CHAPTER FOUR:
"Attention on deck!"
Lisa automatically sat up strait on her bed and was about to salute when she heard Claudia laughing from the door.
"Oh! It's not funny, Claudia!"
"What am I going to do with you, Lisa?" Claudia said as she walked into the room and took a seat next to Lisa's bed. "Every time you disappear from my sight, you end up in the infirmary."
"Oh, by the way," Claudia stood up again and gave Lisa a mocking salute.
"What's that for?"
"Why, your now a full-fledge Commander, didn't you hear?" Claudia said with a twinkle in her eyes. "While little old me, is still a Lt. Commander. I just don't get it… it was me who did all the work of getting us off Mars while you were out cold and here, you got the promotion. I tell you, something is fishy around here. Why, even your flyboy is a Lieutenant now."
"What!" Lisa exclaimed in surprised. "What for?"
"Saving your pretty little neck, off course," Claudia explained. "I guess that hit on the head you received really did mess you up good or you would have remembered: when a subordinate saves his CO's life, it's an automatic up the ladder."
"I messed up, Claudia," Lisa said somberly and looked away from Claudia's smiley face. "I messed up big time. I let my personal feelings clouded my judgment and almost got myself, including Rick killed. I don't deserve the promotion."
"Lisa! Stop that nonsense. I was just kidding, you know that. You deserved the promotion more than anyone else. Stop being so hard on yourself," Claudia reprimanded.
"I ordered Rick to leave me behind," Lisa said without hearing Claudia. "The only reason why I'm here is because he disobeyed my order and took me out of there against my will."
"And I'm grateful that he disobeyed your order," Claudia cut in. "I'm going to make him my famous pineapple salad."
"Oh Claudia, you don't understand… down there, at the base, everywhere I looked, I saw Riber. I heard him, felt him. He was all around me and I just wanted to stay with him. I didn't care whether it was real or not. I just missed him so much… I'm so tired of being alone. I just wanted it all to end."
And Lisa Hayes cried and couldn't stop crying even with Claudia's strong arms holding her and soothing her with words of support and love.
"He's... Rick's not my flyboy, Claudia," Lisa said brokenly after a while. "I don't want anyone to be mine especially not a pilot, a reckless, and an amateur one at that! It hurts too much when you lose them and I always end up loosing them whether they're mine or not," she finished, shaking her head to clear the tears and sadness from her eyes.
"He could be, Lisa," Claudia whispered. "You're hurting too much now to think clearly but I think he could be the one."
"He's not. He can't be…" Lisa protest brokenly.
And then they heard a song coming from the ship's public intercom. Lisa felt Claudia tensed and she immediately became alert.
"What is it?"
"Her!"
"Who?"
"That annoying brat!" Claudia exclaimed and threw her hands in the air. "She's been sending Roy love notes and demos of her music all week. Roy laughs it off and calls it silly school girl infatuation."
Still seeing the puzzle expression on Lisa's face Claudia further explained.
"She's the 1st runner up in the Miss Macross pageant. You know, the one that almost beat out Jan Morris? Well, since the pageant, she's decided to become a singer and from the sound of things, everyone in Macross is buying it."
Lisa searched Claudia's face and tried not to laugh. "Are you actually jealous of a little songbird, Claudia?"
"Me? Jealous? Are you kidding, Lisa?" Claudia said and squared her shoulders in annoyance. "Don't you dare laugh or I'll tell the trio about Rick!"
Lisa laughed anyway and after a few minutes, Claudia ended up laughing with her.
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"I can barely take care of myself, Roy. How can I take care of two rookies? I don't even know what a leader is supposed to do?" Rick said in panic.
"Relax, Rick, you'll do just fine. If I didn't think you can handle it, I wouldn't have assigned them to you in the first place."
"Can't you give them to someone else, Roy. I didn't ask to be a leader—"
"No body did, Rick," Roy said and his blue eyes went cold with anger and regret.
"Look, kid, a lot of things that are happening to you now, I know you didn't ask for them but you got them so deal with it. Life is unfair, Rick. It's unexpected. It's short, sometimes even cruel. I don't know what else to tell you. I don't have all the answers. That's just how life is."
Staring at Roy, Rick suddenly realized for the first time that Roy was human after all despite his 'devil-may-care-attitude'.
"I kissed her."
"What?"
"I said; I kissed Lisa."
Roy said nothing but just stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.
Quickly he explained, "not down at the base but in the hospital when she came around. I didn't plan to kiss her, Roy. Well, I did but not in the hospital. I was hoping for someplace nice even romantic when it happened--"
"I'm surprised she didn't slap you," Roy finally said, grinning now with approval.
"She was shaking so bad… like she was in shock or something and she looked so sad, lost and alone. I just wanted to let her know that she was not alone. I've never seen any one that sad before, like she had nothing left to live for."
Taking a deep breath, Roy got up from his desk and walked to the view port in his office.
"Rick, Lisa's usually not like this."
Rick raised one eyebrow. "Usually like what?"
"Lost. Unsure and emotional. She's one of the most stable women I've ever known. Except when it comes to Riber--"
"Who's Riber!" Rick cut him off. "Down at the base, Lisa was mumbling that name too and she went weird on me."
"Riber was her fiancé."
"What!" Rick exclaimed in panic. "I thought you said she wasn't seeing anyone?"
"Was, Rick!" Roy replied and realized he was shouting. Looking away from Rick he explained who Riber was and hoped Claudia or Lisa wouldn't kill him for letting Rick know.
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"So… where are we going again?" Ben Dixon asked. "I'm hungry. Could we stop to grab a bite to eat before we get to where ever it is that we're going?"
"Do you guys mind if we get to know each other another time? I'm sorry but I'm just not in a very social mood tonight," Rick said quietly.
Max Sterling, the other rookie, the quiet one with dyed cool blue hair and blue aviator glasses stared at his new CO and shrugged. "Sure no problem, skipper."
Turning towards Ben, he said, "I'm hungry too. Race you to the diner!" Together they raced off leaving Rick alone.
Watching them go, Rick wondered if he was ever that carefree when he first joined the service—to worry about nothing else but what to eat. He sighed and began walking. He had no destination in mind, he just wanted to be alone and sort out his life. He wished he had a girlfriend or even a friend, besides Roy to visit, to share his thoughts with and hang out with.
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"Hi"
Lisa opened her eyes. "Rick?" she whispered.
"What are you doing here? Is there something wrong? " she looked up at him, bewildered.
"No. Nothing's wrong," he assured her quickly and then stuttered. "I—I didn't know where else to go. You were asleep so I just thought… I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry if I woke you. I'll go now, Lisa."
"No!" Lisa said almost violently as her eyes began to focus clearly.
"I mean, if you want to stay," she said softly. "I'm glad to have your company."
He didn't answer.
She watched as he came back to sit in the chair next to her bed and she felt like smiling and the feeling was, she discovered, quiet pleasant.
Who was this man who touched her heart so gently?
"Rick, are you okay?" Lisa finally asked after awhile of him just sitting there not saying anything to her at all.
"I'm sorry for hitting you down at the base, Lisa" said Rick, stammering. "In my report, I said, you fell, during the attack and hit your head. But I'll understand if you.."
"I deserved it," Lisa interrupted and smiled.
"Well, yes!" Rick laughed.
"But if you ever do that again, Corp--, I mean Lieutenant; I'll have your rank pulled so fast you wouldn't know what hit you. Are we clear?" Lisa said in her most authoritative tone that should've had Rick shaking in his boots. Instead he was smiling at her foolishly.
Lisa was puzzled for a moment. "What's so funny?"
"You."
"Me!"
"Yes," Rick answered and stared at her, then said weakly. "When you gave me that order, I suddenly had a picture of you in your umm.. . hospital gown giving orders… and …" Realizing his mistake, Rick quickly closed his mouth.
Lisa was startled for a moment then she began to laugh. "I guess you are right," she said as she looked down at her hospital issued garment. "I'm horrible when it comes to clothes but I have to admit, this gown is… an outrage! "
"Who said you have horrible taste in clothes?" Rick asked, confused at the thought. "You're one of the sharpest dressed officers I've ever seen. No matter the time of day or situation, I have never seen a crease or stain on your uniform."
Lisa lifted her chin. "It seems that's the only clothing I know how to pick. Have you ever seen me outside of my uniform?"
Rick frowned. "I... well, no. But none of us have been giving much time to be out of our uniform lately."
"Yes, that is true," Lisa winced. "I've always tried to give each squadron at least 24 hours off on a rotation shift but lately it's so difficult. We're loosing too many pilots and so few are joining." Lisa finished and bent her head to hide her sadness.
Rick frowned and started to speak, then gradually began to smile. "Hey but we do. Look at us, I'm not patrolling now and you, you're not at your station on the bridge giving me orders so technically, we are off duty. You know what this call for? A celebration!"
"Yes," she agreed and sat up. "But—"
"No butts," Rick smiled teasingly and stared at her. He waited until the silence stretched out, ten seconds, then twenty.
"You have beautiful eyes."
Caught of guard, Lisa smiled and laughed.
"I would have thought you'd come up with something more original."
"Why mess with perfection?" he said and sent her a cocky smile she should've detested.
"Sit right there, okay. I'll be right back."
Without giving Lisa a chance to refuse or speak he was out of his chair and out of the door.
Lisa watched him leave the room and she wished she could call him back, beg him to stay with her, to never leave her, to love her.
The thought struck out of nowhere.
For the first time, she realized she wanted to be more than friends with Rick Hunter. She wanted to be his girl, the woman he would come home to.
An odd feeling of rightness settled over her. She wanted Rick Hunter's love.
Stop it, Lisa! This is not the time.
Nevertheless her heart fuzzed with warmth at the thought of him.
