Disclaimer: Do not own Chicago PD or any other of those shows which are here crossed over. The only reason they are here is because my mom is a total One Chicago nerd. So, I have come to love these shows. Why? Simply because they taught my mother what it means to be a nerd! She is a total fan-girl of these shows and so I watch them because I know how much fun it is to discuss your fandom with someone you see regularly. She gets now why I am such a sci-fi/fantasy nerd and that's enough for me to like the shows!


Requiem for a Princess – Part 1


Monday evening Hajime pulled his car into the garage at Hannya's place in Colorado Springs, grateful that there were no divas loitering, and there probably won't be any for a long while. Victoria decided that she would send them where she could watch them from now on. He dropped Tokio off at the airport this morning so he wasn't in any hurry to get back home.

Kenshin was traveling with Tokio and staying the week in Berlin with her. He had some business to attend to on Aoshi's behalf in Germany. Hajime suspected that Aoshi set it up to make sure Tokio had a bodyguard during her trip that wouldn't get in the way of her enjoying the convention. He didn't care why they did it, he was just glad they did it. He would've asked for some time off to go with her but Tokio insisted there would be little to no time for them to sight see or just spend together as this was mostly a work related trip for her, so there was no point in the extra expense of his coming along.

'She's right. I'm better off saving what's left of my leave time for the holidays,' he thought as he hurried into the house. He'd already spent more than half of this year's leave time on a trip to London in January. He had wanted to go to New York too, to see Mai's tournament and visit with Rick and Eric but that also was not a good idea. He knew he wouldn't be able to control the urge to pound Kamo into oblivion. It would take a long time – if it were even possible – for him to be able to be in the same room as Kamo and not want to kill him.

So he'd volunteered to help out in some new armor development. There were no off-world trips for his team this week anyway. With a heavy heart, he'd told Mai he had to work. She didn't question it, and he promised to make it up to her. He'd already called Tokio's friend: Max – the creator of Duel Monsters. The guy promised to send him some good cards for Mai's Harpy themed deck and some cards for the Amazon deck she was building. He walked in to the study and found Hannya pouring over house plans with the contractors building his mother's house. Hannya and Aoshi's over-protectiveness drove his mother crazy but it made Hajime feel good about his mom and Hannya being together.

His mother had already left for New York with Aoshi and Sano this morning. Hannya had stayed an extra day to make sure Emi's new house was coming along to his very strict standards. Tomorrow morning he would leave for New York to meet Oume and his mom to watch Mai's tournament. Hajime smiled satisfied by Hannya's devotion to his mother and while he waited for Hannya to finish he went to order dinner. It would just be the two of them since Hannya wasn't leaving until tomorrow morning and he was going to stay at Hajime's place tonight since his mother wasn't around. They could pick dinner up on their way home. Hajime enjoyed spending his very rare father-son bonding time with Hannya.

'Besides I need to ask him about Tokio's gossip-control plan!' he thought as Hannya wrapped up his meeting and Hajime helped him close up the house. They talked about Mai's tournament. Mai had breezed through the qualifiers and the semi-finals were tomorrow. Hajime let him know that he was already preparing her a victory present.

"Duel monster cards?" Hannya asked amused.

"Duel monster cards!" Hajime asserted and explained that Tokio was friends with the creator of the game. She had even modeled for a few of the cards. Getting special cards for Mai would be much easier for Hajime now.

"There's a duel monsters tournament in San Francisco sometime in the next month or two, I'm gonna try to get her a spot in the competition," Hajime added.

"You're a very good big brother Hajime," Hannya replied proudly. Hajime smirked, happy to have this time with Hannya. They arrived at Hajime's house and Hannya dropped off his duffel bag in the guest room.

"So Hannya, Tokio and I were talking about that whole business at her college campus…about people thinking she and Aoshi were a couple," Hajime broached the subject as they sat down to eat.

"I wondered how long it would be before you asked me about that," he began with a sigh "What did Tokio tell you?" he asked. And as they ate Hajime gave him a blow by blow account of Tokio's side of things.

"Tokio was so committed to it…she wouldn't let us refuse even though we knew what it meant for her, the sacrifice she was making," Hannya began solemnly.

"It was no sacrifice for her, it was a victory! She finally had control over something in her life! For the first time she could actually protect someone," Hajime countered emphatically.

"You know how she lived back then Hannya. It was empowering," he insisted. Hannya looked at him surprised and stopped to think about it for a second.

"I guess I didn't realize that," Hannya said surprised by this point of view.

"Besides, she enjoyed every minute of it! She made suckers out of nearly everyone in campus and the three stooges never noticed! What a rush that must've been!" he added laughing. Hannya laughed.

"I didn't realize that at all!" he laughed "I was so focused on how mortified I was about what they were saying about her," he put in still chuckling amused.

They finished their meal and began cleaning up together. Haji believed it was just jealousy that spurred their nastier comments. He theorized that the smarter ones probably thought their relationship was very romantic in an old-fashioned kind of way. He believed some might have even respected her for not spewing every detail of their affair to the world like any other in her place would have.

"You're probably right. I didn't think of that," Hannya agreed.

"Every one of those idiots sung to her tune! And besides nothing they called her mattered to anyone of importance in her life, she knew that. We know who and what she really is. And nobody around here is ever gonna believe that she was either a slut or a gold-digger," Hajime insisted cheerfully, feeling proud of his Tokio.

"That's true. We always knew better and the boys always stood up for her," Hannya began. He smiled as they sat back at the table once they put the trash away and cleaned up. Hajime pulled out a couple of beers from the fridge and put one in front of Hannya. Hannya made a toast to Tokio and the best counter-intelligence plan ever conceived by a med-student.

"Probably the only one!" Hajime laughed and took a long drink from his beer.

"You know…I always knew that girl was gonna be family," Hannya began with a thoughtful smile. Hajime was quiet and listened attentively as Hannya started to talk about the night Aoshi disappeared…

-0-

-0-

"Why are we sneaking around Jonathan?" Hannya asked as Night pulled him towards the back of the building and made obvious efforts to avoid being seen. He was desperate to get to Aoshi and didn't care what else was going on around him.

"Think about it…two men going into the apartment of a very pretty young woman who lives alone to pick up a drunk young man at one in the morning…" Night replied solemnly.

"Of course! I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," Hannya replied horrified and his steps became quieter. For slightly old fashioned Hannya, Aoshi's situation looked highly inappropriate after Night's reasoning. They reached Tokio's door without being seen and she quickly and quietly let them in. Night gave her a bag full of medical supplies and after a quick hello and introduction she hurried away to take care of Aoshi. Tokio had managed to throw on a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt before Night and Hannya got there. There was silence now in the apartment except for the occasional groan from Aoshi. Hannya quickly followed her, she needed his help getting him cleaned up and changed.

He explained to her that the people in his family were sensitive to alcohol and couldn't handle more than a light beer or two without suffering serious consequences. He didn't have the sensitivity but his sister and his father had it very severely. He had hoped Aoshi would skip it like him or that he'd have his mother's fortitude. Rin could drink and drink for hours and barely show signs of it!

"Well, now he knows and he's going to have to stay away from alcohol. You don't need it to have fun anyways. I never drink," Tokio pointed out as she set up an IV. Hannya watched her as she worked fascinated by the skill in someone so young. She was extremely tender and careful with Aoshi. Her familiarity with him surprised him. He wondered how long Aoshi had known her, it seemed unlikely that they had met only recently.

As the night wore on he became more convinced that Aoshi had known this young doctor for a long while now. He wondered why he didn't say anything about her. It was almost 5am and Tokio had managed to sneak in a shower and a change of clothes while she was cleaning the bathroom. The parties in the building seemed to have subsided. Aoshi was finally sleeping peacefully on Tokio's bed. Tokio was confident that the worst of the effects of the alcohol were out of him now. Aoshi had woken recently and was upset because he had no idea how he had gotten to her apartment. Tokio and Hannya had managed to calm him down.

"Thank you Tokio, for taking care of him," Hannya said but his voice was dead. There was a deep sorrow and resignation in his face and tone that was beyond tears. Hannya felt dead inside. His son was damaged to such a point where even the simple pleasures of teenage life were forbidden to him. Tokio talked about him going home to get some rest, she would bring Aoshi home later. He had come to admire the girl. She was brilliant and caring. Her experience and talent showed in the confidence she displayed taking care of his son.

He figured now that Aoshi had not said anything about the girl because she was not useful to his plans for revenge. She was a doctor, not a warrior, Aoshi had only been recruiting those with ability to fight. That's all Aoshi cared about these days. His son's humanity was gone. Those beasts had taken the one person that was most precious to Hannya and turned him into a demon. There was no consoling Hannya in his grief.

"He's my friend and I'm always happy to help him. I'm just glad he remembered that and managed to get himself here," Tokio replied as she poured another cup of tea for him and Night then put the kettle back on the stove.

"What do you mean? I thought you brought him here Jonathan?" he asked confused. Night smirked just a little.

"Nope! He walked here on his own, I just followed him. You were 18 once. Why do you think your son would want to come here?" he said with a knowing smirk and took a sip of his tea. Hannya's terrible thoughts all came to a screeching halt. He looked back to Tokio, her hair was pulled back from her face with a large clip but despite how tired she was, she still looked very lovely. She frowned at Nightraven, blushing a little.

"Night, don't embarrass Aoshi in front of his father!" she chastised as she got up to refresh her tea. Hannya's eyes followed her surprised. Had his son really come here looking for…He couldn't even finish the thought because it was too good to be true! She put down the kettle though without pouring as Aoshi groaned and Tokio ran to him. Night put a hand on Hannya's arm and gestured for him to be quiet and watch them. They moved to the door of her bedroom and he listened quietly.

"It hurts," groaned Aoshi softly as Tokio reached him and turned on a little lamp on the table next to the bed. He held his head and Tokio gently reassured him that she had medicine for the migraine but she needed to get his stomach settled before she could give it to him. Into her bag she went and quickly prepared a syringe from several tiny vials as Hannya watched quietly. The IV had long since finished and was removed but Tokio had left the needle on knowing she would have to administer other medications. She wiped the opening with an alcohol pad and screwed in the syringe then plunged her little concoction into his veins.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble," Aoshi said very softly turning to lie on his side once Tokio finished administering the medicine. Tokio sat next to him on the side he was facing. She took his hand in hers and put it to her chest as she leaned close to him.

"You didn't…you never bother me Aoshi. Whenever you need me, I'm always here for you. I'm your friend," she whispered stroking his hair ever so gently.

"Thank you. Stay a moment longer please. The nightmares…"

"I know…I know all about nightmares Aoshi. I'm gonna stay right here. Sleep…just sleep," she cutoff gently. She kissed him lightly on his temple and lay her head on his shoulder still rubbing his head and holding Aoshi's hand. A tear ran down Hannya's face. But for the first time in a year since the terrible incident there was hope inside Hannya.

'He's not gone! He's buried deep but not gone!' he thought as he moved closer to them quietly. Aoshi's eyes were closed now, the medicine she gave him had knocked him out pretty quick. His face was so peaceful that for a moment he looked again like the little boy Hannya had once known. Tokio opened her eyes, she smiled at Hannya as she lifted her head.

"Go home and rest. I'll take him home later," she said softly. Hannya could not find the will to argue. There were no better hands to care for his son right now than hers. He smiled at her and nodded. Words were inadequate to express the gratitude and love he felt for that girl. She started to get up but he stopped her.

"I'll let myself out," he said softly patting her shoulder gently. She just smiled at him and looked over to Night standing behind Hannya.

"I'll lock up," Night added. Tokio nodded, she lay her head on Aoshi's shoulder and closed her eyes again. Hannya backed away willing the image of her still stroking Aoshi's hair and holding his hand to stick forever in his mind. He wanted to stand at her door and just keep watching them but he knew he would just get in the way of the bond that was forming between them if he stayed any longer. He tore himself away with a smile on his face. He looked at Night and there was a proud smirk on his face.

'He should be proud of her,' he thought cheerfully as they left…

-0-

-0-

"Night took me back to Victoria's place and they told me about Tokio's plan," Hannya began "I was against it at first but Victoria made a good case about how much they both needed this ruse. She said that it was a sort of practice run…a safe space for both of them to have something resembling a normal life and learn how to handle a real relationship. She insisted that Tokio had a humanizing effect on everything the boys did. I relented when they showed me videos of Chris and told me how Aoshi and the boys protected her," Hannya explained.

"Yea, I can see that. I can guess why they kept her a secret from me and my mom too. We wouldn't have been able to sit quietly and just let that beast do whatever he wanted and I don't have the legal protections those three have," Hajime agreed, he pushed aside the thought of that creature hurting his Tokio for so many years and concentrated on Hannya's story.

"You would if your mom would just agree to marry me already!" Hannya countered slightly annoyed. Hajime laughed, his mom would always be the way she is and there was no changing it. She'd made up her mind to wait until Aoshi grew out of his "Batman" phase and that's what she was gonna do. There was no changing her mind about it!

"From the outside it looked like Aoshi was living the dream life," Hajime continued amused "How many of his classmates showed up to school in a Ferrari, had credit cards with no spending limits, loads of cash in his wallet and a smoking hot, super smart girlfriend? He was the envy of every guy in that campus! And not one idiot even guessed at what Tokio had done!" he added and they both laughed.

"I started to see light though. He went to Tokio's apartment for the same reason any 18 year old boy would go to a beautiful girl's home. He was still in there…he wasn't just a demon of vengeance. My hopes for him – for us – were alive again," Hannya continued "well, some of them at least," he added with a touch of regret.

"You're talking about the weasel-girl now, right?" Hajime asked. Hannya frowned but Haji didn't let the lecture start.

"Don't give me that face! Weasel-girl never calls me by my name either! And she told Tokio years ago that she likes it when I call her that," Hajime countered. Tokio had recently told him that she had been the tutor that home-schooled Misao when she was going through her rehabilitation in the US with Victoria. Misao had confided that Willow-head (her favorite name for Hajime) was her favorite sitter and that she kinda liked it when he called her weasel-girl.

"Huh, what do you know? I wonder if Aoshi knows that," Hannya replied amused.

"He does. I told him. He doesn't like it but he knows," Hajime added with a chuckle.

"You really have the "big brother" thing down don't you," Hannya laughed but melancholy soon settled on his face again. "I don't see how anymore…Misao's moved on,"

"No she hasn't! Aoshi lives rent-free inside her head, just think about the useless idiots she dates. Think about what all those morons have in common," Hajime pointed out after he took another long drink from his beer and got up to get another one. He waited as Hannya mulled it over for a moment still nursing the first beer he gave him.

"They all seem very stoic, very serious young men," Hannya began and his eyes went wide when he made the comparison "are you saying she dates them because they remind her of Aoshi?" he asked.

"Oh yea! And it's why she stops dating them right away. With the exception of Rui Hanazawa, they're idiots who think acting all silent and broody makes them look cool, not like Aoshi who has very good reasons to try to be Mr. Spock," he explained adding that Misao leaves them as soon as she realizes the truth. Hannya nodded agreeing, another little bubble of hope beginning to build.

"Why did you exclude Hanazawa?" he asked cautiously.

"Rui has autism…he has Asperger Syndrome, he can't empathize or emote very well. But his parents are complete and utter useless idiots who don't believe their boy needs help because he is so good in school," Hajime explained disgusted.

Hajime had been in Japan, on his way to his next tour in Helmagistan when this happened. He had reminded Rui's parents of Rui's condition when he leapt in to Misao's defense. But they obviously were still in denial and hadn't gotten him any help. Haji added he had recognized it when he met the boy years before during the same year he met his little sisters. He saw the signs because he had a friend who had it. His friend's mom was a single mom like Emi, and the two women had bonded to help his friend. Later on Emi even enlisted Nightraven's help through Night's charitable organization. His friend was a genius hacker and she now worked for Aoshi. Hannya cringed.

"Dating that boy got Misao expelled from Eitoku," Hannya pointed out, but he made a mental note to follow up with his sister. Oume would likely know if the boy could be helped. Hajime laughed.

"Again, no! The Headmaster begged on his knees for Misao to transfer after she beat the crap out of the so-called F4 and their little minions. They even refunded all the tuition her grandpa paid and gave her glowing recommendations. Victoria sent one of her really smart lawyer girls to threaten them into doing it," Haji laughed.

"It wouldn't have been the first time Victoria brought a school to ruin if they mistreated someone she cared about! The Eitoku board of directors knew that," he laughed and added her grandfather agreed to move her only because Misao was threatening to spend the rest of the year beating up the F4 and their stupid followers if they kept coming after her. She'd caused quite a bit of havoc already by sending the F4 and 10 other students to the hospital. The F4 are four entitled super-rich pretty boys who were essentially bullies and they marked Misao for attacks after she dumped Rui – one of the members of this little group. In fact, their leader – Tsukasa Domyojin – was Mai's cousin from Kamo's side of the family. Hannya laughed.

"Weasel-girl is scary when she's pissed and she's no victim anymore! Victoria made sure of that!" Haji added laughing, proud of his little weasel buddy. Hannya laughed but then another connection occurred to him.

"You know, when you look at it that way… Misao is still in his mind too! I mean, when he met Tokio she was in much the same situation as Misao was when they met. And that crush he had on her might've been an expression of what he still feels for Misao," Hannya deduced.

"And there you have it!" Hajime announced, always happy to be right!

"I'm awesome! Admit old man!" Haji teased. Hannya punched him playfully in the arm and laughed. Hajime laughed as he reached up to rub the spot he hit. There was still plenty of strength in the old man! Hannya raised his beer for another toast.

"To patience! Good things come to those who wait!" Hannya laughed and Hajime laughed with him. They finished their beers as they chatted for a while. Hannya was shocked that the chaste kiss he had been told Aoshi got from Tokio, had been anything but! He was buoyed with the thought that Aoshi had still acted like a normal teenager.

Hannya laughed as Hajime recounted how Tokio and the boys had sung together in the garage the day before and that Tokio told him it was something they did all the time when they were together. Hannya told Hajime that Aoshi still couldn't remember most of what happened that night before he was detoxed. Haji thought it best not to tell little brother, since it might cause Aoshi some discomfort.

"You're right, it might be kind of awkward," Hannya agreed cheerfully. "You know, Oume had her heart set on Aoshi marrying Tokio," he added amused.

"So I've heard!" Haji laughed and took a long drink of his cold beer. They talked now about the upcoming changes. Mai was coming to live in Colorado for a while and with the school year about to start, Hajime thought about the winter holidays. Halloween was first up and Hajime was thinking about staying home, wearing his Stormtrooper armor and handout candy to the kids in the neighborhood. It was pretty much what he did every year.

"Unless Tokio talks you into that Jared costume! Aoshi's already asked Chizuru to have it packed up and sent out to you!" Hannya laughed.

"Dang it! I forgot about that!" Haji replied making a face. He was starting to have second thoughts about wearing those tights.

"Tokio and I are working Thanksgiving and Christmas," Haji said diverting his thoughts from the now dreaded Jared costume. Hannya knew that Tokio always volunteered for work on the major holidays so that people with families could spend them with their kids and/or parents.

"Which makes me realize now why the boys always went off to "volunteer" at a hospital every Christmas and Thanksgiving," said Hajime and Hannya laughed.

"Yep! They never failed to show up on Christmas to bring Tokio a treat and help out at the hospital! They were happy in their own way. They had good times. I see that now," Hannya added with a smile.

"Don't worry old man, there's still good times to be had for those three dorks!" Haji countered with a chuckle "Anyway, I volunteered for duty this time. The boys can't show up at her post so this way one of us is there," Hajime continued. Hannya assured him his mother wouldn't be alone.

"With Mai here in Colorado maybe even Oume might show up," Hannya thought out loud. Hajime cringed, with Mai here there was a chance her parents would show up often. He'd forgotten that wrinkle.

"Make sure if you bring your stupid brother in law that you keep him on a short leash," growled Hajime. Hannya sighed and promised he would find a way to control Kamo.

"At least for Christmas, I doubt he'll show up at any other holiday anyway, maybe there's a way to distract him and keep him at home…I'll look into it," Hannya promised. Hajime nodded grateful and changed the subject slightly again. He talked about Christmas some more and wanted to know more about what the boys did when they were off on Victoria's "assignments". Hannya explained that Victoria would have a dinner party the day after Christmas so Tokio could participate in a gift exchange and have a little fun time with the Aoshi and his friends.

"Bit of a warning: Night has this crazy tradition! He brings a little paintball gun to the gift exchange and if you give a bad gift he'll shoot you with it!" Hannya laughed. Hajime was surprised! He had not heard about this tradition! Hannya explained it had started on the first Christmas gift exchange the boys had with Tokio. They went out and bought Tokio a very beautiful and very expensive diamond tennis bracelet.

"Tokio doesn't wear jewelry very much but it sounds like a perfectly good gift to me," Hajime began confused.

"Yes, it's the right gift from rich boys with crushes on pretty girls but for Tokio it was a lovely but extremely impractical gift," Hannya explained. She lived on the move and had nowhere to wear a $2000 piece of jewelry. Wearing such a thing to school would look completely out of place, at the hospital she couldn't wear jewelry and there was no point in trying to wear it to the photo shoots since she would have to remove it.

"And she would be stressed out, worrying about losing it or damaging it if she did wear it to a shoot or traveling with Night…yea, I guess I can see why the old man got pissed," Hajime deduced.

"Exactly! Jonathan was so mad he didn't say anything. He just got up from his chair walked out of Victoria's game room and came back a few minutes later with a small paintball gun and shot all three of them," Hannya laughed and added that Night spent the rest of the week lecturing them about paying attention to the people around them and teaching them how to be better gift givers. Hajime laughed.

"I stuck around for a few of those lectures! It helped me a lot…I'd known all that stuff when I was young but it was amazing how much I'd forgotten in the years since Rin died," he concluded.

"Well, now I know how you guys got so good at getting unique presents for my mom," Haji laughed. Hannya continued telling the tales and Hajime learned that every one of Aoshi's friends had been shot by Night for a thoughtless or really stupid gift at one point or another. Shuura had been victim of his paintball gun often the first couple of years – Hajime deduced it was because she was always trying to play tricks on her friends with her gifts.

"He might pass the tricks on birthdays and some other gift giving occasion but he doesn't forgive Christmas pranking. He's very strict with Christmas gifts," Hannya warned laughing. Hajime threw his head back and laughed.

"That Pirate!" he exclaimed laughing. He promised himself he was never going to get shot with Night's paintball gun though! They laughed some more as Hannya told Hajime more stories of when the boys or Shuura earned a shot from Night's paintball gun. They were in good spirits by the time they went to bed. Haji was a little annoyed at having to go to bed without his Tokio but he was glad for being able to lift the old man's spirits and it made him feel pretty good about his life in general. He fell asleep thinking about what awesome gift to get Tokio for Christmas...


It was Christmas morning and eleven year old Tokio was jostled awake by her precocious little sister. Soji ran past her door stopping only to call out to her to wake up already because Christmas was finally here!

"Toki! Toki! Wake up! Wake up!" she exclaimed excited "Santa was here! Santa was here!" she squealed in delight. Excitement bubbled inside of her too as she hurried out of bed to follow her sister. She knew the real deal about Santa but her little sister and her brother hadn't figured it out yet. She would never dream of spoiling the magic for them! She hurried down the stairs after her sister. Soji made it to the Christmas tree before either of his sisters, his face alight with joy. Tokio was surprised by how many gifts there were under the tree. She wondered how her parents could have afforded such a large spread!

"Hurry up you slow pokes!" he called out. Her parents were cuddled up together on the couch watching them with tired, yet happy smiles on their faces as the children squealed in delight over the gifts spread under the tree. Dad got up and insisted on taking pictures first before they tore into the gifts. No surprise really since daddy was always taking pictures. Being the youngest Sakura got to open her presents first.

"Roger Rabbit!" she exclaimed happily as she opened a large box and a 25 inch plush replica of the cartoon character came out. Sakura squealed happily and jumped up and down. She settled down and opened several more gifts. She received some books and a few more dolls. Next was Soji, and his first box contained a model train set like the one in his favorite Christmas book: The Polar Express. He jumped up in excitement.

"Can I set it up now?" he begged his parents with a joyful grin on his face.

"Later," began his mother firmly "after your sisters have finished opening their presents and we've all had breakfast," she replied and even though she smiled, Soji knew there was no negotiating. Reluctantly he sat back down and continued opening his presents. He got several Star Wars action figures, a few Transformers and a couple model airplanes. His father promised him they would put one together later.

Next, Tokio opened her presents, there were far more presents than what she had asked for. She had told her father that she was much too old for dolls. But that was a lie…there was one doll she wanted above any she'd ever wanted. Most of her friends already had one…even Jetta! And she didn't even like playing with dolls! But the doll was very expensive so she had not said a word about it to her parents. Instead, she had asked for a couple of books and was happy that she got them but she also got a full set of knitting needles of various sizes, a knitting book and some embroidery sets that she had not asked for but was happy she got anyway. Her mother knew how much she liked to do those things.

"There's one more," said Dad. He got up and stepped to the tree to dig out the last box from under the tree. It was hastily wrapped and unmarked.

"Whose it for daddy?" asked Sakura excitedly.

"It's for your sister! Santa said she was extra good this year!" he replied with a mischievous smirk and handed the box wrapped in red and white stripe paper to Tokio. She tore into it curious what else her parents had come up with for her. She stared at the box in disbelief! Sitting in a cardboard box, smiling at her in a defiant sort of way was the doll Tokio had coveted above all!

"It's Princess Leia!" exclaimed Sakura "Do you like it sissy! Do ya? Do ya? Isn't Santa awesome!" exclaimed Sakura excitedly. Words stuck in Tokio's throat. How could her parents have known? She looked up at her father amazed, he beamed at her.

"Yea! Santa is amazing! Merry Christmas sweetheart," he agreed as he knelt down next to Tokio and hugged her. She hugged her father tight! There were no words she could use to express how happy she was right now…


Hajime woke with a start on Tuesday morning. His alarm was blaring at him, the time showed it was 4:30am. He got up quickly and began getting ready. He had to take Hannya to the airport this morning before getting to work. The dream played in his head as he went about getting showered and dressed. He had recognized all of Sojiro and Sakura's toys in the dream. He knew they were the presents from the last Christmas she spent with her family. He had seen them in Tokio's collection but the Princess Leia doll had not been among all the toys.

'I bet I know what happened to it,' he thought sadly. Tokio had told him that to convince her grandmother that she had obeyed her instructions to burn everything, she was forced to cast her toys and collectibles in to the flames.

'But now you know what to get her for Christmas,' his ancestor said as Hajime started to pull on his uniform. Hajime was surprised by the sudden appearance of his ancestor. He'd been showing up more often since the Hathor incident. He wondered why.

'That device you travel through allows me to connect with you more easily…something about it makes our minds stronger. The more times you go through, the stronger your connection to me becomes,' replied his ancestor.

'That and the fact that you are far more open-minded now and aren't actively trying to block me out,' Old Hajime added with a smirk of amusement.

'Funny how super advanced alien technology would make me more open-minded about ancient spirits,' Haji thought amused. He wondered what the scientists at the SGC might make of his burgeoning ability.

'I'm sure your Tokio would have a fascinating theory. But I don't really want to be the subject of her next research project,' Old Hajime countered with a worried frown. Haji laughed but he knew he would mention this to Tokio anyway.

'Don't worry, I'll make sure she knows how you feel about being used as a lab rat!' Haji teased, old Hajime rolled his eyes and glared at his young protégé annoyed.

'Say, since you're here, do you know why I keep having dreams about Tokio's past?' Haji asked. This was the second one and he wondered now how he was connecting to Tokio's past like this. Was his bond to her that strong already?

'Yes actually…your bond with her is surprisingly strong considering you haven't known each other that long. Also the spirits in her life had never had a conduit to her before. Your strong connection to her and your more open mind, allows them now to send messages,' Old Hajime replied.

'Who do you suppose is sending me this message?' Haji wondered. All of the people in the vision were dead so it could have been any of them.

'I can't really tell,' Hajime began thoughtfully 'there's a sense of mischief behind this spirit,'

'Sakura?' Haji ventured to guess. Little sister idolized Tokio and it made sense she might want Tokio to have her doll back.

"No, there's a deviousness to the mischief in this spirit..." Hajime began thoughtfully and stopped as the answer made itself clear in their deductive minds.

"Sojiro," they both said as one and chuckled amused.

"Yes, I sense he has more to say but I guess you'll have to wait until tonight," Hajime added chuckling amused.

'You're right about that…I have to get the old man to the airport anyway so I can't lallygag in bed waiting around for Tokio's troublemaking little brother. Talk some more later?' Haji asked. Hajime smiled and disappeared. Haji hurried out of his room. Hannya was already packed up and having some tea and some toast in the kitchen when Haji joined him. He felt good about today though, he knew at least what to get Tokio for Christmas and had plenty of time to search for it.

Later that day, as soon as he was home he began searching the net for the doll. He found out very quickly that the doll was a rare collector item. It had been extremely popular in 1986 when it was released. The first run of the doll had sold out in record time and stores could hardly keep up with demand.

However, the little defiant smirk which had made the first run of the doll so popular was changed in the next production run. Parents groups of the time had protested that the smirk and the little blaster accessory made the doll an inadequate role-model for little girls – they claimed the smirk made her too sexually suggestive and the gun was too violent. He imagined this would've had Jesse up in arms. The vapid smile that replaced the defiant smirk and the ridiculous hair brush the blaster was replaced with, made sales tank and the doll disappeared from the market.

Nearly every little girl had one that year though and that gave him an idea. First he called, Kelly, Lisa, Jesse and Tori. Kelly would've parted with hers if she still had it which she did not. She had given it to her niece a couple of years ago. He struck out with the rest of his friends too. Lisa had donated hers to a little girl in the cancer ward at the hospital her mom worked at about 4 years ago.

Jesse and Tori had done similar things but he had to laugh when Jesse told him she gave hers to a little boy in the cancer ward who wanted it rather than a little girl. Next he called Jetta – Tokio's old friend – but she informed him sadly that after hearing that Tokio lost hers, she and Emily gave away theirs.

"I can ask Dani, there's a good chance she might still have hers. It wouldn't be hard to get it from her," offered Jetta. Hajime sneered, he wasn't sure he wanted anything from that woman! But finding the doll was proving very difficult. His internet searches had come up empty. The closest he came to finding it was a doll on permanent display in a museum.

He knew he'd never be able to get his hands on the one at the museum so he reluctantly agreed. Jetta promised to call him in the morning before he left for work. He decided to keep searching on the internet a while longer. It became obvious that it would be nearly impossible to get his hands on it this way. After a long and tiring search he found a very high end website that had one on an internet auction. He put in a bid but was forced to drop out before long as the price was soon out of his pocket's reach.

'Maybe Jetta will have more luck...if push comes to shove I'll ask Night to help me,' thought Hajime as he turned off his laptop. Night had helped him before on his searches for Mai's duel monster cards. According to Tokio when it came to finding anyone or anything Nightraven is the guy to call! Hajime decided to let the search rest for tonight and keep at it tomorrow. He lay down and was asleep almost right away.


"This is our most desperate hour! You're my only hope!" whispered Tokio urgently to the little doll in her hands. Princess Leia smirked at her in a defiant way. It was night time on the Janeway Estate in Aspen, Colorado. A huge bonfire roared in the field behind the house. Tokio knelt as near to the fire as she dared. She hugged her doll tight and wept. Her moment to grieve was cut short though.

"Tokio! Come here this instant!" her angry grandmother called from the stairs that led to the field. Tokio quickly wiped her face and hurried out of her hiding place behind the fire. She made her expression neutral as she quickly positioned her doll where it would be most visible in the box.

"Have you finished yet?" she demanded glaring down at Tokio.

"These are the last ones. If you hadn't been feeling weak this afternoon I would have finished sooner," retorted Tokio haughtily. Nothing distracted her grandmother more than being called weak. Rage filled the old woman's face as Tokio put down the box she was carrying next to her, but she said nothing. Tokio picked up the other box and walked over to the fire.

She took her time dousing it with lighter fluid, then chucked it in the flames. It took everything in her not to scream. Her Star Wars trivia game had been in that box and several of her beanie babies. She hardened herself and went back for the last box. She found her grandmother had stooped down to the box and plucked the Princess out of the box. Her last bit of self control was used up keeping herself from screaming at her grandmother and snatching the doll out of her hands.

"Isn't this your favorite doll?" her grandmother asked sneering in disdain at the doll in her hands. Tokio couldn't stand it anymore and snatched the doll from her hand.

"Sentimentality is for the weak," Tokio threw back at her in disdain and carelessly tossed the doll back in the box.

'I'd rather see you burn than let her use you against me,' Tokio thought as she carried with a heavy heart the last box towards the fire. She flung it as hard as she could and the box landed neatly on the top of the pyre. She turned her back on the flames and tried hard not to think about what she had done. She picked up the can of lighter fluid and sprayed the flames. She hid a smirk of satisfaction as her grandmother uttered a shriek of terror and moved as far from the flames as she could. She stared at the flames in terror.

"Is anything the matter grandmother? Are you feeling the weakness come over you again? Do you wish to go lie down?" Tokio asked with a concerned look on her face. Takako straightened herself up and made an effort to hide her fear.

"I'm fine...continue!" she ordered Tokio. Tokio nodded and turned away smirking in satisfaction. She had accomplished her mission. As she watched everything burn and disintegrate, she had the wild notion that she should cast herself in the flames too. Her family had died in flames, maybe she could join them this way.

'No! My mission is just starting! Hang in there Tokio!' she encouraged herself. Sirens interrupted her dark thoughts and she absently wondered where they were going. She only looked away from the flames when her grandmother started yelling at someone.

"How dare you? What is the meaning of this trespass?" yelled Takako as firemen thundered down the steps. They ignored her and began dousing the flames immediately. A few spread out to the field and the orchard shouting instructions towards each other.

"Mam, you have a large blaze shooting embers into the brush in the ravine! Do you even have a permit for a fire this large? We're in the middle of summer! You'll start a wildfire and burn down half the mountain with an unchecked flame like this!" the fireman countered annoyed. Tokio smirked, she had said the exact same thing to her grandmother this afternoon trying to stall this destruction. Her grandmother had scoffed her and ordered her again to do it or she would just set fire to the house itself!

"This is my property and I will do as I please. You are no one to give me orders on my property! Remove yourselves immediately!" she retorted haughtily. Tokio rolled her eyes.

"I am the fire chief of this area and it is my duty to protect the homes and people in this neighborhood. If we hadn't been called in you would've burn down your own house along with the rest of the neighborhood!" he shot back angry. He turned away from her sputtering grandmother and ignored her as he ordered his men to spread out and chase every last ember. Her grandmother marched back up the stairs promising retribution.

Tokio stood quietly by the shed, knowing it to be an empty threat. Her grandmother had put a lot of people's lives in very serious danger. She was not getting out of this unscathed. Tokio didn't care. Princess Leia had already paid the ultimate price to keep the rest from being burned. She missed the little princess already so much but the thought that she might get a chance to wear her mother's special dress and pass her brother's toys to her children someday gave her hope.

'Your sacrifice was not in vain your highness,' she thought grateful and sad. The flames finally died and by the light on the firemen helmets Tokio made her way to the shed to turn on the flood lights in the field. One lone firefighter was still stirring dirt over the remains of the pyre, burying the ashes of her childhood. She looked down at her feet, feeling empty inside. Legal adulthood was only six years more for her but it felt like it was centuries away right now and hope began to dim.

Once the firefighter burying the pyre remains was done he walked over to her, she didn't look up at him. He knelt down in front of her and pulled her face up gently. He smiled sadly at her.

"This was all I could save," he said. And in his hand Princess Leia – intact! - smirked defiantly up at Tokio. Tokio laughed with a bubbling joy as hope was kindled into a raging inferno in her. There was a new hope for her now! Some day she would find a new home just like the Princess would find a new home today. Because Tokio knew the Princess could not remain with her. The tunnels were sealed, she would never be safe again here. So an idea struck her.

"Guess what? You're Luke Skywalker and you're here to rescue her!" Tokio exclaimed closing his hand around the doll.

"I'm who?" he asked surprised.

"Didn't you see the movie?! You're Luke Skywalker, you're here to rescue her! Please she'll end up in the flames again! You're my only hope!" Tokio begged.

"Well, in that case...I've got your R2! I'm here with Ben Kenobi," he teased and Tokio laughed and thanked him.

"I'll take good care of her. I promise," he said with a sad sigh he put the doll inside his coat. She smiled at him and gave him a kiss in the cheek.

"For luck!" she added with a giggle. He stood up then making sure the doll was tucked well in his coat.

"May the force be with you," he said with a smile...


Hajime startled awake again Wednesday morning but it wasn't the alarm that had woken him at 4:30am this time. The bed was being jostled and as he turned his suddenly alert eyes towards the disturbance he spotted a little boy bouncing on all fours next to him on the bed. He had spiky black hair and a mischievous smirk that immediately made him think of Sanosuke. He was wearing blue striped PJ's and a black terry cloth robe with the imperial insignia printed all over it. It was what he had been wearing the last Christmas morning he had spent with his big sister. He was missing one of his front teeth making him look even more like the little rascal he was certain to have been in life.

"Wake up sleepy head! You have work to do!" exclaimed the little ghost of Tokio's brother Sojiro. Hajime attempted to glare at him annoyed but the little boy just laughed. He got up and began jumping up and down on the bed. Hajime tried to be annoyed but he couldn't.

"Good Morning Sojiro," he said amused. He felt suddenly a pang of grief as he watched the little spirit jump off the bed and flit about the room examining everything and making a bit of a mess in his enthusiasm. He regretted that this mischievous and energetic little boy never got a chance to grow up and be a fighter pilot. He got up and began to look for his work out clothes. There was no going back to sleep for him today.

"He's a bundle of energy that one!" said his ancestor amused. Haji laughed and agreed as Soji zoomed out of the room to examine the rest of the house.

"You better go after that one before he destroys your house!" Hajime warned. Haji hurriedly dropped his search and followed him. He was not surprised to find Sojiro in the Star Wars room. Sojiro was staring up at Hajime's Stormtrooper armor. His eyes glittered with wonder.

"You're a real Stormtrooper?" he asked with awe on his young face. It was the same look Hajime always got from children when he wore his armor. The knife of grief dug deeper in his heart as Haji smiled sadly at the little boy. He decided though to give him the same treatment a living child would have gotten from him.

"I was actually an extra in the special editions!" Haji explained proudly with his trademark arrogant smirk. It was hard for him to keep the smirk up though. It hurt that Soji was lost to him before he had a chance to get to know him. He wished his Tokio were here to experience this moment. Soji's eyes went wide as saucers!

"Wow! That is so cool! No wonder my sister wants to marry you!" he replied and laughed. He looked around the room now and pointed out all his old action figures. He liked very much what Tokio had done with all their Star Wars stuff. And he really loved Haji's sword.

"Hey, is this sword why the old guy is still hanging around you?" Soji asked, he chuckled at his own mischief. Old Hajime appeared and glared at the boy not liking being called Old Guy no matter how true it might be. Soji was unaffected as he giggled mischievously.

"Sometimes I'm not sure why the old man is still around but you might be right," Haji replied. He didn't think sharing a joke at his ancestor's expense with his little brother-in-law would put any dents in their relationship. Old Hajime seemed to agree because he simply rolled his eyes and shrugged. Soji went back to the armor soon enough however and stared at it eagerly some more. Hajime knew what the next question was going to be and decided to get ahead of him.

"Do you want me to put it on?" Haji asked. The smile of pure joy on the little boy provided the answer. With a chuckle of amusement Haji removed the armor from the mannequin and began putting it on. Soji watched with unrestrained joy and it was hard for Haji to keep the smile on his face. Anger and grief assailed him now with each piece of armor he put on. It was so utterly unfair that this boy and his sisters should have been removed from the life they deserved to have by their own family.

Finally, he put on the headset for the Stormtrooper microphone and when he turned to put on his helmet he found Soji holding it up for him. The same wild joy that he had seen a million times on little kids when he put on his costume was on Soji now. He took a deep breath and put the final piece on. He felt a tear roll down his face and was unable to stop it now that the helmet was on. Like so many other children he asked Haji to say some lines from the movie.

"You don't need to see his identification," Soji began very solemnly the little game Haji played a million times with nearly every child he met in his armor.

"We don't need to see his identification," replied Haji in his best Stormtrooper voice. Soji waved his hand and on their game went. He asked Haji to say all the Stormtrooper lines from the movies and which Haji gladly did. He even threw in Han and Luke's lines from when they were wearing the armor in the movie. Soji laughed with the same delight as all the other children Haji had ever done this show for.

"You're a cool guy Hajime!" little Soji exclaimed cheerfully. Hajime laughed but a tear rolled once more down his face unimpeded.

"Listen, the firefighter's name is Wally Boden – he's still a firefighter. He lives in Chicago and he still has the doll! I made sure!" Soji began in earnest.

"I don't have his address or phone number though...I'm sorry," Soji concluded, his smirked faltered then. Hajime quickly removed his helmet and went down to one knee.

"No Soji! You did great! You gave me everything I need! I can take it from here!" Haji immediately reassured him.

"Make sure she opens it last ok ...just like that Christmas ok, wrap it just like dad did! All crappy like ok! Promise!" Soji added, his smirk back in place.

"I promise Soji! I can take things from here. I've got this," Haji eagerly replied. Soji giggled happily and said his goodbye promising to pop by after Tokio got her doll back to see how things turned out, then he disappeared. Haji stayed where he was, rage and grief struggling inside him. The dream Soji had shared with him played itself in his mind, angry tears spilled from his eyes. He had to get that doll back no matter what! He felt a strong, reassuring hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw his ancestor. There was a proud smile on the old man's face.

"Well done," was all the old man said. It was enough for Haji. The anger and grief abated, he took a deep breath and got up.

"The doll represents home for her...if I can get it back I can reassure her that this is her home now..." Haji finally said as he started to take off his armor.

"I agree, I assume you'll start by tracking down the firefighter?" Hajime asked. Haji nodded. He had time. He could make a few phone calls and find out the contact info for Wallace Boden easily enough...


Lunch time came at the base and Hajime was sitting in the cafeteria feeling angry and frustrated. Chief Wallace Boden denied he had ever heard of Tokio Takagi and had no idea what he was talking about. He told Hajime his service record clearly indicated he had never been in Aspen, Colorado. Which was true enough, Jetta had told him this morning Takako's contacts had made Aspen disappear from Boden's record. She had done the same to every firefighter he served with that year. Then he threatened Hajime, telling him he better stay away from him and his family. He didn't even give Hajime a chance to explain who he was and that the danger was past.

He ate his food despondently. He could call Victoria but her appearance at his fire station might put the Chief even more on his guard. Victoria could be quite intimidating. Calling Gibbs and his team would have the same effect. The problem of how to get the Chief to trust him enough to let him explain why he needed the doll back was circling his mind so intently that he didn't notice Col. Reynolds, Col. O'Neill and Teal'c until they had already put their trays on his table.

"What's eating ya Davila?" Reynolds asked. Hajime snapped himself out of his reverie and apologized for not noticing them. The colonels waved away his apologies and repeated their question. Hajime unloaded the whole story about Tokio and her vicious relatives. He explained about the fire and her toys and then talked about the Princess Leia doll which was the most precious of the toys she lost.

"I know Chief Boden still has it but Tokio's grandmother was such a vicious bitch! She hurt anyone who didn't do as she said! I understand why the Chief won't talk to me, I don't blame him for being cautious," Hajime concluded, adding that he might just take Tokio to Chicago. It seemed the only way she would get her doll back. But he absolutely hated the thought of breaking his promise to Soji.

"Your people confound me O'Neill...they can be generous and trusting with a complete stranger like myself yet utterly vicious to their own children. It is quite confusing," Teal'c pointed out with a perplexed frown.

"Don't feel bad cuz I don't get it either sometimes," O'Neill replied with a shrug, a look of disappointment on his face. Reynolds looked pensive for a moment.

"Maybe you just need an introduction," Reynolds began "I know a guy in Chicago, I bet he could help get you a meeting," Reynolds added.

"Sir! If I could just talk to Chief Boden I know I could convince him. It would mean so much to Tokio!" Hajime replied hopeful. They all got up to put their trays away.

"Let me make a call and I'll let you know," Reynolds said to Hajime and headed out towards the elevators with O'Neill. Teal'c followed him asking him about Star Wars some more. He said he had watched it a few times already with Cassandra and understood why so many people loved it. Hajime gladly discussed Star Wars with Teal'c hoping his C.O would have better luck than him...

An hour or so later Reynolds came in the lab where he was helping Sam review some notes from a project being sent to area 51. They talked about Tokio's doll and his current dilemma in getting it back when Col. Reynolds came in to the lab.

"Davila, grab your gear. You're going to Chicago!" Reynolds announced. Hajime stared at him shocked.

"Right now?!" he asked surprised picking up his notes.

"Yes! Right now let's go!" Reynolds said but was already half way out of the lab.

"Sam, could you ask Janet to keep a look out for a package? A friend is supposed to send me something for Mai," he asked her as he stopped for a second at her table. He started to ask her if she could pick Tokio up at the airport on Friday but his CO said he'd be back by tomorrow night.

"You're doing a data package run to the Great Lakes Naval base. Plane leaves in an hour. You'll return with a cargo plane tomorrow afternoon. After you drop off the hard drives at the R&D building, head to Gaffney Chicago Medical ," the colonel instructed handing him a paper with the address. They hurried to the lockers and Hajime quickly loaded his back pack. At the last second, he grabbed the envelope with the pictures of Tokio Night had given him and threw them in his bag.

"Do you remember Dr. Charles?" Reynolds asked as they now headed towards the elevators.

"Yea, that's the doctor who did my psych-eval before I got sent to Cheyenne Mountain. Why?" Hajime asked.

"He's working at Gaffney Chicago Medical and got you a meeting with Boden tomorrow morning. You have until tomorrow at 1300 hours, that's when your plane heads back to Peterson. Be on it no matter what Davila," Reynolds instructed sternly.

"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" Hajime replied immediately. All he needed was one shot, face to face with the chief and he knew his mission would be a success.

"The rest is gonna be up to you," Reynolds concluded with a smirk. Hajime shook his CO's hand and thanked him. Before the elevator door closed Sam caught up with him in a hurry. She handed him a picture taken in the lab of her with Janet and Tokio at both sides of her. They were in their dress uniforms with their brand new medals glittering on their chests. The picture was taken post-Hathor – it was Tokio's proudest moment.

"Here! Show him that! It might help," she said.

"Thanks Carter! I will!" he exclaimed.

"May the Force be with you!" she called as the door closed...


Hajime was exhausted when he walked in to the Chicago Med's Emergency Department around 6pm. But he was determined to leave the Windy City with Princess Leia. He didn't care what it took! One of the nurses told him where to go, thankfully Dr. Charles had left word of his arrival and had waited for him.

They talked for a while and the doctor was pleased that Tokio was getting appropriate help with her lingering childhood traumas. He hadn't been in the office long when Chief Boden suddenly walked in to the doctor's office taking them completely by surprise. Hajime recovered quickly and thanked the Chief for meeting him. His intent had been to see what Hajime's reaction would be if he didn't get too much time to prepare.

"Let me make clear, I'm only agreeing to this meeting because I respect Dr. Charles but I've been burned by dealing with those criminals! The Takako Takagi lackeys are everywhere and they don't care who they hurt!" the chief began crossly.

"I understand your caution. Tokio went through hell, worse than anything inflicted on you and it wasn't easy to free her from her grandmother's goons. But those of us who love her never gave up," Hajime began. He related with excruciating detail her grandmother's delusions and how they were defeated.

The chief started to relax his guard a little when he explained that the foster family Tokio endured now found themselves broke and/or behind bars and padded cells. He talked about how Tokio had persevered despite the odds stacked against her. Dr. Charles was an excellent character reference for Hajime and all the people he worked with because Chief Boden respected him. Even the picture Sam gave him and the stack of photos he got from Night started putting him at ease.

But what really convinced him was how detailed his account of the night of the fire was. He knew every detail of his conversation with Tokio. The chief had never said anything to anyone about that conversation! So figured the only way Hajime could know is if Tokio told him. He stared at Tokio's picture with Sam and Janet for a minute longer then finally handed it to Hajime.

"Meet me in Firehouse 51 first thing in the morning," Chief Boden finally said to him. He got up and said goodnight to both men, shaking hands with Hajime, he left.

"That went really well," Dr. Charles said.

"I hope so," Hajime replied exhausted.

"Come on! Let's get you set up for the night," Dr. Charles invited amicably. Hajime was too tired to argue. He followed the doctor out of the office...


Chief Wallace Boden walked into Precinct 21. He didn't like dealing with Det. Voight but when it came to finding dirt on someone there was no one better. He still remembered the little girl he last saw standing amidst ashes being sneered at by her horrible grandmother. Hajime's story was too good to be true. He needed to know!

The detective greeted him in his usual snarky manner and invited him to his office. Warily, the chief walked in and explained he needed information about someone. He needed to know about Hajime Davila.

"Why? What's this guy done?" Voight asked suspicious.

"Nothing bad as far as I can tell but his story is too good to be true. I need to know who he is," the chief replied worriedly. He told Voight Tokio's tale and the tale Hajime had told him.

"Alright," Voight agreed finally. The two left his office and headed to Det. Jay Halstead's desk. He asked the younger man to look up Hajime's name. Jay looked up at his boss.

"Hajime S. Davila? A Marine Corp guy? From California?" he said without typing anything in his computer.

"Now how did you know that? Do you know this guy?" Voight asked suspicious.

"If it's the one I'm thinking of, then yes! I served with him in Helmajistan. Presidential medal of honor winner. Tough, smart, very loyal! Bit of arrogant bastard sometimes but if you had Davila in your team, your chances of coming back alive doubled!" he said as he typed in his computer. He didn't do the usual searches though, he looked up an old service photo.

"Is this your guy?" Jay pointed out as he zoomed in to a photo of his old unit. The chief confirmed the man on Jay's picture was the man he met today. Jay called up an internet search and pulled up another picture, the President was placing a medal around Hajime's neck.

"He's one of the good guys chief. Plays by the rules, loyal to his family and his duty," Jay continued. He knew that Hajime was raised by a single mother. His father was a dead beat that he didn't meet until he was in his late teens. His mom was poor but a decent and hardworking lady who made sure nothing ever stopped Hajime from achieving his goals. Voight decided that Jay's endorsement was good enough for him and for once Chief Boden agreed with the detective.

"He doesn't take crap from anyone. Why are you looking for him?" Jay asked feeling a surge of solidarity to his fellow service man. The chief breathed a sigh of relief. He explained Hajime was here on behalf of his fiancee. The chief was in possession of a treasure that belonged to the woman he was marrying and came to see if he could get it back.

"I needed to find out about him before I hand it over," the chief explained.

"If you need more you should call Mouse – they have him in Colorado Springs doing something so classified he's not even supposed to tell me he's in Colorado Springs!" Jay added. Mouse – aka: Greg Gerwitz – was briefly an intelligence and surveillance tech for the department Voight headed. He had also served with Jay in the Army Rangers.

"Let's call Mouse then!" Voight suggested and didn't wait for any confirmation as he picked up the phone. "I bet he'll be home right now," he added giving the phone to Jay to dial. Jay sighed annoyed but knew that his ever distrustful senior officer wouldn't let it go without some confirmation. Jay greeted his pal and then asked Mouse about Hajime Davila as he put his friend on speaker-phone.

"Oh wow! Even you guys are getting involved! I don't how he's gonna keep it a surprise until Christmas!," Mouse laughed. He explained that the base was buzzing over the fact that Hajime Davila had taken off in the middle of his shift to fly to Chicago.

"The word is that he's preparing some super romantic surprise for a Christmas gift for his fiancée. Kind of curious myself now what it is but it must be big if he's got your attention too," he continued laughing. Jay smiled and looked up at Chief Boden.

"It is a very big surprise and just like Ms. Takagi, you'll have to wait until Christmas to find out!" the chief replied.

"That'll be Doctor Takagi! She prefers to be addressed by her scholarly title…wait was that Chief Boden I just heard? Who else is there?" he asked. Det. Voight and the rest of his team called out their greetings.

"Well, I guess he'll have no trouble finding whatever it is he's looking for if you guys are helping him. Wait, he's not there with you guys, is he? You haven't met him yet, have you?" Mouse asked, his tone made it obvious he knew the answer. Jay explained that Chief Boden met him earlier at Dr. Charles' office in Chicago Med. Center but wanted to find out more about him.

"I met Doctor Takagi when she was just twelve year old Ms. Takagi. She had been recently orphaned and was a very sweet little girl surrounded by some very despicable people. I was curious to know what sort of woman she became and what kind of man she's marrying," the chief replied solemnly.

"Well, I can tell you she's still a really nice person and people around here have a great deal of respect for her. Her kind of brain power is really rare," Mouse began.

"Now Davila, he's a good guy. Showed me around when I first got here and introduced me to everyone," he continued "He remembered us Jay…from that time with the downed pilot and the merc that crossed the border in Helmagistan to rescue him," he added solemnly and Jay's eyes went wide. Mouse explained the pilot in question worked there too.

"Col. O'Neill had something to do with me being posted here. Really glad he did, this place is awesome!" he exclaimed then he laughed.

"And here's proof that the world is smaller than we think: the merc that crossed the border to rescue the colonel is Davila's step-brother!" Mouse added and laughed. Jay explained that during his tour out in the desert, a pilot had been shot down behind enemy lines.

"He was captured too far from some border for the politicians to allow a rescue, so the base commander took matters into his own hands. He contacted a group called Oniwaban and they agreed to help rescue the pilot," Jay explained

"I know of that group. They do all the crap that needs doing but governments are too chicken-shit to do," said Voight explaining to the Chief that they took out cartels, terrorist groups and black market weapons dealers the world over with extreme prejudice.

"How does all this relate to you guys if he was rescued by a foreign agent?" asked the chief.

"Well Col. O'Neill and this guy – Aoshi Shinomori is his name – they escaped from the prison and made their way across the desert. On death's door they both arrived at a village near Baharavia where a Baharavian commando group helped them finally shake off their pursuers and get them into friendly Baharavian territory. The Baharavian Prince Marco Di Gravis was leading the mission," Mouse continued. "The White House and Pentagon officials were shamed by the international press. A Japanese kid had dared to do what the mighty American military and their allies didn't have the guts to do,"

"So let me guess: They suddenly authorized a strike on the compound where the pilot had been kept," Voight put in with obvious disdain.

"Yea but it was too late by then," Jay added with a chuckle and Mouse laughed too. "By the time they authorized it we had laid that place to waste!" he added as the two men laughed.

"Right after Shinomori and O'Neill had escaped, two groups of rangers, two of seals and a couple of teams of marines attacked the base. Groups were made of just volunteers, the mission was non-sanctioned but we even had a couple of spooks tag along. We were pissed that they weren't letting us hit that place and wipe it out so we were all raring to go," Jay explained.

"Well, I talked to Davila about it and he says that if we hadn't gone to do that Shinomori would've died and O'Neill would've been recaptured. We took a lot of heat off their tails. Davila was with the marines that attacked the base. There was a personal stake for him with his little brother in danger. He would've gone no matter what but was grateful for what we all did," Mouse concluded solemnly. Jay added that the pentagon ratified their mission and handed out a few medals for their actions. The White House tried to pretend that they planned it all along.

"But you know what they say: The truth is out there! It was too late. The whole world knew what really happened," Jay added amused.

"You know, now I'm curious about this guy," Voight put in and most of his team agreed. But he didn't wait for the agreements, he was already pulling out his cellphone and dialing Dr. Charles' number. In no time Dr. Charles agreed to bring Hajime and meet him at Molly's – the pub the group frequented – and the group said goodbye to Mouse.

"So chief…did any of this help?" Mouse asked as he was saying goodbye. The chief smiled.

"Yes…yes it did. Thank you, I'll let him know how much you helped him," Chief Boden replied, Hajime had officially won him over now. He was going to give the doll to him tomorrow. Mouse asked again what it was that Hajime was looking for. The chief laughed.

"As I said: You'll find out at Christmas time when Doctor Takagi finds out," the chief added and said goodbye. He shook hands with Voight and thanked him and his team for their help. He left before any of them could pester him about what Hajime came to get.

"Let him know I'll see him tomorrow at the firehouse first thing in the morning," he called out to Voight on his way out.

"Will do Chief," Voight agreed…


It was 7am and Hajime tiredly made his way with Jay Halstead and his partner to Firehouse 51. Gerwitz had given Hajime such a glowing recommendation with his old teammates that they had taken an immediate liking to him. He had spent several hours talking to Jay and the people he works with at a pub last night. Hajime thought they were good people and Voight reminded him a little of Gibbs, but angrier and meaner. Jay had offered to pick him up and drive him to the station in the morning then take him back to base. Jay's partner/girlfriend Erin Lindsey asked him what it was he was getting once more.

"I'll tell you what detective: If the chief agrees to give it to me I will show it to you two. Deal?" he relented finally.

"Deal!" they both agreed. Hajime got out as the detective stopped the car next to the fire station.

"We'll wait here," said Erin with a smile.

"Good Luck." Jay added with a smirk.

He made his way into the fire station doing his best to shake off the exhaustion he was feeling from the night before. Gerwitz's old colleagues had a million questions but thankfully they did not ask him about anything classified. They just wanted to know how their friend was doing in his personal life. Hajime was able to reassure him that their pal had people around him who cared about during and after work hours.

He spotted the chief right away as he headed up the driveway. He was with several other younger firefighters. They were finishing up their morning meeting from the sound of things so he hung back and waited for the chief to be done. Once he finished, the chief invited him into the station and introduced him to his team. He invited Hajime to his office. He was far less confrontational this morning and even apologized for his hostility the day before.

"It's alright. I completely understand. Takako was an evil bitch and the list of people she was given the power to hurt was really long," Hajime added.

"If it were me I probably would've been the same," he concluded as he took a seat and the chief closed the door. He sat down at his desk and reached into a drawer to pull out a small shoe box. He put his hands over the box and a sad expression settled over his face

"I've been holding on to this even though I never thought I'd ever see or hear from that girl again. The things that those people can do…"

"They can't do them anymore! Believe me! They have no power over any of us anymore. They can't even control their own lives anymore either. They will pay, I can guaranty that! Tokio is finally the master of her destiny," Hajime cut in trying to reassure the chief. He smiled and nodded.

"I believe you Hajime. Thank you for coming all the way here to tell me that," he replied sadly.

"You know that night, I saw her standing there so close to the fire…she stared at the flames and for a second I could've sworn she looked like she was gonna jump in…I'd never attacked a blaze before with as much anger as I did that one," he said solemnly as he opened the box. Carefully he lifted the perfectly preserved doll out of the box to look at it as he had done often over the years.

"She thought about it chief…you didn't imagine it. Her family died in a fire, she wanted to join them. The loss of that doll was the final straw," Haji put in equally solemn staring at the little doll in the chief's hands. The chief looked up at Hajime surprised. He looked back down at the doll and smiled sadly once more.

"That explains it…" he paused as he carefully put the doll back in the box. He explained that she didn't seem to notice anyone around her. She didn't seem to hear him as he tried to talk to her. He had asked her questions about what they had been burning out there and why but she did not answer. The only time she responded to the firemen was when they asked her for the lights to be turned on.

"She couldn't hear you. She'd lost everything she ever loved – family, friends, her treasures – all in the same week, Chief. She had no idea how she was going to survive to adulthood," Hajime added solemnly staring at the box as the chief put the doll back in.

"Yea, I can see that now. But when I showed her the doll her face lit up! Life poured back into her! She smiled at me and…" he paused and smiled as he remembered that moment.

"You felt like you could take out the Death Star with a spit wad?" Hajime put in for him with a teasing smirk. The chief laughed heartily.

"Yes, that's exactly it!" he laughed.

"She smiles like that often now. She's at the top of her game. Her peers look up to her, her seniors depend on her and respect her. And she has a family to love her again," Hajime added then explained more about the doll. It had been the last Christmas gift her parents got her. He intended to return it on Christmas. The chief nodded, impressed by Hajime's dedication to Tokio.

"I see…this way you get to show her that no matter what obstacles life puts in her way, she will always find her way home," said the chief. Hajime nodded in agreement.

"Ok! So, I can't just give it to you though, I want something in return," the chief began. Hajime gave him a very solemn look.

"Name it," he said very seriously. The fierce determination in Hajime's face and tone gave the chief the impression that if he asked Hajime to jump in to the lake naked in the middle of winter, he would do it! He had no doubt Hajime would do anything he that was asked of him. He smiled pleased that Tokio had found someone like Hajime.

"I want that picture you showed me, the one with her two air force friends and their shiny new medals," he said. Quick as a flash, Hajime reached into his back pack and pulled out the picture and put it on the table.

"What else?" Hajime asked eagerly, leaning on the desk. Any lingering doubts about Hajime the chief might've had, vanished. He pushed the box towards Hajime. He smiled as Hajime eagerly pulled the box towards him. There was joy lighting Hajime's face as he opened the box and lifted the doll out of it.

"I put a little note in there but when you give it to her would you ask her to give me a call? I'd like to say hi," the chief added. Hajime looked confused.

"That's it?" he asked surprised. The chief smirked.

"I'm Luke Skywalker I was there to rescue her. Mission accomplished," he replied with a teasing smirk and Hajime laughed. He carefully replaced the little princess into the box. Picking up his backpack and slinging it over his right shoulder, he nestled the box with the little princess under his left arm carefully. He reached out his right hand to shake the chief's hand firmly. The two men smiled at each other. The chief felt relieved. His mission was over and he felt good about Hajime and Tokio.

"Do you have a ride back to base?" he asked remembering that Hajime had taken a taxi out from Great Lakes.

"Yes, Detectives Halstead and Lindsey are driving me back to base," Hajime began. The chief walked him out and they said their goodbyes. He watched Hajime walk across the street where the two detectives stood on the sidewalk waiting for Hajime to return. He chuckled as the detectives cheered and congratulated Hajime on the success of his mission. Hajime looked back and waved at the chief. Chief Boden smiled and waved again as Hajime waved at him from the detectives' car…


3 months later - December 28, 1999

The wind was just starting to howl as Chief Boden finally turned in to the station after a particularly harrowing call. Winter was building up a little late. It was slightly warmer than usual thankfully but tonight was the last chapter in a terrible episode for Fire Station 51. Everyone was back almost at the same time. Even Dawson and Brett who had taken a patient to the hospital were pulling in now. A sociopath named Eddie Olmos had shot at Lt. Casey and his partner as they were responding to a fire call tonight. The call had been a trap. The sociopath had believed Casey abandoned him when he was pinned under a beam during a fire. Casey had turned to help his partner evacuate an injured woman and her injured child. He had promised to come back for the man but by the time Casey returned he was gone.

The Chief was proud of how Casey handled it. He made the right call in helping the woman and her child first, Olmos threatened to shoot him if he went to help them first but Casey ducked away from the crazy man's gun and hurried to help Stella pull the two other victims out. The sociopath had stalked Casey and his wife Dawson in the neighborhood where they lived. Tonight, he had set a trap. He set up a fertilizer bomb big enough to take out the whole block. Then tried to kill Casey and his partner with a submachine gun when they entered the burning building. Casey was able to subdue the sociopath and the rest of the crew were able to diffuse the simple yet deadly bomb.

'Almost enough to shake your faith in humanity,' the Chief thought despondently as made his way out of the SUV. He spotted a young man near the entrance wearing a navy uniform. The young man approached the chief quickly and saluted smartly. He announced he was bringing a package for him delivered this afternoon from Colorado. That caught the chief's attention quickly! He knew of only one person who would send something from there! The young seaman saluted once more and quickly left.

"Everthing ok Chief?" asked Severide worriedly.

"I think so, It's from Hajime. I was expecting a call though," the chief began thoughtfully. He went to the conference room with Casey and Severide behind him. There were still reports to file about tonight but Chief Boden had a feeling that this box was good news. It wouldn't hurt to put off the reports for a minute for a little good news. He opened and found a six by six inch box wrapped in bright red and green Christmas paper and a CD. Casey took the CD and popped it in the dvd player as every one filed in to the conference room. The first thing they saw was Hajime's hand adjusting the camera lens. Tokio smiled prettily at the camera. She was wearing a white snow suit that looked familiar and she was holding the doll but it was Hajime's voice that was heard first.

"Ok, so your line is: General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the clone wars..." Hajime prompted. Tokio rolled her eyes.

"Hajime, we are not filming a Star Wars fan film!" she chastised but she was obviously amused. Hajime teased some more trying to make her say Princess Leia lines pointing out she was wearing Princess Leia's costume from Empire Strikes Back.

"If we're not making a fan film then why the heck am I wearing this thing!" he finally protested. Hajime came around the camera and the team laughed as Hajime was fully dressed in – honest to goodness – full Stormtrooper armor! Except for the helmet...

"Mister you are wearing that because you are a big old cheese ball who loves to show off!" Tokio half scolded, she laughed though she tried not to. The Chief's team laughed amused by Hajime's antics too. He kissed her obviously to try to stop her from protesting but it didn't work. The chief smiled.

"Your going to have to edit this out!" she said as their short kiss ended.

"I still think the fan film is a better idea! The Chief and his team will appreciate it," Hajime insisted as he went behind the camera once more.

"Hajime!" Tokio retorted, she would not be denied! Chief Boden was amused by how spunky Tokio could be. He was glad Hajime had not edited out their more candid moments.

"Fine, fine... from the top," relented Hajime now from behind the camera. Tokio looked at the lens more solemnly now at Hajime's signal.

"Chief Boden...the day we met was one of the darkest of my life. What little hope remained to me that night I felt it die with every crackle of those flames," she paused and looked down with a smile at the doll in her hands. He felt Casey pat him on the shoulder as Tokio continued.

"But then you came along and rescued my hopes... my dreams. I'm trying to think of what to say and thank you just seems poor and inadequate. Though my Hajime insists that a simple thank you would be enough for you, he also knows me well enough that it would not be enough for me," she continued.

"So with all of my heart: Thank you Chief Boden! Thank you for being my Luke Skywalker when I needed you the most. Now please accept this small token from both of us. Merry Christmas Chief and May the Force be with you and all those you care about," she smiled holding the doll against her chest. For an instant the Chief thought he could see the adorable little girl she had once been. He smiled feeling at peace, glad to be able to restore one part of that little girl.

"Open it Chief!" Cruz said to enthusiastic agreements from the rest of Fire house 51. He picked up the little square box that came with the CD. He ripped open the wrapper and opened the little flat box. He laughed as he looked at the contents. Inside the box was a full size very authentic looking replica of the medal Princess Leia bestowed on Han and Luke after destroying the Death Star. After everyone got a chance to look at the medal he went back to his office. Despite the harrowing evening everyone was in high spirits. He dialed the number that was in the little box with the medal.

"Hello Tokio? This is Wallace Boden..." he began and the cheerful voice on the other end of the line reaffirmed his faith in humanity and his love for his job...


-0-


I originally intended to go in a completely different direction with Hajime's home alone week. I was going to write a chapter for Think of Me where I showed him at his absolute lowest point in life and this one was going to be the highest point in his life. The two chapters would have one thing in common though, he was spending the week alone. Then as I was making lunch one day my mom calls me to tell me that something happened to Carrie Fisher. We turned on the TV. I watched but I could not believe what my eyes and ears took in. Grief hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. Is it crazy to feel such pain for the loss of someone that I'd never met? The closest I ever got to her was the huge auditorium of the Anaheim Convention center, I was 20 rows away from the stage. I realized that I could not write about Hajime's super depressing break up with Yolanda. I had to write something about hope...something about her.

Princess Leia was a paradox growing up. As a child, every female in my life was instructing me that my purpose was to get married and have children. That was the only thing I and every little girl existed for...nothing else. I was supposed to play the virginal damsel in distress and wait for my prince to come for me and take me to his castle in the sky. Yet, there was Princess Leia ripping the blaster out of the "hero's" hands and figuring out how to save them all herself! It did not fit...she looked like a Princess aught to but she didn't act like it. She told Darth Vader off, bossed Luke and Han around, she stood there and just let Chewie choke Lando nearly to death for betraying Han, she shot the troopers and saved Han's life even though she was injured. None of it made sense but I loved that it didn't! Now she's gone...I feel so much anger and grief and I don't know if it makes sense to anyone but me.

So here I am ranting about how unfair it is that she is gone and how much it hurts!

I was reading my stories and unconsciously the princess is mentioned here and there throughout them. I decided to ditch the story line I originally had and get my grief out of my heart and into cyberspace. The second part to this is in To be the Strongest. I will stick to Hajime's happy week, I just can't write about his low point right now. I might not write about it at all and just mention it in passing on future chapters. I will update on the rest of his week with Tokio out of town and his sister in the chess tournament in the next chapter.

I'm sorry for ranting...thank you for your patience. And of course for reading and reviewing.