Link sighed as he rubbed his temples, this wasn't working. You would think that one, at least one, of these students would have seen his client's grandson. But each and every student he asked said they have never seen the kid before. What was he? A ghost student? That thought brought out another sigh. He had been like that through school, no one ever noticed him. Except for the bullies. They see everyone weaker than them. The bell rang, and the student he had show the picture turned and ran off to class, realizing he was late. Oops, he hadn't meant to keep from being on time.

Sighing, again, he turned and walked off to the cafeteria. The principle had given him permission to talk to the kids to try and find the missing kid, though with the luck he was having Link figured he might as well leave. But, seeing as the quickest way out was through the cafeteri, he might as well see if he could get a bottle of water from the vending machine. Finding the machine and putting a dollar in it, Link groaned. Just his luck, it ate his last dollar.

Shaking his head, he heard someone behind him. Before he could turn they slapped his back and ran off, Link catching only the sight of a foor going around a corner. Stupid pranks...Reaching behind him he pulled off the paper that had been taped on to him. Expecting a "Kick Me" sigh, he stood surprised at the message on it.

I know where your missing kid is. Meet me infront of the school at the dismissel bell.

Well, it ws worth a shot. Though Link had a feeling it was going to be another prank. Leaving the school, he looked at his watch. He had fifteen minutes to wait. Leaning against a tree, he waited. At least he didn't have his migrane today.

Aspen showed up to the school just in time. She was supposed to be meeting someone here after the bell rang, but she figured she would have to wait a few moments because as soon as the bell rang what seemed like a million kids bolted out of there, talking and pushing people around.

She could hardly manage to fight her way through the crowds, especially with how weak she was feeling. It had only been a few days. She should not have even been out today, but she had a bit of research to do and she was told someone from the school could help her with her story. The only problem was finding that someone.

She sighed and stepped away from the door of the school. She had been tipped off, an anonomous letter of sorts and she had no idea who she was looking for. Perhaps she should just hang back for a moment and let fate take care of it. If this story was meant to happen, it would happen.

Pushing raven black hair out of her eyes, she sat down on the last step of the stairs coming out of the school. At least this would give her a chance to rest. Having finally getting her car fixed she had been able to drive over to the school, but it still did not ease the weariness she felt when walking. God, she was tired.

Link groaned as the bell rang, it did nothing to improve his migraine. Nor did the mass amount of kids rushing out. And certainly not the fact that he was out of Extra Strength Tylenol. Muttering to himself, he waited until all the kids were gone, just the few that weren't in any hurry to get home. He remembered he had been one of those kids.

Sighing, he headed for the entrance to the school. And it figured, no kids around there. Just a woman, a teacher probably, who looked like she had a rough day. But no kids. It figured that note would be nothing but a prank. Grumbling to himself, he pulled the note out of his pocket, crumpled it up, and threw it in to the garbage can near the stairs.

"Stupid punks...I shouldn't have wasted my time waiting..."

Sighing, he turned, heading for his car. Maybe he still had some Tylenol in the glove box, and he hoped he did. This migraine was killing him.

Aspen looked up as the male approached her, curiousity in her eyes. Perhaps he was the one she had been waiting for.

'Or maybe not,' she thought as he turned to walk away. But maybe...

She stared at the paper he had thrown, the one that managed to bounce out of the trash can. She bent over and picked it up initially planning on putting it back in the trash can but something bugged her about it. Something familiar about the hand-writing. She unraveled it looking after the man, then to the hand writing on the paper. Definately familiar. Maybe this had something to do with the story she was looking for. Or maybe it was just some stupid prank. She knew nothing about a missing child and she couldn't place where else she had seen the writing, though she knew she had before.

"Wait!" She stood up, mustering up what strength she did have left to chase after the man. She held the note tight in her hand.

"Who gave you this?" Though the tone in her voice showed that she was trying to be polite, she couldn't help the anger that danced in her eyes. This wasn't funny, pranks like this were a waste of her time. She had better things to do than to hang around a high school. She had always hated high school...

Link groaned yet again, now he couldn't find his keys. Feeling around in his pockets, his mood wasn't improving at all. Looking in through his passenger side window, he he cursed his luck. His keys were locked inside, laying on the driver's seat. At least none of the school students had taken them. Then hearing someone call after him, he turned. Seeing the person he thought was a teacher, and seeing the note in her hand, he figured he was about to get a lecture on littering.

He had opened his mouth to ward of a lecture, though he wasn't expecting the question she asked. Why would she want to know where he got the note.

"Some punk taped it to my back when I was getting a drink form the vending machine. Why?"

He then noticed the look in her eyes. Okay, she was angry. Angry and tired...Not that great of a combination. This day was certainly turning out to be perfect. Just perfect.

Aspen groaned under her breath. Great, just her luck. He had not seen the face of the man that had done it. The good news was that he wasn't the man that had done it, though there wasn't much she could do about if he had been. She had noticed his question, but skipped over it, for the moment.

"Alright then, I suppose you don't mind if I keep it, do ye?" Her Irish accent was strong as she spoke, and since she was so tired, her words slurred so it may have been a bit hard to understand her.

Without waiting for an answer, she stuffed it into the pocket of her blue blazer. She then looked back up at him, her green eyes no longer angry, just tired.

"I suppose ye can't help me then, aye?" She sighed and stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Twenty-one years old, stuck in a dead end job, with not a story to get her out of it. She shook her head. She did have to admit, there was something up, though she could not figure out what and both of them had something to do with it.

She reached up, rubbing the back of her neck in a frustrated motion.
"Oh, why? Um, that's a bit of a long story, but..." she stopped speaking for a moment as she tried desperately to remember why she had recognized the lettering on this piece of paper. That was when she thought about the note she had gotten the night before.

"I got a note a bit like this. I suppose it's just a prank though. I get stuff like this all the time. I guess they just picked you as my next target." She shook her head, sighing once again.

"What a waste of time..."

Link just nodded in response to her question if she kept it, he didn't care. He was more worried about getting into his car. He didn't have a spare key, the one that came with the car he had lost a long time ago. Well, he could always walk to the nearest fire department or police department, they usually helped out at a time like this. And had some fun joking about it. Link was sure missing the Corps right now.

Noticing her accent when she said she doubted he could help her, he sighed again. He would have liked to help her, but he needed to find that missing kid. He still had a day before the golden time was over. In a missing persons case, the first forty-eight hours a crucial in finding the person. For every hour past that the chances of finding the person alive gets slimmer and slimmer.

He took a second to wonder why he and this person would get the same note, only she answered the question in her next statement. But still...what were the chances it would be talking about a kid when he was looking for one?

"Well, actually, I'm looking for a missing person. He's a student here at this school, his grandmother hired me to find him. Would you know anything about that? I have a picture of...oh, never mind that."

He remember part-way through the sentence that the picture was in his car, with his keys. Yeah...he was certainly missing the Corps.

Aspen nodded. It hadn't been the same note, but it had been a lot like it. It told her she would get a lead on a story, though she hadn't expected it to be a missing person's case. She hardly got many of those and what in the world could she do to help out?

"No, no. I don't know anything about it," she said in response to his question, "But if this helps, I am a journalist. Honestly, I got a tip off about a case, a big story, though I am now starting to think it was just a prank. A missing person's case is something meant for the cops, not for a journalist. Plus, it's not really something we can call a 'big' story. Kid's go missing everyday."

She sighed. She didn't mean to seem heartless. She would like to help, of course, but how could she? She did not want the man to think she didn't care about some helpless kid, but frankly, it wasn't really her business. She had other things to worry about, like her losing her job. She normally kept to herself, why hadn't she this time? Now what else was there to do besides try to help. A conflict was going on inside of her. She needed to get a story out by tomorrow morning, but she couldn't let some innocent kid die when she may possibly have held information for the crime.

"If there is anything I can do to help, let me know," she said.

Then, noticing where his gaze went, her eyes followed. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face. He had locked his keys in his car. She couldn't tell him how many times she had done that.

"Like get your keys out of your car for you?" She laughed softly and begin to walk towards her car, motioning for him to follow.

"I have something that just may help."

Link nodded, holding in a cringe when she said she was a journalist. They seemed to be following him around. One was black mailing, one the other day wanted to interview him for some crazy reason or another, and now, yet again, he was talking to one. As long as she didn't ask for money in any way, he would be fine. Except for this blasted migraine.

He sighed when she said that a missing kid wasn't really a big story. Yeah, people tended to over look the kids every time. It wasn't until they were found dead that they were recognized. He saw this all the time. Though what she said was true, kids did go missing every day. So why was he bothering with this? Maybe the kid would turn up tomorrow, revealing he had just played a prank or something.

Link groaned, however, when she mentioned his car. Well at least it was better than the cops. Somehow they always found out about his Marine Corps history, and they seemed to have books of jokes to use about them. Lucky, lucky him. Following after her, he sighed.

"What, a lock pick?"

It wouldn't surprise him if it was. He remembered the journalists back in New York City always had whatever they needed to get a scoop. And he had a feeling that was the same for journalists everywhere.

Aspen laughed and shook her head as they stopped at her car. It was bright orange, an odd color, but it looked good on her 1967 bug. Maybe not the safest thing in the world, and always breaking down, but she had done a lot to fix it up. She had another car, she just preferred not to drive it.

"No, not a lock pick. I'm not that kind of journalist. In fact, if you promise not to tell I will tell you a secret."

She smiled and popped the hood of the car, which was actually the trunk and pulled out what used to be a metal hanger. It was all stretched out, so as to easily fit between the water proofed seal on the window. She began to walk quickly back to his car, or what was quick for her considering what she had gone through in the past few days.

"I really hate my job. It's repetitive. I rather like being a writer, it's just that, as of late...I've had a bit of a writers block. But a couple days ago I started writing again. Hopefully it can get my out of my dead-end job. I don't really know why I stay anyway, I guess I feel guitly about leaving the paper. I don't really need the money, but when I have book tours and such I will have no choice but to leave."

She stopped talking for a moment as the reached his car and forced the hanger through down between the window and the car. This works on almost all cars, especially those with automatic locks.

She grunted as she found it and pulled up, unlocking all the doors.

"There ye go," she said winking.

"I used to lock my keys in my car quite a bit...not my bug but my other car. Lock your keys in that car," she nodded towards her bright orange bug, "...and all ye got to do is pop open the window. It has a latch and I almost never lock it."

Link nodded, that was a surprise. But he wasn't going to tell anyone her secret, he just couldn't picture a journalist that didn't like their job. Oh well, hearing that she preferred writing, he couldn't blame her. Writing whatever you wanted at you own pace did sound better than having a dead-line for newspaper stories. He could have groaned again though when she said she didn't need the money. Some people had all the luck. Then again, most people weren't being black mailed.

Smirking when she got his car unlocked for him, he nodded in thanks. Opening the passenger door, he reached inside and opened the glove box, grabbing the small bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol he had in there. Hoping it wasn't empty, he opened it and dumped the last two pills in to his hand. Figures. Swallowing them dry, stuffed the bottle in his pocket.

"Thank you. This certainly isn't playing out to be the best day of my life though..."

Sighing, he closed the door, after grabbing his keys of course, and leaned against his car. He was hoping those pills kicked in soon, he wasn't driving with this headache.

"Oh, I used to have a spare...But that's lost...somewhere in my office I'm guessing." then pointing to the hanger, he added, "A handy trick to know."

Aspen thought about it. This wasn't the best day of hers either. She should be in bed sleeping, but instead she was at a high school, wondering if she was even going to survive the next few days. There was a certain, not-so-good, person after her. She had pissed off a good one too many vampires...But all the same she nodded when he thanked her.

"You're welcome. It's the least I can do for you playing the fool in one of the many tricks played on me. If it helps, I can go to the police station with you and present these letters as evidance for your case. After all, not all cases like this have a happy ending and I assume you could use the help. There isn't much else I can do. I am sorry."

She fell silent once again. She wasn't sure what to say to him. So she just stood there, before she decided to ask one more question.

"Why didn't his grandmother go to the cops? Why did she come to you instead?"

She was curious. After all, wouldn't a worried grandmother rather have the cops looking for a missing child? It was a lot safer bet. They had all the equipment to find a kidnapper. The thought made Aspen think. It could be a harmless reason, she didn't think a little old lady would be capable of murdering her grandchild or planning a kidnapping...but in this day in age, who knew?

Link shook his head, she didn't need to go to the police. They would probably get angry that he was working the same case as they were, he had already suffered some letters requesting that he stopped taking clients that they were already helping. Still, it was only a matter of time before they found out.

Sighing, he had started to get up to leave, the pain dulling somewhat, when she asked her question about his involvement. Leaning back against the car, he sighed.

"She couldn't wait for the cops, they are looking for him. But she wanted faster results, so she hired me. Though I'm not having much better luck. You think someone would have seen something though. The kid getting into a car, talking to someone...Something."

Aspen pouted. So the police had taken the case. He was right, you think someone would have seen something of the sort. Something suspicious...a child just does not drop right off the face of the earth, though some say it has been known to happen. No, something was wrong, but she could think of a million things what with all the creatures running around Demaitre in the night.

"Where was he last seen?"

She felt awkward, talking to a stranger about a case she had gotten a lead on. Whoever wrote those letters had to know something about it. At least it would be smart to try and find out who they were from. Plus, why hadn't anyone seen the guy who taped it to Link's back? Ugh, all this thinking was hurting her head. She had an appointment scheduled in two hours and a dead-line. She really wished she could help, but standing here wasn't going to get them anywhere.

Link pointed over to the sidewalk leading from the school to the street. One of his friends said he had been talking with him there, something about getting together for the weekend. They had been planning some type of card tournament, and they had agreed on talking again over the phone to figure the rest out.

"Over there. Its amazing, he was in the middle of a crowd of kids, and not one of them saw a thing."

Sighing, he shook his head. Figuring he was taking up enough of Aspen's time, he stood up straight, his migraine was about as dulled as it was going to get. Offering a hand to shake, he guessed it was time to get going.

"Well, I guess I've taken up enough of your time. Thanks for unlocking my car Miss...umm, I never caught your name."

Aspen took his hand, shaking it. She didn't really want him to leave, but she supposed he also had better things to do than stand around...like find the kid's kidnapper.

"Aspen...Aspen Raen. If I may, what is your name?"

Aspen realized she had not caught his name either and she was certain this wouldn't be the last time she would see him. Maybe, perhaps next time, would be better for the both of them.

"You know, in case I find something out. I can look you up."

((I am getting tired. Ugh...))

Link shook her hand, putting it back in a pocket when they let go. Aspen Raen. Well, that was an interesting name for sure. Then realizing he hadn't given her his, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. His last one. Then again, he only had enough money that day to make ten of them. Handing her the card, he nodded.

"Link Rivers. And if you do find anything, that would be a big help. My work phone and address are on there, and I'm there pretty much all the time so feel free to drop by or call if you find anything...Well, if that's all, have a good day Miss Raen."

Stepping back, he felt someone run in to him. Stumbling forward a step, he turned to see who ran in to him, but the person just shoved past him without saying anything. Brushing off his suit for no reason, he shook his head.

"That happens every day..."

He was talking mostly to himself when he said that. Looking down, he noticed an envelope on the ground. Picking it up, he assumed the man that ran in to him dropped it. He looked up to stop the man, but he was gone. Okay, that was weird. Turning the envelope over, he froze for a second when he saw what was written on the front.

Corporal Rivers.

His migraine was forgotten as he started thinking. How did someone find out his rank? And why was it addressed to him? Should he open it here, or wait until he was back at his office?

"Please, just call me Raen, no miss. I'm the unlucky one that got stuck with two first names. Ha...Well, alright. I suppose I will see you soon."

Aspen sadly nodded goodbye as she turned to go. Lonesome once again. She did not see the man that ran into Link, nor the envelope dropped. She walked towards her car and hopped in, shoving her key into the ignition.

It made that funny noise, the one that said it wasn't going to start. She pouted and turned the key again. No luck. Ugh. Damn it. Just her luck. Today was definately not her day and she had a doctors appointment to make.

She got out of her car. slamming the door behind her and began to walk back towards Link, who for some reason, had not left yet. Her eyesbrows creased in confusion, he was staring at something.

"Look, I'm sorry to bother you, but-" Aspen stopped mid-sentence. She was able to catch the name that was on the envelope he held in his hands. She looked around, hoping to see where it had come from. She did not. Maybe it had been in his car, but she did not see why he had it now and not before.

"What is that?"

He nodded in reply when Aspen said she had go, then his attention went back to the letter. He was still wondering how someone found out his rank. Maybe it was just a guess, though he doubted it. He was really starting to get a really bad feeling about this. Shaking his head, he didn't notice Aspen's trouble with her car, which was going to bug him later, he looked up when he heard Aspen come back.

The envelope disappeared into his coat, putting in an inside pocket. Looking at the journalist, he shook his head. She didn't need to worry about it.

"Oh, its, uhh, nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it. Umm, is there something you needed?"

He wanted to get back to his office and check the letter, but judging by the look on her face, she looked to need some help.

"Is something wrong?"

Aspen smiled, suddenly curious, but she decided to let it go. She would bug him about it later. After all, it was her job.

"Well," she said slowly, "if you say so. But yes something is wrong. My car won't start. I have an appointment I have to get to. I need to be there early or else I could be in a lot of trouble. I'm supposed to be monitered closely for the next few weeks..."

Aspen didn't say why, but her left hand rested on her belly while the right one went up to her neck where there should have been a scar. Her mind was suddenly on something else and it took the light breathing of the man in front of her to bring her back.

"I'm pregnant."

She said this last part very suddenly, as if she had been dying to get it out for a while.

"I need to get to the hospital because the doctors said if I don't watch it I will have a miscarriage..."

Then her hand went up to her mouth, her eyes suddenly wide in shock. She couldn't believe she had just said that out loud.

"Anyway, that's not the point and I suppose you don't care to know what is not your business. The point is, I need a ride and I can't get my car started. Would you mind giving me a ride?"

She stopped for a moment, realizing how forward she sounded. He was not even a friend. He was only someone she had just met.

"What I mean to say is, I know we haven't known each other very long, but there is not much else I can do unless you are an expert at fixing cars. I really hate to be burden, but this is something I cannnot miss."

When Aspen said she was pregnant, Link blinked. He wouldn't have guessed that. She didn't look like she was pregnant. He blinked again when she said she had to be careful of a miscarriage, though he didn’t ask why. He wasn't a doctor, and she was right, it wasn't any of his business to ask.

Keeping himself from smirking as she asked for a ride even though they had only known each other for a few minutes, he nodded to her request, stepping to the side and opening the passenger door for her. He was probably the farthest thing from a repairman there was, so fixing her car was out of the question for him.

"No, don't worry about it. I'll give you a ride. Get in, I have to head that way anyways.”

Making sure he still had the envelope in his pocket, he walked around to the driver side of the car and got in, waiting for Aspen. Putting the key in the ignition, he started the car up, waiting for Aspen to get in.

Aspen nodded and walked around the otherside of the car. She hoped she was being an inconvienence. She nodded as she opened the door. So chivalry did still exist.

"Thanks a lot for this. You are a sweetheart."

She felt bad, as her eyes strayed to the place where the letter was. After how nice he had been she couldn't help the journalists intincts. She wanted to know what was in the letter. She wouldn't bother him about. At least she would try not to.

After closing the door she politely buckled up, then put her hands in her lap, fiddling anxiously with a loose string on her pants. Her dark hair fell into her face and she brushed it back out of her eyes, turning to look at him.

"Well, are you going to open it? You know you want to."

She winked playfully then turned to look forward as if nothing had happened. She wasn't trying to be rude, but she was a journalist after all. She used that as if it were an excuse for being rude.

Link just smirked and drove away from the school, not replying to Aspen's sweetheart comment. He had been counting down in his head for when she would ask about the letter, and he chuckled a bit when she did. He had been close, she had asked when he was one one. Shaking his head, he came up with a quick reason not to open it.

"I'm going to wait until I get back to my office. Besides, I can't really open it while I'm driving, now can I?"

Saying that with a small smile, he turned his full attention back to the road. After a bit, he pulled into the hospital parking lot, looking over at Aspen once he shut the car off.

"Well, we're here. Are you going to need a ride home, or where ever you're going after this? I can wait if you need me to."

Aspen laughed at his response to her question as they drove.

"No, of course you can't. But I can," she winked, "But I won't. I will leave that to you. Perhaps it is none of my business."

She was silent for most of the rest of the ride to the hospital and was a bit upset when they finally made it. She hated nurses, always cooning over you as soon as you walked in. She just wanted to avoid them and shove her way past them until she reached the doctor's office.

"Well, I'm not sure how long it is going to take, so I wouldn't want you to have to wait for me to get out of there. I am sure you have better things to do, such as search for your missing purpose, but here..."

She reached took out a pen and reached for his hand, scrawling her cell phone number on his palm, like a high school girl would.

"If you find anything out that you think I might like to know, give me a call, anytime of the day. It doesn't really matter to me. I don't sleep much. Thanks again for the ride."

She then opened the door and slowly and carefully climbed out of the car. Before she walked away, she poked her head in, just to say goodbye and then continued to walk towards the hospital entrance. God, how she hated to be alone.

Link smirked when she wrote her cell phone number on his hand. Well, that was new. Nodding as she left, he thought about it for a second. Her car was still back at the school, and since he didn't know where she lived, he didn't know how far she might have to walk to get home. That was all the argument he needed, he would wait for her. Taking out the envelope and a pen, he wrote her phone number on the back of the envelope so he didn't loose it later if he forgot it was there. It was a good thing he was ambidextrous.

Once he had finished writing it down, he flipped the envelope back over, looked at who it was addressed to. There was only one person in the city who knew his rank, and she was currently in Japan, visiting family. So how could this have been found out?

Shaking his head, he figured all would be explained when he opened the letter. He had a friend in the police department that could check for fingerprints, hopefully his wouldn't be messing up a possible suspect's prints. Sighing, he put the envelope back in his pocket, turning on the radio as he waited for Aspen. He just hoped he wasn't over-stepping his bounds, if she was pregnant, chances are she was married, or had a boyfriend. But then why would she have needed to ask him for a ride? He shook his head and stopped those thoughts there; it was none of his business.

Leaning the seat back some, he closed his eyes, trying to make up for a missed night of sleep as he waited.

Aspen walked nervously into the hospital. She was a wreck. She hated hospitals, she hated doctors. She hated that she had to go through this alone, though she knew that she had someone she could get a hold of if she desperately needed to.

The check-up went flawlessly, though the doctor was upset that she was up and walking about. He wrote out a perscription for her formula and she took it thanking him for his help. She then followed the directions he had given her and walked down the hallway to turn in the written perscription. She had to wait about fifteen minutes, but she did finally get it.

She had planned on calling a cab, but part of her wanted to check if Link had waited for her. She saw his car and smiled. He had. He really was a sweetheart.

Slowly she walked up to his car and tapped on the window. He seemed asleep and she hoped she didn't startle him by just showing up. She was glad for the ride and she didn't want to put him more on edge than he already was.

Link snapped awake when Aspen tapped on the window, his hand instinctively going to his .45 ACP. However, he didn't have it on, and he realized where he was. He had been having a not so pleasant dream of the Gulf War. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he pressed the button to unlock Aspen's door, bringing the seat back up to its up-right position.

Rubbing his eyes to get them focused, he sighed. Okay, sleep hadn't been such a good idea. And feeling his migraine coming back, he groaned. Blocking out the pain, he looked at aspen, small smile on his face.

"So, how was it? Oh, never mind, none of my business."

"Hello Link," she greeted him as she climbed into the car and buckled her seatbelt.

"Thank you for waiting for me and everything went fine for me. Gave me some meds, told me to rest...yada yada yada. But I see you still have a headache."

She began to dig through the back that the nurse had given her when she handed her the written perscription.

"I got some of these for you."

Aspen pulled out a bottle of 500 miligram motrin. She opened it and handed him one and a bottle of unopened water.

"This should help, if you think you need more let me know. I just think one is enough for now."

She leaned back, resting her head on the seat and closing her eyes. She was tired, as was he, as she could tell. She hope she had not burdened him more. She felt bad enough already. She seemed to be burdening a lot of people lately.

"So, partner, where to now?"

Link smiled, nodding his thanks for the pill. Popping it into his mouth and swallowing it dry, he sighed. She didn't have to do that. Starting his car, he backed up, heading out of the hospital's parking lot.

"Thank you for the pill. I just can't get these migraines to stop lately...Probably has to do with those nerve agent antidotes..."

He hadn't realized he said hat last part out loud, and continued talking after a second.

"Well, is there anywhere you need to go? I don't mind, really. Truthfully, its nice having someone to talk to for once."

That was true; he hardly had anyone to talk to. Just his clients, and they were only worries about their case. It certainly was nice to be able to talk to someone who wasn't pressuring him to do his job.

Aspen held the water bottle out to him, but it didn't seem as if he needed it. She grimaced as he swallowed it dry and opened the bottle herself, taking a drink as if it were her that swallowed the pill dry. She hated the grimy taste of pills dry.

"How can you take it like that? Doesn't the taste bother you?" She shuddered. Just thinking about it made her want to throw up. She couldn't help it, she was pregnant and a lot of things made her queezy. She held her stomach, silently wishing for the naeusia(sp) to pass. It did and she visibly relaxed against the seat.

"But anyway, I don't really have anywhere in particular I have to go. I am quite hungry, though and the doctor did say to relax. Perhaps we can go back to my place and have a bite to eat? I'll cook if you'd like to join me. Or, if you feel more comfortable, you can take me out."

She laughed and winked at him, only half-joking. Lately she had become much more outgoing. She was starting to like this new personality of hers.

"I know that I don't want to be alone, that's for sure. That may sound deseparate, but like you I feel that it is nice to have someone to talk to."

Link smirked and laughed a bit at Aspen's reaction to him swallowing the pill dry. He had gotten used to it, he didn't taste them anymore. That was one other habit he had kept after he was discharged. He probably had many more and didn't realize it.

"Let's just say I had to learn how to do things when luxuries like water weren't available."

Then listening as she mention she was hungry, he was a bit surprised at how outgoing she was. Well, he was feeling a bit hungry, and seeing as he had no money, he guessed taking Aspen back to her home would be their best bet.

"Well, I'm broke. So, I guess if you give me directions, I'll take you back to your place."

He was a bit surprised at her statement of not wanting to be alone. So, maybe she didn't have a boyfriend or husband. Again, he stopped himself there. It was none of his business.

Aspen smiled at him, a question in her eyes.

"Is that where Corporal Link Rivers comes in?" She winked and turned back out to look at the window.

"Turn left on the next street," she said pointing. "I hope that doesn't bother you. I saw the writing on the letter. What did you do? Why don't you do it anymore?"

Aspen stopped abruptly and her cheeks went bright red.
"I'm sorry, it's none of my business. I suppose it's just a journalist's instincts to ask questions. Seems like I blame a lot of things on being a journalist. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just nosy. You can ask me questions if you like. I don't mind if you are a little less nosy than I am. It might make me feel better about invading your privacy by asking you lots of questions and inviting you, a stranger, the way I did to my home. Really, I'm very sorry."

She giggled, slightly embarrased.

"Take a right here."

She then became silent and started talking, seemingly to herself, but she was really singing under her breath. She didn't know what else to do to keep her from asking Link personal questions. Obviously if he wanted to talk about them, he would have.

Link grimaced a bit when she mentioned his rank. He had hoped she didn't see that. Oh well, no use hiding it now. Following her directions, he listened to her question, then apology for the questions. He couldn't help but smile and laugh. It was no problem; she could ask all she wanted. But not everything would be answered.

"No, don't worry about it. Ask all you want, just don't expect a lot of answers. And I'm not going to ask anything about you, so don't worry."

At least not all journalists were the same. He briefly considered asking her if she could help him out with his problem. A different journalist was blackmailing him, and at the rate he had to pay him, Link was surprised he even had a place to sleep, much less this car, or his office.

Aspen nodded, then shook her head as she stopped singing for the moment.

"I understand, but I'm not going to ask anymore questions. At least not anything like that. Technically those answers are none of my business. I suppose I just wanted to help." She shrugged as she turned to look at him.

He looked tense. Something was bothering him. She could tell he was thinking hard about something he wanted to say. It was that look people got on their face when they wanted to ask you something, but aren't sure if they should.

"But, is something bothering you? You look like you have a lot on your mind? Maybe you want to get it off your chest?"

She gave him a smiled and laughed.

"I was trying not to sound so nosy that time. This is a friendly question, from a hopefully, new friend to a new friend. You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything. I promise I won't print it in the papers."

Link just nodded. Maybe he would tell her, but not right now. Aspen looked like she was tired; he wasn't going to burden her with his problems. She had invited him to her home; he wasn't going to repay that with giving her his problems.

"Maybe later, I'm not going to burden you with my problems. Anyway, where do I turn now?"

He was pondering what she had said though. A question from friend to friend? Did he even have any friends? Apparently not, if anything, Aspen was the closest to a friend he had.

"I'll tell you later, after we get to your place. I might as well open the envelope when we get there too."

Aspen took the hint. He didn't want to talk about what was going on. That was okay. He did say maybe later and she was open to hearing about anything he wanted to talk about.

"Listen, we all have problems. I've planted mine on you," she said, smiling softly, "Don't feel so bad if you want to talk. We've got a couple of hours, so whenever you are ready. Take another right at the next street, then my house is at the next apartment complex."

She was silent for a moment, which seemed to be the theme since their meeting. Spurts of talking, mixed by sudden, but not too awkward silences. She didn't know how to respond to the sudden decision to open the letter...while she was there.

"You really don't have to do that for me. It's up to you. I just want to help in anyway I can."

Link just nodded, staying silent for a bit. She wanted to help him in any way she could...Well, that was more than anyone else could say. Tuning right, he parked outside the apartment complex. Turning off his car, he sighed. Looking over at Aspen, he smiled.

"I know. It's just...been awhile since anyone has tried to help me out. Anyway, I guess we're here."

Taking his keys out of the ignition, and making sure he put them in his pocket, he opened his door and stepped out, walking onto the sidewalk and waiting for Aspen.