Another chapter update! Wheeeee! My brain died, so I have nothing else to say, really. Enjoy and such. :3

One Life Faltered

by D. Ant

-Twenty One-

Miller continued to visit Jigen over the next week, as she was getting treated at the same base. Their talks started out with stories of their lives, moving on to stories of their service, finally ending up on nightmarish tales of past relationships.
"I mean," Miller laughed as she continued her story, "this guy had pictures of his basset hound everywhere. And we went out for almost eight months and he had no pictures of me anywhere. None of him, either. Just that dumb looking dog."
"Eight months? What were your conversations like? The neverending adventures of his dog?"
She shrugged. "They were normal. He mentioned his dog probably only three times."
"So, you always pick the winners, huh?" Jigen grinned.
"Yeah, I guess. So, what about you? Are you seeing anyone?"
Jigen nodded. "We were seeing each other some years back, broke up and just recently got together again."
"Is it serious?"
"I don't know," he shrugged. "I'd like to think it is."
"Oh." She stared down at the bed, her index finger making small circles on the blanket. "Have you talked to her lately?"
"Not since I left. Why?"
"It's-it's nothing, I'm sure." She laughed uncomfortably.
"What's nothing?" He was curious, wondering why she didn't say what she was thinking.
"Girlfriends usually don't wait for their boyfriends to return from war."
"So, you're saying she dumped me and I don't know about it?" he asked, annoyed.
"No!" she said quickly. "I didn't mean that at all. I just meant, that, you know, sometimes it happens."
"Okay...and your point?"
"Look, Jigen, I know you have someone, but I don't and-"
"Oh geez," he groaned.
"I like you. A lot. And I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but...I just wanted to let you know..." She stared down at the floor, nervous to what his response would be.
"You're nice, Miller. Too nice to get involved with an asshole like me. And if I were single, then yeah, maybe I'd give it a try."
"And if you end up single when you get home?"
He laughed and shrugged. "I'll give you a call."
She smiled and laughed. "Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"All right. I'll be waiting for you, okay?"
"Is that a promise?" he asked with a grin.
"Yeah," she said. "It's a promise."

Jigen spent a total of twenty three days in bed, released in good health and reassigned to the group searching for Aberton.
The group questioned villagers, with no luck. They bust into enemy hideouts and captured the men, none of them talking.
No traces of the soldier were found. No random ransom videos showed up. None of the undercover agents planted in various cities and villages heard anything.
Their hopes started to fade as reality set in. They could have taken Aberton anywhere. And China was a large place. And maybe he could have been transferred to Russia somewhere to be interrogated. Or maybe he was killed, his body dumped somewhere in thick brush, where it would never be found.
Their moods darkened, each filled with anger, sadness and failure. And just when it seemed like a lost cause, a call came in on their radios.
"We've got a promising lead and a location. Return to base."