go shopping.

As he hung up the phone he could hear the women laughing.

'That was fast,' thought Hajime feeling uncertain about the speed of their reconciliation. He wasn't sure why this troubled him. He would have to ask Tokio later to find out how that happened so fast. He finished getting dressed and grabbed his keys and wallet from the dresser. He stopped at the dining table were the girls were sharing anecdotes from high school with Tokio. Tokio laughed as Kelly told how she had actually broken her wrist in a cheerleading practice during their junior year. Apparently, the tale had been far more embarrassing than the version she told the boys!

"Sounds like you're gonna need to get pizza, beer and chicken wings," Tokio replied amused after Hajime told her Eric would be coming by later. Kelly and Lisa laughed.

"Girls' day out means I get to eat junk food and hang out with the guys," he countered with a smirk. He kissed her and saying good bye to the girls he left…

Kelly and Lisa watched him leave with guilt still gnawing at them. The swagger in his steps letting them know how happy and secure he felt. Tokio had accepted their apology and dismissed the whole thing as a simple and completely justifiable misunderstanding. She had insisted that there was no harm done and she had discussed her private conversation with the Prince with Hajime as soon as she returned. She even mentioned her good friend Marco looked forward to meeting her fiancée one day. But when Lisa and Kelly tried to press for details on her evening with Marco she had quickly changed the subject.

"He's so happy these days," Kelly sighed.

"Yea, it is nice to see him back to his old self," Lisa added making sure to sound cheerful. She got the feeling that – in a tactful way – Tokio had shut them out. Sure she was making every effort to be friendly and get along with them but they had lost her trust. This was simply not acceptable as far as Lisa was concerned.

"I made him a promise," Tokio replied in a dreamy tone still looking at the door he had just locked behind him. Lisa and Kelly exchanged a guilt stricken look.

"Let me get my things and we can get going," she added cheerfully. She went back to her bedroom and came back with her purse and keys ready to go. She offered to drive. They went to a popular diner in town where Tokio's friends met them not long after they arrived. Tokio was a master at making people feel welcome but Lisa knew she was still on the outside. It was very subtle but there was definitely a wall between them and it broke her heart. Their beloved Hajime finally found what they had always wanted for him and she managed to spoil it with an unfounded insecurity and her own shallow tendencies.

'I will fix this!' she promised herself as she took her measurement notes and answered questions from Tokio's friends. Sunday night she was on her way to the airport with Kelly and Eric. Tokio and Hajime wanted to see them off and came to the airport. Lisa looked back at them and how happy Hajime looked burning the image into her mind. She smiled at them and waved goodbye as they boarded their flight.

'I will make it up to you both,' she promised herself as she settled in her seat to prepare for takeoff. She closed her eyes and made her plans. She would see that Tokio and Hajime had the most amazing wedding she could dream off no matter what it took…

-000000-

Emi exited the elevator and looked around. The clerk at the front desk had said this was the floor Agent Gibbs was on. The sky lights in the ceiling and the staircase that led to a door with the word: MTAC next to it were her clues to finding Agent Gibbs' desk. She headed purposefully down the hall glancing over the walls of the cubicles hoping to spot him and one of the agents on the desks pointed her to the correct group of cubicles. She arrived at a small square area with four desks. All the desks seemed to be facing towards the center of the area. To her dismay there was no one there.

"Can I help you?" said a gruff voice behind her startling Emi. The desks were mostly empty and it was so quiet she had expected to hear the footsteps of anyone approaching.

"Yes! Or at least I hope so!" Emi replied chuckling nervously. She quickly composed herself. This was after all a building full of federal agents not a tourist attraction! The scowling man in front of her was a quick reminder of that. His eyes bore into her with deepest distrust. It made her think of the look Hajime always gave people he didn't know who spoke to her. He called it "Threat assessment".

"My name is Emi Davila and I'm looking for Special Agent Gibbs," she added solemnly slipping into mom-mode. It was her automatic response to Hajime's over-protectiveness. She often had to remind him that his mother was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But the man's attitude immediately changed. The scowl disappeared instantly and he smiled at her.

"You found him! Agent Gibbs ma'am at your service," he replied with a smile offering his hand. Emi shook his hand gladly and smiled back then followed him back to his desk and he pulled out a chair for her. It became immediately obvious that he knew who she was and had expected a visit from her or Victoria in regards to Hajime and Tokio's wedding. It had been about a month since he had seen them and he was eager for more good news.

"Yes, they have settled on a date but before we get to that I wanted to say thank you to you Agent Gibbs for what you did for my son all those years ago," she began solemnly.

"It was my pleasure Ms. Davila! I was happy to do it!" he replied with an amicable smile "it was very satisfying then and even more satisfying now," he added as he took his seat.

"Did he share all the details with you?" He asked her. She explained that Hajime had just let it slip during his last visit but refused to say much about it. He had insisted that it was no big deal.

"But he doesn't understand. It's a big deal to me," she insisted. Of course, Gibbs understood perfectly and was happy to give her a blow by blow account starting with Tokio overhearing Kamo and ending with the operation in the hotel in Spain. It terrified Emi to think how close she came to losing Hajime all those years ago.

"You have good friends," concluded Gibbs. She absolutely agreed! She was so proud of Tokio for her courage.

"In spite of all the things she was going through she put herself on the line for someone whose name she didn't even know! My boy is so lucky," Emi declared as she wiped away a little tear. It also made her very proud of Zack! Hajime had been right to put his faith in that lovable troublemaker for so long. She promised herself she would share with Zack's parents what their son had done as soon as she returned to California.

"That he is ma'am!" he agreed with a chuckle. He picked up his phone and called Abby's lab. She and McGee were working on something at the moment but he knew that McGee had been geeking out over Emi's book. He couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he met her. Ziva and DiNozzo arrived then and Gibbs introduced them.

"Oh McGee is going to geek out when he gets here," DiNozzo pointed out with a chuckle adding though that he had also enjoyed her book very much. Emi's book spent 6 weeks on the number one spot on the New York Times bestseller list. It was still on the top ten right now and several networks were negotiating rights for a TV series. Emi had refused any movie rights.

"Of course! I think I'm geeking out right now!" added Ziva. She told Emi she had read her book too.

"Janeway disguising herself as a man, fighting pirates and rescuing slaves! Wow! She was amazing. Thank you for writing the truth about her!" the young woman added glowingly. McGee arrived then in a rush with Abby half a step behind him. He took Emi's hand and shook it firmly.

"Let me say what an honor it is to meet you! I have been waiting my whole life for a proper biography on Kate Janeway!" he gushed. Janeway's books had been one of his inspirations to become a writer himself. Abby shoved him aside and reached for Emi's hand.

"I read all of Janeway's books when I was a kid! She was so cool! I loved your book! Is it true that there's another book coming? One about her death?" gushed Abby next.

"Thank you all of you and yes there will be one more book about that and that is part of the reason I am here," she began smiling at each of them grateful for their lavish praise. Abby and McGee opened their mouths to ask the torrent of questions popping into their heads but Emi held up her hands to stop them.

"But before I get into that Victoria asked me to come because there is a small favor she would like to ask of you and your team Agent Gibbs," she continued more solemnly.

"Is it about Tokio's caretakers?" Gibbs asked and everyone was quiet. Gibbs had told them about how he and Ducky had first met Tokio. His team had helped him put together the file Hajime used on Tokio's uncle.

"Yes, there is a matter of some justice that Tokio is owed. Victoria thought you might be willing to help her out," Emi said looking at Agent Gibbs.

"Just tell us when and where," said Gibbs before she could continue. He looked around at his team.

"You bet boss," affirmed DiNozzo solemnly as agreements went all around the team. Emi smiled and explained Victoria's plan…

-000000-

Getting used to living with Hajime was harder than Tokio had first thought. Especially since she had spent half of her life alone! Hajime was very laid back at home while she was rather obsessive about the condition of her surroundings. For her everything had to be just right. For Hajime if it was clean and in the drawer than it didn't matter how it looked.

"It's just underwear who cares if it's wrinkled," he had said with a laugh but it irritated Tokio to no end. She didn't know whether to be flattered or annoyed when she realized the only reason he used to fold his laundry carefully before moving in with her was so he could spend more time at her place. He would get annoyed that she would spend several minutes stacking the spoons and forks by size and style carefully in the silverware drawer or sorting her t-shirts by color and style. The incident with the pre-nup had also taught Tokio that her fiancée was very good at getting his way. So finding a compromise that was comfortable for her to handle became inevitable.

So the weeks went by as they settled into their new life together. Hajime began seriously cracking the whip on his contractors so that his house could be ready for them to move in by mid-summer. Life for the most part was peaceful and happy at home…except once. A couple of months into their new living arrangement they had their first big fight. It had actually happened on base and it had to do with a group of people SG1 rescued called the Tollans…

"Tokio, there are other ways of doing things! Don't do anything reckless!" Hajime admonished sternly. Col. Maybourne had come to the SGC and stirred up a hornet's nest when he announced that the Tollans would be taken away to a high security facility to "convince" them to create advanced technology for them. It had SG1 up in arms and most everyone on base was on their side. Even though at first they had tried to convince them to stay the general feeling was that they needed to get the Tollans off Earth.

Daniel Jackson had expressed everyone's feelings rather loudly but nothing could be done. The orders had been given from the highest levels and anyone opposing them would be tried for treason. For Tokio it seemed to have touched a very raw nerve. She had even gone to the extreme of talking back to Col. Maybourne! Janet ordered her out of the infirmary because Tokio looked an inch away from adding "Assault on a senior officer" to the charge of insubordination that Maybourne had already tagged on her.

Once Tokio was out of the infirmary Janet had called Hajime and asked him to talk to Tokio. So he had followed her to the top level and found her pacing outside so focused on whatever she was planning to try and save the Tollans that she hardly noticed him at first. He tried to reason with her to be patient but she was having none of it! He could tell that SG1 – or more specifically Dr. Jackson – was up to something but with the guards out on the yard within earshot he didn't dare say anything. So he opted for a more conservative suggestion.

"You want me to lodge a complaint? He's violating his own oaths – not to mention several human rights laws – and ordering me to drug a group of people whose only crime is being smarter than us and I'm supposed to just write a letter about it?" she snarled back at him angrily.

"Yes…for now," he replied patiently. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why she was so worked up about this. The situation with the Tollans wasn't nearly as awful as the whole business with Cassandra had been. The Tollans had already demonstrated that they were very well capable of taking care of themselves.

'For crying out loud they can walk through walls! Why doesn't she realize this?' he thought. Col. Maybourne could try but it was clear to everyone that he wasn't going to be able to keep the Tollans against their will. He surmised – as did Carter and most of the scientists on base – that the high tech armbands they wore gave them the ability among other things to phase through solid matter. Besides, SG1 had been vociferous against Maybourne and now they suddenly had gone quiet. They – or more like Daniel Jackson and Teal'c – were up to something and were being patient then… why wasn't she doing the same? Why couldn't she see it?

'Where is all this rage really coming from?' he thought desperately as she gave him a look that he swore from that day on he never wanted to see again. Her face was frozen in a look of shock and betrayal. She stared at him as if he had suddenly turned against her and thrown away every promise he'd ever made to her…as if he were no better than her old tormentors. But if that was awful what followed was far worse. After a few moments all emotion drained away from her face. She smiled.

"You're right Hajime! That's exactly what I should do!" she replied cheerfully. To those who did not know Tokio she sounded like she'd finally listened to reason and would take a sensible action.

But as he looked into her eyes he realized that he had finally met Tokio's ultimate defense: the Tenken. Despite the warm sunset he felt cold down to his bones. He followed her quickly into the elevator. She pushed the button and Hajime didn't bother to look at which floor she had pushed. He could very well guess. She turned to him still smiling that horrible cold smile at him.

"Tokio, there are other ways," he said in his most intense voice as the elevator doors closed. Try as he might though he could not snap Tokio out of the trance she seemed to be in. They reached the lowest level of the mountain compound and as they both exited the elevator the gate alarm began blasting through the speaker system:

"Unscheduled off-world activation"

He looked at Tokio and breathed a sigh of relief as the horrid cold smile disappeared. He saw confusion then surprise mingled with horror on her face replacing it. He couldn't stay though to find out what had brought clarity back into his fiancé's mind. He had a job to do first. He cupped her face in his hands and risked a quick kiss that she did not resist in the empty corridor. Then after promising to talk later dashed away to the gate room.

When he arrived the Tollans were all assembled there with Dr. Jackson and Teal'c. Col. Maybourne was bellowing over the loudspeakers that he was going to court-martial Dr. Jackson. It was all he could do to keep a straight face as Dr. Jackson mocked Maybourne by pretending not to hear him. He doubted very much though that they would be able to stop a group of people who could walk through concrete and titanium like it wasn't there.

'I don't even want to think what they could do to us with their little "walk through walls" trick!' thought Hajime unhappily. They could end up shooting themselves rather than the Tollans. He wondered again how a fantastically moronic guy like Maybourne had managed to climbed the ranks to colonel!

"They could rip our hearts out "Temple of Doom" style if we shoot them," grumbled Martelli in a low angry whisper shooting a glare up at the control center from which Maybourne was shouting. It brought a wry smirk to Hajime and a groan from Abrams. He surreptitiously glanced around at the other soldiers in the room and realized - from the uncomfortable or annoyed glances they were giving each other - that they were all thinking along the same lines as he and Martelli.

From the gate stepped out a diminutive young woman with a gentle face and a great deal of wisdom in her eyes. Hajime concluded that she must be one of the Nox. The only friendly super advanced race that earth knew about. The event horizon disappeared behind her and she frowned and shook her head in disapproval as she took in the sight of all the armed soldiers. Dr. Jackson raced up the ramp to greet the Nox lady he addressed as Lya.

"Your race has learned nothing," Lya said in a chastising tone. Hajime vowed to remember the sting of shame from her words because he promised himself that he would see Maybourne paid for it one day!

She waved her hand at the Stargate and the event horizon reappeared then turned back to the Tollans. She solemnly invited them to come to their world and offered them sanctuary. The Tollans looked around at the soldiers with mild curiosity wondering perhaps how they should deal with them. Nareem – the man that had taken a romantic interest in Capt. Carter – looked up at the control room where Sam stood watching him go with sadness on her face. Hajime understood the look of longing on his face. They would probably never see each other again.

"Come," she intoned solemnly once more opening her arms in a gesture of welcome. The Tollans turned away from the soldiers and as they walked up the ramp they vanished. Hajime let out a small sigh of relief.

"Cool," said Martelli softly. Abrams chuckled a little as Maybourne bellowed at them to open fire. But he hadn't finished bellowing the order when their rifles vanished from their hands! Hajime blinked in surprise and reflexively closed and opened his hands. Martelli looked around the floor.

"Very cool," he added with a slight chuckle and Hajime wholeheartedly agreed. This had ended easily and painlessly. He would be forever grateful to the tiny lady speaking to Dr. Jackson. She waved an arm and the wormhole reappeared she stepped through it unchallenged. Though Col. Maybourne continued to bellow threats no one moved to chase her through it…

-0-

Tokio stood still watching Hajime hurry away to answer the call of the general alarm. But as he disappeared around a corner she began to run too. The alarm had been the one to snap her out of demon mode. She thought that perhaps the Tollans must've figured out – with their superior intellect and technology – how to contact their own people for a rescue.

'They probably figured out Col. Maybourne's plan to drug and kidnap them,' she thought. By the time she arrived at the control room Gen. Hammond only half of SG1 was there. Dr. Jackson and Teal'c were down in the gate room. Col. Maybourne was bellowing through the microphones to stop the Tollans. The gate room was flooded with soldiers carrying rifles pointing them at the Tollans. She couldn't see Hajime from where she was standing in the back of the room but she was certain he was somewhere down there.

There was a young woman with a gentle face standing at the top of the gate ramp talking to Dr. Jackson. She looked up at the control room and shook her head in disapproval. Tokio felt embarrassed then by Col. Maybourne's incessant hollering. The woman opened her arms in a gesture of welcome to the Tollans and as they started up the ramp they vanished! Tokio gasped in surprise as a second later the weapons on the SGC soldiers vanished as well. She realized now who the tiny woman in the soft gossamer dress with the wise and gentle face must be.

'She's a Nox! Perfect!' she thought relieved. She paid no more attention to the blustering colonel as she watched the woman speak to Daniel one more time then she waved her arm to make the wormhole reappear and disappeared into it. No one moved to follow her…

-0-

Maybourne blustered about court martialing people for letting them escape. However, Hajime knew he had no grounds to do so and General Hammond let Maybourne know that right away. The video taken by the surveillance cameras in the gate room gave very clear evidence in their defense.

'Every one of my men had obeyed that buffoon's orders. He doesn't have a leg to stand on,' Hajime thought as he headed back to SG3's ready room. Even SG1 had stepped aside and let him do what he wanted. He had no jurisdiction over Teal'c and Daniel. They were both civilians, technically speaking.

The only person he could really go after was Tokio. That did worry him so his mind started working on solutions. By the time he got home later that evening he had Tokio's defense pretty much figured out. He had a friend in the JAG he could call if things got out of hand. Tokio had called Maybourne out on his handling of the Tollans and their easy escape made him look like the sniveling fool he was. It was likely the man intended to take his frustration out on Tokio, the only target he had.

'I won't let him,' Hajime vowed to himself as he did a little research on how to protect Tokio. If push came to shove he would call Victoria. He was sure enlisting her help wouldn't be too hard. So now that the situation with the Tollans had ended and they were safely away from Earth it became easier to figure out what had caused his Tokio to snap. He wasn't able to speak to her on base again. By the time he was done with debriefings and reports she was gone. He learned from Janet she had been sent home shortly after the incident with Col. Maybourne. Col. Reynolds let him go home early so he managed to reach the apartment by 2 o'clock.

He found Tokio curled up on the couch buried under a blanket. The house was dark and the only noise was coming from the TV. She had her "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" tape in the VCR. She started getting up as he walked in but he quickly asked her to wait for him there while he locked up the door. Her eyes were red and her face puffy. He didn't want to think how long she'd been sitting here crying in the dark all alone. He switched some of the lights on and headed for the couch. He put all other concerns out of his mind. Tokio was all that mattered to him right now…

-0-

Yay! I managed to get the next arc on its way! I already started the next chapter but that might take a little while. Hopefully by the end of the month! I am kind of jumping between this one and my Harry Potter/Buffy story so it might be a little slow in coming. Thanks for your patience! Happy Halloween!