The same disclaimers that you see everywhere apply here. Not mine, blah, blah, you know the rest.
This is a reposting of Chapter 1 with many added details. I felt that this chapter was seriously lacking some things so I decided to rewrite it a bit. I added quite a bit which I feel will give it a little more depth. Hope you all enjoy. I am in the process of rewriting the rest as I am writing Chapter 6. I'll keep updating those as I go along.
Thousand thanks todwparsnip for his tremendous help in this process. Also many thanks to all of you that have reviewed.
Lisa Hayes was fuming and it was all due to the black haired man that was walking ahead of her. Her teeth ground together as he looked about him with an air of befuddlement. Finally she couldn't stand it any more.
"It's all your fault Hunter! I should have known better than follow you blindly." Her vitriolic voice echoed around them in the sterile silence of the empty hallway. Rick pretended not to have heard the comment as he continued to walk ahead. The stooped shoulders straightened at the first barrage of words she had spewed but he remained silent, never turning to acknowledge her presence as she kept reprimanding him for disobeying her orders and making them go the wrong route.
After hearing the tirade, which had been going for a while now, Rick couldn't take it any longer and turned around. His beautiful baby-blues were like ice cold chips now as he responded to her outburst. "Well, if you would have done as I asked and gone to the shelter, we wouldn't be in this predicament, now would we?" He said, gesturing towards the isolated hallway they were currently trapped in.
"Oh, you mean to run away like a pair of cowards and hide?" She asked a sardonic look in her face.
Rick clenched his teeth and gritted out. "There are sometimes when you need to retreat and be safe to win the next battle. Isn't it more important that you are safe than trying to kill yourself in the process of getting to the base?"
Lisa scoffed and brushed past him though not without first giving him the patented Hayes glare which could turn any man into mush.
Rick did not lower his guard or his clenched fists until she was a few feet away from him and even then he didn't turn to follow her. It wasn't until he could hear the hollow footsteps getting fainter that he decided to try and catch up with the impossible woman.
Lisa walked onward resolutely, warily looking around her. She had no idea where they were. For all she knew they were walking more towards the innards of the SDF-1. It certainly looked like it. She racked her brain to see if she recognized any of the landmarks that would lead them back to the base. But try as she might her mind was too distracted by the man who sulkily walked behind her. Inadvertently her thoughts wandered to how they had ended up lost in the first place.
The day had started normal enough. Nobody had thought twice about Lisa's request to have a day off. In fact she had the suspicion that Henry and Claudia were actually glad she had made the request in the first place. It was rather unusual for her to do so and she usually found herself taking time off when it was scheduled by somebody else. What they didn't know was that this time she had wanted time off for a specific reason, to see the premier of Little White Dragon.
Oh, she could care less about the story lesser still about the heroine played by the wildly popular Lynn Minmay. No, it had not been those things that had made her pull as many favors as she could to ensure she would be able to attend this premiere. It had been the thought of being able to study the singer's cousin Lynn Kyle without the need to hide the longing in her eyes that had driven her uncharacteristic actions. She knew she could have gone to the movies with the rest of her friends but she didn't want to have to explain the complex feelings Kyle evoked in her to anybody. How to explain that she really did not like Kyle himself but she longed for him because he reminded her so much of her poor deceased fiancée Karl?
It had been a good thing that she had been by herself or she would have been teased mercilessly by getting up in the middle of the movie and leaving, her heart completely shattered when she had witnessed the passionate kiss between Kyle and Minmay. The whispered words of love and the Technicolor kiss had driven her out of her seat and she had found herself standing in the lobby of the packed theater. She had stood there like a statue, petrified by the feelings it had evoked. It was not really the prospect of Kyle kissing Minmay or even Karl's look-alike kissing another woman but the fact that in that instant Kyle's image had been taken over by another's. In her mind his long black hair had been short and messy, his smoldering black eyes had been transformed to pale blue and Kyle's face had morphed into the features of Rick.
The prospect of Rick kissing Minmay, whispering words of love to the pretty singer had made her heart clench painfully. The violent feeling was so unexpected that she had rushed out intent on stopping her torturous thoughts. It had been then, when she was trying to gain her composure that the object of her torment had shaken her once again.
She really should not to have been surprised at finding Rick at the premier's of Minmay's first movie. After all, he was in love with the little singer. What did surprise her however was to bump into him before the movie had actually ended. One look at his eyes and she had her answer. He had been escaping himself.
It had all been so confusing from there! She remembered looking into his eyes and seeing the hurt there but she knew his suffering stemmed from losing his beloved and nothing else. That was why she had been so harsh at his bumbling attempts to apologize after bumping into her. In no time though they had found themselves scrambling to get away from the theater as instinct kicked in when the alarms blared.
Her confused brain was so overwhelmed going over her feelings and her reaction towards the black-haired man that she couldn't make sense of the commands that came from the speakers. She was barely registering the fact that it was Sammie giving the commands when she felt a strong hand gently but forcefully lead her away from the theater. By the time her brain caught up with all the facts she was being elevated by the transforming ship into the hamster trap they found themselves at this moment.
Coming back to the present, Lisa could hear Rick walking behind her. She wanted to break the silence; after all, she detested the uneasy silence that had fallen between them but didn't really know the right words to say. She wanted to comfort him and wipe away the desolation she had seen in his eyes but was paralyzed with the fear of his rejection. For all of their camaraderie, she still felt that any wrong words might take them over the edge to another bout of fighting. She feared this more than the silence so she retreated into the commander façade she had carefully constructed around herself.
Rick walked behind his commander, not really caring where they were going. The image of the kiss Kyle and Minmay had shared still fresh in his mind. He kept repeating to himself that it was just a movie and they were acting, but he really felt that fantasy had turned to reality already. He had just wanted to go out of the theater and dwell on his sorrow by himself but then he got stuck with Commander Know it All in this fiasco. Rick sighed and reprimanded himself for his unkind thoughts towards his commander. He felt bad for taking his frustration out on her. He knew he was being unfair to her. Lisa wasn't as bad as he had thought in the beginning, in fact during the months after their capture by the Zentraedi he had gotten to like and respect her very much. Rolling his eyes, he decided to join her and try to make amends.
He walked a little faster in order to catch up with her but suddenly noticed that she had stopped and was looking at something in front of her. Looking in that direction, the only odd thing that Rick could see was an eerie glow coming from around the corner of one of the many hallways. He then noticed that Lisa had started to walk that way. He grabbed her arm, startling her.
"I think we should go this way," he said pointing to another corridor to his left.
"Wait, I want to investigate that light first."
"I don't think it is safe" he said, shaking his head. There was something about the light that made chills run down his spine.
Lisa raised her chin and regarded him with a determined expression. "I will go and investigate and you can stay here if you want to" - with that, she kept walking.
Muttering a curse about stubborn women, Rick followed.
As they turned the corner, they just saw what seemed to be an ordinary corridor. Aside from the pulsating light, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly, Lisa gasped, as she finally noticed the object that was giving off the light. It seemed to be a homing beacon. She walked to it and was about to grab it to examine it further when Rick grabbed her arm again. He looked down at her, his face thunderous.
"Are you crazy? What are you doing?"
"I just want to take a closer look."
"I think you should let it be and we should get out of here. What if it is a bomb or something harmful. Let's leave."
"Come on Hunter, it looks like a homing device, not a bomb. Anyway I already told you to let me be." With that, she bent to touch the object and as her fingers got nearer, the object's light got brighter until it nearly blinded them. Lisa heard Rick cry out "Lisa no!" And as she started to get up to leave, she felt something like an electric current, so strong that it threw both her and Rick clear of the object. She felt herself being thrown into the air and crashed against one of the walls of the corridor. She hit her head against something so hard, she thought her head was going to crack and then, there was only blackness….
Lisa started to hear voices and the sounds of computers running and beeping all around her. In the beginning she couldn't figure out where she was, why she had such a pain in her head… but most importantly she couldn't figure out why she was lying on top of someone. Everything that had happened rushed back and she sat up suddenly realizing that she was on top of Rick and he somehow had broken her fall.
"Rick, oh my God Rick! Just answer me." She cried out. She ran her hands through his hair, trying to determine if he had any injuries that could cause a concussion. Finally, after a couple of seconds, Rick opened those magnificent baby blues and a groan escaped his lips.
"Oh, my God, are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?" she cried out, fearful of any major damage.
"No, just too… heavy." He said jokingly. He actually didn't mind the weight of the commander on him but he was afraid of liking it too much, so he thought that might distract her.
Lisa scrambled to get away from him, as she said "You jerk!" and swatted his chest in anger. She didn't have time to go at him because in that instant she became aware of the commotion around them. Rick must had done the same too because he sat up, wincing a little at the soreness of his ribs. He didn't want to tell Lisa, but she really HAD hurt him when they had both been thrown. He had cushioned her blow against the wall and had in fact cracked her head against his causing them both to lose consciousness. Rick didn't think though that the blow should have caused hallucinations but the scene that was in front of him seemed too strange to take in.
Where there had been only an empty corridor they were now surrounded by mega computers. The room was filled with lab technicians who regarded them as if they were aliens or had grown 2 heads. One of them, a brown haired young woman, broke away and ran to a door. "Dr. Lang, Dr. Lang, you have to come in and see this."
As the Dr. came in, some of the lab technicians seemed to stir out of their surprise and remember who they were. Two guys offered their hands to help them get up and saluted them, even if they were not in uniform. They started stammering an apology at their behavior.
Rick and Lisa thought their reaction strange but did not have time to comment as Dr. Lang bustled in, asking what was wrong. All the technicians pointed to their direction. Dr. Lang turned towards them and regarded them in complete astonishment.
Boy did Dr. Lang look…. old, Rick thought puzzled. I guess they have been overworking the poor guy. He seemed to have aged at least ten years.
Mistaking Dr. Lang's white face and tight lips for anger, Lisa explained "I'm sorry Dr. Lang we were lost during the modular transformation and I guess we ended up here when everything righted itself. I really cannot say since the Lieutenant and I were involved in an accident and cannot remember what happened." She decided not to mention the "object" lest it would rise up a lot of questions.
Dr. Lang seemed to shake himself from his stupor and demanded an explanation from his crew.
The young woman who had called Dr. Lang responded, "We were retrieving the device and it seems they were in its vicinity since they were pulled in with it."
"I told you to be careful and send it to an area that was unpopulated!"
"Begging your pardon Sir we did. It is one of the areas of the SDF-1 that barely gets traffic. I guess they got really lost in the ship…."
"This is a disaster…"
"Dr." Lisa was perplexed at his behavior. Emil Lang did not even pay attention to her nor did he address them but went to the phone. "Admiral, could you please come down? It is a matter of great urgency."
"Do you think we will get in trouble with Admiral Gloval?" Rick asked a little worried.
"Of course not, at least, I don't think…" she said, but everything was so strange. Emil was treating her like an oddity. It wasn't like him not to talk to her since they knew each other for many years. "Emil, is there something wrong…?"
Before she could finish her question they all heard "Admiral on deck" heralding Admiral Gloval's coming.
"Ok Lang, what is this big emergency…" said the man coming thru the doors, but that man was not Admiral Gloval. He was dressed like an admiral, everybody saluted him and called him an admiral but he looked like… Rick!
"Admiral Hunter, THAT'S the emergency I called you about." Emil said, waving at their direction.
Hunter's eyes grew big as he took in the scene. Lisa and Rick could not do anything but regard him in stupefied silence.
"Ad… Admiral Hunter?" - was the only thing that Rick could utter.
Lang explained to the dazed Admiral what he had been told.
"What does this mean? Could somebody please explain?" Lisa tried to battle her mounting hysteria and the only way she could cover it up was to turn into the Commander.
Rick the Admiral gave her a look of wonder as if he had never seen her. His eyes swept her from head to toe. Cocking his head to the side he considered the both of them.
"First off, let me see if I am correct. Based on what I have been told and what I remember of that day I have to assume you just got out of the premiere of Little White Dragon, correct?"
Rick and Lisa looked at each other before they turned to the solemn looking Admiral. They both gave him a slow nod. The Admiral gave them a satisfied look before continuing.
"Well, you guys just traveled 7 years into the future." He told the shocked pair. With a grim look, he turned to the scientist next to him. "I guess this proves your theory correct." He said to Lang. "Now how about reversing this? I don't think it is wise for them to be here any longer. It is bad enough with what they found out already."
In the meantime the time travelers were assimilating the information. Rick especially was having a hard time presented as it was his own future. 'Seven years!' He thought. 'That means I am 28 years old! I will be an admiral in seven years…' He never wanted to become an admiral, that was never in his plans, thought Rick not faring any better than Lisa in the hysteria department. But his thoughts were interrupted by the young lab technician responding to the Admiral.
"Admiral, we can't! The tests are inconclusive and the data needs to be analyzed. It could be another disaster if we do another space/time fold."
"Calm down Lieutenant!" said Lang to the excitable woman. Turning to Admiral Hunter he tried to explain. "We need to analyze all the data, we don't know how we managed to bring something other than the pod and aside from that, we have not managed to send the pod to the same place twice in the space/time continuum. We have not found a method that yields specific results. If we send them now, they could be sent to another place on the galaxy or to another place in time. The course of all the future could be changed."
Admiral Hunter lowered his head, deep in thought. Lisa was still battling the panic rising in her. The idea of time traveling seemed like an insane notion to her, almost as insane as having Hunter, loud-mouthed, fly-by-the-seats-of your-pants Hunter as the Admiral in seven years. Yet there they were, in the future and waiting on the decision of "Admiral" Hunter. In order to calm herself she decided to study the older Hunter.
Her eyes swept over the white pants which encased his long legs and her gaze restedin the navy jacket of the admiral's uniform which snugly huggedhis powerful chest.He did not wear the hat though, leaving his hair free.The blacklocks were shorter; apparently he had decided to tame his unrulyhair by shortening them a bit. Lisa had to admit he looked good with the new hair cut, yet she felt a pang because she enjoyed watching the unruly mass cover his eyes once in a while. She must admit Hunter did age well, he looked very… well sexy was the right word for it. He also seemed calmer and more confident on himself. It was quite remarkable to see that aura of command surrounding him. She had to admit, she was VERY impressed!
Rick was also surveying himself. It seemed that he was trapped in some sort of weird dream and nothing made sense…. He, an Admiral and at 28 years old! What happened to his love of flying? He knew Admirals were grounded… so how could he have accepted that role? He was tempted to pinch himself and see if it was a dream or not when he decided to see how Lisa was taking it. He was about to open his mouth to ask her opinion on the whole thing when he noticed her look. She was giving him, the older him, very appreciative looks! Lisa actually looked at men? And more, him? That last bit threw him off so much he decided to push that image out of his mind. It was easier to think of Lisa as a commander and not a woman, at least it was easier for his sanity. Thankfully his older self decided to speak then.
"Ok, we shall wait for more tests. Lang, I want this to be your top priority. If you need to have more personnel assigned to you let me know. I want this whole incident to be kept under wraps. Not a word from anyone or I will have to resort in disciplinary action. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir!" They all responded and with that Admiral Hunter turned around and started to leave.
"Begging your pardon sir!" cried out the young lab tech. "What do you want to do with them?"
Hunter did an about face, his eyes wide. He had apparently forgotten one important detail of the whole incident. He looked a little bit sheepish for a moment, and said "Take them home with me, of course."
"Sorry, really can't get over the shock of this whole thing." - said the admiral. "How are you two guys doing?"
The trio was now in a car riding to the Admiral's quarters. Rick in the driver's seat kept giving them little glances on the rearview mirror. The time travelers sat hunched on the backseat. It had been particularly trying to get them out of the base so he could understand why they were still tense. Even then, the pair couldn't help but hang on to the window frames looking outside in amazement.
"How are we doing? How do you think we are doing" were the two incredulous questions the pair asked him.
Hunter chuckled, they seemed shell-shocked and he really couldn't blame them. He was a little bit shell-shocked himself. He had almost forgotten what it was to be that young again. Truthfully, he didn't miss it that much. It wasn't one of his best times in life. He had been a very confused person back when he was 21.
Rick and Lisa were in the back seat of the car they looked about them taking in all the changes that had happened in the seven years. Hunter filled them in on some of the things that had happened with the Zentraedi in the battle against Dolza, how they had returned to Earth, the reconstruction and the last Khyron attack Lisa, who had been dreading to hear what had become of her, had her fears assuaged when he told them about Lisa's promotion to Admiral, her position in the SDF-2 and SDF-3. He sort of glossed over everything, only responding to their questions. He decided not to tell Lisa about her father's demise, thinking it too much for her to bear at that point. He was also debating if he was making the right decision at telling them so much and then shrugged, thinking that the worst damage was already done.
Hunter turned to a military residential area. Rick was surprised to see Hunter turning into one of the bigger house modules. He knew the bigger modules were only reserved to married couples… "Whoa, what are we doing here?" he asked when the admiral parked in one of the houses.
"This is my house" the admiral replied puzzled. Then understanding hit him and he slapped his forehead, chuckling a bit. "I guess I am so used to this I forgot it is all new to you guys."
Until that moment it had not occurred to Rick to check for a marriage ring in the fingers of his older counterpart so he was quite surprised when Admiral Hunter waved his left hand at him and he saw a white gold wedding band glinting in the dying sunlight.
"You could have told us you were married" Rick said sullenly. "Who did you… I.. marry?" he asked but the Admiral either ignored his question or did not hear it, since he was bounding up the short steps to the house and letting himself in.
Rick and Lisa followed him in. As Lisa came in, she asked the older Hunter when she could see herself. She had heard all of the stories about herself… she was very curious.
"Very soon I promise." Said Rick in a distracted manner and then yelled "Honey, I'm home. I brought visitors!"
A muffled reply was the only thing that was heard and the older Hunter presumed she was in the bathroom. A smile crept up and he headed to the bedroom intent on greeting his wife. But then he overhead a conversation that stopped him halfway there.
"I don't know if it is a good idea to see your older self."
"Why not Hunter, we had to see you!" Lisa said peeved. The nerve of the man!
"Didn't you hear what I… he said about finding out stuff from the future?"
"Listen here Hunter…"
Admiral Hunter was rolling his eyes and was about to turn around to put a stop to the budding argument when somebody else stopped it with his presence.
"Daddy!" - exclaimed a little voice. Rick Hunter forgot about everything as he turned around to greet the little bundle of energy headed his way. "Daddy, you home" - said the little raven haired boy latched to his leg. The admiral laughed and picked up his son.
'Daddy!' Rick thought his eyes almost bugging out. I guess the older Hunter had decided to leave other pieces of information out of his story.
"You have a son?" squeaked the younger Hunter, he seemed in the verge of an apoplexy. In two hours he had found out that he was an Admiral, had gotten married and also had a son. It was too much to take in.
"Oops, sorry, guess I forgot to tell you guys about that too." He said with a smile that indicated no remorse and the fact that he was truly enjoying their surprise. He regarded his son with love and a glint of mischief that was mirrored in his son's blue eyes. "Roy, you are naked and wet. Did you escape mommy while she was giving you a bath?"
"Mommy nekkid too!" the child informed him huge smile on his face.
"I imagined that is the only reason why you escaped."
Thousand of scenarios were running thru young Rick's head. The baby looked remarkably like a small clone of himself so it was hard to determine who the mother was. Evenstill he imagined the dark hair belonged to his motherand he started to smile as he thought he had finally convinced Minmay into marrying him. In the meantime, Lisa was looking at both Hunters, trepidation filling her heart. As she waited for Hunter's wife to come out, pain like a vise squeezed her heart thinking she had lost him forever. At least when he was single and following after the illusive Minmay there was a ghost of a chance but now she would have to face the cold reality.
"Sorry about that honey. Roy got me all wet with his bath" – said a feminine voice from the bedroom. "So who are our gue…?" Her voice faltered as she took the scene in front of her.
"Commander Hayes?" Rick said faintly. His fantasy with Minmay came crashing down as the older version of Lisa came out of the bedroom. Of all the women he could have married, Commander Lisa Hayes was the farthest one from his mind.
"Yep, that's my wife!" –said Rick thoroughly enjoying the confusion. "Hi hon." Admiral Hunter greeted his wife by planting a kiss in her immobile lips.
Lisa Hayes-Hunter looked from her husband's dancing blue eyes to the shocked expressions of the younger couple. They looked like fishes out of the water, their eyes bugging out and their mouths flopping open and close although no words were coming out. "What is the meaning of this?"
"It is one of Lang's experiments." He said trying to hold on to a slippery, squirming Roy. Roy also wanted to go and meet the people that looked so much like his mommy and daddy. "It's a long story hon."- stretching his arms to see the squirming body of his close to 2 year old son, he said. "Why don't you take Roy and get him dressed? It could be dangerous to get him exited like this with no pampers on."
"Really Rick" said his wife, forgetting about the younger couple for a moment. "He's a boy, not a puppy."
"Just in case, wouldn't want any accidents, ok?"
Lisa took Roy and with a last look at the younger couple went into the bedroom with a chattering Roy. She seemed a bit dazed and Rick felt bad for his wife. After all, he had been there not an hour ago. Letting her assimilate the news, Rick invited the younger couple to the living room.
"You are enjoying this too much!" The younger Rick accused him. He was hurt and confused at the news and he wanted to take it out on someone.
"I must admit the expression on all your faces was priceless. Hope that Roy won't get too confused…" - the admiral mussed.
Rick, his mind still reeling from the shock could not help but shoot a dirty look in his commander's direction. In his mind, it was all of her fault. She was the one that killed his dreams of ever marrying Minmay. A nasty thought came to his mind. 'What if she'd gotten pregnant and that's how she'd trapped him into marriage?' It did not occur to him that for any of those things to happen, he'd had to be some sort of willing participant. To him it was impossible since he had never seen his commander in any sexual way. He had begun to respect her, yes but his feelings were running towards friendship, never anything else! Still looking at the silent commander, he noticed she was looking at the pictures on the mantle. He was also curious to see them, maybe see some proof of all this but he was not about to approach Lisa Hayes at this point.
Lisa was speechless. Her unseeing eyes swept over various pictures in the mantle she was pretending to look at. In reality she was really trying to compose herself. The anguish she had felt as she waited for Rick's wife to come out and the happiness she had felt right after had brought a harsh reality crashing down. She didn't only care for Rick… she was irrevocably in love with him! She could almost see Claudia's gloating face in front of her. Damn she had lost the bet with her best friend! In her vehemence to deny her feelings she had bet her friend she was not in love with the loud mouthed pilot that haunted her head at every moment. Apparently Claudia knew her much better than herself.
After a while, she started to pay attention to the pictures she had in front of her. They were all of them… smiling, kissing and hugging with so much happiness. It was incredible, yes… but now she realized that the feelings that had been budding inside her for the past months seemed to had grown into an amazing relationship.
"Oh, you have to see this picture!" –said the older Hunter as he took one of the framed pictures from the higher shelves. The younger Rick reluctantly came closer, wary of what he would see. The picture showed a tired Lisa in what appeared to be hospital gown holding a baby –Roy. Even as tired as she looked, she was beaming with so much happiness as she held her first born. Lisa looked between the picture and the admiral's face. His eyes were soft as he beheld the picture. She permitted herself a soft smile. He really looked content as he gazed at his wife and child.
"How did this happen?" - asked the younger Rick.
The admiral looked at Rick a mischievous expression on his face. "Well, I don't remember not knowing about the birds and the bees back then… but"
"That's not what I meant!" Rick said. He had not realized how much of an annoying smart ass he was until he was the brunt of the jokes!
"What he probably means is how we ended up being married." - said the older Lisa walking towards them.
All of them turned to see Lisa Hayes-Hunter. Now it was Rick's turn to study Lisa's older self and was actually quite surprised at what he saw. He knew she must be at least 33 years old but she really didn't appear to be older than thirty. He had seen Lisa in civilian clothing only a few times but he had sure not seen her this casual. She was wearing straight loose white pants that exposed her midriff and a black t-shirt that hugged her breasts which actually seemed bigger for some reason. Then he remembered, women that have babies sometimes ended up with bigger… Rick shook himself out of that tangent and had to grudgingly admit that she had a great body, especially for a woman that had given birth…. Was he going there again?
"Rick, are you showing off that picture again? I look like hell in it." She said taking it from his hands and putting it on the mantle. She gave him an exasperated look which he retaliated with an unrepentant grin.
"You have never looked that good to me." He said, hugging her quickly. "Where's Roy?" He asked when he did not see the little munchkin hanging to his mom.
"Playing with his toys. We made a deal that if he stays in his room, I would read to him his favorite story." She responded, giving him a wink. Lisa then changed her tone, sounding like the Admiral she was. "So can you fill me in on what happened? I want to know everything."
Admiral Hunter took his wife's hand and pulled her towards the couch. Taking their cue from their older counterparts Rick and Lisa sat down in the armchair facing the couch.
After sitting down, Rick filled his wife in on the progress of Lang's experiment and what had transpired that day. Lisa took it all in and asked various questions, especially regarding the time continuum theory. The younger Rick and Lisa regarded the couple fascinated. Young Lisa regarded them with longing. That was the kind of relationship she had wanted with Karl all along. It seemed surreal that she had found that companionship and love in the man that she least expected.
Rick Hunter on the other hand was having very different thoughts. His mind couldn't wrap around the fact that he had married Lisa Hayes. Granted she did look much better after changing her hairdo by letting her hair down but how about Minmay? …. She is the woman that he was in love with, not Lisa Hayes! He felt that he was in the same dream as when he was in the hospital. Nothing made sense and no explanations were given either. He felt cheated and as he saw how his older self regarded his wife with that puppy dog expression, hanging on her every word. It was in that moment that he truly started to resent Lisa Hayes-Hunter. Now he could understand why he had become an Admiral and had given up his love of flying. She had probably convinced him to do it! But why would he also give up Minmay for her?
The only thing that he could think of is that Minmay chose Kyle over him. He felt sick to his stomach. It was a possible theory, after all, wasn't it happening now?
As Lisa finished "debriefing" her husband, the couple noticed that their younger counterparts were silent. Lisa coughed gently and asked if anybody wanted anything to drink. As she left, Lisa asked the admiral about everybody else, about Claudia, the trio and all of the others.
The Admiral opened his mouth to tell them but in then stopped, his eyes twinkling madly.
"Wait a second! Have you guys met Miriya yet?"
"Miriyia? Who is that?" asked Lisa.
Rick Hunter started laughing. "Honey, did you hear that? They don't know about Miryia!" the Admiral yelled to his wife who was still in the kitchen.
"Of course not sweetheart!" his wife responded from there. "If I am not mistaken these guys were pulled away before we ever met Miriya. But go on, I know you are dying to tell them!"
"Ok, guess what! Max married a micronized Zentraedi and they have the cutest little daughter. Quite a temper on the girl too! Gets it from her mom obviously."
Rick and Lisa kept looking at him, no expression on their faces. Not a peep came out. Lisa came in with the drinks regarding the whole scene. Her husband just looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. He looked a little bit put off that his announcement had not caused any apparent reaction. Lisa rolled her eyes at his forlorn expression and said, "Rick I think they are in shock"
"What do you mean Max married a Zentradi!" Rick finally burst out.
"Wow that proves my theory. Zentradi and humans come from the same race…." Lisa was dazed with the news.
"Well, at least they reacted…. Wait till you meet them… oh I guess you won't." He said when his wife started to shake her head.
"Rick, you know that it is dangerous. Look at our shock, we cannot do this to any one else? "
"Yeah, I guess we could probably kill Roy of a heart attack, you know being such an old man and all."
"He will kill you if he hears you referring to him in that way."
"So Roy and Claudia…" asked Lisa timidly.
"They finally got married." Admiral Lisa responded. "It took them a while but they finally did. They have a very bright girl named Aisha who is a year older than Roy. And as you heard Max is married to Miriya and have Dana. The Trio are still the same carefree girls although it seems Kim might be getting serious with a guy…."
"I heard the bet went up on that one. Two to one they hit the sack by New Years'." Rick said a gleeful expression on his face.
"Rick! Don't tell me you placed bets!"
"I didn't bet on that one. I put it on the "she will wait longer". I have been lecturing her all along. What! It's not like they weren't doing the same thing about us." He exclaimed with a mock innocent expression.
"Really! You are impossible." Lisa said with a laugh. She lightly swatted him on the chest and Rick grabbed her arms and pulled her close to him for a quick peck in her smiling lips.
"What about Minmay?" asked Rick. All pairs of eyes turned to him. Lisa's laugher died down as she sat next to her husband and even Hunter's smile toned down a little. Only Ms Hayes looked at Rick with a mixture of disbelief and hurt. How could he ask about her in front of Hunter's wife! Did he only think of that woman?
Lisa looked at her husband, waiting for his answer. Rick cleared his throat a bit and said "Well, Minmay will always be Minmay. She is still touring around, very busy with her career. Practically reinvented herself." A small pinch from his wife had him looking at her an innocent expression on his face. "What?"
"I am sure that is not what he wants to hear."
"Oh, well, she has been on and off with Lynn Kyle. You all knew that. Eventually they'll get married and have kids. I don't think she is ready to settle down yet. She is still young."
Lisa Hayes-Hunter's green eyes bore down on the younger Rick. Her chin went up in what Rick recognized her defiant pose. She almost seemed to challenge him to say something else. Rick lowered his gaze and said nothing more. Young Lisa seemed distressed about the whole thing… and the admiral…. Well he had almost forgotten that look, that haunted-hurt look his wife got whenever he would talk about Minmay way back. He had almost forgotten it because he desperately wanted to forget of the time when he had unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) hurt his wife by talking about her. Of course, it had been way before they had declared their love for each other but it still hurt to think that he could have caused her so much pain.
"Well, I think this has been enough excitement for one day." Admiral Hunter said, trying to dispel the tension in the room. "Hon I'm sure you can give Lizzie here some clothing for you to wear. We'll clear Roy's room so you can sleep there. As for you Rick, I am sure you won't mind sleeping on the couch… It's a sleeper, don't worry." The admiral said when he saw Rick's grimace. "Anything else?"
"No, not really" responded Lizzie, still hurt about Rick's comment. She looked at him, and his little lost boy expression but could feel no pity for him this time. She had seen the look in Lisa's eyes and she knew it was mimicked on hers. Without a word, she followed the older couple to get everything to turn in.
Lisa thought she would not be able to sleep after everything that had happened that day. But as she lay in the dark room with the baby's soft snores filling the silence, she felt the upheaval of emotions finally catching up with her. Her eyes dropped and she fell into a dreamless sleep.