A/N: Completely random oneshot. I read a few tales close to this one, most notably from StormAske and queenybee (Her's for the ending) and guess it just popped into my head. Dark at first, but ends on a positive note. JayDog, I had to use the Alabama line! It was just too good to not use!

Rick looked through the glass, his jaw clenched tightly in anger as his eyes blazed with barely contained fury. How? How could anyone do this to some one as sweet and gentle as her? He looked over her sleeping form, noting the Ivs running from her arm, her swollen and bandaged face seemed to be at peace but Rick knew better. He knew this would scar her forever. She'd always bare the pain and the reminders. His hands were clenched so tightly at his side, his nails were digging bloody furrows in the meat and his body shook. He didn't even turn to the sound of foot steps as someone approached him.

"Hey Skipper." A quiet voice spoke from beside him. "How is she?"

"Alive." He seethed. "Barely."

Max looked to the unmoving form and side before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Claudia called us after you found her."

"Yeah. But I didn't catch the bastard that did this." Rick said furiously. "Why Max? Why would some one do this?"

"There are just sick people in this world Rick." Max replied after a moment of complete silence. "Some say it's a mental illness that makes some one do this kind of thing. Lisa was lucky though. You found her soon enough to save her life."

"Lucky Max?" Rick turned slowly to his wingman. "You call being beaten and raped lucky? Look at her Max! Look! She's going to be dealing with the pain of this for the rest of her life!"

Max, to his credit didn't move from his spot, merely nodded Rick's point before he spoke. "Yes, what did happen was horrible, but you and I both know she wouldn't have been found until it was too late if you hadn't been looking for her."

"It was still close Max." Rick turned his eyes back to her sleeping form. "She was barely alive when I found her. Why didn't she just stay at Claudia's for the night? Why didn't she just wait to talk to me until later?"

"Because what she had to say has been something she's been wanting to say to you for a long time."

Rick didn't look over as he rested the palms of his hand on the window sill as Claudia made her way down the hall. "And it's my fault she was so set on talking to you Rick."

Rick took a deep breath and shook his head.

"No. It's not your fault." He muttered, his rage still boiling but under better control. "I know what she's been trying to say for the last year or so anyway. That she's nuts for a boneheaded fool like me."

Claudia blinked in surprise as she shared a look with an equally surprised Max.

"You knew?" She asked quietly. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was waiting for a good time to." Rick muttered, his eyes never leaving the woman lying in the hospital bed. "I wanted to get myself sorted out, you know, so I could be the guy she deserves. I'd of had to be as senseless as a rock to miss the signs. Once I actually started paying attention."

Claudia looked to her little brother with understanding in her eyes before her own pained gaze turned to her friend. "She's going to need us now more than ever."

No one could speak their agreement, but she knew they did.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Lisa woke with a startled gasp, her still swollen eyes flew up and a scream was on her lips as her mind slammed full force into her waking world with the pain and fear of what had transpired. She thrashed around, trying to move away from her attacker still, her arms flaring in pain as she jared the delicate Ivs that were attached to her. She gave a pained cry, tears falling from her eyes as a gentle hand landed on her shoulder and a voice she heard shortly before she succumbed to the pain her attacker had inflicted upon her brought the crashing realization that it hadn't been a nightmare.

"Lisa! It's okay!" The voice was gentle yet firm. "You're safe! Please, calm down or you'll hurt yourself even more!"

She took a shaky breath and forced her terrified mind to calm itself, her heart beating a painful rhythm in her chest. Her whole body shook as she opened her eyes once more and saw the blurry outline of a very familiar and much loved man. Her voice cracked hoarsely as she spoke, her lips feeling like they were coated in sand. "Rick?"

The image smiled sadly at her. "Yeah. It's me."

"Hurt." She whimpered as her hand found his.

"I know. I know you're in pain right now." He fought hard to keep his own pain and anger in check. "Just relax, okay? Claudia went to go get the doctor.

"Saved me?"

Rick nodded again as the single emerald orb seemed to be awash in pain and fear, her other eye still too swollen to open. "Yes. I went looking for you after Claudia called me."

A lone tear fell from her eyes. "Sorry."

"Hey, no apologies from you over this." Rick's gentle and caring tone seemed to help relax her. "You didn't know this would happen."

"I'm...ruined." She sobbed, her voice painfully ripping from her abused throat and Rick shook his head, a harsh look on his face.

"No. Never." He assured her. "Not even this will make me think any less of you."

Lisa opened her mouth to speak, to correct him as she was most assuriedly ruined, a used item, when her eye saw the Doctor enter and she began to shake in fear, her eye wide. Rick looked back and saw the confused look on the male doctor's face before he realized what had probably caused the sudden distress in his patient. "I'll get one of our female doctors to look over her."

Rick gave a sharp nod before turning back to a trembling Lisa, his thumb rubbing circles along the back of her hand.

"Easy Lisa. It's okay."

She gave a jerky nod as her stare turned back to his.

"Stay?" Her voice was a whisper.

He nodded. "Always."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Henry was furious as he paced the waiting room. He'd find the dead man who had hurt his surrogate daughter in such a disgusting way. And then he'd feed the bastard to one of the Zentradi Malcontents they had in holding. To do what he did to any woman was the most disgusting thing. But to do it to someone he knew...they'd die. The Americans had a saying that Henry found strangely apt and agreed with fully: Mess with me, I'll hurt you. Mess with my family...they'll never find the body. It was one of the few expressions from the old rivals that the Russians found full agreement with. And whoever this cyka was, he would also learn another such expression to be lethally true: Don't Provoke the Russian Bear, least it mauls you. He was broken from his train of thoughts by the rapidly approaching footsteps of Doctor Jean Grant. The woman looked as enraged as Henry did, but was hiding it better. "Doctor."

"Admiral." She returned his terse greeting with her own, lips tight and almost snarling. "She's woken up. From what we can tell, only Commander Hunter can approach her. Any other man is met with an almost paralyzing fear. She also doesn't know who did it."

"DNA?"

"Nothing in the database." She replied tightly. "Which means it's a Zentradi that did this."

"I will be making a few calls at once." Henry's nose flared as his whole body shook. One of the Zentradi they had sheltered in good faith had done the worst act one could visit upon a woman. For that, he would kill them. Damned be the consequences.

"I'll get back to my patient. I'll let you know if anything else comes up."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"I must admit, it was extremely pleasurable to know the Commander would be hurt deeply from this." A gleeful voice spoke to his female companion. "To see his face once her body is found. It was worth taking that form despite how disgusting it was to sully myself."

"Are you sure it was wise? If she lived and recognized you..." The female voice trailed off.

"Oh come now my dear." The man scoffed. "In the state I left her in, it is extremely doubtful she survived such an encounter. If she had...well it will only help to cripple them. From my understanding of the Micronians, such a painful experience can be a useful tool."

The male figure grinned darkly. "If Captain Hayes did survive, I can use her new found pain as an effective weapon."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Rick walked beside Lisa as she cling to his side as if her were a life preserver, her whole body language screamed how uncomfortable she was in the crowd. It had been near two months since her attack, and the emotional scars were still there. It was taking her full will power not to bolt and hide as they passed the civilians who nodded in greeting. Every time a man would even look at her, she;d recoil into Rick's side and refuse to make eye contact. She truly hoped the counseling sessions she'd start today would help her to get over that. Or to at least help her to function in society again as she used to. While Rick had been a godsend, she still shied away from any male besides those she knew and trusted inexplicably. Others were feared and shunned.

Rick to his credit, gently placed his arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze to show she would be okay. That he wasn't going anywhere. The Admiral was working with Breetai and Exedore to compile a complete DNA record from all Zentradi, allied and Malcontent that had micronized. So far, they hadn't had much luck. Exedore was actually getting frustrated as it should have made a hit within the limited pool. He said he had a possible theory but refused to speculate until he had proof to back up what he called an 'Insane and improbable theory'. Rick hoped they could find the demented son of a bitch so he could put a bullet in his head. Gloval hinted Rick would have to beat him to the punch. He looked to the woman he so desperately wished to confess to but felt it was nowhere near appropriate just yet. Even though Claudia suggested it could help her, he was not budging on his opinion that right now the best thing he could do was stay silent until she was ready for him to tell her how he felt.

The two made it to the clinic and Lisa clamped her hand over Rick's, not letting go off it until the councilor, an older woman came out to greet her and lead the hesitant young woman back to the room. Rick had wanted to go back with them, but he knew that if he was there, Lisa would with hold some details and it would cripple her recovery. Not help it. He sighed and grabbed a nearby magazine, leafing through the pages of one dedicated to Planes and upcoming technology. One article grabbed his attention for near fifteen minutes. It was taking about some designs to replace the current Valkyries they had in the fleet but it was years from coming to fruition. He sighed and tossed the booklet back on the table and closed his eyes in thought before a rather familiar and hated voice broke the silence. "Finally getting that head checked baby killer?"

Rick's eyes snapped open and he glared harshly at Lynn Kyle as the man smirked at him, Minmei looking at Kyle surprised. "Fuck off Kyle. I'm here to support a friend of mine."

"I heard what happened to Captain Hayes." Minmei spoke with a sad tone. "I may not see eye to eye with her, but no one deserves what happened to her. I really do hope she get's better."

Rick gave a thankful nod towards his old crush, his heated gaze never leaving Kyle. The man glanced to the closed door before looking back to Rick, Minmei following the look. "I see. So...she's in there right now?"

"Yes." Rick's icy response warned the man to stay silent. Kyle smirked and crossed his arms over his chest as Rick looked to Minmei. "You here for an appointment?"

"Substance Abuse." She grimaced. "Like most celebrities...I've gone to far in a lot of things. I need help."

"Sorry to hear that Minmei. Truly. Glad to see you're trying to fix that." Rick was honestly happy she ws taking steps to get control of her life again. He'd seen her in New Detroit and it hadn't been pretty. Nor had the empty whiskey bottle she threw at him. She had missed by something in the neighborhood of ten feet short, but still. Kyle sneered at Rick, a jealous flare in his eye as Minmei seemed to blush from Rick's words.

"Don't you already have a woman boy scout?"

Rick caught the jealous tone and felt his anger boiling as he rose to his feet, fists clenched at his sides. "At least the woman I love isn't my cousin. You realize how disgusting it is that you've been nursing a hard on for Minmei?"

Minmei blinked in surprise before a look of pure disgust crossed her face and she glared at Kyle, stepping away from the man that began to seethe.

"It's not a blood relation warmonger!" Kyle hissed. "Besides, she's my third cousin."

"Really?" Rick dryly questioned. "Where are you from again Kyle? Alabama? Didn't realize you liked banjos. Which is your Driver for the upcoming 500?"

Rick figured he had maybe overstepped himself but Kyle really got under his skin. Minmei had to quickly turn away as she fought hard not to laugh at Rick's words which thankfully overrode her disgust in her cousin. Silently, she planned to completely cut him from her life as that was beyond disgusting. Even if there was no direct blood relation between them, he was her family and that was completely unacceptable of him. Her levity was broken as she heard Kyle's retort and her fury roared to new heights. "I hope you get what you deserve just like that whore you so dearly love!"

The room fell into a tense silence as the temperature dropped to a frightening degree. Kyle realized that he may have crossed a line, or more accurately, jumped over the cliff edge into the abyss as Rick began to shake, his face contorted in rage. Rick saw only red as his body tensed. He'd kill him. He'd kill him and mount his head on a pike.

"You Son of a Bitch!" Rick spat and moved forward, but was beaten to the punch by one Lynn Minmei. With an unbridled scream of fury, she slammed her palm into Kyle's gut with all the force she could muster, siad man doubling over in a pained groan before Minmei displayed her own skills at hand to hand with a spin kick to the side of his head, laying the man out. Rick grabbed her arm as she made to go after him further. The angry young woman turned to Rick wondering why he had stopped her. He pointed at the now approaching security guard.

"I heard everything." He spoke in a grim tone. "I'll take him out of here. But if you attack him again Miss Lynn, I will have to escort you from the premises as well."

She gave a tight nod as Rick let go of her arm and the guard managed to get Kyle up and dragged the still groggy man out of the Clinic and told him never to come back in. Rick looked to Minmei and smirked. "Nice hits. I probably would have killed him for what he said."

Minmei gave an unhappy nod.

"He'd have deserved it." She grumbled. "Saying such things about Captain Hayes. She was always so nice to me. To all of us really."

Rick nodded absently as Minmei looked at him with a small smile. "And I know how much you love her. I admit, I was upset when I realized I missed my chance with you two years ago. And I know how much she cares and loves you as well."

Rick rubbed the back of his head, a blush on his cheeks, his anger now gone.

"Was I that obvious?"

Minmei rolled her eyes with a snort. "Only to the living Rick. You've never been subtle. Does she know yet?"

"I haven't said anything yet. I'm just waiting for the right time to tell her."

Minmei gave a disproving stare that made Rick frown, feeling like he was going to get told off. And he was right.

"You really need to tell her you know." Minmei's tone showed she would broker no argument from him on this topic. "You also owe it to yourself."

"But how can I tell her?" Rick asked, feeling a little annoyed Minmei of all people was giving him relationship advice. "I just can't tell her I love her! Not now while she's dealing with what happened. It wouldn't be fair to her."

"It's not fair to me for you to stay silent about it."

Rick narrowed his eyes as Minmei gave a sheepish smile. "You knew she was standing behind me, didn't you?"

"Yup." Said woman chirped. "I saw her come out of the room as the guard dragged Kyle off."

"Clever girl." Rick muttered and slowly turned to face Lisa, who was looking at him in awe. "Um...well...guess you know now huh?"

She gave a small nod and smiled happily at him. "Yes. I do now. And by what Claudia told me, you already know where I stand. We'll talk once I get done here. Maybe...I want you to come back with me this time. Sine the secret is out."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Exedore stared at the results. Breetai narrowed his eyes, anger rolling off of him. Gloval looked ready to smash his computer and then grabbing his side arm to start his hunt. Exedore double checked his results once more and gave a resigned sigh before looking to Gloval as the Russian began to tremble. "The results do not lie. It was Khyron."

"Why did we not find out until now?" Henry managed to choke out, his anger reaching new levels.

"It never crossed my mind to consider him." Exedore replied. "His disgust and hatred of the Micronian form had, in my mind, disqualified him as a possibility."

"Then why did you check all DNA records from both Micronized and regular?"

"You have a saying on your World Admiral. When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. When none of the currently Micronized tripped the search, I began expanding the parameters. It was then a match was made." He explained.

"And this means he is using the Matrix as we have thought." Breetai growled.

"And he will die." Henry's eyes flashed as he turned to Breetai. "I know how much the matrix means to us all. But Khyron has bought himself a one way ticket to hell. It is time to enact the contingency."

Breetai nodded his agreement and his face split into a dark grin. "It should be an...illuminating experience for Khyron."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"My lord. Something is happening with the Marrix."

Khyron glanced to his underling in mild annoyance as Azonia limped into the room. "Care to be more specific?"

"It is beeping."

Khyron blinked. "Beeping?"

The Zentradi nodded.

"Yes my lord. It is beeping in a most annoying manner."

Khyron rose to his feet, feeling dread creep into his body. They couldn't have. He made his way quickly and cursed the ignorance of his men. While they were good for what he intended for them, mainly chaos and death, they were, unfortunately, woefully ignorant of most technical aspects. Khyron would admit it did irk him, but one must do with what one had. They were far from braindead but were by no means geniuses. He entered the hanger that housed the Matrix and frowned as he heard the beeping before his eyes widened. It was building to an overload! "Quickly! Shut it down!"

"We can't!" One of the man was furiously tapping away the shutdown sequence to no avail. "Nothing is working!"

Khyron shield his eyes as the room filled with a near blinding blue white light and an ominous humming began to fill the room. A sudden flash of of heat and Khyron felt no more.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Lisa groaned as she woke. It was one year after her attack on that cold December night. It had taken a lot of time and effort, but with Rick's help, she'd managed to heal. She'd never be fully healed, but at least now, she could live her life. Well, unless she killed whoever was trying to beat the door in. Grabbing her robe and tying it tightly around her body, the zombie like Lisa shuffled to the front door, bleery eyed. She peered through the peep hole and frowned as she opened it. A rather concerned Claudia greeted her. "Sorry for stopping by so early Lisa, but Max said he wasn't able to get a hold of Rick this morning. He forgot some paper work that needed signed."

Lisa blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from her mind before she spotted Claudia's wide eyed stare over her shoulder. Following her gaze, Lisa spotted the still tired Rick, rubbing his eyes with his free hand as the other held the bed sheet tightly around his lower body. The man obviously wasn't fully aware of his surroundings. "Who's at the door?"

Lisa smirked and looked back at a stunned Claudia.

"Well, as you can see, Rick is fine." The smirk took on a more perverted tone to it. "I think I tired him out last night."

A startled yelp followed by the slamming of a door indicated Rick had finally woken up enough to see who it was. The dark skinned woman looked to her smugly grinning friend in wonder before a sly smile crossed her face. "Well, based on his reactions, or lack there of, I'd say you did indeed tire him out. I'll tell Max that Rick will be in tomorrow. I have a feeling he will be...indisposed today?"

Lisa's cheeks flushed as she gave a slight nod at Claudia's words. "Yes. I've got a...rigorous training plan in mind for him today."