The Place where I belong
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or Stargate SG-1. Not making any money…you guys know the drill! ^_^ BTW, I made up that stuff about Janet. The series only mentions that she's divorced and alludes to her parents being alive. I made up the rest because you don't hear or see Cassandra ever again in the SG series after season 8.
Chapter 22: Things will get better…
They went into Hajime's room so he could change out of his uniform and pack a clean one for tomorrow morning. Hajime felt a little better now but not by much. Tiredly he changed out of his clothes while Tokio folded his dirty uniform so he could drop it off at the dry cleaners tomorrow. He told her then of his plans to move into his house early.
"I know it's not finished but I can't stand this place anymore," he announced annoyed and tired. Tokio stopped what she was doing and looked up.
"Hajime I think you need to take a moment and think about this more rationally," she began in a very serious tone. Hajime stopped and turned to look at her as she continued.
"First of all, if you move in now you'll slow things down by getting in the way. Second, that house is in no condition for anyone to be living in it right now. There is no logical reason for you to put yourself in that position," she began and Hajime was a little surprised by how commanding her tone was becoming.
"Third and most importantly: since when does the wolf run from a bunch of spoiled rich brats and go hide in a dark gloomy cave!" Tokio scolded. He did a double-take surprised as she stood there looking annoyed with her arms across her chest. This was not the response he expected from her! He expected something soft and sympathetic, but it didn't take him all that long to realize that this was the response he needed. She didn't let him answer.
"Whenever the boys talked about you, even though they complained a lot, one thing was always clear: The Wolf was a man who could be counted on to bring order into the worst chaos! The Wolf did not need permission from anyone to do what needed to be done! And most of all…The Wolf was always master of his domain!" she concluded, fists on her hips and a challenging look on her face. He laughed and walked over to her. Wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled her close and kissed her deeply.
"This is cliché I know…but where have you been all my life!" he said as she smiled now at him in that soft warm way that always made him feel good about himself.
"Doesn't matter as long as I am here now, right?" she countered in a soft sultry tone.
"You're right," he replied content hugging and kissing her once more. He asked her to wait there for him and left the room intent on reclaiming his territory. He found Hiei with a conspiratorial smirk on his face, standing by the front door ready and willing to assist.
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Meanwhile at Victoria's mansion…
Nightraven and Victoria were reviewing the images sent by a hidden long range sensor on Hanka.
"Why would Ne'arte kill them all?" Victoria asked though the answer seemed obvious to the two aliens.
"Obviously she must've not wanted your kids to figure out her little secret," Night replied but Victoria shook her head.
"No…she was too close to real results to go killing her experiment like that," she began pensively "she could've just moved her lab if she was worried about it being discovered…she must be up to something else!" she concluded scanning the files again. The sensors recorded no survivors but that didn't exclude the possibility of one. The satellite could've simply missed it.
"We have to get into the mountain…" Night added silently agreeing. She agreed though they would need a good excuse for showing up in Colorado Springs. Their personal cloaks didn't work for very long and true Night could shape shift into a flying creature and hide in the mountains but he disliked being without the comforts of the human form.
"I could check to see if Aoshi has a letter," Night suggested.
"He'll know something's up if all you're going there is for a letter from Dak," Victoria countered shaking her head. She took extra care with Hajime and Tokio. She didn't want anyone to raise any alarms and she was certain it wouldn't be long before her kids came in contact with the Asguard. She didn't want to get too close to what was happening there lest their cover be exposed.
But just as the two old aliens were discussing how to approach the situation they received an email from Hajime that had been cc'd to Aoshi. It read:
Victoria:
I know that you're a busy lady working very hard every day providing income for hundreds of employees here and around the world. I just wanted to show you how some of your employees value all the hard work you do.
Hajime
With the short message came a long attachment of photographs. Her models - instead of busy working on the photo shoot - were living it up partying all day and all night. That much was easily determined by the time stamps on the digital images that had been removed from cameras confiscated by Oniwaban members, whose jobs include protecting celebs from tabloids whenever possible.
"Well it looks like the wolf cub is finally taking back his turf. I wondered how long he was gonna play nice," Night commented with a chuckle. Victoria laughed as they continued to peruse the photos.
"And now we have our cover!" Victoria added simply as she powered down her secret desk attachments and hid them from sight. She left her desk to go pack. Night got on the phone and woke her pilot so they could get on their way. With any luck they could be there by early morning. He could head off into the mountain at some point later today and find out what was going on.
'Those kids of hers sure have awesome timing!' he laughed to himself but he was glad he could go see the mighty mouse again. He called Aoshi to see if he had any letters for Tokio from her uncle; it would give him an excuse to visit with the mouse. Aoshi indeed had one and was glad to bring it over to him. He smiled as he hung up. He really did miss having her around…
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As Tokio drove back home - with Hajime following close behind in his car - she thought again about their conversation in the bathtub. With each day that passed it bothered her more and more. This is the first time since Sunday that they were going to be alone and she finally came to the awful conclusion that she could not hide the incident with his father anymore. Not if she wanted to have a truly open and honest relationship with Hajime. Especially considering how much he had doubted himself after the incident with Hathor.
"There is just no way I can just keep this to myself," she said to herself. 'If I wait any longer and he finds out about it some other way it would ruin our relationship' she reasoned to herself. Yet her stomach churned with doubt and fear. Now that she knew how he felt about her she feared more than ever losing him. She tried to talk herself out of it. Telling herself it was best if she waited until this whole business with Hanka blew over. But she knew better than to continue postponing this.
"There will always be a wrong time…I have to tell him," she decided as she drove into the garage. She went up the elevator asking herself if she should edit the story or tone it down the way she had first intended but decided against it. It would be just as deceitful as not telling him at all. But she hoped she could make him understand that he was not his father…he would never be…he could never be!
They went inside the house and as they were settling in her room Tokio sat down on the bed, took a deep breath and said:
"Hajime…there's something I have to tell you,"
Summer 1994
Tokio had been alone in Victoria's study concentrating on the thick book she had opened on the desk in front of her. Kamo walked in staggering …he was drunk as always. Tokio glared with mild disdain at him. She closed her book and gathered her notes to leave. Kamo blocked her way so she glared some more at him as she tried to push past him.
"Out of my way you filthy drunkard!" she ordered him. He did not let her and pushed her back against Victoria's giant oak desk. Horror and utter disgust replaced disdain as Tokio struggled to free herself from his grip. She finally seemed to manage when she bit him on the arm. The situation was spinning out of Tokio's control quickly.
Fear and disgust screamed out of her mind as he caught her again and slammed her this time on the couch. Her throat could produce no screams as Kamo put all his weight against it with his hand. His other hand pulled at her shirt and stuck itself under it pulling at her bra. He squeezed her breast in the cruelest manner as she struggled to get him away from her. Despair gripped her and her vision blurred as her brain was deprived of oxygen. She continued to struggle in fear and despair hoping to at least be unconscious until after it was over.
"Night and Sensei arrived then and fortunately for me it was over before he could get any further," Tokio stopped there and she watched him pace. She waited to see what he would do next…
Hajime felt like the world was spinning out of control! He paced back and forth taking deep breaths but no matter how deep each breath he couldn't get enough oxygen in him. He couldn't fault Tokio for not telling him or anyone he knew for that matter. Aoshi would kill Kamo without regard for Mai's feelings and he would feel completely justified doing it too! Mai would be devastated if she found out about this. Mai – despite her tough girl façade – had a fragile heart.
A rational part of him understood why Tokio had kept it to herself. She was a tactful creature and protecting the dignity of others came naturally to her. He understood too that her high moral standards would also not allow her to continue in a relationship with him – especially after his declaration tonight – without being wholly honest with him. She wanted him to trust her completely and he did. Such trust would have been severely damaged if she waited any longer to tell him.
'Or if I found out some other way,' he reasoned to himself but couldn't get enough air in his lungs to articulate any of the things in his head. His anger was too great!
"I didn't mean to hurt you Hajime but I couldn't stand you not knowing," Tokio began softly with a catch in her voice. It brought Hajime to a halt. When he turned to look at her tears flowed quietly down her face. He rushed to her side. Kneeling in front of her he took both her hands in his and struggled to explain that he understood and in no way faulted her for not telling him.
"I'm angry but not at you…I don't know how to explain it…" he added struggling to get the words to come out of his mouth and tell her that it was not her fault! That she shouldn't feel responsible.
"I just feel angry and ashamed and…and…dishonored! How could he do this? How could he do this?" he suddenly raged without thinking. Tokio suddenly pulled her hands away from his and cupped them around his face. She pulled his face up to look at her. She looked now strong and beautiful as she had on the day of the Hathor incident.
"Listen to me! That is not why I told you this! I told you so you would understand the vast difference between you and him! I told you so you would see that – short of a millennia old goa'uld snake in your head – there is no way you could ever be remotely like him! That is why I told you!" she scolded but the hard tone in her voice served to slowly restore him to his old self. Her face softened as she caressed his cheeks. She smiled and her voice was once again soft and sweet.
"Even during the Hathor incident…Hajime I have seen what you can do in battle and yet I walked away from that with no more than a couple of bruises that didn't even hurt an hour later! Even then some part of the honorable man that you are was still in control," she insisted smiling her golden smile at him.
"I said it before and I will say it again: even on your worst day – you are a greater man than him!" the conviction in her voice and face bringing everything into proper perspective. He paused for a moment in his emotional rampage and thought about the command that was bombarded into his brain by Hathor and her millennia old drug:
"Kill everyone who opposes your queen!"
But he didn't…in fact he had moved far slower than he usually did…and he didn't even use a quarter of the power he was capable of summoning when ordered to fight! She was right and he knew it. Deep down in his mind some unconscious part of him was fighting Hathor's control vigorously and gave Tokio ample room to oppose and defeat him because he could not overcome it himself.
"I told you so you could understand how I see you and how I feel when I'm with you…I feel safe…I feel free…" she added smiling that beautiful smile.
He smiled and his hands reached up to cup her face as he sat on the edge of the bed with her…
"I love you," he said softly finding no other words to describe everything he was feeling at the moment. She smiled her golden smile at him as he wiped away the tears that had briefly stained her beautiful face.
"I love you too my wolf," she repeated and Hajime took her in his arms and kissed her…
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Hajime arrived at the base feeling exhausted but in a good way. The way you feel after a leisurely jog on a nice cool morning. He hadn't experienced an emotional rollercoaster like the one last night since …well he couldn't really remember! He and Tokio had talked and talked and talked until they fell asleep. Their subjects ranged from their first visits to Disneyland as children to Hajime's theory on what happened in Hanka. He thought he knew everything about her but he hadn't even scratched the surface!
'It would take me a lifetime!' he thought as he sat at his computer working on his reports. That's when it hit him! He couldn't go on pretending that all he wanted was to spend his time with Tokio and "see" where things went. The fact was that he knew he couldn't go back to the man he was before. There was no future for him without her.
"I'm glad you finally realize it," his ancestor said with a chuckle. Haji smiled but the smile quickly disappeared and began bombarding his ancestor with questions. First on his mind was whether his ancestor had known what Kamo did to his Tokio. And if he did then how long had he known.
"Yes, I had a vision of the incident the night of your first date with her," his ancestor admitted. His first instinct was to be angry at not being told but immediately he banished that feeling and understood that the old ghost had not told him to protect Tokio. It had been wise of the old man to wait until Tokio found the right time to tell him. Interfering in this would have shattered the trust building between Haji and Tokio.
"I thought she was going to tell you when you two were talking in the bathtub but she was wise to wait until you told her how you felt about her," Old Hajime admitted proudly. Haji agreed it was perfect timing. She was thoughtful, selfless and sweet but tough and trustworthy. She was the perfect woman for him; he knew this beyond a shadow of a doubt.
'Ok now changing tracks…' Haji began. He asked then about the Hathor incident. He wondered if in fact it was his ancestor helping Tokio and the other women in the SGC by holding him back. He wondered too why his ancestor had never brought up the incident with him before. Right away he felt a trickle of fear from his ancestor.
"I don't know what happened to me back then," the old ghost began hesitantly "as soon she breathed her strange air on you I felt like I was trapped inside a box! You couldn't hear me at all; I couldn't do anything…the louder her voice got the more I felt myself fading away! If not for Tokio I would have vanished altogether," old Hajime concluded with that trickle of fear mixing in with a heavy dose of frustration.
"Tokio is right. That fight was all you. You opposed that beast on your own," old Hajime pointed but this time the frustration vanished and was replaced with pride. Still, it bothered him that the goa'uld was so powerful it could affect spirits.
"I had entrenched myself too deeply in your mind…relied too much on your energy to sustain me and hadn't actively communicated with you in too long. That creature caught me off guard. It won't happen again!" his ancestor replied answering his concerns with the determination and fighting spirit his ancestor was famous for. Relieved and feeling a whole lot better about himself he thought again about Tokio and the future he wanted with her.
'Well that just leaves me to make my preparations then,' he thought as he pulled up a website for a popular jeweler. He browsed through a selection of engagement ring styles as he thought of a suitable place where he could create the proper "atmosphere" for his new idea. He reached for the phone to begin his preparations but as he did it rang. Cpt. Sam Carter was on the phone. His eyes went wide and every concern left him as he hurried to the lab to help her…
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Tokio was hard at work in the lab. There were only reports now to finish. No samples were allowed to be brought back so there wasn't much that could be done. All the data was to be packed up and sent to Area 51. The teams that were supposed to go to Hanka from Nevada had their trips canceled. They would take over the analysis.
She thought about the little girl from Hanka. As she did, she came to the simple realization: that she was not a very suitable candidate for little Jane Doe's mother. Tokio had no family. Little Jane would spend most of the time alone. That just simply wasn't fair for her. She needed to be with a family. Not just a mother and father but grandparents and cousins and uncles and aunts. It wasn't fair for her to be alone, she had lost too much.
"You know…I was thinking I'd like to adopt her," said Janet surprising Tokio.
"I was thinking…I wanted to adopt her too," Tokio began "but I don't think it would be a good thing for her. She needs a family. I can't give her that. I mean I feel as though I'd be doing it out of selfish desire to not be alone and that's simply not fair to that little girl," she ended determinedly. Janet looked up from her work. Her expression was one of sadness as she recalled all the hardships of her young friend's life.
Before she could say anything Sam arrived with little Jane – actually: Cassandra – as Sam had finally gotten the child to start talking to her. Cassandra was complaining of pain in her chest and so Janet took her to the next room to examine her. Tokio continued pouring through the data starting to feel better about Cassandra's prospects. Janet came from a big family and both her parents were still alive and lived locally. Both were also retired. Cassandra would never be alone again. Though Janet was divorced Cassandra would have no shortage of surrogate dads.
'She will be happy again someday soon,' Tokio thought feeling a little more cheerful. Little Cassandra would be surrounded by people who cared about her since she would live near all the people who knew what had happened to her and cared about her future. A few minutes went by and Tokio waited for Sam to come back out. She had found a little pack of lifesaver candies in her desk and she wanted to give them to Cassandra when they came back this way.
She was just finishing up on some charts and packing them in one of the boxes headed for area 51 when the alarm blared in the infirmary.
"Code Blue! Code Blue!" came Janet's voice urgently over the intercom. She jumped up from her chair, her training making her react instantly to the call. She hurried into to the examination room Janet was in and found little Cassandra unconscious on the table. There was no time to gawk or wonder. She began the chest compressions immediately as Janet set up the defibrillator. Everything was happening too quickly to process but once Cassandra's heart was beating regularly and the child had been intubated so she could breathe again that's when Janet made a discovery with her stethoscope while listening to Cassandra's heart. Sam and then Tokio listened to it. It sounded metallic and artificial.
Tokio left to order the radiography all the while wondering in despair if Hajime was right after all. She had argued against his murder theory because of the overwhelming scientific evidence but now suddenly she couldn't be sure…
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Hajime was rushing to the infirmary. Something had been found in Cassandra's body…something horrible: A bomb capable of leveling the mountain along with most of Colorado Springs. Tokio had assisted during the biopsy. It seemed some kind of explosive device made of naquada and the potassium in the child's body. Sam had conducted the tests after the biopsy and the results were awful. It was not the way that he wanted to be right.
'The goa'uld destroyed that girl's home just to give us a bloody nose! They're crazy if they think this is going to stop us!' he thought but justice would have to wait. He needed to talk to Tokio. He couldn't imagine what news like this could be doing to her. She had identified herself with Cassandra because in a way they had both lost not just their families but their entire worlds in both a metaphorical and literal sense.
'I need to talk to her!' he thought hurrying to get to Tokio. He had promised her after all that she'd never have to endure her hardships alone. He found her on her desk alone eating lifesaver candies and staring emotionless at a countdown on her computer screen. There was no one else in the infirmary at the moment.
"One hour and forty seven minutes," she said without emotion as a greeting. Hajime figured without asking that this was how long Cassandra had before the explosive inside her detonated. She would have to be taken back to her planet. She would die alone amidst the dead bodies of her family and friends and their empty homes. What a horrid way to die!
"Tokio…there's nothing you could have done," Hajime began but something had changed in his Tokio yet again. He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. She held on tight.
"I know," she replied her voice cracking just a little. She didn't say anything else and just stared at the countdown. Right now Cassandra was being placed into a hazmat suit and walked back to the gate. Back to her planet …to die…
"Tokio talk to me," Hajime insisted. Tokio didn't know where to start. Anger and sadness battled within her. Cassie would go off to die on her world full of death alone. She had been turned into a weapon and no matter how much she was loved she had no choice but to become an engine of destruction. Now it was time for Tokio to step up and be a weapon too.
"The strong should protect the weak but the weak must become strong, that is the duty the weak owe the ones who protect them," she said to Hajime. She explained it was the truth her grandfather had discovered in his ten years of travel.
"They took her choice away. I'm not weak anymore. I have to make sure they regret this!" Tokio added anger making her voice growl a little.
"We! Tokio we can be stronger! Together we can be a sword of justice! I want you to be with me…beside me…" he stopped because he realized he was rambling and not making much sense. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath taking that moment to clear his mind. Tokio watched him with a look of mild confusion. She asked him if he was ok. He smiled…it wasn't the way he was planning to do it but with Tokio nothing ever happened the way he planned. Of course, it was one of the many things he had come to love her for. He came around and went down on one knee taking both her hands.
"This isn't exactly how I wanted to do this but here it goes: I was lost before I met you. I had forgotten who I was and where I was going. Since the moment I met you I began to see the road again! I know for a fact that I don't want to walk that road alone," he paused gathering himself for what he wanted to ask.
"So Tokio, would you walk this road with me? Would you marry me? I promise you I will do everything in my power so you never feel lonely, sad or helpless again!" he concluded shocking even himself with the conviction in his voice. Tokio stared at him in shock but before she could say anything the general alarm sounded:
"Unscheduled offworld activation!"
Hajime cursed inwardly knowing he would have to report to his station immediately. He did not wish to leave this unfinished but he had no choice.
"Take your time and think about it. You can tell me your answer when you're ready," he said as he got up. He kissed her fingers lightly and started to move away but before he could get far Tokio jumped off her chair and grabbed the back of his sleeve.
"Yes!" she blurted out and she looked surprised at her own answer "Yes! I will! I mean yes I will marry you! I mean I'd like that! A lot!" she rambled on in that girly way she did when she was excited and embarrassed and surprised and didn't know how to express herself. He smiled turned to her and kissed her not caring too much if his CO chewed him out for being late. He ran off to find out what else the universe was gonna throw at them but whatever it was he could handle it…
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But the universe was not done throwing crap at them. Col. O'Neill returned from Hanka with Teal'c on the heels of an explosion. With Teal'cs assistance they were able to figure out that little Cassandra was a sort of Trojan horse. The idea was so that as soon as the people on base tried to take her home the bomb would go off, destroying both the stargate and the base around them. But just in case that didn't work and they tried to save her the bomb would still go off and even if it did not destroy the stargate it would be impossible for humans to continue their campaign against the warlords right away.
Gen. Hammond and Col. O'Neill came up with an alternate plan: take Cassandra to an unused remote nuclear testing facility deep underground. The blast would be contained below ground and the facility was only a twenty minute drive away. The awful part of this plan would be that Cassandra instead of a slightly more dignified death under the skies of her home and among the remains of her ancestors – she would die in a dark, damp, little concrete cell 25 floors underground alone.
Hajime helped SG1 onto the back of a truck then climbed into the driver's seat. He burned the image in his mind of Sam's defeated look as she held little Cassandra. He would never forget this! He promised himself they would pay tenfold. They raced down the highway with the MP escorts blaring their sirens to clear traffic. SG1 climbed out in a hurry once they arrived. Standing by the truck he wondered what was going through Carter's head. It was awful what she was tasked with: take Cassandra down to the lowest floor and lock her unconscious little body in one of the nuclear containment vaults. He would never be able to walk away from something like that whole.
He had set his wrist watch's stop watch to match the time remaining until Cassandra's bomb detonated and watched the time countdown on his stop watch. He braced himself as the time neared for the explosion to go off. He knew there would be a serious earthquake when it happened. Being from California the tremor didn't bother him it was what it meant for that little girl that did it. He frowned; SG1 had not emerged from the facility and wondered if something had gone wrong. He walked up to the doorway and went in a little ways.
"What's going on?" he asked Martelli standing at attention just inside. Martelli shook his head but before he could say anything Col. O'Neill – standing by the elevator at the other end of the hall – gave him all the answers he needed.
"Like hell she is," growled the colonel as he walked back to the intercom. It became instantly clear what was going on. Sam refused to leave Cassandra. She had declared that she was locking herself in with the girl.
"Sir she's awake!" Carter protested. He saw Teal'c tense and heard Daniel curse lightly. Suddenly – to him at least – it felt like everything would be ok. He watched time tick away and he understood suddenly the same thing that Carter had understood. The bomb had stopped. It wasn't going to go off because its trigger – the stargate – was too far out of range.
'That's why she's awake. The bomb's power and fuel needs are no longer taxing her body!' he realized knowing that Sam had probably figured this out too.
The bomb was made of two simple components: naquada and potassium – both floating freely at first in Cassandra's body and made inert by her body's natural processes. The potassium – harmless when in use by the heart's cells to power the electrical activity of the heart – and the naquada in her blood stream were collected near her heart by a technology the SGC scientists still did not understand and couldn't even examine without endangering the base not to mention Cassandra's life.
The two elements when combined had a violent explosive force capable of leveling Cheyenne Mountain and a good size chunk of Colorado Springs with it. The layer of fat that separated the two metals and kept them from going off right away had been disintegrating at a steady rate, thus why they had been able to calculate its precise time for detonation.
'But there was another failsafe,' Hajime realized as the appointed time came and then - with a sigh of relief – passed without incident. SG1 looked up relieved and as Carter's voice came on saying that nothing happened and that she "just knew", everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Hajime informed the colonel that he would report the base of the outcome and went to the truck to call. He looked up and smiled as an eagle flew away overhead realizing only now that it had followed them from the base.
'Things will get better now,' he thought as he made the report.
"Well, what happened?" Victoria asked as Night flew in the window of her Colorado Springs home office and transformed from the eagle back into a man.
"You were right…she was up to something," Night replied launching into a quick account of what he had witnessed and overheard. He handed over the small scanner and Victoria poured over the data on the bomb inside the girl's chest.
"They got lucky," Night insisted looking very annoyed. Ever since the SG program began he had been pushing for the two of them to make their exit from this planet. He hadn't blown a cover in more than 300 years so he wasn't happy about the possibility of a break in his record! Especially with Victoria's misbehaved kids!
"Oh come on old man!" Victoria began in a teasing tone "Where's your sense of adventure? Besides, luck can be…"
"…a talent! Yea! You say that every time you're about to drag me into some sh…"
TAP, TAP, TAP
Night's angry sermon was cut off by one of Victoria's assistants letting her know that she had a call from Tokio Takagi on the phone. Night scowled as he listened in on Victoria's side of the conversation. It sounded like Tokio was apologizing for not being able to visit with her tonight. Vicky put the call on speaker.
"We're short handed at the hospital so I won't be free until tomorrow night," Tokio explained.
"That's alright dear I have a lot of work to do here. I've lost too much time and money in this shoot because of those girls!" Victoria replied with a little infliction of frustration on her voice for Tokio's benefit.
"By the way…what is this I hear that you've been letting a certain wolf spend the night at your apartment?" she added in a very sly teasing tone.
"Oh! Oh well! Oh I guess you heard that from Shuura huh? Well um…yes," she stuttered nervously. Vicky laughed imagining the girl's bright red face. The girl was too much of a prude for her own good!
"Wolves eat mice… I do not approve," rumbled Night in a disapproving tone but he smirked. This was Night's way of teasing her.
"Well Mr. Nightraven, seeing as how it is my house, that I pay with my money that I earn I don't see…" but her indignant tirade was cut off as both Victoria and Night laughed.
"I don't like being teased," she whined though she wasn't really upset. The two aliens knew that Tokio loved the little teasing. It made her feel part of something…something like a family. Victoria – who always felt she had never done enough for this girl – didn't mind feeding that feeling.
The next couple of days were a whirlwind of work for Tokio. Her boss – Janet – was at Peterson round the clock tending to Cassandra which left Tokio to fill in for Janet while she was gone. She had formally submitted her request to be Cassandra's foster parent. She didn't mind though because Cassie was well cared for and that was truly what mattered.
She had to cancel dinner arrangements with Victoria because both of them were busy. Victoria was busy cracking her whip at her "girls" and Tokio was stuck filling in for Janet. She did manage a small window of time to have lunch with them and get her letter from her uncle. Night teased her relentlessly about Hajime spending nights at her apartment. Tokio confided sadly that she had been at the hospital most of the time and had not seen Hajime much since Wednesday.
"Sorry Mighty Mouse comes with the territory you know," he said turning off his teasing for just a moment of sympathy. The moment didn't last long as his teasing smirk returned.
"You'll appreciate that much more the reunion," he added and laughed as Tokio turned bright red. They talked some more and Night told her about a get-together in a couple of weeks. Tokio let him know that thanks to the extra time she'd been putting in at the base she would be coming to California a few days earlier.
"I'll be going with Hajime to Washington D.C for a few days next week then I'll head out to California," she explained that she would be able to spend a few more days than she had previously planned on.
"I'm hoping I can use them to get to know my uncle," Tokio concluded hoping Night would drop some hints as to her uncle's secret identity.
"Speaking of getting to know: Hajime's girl friends want you to spend a day with them when you get there," Night added innocently and his segway completely derailed Tokio's train of thought. At her horrified expression he laughed
"Kelly, Lisa and Jesse you silly mouse!" he added and laughed some more as Tokio glared at him. She realized then his choice of words had been a mere ruse to keep her from asking any questions about her secretive uncle.
"All in good time mouse," he put in more seriously. She sighed and let it go.
"By the way, there's something I've been meaning to write to uncle about but I don't know if maybe I should wait until I meet him," she began blushing and acting shy again. Night just watched her quietly. He knew that whenever she acted this way she had life changing news to give him. The last time she had acted like this she had told him she had joined the air force.
"Besides I wanted to tell you first anyway…before you hear it from anywhere else," she stammered on blushing intensely. He was on the brink of teasing her some more when she just blurted out her big news.
"I'm getting married," she said very quickly with a tiny nervous squeak. Night smirked, not really all that surprised.
"Wow…that's a real shocker," Night replied obviously not surprised at all. Tokio suddenly looked crestfallen.
"You already knew…but how? Hajime said his mom would wait until we were in California to tell anyone," she whined.
"Relax, I simply guessed…you always get all nervous when you have big news, so process of elimination you know: I already know about your house, already know about your medal and since your uniform doesn't have any new stripes on it only one thing was left," he explained with a teasing grin.
"Oh…Ok I guess," she replied not knowing what else to say and still feeling a little embarrassed.
"Hey guys! What did I miss?" Victoria asked as she joined them for lunch then and Tokio shared the news with her. She did look surprised though.
"Well I must say I am surprised by how quickly that boy got around to asking though I had no doubt you two would get married one day," Victoria said as she casually sipped her iced tea. She had come to this conclusion after observing them at the reunion. It was not much of a surprise. The only reason it caught her off guard was the fact that Hajime had once told her he would never jump into marriage too quickly again.
"Oh we're not! It'll be at least a year before we can get married!" Tokio quickly explained that they planned to take time make sure at least Hajime's house was finished before they began planning a wedding.
"That won't be for another 3 months at least and besides I told him I wanted a long engagement. We haven't had a chance to set a date yet and I'll need time to plan a proper wedding!" Tokio concluded in her most professional voice. Victoria laughed and after a little negotiating she convinced Tokio to have her wedding at Victoria's estate in California. She could find her a reliable wedding planner to meet with when she came to visit.
"Speaking of which I want to talk to you about your birthday," Victoria added changing tracks. They chatted about her plans for Tokio's birthday party in Cali and asked her how it had gone here.
Her birthday had been a quiet affair with her friends Janet and Sam throwing her a small surprise party at Janet's. Tokio usually never thought of her birthdays and often forgot it was her birthday until someone wished her Happy Birthday. The deluge of birthday cards that had arrived was a pleasant surprise. She had not expected to receive presents and cards from Hajime's friends this early in their relationship. She admitted as much to Victoria.
"They saw how serious Hajime was when you guys left," Victoria commented and explained that his eclectic group of friends were very good at reading each other. They also have noticed the good influence Tokio has been on Hajime and are eager to accept her in their tight-nit group.
"I think to them it's like you gave them back their friend," she added pensively. Tokio didn't need to ask more. Hajime had very recently explained what a huge influence she had been on him. That is one of the many reasons he had asked her to marry him.
'You make me a better man,' he had told her the other night while having dinner before she had to go back to work. To which she had replied 'And you make me a happy woman' but she kept that little corny but sweet tidbit to herself. Time finally ran out on her lunch break so with a cheerful goodbye she returned to the base and busy schedule that drove all other concerns away.
Cassandra awoke in a sunlit room. The sun had just pulled up in the horizon. Sam was sleeping in the little cot next to her bed. Sam had not left her side since they left that awful dark and damp room where she had thought for a moment she was going to die. She had explained that this new place was called Peterson Air force Base. She was in the hospital there. She marveled at Sam's world. It seemed so much bigger than hers had ever been! There were so many people and so many strange and wonderful things. She felt guilty for starting to like it here.
She looked up at the clock. Sam had taught her how to read it. She was impressed with how quickly Cass was learning the ways of her world. And Cass just couldn't get enough! She drank every bit of knowledge that came her way. Her brain was suddenly a super absorbent sponge and she just couldn't stop taking it all in. Another pang of guilt hit her for the love of the knowledge now available to her.
'Will I ever be free of guilt and sadness?' she wondered as a quiet tear rolled down her cheek. She had dreamt of her home again this morning but it was not a dream about her mother this time. She had dreamt about flying over her village at night looking at the little fires that blinked from the windows of the other villagers and watching as people settled in for the night not noticing that she was flying overhead on the body of a great brilliant beast. She had dreamt this many times back home but oddly this time she didn't stay in her village, she went through the stargate.
This time the dream had carried her to this new world. She had flown over villages that seemed too vast for her country girl brain to take in. She flew over incredible mountains. She even saw the place they had been in before: Cheyenne Mountain. The roads looked like wide gray snakes that wandered freely through the mountains and the villages – though Sam said they were called cities on this world! Even though she had not seen much of Sam's world she knew this was what it must look like!
Finally she came upon a large pond. She wasn't sure that it was a natural pond. The surface seemed too still and the water to clear. The edges were too smooth and the rocks were painted in very artistic blue on a white background. She glided down to take a closer look landing. She stepped closer to the glittering surface of the large artificial pond to look at the large creature she inhabited. She was always in awe of the great beast of her dreams. It had a massive silver-white body, blue eyes like sapphires and a huge wing span that she thought might carry her anywhere she wanted!
'Anywhere but home,' she thought with a pang of guilt and sorrow. She turned in to her pillow careful not to make a sound. She didn't want Sam to wake up. This was her private moment to grieve. After only a couple of minutes she stopped and as she pulled up her head she noticed a brown packet on her side table. She reached over for it carefully and sat up to look at it. Sam had been teaching her to read and she had gotten very good at it very quickly.
The note said it was from Hajime. She remembered him! He had been telling her about Jedi knights and dragons! He watched Star Wars with her while Sam went home to change. She could completely understand how Luke Skywalker must've felt when his family died and Princess Leia when her planet was destroyed. She knew what it was like never to be able to go home.
He also gave her a movie called Sleeping Beauty. She explained every girl on earth had to watch at least one fairy tale in her life! She didn't mind too much. The music was fun and it had a large black creature in it that he explained was called a dragon. She asked many questions about Maleficent in dragon form! So he had promised her to send some books about dragons since she seemed so interested.
'He must've come by last night while I was sleeping!' she thought feeling a little excited by the mysterious package. Quietly, she ripped open the brown wrapping to see what was inside. There were two large books inside. The first was an illustrated version of a novel he had mentioned called: The Hobbit. He had highly recommended this book. She couldn't wait to start it! The second was an art book from a popular game called Duel Monsters.
She clapped her hand over her mouth in shock as she beheld the cover of the book. On the cover was the exact same creature of her dreams!
'How is this possible?' Cass thought and with trembling hands she turned the pages looking for the name and origin of the creature. The book called it simply: Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It described the beast as a creature of Light. She couldn't understand how she could have been dreaming of a creature from Earth's stories way before her world had even met the people of Earth!
She stared and stared at the book forcing her self to get past her surprise. She had a feeling that if she told them about her dreams they would keep her even longer in this place. She was tired of the hospital. She wanted to go out and see the world that the Blue-Eyes (for that is its name!) had shown her. Until she understood what the dream was about she would tell no one…
A/N: The ending with Cassandra was a bit of a tie-in to a Seto Kaiba story I'm working on for when I finish the Aoshi story. Felt it would go nicely here. I won't touch on Cass again until I'm ready to send her to the world of Duel Monsters…no she is not going to be dueling anybody! As a matter of fact I can tell you she doesn't like the game that Seto is so obsessed with she just likes the art.
Fic Reader! I am sooo glad you are still enjoying this! Your reviews are so encouraging! I hope I have met you expectations! Stay tuned there is more soming very soon! TTFN!
