Disclaimer: All Robotech characters and vehicles are property of Harmony Gold USA.
Chapter 12 – It's just a Pleasant Valley Sunday
Ben landed his Veritech and taxied it to a hardstand near the hangars. Today's patrol was finally over and he was looking forward to a day off tomorrow. With the amount of missions he's had to fly the past couple of weeks, it's no surprise Ben needs a break. He wearily climbs out of the cockpit and trudges toward the pilots' ready room, hoping to take a quick shower before filling out the paperwork for the mission report. Ben was starting to get a bit more respect for all the work Capt. Hunter had to do to run Skull squadron since he was Acting CAG while Rick was gone.
It doesn't feel that long ago since Ben received his own promotion. Because of the need to focus on healing the Earth, there was not a lot of pomp and ceremony; with the planet in shambles, it didn't really feel like a victory. But eventually, a few months after the devastation, after housing had gotten stabilized and new towns and cities had begun to be built, the brass decided they could finally reward those who had turned the tide of battle. First, the flag officers made sure everyone who had died in the battle with Dolza received a posthumous promotion and commendation for bravery. All the surviving soldiers and pilots also received citations and commendations and promotions, where warranted. The ceremonies for the living were low-keyed affairs, rather than huge public spectacles. The people didn't need that kind of inspiration to make it through what their daily lives had become.
The biggest surprise was what the brass decided to give to Ben. All the surviving pilots received the Distinguished Flying Cross, varying from pilot to pilot only in which clusters were also awarded with it. The surprise was that Ben was the only pilot to receive the Titanium Medal of Valor for his actions during the battle. His assuming command of the fighters during the battle, after (then) Cmdr Hunter's Veritech was disabled showed superior initiative and excellent character. The final push of the fighters under Ben's command during that final phase of the battle made the difference in the SDF-1 being able to attack Dolza's flagship. Finally, Ben also received a promotion to 1st Lieutenant. Ben was totally surprised at the medals. He wasn't trying to earn them when he stepped up; he just did his job and did what had to be done.
Soon after that he got to celebrate Kim's birthday. (1) It was a simple dinner, just Kim and himself, but a welcome step back toward normalcy.
Now, almost two years after the medal ceremony, the RDF is even busier than ever. The planet is gradually getting rebuilt; however, many of the Zentraedi who have decided to stay on Earth with the Micronians have become restless and long for the old ways of battle and conquest. More patrols have resulted in skirmishes with the malcontents and damage of civilian areas. It was an exhausting, seemingly never ending pace that wasn't helped by Rick, Max, and Miriya not being on duty. Sigh. At least I have tomorrow off. thought an extremely tired Ben. Luckily days off were mandatory after extensive patrols, to keep fatigue from overwhelming the pilots.
Ben felt better after a hot shower, the tiredness melting away a little. He at least had enough energy to file the mission report for the patrol but it still took a while to complete. Sitting in Rick's office, Ben typed away on the computerized forms, glad that there was no longer any actual paper to push for this. As he was getting close to finishing, he hears a small knock at the office door. Ben looks up and into his favorite pair of violet eyes and lets a big grin spread across his face.
"Hey hotshot, someone said I could find you here in Capt. Hunter's office."
"Yeah, the never ending filing of reports. I hope Rick, Miriya, and Max come back soon." (2)
"I can sympathize with you. Capt Hayes and Cmdr Grant went with them, so the bridge is hectic too."
"Any idea why they had to join up with Breetai?"
"No, it was all kind of secret. Oh Ben, I hope they're alright."
"Me too. So…why did you trudge all the way out here to the airfield?" Ben said with a hopeful smile.
Kim leans in with a smile and says, "I'm glad you reminded me Lt. Dixon. I came over here to let you know that I justhappen to have tomorrow off." A wicked twinkle flashes in her eyes.
"And I suppose you already know I have tomorrow off."
"Of course dear, I did help Capt. Hayes draft up the flight policies after all." Kim says in a sexy breathy tone, "Now, what should we do tomorrow."
"Well, I promised my Mom to come over for the Famous Dixon Sunday brunch in the morning, but after we're done there, we have the rest of the day to ourselves." Ben says trying to match her tone.
"After we go to your parents? That's a little presumptuous, isn't it?" Kim tries to pretend being offended.
"You know my Mom adores you. Besides, my day off starts as soon as I finish up this mission report and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have come all the way out here if you weren't already off the clock. So the big question I guess is what we're going to do tonight."
"Hmm…I guess I'll have to think about that while you finish up now. You better hurry; I might leave if I get bored." Kim wiggles her eyebrows and the two of them start laughing.
As it turned out, with the two of them exhausted from the extra duty, they settled for a quiet dinner and an early night, since they were supposed to get to Ben's parent's house by 9am. They arrived there a few minutes early and Ben's Mom began to fuss over them immediately; it was a real comfort to him that his mom really did like Kim. Ben went into the kitchen to help his Dad finish up the food while his Mom entertained Kim in the living room. When she stepped in, Kim noticed a new picture hanging on the wall and went over to inspect it closer. It wasn't a picture, it was a document. And it looked like it was something dated from the early 1800's. (3)
"Ooh, what's this Mrs. Dixon?"
"Please Kim, call me Lois." Mrs. Dixon said, patting Kim on the arm, "This is a family treasure Ben recovered by some miracle."
"Really? What is it?"
"It is the family copy of the deed to what was our family farm. It belonged to Mr. Dixon's side of the family for many generations." There was a touch of pride in Mrs. Dixon's voice. "I still can't believe Ben had the luck to find and save these sentimental treasures." Mrs. Dixon brushes Kim's cheek and earlobe; Kim wore the amethyst set today.
"It is quite amazing Mrs. Dix…um…Lois. It's also quite sad. Ben told me quite a few stories about his Grandmother; I think I really would have liked to meet her."
"Well she certainly would have enjoyed meeting you, even if just for those eyes of yours. I'm sure Ben has told you a million times, but purple was her favorite color."
Kim absentmindedly fingers the amethyst necklace and nods in agreement.
"OK ladies; please take a seat in the dining room. Brunch is served." Mr. Dixon calls out from the kitchen.
There was a bit of small talk around the table while everyone was eating, but everyone was focusing more on savoring the meal. Mr. Dixon was an excellent cook and Kim thought all the dishes rivaled those of a hotel chef. Finally, when everyone felt full, Ben helped his Mom bring out coffee and tea. As they sat around sipping the piping hot beverages, Kim decided to indulge her curiosity.
'Lois, you said earlier that Mr. Dixon's side of the family was farmers. What did your side of the family do?"
"Isn't it obvious dear?" chuckled Mrs. Dixon. "DRY-CLEANING!" all the Dixons practically shouted.
"Maybe not as many generations back as Dad's side of the family, but still a couple anyway." stated Ben proudly.
"Yes. My father started the first shop when he was a young man and eventually grew the business to twenty-five stores in the Midwest, mostly around Chicago."
"The whole reason we were on Macross Island in the first place was because Leo, that's Lois' father, thought servicing the needs of the military and civilians working on the SDF-1 would be a shrewd business move."
Mrs. Dixon turned to Ben and squeezed his hand, "Your Grandpa Leo was a pretty smart cookie."
Turning back toward Kim, "If he had been able to know, I think Leo would have been proud that we had the first dry-cleaning franchise in space."
"Wow. It really sounds like Ben had some very amazing grandparents."
"Yes he did. Now, if only Ben would get married and make us grandparents. We're not getting any younger."
Ben and Kim both blushed at that statement.
"Glad I can count on you to be subtle Ma." Ben said dejectedly.
Ben and Kim said their goodbyes after the dishes were washed and after a lot of hugging from Ben's mom, the two of them decided to walk to a nearby park to get a little fresh air.
"I want to apologize about my Mom. She usually doesn't try to embarrass me in front of company."
"That's OK dear, she meant well."
"Just a shame she has no idea what the word 'subtle' means." Ben chuckled, "She is persistent though. I've been getting the 'grandchildren' kvetch since Max and Miriya got married."
"I'm starting to notice on the persistence." Kim says, laughing along.
"It just bugs me when she pushes, that's all."
"Does that mean you'd want kids someday, fly-boy?"
"Yeah, I would. I just don't think I'm ready yet, especially with everything going on with reconstruction and the some of the Zentraedi getting disgruntled. What about you? Would you like to be a mom someday?"
"I believe I would but I don't think I'm ready yet either. For one thing, I would need to be married to the most amazing husband before I'd consider children." she says with a hopeful glance toward Ben.
"Amazing huh? How do I rate so far?"
"Hmm…if amazing is a ten, then I think you're sitting around an eight." a teasing tone drifts into Kim's voice. "But you do seem to be improving on that score lately."
"Good thing there's still hope then. I'd hate to miss out on you just because I couldn't work my way up to amazing."
The young couple laughs together and continues walking and enjoying their day off, secure that there is peace at least for one day.
Author's Notes: I actually had a little trouble writing this chapter; the back-to-back chapters with major battle scenes took a bit out of me.
(1) Please read Bloom of Hope, my one shot ficlet to get the details. (Sorry…shameless plug.)
(2) This portion of the story occurs concurrently with the episode Viva Miriya.
(3) See all the information you're missing if you haven't read Bloom of Hope?
Chapter title is lyrics from Pleasant Valley Sunday by The Monkees.