Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech; wish I did, but I don't. Harmony Gold does.
She finally found him on the observation deck. She paused at the entryway, hand resting on the frame. He was on his knees with his head bowed down in front of the viewport that stretched across the wall. She crept forward, trying not to startle him. As she came closer she could see that he was holding a helmet in his lap. She instantly recognized it was not his own and froze, suddenly feeling as if she had intruded upon some private, sacred rite.
His instincts seemed to have finally kicked in and he slowly raised his head and turned to look over his shoulder. The haunted look on his face caused her breath to catch in her throat. Without realizing what she was doing she went to him and wrapped her arms tenderly around him. For his part he melted into her. She heard the helmet fall to the ground as his own arms wrapped around her waist, his head resting against her stomach. She could feel him shaking as sobs wracked his body.
As she stood there she brought a hand to rest on his head and began to gently run her fingers through his hair. She was vaguely aware that she was whispering words of comfort to him. And as his grip increased with his need for her she felt hot tears trail down her cheeks.
They stayed that way for several minutes before he looked up at her. She could no longer see him as he had been. His cocky smile was gone, and so too was the spark of life that burned in his eyes. They had been replaced by grief, not just for the loss of Roy. She knew it wasn't only that. He had lost all trace of his family in this world, and because of that, he felt lost as well.
She gave him a weak smile, reassuring him everything would be ok, even when she knew it wouldn't be. It never would be; not for him, not for Claudia, not for her, not for any of them. She pulled him against her body again, choking back tears when memories surfaced of how she had almost lost him just days earlier. It was in that moment that she realized just how much Rick Hunter meant to her.