Disclaimer: All Robotech characters and vehicles are property of Harmony Gold USA.

I was originally thinking of this being the Chapter 9 in Second Chances but decided it would work better as a standalone story and wound up appearing on the paper in a much different form than I had originally envisioned. Hopefully, this will not give out too many spoilers as far as future chapters of Second Chances go. Enjoy, and as always, please review and comment.

Bloom of Hope

Lt. Ben Dixon was flying patrol north of New Macross City, outwardly calm if you were able to peek in through his cockpit windscreen but excited and full of mental activity. It was almost mid-summer and that meant the birthday of one Lt. Kim Young was in a couple of days. He had a special present for her that he had been working on for several months and was glad it was ready to wrap.

It had been about half a year since the awful devastation form Dolza's Zentraedi fleet and the Earth was barely showing any signs of life regenerating; vast areas still looked like blasted wastelands. It pained Ben to see that, especially since so many generations of his Dad's side of the family had been farmers. He almost cried the first time he reported back to the now grounded SDF-1, his Veritech flying over all the destruction. There were some patrols where he was over where the family homestead should have been, but no landmarks remained to indicate the exact position of its ruins. Dolza's fleet had done an almost total job of annihilation.

"Skull 3, please report your status" crackled the TACNET.

"Roger Control. We are almost at the completion of our first leg. ETA to turn point, 10 minutes. No sign of any activity. Over."

"Roger Skull 3. Check in at the completion of your second patrol leg. Control out."

"OK Skull flight, you heard the lady." Ben said over the plane-to-plane channel, "We're coming up on the turn point. Get ready to assume heading zero-three-zero point five."

'Heading zero-three-zero point five, right over what used to be farm country.' thought a melancholy Lt. Dixon, his thoughts drawn to the past.

Flashback – Ben, age 8

Ben sat in the back seat of his parent's car, kicking his legs in excitement. It was the beginning of the summer and they were on their way to Grandpa Jordan's farm. They had been coming here for vacation every summer since he could remember. But this year was different; this year the trip wasn't just for a week or two. This was the year Ben was old enough to stay for the whole summer! Ben started bouncing in his seat the moment he recognized the long driveway leading up the large farm house; he couldn't wait to get out and run around the farmyard.

An older woman came out of the front door of the farmhouse the minute Ben and his parents started getting out of their car. "Alex! Lois!" she called, "Glad you're here. You made good time!"

"Thanks Mom," replied Ben's Dad, "there usually isn't a lot of traffic the middle of the week."

"Well come on in and take a load off. Your father will be back in a few minutes. He went to help your brother fix some fencing along the east boundary. The neighbor's cows got into our fields again."

"Some things never change" Ben's Dad said with a chuckle.

Suddenly, like a mini tornado, Ben runs around from the other side of the car and hugs the legs of the woman on the porch. "GRANDMA!"

"Well there's my Grandson! I thought your Mom and Dad forgot to bring you! Did you have a good trip?"

"Yes ma'am! Can I go peek at the animals please?" Ben said with a pleading grin.

"Well, if it's alright with your folks," Grandma said in a serious tone, then looked at Ben's Mom and Dad and winked.

"It's OK Ben," his Dad replied, "You go have some fun. Your Mother and I need to get the car unloaded."

"YIPPEE!" Ben screamed and zipped off toward the barn as all the adults shook their heads and laughed at the energy of youth.

Present Day

*BEEP* "Hey boss! I think I see something down there"

The call from one of his wingmen brought Ben out of his thoughts.

"Roger Skull 8, any idea what it may be?"

"Negative Sir."

'Dang,' thought Ben, 'We're too high up for a positive I.D. right now.'

"OK Skull 8. I'll check in with Control and see what they want us to do." Ben switched channels on the TACNET, "Control, this is Skull 3. Patrol flight has spotted some activity below us, but unable to identify from this altitude. Requesting permission to descend and investigate."

"Roger that Skull 3. Permission granted. Go take a look; we don't need any surprises in that sector."

"Roger Control, Skull 3 out."

Ben leads the patrol flight down to an altitude of 2000 kilometers, hoping for a better look at what they saw down there.

"Hey boss, I see that movement again. It seems like sunlight reflecting off of metal down there."

"Roger Skull 8, I see it. You two cover me while I go down to the deck."

Ben banks his Veritech over and dives lower to the ground, leveling off a few hundred meters above the ground. As he pulls out of the dive he shifts his plane into Guardian mode to have better maneuverability down this low. Slowing his speed, Ben carefully searches for the glint of reflected light that looked so small when he was up higher. *FLASH* There! Off to his left! The glint of metal is down to his left.

"Skull 8, this is Skull 3. I'm going to put down and investigate closer. You two keep a tight watch on a perimeter two clicks out in each direction. I don't want to be caught grounded."

"Roger Skull 3. We have your six."

Ben descends the last few meters and gently lands about 50 meters from the object, staying in Guardian mode for VTOL capability. As the engines wind down, he pops open the canopy and climbs down to look around. Loosening his sidearm in its holster, he begins to walk toward the glint in the yard. 'Why do I think this looks like a yard?' puzzled Ben. With no easy answers, he continues walking to the patch of light. Ben pulls up about 10 meters away from the object; it finally looks familiar. It's an old windmill, just like the one that was on his Grandfather's farm.

Flashback – Ben, age 8

The summer seemed to fly by for Ben. His parents had gone home after a week, leaving Ben in the care of his grandparents and uncle, but they would be back at the end of summer to bring him home before school started in the Fall. The town closest to the farm had a nice little celebration for Independence Day in early July, complete with fireworks and picnics. This was not to say that Ben had no responsibilities that summer, but because he was still little, most of his chores consisted of helping his grandmother around the house.

Only after his chores were finished could he go out and playing in the sunshine. He always managed to start his free time though by running to the pig pen, climbing the fence and staring at the windmill as the breezes made the vanes spin. Sometimes it would spin madly from strong winds, especially if a storm was coming. Other times it would barely spin, as there was hardly any breeze at all. And there were more than a few days where it did not spin at all because the wind had abandoned the farm, or so it seemed to one particular eight year old.

One chore outside the house that Ben was old enough to do was go and check the mail. His grandparents had a big old-fashioned mailbox with the flip-up flag fastened to a fencepost near the road. Ben had to walk down the driveway and check that mailbox every day after lunch. His grandmother said the postman came right before lunch, so trying to check it earlier than after lunch would just get you some exercise. Ben loved to check the mail because every so often, there would be a letter from his parents.

Present Day

So, it looked like it was just an abandoned farm they had stumbled upon. Absentmindedly, Ben turned and began walking back to his Veritech. When he was almost back to the plane, he saw another glint a few meters behind where he had landed. 'Hmm…wonder what that is? Well, might as well check it out while I'm still on foot.' He quickly closed the distance to this new object and discovered it was a mailbox just like he had been thinking of. Ben's blood froze as he stepped next to it; the name on it was…Dixon. 'Could this really be the old farmstead?' thought Ben, 'Is my search over or is this just one giant coincidence?'

He whirled back to face his Veritech and began to notice things leap out from his memory. Like that the plane was parked right in the middle of where the driveway should be. There looked like a few splinters of what could have been fenceposts lining what seemed to have been a road once. Looking past his plane and to the left he thought he saw what might have been stones from the foundation of a farmhouse. The house itself and the barn were long gone, but maybe the old root cellar was still intact.

Taking off at a dead run, Ben reached the old foundation in minutes, then slowed to a slow walk in order to properly inspect the area. If this really was his grandparent's farm then the root cellar entrance would be where the back of the house and the kitchen would have been. Carefully stepping around debris, he made his way to what should have been the back door to the house leading into the kitchen. Ben wasn't sure about the stability of what appeared to be flooring, so he stayed 'outside' the house and searched for visual clues. Like that piece of cast iron sticking out of the clutter, the one that looked quite a lot like a door from Grandma's old cast iron stove and oven. Ben felt tears welling up, but he fought them back down. There was still no solid evidence that this was the farmhouse. Many traditional farmhouses had the exact same layout; he had to find some other piece of evidence tying this to his family.

A few feet farther along, Ben spotted the entrance to the root cellar, although he almost didn't see it with all the debris clogging the steps down. He tried pulling some of it by hand, but the biggest pieces wouldn't budge. It didn't look like anything would collapse if he could get the out of the way, but nothing was going to happen without help. 'Or without an excavator.' thought Ben ruefully as he stared at the mess blocking his progress. "OR…some other machine!" he shouted out loud. D'OH! He could grab that out of the way with the arms of his Veritech! He ran back to the ship and gently maneuvered it back to where he had found the root cellar. Staying in Guardian mode, he carefully used the waldo arms to pick the debris out of the entrance. When it was finally clear, he jumped back down and slowly made his way into the darkness.

Flashback – Ben, age 10

As Ben got bigger over the years, his chores changed whenever he visited his grandparents. He was already starting to look bigger than a typical ten year old and as a consequence started getting some of the chores an older boy might be expected to do. So this year Ben had to muck out the stables and feed the pigs. He sometimes got to go out with either his grandfather or Uncle Bobby when they went to fix something out on the "back forty", but those times they did all the work while Ben was expected to stay close by, watch carefully, and maybe get a tool from the truck if they needed it.

Ben was glad to start getting some "man's work"; it meant he wasn't a little kid anymore. But he still wasn't old enough to completely get out of helping his grandmother around the house. These days though, his helping amounted to fetching things Grandma might need in the kitchen, especially if they were bulky or heavy. What this meant in practice was many trips each day up and down the stairs to the root cellar. That could mean bringing a new 100 pound bag of flour down to the cellar or bringing 10 pounds of carrots up so Grandma could start cooking dinner. Ben got to know that cellar very well. He knew that his grandparents didn't just have food stored down there. They also had storage safe for important documents and a few valuable family heirlooms. Ben didn't think his grandparents knew, but he had found where they had hidden the combination to that safe in the cellar and spent three whole weeks memorizing it. He peeked into the safe once, but there was nothing in there of interest to a ten year old boy. He picked up something of his grandmother's, a small velvet box with some purple rocks in it, but quickly put it back; it just wasn't exciting. Ben heard his grandfather calling for him, so he closed and relocked the safe, and for good measure grabbed a handful of carrots, that way he had an excuse for being down in the root cellar.

Present Day

Ben made his way into the doorway of the cellar, switched on his helmet light, and slowly panned around the dark space. He stopped when the beam of light hit a large metallic box along one wall. A cold pit formed in his stomach and he nearly knelt down and wept. There was no doubt anymore; this was his family's farmstead. No doubt whatsoever. He had seen that metal box too many times over the many summers he had been there. He had even peeked into that box once. No doubt at all, because that was his grandparent's safe he was staring at.

It looked surprisingly intact. Ben would have expected everything to have been looted from the cellar in the chaotic aftermath of the Zentraedi Holocaust, but he remembered it had taken the power of his Veritech to get that debris cleared from the cellar entrance. Only the most desperate of people would have tried to get down here without power tools. Ben had a big question though: Was there anything in it anyway? Just because it did not seem to have been looted didn't mean that his grandparents or uncle hadn't taken everything out of the safe when they evacuated. 'If they even had time to evacuate.' Ben thought sourly.

Could he remember the combination? It would be a lot easier than using the Veritech again. And it would be safer for any of the contents. 'OK Dixon, think. Let's see…17 right…27 left…and…35 right.' Ben turned the handle and was rewarded with a satisfied click. Somehow he had remembered correctly, even after almost ten years. Opening the door all the way, Ben carefully looked through the contents; it didn't look like anything had been removed, which meant that his family never had time to evacuate. Most of the papers were old tax returns and receipts, but Ben did find a copy of the deed to the farm. It was probably a worthless piece of paper now, but it was still a piece of family history and it should be possible to get it framed. There were a few other important documents that Ben decided to take before leaving, again more for sentimental value than anything else.

Ben realized he had lost track of time, decided he had to finish up quick and began opening the small drawers in the safe. Most of them held nothing of worth, but the last one contained a familiar velvet box. Ben opened the small treasure and saw those purple rocks from long ago: it was a necklace and earrings set with amethysts. The stones sparkled in the light from his helmet and they had almost the same color as Kim's eyes. 'Well, I guess I have something else for my dear Lt. Young's birthday.' Ben thought ruefully. It was getting late; he needed to wrap this up and get back outside. Checking the safe one last time, Ben carried his "treasures" out and stowed them in the fighter's storage hatch. He didn't bother closing the safe this time; he likely would never be back here again and even if he did return the cellar would be looted by then. He took one last look around before climbing back into the cockpit.

Flashback – Ben, age 12

Ben was sad. He was always sad at the end of the summer, when it was time to leave the farm and go back home with his parents. This year was different. It might be the last time he would ever see the farm. He still got letters from his parents when he stayed with his grandparents but the last one he received contained a shock. After his Mom and Dad came to pick him up at the end of the summer the three of them would be moving to Macross Island.

The letter said Grandpa Leo (his Mom's father) wanted Mom and Dad to open a dry-cleaning store on the island. The new United Earth Government was building something big there and Grandpa Leo figured that if the military was involved, they would need dry-cleaning for all those officers' uniforms. Leo was a smart cookie; he already had 25 stores throughout the Midwest, expanding to the Pacific would be just the thing he'd think of.

So Ben stood on the back porch looking at the sunset, trying to store as many memories of the farm as he could. His grandmother was near the root cellar door, tending to some flowers along the foundation of the house. Even in the fading light Ben could see they were a deep purplish blue color. No surprise there, as purple was Grandma's favorite color.

"What kind of flowers are those Grandma?"

"Why these are irises Ben. Caesars Brother irises to be exact. I'm a little surprised they're still blooming this late in the summer, but I won't complain too hard since I might not hardly get any next year. That's the beauty of perennials though Ben…you'll always get some the next year, even without trying too hard." She looked at Ben with a warm smile, stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Is that why you like them so much Grandma, because they always grow back?"

"Yes dear, that and the color of course." she said with a twinkle.

"I wish I didn't have to go home this year. I won't get to see you or my friends or anybody I know anymore." Ben said with a sulky tone.

"You'll have chances to make new friends when you get to Macross Island and the farm will always be here. You are always welcome here Benjamin Dixon even if you can't come back until you're all grown up."

Ben got a big hug from his grandmother then went and sat back down on the porch. The sunset was extra pretty tonight with lots of purples in the clouds. If this was what he would remember, then he could be happy until the next time he returned.

Present Day

Ben hopped back into the cockpit and began powering the Veritech back up.

"Skull 3, this Skull 8. Do you read me? Come in Skull 3."

Ben quickly flipped to plane-to-plane "This Skull 3. Sorry to keep you waiting gentleman. The area is secure. Time to finish up this patrol."

"Roger Skull 3. We'll be waiting for you to rejoin the formation. Skull 8 out."

Ben strapped in, hit the thrusters and quickly gained altitude. Once he switched back to Fighter mode for level flight he checked in with Control and was ordered back to base when he reported "No danger present". That was fine by Ben; he needed to get back to base, take a shower and think long and hard about what he had discovered today.

Two days later

Ben was on the base carrying a large, beautifully wrapped box up to the bridge. He was going to surprise Kim at work with her birthday present. Ben had a long patrol scheduled and the rest of the Trio had already scheduled a Girls Night Out to celebrate Kim's birthday, so he would have to give this to her this morning before he took off.

"Good morning everyone!" Ben said cheerfully as he entered the bridge. They were a little surprised to see him since pilots didn't usually need to be up there. Ben flashed a conspiratorial wink at Sammy and announced "I something for the birthday girl."

"Oh, that's too bad Ben," Sammy said with a sad tone, "Kim just left on her break."

"That's OK. I can just leave it at her duty station. I wanted it to be a surprise and now it will." Ben said with his usual irrepressible grin. "Now…no peeking and absolutely DON'T shake it! It's VERY fragile!"

All the girls had the same reaction to that statement "Oooohhh."

"Unfortunately, I have to leave on a patrol in a few minutes, so I can't stay to watch her open it, but give her a gigantic birthday hug for me, OK?"

"Will do Lt. Dixon!"

"I also know you are taking her out to celebrate after work tonight. Since I might not get back from patrol until very late tell Kim I will talk to her tomorrow."

"Yes sir!"

With that Ben trotted down to the pilots' ready room and began preparing for his patrol.

Kim returned from break to find a large pretty box on the chair of her duty station. "Where did this come from?"

"Lt. Dixon brought it!" chimed Vanessa and Sammy, both with a teasing tone. "Be careful," Vanessa continued, "He said it was very fragile.

Kim was happy, embarrassed, and intrigued all at once. She carefully tore into the wrapping and gently pulled out the contents. Inside were a flowering potted plant, a small velvet box, and a letter. Kim opened the small box, gasped, and then quickly began to read the letter out loud.

"I know things have been rough the past several months, but I wanted you to be happy on your birthday, so I've given you some things that are special to me and remind me of you. First, the flowers are Caesars Brother irises. They were my grandmother's favorite flower and the color obviously reminds me of your stunning eyes." Kim paused to blush and smile before continuing to read. "They are a perennial and can be replanted, that way you will always have a reminder of my love. I didn't think there were any left in the world and when I did find some it took me a while to get it to grow." That made everyone on the bridge go "Aww". Kim continued reading. "I'm sure you had looked in the little box before reading this letter. That set of amethyst jewelry belonged to my grandmother and I know that if she had ever met you she would have wanted you to have them. You would have liked her. If giving you heirlooms seems like a funny way to celebrate your birthday, I did it to make sure you knew how in love I am with you and how much I want you in my life. Happy Birthday, my dearest heart. Love, Ben"

"That was so sweet," gushed Vanessa.

"Did his letter say he actually grew those flowers?" asked Sammy

Cmdr Hayes asked "Did he say that jewelry belonged to his grandmother?"

"Yes. Yes he did." said Kim, answering both questions with a shocked tone, "I can't believe he did this. This has to be the most special gift I have ever gotten. Do you know where he is? I've got to thank him!"

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news Lt. Young, but Lt. Dixon took off on patrol 5 minutes ago." Cmdr Hayes said with a sympathetic tone.

"He knew he might not get to see you so he said to tell you that he would talk to you tomorrow." explained Vanessa, "He said he might not be back until late and he knew we were taking you out after work today."

"Wow, how did I end up with such a sweetheart? I don't think I can wait until tomorrow to thank him."

Knowing how it can feel being in love with a pilot, Cmdr Hayes spoke to Kim, "Say Kim, I know a way you can contact him."

"Really? You're not teasing me, are you?"

"Do I ever joke, Lt. Young?" Cmdr Hayes gave her best 'Ice Queen' stare to the junior officer for a few moments before breaking into a short chuckle. "Come over here and I'll show you what to do."

"Skull 3, this is Control. Prepare to receive a special communication." Cmdr Hayes called over the TACNET.

"Roger Control. Skull 3 ready to accept message." Ben was a little worried. The only time anyone sent a special communication was because of an emergency.

"Message beginning in 3 seconds Skull 3."

The TACNET screen flickered then switched to another channel. Ben's jaw dropped when he saw who was now on the TACNET screen. It was Kim!

"This is Control Skull 3. I must say Lt. Dixon, I am very disappointed that you did not stay and present your gift to me in person."

"I am very sorry about that Lt. Young but I was on a tight schedule and would have been in serious trouble if I were late taking off for patrol."

"I believe I can forgive you this time Lt Dixon but please try not to let it happen again. I think to make it up you will need to take me out to dinner."

"I deserve that punishment Lt. Young. I believe we can finalize the details when I return from patrol."

"You better believe it buster!" Kim said with a giggle. "Control out."

Before the screen went blank, Ben thought he saw purple sparkles on Kim's earlobes. Not exactly regulation, but a good sign nonetheless. "This patrol is going to feel too long." Ben said with a grin.

The following day

Ben and Kim were walking arm in arm on the way to the restaurant Kim had selected. Ben had on a suit and tie instead of a uniform and Kim was also in civvies, a slinky little black dress. Ben was beaming because she was wearing the amethyst set he had given her yesterday.

"Everyone was so impressed with those gifts Ben. I didn't know you had a green thumb."

"It's just one of the many skills and talents I developed when I stayed with my grandparents."

"They must have been amazing people."

"They were and I really miss them a lot. They were a big part of my growing up. I never saw them again after my mom and Dad brought me to Macross Island. I was so sad, but Grandma was right; I'd be able to make new friends. That's when I met Max."

"She sounds like quite a wise woman."

"I didn't realize it at the time but yes, I think she was very wise."

"What was she like Ben?"

"She was so many things. I don't know where to start. We're almost to the restaurant, so why don't I tell you some stories about her while we enjoy dinner."

"I'd like that" Kim said, hugging Ben's arm even tighter.

The End.